When I saw the draft ranked events for the first time on the MTG Arena game client, and noticed that it costs 750 Gems to enter, the first thing that popped into my mind, was: “is the draft ranked event worth 750 gems, or should I just buy booster packs from the MTG Arena store instead?”
Before dropping down 750 gems, I decided to run some math to find out and write this article.
NOTE: If you are new to MTG, then check how my other article on How MTG Arena Draft Ranked Events works here.
NOTE: I am using Throne of Eldraine in this example, but the same costs and rewards apply to any Ranked Draft event set.
Anyway, let’s move on and see how best to make use of our 750 Gems.
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MTG Arena Draft Ranked Event - Rewards
Each time you win a game in a MTG Arena Draft Ranked Event, the rewards (mostly in Gems), get bigger as follows:
- 0 Wins = 50 Gems + 1x Set Booster Pack (plus a 20% Chance for additional Booster Pack)
- 1 Win = 100 Gems + 1x Set Booster Pack (plus a 22% Chance for additional Booster Pack)
- 2 Wins = 200 Gems + 1x Set Booster Pack (plus a 24% Chance for additional Booster Pack)
- 3 Wins = 300 Gems + 1x Set Booster Pack (plus a 26% Chance for additional Booster Pack)
- 4 Wins = 450 Gems + 1x Set Booster Pack (plus a 30% Chance for additional Booster Pack)
- 5 Wins = 650 Gems + 1x Set Booster Pack (plus a 35% Chance for additional Booster Pack)
- 6 Wins = 850 Gems + 1x Set Booster Pack (plus a 40% Chance for additional Booster Pack)
- 7 Wins = 950 Gems + 2x Set Booster Pack (plus a specific Cosmetic Card Style on occasion)
How much $ is a MTG Arena Gem worth?
Ok, so we now know what the rewards are, let’s find out if it’s worth spending 750 gems, to enter the MTG Arena Draft Ranked Event, or if you should rather spend those 750 Gems, on buying regular Booster Packs from the MTG Arena Store?
First, let’s work out how much a Gem costs in $, based on which Gem Package you buy:
- 750 Gems for $5 = $0/00667 per Gem ($5 ÷ 750) which is base price
- 1,600 Gems for $10 = $0/00625 per Gem ($10 ÷ 1,600) which is a 6% discount off base price
- 3,400 Gems for $20 = $0/00588 per Gem ($20 ÷ 3,400) which is a 12% discount off base price
- 9,200 Gems for $50 = $0/00543 per Gem ($50 ÷ 9,200) which is an 18% discount off base price
- 20,000 Gems for $100 = $0/005 per Gem ($100 ÷ 20,000) which is a 25% discount off base price
The important thing to note here, is that buying the bigger Gem Packages, does give a nice bulk discount, over the base package of $5 for 750 Gems.
We will keep that in mind.
How many Gems, does a Card in a Booster Pack Cost?
Next, let’s work out how many cards you can buy with 750 Gems, through the MTG Arena Store, by buying Booster Packs.
A set of 3x Booster Packs (24 Cards) costs you 600 Gems, thus making each Booster Pack (8 cards), cost 200 Gems.
200 ÷ 8 = 25 Gems per MTG Arena Card
Then, if we take this figure and combine it with the $ cost per Gem, we get the following cost per card (rounded up):
- For $5 (750 Gems) : 25 Gems x $0.00667 = $0.17 per card
- For $10 (1,600 Gems) : 25 Gems x $0/00625 = $0.16 per card
- For $20 (3,400 Gems) : 25 Gems x $0/00588 = $0.15 per card
- For $50 (9,200 Gems) : 25 Gems x $0/00543 = $0.14 per card
- For $100 (20,000 Gems) : 25 Gems x $0/005 = $0.13 per card
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How many cards do you get for 750 Gems in a MTG Arena Booster Pack?
Now that we know the $ price per Gem and Per Card, we need to work out how many cards, 750 Gems will get us, which is easy, as we now know the cost per card (25 Gems), thus coming to 30 cards for 750 Gems.
