Magic: The Gathering Arena is currently in closed beta and recently became playable live on stream. Longtime Hearthstone streamer and YouTube personality Octavian "Kripparrian" Morosan jumped right in, returning to a game that he has a long history with.
"It feels a bit nostalgic to get back into Magic: The Gathering, but all of the mechanics and cards that have been released since I last played make it feel very much like a different game," Kripp told Gamers Decide. In a YouTube video uploaded this weekend, he went through his history of playing Magic and gave an in depth review of MTG Arena.
MTG Arena is a free-to-play game with optional in game purchases. While in beta, players have access to 10 preconstructed decks in every color pairing but can create their own competitive decks as well. Booster packs, which have 8 cards in MTG Arena compared to the traditional 15 cards, can have Wildcards in them. Wildcards can be redeemed for any card of the same rarity (Common, Uncommon, Rare and Mythic). The game is also testing rewards during its closed beta period including gold, cards, and boosters.
Kripparrian fans may be wondering if MTG Arena will be enough to pull him away from Hearthstone. The answer is no, at least not yet. “I don’t feel super motivated to constantly play it,” he said in his YouTube video. “It’s still a lot of fun but I don’t see the game going ahead of Hearthstone for instance, not in its current state, because there’s not enough hype. There’s not enough cool stuff.” He did go on to say that the game looks to be the best place to experience Magic online particularly when new sets are released.
Currently, Standard is the only available format but there have been rumors that others could be added down the road. Modern, Legacy, and Commander are just some of the popular choices but there’s one in particular that Friday Night Magic players would enjoy. "I would love to see their take on drafting within the MTG Arena client one day," Kripp told Gamers Decide.
MTG Arena is currently available on PC only, though Wizards of the Coast has alluded to it becoming available on other platforms down the road.
