Newcomers to Magic Arena might have come from the traditional TCG or completely new to the game itself. Thankfully for either player, Magic Arena has quite the intuitive take to the hit Wizards TCG. At the core of the game lies an in-depth tutorial, various reward offerings, and a couple of extra features. As expected of any first-timer, seeing all these at once can become quite overwhelming.

Thankfully for them, getting a good grasp of Magic Arena’s gameplay can make their Magic experience much more productive. And with the right steps in their first few hours, Magic Arena can quickly become an addicting experience.

10 Clear The Tutorial Games First

Anyone new to Magic: The Gathering will fully appreciate Magic Arena for its in-depth Tutorial games. Newcomers to the digital game will meet Sparky, a glowing orb, that will guide players through a series of games until they face off against Nicol Bolas. After defeating him, new players should have more or less a clear sense of how basic mechanics work.

9 Play Through All Color Challenges

Once players clear through the Tutorial stage, they’ll be able to access a wide variety of game modes. It’s highly recommended they play through the Color Challenges, as these elaborate different styles of play per card color. There’s one set of Color Challenges per Color, with the following properties:

8 Grab Free Codes Online

Players experienced in Magic Arena will know that in-game events often give free Redeem Codes that players can use to get free goodies. To access this option, players should click the Store and see the Redeem Code window on the top-right corner.

While most Redeem Codes do have expiration dates, others remain active for one-time use. Players can check out resources such as Card Game Base for updated free codes. Most of these codes provide a ton of free Booster Packs, which in turn can give players access to a ton of free cards and, most importantly, Wildcards.

7 Remember The Game Economy

Before players have fun constructing their decks and testing them out in PVP, they should remember how the in-game economy works first. Similar to its physical TCG counterpart, Magic Arena is heavily reliant on drawing cards from Packs and build decks with the cards they’ve unlocked.

Thankfully for players, the Wildcard system does let players construct cards of their choosing. Before players tinker with any of these, they need to remember these existing parts of the Magic Arena economy:

6 Hold Onto Those Wildcards

When players regularly open Packs, they fill up a meter with a specially-covered card. These are Wildcards, the resource in the game’s crafting system. Each Wildcard can create a copy of any card with the same rarity.

Before players go gaga trying to make their dream cards, they do need to realize that they can only get a Wildcard whenever they purchase Packs - and Packs cost 1,000 Gold. Here are ways they can obtain a Wildcard in this manner:

5 Start Farming For That Gold

Since dream decks need Wildcards to create missing cards, and with Wildcards only attainable via purchasing Packs, it makes sense for players to start farming for that Gold immediately. Thankfully for them, Magic Arena does offer a variety of game modes for players to enjoy.

4 Consider Playing Draft Games In Events

Players who want to get into specialized formats in Magic Arena might want to check out the Events tab. This contains the Draft game modes, where there are specialized rules to follow - and sometimes, even specific decks to use. Winning in this mode can net a lot of useful rewards, so players might want to try these out once they become more confident with their decks:

3 Score The Free Decks

Newcomers to Magic Arena have the opportunity to score more decks from the game through fulfilling certain conditions. These challenges can net unique combination decks, all of which have more playstyles to offer that are wildly separate from the mono-colored decks of the Color Challenges.

As with usual games, the free deck challenges happen once a day. If possible, players should time their completion of the free deck quests to become in-line with their daily quests. That way, they can take on the requirements of both challenges within the same set of matches.

2 Pull Off The Dailies, Weeklies

Aside from free decks, players have various activities they can accomplish throughout a session, all of which netting different rewards:

1 Check The Mastery Rewards

Players who participate in Magic Arena matches can also fill up their Mastery EXP whenever they win matches. When filled up, this EXP nets a Mastery Level that can grant various rewards to users. If they’re free players, they get rewards every few levels. However, players with the Mastery Pass (purchasable via Gems) get massive rewards per Mastery Level.

In addition to Mastery EXP, players who earn enough Mastery Levels can get a Mastery Orb. In the “Adventures of the Forgotten Realms,” each Orb can unlock unique card styles and even card sleeves based on popular cards in the set.

NEXT: Magic: The Gathering - Everything To Know About The Fall 2021 Standard Rotation