- 750 Gems ÷ 25 Gems per card = 30 Cards
- 1,600 Gems ÷ 25 Gems per card = 64 Cards
- 3,400 Gems ÷ 25 Gems per card = 136 Cards
- 9,200 Gems ÷ 25 Gems per card = 368 Cards
- 20,000 Gems ÷ 25 Gems per card = 800 Cards
Note that for every 6 MTG Arena Booster Packs that you open (48 cards), you receive a 2x Free Wildcards. So we need to add these to our totals as well.
- 750 Gems = (1.75 Packs) = 30 Cards+1WC = 31 Cards
- 1,600 Gems = (8 Packs) = 64 Cards+2WC = 66 Cards
- 3,400 Gems = (17 Packs) = 136 Cards+5WC = 141 Cards
- 9,200 Gems = (46 Packs) = 368 Cards+15WC = 383 Cards
- 20,000 Gems = (100 Packs) = 800 Cards+33WC = 833 Cards
How much $ does a MTG Arena Booster pack Cost?
With this, we can then also work out the $ cost per Booster Pack in each of these tiers as follows:
- $5 (750 Gems) : $0.17 per card x 8 cards = $1.36 per Booster Pack
- $10 (1,600 Gems) : $0.16 per card x 8 cards = $1.28 per Booster Pack
- $20 (3,400 Gems) : $0.15 per card x 8 cards = $1.20 per Booster Pack
- $50 (9,200 Gems) : $0.14 per card x 8 cards = $1.12 per Booster Pack
- $100 (20,000 Gems) : $0.13 per card x 8 cards = $1.04 per Booster Pack
MTG Arena Booster packs include Bonus Wildcards
Remember, that from 600 Gems, we get 3x Booster Packs (24 Cards), of which you are guaranteed to get:
- 15x Common Cards
- 6x Uncommon Cards
- 3x Rare/Mythic Cards
With possible Wildcards, substituting some of these, plus 3/6 ticks to both your Uncommon and Rare/Mythic Wildcard Pie charts.
As we need 800 Gems for another full Booster Pack of 8 cards, we only get 6 theoretical cards from the remaining 150 Gems (600 + 150 = 750 Gems), so we’ll just have to guesstimate what 30 cards will look like, as we distribute the 6 cards evenly as follows:
- 18x Common Cards (+3/6 cards added)
- 8x Uncommon Cards (+2/6 cards added)
- 4x Rare/Mythic Cards (+1/6 card added)
Ok so, for 750 Gems, you theoretically get a guaranteed 4x Rare/Mythic Cards, 8x Uncommon Cards and 18x Common Cards.
Plus, you fill up your two Wildcard pie charts, by just over half each, (for opening 3 booster packs), which together, equals one “extra card”, so in total 31 theoretical cards for 750 Gems from the MTG Arena Store.
Now, let’s compare that to how many cards you receive in the MTG Arena Draft Ranked Event.
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How many cards do you get in a MTG Arena Draft Ranked Event?
Alrighty then! Let’s take a look at how many cards you will get from simply paying the 750 gems to enter the MTG Arena Draft Ranked Event, then take part in the 3 rounds of card selection, and then what you’d receive, based on your amount of wins.
We know that you firstly get a total of 42 Play Cards (Creatures/Spells/Enchantments) from the Selection stage, which is already 11 cards more, than if you were to just buy Booster Packs from the MTG Arena store, so already a gain there.
It is very difficult to say how many cards of each rarity you will end up with here for obvious reasons, but based on the rotational mechanics, we know that you will at least get the pick of:
-
- 1x Rare/Mythic Card (if you picked the one in your opening Booster Pack)
- 3x Uncommon Cards (if you picked one in each rotation)
- 10x Common Cards
- 1x Land Card (usually the only card left at the last rotation.
For those who didn’t notice, this is the exact number of card rarities, in the Original Ranked Draft Booster Pack that you opened.
The above is based off the fact that the AI Bot will also be picking the Rare/Mythic and Uncommon cards with each rotation, which doesn’t always happen and often you a presented with extra options to both Rare/Mythic and Uncommon cards, from their Booster Packs, so the total of each rarity, could very well be more than the above list.
