Comparison

The Arena Draft vs Magic

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

The Arena Draft

Practice building Hearthstone Arena decks and save them to import into the game. Easily share your creations with friends for friendly battles. This companion tool is completely free and ad-free.

Highlights
  • Draft Arena decks
  • Save decks
  • Import decks into Hearthstone
  • Play with friends
  • Free to use
  • No ads
Features
Read full description

The Arena Draft lets you practice your deck building skills and save your Arena decks in Hearthstone to battle friends. • Draft an Arena deck using cards from your collection • Import and save your deck into Hearthstone • Use your Arena decks to play with friends • 100% free • No ads Hearthstone assets used in this app are copyrighted and/or trademarked material of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. This app is not affiliated with Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

About

Magic

Experience the original fantasy collectible card game digitally. Build unique decks, master strategies, and battle friends or AI in various game modes. Discover new cards and unlock rewards through a comprehensive tutorial and engaging gameplay.

Highlights
  • Collect and build unique decks
  • Master diverse strategies
  • Battle friends and AI
  • Explore multiple game formats
  • Engaging tutorial system
  • Unlock cards and rewards
  • Stunning battlefields and effects
Features
Read full description

Welcome to the digital Multiverse! Magic: The Gathering is the original trading card game- and now you can download and start playing for free with your friends from anywhere! Magic: The Gathering Arena empowers you to discover your strategy, meet the planeswalkers, explore the multiverse, and battle friends around the world. Collect, build and master your unique deck that will become its own legend. Your battle is only the beginning; duel on stunning battlefields, and enjoy Arena’s game changing battle effects and immerse yourself in the game. Start playing for free, challenge your friends, unlock cards, and feel the magic of the original fantasy CCG! NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY Never played Magic before? No problem! Magic: The Gathering Arena’s tutorial system takes you through the playstyles so you can find your strategy and decide if you’re the type to overwhelm your opponent with brute strength, if subterfuge is more your style, or anything in between. Meet characters from around the multiverse and try out spells and artifacts that make learning to play the original fantasy collectible card game quick and fun. It’s never been easier to play Magic! Collect cards to build a deck that matches your personality, then master your strategy to battle friends and be part of the TCG that started them all. GAME ON(LINE) The original TCG is now digital! Explore the fantasy worlds of Magic: The Gathering Arena and build your deck, play a variety of game formats to collect cards, master multiple strategies, and hone your skills against friends or the AI. With multiple game formats like Draft and Brawl, 15 unlockable collectible decks, and explosive card combo effects: Your ideal Magic: The Gathering playstyle is at your fingertips! Show off eye-popping cosmetics like avatars, card sleeves, and pets and collect daily rewards to grow your collection and build powerful decks that reflect your personal strategy. CHALLENGE AND PLAY Duel your friends for glory or enter in-game tournaments for exciting prizes! With Draft and Brawl pairing, there is always someone to game with. Special in-game events offer exciting rewards, and with Esports qualifiers your Pro-Magic dreams are closer than you think in the Arena Premier Play League! Queue into casual battles to hone your strategy at your own pace, or battle in Esports qualifiers and frequent tournaments to flaunt your mastery. FANTASY AND MAGIC Dive into the fantasy planes of Magic: The Gathering and write your own legend through Magic’s immersive lore and vibrant card art. Find your path through the multiverse using only favorite characters and their most iconic spells and artifacts, or create a theme deck with a narrative that makes sense only to you. Your story is only just beginning! All prices inclusive of VAT. Wizards of the Coast, Magic: The Gathering, Magic: The Gathering Arena, their respective logos, Magic, the mana symbols, the planeswalker symbol, and all character names and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of the Coast LLC. ©2019-2026 Wizards. Please visit https://company.wizards.com/legal/wizards-coasts-privacy-policy to view Wizards of the Coast's privacy policy and https://company.wizards.com/legal/terms to view Wizards of the Coast's terms of use.

Screenshots

The Arena Draft4 screens
Magic4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: The Arena Draft at none against Magic's 10. The Arena Draft also leads on iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). Magic's advantage is review sentiment (34% vs 0%) and update cadence (weekly vs every 4 months). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Magic sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. The Arena Draft asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Magic holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Magic has 156K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of The Arena Draft's written reviews are positive against 34% of Magic's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Arena Draft ships an update every 4 months, Magic weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
The Arena Draft versus Magic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Arena DraftMagic
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (9 ratings)4.6 (156K ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews34.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9156K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#25 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size195 MB265 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperRobert BurtonWizards of the Coast

Customer experience

The Arena Draft

All ratings8 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Magic

All ratings156,257 ratings
Positive90.4%
Neutral2.8%
Negative6.9%
Written reviews4,115 reviews
Positive34.1%
Neutral9.2%
Negative56.7%

Bugs and requests

The Arena Draft

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Magic

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Cards not working as intended
  • Inability to select or interact with certain game elements
  • Inconsistent behavior when app crashes during matches
  • Sync issues between mobile and desktop accounts

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to trade or recycle unwanted cards
  • Improved deck building tools and organization
  • Support for multiplayer formats like Commander and Two-Headed Giant
  • Option to disable animations and speed up gameplay
  • Better integration between mobile and desktop versions

In-app purchases

None

The Arena Draft

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Magic

One-time10
  • 750 Gems$4.99
  • Starter Bundle$4.99
  • 1,600 Gems$9.99
Show 7 more
  • 4x Rare Wildcards$9.99
  • Adventurer Bundle$14.99
  • 3,400 Gems$19.99
  • 4x Mythic Wildcards$19.99
  • Spark Bundle$24.99
  • 9,200 Gems$49.99
  • 20,000 Gems$99.99

Questions

Is The Arena Draft free?
The Arena Draft is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Magic free?
Magic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Arena Draft or Magic?
Magic is rated higher. The Arena Draft averages 4.2 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Magic averages 4.6 from 156K ratings.
Do The Arena Draft or Magic have ads?
Neither The Arena Draft nor Magic shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Arena Draft or Magic?
The Arena Draft ships an update every 4 months, and Magic weekly. Most recently, The Arena Draft was updated on November 3, 2026 and Magic on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons