Magic the Gathering can be expensive. This is doubly true when one learns that a Magic the Gathering Online (MTGO) collection is an entirely separate entity from a paper collection, and this often is a major reason players with a budget will choose to play either online or offline, but not both. Despite Magic’s reputation as a luxury hobby, it can be enjoyed on nearly any budget. Furthermore, MTGO has many unique aspects that enable and encourage budget play. This article will explore playing MTGO within budgetary constraints, and will serve as a guide to getting the most out of your money on MTGO.

Establishing Your Budget

Planning ahead is critical when it comes to a financial investment like Magic Online. This doesn't mean you need to have every dollar accounted for, but knowing your general limits can assist in many early decisions that will allow you to stay on budget in the long-term. This is even more true on Magic Online because (1) all the games you could possibly want are at your fingertips and (2) it is very easy to both buy and sell cards and enter into events without considering the fact that you are effectively spending money. There is one very important redeeming aspect of MTGO, and that is the fluidity of the market. This fluidity offers two benefits:

1. Once an initial investment has been made within your budget, it is quite easy to jump between constructed formats without much value loss because the margins on MTGO are significantly smaller than paper magic. For example new, very in-demand cards can be as low as 3-5%.
2. When it comes time to sell your collection, you can recoup a sizable portion of your investment very easily using our guide to cashing out of MTGO. It is advised that this be used as an added bonus when leaving the game, rather than part of the budgetary determination since there are a variety of other external factors that could affect the value of your cards.

New MTGO Accounts – Making the Most of the Minimum Investment

Event Tickets

Event Tickets are the quasi-currency of Magic Online, and therefore the most valuable items included in the New Account Start Kit. Each new account comes with 5 Event Tickets. Event Tickets should be saved until you know what direction you want to take with your Magic Online, and you’ve used your New Player Points.

New Player Points

Each account receives 20 New Player Points. These points may be used to enter one of three special new player events; because the entry fees of these events require New Player Points and you cannot purchase any additional New Player Points, these events are generally filled with – you guessed it – people with newly created MTGO accounts. It is important to note that not only do these new player events offer some small amount of prize value, but they are a great opportunity to learn the MTGO interface without much at stake.

New to Magic Online Standard Gauntlet

Every Magic Online account comes with 800 free cards. For the most part these cards have little or no value. However, it is possible to build a deck out of these cards, and play with friends. Additionally, Basic lands are included, so you won't need to buy them to complete your Constructed decks.

• Total Matches: 10 (10 events)
• Maximum earnings: 50 Play Points

New to Magic Online Phantom Swiss Draft Queues

Although these Drafts are likely to offer you the worst value proposition of the two event types, they are a perfectly fine way to use your New Player Points if you just like Drafting, or simply don't want to pay for a Standard deck. The upside is that they don't require any additional investment. The downside is they offer the worst prizing and don't mimic traditional Drafts on MTGO. Drafts are usually done in 8 person pods. But New to Magic Online Drafts are done in pods of 4.

• Total Matches: 10 (5 events)
• Maximum earnings: 50 Play Points

Free Cards in New Account Starter Kit

Every Magic Online account comes with 800 free cards, which includes 40 of each basic land (Forest, Island, Mountain, Plains, Swamp), 2 of each Common from the five most recent sets (currently Kaladesh, Aether Revolt, Amonkhet, Hour of Devastation, and Ixalan), and several other Uncommons, and Rares. For the most part these cards have little or no value. However, it is possible to build a deck out of these cards, and begin playing right away. 

Free Cards

In addition to everything you get in your New Account Starter Kit some Magic Online dealers and bot chains offer free cards to MTGO users.  The bots offering free cards to players include:

Although these free resources don't offer much value, they offer a good way to pick up new cards not otherwise included with your account.