Either way, after selecting 42 Play Cards from the 9x Booster Packs (15 cards per booster), and you picked the rarest card from each rotation, you will at a minimum, be left with:
- 3x Rare/Mythic Card
- 9x Uncommon Cards
- 30x Common Cards
- 3x Land Cards
- Total = 45 Cards
Next, let’s add that to what you’d receive from the 7 different win tiers:
- 0 Wins = 50 Gems + 1x Set Booster Pack (8 Cards)
- 1 Win = 100 Gems + 1x Set Booster Pack (8 Cards)
- 2 Wins = 200 Gems + 1x Set Booster Pack (8 Cards)
- 3 Wins = 300 Gems + 1x Set Booster Pack (8 Cards)
- 4 Wins = 450 Gems + 1x Set Booster Pack (8 Cards)
- 5 Wins = 650 Gems + 1x Set Booster Pack (8 Cards)
- 6 Wins = 850 Gems + 1x Set Booster Pack (8 Cards)
- 7 Wins = 950 Gems + 2x Set Booster Pack (16 Cards)
Ok so, even if you get 0 wins, you still receive a regular Free Booster Pack of 8 extra cards, which again guarantees
- 5x Common Cards
- 2x Uncommon Cards
- 1x Rare/Mythic Card
As well as 1/6 ticks to your to both your Uncommon and Rare/Mythic Wildcard Pie charts.
We can now add these 8 cards to our other 42 cards, giving us a total of 50 cards if you got anywhere between 0-6 wins, and 58 cards if you won all 7 games (if you did, congrats!).
However, let’s not forget about the Gem Rewards from each win, which again can either be used to buy into another event or buy booster packs from the MTG Arena Store.
If you were to use the Gems towards buying Booster Packs (8 cards) from the Store, you will end up with a total of the following based on your amount of wins (remember each card is worth 25 Gems):
- 0 Wins = 50 Gems (2 cards) + 50 cards = 52 Cards
- 1 Win = 100 Gems (4 cards) + 50 cards = 54 Cards
- 2 Wins = 200 Gems (8 cards) + 50 cards = 58 Cards + 2/12 Wildcard Pie Chart Ticks
- 3 Wins = 300 Gems (12 cards) + 50 cards = 62 Cards
- 4 Wins = 450 Gems (16 cards) + 50 cards = 66 Cards + 4/12 Wildcard Pie Chart Ticks
- 5 Wins = 650 Gems (26 cards) + 50 cards = 76 Cards + 6/12 Wildcard Pie Chart Ticks (+1 Free Card) = 77 Cards
- 6 Wins = 850 Gems (34 cards) + 50 cards = 84 Cards + 8/12 Wildcard Pie Chart Ticks (+1 Free Card = 85 Cards
- 7 Wins = 950 Gems (38 cards) + 50 cards = 88 Cards + 8/12 Wildcard Pie Chart Ticks (+1 Free Card = 89 Cards
So even if you only get 1 win, you still walk away with 54 cards, instead of the 31 that you would receive from buying Booster Packs from the Store, netting you 23 MTG Arena cards, and in the worst case scenario, with 0 wins, you still get 52 cards, which is still 21 more cards than from MTG Arena boosters.
Now, should you have won games anywhere between 0-5 wins, you won’t receive enough Gems to enter another round of the MTG Arena Draft Ranked Event, without either buying more gems or using some from your Gem wallet.
If however you won 6 or 7 games, you basically get a free entry into getting another minimum of 50 cards, giving you a total of 100 cards for 750 Gems if you placed first and then last place.
I think the winner here is clear, the MTG Arena Draft Ranked Event gives you far more cards in a variety of rarities, matching that of the booster packs, for your 750 Gems.
But wait, THERE’S MORE!
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MTG Arena Draft Ranked Tier Rewards
One very important factor to not forget here, is that this is ranked event, and with every ranked format, comes Tier Rewards, based on what tier (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Mythic) you ended up in after the season finished.
You can find you current rank for both Constructed (general 60 card format play) and Limited (the MTG Arena Draft Ranked Event) under your ‘PROFILE’ tab.
