Thread by @ChatterstormPod

This might change your view on the @MTG_Arena economy update!

We looked at the top 8 Standard decks and compared the paper price to the Arena price 💲

The results were a little surprising to us... Check it out! 🧵 (1/16)

@wizards_magic announced a Wildcard Bundle for Arena. 12 rare and 4 Mythic wildcards for $50.

Making wildcards directly buyable without variance allows us to do something we’ve never been able to do before. Compare the cost of building a deck in Arena, to paper. (2/16)

We looked at the top 8 decks, removed all the uncommons and commons, and calculated the cost of the remaining cards in paper.

Then, we calculated how many Wildcard Bundles you’d need to buy at $50 each to build the deck in @MTG_Arena (3/16)

Thank you to @UntappedGG and @MTGGoldfish for providing the data on decklists and prices. Now let’s get into the comparison, deck by deck: (4/16)

Mono-White Aggro
44 rares, 4 mythics
Paper price ($): 199.96
Arena Price ($): 200
(5/16)

mtga.untapped.gg/meta/decks/212…

Orzhov Control
45 rares, 11 mythics
Paper price ($): 332.46
Arena Price ($): 200
(6/16)

mtga.untapped.gg/meta/decks/437…

Naya Runes
42 rares, 2 mythics
Paper price ($): 185.26
Arena Price ($): 200
(7/16)

mtga.untapped.gg/meta/decks/116…

Rakdos Sacrifice
26 rares, 9 mythics
Paper price ($): 325.54
Arena Price ($): 150
(8/16)

mtga.untapped.gg/meta/decks/205…

Esper Control
38 rares, 9 mythics
Paper price ($): 361.92
Arena Price ($): 200
(9/16)

mtga.untapped.gg/meta/decks/184…

Boros Aggro
50 rares, 1 mythic
Paper price ($): 134.86
Arena Price ($): 250
(10/16)

mtga.untapped.gg/meta/decks/905…

Azorius Control
32 rares, 5 mythics
Paper price ($): 215.85
Arena Price ($): 150
(11/16)

mtga.untapped.gg/meta/decks/176…

Selesnya Ramp
43 rares, 9 mythics
Paper price ($): 258.69
Arena Price ($): 200
(12/16)

mtga.untapped.gg/meta/decks/135…

Additional considerations:
When you buy cards in paper (or on MTGO), you accrue real-world value. In @MTG_Arena you don't.
The cost of commons and uncommons in paper is negligible. If you needed these as a brand new @MTG_Arena player, you’d need to buy packs. (13/16)

Our conclusion?

Enfranchised paper players have a lot of money tied up in their decks, but at least they OWN those decks.

Though it’s no more expensive than paper, @MTG_Arena has no reason to be as expensive as it is, given its players get no actual value. (14/16)

That said, MTG has always been an expensive game, and looking at purely the costs @MTG_Arena is no worse than paper.

What do you think? Did we miss anything, or make any mistakes? Has this thread changed your perspective? Reply and let us know! (15/16)

If you liked this thread, you’ll probably like Through the Cindervine, our weekly Standard newsletter.
Want to hear more discussion on the economy update? Check out the Chatterstorm Podcast. We’ll have an episode on this coming out soon! Links below! (16/16)

anchor.fm/chatterstorm

Through the Cindervine: A weekly newsletter for busy folk who want to keep up with #MTG Standard:

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