Review Insights · App Store
Magic: The Gathering Arena
Wizards of the Coast · 147,582 ratings · ★ 4.6
4.6
★★★★★
147,582 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 52 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"game"
30 negative reviews mention this · 58% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Fall from greatness. Grew up playing this game. I Loved playing this game once I found the arena version. I was a bit turned off by the acceleration rate of sets dropping like 6 in a year. That made it hard to keep up with playing it. Didn’t love the introducti…" - dont update real
2
"decks"
14 negative reviews mention this · 27% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Not a good place for new players. Completely new, always wanted to try magic and everywhere said this was the go to. Nope I’m using free decks with no additional changes (wouldn’t even know what to change/add) and I’m matched with people who clearly have hundreds if not tho…" - willitgothrough
3
"play"
13 negative reviews mention this · 25% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Not a good place for new players. Completely new, always wanted to try magic and everywhere said this was the go to. Nope I’m using free decks with no additional changes (wouldn’t even know what to change/add) and I’m matched with people who clearly have hundreds if not tho…" - willitgothrough
4
"cards"
12 negative reviews mention this · 23% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Fall from greatness. Grew up playing this game. I Loved playing this game once I found the arena version. I was a bit turned off by the acceleration rate of sets dropping like 6 in a year. That made it hard to keep up with playing it. Didn’t love the introducti…" - dont update real
5
"money"
11 negative reviews mention this · 21% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Fall from greatness. Grew up playing this game. I Loved playing this game once I found the arena version. I was a bit turned off by the acceleration rate of sets dropping like 6 in a year. That made it hard to keep up with playing it. Didn’t love the introducti…" - dont update real
6
"card"
11 negative reviews mention this · 21% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Fall from greatness. Grew up playing this game. I Loved playing this game once I found the arena version. I was a bit turned off by the acceleration rate of sets dropping like 6 in a year. That made it hard to keep up with playing it. Didn’t love the introducti…" - dont update real
7
"deck"
10 negative reviews mention this · 19% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Not a good place for new players. Completely new, always wanted to try magic and everywhere said this was the go to. Nope I’m using free decks with no additional changes (wouldn’t even know what to change/add) and I’m matched with people who clearly have hundreds if not tho…" - willitgothrough
8
"magic"
7 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Not a good place for new players. Completely new, always wanted to try magic and everywhere said this was the go to. Nope I’m using free decks with no additional changes (wouldn’t even know what to change/add) and I’m matched with people who clearly have hundreds if not tho…" - willitgothrough
9
"games"
7 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Buggy. I just downloaded the game. Managed to get through the intro levels. And after playing a game it directed me towards, the game locked up waiting for the computer to take an action. I put the phone down and waited for an hour before resta…" - whydoineedanucknametwo
10
"against"
7 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "hand “fixing”. this game abandons true randomization and will actively stack your deck against you if it fits their business model. and remember you are potentially buying things in game if they hook you when you can never resell any of the assets." - Mcgigglz
11
"players"
6 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Not a good place for new players. Completely new, always wanted to try magic and everywhere said this was the go to. Nope I’m using free decks with no additional changes (wouldn’t even know what to change/add) and I’m matched with people who clearly have hundreds if not tho…" - willitgothrough
12
"other"
6 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Buggy. I just downloaded the game. Managed to get through the intro levels. And after playing a game it directed me towards, the game locked up waiting for the computer to take an action. I put the phone down and waited for an hour before resta…" - whydoineedanucknametwo
📋 All 52 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Not a good place for new players
Completely new, always wanted to try magic and everywhere said this was the go to. Nope I’m using free decks with no additional changes (wouldn’t even know what to change/add) and I’m matched with people who clearly have hundreds if not thousands of hours in magic experience. Not fun to know you’ve lost off turn 1.
Fix
I had hi hopes but it didn’t register my account
Crashes
Worst app ever doesn’t work and needs fixed
Union busting chuds
We don’t support your inhumane business practices. Recognize the union, or recognize a falling stock price.
Fall from greatness
Grew up playing this game. I Loved playing this game once I found the arena version. I was a bit turned off by the acceleration rate of sets dropping like 6 in a year. That made it hard to keep up with playing it. Didn’t love the introduction of “NYC” as a magic plane, but I tolerated it. This past weekend the workers at WOTC began to unionize, and the company failed to acknowledge them, and hired a union busting consulting firm. I’ve dropped a couple hundred dollars over the years on gems to play more drafts and get more cards. But that ends today. I wish the employees and artists at wizards the best, but my money will no being going towards such a selfish company.