The Tier Rewards for both are the same, but they are separate in rewards, meaning that you earn a ranked reward from each of them, at the end of the season as follows:
- Bronze : 1x Booster Pack = 8 cards
- Silver : 1x Booster Pack = 8 cards + 500 Gold
- Gold : 2x Booster Packs = 16 cards + 1,000 Gold + 1x Cosmetic Card Style
- Platinum : 3x Booster Packs = 24 cards + 1,000 Gold + 2x Cosmetic Card Styles
- Diamond : 4x Booster Packs = 32 cards + 1,000 Gold + 2x Cosmetic Card Styles
- Mythic : 5x Booster Packs = 40 cards + 1,000 Gold + 2x Cosmetic Card Styles
So you can place in say for example Gold in Standard Ranked (Constructed) and Bronze in Limited, and receive both the Gold and Bronze rewards.
One very important factor to note is that you HAVE TO play at least one game in each of these formats in order to be eligible.
So I would strongly advise to play as least 1x MTG Arena Draft Ranked Event, in order to get a free Booster Pack (8 cards) for the Bronze Tier reward.
Extra Card Rewards From Season Tier Rankings
Ok, let’s quickly break down the value of Gold per MTG Arena card, in order to see how many theoretical cards we receive per Tier Reward.
Each Booster Pack of 8 cards, costs 1,000 Gold, thus, each card is worth 125 Gold
1,000 ÷ 8 = 125 Gold per MTG Arena Card
Using the above amount of Gold per Card, of 125, let’s first break down the rewards into card amounts so that we can add these rewards to our overall calculation.
- Bronze : 8 cards
- Silver : 8 cards + 500 Gold (4 Cards) = 12 Cards
- Gold : 16 cards + 1,000 Gold (8 Cards) = 24 Cards
- Platinum : 24 cards + 1,000 Gold (8 Cards) = 32 Cards
- Diamond : 32cards + 1,000 Gold (8 Cards) = 40 Cards
- Mythic : 40 cards + 1,000 Gold (8 Cards) = 48 Cards
Now, there are many possible outcomes in this, so I’m really not going to list them all, but let’s just focus on our initial topic which is to see how many cards you can get from playing a single MTG Arena Draft Ranked Event, for 750 Gems.
Thus if you only played the event once, you would naturally end up in Bronze Tier, giving you an extra 8 cards, on top of your already 52 Cards (if you won no games) plus the 8 cards for being in Bronze Tier at the end of the season, gives you a total of 60 cards for 750 Gems, which is 29 more cards than you would receive from buying Booster Packs, in the MTG Arena Store.
Nice!
If however you did well in your one and only Event, here are the totals of what you would end up with (based on the premise that you bought booster packs, using your Gem Rewards, from the store afterwards).
- 0 Wins : 52 + 8 (From Tier Rank) = 60 Cards (29 more than Store Boosters)
- 1 Win : 54 + 8 (Bronze Tier Rank) = 62 Cards (31 more than Store Boosters)
- 2 Wins : 58 + 8 (Bronze Tier Rank) = 66 Cards (35 more than Store Boosters)
- 3 Wins : 62 + 8 (Bronze Tier Rank) = 70 Cards (39 more than Store Boosters)
- 4 Wins : 66 + 8 (Bronze Tier Rank) = 74 Cards (43 more than Store Boosters)
- 5 Wins : 77 + 8 (Bronze Tier Rank) = 85 Cards (54 more than Store Boosters)
- 6 Wins : 85 + 8 (Bronze Tier Rank) = 93 Cards (62 more than Store Boosters)
- 7 Wins : 89 + 8 (Bronze Tier Rank) = 97 Cards (66 more than Store Boosters)
NOTE: Even with 7 wins, you would still be 1 win away from Silver Tier, so you would need to enter again to get that last win, which if you won all 6-7 games, gives you 850-950 gems, meaning that you get a free entry to do so, so you definitely should.
So yeah, basically if you are Godly and amazingly good at this, you can continue playing game after game, from only one initial 750 Gem investment, giving you endless cards.
One last thing before I sign off, is to mention the MTG Arena Vault System, please read my article on how the MTG Arena Vault works for more information on what happens to more than 4 copies of a card.
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How much Gold is a MTG Arena Card Worth?