Summary

After using all the resources that come with your new account, you will have the following:

• 5 Event Tickets (up to 8 more from Deck Builder’s Essentials)
• 5 - 50 Play Points 
• At least 4 events/10 matches played
• 800 free cards 
• 2 bot credit with Cardhoarder
• 200+ free cards from bots

Choosing the Right Format(s)

Magic Online can technically cost nothing to play beyond the initial investment. Using the cards that come with the account (as well as the Boosters, Event Tickets and Bot Credit earned) and playing freeform (i.e., a non-set format) with friends is a perfectly legitimate option. However, one of the best parts of Magic is playing established formats.

Popular Budget Formats

Two of the most popular budget formats on Magic Online are Pauper and Momir Basic.

Pauper is a format where only commons are legal. It has its own banned and restricted list, and is quickly becoming a popular format on MTGO with the introduction of Pauper Leagues. The format is very diverse and a great way to enjoy a competitive format that doesn’t break the bank; although some top decks can be expensive (more than 50 event tickets in some cases), there are tier 1 decks as cheap as just a few event tickets.

Momir Basic is a MTGO-only format that requires just 60 basic lands and a Momir Vig, Simic Visionary Avatar to play. In a nutshell, each turn consists of creating a token copy of a randomly generated creature card equal to the converted mana cost spent that turn. Each game is totally unpredictable as a result, and by its definition is something that can only be played online. The Momir Vig avatar costs about 11 tickets, and the basic lands are included in with your account.

Both Pauper and Momir Basic can be quite intricate to play. Given the low cost of these formats, you could very likely play either format using the Event Tickets and Bot Credit you got with your account and not spend anything else since they are available to play for no entry fee. For those looking to play competitively and have the opportunity to win prizes in events, there are also pay-to-play events and leagues available for these formats.

Penny Dreadful is an incredibly budget format meant to be played solely on Magic Online. In Penny Dreadful, any card that costs 0.01 tickets is legal to use in your deck. The format includes many powerful cards, such as Aetherling, Animate Dead, and Mother of Runes, and it self-regulates. If a deck becomes too dominant, it will eventually increase slightly in price, and become illegal to play. Visit http://pdmtgo.com for more information. 

Avatar - Momir Vig, Simic Visionary

Other Formats

The general rule for the other formats is the same as it is in paper Magic: the older the format is, the more expensive it will be to buy in. Cards in older formats are more likely to retain their value since, generally, only new bannings or restrictions significantly affect their pricing. Of course, metagame shifts can also affect things, but that tends to be for individual cards or decks rather than entire formats. Further, set rotations for formats like Standard typically temper overall format cost.

There are exceptions to this general rule. For example, some cards may have had limited printings online or are playable in many formats. Either being true can drive up the value of individual cards immensely compared to cards that have been reprinted many times or are only popular in a single format. This can even apply to recently released cards still legal in Standard.

The best advice that can be given is to always check prices of decks before buying into a format - especially if there is a particular style of deck you prefer. Even Pauper can have some expensive decks, and even Vintage can have some surprisingly (comparatively) cheap decks. Keep in mind that the price paid for a deck does not necessarily determine how good that deck is. It is certainly possible to play decks on the lower end of the price spectrum that are still tier 1, underscoring the importance of picking the right format before you spend money.

Constructed Deck Selection

Once you’ve established which format(s) you will be playing, it is time to select the decks you want to build. Choosing a deck can be one of the most important factors in determining not only how competitive you can be in a format, but also how much fun you have. If you're not sure which deck to choose, the best advice is to select a deck that you find fun and that fits your play style. This is especially true if your intent is to avoid events with an entry fee. Your deck selection comes down to two primary questions: (1) Will you be paying money to enter into events? And (2) What is your budget?

Playing for Free vs. Pay to Play

Playing for free (non-entry fee matches) is absolutely possible on MTGO since you can challenge another user to a match or create/join a game in the "Constructed Open Play" area. A word of caution about playing in these areas: like all things on the internet, the anonymity people have online causes you to run into very rude people frequently – anything from people who will concede a match the instant they see an island played, to people complaining about every play you make (or worse). The best approach to playing free matches on MTGO is to find like-minded individuals you can duel with; admittedly, MTGO does not make this easy, and so it can take a lot of effort. However, if you are on a very tight budget, it is an extremely worthwhile use of your time for your long-term enjoyment of the game.

