In a previous article, I more or less gushed about how great MTG: Arena is. Check it out, as I don’t want this to be a whine-fest without balance. Arena is great! This is how it can be the best!

MTG Arena is fantastic. It provides a smooth, accessible, simple Magic experience in a way I never thought possible. I never personally cared for MTGO, but Arena has won me over in a big way; what Wizards of the Coast has done is a huge accomplishment.

But, it wouldn’t be Magic if we didn’t find a bunch of stuff that could be done better. However, passing too much judgment while Arena is still in beta seems over-reactionary; this is more a wish list of functionality I’d love to see in the future, and some questions about said future.

More Social Options

I am by no means advocating for in-game chat. I think leaving it off was a wise choice Hearthstone and other games have made, and I think it’s the right choice for Arena as well.

What I’m thinking is basic social features, by 2018 standards. That means a friends list, clans/guilds/groups/whatever, and perhaps out-of-game chat functionality. That will lead to a way to queue up games against your friends; this would allow Arena to become a group play-testing platform, and also allow for families who like to game together to battle. These features are in other similar games, they should be in Arena as well.

Game History

Real-time spectator mode is problematic for all sorts of reasons, but having a history to go back and view completed games would be a real nice way to learn more lessons in play testing, replay memorable game moments, and track deck performance.

Even if this has to be achieved through an API that exports these details to another program or website, that would be hugely valuable.

Further UI Refinement

This is a big one, as there’s just so much to talk about.

While I love auto-land-tapping, there’s a couple of things I’ve seen a lot of people ask for: have a smarter algorithm for tapping, and show a persistent land count on-screen. The smarter algorithm is just to remove some of the corner-case foibles, and perhaps allow it to check against what spells are in your hand and react accordingly. The land count should be there already as a general quality-of-life visual.

The deck-builder is functional, but it has a way to go. Some of it is likely just re-sizing some of the elements, or re-designing some of the less accessible parts (deck view, I’m looking at you). The goal should be getting as close to MTGO’s deckbuilder as possible while still adhering to Arena’s design aesthetic and direction.

By far the most widespread suggestion is refining the animations, and giving us options for them. There have been complaints about some of the specific animations and how fiddly, long, and/or repetitive they are, and those should just be refined outright. Additionally, having an option to turn off animations should be a goal. Working under the assumption that Arena is destined for iOS and Android tablets, being able to scale down the graphical processing load would be a boon for those with older or less capable devices. Finally, some will just prefer to have the animations off and just focus completely on the game.

Finally, while overall the sound in Arena is nice, it’s a bit overdone in certain spots. There’s a lot of “whoosh” sounds where there should be shorter, less dramatic sound cues (mainly upon hovering over menu options).

Positive, Transparent Economy Adjustments

While Arena’s base economy ideas aren’t bad, they don’t compare favorably to competitors (coughHEARTHSTONEcough), and would benefit greatly from some new options.

The chief issue of complaint is the need for any kind of “dusting” or exchange system, where we can sacrifice existing cards to gain new ones. Currently it’s rather easy to put together a competitive Standard deck, but putting together subsequent decks becomes a veritable ocean of grind unless you throw a ton of gems/money into the system. Obviously cash rules everything around us, but allowing players an entropic exchange system still fulfills their goals (get what you want, but it will cost you) while giving players extra flexibility in finishing off more constructed decks (and still preserves a system that encourages spending). Hearthstone’s model is elegant and should be considered. Even if the exchange rate is worse, allowing players the option to cash in unwanted cards for what they want is a step in the right direction.

As an additional note, this problem will only become worse as the card pool continues to increase. Also, and this is purely anecdotal, I think there’s more “chaff” in Arena than there is in other games (since the card sets mirror paper releases). Some solution should be implemented eventually. I’m confident one will be.

Additionally, a rather annoying function of the “gem” system is the leftover gem problem; this strikes me as at least mildly insidious. Having a few hundred gems that you can do literally nothing with will urge a gem purchase, and I don’t think that’s a good look for the greatest game ever made. I personally dislike the entire gem system as a whole, but at the very least give us something to spend those leftover gems on. Even if it’s random cosmetic stuff like card backs, avatars, or whatever. Heck, even a “lottery card” system wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

Finally, addressing “the vault.” I honestly don’t know how it works, and that’s a problem. What happens if I pull from a pack a copy of Tempest Djinn, a rare I have four of already? Players need to know this information; like it or not, a majority of Magic players approach everything from an expected value stance. I cringe at the thought of gaining a fifth rare that’s effectively worth nothing. Even if the reward is worthwhile, we should know what that reward is, and be able to inform our decisions with that information.

Answers About the Future

This will likely become multiple future articles (as I don’t expect answers in the short term, and there’s a lot to unpack), but would be remiss not to say something here. Really, it’s just a series of questions that we’ll need answers for eventually, and the sooner the better.

What will happen once sets start rotating out of Standard? Is the plan to have a “new modern” or “Frontier” type of format to account for this? Will there be previous sets introduced to add to said format? How far back will it go? Will there be methods to get these cards readily available, or will we have to grind those sets like any other?

Additionally, are there going to be steps taken for more competitive features in Arena? Will there be an Arena Championship Series, similar to MTGO’s MOCS? Will there be PTQs?

Finally, there’s the Phelddagrif in the room: what about Modern, Legacy, Commander, Vintage, etc? What’s MTGO’s future?

All of these questions are very much tied together; MTGO’s future is heavily dependent on what they plan to do with Arena. Many are pessimistic, thinking that MTGO is doomed, as Arena expands and snatches more and more attention. However, I really find it difficult to envision a world where Arena contains all of MTGO’s features, card pool, and player base comfortably.

Why replace MTGO, really? A better move would be to update MTGO again and continue to support it. Many players won’t want to participate in Arena’s style of economy, and would rather have MTGO’s “pure” replica of the Magic experience. Competitive players who play many different decks would much rather just buy decks outright than lose precious time grinding up wildcards in order to test properly.

Additionally, it would be a potentially untenable amount of work to port over not just everyone’s MTGO collections, but the sheer volume of mechanics and interactions into Arena. I don’t want to say it wouldn’t be worth it, but what’s the real point? MTGO is there, established, functional, and will have a steady player base for years to come simply because of its old formats. What’s the issue with supporting two profitable online vehicles?

SaffronOlive posited a great point yesterday, stating that we should look at Arena as just a new way to play Magic, not as an MTGO replacement. With the information we have (which admittedly isn’t much) and reasonable speculation, there’s little good reason to think MTGO is doomed. Let it remain as the primary competitive digital version of Magic, and the steward for older formats. That’s enough to keep it profitable, while Arena can lay claim to the more casual playerbase.

(MTGO really should be updated though. I can’t stress that enough.)

Arena is fantastic, but it is still in beta. There’s plenty of room for it to grow, and we should be patient as it continues to do so. What they have already is stunning, and with attention to player feedback it will continue to grow into another great way to play the best game ever made.