Buggy
I just downloaded the game. Managed to get through the intro levels. And after playing a game it directed me towards, the game locked up waiting for the computer to take an action. I put the phone down and waited for an hour before restarting the game. Internet was working fine, all other games working.
So I force quit the game and tried to restart. It was now stuck at the loading screen. Kept it there for an hour, put the phone down came back and it was still stuck there.
Then I moved on to doing something different, come back many hours later and it’s still stuck at the loading screen. Is this poor programming from creators? Or a global bug? I’ll check again tomorrow. But if I his persists then the creators need to maybe implement some AI programming and fire some people who clearly aren’t earning their pay check
So I force quit the game and tried to restart. It was now stuck at the loading screen. Kept it there for an hour, put the phone down came back and it was still stuck there.
Then I moved on to doing something different, come back many hours later and it’s still stuck at the loading screen. Is this poor programming from creators? Or a global bug? I’ll check again tomorrow. But if I his persists then the creators need to maybe implement some AI programming and fire some people who clearly aren’t earning their pay check
!
Game is rigged, played 8 games in a row and had 40 manna in the commander deck and every game I got 3 land and that’s it the entire 8 games.
Update, they blocked my account because I left a bad review
Update, they blocked my account because I left a bad review
Pusillanimous
This app and its designers are cheating! There is no even or fair matchmaking! You get screwed by either no mana, too much mana, or all one color of mana and no spells of that color. Your opponents have perfect hands to win by turn 3. Arena is filled with the extremely cowardly cheats. THERE IS NOTHING ABOUT THIS APP THAT IS WORTH YOUR MONEY! ARENA IS BROKEN!!! The monkeys running this show must be asleep at the wheel… The situation is arena creates is a pay to win environment, and do not deserve and funds until they fix this app!!!
Kindergartners are more fair and organized than MTG Arena… sad.
Kindergartners are more fair and organized than MTG Arena… sad.
Still Trash
Fix your algorithm! It’s garbage!
Keeps crashing
Every time I try and look at my decks it kept crashing then from no where now the app won’t open. Was really looking forward to learning the game but I can’t even get it going.
Horrible mechanics
This game constantly gives you matchups where the entire game you cant cast a card. Btw you can only use game made decks.
Good luck with the union
Dirty scum manipulation for profit. Don’t deserve nothing for the utter trash your complicit too
hand “fixing”
this game abandons true randomization and will actively stack your deck against you if it fits their business model. and remember you are potentially buying things in game if they hook you when you can never resell any of the assets.
Not Beginner Friendly
Other CCG games like Hearthstone and YuGiOh make it easier for beginner players to get their feet under them. This game imminently throws you in with advanced players before you have a chance to build or earn the starter decks. Don’t waste your time unless you want to pay big money up front.
They will steal your money, do not purchase anything in this game
When I first started, it was all good, so I spent money so I can earn cards and companions. was excited about the ninja turtles, couldn’t wait to get Mikey as a companion. When I finally collected him, I went to set him to one of my decks, and all my companions that I earned were all gone. and when I hit their tech-support up, all they gave me was a automated response. it’s been way over a month. I still don’t have my companions I was ripped off. I haven’t got my money back or my companions. their tech-support is horrible!!
I just got done with their tech-support and they just told me that they’re investigating it but doing nothing about it they keep saying they’re investigating it over and over. It’s been over a month. they just told me they are going to stop responding because they don’t know what’s wrong they said it showed my companions on their end and they don’t know why my Companion’s are not showing on mine. I sent them a screenshot and everything.
No reimbursement, they didn’t even offer to give me any free packs or something like that. No attempt to try to make their customer happy.
The game is fun don’t get me wrong, but that’s the wrong way to treat your customer.
So if you’re going to play this game, I repeat, do not spend your money at all. They will find a way to screw you.
Do not spend money in this game!!!!
I just got done with their tech-support and they just told me that they’re investigating it but doing nothing about it they keep saying they’re investigating it over and over. It’s been over a month. they just told me they are going to stop responding because they don’t know what’s wrong they said it showed my companions on their end and they don’t know why my Companion’s are not showing on mine. I sent them a screenshot and everything.
No reimbursement, they didn’t even offer to give me any free packs or something like that. No attempt to try to make their customer happy.
The game is fun don’t get me wrong, but that’s the wrong way to treat your customer.
So if you’re going to play this game, I repeat, do not spend your money at all. They will find a way to screw you.
Do not spend money in this game!!!!