Pay to Play Events: If you’re planning on playing events that have an entry fee, picking a deck that can win becomes significantly more important since losing in the event impacts your budget. Most formats have a wide array of top tier decks that can satisfy many play styles. However, sometimes a sacrifice needs to be made in either fun or competitiveness. This is up to each individual to decide which is more important, but as competitiveness decreases, so should the amount of money spent on tournaments.

What is your Budget?

Having determined whether you’ll be playing free to play or pay to play events (and whether some of your budget needs to be allocated to entry fees), the final and most important factor to choosing your deck is how much money you have left.

Balancing your deck selection between your budget, its competitiveness and the amount of enjoyment you’ll have with it can be quite difficult. However, the budget available is the most important factor as it is likely the hardest to change. First, narrow down a selection of decks in your desired format that fit your budget. Then pick either the most fun or competitive from that pool depending on what is decided to be most important.

Deck selection doesn't need to be made in a vacuum though. Since so many formats are supported on Magic Online, one can simply switch to a cheaper format. That way, it is possible to satisfy the other two factors (competitiveness and entertainment value) with a smaller investment, then work up to the more expensive formats (as more money in your budget is available, or you manage to earn prizes).

Building Budget Decks

What if you don’t want to switch formats or deck type, but still want to bring down your cost to match your budget? What if there was a way to build a tier 1 deck of any playstyle that is cheap? The common answer to these questions is building a budget version of popular decks. Often, switching out a few of the more expensive cards can massively bring down the cost of a deck. The issue with this approach is that it significantly affects the competitiveness of the deck, as well as potentially the amount of enjoyment with the deck since the expensive cards are often key pieces to the viability of the archetype. Building budget versions of existing decks is perfectly acceptable, you just need to be wary of the potential hype of purely budget decks and be sure to make informed decisions, especially before joining tournaments with entry fees.

SaffronOlive

Investment vs. Expense

There is one final trick you can use to satisfy your budget, competitiveness and enjoyment: simply change your perspective. It is possible to invest in Magic Online product and, assuming it is done correctly, lose very little money when selling product back for cash (for example, if your budget is $30, you could spend $300 on a deck and later sell that deck for $270 and still be within budget, ignoring the cash flow requirements associated here). In this sense, it is like renting Magic Online product contingent on buying and selling properly. Some people even do this for profit, but that is significantly more difficult and can require speculation. This approach to budget is outside the scope of this article, and as noted above in the establishing your budget section, the best approach for most players is to use the residual value of your collection as a bonus rather than something factored into your budget.

Drafting on a Budget

Any discussion pertaining to "drafting" and "budget" has to start with a frank discussion about how expensive drafting can be. Absent a high win rate, drafting is expensive; on MTGO, it costs $10-14 per draft, depending on the format and several other factors. The long-term average of the cards you select in drafts will not be close to enough to cover the cost, and at best will curtail the cost to some degree. So, unless you can win enough against some of the best players in the world, a budget discussion of drafting has to center around how to make each draft as cheap as possible. Further, most players on MTGO that play in drafts enjoy the format; that is, there is some amount of entertainment value. One of the best ways to justify the cost of drafting is to allocate at least some portion of the cost to entertainment – the same thing you’d do if you went to see a movie. After all, despite its cost, drafting can be one of the best ways to enjoy Magic Online.

The Cheapest Way to Draft

As noted above in the discussion of New Player Points, each new account comes with enough New Player Points to draft 5 times. With the cost of a new account sitting at $10, and 5 Event Tickets also included in that cost, this comes out to about $1 per draft – regardless of how well you do in the draft (there is a small chance the 5-card boosters you win will have something of value, but likely not enough to count on). When a regular draft costs $10-14, this approach is by far the cheapest way to draft on MTGO. Of course, the regular drafts give you the opportunity to win back your entry fee and more – but this requires that you are very good at draft. The biggest downside to this approach is that the new player drafts are 4-player pods, not 8-player. If you’re looking to gain experience drafting cheaply, this variance could matter. Further, the new player drafts are only available for the most recent set – so the variety available to you drafting in this manner is very limited.

