It’s no secret thatMagic:The Gatheringis enjoying a healthy resurgence, largely due to the runaway success of itsmassively popular digital client,Magic: The Gathering Arena.Released in 2018,Arenainstantly made the grandfather of all TCGs more accessible and affordable for thousands of players.
By contrast, it’s a little a more complicated to get into the physical version ofMagic: The Gathering,as the most recent product designed for beginners is an Amazon exclusive called theMagic: The Gathering ArenaStarter Kit. Originally released alongsideCore Set 2021in July 2020, the kit features two 60-card decks and a 16-page rulebook, as well as codes that can be redeemed online to unlock the decks inMagic: The Gathering Arena.The set currently costs a little over $9 on Amazon, which is pretty affordable compared toMtGstarter sets from years past. But is it worth picking up? Here are a few considerations to take into account.
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The Decks
The two decks included in the starter kit are each focus on a single color of mana, one green and one black. They’re streamlined, easy to play, and more than capable of showing offhow excitingMagic: The Gatheringcan be, but they’re not especially strong building blocks for players hoping to build a collection. While a few of the included cards are still seeing competitive play, the majority are too weak to make the cut in top-tier decks.
For players who mostly plan to game at home, this is no problem, but becauseoptimized deck lists forMagic: The Gatheringare so easy to find, the average deck onArenais far more powerful than either of these.
Digital Integration
Though this kit includes a physical rulebook, it heavily encourages players to learn the game by playingMagic: The Gathering Arena’s tutorial.Upon completion, players are rewarded with 15 digital starter decks. These digital decks already include many of the cards used in the Starter Kit decks, soredeeming the codes onMtG Arenaonly nets players a handful of unique cards.
Assuming a player has access to a computer that can runArena, they have very little reason to play paperMagicoutside of personal preference. In fact, the incentive for a player to continue playing digitally is so strong that it seems as thoughWizards of the Coastreleased this Starter Kit hoping to lure customers online.
Standard Format
Magic: The Gatheringhas several different formats which govern the cards that players can use in their decks.Arenafocuses on the Standard format, which only allows players to use cards from sets that were released in the past two years.Though all of thecards in theMagic: The Gathering ArenaStarter Kitare currently Standard-legal, the majority will rotate out of Standard later this year.
These cards will still be playable both online and in person, but their usefulness will be limited. Players will need to refresh their collection with new cards from the recentKaldheimandZendikar Risingsets. And while no one is going to knock down a player’s door for playing kitchen tableMagicwith the wrong cards, the physical copies won’t be legal at in-person events.
Conclusion
Customers who vastlyprefer physicalMagic: The Gatheringcardsover digital ones will find value in this product, as will those who don’t have access to a computer that can runArena.Nine bucks is a pretty reasonable price for two full-sized decks, and as far as starter sets go, this one is solid.
Everyone else, though, should probably steer clear.Magic: The Gathering Arenagives more than enough cardsto new players, and most of the cards in this kit won’t be playable later this year. Players wishing for a strong head start in building their collection would be better off purchasing the Welcome Bundle fromArena’s in-game shop, which is cheaper than the Starter Kit and offers much higher value.
Magic: The Gathering Arenais currently available on Mac and PC, and will be coming to Android and iOS later this year.