Not good for players
This game have algorithms that literally make it unfair, I’ve been playing for a long time and the app just gets worse and worse use something else fix the stuff especially the deck shuffler and the matchmaker and I might consider playing again
Scam alert!!!!!
Former employee here, know that any event that offers a box as a prize is fake, it’s a money grab that is made impossible to win on purpose. You have been warned
Game feels unnatural
I why do I star of with the same card ever time. I only have one of them in my but for some reason i see it more then any card. If I build a deck around a strategy. The game constantly want to provide me with the card that I don’t need. This game is not magic, it’s definitely pay to win. Do not play this game if you like magic.
“Free” game
Impossible to win without spending money. Stay away if you don’t plan to pay
Freakin updates
i’m noticing after each update . My deck starts only putting out my creature cards and land . i have to shuffle the deck down to like 2 cards or end the game .. I HAVE NOT. changed the deck . also the game freezes mid game and i have to exit out the app and restart again .. i love this game but the developers could do a better job
Trashhhh
Trashhhh
Worst version of magic
App is buggy and requires hard restarts often. If you drop connection or swipe out to other apps good luck. Game is coded to place you against mirror colors more often than not, and somehow you are mana starved in 2 of 3 draft games with dual color decks running 17 lands. Fell terrible when you’re spending money for pixels to learn a new set instead of cards. Worst of all there is no gathering part of Magic the gathering. Support your local game store and make some friends instead.
Worst possible App for Card Game
It’s thanks to this game I am not only glad these cards are worthless but also I will never show any peers, friends, or kids this waste of time on the phone. Hearthstone is actually better
Toxic
Good game, but such a toxic mess. The amount of players you encounter who: troll, take every second to play as slowly as possible, spam emotes, create decks just to sit there and annoy a player is god awful. Not having a system in place to report other players is completely unacceptable. Not to mention the random card generator is awesome. The amount of games where I play and literally only get 2 of the three for lands, spells, creatures is horrible and should be mathematically impossible, but it happens. And then when you get a decent roll of your cards, you run into the toxic mess I described. This just isn’t worth a download
If you want to learn and enjoy MTG, don’t play this game
This game starts out seeming really fun, showing you the ropes, but of course as soon as you actually start playing the game “beginner friendly” mode, the starter decks suck terribly and you’ll lose nearly every game you play unless you spend real life dollars. Not worth playing this online version it’s way too Pay to Win and no skill-based matchmaking so don’t make the mistake I did by playing this. Game is in desperate need for ACTUAL beginner friendly modes to learn in a way that doesn’t make you lose constantly.
Trash money grabbing game
Garbage game. Can’t even progress because they want me to buy and spend money for decks to defeat higher players when the decks you give me are trash and I can’t even move never win any match. Spent years trying to this game and y’all haven’t fixed anything. Nothing like the card game and just a scam for your money. I should be able to progress in a game.
Universes Beyond Suck
What a Fortnited abomination this game has become.
Trash
Listen to the 1 star reviews when they say that this game is absolute trash. Dumpster fire in a flood if you will. Horrible algorithm, constantly puts me against decks that make it so my deck helps them with either life gain, +1+1 counters or both. It’s magical how it keeps happening match after match now, same douchey cat life gain deck. Hey Wizards of the Dunce, how about make this game fun again and get rid of this game once and for all. We don’t have to play Covid anymore with the bs distancing. Bring the actual card game back again nerds.
Terrible
Terrible
I don’t know how this game got 4 stars
It’s been around for years. Its never worked correctly. They’ve literally stolen money from tons of players by not honoring micro-transactions. And your account doesn’t save when you delete the app. I would say don’t believe they paid for bot reviews. This game is straight up garbage and you’ll regret wasting your time.
There are card games in the app store that are just as fun but don’t abuse you like mtg
There are card games in the app store that are just as fun but don’t abuse you like mtg
Getting started takes forever
I wish there was an option to skip the tutorial. Not only does it take too long, it’s glitchy and frustrating. Plus if you have to stop mid-match, it starts you all over. Once you’re finally through the tutorial, there’s a 4 GB update (that is taking forever) that requires the app be open to download, instead of letting it update through the store. I’m so annoyed I’ll probably just delete.
Нет Русского языка!
В описании к приложению указано Русский и еще 8 языков. По факту там нет 8 языков и нет русского. Пишу жалобу в поддержку!
Rigged???
I don’t know why it’s rigged against me? How many dollars have y’all put in? I got second like 90% of time. Verified.
Games feel scripted even when you win.
Games do VERY poorly to represent the tabletop experience.
Game crashes
Since the last update the game crashes whenever a card searches the library or send a card back to my hand.
