Here’s everything MTG Arena players need to know about player Booster Draft

Drafting with MTG Arena players arrives on April 17 with Premier and Traditional Booster Draft. 

Players in MTG Arena now have a choice: draft against seven others in an eight-person pod or against a bot. Wizards of the Coast designed player draft to simulate a real-life Booster Draft experience players get when they attend a tournament or local game store event. Most of the Limited format has been reworked, including rewards, providing three options for players. 

What is a player draft?

Previously in MTG Arena, players drafted against bots in Traditional and Ranked Draft modes. Now there are three modes to choose from: Premier, Traditional, and Quick (formerly known as Ranked). Traditional and Premier offer an eight-person real-life draft experience while Quick still uses bots. 

What are the formats?

Players can choose between a best-of-one or best-of-three format when drafting against other Arena players. Quick Draft is still best-of-one with seven wins or three losses.

• Premier Draft: A non-bot best-of-one player draft with up to seven wins and three losses.
• Traditional Draft: A non-bot best-of-three draft with a total of three matches (no win/loss record).  
• Quick Draft: Formerly known as Ranked Draft recently, it’s a best-of-one draft with bots. Players can compete up to seven wins and three losses.

When can I start drafting against other players?

Premier and Traditional Draft will launch with the new Magic set, IKO, on April 17 in MTG Arena. Each draft will always be in Ikoria until the next set releases. Quick Draft will begin two weeks after the release of IKO and rotate sets every two weeks. 

Is there an entry fee and what are the rewards?

All three draft modes have an entry fee. The entry fee for Traditional and Premier is 1,500 gems or 10,000 gold. Quick Draft has the same entry as before: 750 gems or 5,000 gold. The rewards have also been reworked in Premier and Traditional, with an emphasis on providing players a chance to play draft again upon achieving wins. 

Premier Draft

• Zero to one win: One booster pack
• Two wins: 1,000 gems and four booster packs
• Three wins: 3.000 gems and six booster packs

Traditional Draft

• Zero wins: 50 gems and one booster pack
• One wins: 100 gems and one booster pack
• Two wins: 250 gems and two booster packs
• Three wins: 1,000 gems and two booster packs
• Four wins: 1,400 gems and three booster packs
• Five wins: 1,600 gems and four booster packs
• Six wins: 1.800 gems and five booster packs
• Seven wins: 2,200 gems and six booster packs

Can I play against those in my pod?

WotC told Dot Esports that it is working on providing a queue for players to compete against those they drafted against. But for now, gameplay will be the same as it was before, with players matched against one another based on win/loss record and those in the queue.

Players who want to hold grassroots and friend tournaments, along with competitive Magic esports players, have asked for queue in which matches are with pod members. WotC stated that a mode such as this in the works and can be expected sometime in the future. 

Do I still rank up the ladder in a player draft?

Players seeking to rank in Limited will need to play Premier Draft.

Are there other Limited modes under construction?

WotC told Dot Esports that a Cube Draft and a Historic Anthology Ranked Draft are in the works. There isn’t a release date for these draft modes in MTG Arena at this time.