Broken Draft’s MTG Arena status is still down, and players aren’t happy

The Magic: The Gathering Arena player base is complaining on social media about Wilds of Eldraine Draft bug issues, as the mode remains temporarily disabled for over 24 hours. 

New Magic set releases, like Wilds of Eldraine (WOE), typically include some bugs that cause modes within MTG Arena to become temporarily disabled. The bug affecting the Limited Draft mode that started on Sept. 19, though, isn’t the same, as it appeared weeks after the digital release upload took place. Instead of getting resolved within the normal 24-hour time period, the MTG Arena Draft mode remains disabled as of Sept. 21

The cause, or what type of bug is plaguing MTG Arena Draft remains unknown at the time of writing on Sept. 21, as the Draft mode remains disabled. WotC expected to have the issue resolved by Sept. 20 and has since updated the Arena status with an expected return time of the mode to sometime on Sept. 21. 

For many players, concerns aren’t about the Draft mode remaining disabled for multiple days but over compensation for disrupted matches. Once the Draft mode becomes disabled, players lose any progress.

Disabling the MTG Arena Draft mode affects rewards like WOE booster packs and gems. Players also pay an entry fee to compete in the mode, either 1,500 gems or 10,000 gold, of which a mass refund has yet to take place. 

As of Sept. 21, WotC has not announced what type of compensation players will get from the Draft mode getting disabled. And players are starting to speak out about it. 

One option players have is to submit an MTG Arena support ticket to WotC in order to get a refund for the entry fee. Players are also calling for a free Draft token that is available to all players and a small gesture of at least 1,000 XP. 

Even if both of these tokens of appreciation were provided by WotC, most players will end up on the losing end of the deal since any rewards that had been obtained from matches prior to the MTG Arena Draft mode getting disabled are likely gone.

Rewards are a big deal since earning up to four wins in a best-of-one Draft essentially covers the entry fee through gems (1,500). And when 750 gems are worth around $5, losing out on any rewards after four wins is essentially like tossing $5 to $10 out the window. 

At the time of writing, the MTG Arena status for the Draft mode is still temporarily disabled. Any information from WotC will be added upon its release.