It’s no secret that Magic: The Gathering is an expensive game. Outside of Paper, competitive decks will often set you back a few hundred dollars at least. Even budget decks are often forced to compromise on a few key cards. Hoping to combat this, MTG players have long been requesting powerful constructed precons to make Magic more affordable.
At long last, it seems MTG players are getting exactly what they want… almost. Wizards is starting to sell powerful preconstructed decks at a fraction of their usual price. Unfortunately, the catch is that these precons decks are only available on MTG Arena.
MTG Arena Preconstructed Decks
Following the introduction of the “Decks” tab on the MTG Arena store with Bloomburrow, players have known this was coming. What we didn’t know, however, was what kind of decks Wizards would be selling. Historically, preconstructed Standard decks have been on the weaker side, often so much so that they’re effectively pointless. On MTG Arena, however, the lack of reprint equity meant the sky was the limit.
Thankfully, Wizards hasn’t kept us waiting long, as the first dedicated MTG Arena preconstructed decks have just been revealed. In total, five decks will be available for purchase. Two of these decks are Standard legal, while the remaining three are Brawl decks. While they’re not exactly all cheap, these decks are still amazing value.
- Foundation Deck: Standard Dinosaurs | 5,310 gems
- Champion Deck: Standard Toxic | 11,280 gems
- Brawl Deck: Zada, Hedron Grinder | 2,210 gems
- Brawl Deck: Eriette of the Charmed Apple | 4,480 gems
- Brawl Deck: A-Raiyuu, Storm’s Edge | 4,320 gems
As if these decks weren’t priced unusually enough, the cost you’ll have to pay may vary from these listed prices. Wizards has stated “The price of these decks is prorated,” which means you’ll only pay for the cards you need. If you already have a card found in a deck, “The total gem price is reduced at a scaling rate based on the rarity of the card.”
Regardless of how much you have to pay, these precons are all great deals that are excellent for new players. Whether you’re looking to jump ship into a new deck or are just starting to play, precons are a fantastic starting point. Especially since they’re so value-rich. We can only hope that Wizards keeps making more and more decks in the future.
Surprisingly Stellar Standard Decks
Compared to the underpowered Standard Challenger Decks of yore, the new MTG Arena precons are a breath of fresh air. The Champion Deck: Standard Toxic, for instance, is a genuinely competitive list that doesn’t skimp on rares. If you’re interested in playing Bant Toxic, this deck is good right out of the digital box.
The catch is that this deck costs 11,280 gems before any reductions. This puts the real-world price at around $65, as you’ll have to buy the $50, $10, and $5 gem bundles. For a digital product that can’t be traded, that is incredibly expensive. After all, you could buy basically any brand-new AAA video game for the same price.
Despite the cost potentially seeming steep compared to alternatives, in the world of MTG, this is cheap. It’s even cheap in the world of MTG Arena, as the alternative of buying rare wildcards is significantly more expensive. In total, Champion Deck: Standard Toxic contains 32 rare cards. Buying this many rare wildcards via the wildcard bundle would cost $80. Doing this would also leave you without the commons and uncommons you’d need.
Sadly, the Foundation Deck: Standard Dinosaurs isn’t nearly as compelling, despite only costing 5,310 gems. Thanks to the amount of gems in each bundle, you’d still need to spend $40 to buy this deck. While this may seem better, the deck only contains 18 rare cards. If you’re buying wildcard bundles, this many rare cards would only cost $50, so it’s not an amazing saving.
Ultimately, even if they’re not dirt cheap, both the Standard legal precons on MTG Arena are good deals. Offering enjoyable and compelling lists, these decks are a great starting point if you’re willing to front the cost.
Bizarre Brawl Creations
While the Standard preconstructed decks on MTG Arena are competitive and playable, the Brawl decks are more unusual. Thanks to the matchmaking system in Brawl, your deck doesn’t need to be powerful to be viable. This allows players to be incredibly creative, building whatever they want, much like in Commander.
That being said, MTG players still need to start somewhere and preconstructed decks offer exactly that. In Commander, preconstructed decks have been instrumental to the format’s success, so it makes sense Brawl should get them too. Sadly, options are somewhat limited right now, but it hopefully won’t stay that way for long.
Currently, MTG Arena players only have three Brawl precons decks to pick between and purchase. These are essentially Mono-Red Aggro, Orzhov Lifegain, and “Samurais and Warriors” Typal. Much like the Standard decks, each of these offers fairly compelling value, especially considering they contain mythic cards.
If you;’e looking for pure value for money, the A-Raiyuu, Storm’s Edge is technically the best bet. Containing 15 rare cards and two mythics, you’d need to spend $60 in wildcards to craft this deck. As a precon, however, you’ll only need to spend $30, which is a treat. In comparison, the Eriette of the Charmed Apple contains 13 rares and two mythics, while the Zada, Hedron Grinder deck only contains six rares.
Ultimately, since power level doesn’t matter in Brawl, players should only really buy these decks if they like the theme. If you do, they’re a great starting point that you can develop and enhance yourself. Should you not fancy any of the new options, however, you may be better off waiting for more decks to be released.
A Fantastic Start
With compelling value across the board and prorated pricing, the preconstructed decks on MTG Arena are an all-around win. We can only hope that Wizards of the Coast makes more decks soon, providing more options to players. This is important not just for variety, but also for gameplay.
Depending on how successful these new precons are, decks like Bant Toxic might actually get worse. While players can innovate by including cards like Mockingbird, it’ll nonetheless be a popular choice. Due to this, other players may deliberately start countering this deck more on MTG Arena. Hopefully, this won’t happen, especially since buying the deck isn’t cheap.
To solve this problem, Wizards can create more precons for other Standard decks. This should increase the diversity of decks in the format, even if they are expensive. While $65 isn’t cheap for in-game content, Champion Deck: Standard Toxic doesn’t have any mythic cards. A deck like Domain Ramp that runs seven mythics and 41 rares is bound to be a lot more expensive.
At the end of the day, even if future decks are more expensive, they should still provide a discount. If they do, these decks will continue to be compelling entry points for new players, regardless of their price. We just hope that the “more decks coming in the future” arrive sooner rather than later.
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