As you may have noticed, you can also play a MTG Arena Draft Ranked Event by paying 5,000 Gold instead of 750 Gems ($5), so let’s see which is the better option to get the most out of your resources.
First, let’s compare the $ cost of 1x Gem to the $ cost of 1x Gold.
We have already worked out the $ per Gem, as well as the amount of gems per card earlier, which came to:
- 1x Gem = $0.00667 (based on the base $5 for 750 Gem package)
- 200 Gems ÷ 8 Cards = 25 Gems per Card
We also worked out the amount of $ per card in the form of gems which came to:
- 25 Gems x $0.00667 = $0.17 per Card
As we cannot actually buy Gold using $, so we need to work it out based on what it’s worth in cards, compared to the equavent 8x cards for 200 Gems, (which we also already did), and came to the result of 125 Gold per card.
- 1,000 Gold ÷ 8 cards = 125 Gold per Card
- 8 Cards x $0.17 per Card = $1.36 per 1,000 Gold
Now, if the MTG Arena Draft Ranked Event cost 5,000 Gold and we are paying 125 Gold in the form of cards, then:
- 5,000 Gold ÷ 125 Gold per card = 40 Cards
- 40 Cards at $0.17 per card = $6.8
- or $1.36 x 5 (1000 x 5) = $6.8
Thus, paying 5,000 Gold to play a MTG Arena Draft Ranked Event, will cost you the equivalent of $6.8, compared to the $5, when buying an entry with Gems.
It should actually cost 3,750 Gold to enter the event : 30 cards (same amount as what 750 gems gets you) x 125 Gold per card = 3,750 Gold (750 Gems).
Best to enter using Gems and not Gold.
How much is MTG Arena Gold worth Compared to Gems
Here is a list of how much Gold is equivalent to the Gem Packages in the MTG Area Store:
- $5 for 750 Gems (30 Cards) x 125 Gold per Card = 3,750 Gold
- $10 for 1,600 Gems (64 Cards) x 125 Gold per Card = 8,000 Gold
- $20 for 3,400 Gems (136 Cards) x 125 Gold per Card = 17,000 Gold
- $50 for 9,200 Gems (368 Cards) x 125 Gold per Card = 46,000 Gold
- $100 for 20,000 Gems (800 Cards) x 125 Gold per Card = 100,000 Gold
BONUS FYI: Buying a Booster Pack of 8 Cards for 1,000 Gold, “costs” $1.36, compared to the same $1.36 if it were bought using Gems.
So buy Boosters Packs using either Gems or Gold, although depending on which Gem package you bought, it does get cheaper as we saw at the start of this article
- $5 (750 Gems) : $0.17 per card x 8 cards = $1.36 per Booster Pack
- $10 (1,600 Gems) : $0.16 per card x 8 cards = $1.28 per Booster Pack
- $20 (3,400 Gems) : $0.15 per card x 8 cards = $1.20 per Booster Pack
- $50 (9,200 Gems) : $0.14 per card x 8 cards = $1.12 per Booster Pack
- $100 (20,000 Gems) : $0.13 per card x 8 cards = $1.04 per Booster Pack
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Conclusion
We’ll guys and gals, that’s it from me for this article.
We can definitely conclude that playing the MTG Arena Draft Ranked Event, is far better value per Gem than just buying 8 Card Booster Packs from the Store.
The one thing that buying Booster packs from the Store directly has in its favor, is that it comes random Wildcard drops, which can be a big factor if you need a couple, in order to craft specific cards to finish off your deck.
If however you are wanting to expand your collection, then Draft Events are definitely the way to go (especially if you are good), and obviously if you just enjoy playing them, not matter the outcome. Just be conscious of the MTG Arena Vault, and how more copies than 5 of any card, start to become a diminishing return.
Oh and don’t forget to enter the MTG Arena Promo codes to get free card Booster Packs, as well as some nice card styles, as well as the best way to get MTG Cards, in order to optimize your return.
I hope you have enjoyed it and learnt something you didn’t already know.
Let me know if you have anything I should add in, or correct in the comment section below.
See you in the Arena of Magic – where we gather 🙂
~Ozarc
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