Magic: The Gathering Arena
- May 23, 2023
- Magic Digital Studio
- 22h median play time
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Get on Apple Store"Magic: The Gathering Arena" is a digital adaptation of the popular trading card game, featuring stunning graphics and strategic gameplay. Build your deck and duel other players in real-time, using spells, creatures, and artifacts to reduce your opponent's life total to zero. With regular updates and new card releases, the game offers endless replayability and challenges for both new and experienced players.
iPad
iPhone
Mac OS
PC
Phone
Windows
Android
Mobile Platform
Tablet
Reviews
- The game captures the essence of Magic: The Gathering and offers a fun way to play on the go.
- The deck-building feature allows for creativity and customization, making it enjoyable for both new and experienced players.
- The game is free-to-play friendly, allowing players to earn cards and build decks without spending money.
- The app frequently crashes and freezes, especially after matches, leading to lost turns and frustrating gameplay.
- The matchmaking system often pits new players against experienced ones with powerful decks, making it difficult to enjoy the game.
- The user interface can be clunky and unintuitive, making it hard to navigate and select cards during gameplay.
- stability1,014 mentions
- 2 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 98 % negative mentions
The stability of the app has been widely criticized, with users reporting frequent crashes and freezes during gameplay, often resulting in lost matches and frustrating experiences. Many players have noted that the app's performance deteriorates significantly during critical moments, such as when unlocking new cards or executing complex moves, leading to timeouts and automatic losses. Despite some improvements over time, the overall consensus is that the app remains highly unstable and buggy, making it difficult for players to enjoy the game fully.
“A player can lose all day with no freezes, I've tested it.”
“Runs great on my (old-ish) Sony Xperia 1 and has never crashed on me.”
“The game runs great, and no lagging either.”
“App is so unstable, and you can miss it when it freezes; by the time you close and log back in, you've lost a turn or the whole game.”
“Crashes are so common that restarting the app has become muscle memory; it doesn't generate a report or anything, just freezes, forcing a restart.”
“The game freezes constantly, and I have a very decent phone; it's clearly a non-optimization from the development team.”
- gameplay380 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the app is generally praised for its fun and engaging mechanics, closely mirroring the traditional Magic: The Gathering experience. However, many users report significant issues such as frequent crashes, lag, and a problematic shuffle mechanic that disrupts the flow of play. While the core gameplay is enjoyable and offers a good learning experience for new players, the technical performance and user interface require substantial improvements to enhance overall satisfaction.
“I love that it took classic magic and managed to automate and speed up many parts of gameplay, making for a lot of fast-paced games.”
“The gameplay is great otherwise.”
“The gameplay itself is great, with it very much feeling like actual MTG.”
“The most recent update to this app completely ruined the gameplay experience.”
“App freezes several times during gameplay requiring you to restart the game.”
“The gameplay is fine, despite the presence of some dubious, cheap cards like Angel of Destiny.”
- optimization202 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 26 % negative mentions
The game's optimization for mobile devices has received significant criticism, with users reporting frequent crashes, lag, and poor performance, particularly during complex gameplay scenarios. Many players express frustration over the lack of options to adjust graphics settings or disable animations to enhance performance. While some improvements have been noted since launch, the overall consensus is that the app requires a substantial optimization overhaul to provide a smoother and more reliable gaming experience.
“I love MTG and MTGA to bits, but this mobile version needs a serious optimization overhaul. The 'search your library for X' cards crash my game half the time, and the game will randomly start lagging and close in the middle of games, leading to premature defeats and a lot of anger from me.”
“Great game, needs more performance optimization for mobile, like the ability to halt animations and particle effects and maybe some other graphics options.”
“The game is very fun, but if the developers could make the game run smoothly, it would make this one of the best free mobile games.”
“While I love magic, and playing on the app is great to have the ability to play anywhere... WotC needs to start patching to streamline and improve performance on mobile devices. It's extremely frustrating how often the game hangs and crashes on the Android app... I would give a higher rating if things improved.”
“The game itself is perfectly fine, but some way to turn down the graphics to improve performance would be extremely welcome.”
“The performance is just absolutely terrible.”
- graphics193 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are widely praised for their stunning artwork and high-quality visuals, reflecting significant effort in design. However, many users express frustration over the lack of adjustable graphics settings, which leads to performance issues such as lag, crashes, and slow gameplay, particularly on mobile devices. Overall, while the graphics are impressive, they are deemed too demanding for optimal performance, suggesting a need for better optimization and customization options.
“The graphics are amazing though and I can see all the effort that went into it.”
“Great game, good visuals, it stays (mostly) in line with the actual card game.”
“A faithful and amazing replica of the actual game, with stunning visuals!”
“It is unfortunately plagued with bugs such as constant freezing or lag from being unable to handle visuals at times.”
“The graphics are unnecessary, inefficient to display on most phones and destroy the pacing of the game.”
“Unplayable on my phone: no graphics settings, and way too demanding so lags constantly.”
- monetization164 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 52 % negative mentions
The monetization model of the game has been widely criticized as overly aggressive and exploitative, with many players labeling it a "cash grab" due to the high costs of in-game purchases and the necessity to spend money to remain competitive. While some users appreciate the absence of ads and the fun gameplay, the overall sentiment reflects frustration over the predatory microtransaction practices and the lack of value for money spent. Many feel that the game prioritizes profit over player experience, leading to a disappointing balance between enjoyment and financial investment.