Why
Can I get some? F. Ing mana. It’s either too much or not enough. It’s never balanced ever.
Worst user interface of any game ever made
Spent 40 minutes trying to figure out how to play a game and I was never able to. No option to use premade decks. When I tried to create 1 Ikept getting error messages. The tutorial never loaded. I can’t imagine anyone new to the game would ever get into this.
Lobby Timing
Garbage. How is it, while on excellent signal, excellent service, and unlimited data, can I not load in to a game of brawl? The sound of the game tells me that the match has started, but I cannot break past the loading screen. I can literally hear myself losing. This is disgusting.
Timeout
The Game was going great, until I spent real world money on the TMNT mastery pass and reached out to Wizards to help, but they never did. My game “Timesout” from the server and I can’t connect to my account nor can I see all my cards. I’d Like Help Before the Mastery Pass ends but it’s not gonna happen, I haven’t heard anything back in 3 days.
Shuffling sucks
Every time i play ranked I get the worst opening hands, or worst luck of draw, but when it’s casual play all of sudden I have the best deck ever. It’s sucks more when you’re tryna climb up the ranks and it really comes down to the shuffling algorithm or possibly rigged. You win 2 in a row then lose 5 right after. Seem like you have to be a streamer or a pro to be allowed to climb the ranks
Worst monetization
Horrible monetization practices, add the modern format and I’ll change it to 3 stars.
Add controller function me left hand is semi paralyzed, as if in person play wasn’t hard enough
Hello my name is Zedric Guebara I would highly recommend and like to request that magic arena get controller support, as there are some people like myself who enjoy this cardboard game irl and online, I spend quite a few if my moments on life learning living and gating magic all at once so please make it easier fir this who need accommodations to at least enjoy the small things in life even if it’s only magic arena thank you kind regards
Terrible app
If you love magic this isn’t the app for you. Constantly buggy, doesn’t allow proper reactions to spells, card abilities fizzle with no reason, targeting will fail and allow opponents to do what you were trying to prevent.
Overall .5/5 but the lowest I can give is a 1/5
There’s no leveled match making, if you just started you have to go against sweats who spent their mommies savings on the game
Overall .5/5 but the lowest I can give is a 1/5
There’s no leveled match making, if you just started you have to go against sweats who spent their mommies savings on the game
The Terrible Balance
The balance is getting worse and worse,DEI cards looks like awful and uncomfortable
4 Player Brawl/Commander
This game needs 4 player brawl yesterday so it’s actually fun and not just infuriating and boring.
I LOVE MAGIC…..butt
I feel the cards should be easier to obtain people play this so they don’t have too buy cards but it feels harder in this too get cards for free then real life atp
Great TCG, terrible execution
You take a good TCG, you make it digital. Balanced matchmaking? What’s that? What do you mean this 60 card nothing pile can’t beat one of the top decks in the current meta? Try historic brawl? This mid-tier commander with a mid deck with a few ok-ish cards? Put it up against the fastest and best decks out there.
Good game, decent client, terrible play experience as a new player.
The player base seems to be primarily people who like the most toxic decks. Since you don’t have any control over this like you would in a home game, even the unranked queue is a cesspool of “nobody gets to play any of their cards” strategies. I’m not losing to these decks overly often - this isn’t a complaint about their power level, but even when I win it isn’t fun at all.
As for ranked, as soon as you complete the tutorial you are matched in Bronze 4 against a bunch of meta-relevant netdecks that outpower your starter deck by a mile. You learn right away that you will need to buy some cards and play one of the few good decks to have much success, especially once losses start deranking you.
As for ranked, as soon as you complete the tutorial you are matched in Bronze 4 against a bunch of meta-relevant netdecks that outpower your starter deck by a mile. You learn right away that you will need to buy some cards and play one of the few good decks to have much success, especially once losses start deranking you.
Micro transaction hell
Title says it all. Pay to win slop.
Card obtainability
Obtaining cards you need or want for a deck is an obnoxiously grindy. You should not need to play three different color decks just to obtain 1 1/2 packs. You should not need to spend 6,000 gold just to get two wildcards. You should not have to grind just to play a fun deck IN A CARD GAME. The sheer amount of work that needs to be done just to obtain cards is a huge turn off for the game. It really shows just how greedy you are if you have to spend hundreds of dollars just to barely complete a pack. Other than that, this game is fine I guess, most definitely one of the worst online versions of a card game I’ve played.
+ 2 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
90%
Positive (4-5★)
3%
Neutral (3★)
7%
Negative (1-2★)