Traditional Drafting on MTGO

There are currently 2 ways to draft the recent formats in pods of 8 players, and they are distinguished by their prize structure, and format: Leagues, and 6-2-2-2. Each of these queues serves a purpose, and selecting the correct structure can be important in minimizing the overall cost of each draft.

Leagues

Limited Leagues are a recent addition to Magic Online, and offer a unique experience, compared to Drafts you might be used to. For starters, you are most likely to face opponents who were not in your initial Draft pod. So, you might take a card in the hopes that someone else in your pod won't use it (also known as 'hate drafting') only to see that same card suddenly staring at you from across the battlefield. You also have no time limit when it comes to deckbuilding. You can take as much as time as you need, and even bring in a friend to help you put the pieces together. 

Leagues also come in different levels of difficulty (e.g. Friendly, or Intermediate), and in Swiss, or Single-Elimination. With so many options, you can be sure that you're getting the exact experience that you're looking for. 

6-2-2-2

6-2-2-2 is where the competition really heats up since there is no safety net – one match loss and you are eliminated from the event. "6-2-2-2" refers to the number of booster packs awarded based on the final standings. Most notably, compared to Swiss, a person gets 1 extra booster pack per win, but the wins have to be consecutive. This is where most people will choose to play as it offers the most consistent prizing based on performance.

How to Buy Cards

Once you’ve determined what to buy, how you buy those cards is your last step to conserve your budget. Buying cards and boosters for draft can be as simple as going to the Trade tab on Magic Online, putting in the name of a card into the search box, and finally buying the card. Notwithstanding the difficulty in effectively using the Trade tab, this is probably the least effective approach to finding the best value.

Shop around

First and most importantly, shop around to find the best price for the cards you need to buy. This might mean you buy cards from multiple sources. Doing this for each card you need to buy, and any future cards you need to buy, can save quite a few tickets in the long run. When it comes to buying cards, there is always a give and take between time spent shopping, and getting the absolute lowest price. The more strained your budget it, the more important it will be to check all available sources for the best price (at the sacrifice of spending more time on it). Ironically, doing the opposite once you have bot credit saved up can also save you from investing additional tickets because of the prevalence of bots on MTGO. Rather than taking whole tickets from your collection to pay for cards that cost less than a full ticket, you can use the fractions of tickets saved on bots to pick up cards without using your actual tickets, even if they are technically a little bit more expensive. In this way, it can be advantageous to favor certain bot chains that consistently offer competitive pricing in the formats you play.

Timing

Second, the timing of your purchases (and sales) is critical. It is easy to buy into hyped up cards and decks due to the excitement surrounding them, but it can be a very expensive proposition to do so – especially if that hype is short-lived or underserved. It is certainly possible that you may miss out on the next big thing, but overall, many tickets will be saved by simply making safe buys. Should a new, popular deck be appealing to you simply wait a few days for the prices to normalize. It is very rare that something hyped up will continue to increase in price, and in fact they often decrease in price shortly after the spike (as a great example of this, SaffronOlive’s budget decks typically see an immediate jump in price, followed by normalization anywhere from later that day to two weeks later).

Flashback Drafts

For those interested in older cards, Magic Online offers Flashback Drafts of older draft formats, which results in additional supply of those cards being put into circulation. You can buy cards from these sets when Flashback Drafts are happening since cards will often drop in price as the supply is increased (sometimes the price actually drops in anticipation of this happening, as well). The important thing to remember when it comes to timing is that MTGO is a very fluid market. Price changes happen rapidly, and often in somewhat predictable ways.

Different Versions

As a final tip to save tickets when buying cards, make sure you search for all versions of a card. As a budget player, the version of a card is unlikely to be of any importance, and certain editions of the same card can be significantly cheaper. Generally, the newest version will be the cheapest, but sometimes there are promotional versions, or foil versions that are even cheaper.