“No ads + all in-app purchases are very cheap.”
“I have a full-time job and kids, never spent money on this game, except for some skins because you should support free-to-play games with no ads, have every card I want and plenty of extra gold.”
“Fantastic game and while in-game purchases are available, it doesn't feel like you have to buy to win or have fun.”
“The monetization of this game is completely off balance for anyone not willing to spend gobs of money, and even then you still may not get what you need to enjoy it.”
“The monetization is atrocious; you want about 10 dollars to draft on arena where there are 0 physical cards or value.”
“The game's design and monetization methods make the game highly predatory towards its players, leading people to dump loads of money in the vague hopes of getting something they want.”
- story148 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 90 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of depth and engagement, with many players expressing disappointment over the absence of a traditional campaign or narrative mode. Users report numerous technical issues, such as bugs preventing mission completion and server connection problems, which detract from any potential storytelling experience. Overall, the game feels grindy and repetitive, with players longing for a more structured and rewarding narrative journey.
“The story evolves, so it never gets old.”
“Awe-inspiring art, combined with impressive storytelling.”
“Magik in app it's the card game with a lot of cool features like voiced characters, monsters have sound, planeswalker choice, deck customization, and a cool story as expected with anything Magik does.”
“The plot and story is completely non-existent, the GUI is an unintuitive travesty, and the gameplay is less than enchanting.”
“This app is lacking a story mode or offline mode for players who aren't into PvP.”
“Just kinda grindy for no apparent reason; story missions are set so you get the same draws. I'd play more, but seeing as I already have hard copies of all the cards I want, I'd rather go down to the nearest MTG hangout and play with friends.”
- grinding73 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is a significant point of contention among players, with many noting that while it is possible to progress without spending money, it requires a considerable time investment to earn cards and build competitive decks. Players often find the process tedious and frustrating, particularly on mobile devices, where deck building and gameplay can feel cumbersome. Overall, the game is described as being heavily grind-oriented, leading to a perception of it being "pay-to-win" for those unwilling to invest the necessary time.
“The game actually disincentivizes creativity because grinding to earn cards is oppressively tedious.”
“It is very hard to build a meta deck in this game and will typically take weeks or even months of farming if you don't spend money.”
“The absurdly tedious and unskippable tutorial had me delete the game before it even began.”
- music23 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed feedback, with many players praising its quality and ambiance, describing it as "epic" and "memorable." However, recent patches have led to significant issues, including crashes and black screens where the music continues to play but the game becomes unresponsive. Players express a desire for better integration with personal music playlists and features like a music visualizer, as the current state often leaves them unable to enjoy both the game's soundtrack and their own music simultaneously.
“Same amazing card art, new deck combos and strategies, plus animations, music and more.”
“Silky smooth graphics, epic soundtracks and ambience...the game literally flows like a river, churning like rapids, then calming down, only to swirl up again with whitewater fury!”
“The Egyptian stage has memorable music.”
“If you play for more than 30 minutes, the music and half the SFX don't play, and sometimes you can't even connect to the servers if you play for too long.”
“Just a totally blank screen with music playing in the background.”
“The screen stays black, although the game music is playing.”
- humor16 mentions
- 94 % positive mentions
- -12 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The humor in the reviews primarily stems from the frustration and absurdity of the game's issues, with players sarcastically noting the hilarity of store prices and the incompetence of the developers. Many find the game's bugs and matchmaking system so ridiculous that it becomes a source of dark humor, as they describe the experience as a "money-grabbing" scheme that is laughably broken. Overall, the humor is rooted in a mix of irony and exasperation over the game's persistent problems and perceived exploitation.
“Store prices are hilarious.”
“Playing it in slow app which looks like Fortnite for card players is funny.”
“Funny thing is that this bug has been going on since 2020 and nothing has been done to fix it.”
“The humor in this game falls flat; it feels forced and unoriginal, making it hard to enjoy.”
“I expected some clever jokes, but instead, the humor is just cringeworthy and misses the mark completely.”
“The attempts at humor are so over-the-top that they become annoying rather than funny.”
- emotional7 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users express a mix of emotional engagement and frustration with the game, highlighting feelings of being valued by support but also experiencing significant technical issues that detract from their enjoyment. The emotional connection is evident in the heartfelt message to the developers, indicating a strong attachment to the game despite the decision to uninstall due to ongoing problems.
“My first major issue that occurred, I raised a ticket on, and as soon as possible they got back to me and made me feel so valued as a player and consumer.”
“(updated) this review is a heartfelt message to the app designers.”
“Heartbreaking but I'm uninstalling on Android and PC.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Users express mixed feelings about the game's replayability, noting that while it can be fun and offers potential for replayability, barriers such as high rarity of essential cards and poor matchmaking significantly hinder the overall experience. Many players feel that improving accessibility and balance would enhance the game's playability and encourage more frequent play.
“Fun and lots of replayability.”
“If the different formats and features had less barrier to entry (reduced rarity on dual lands, better matchmaking scaled to deck power, etc.), this game would be more playable.”
“Unfortunate because I really looked forward to playing this game, only to be forced to uninstall to keep room available for games that are playable.”
“If it were playable, I'd give it a much higher rating.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is enhanced by voice lines, but is significantly undermined by technical issues such as laggy gameplay and unresponsive controls, alongside a frustrating pay-to-win environment that detracts from the overall enjoyment.
“I also don't hate the added atmosphere with the voice lines and such.”
