I made a big profit on the first MTG Arena Contender draft, but I still can't recommend it.

I've been having a lot of fun drafting in Magic: The Gathering Arena lately, thanks to back-to-back strong Limited sets from TMNT and Secrets of Strixhaven. It made sense, then, to take on the new limited-time Contender Draft event for Strixhaven, but it turned out to be a fairly risky proposition, and one I wouldn't recommend to other players if it ever came back.

After shelling out 3,000 gems (about $18 worth) in one go, I got 7 wins on gems alone and a 140% return, and I still can't in good faith advise anyone to actually invest in this draft mode. Compared to Arena's other cheaper limited modes, the rewards are so poorly distributed that it's not worth it.

all or nothing

The cost to participate in the Contender Series is twice as much as the Premier and Traditional Draft, four times as much as the Quick Draft, and more than three times as much as the Pick-Two Draft. This costs about $18. Since the items add up it's not a lot, you can expect the rewards to be split evenly across your total wins.

However, there are no rewards at all for 0 wins, 1 win, or 2 wins. Zilchi, it's me, now. Historically, you've always gotten something in return for even managing just one win in the draft, but the Contender Series appears to be imposing some sort of punishment on players who can't at least break the odds.

Offsetting this is the value of the reward if you achieve 7 wins. In Premier Draft, investing 1,500 gems will return 2,220 gems and 6 regular card packs. In Contender Series, 7 wins will earn you 7,200 Gems, 10 Mythic Packs, and 12 Normal Packs. The gem itself is worth about $45. This means that your participation fee investment has been doubled, and the pack is now worth 5,000 gems or 25,000 coins.

While these rewards are incredibly attractive, the harsh reality of the system is that much of it is out of your control. You might get a bad pack, have to change your strategy a few times, and potentially end up with a three- or four-color deck. This is not ideal in Secrets of Strixhaven due to compatibility with the University of Strixhaven. All of this happens before you even play the game.

So is $18 a worthwhile investment when presented with the odds that you could easily walk away with nothing? It's definitely a difficult sell. What makes it even bigger than Contender Draft in its current iteration is that you don't even break even on the money you invest until you reach five wins. The prize here is 3,200 gems and 8 card packs.

Maybe you're not a “competitive drafter.”

The defining moment of this situation comes when you read the flavor text on the Contender Draft Arena page. It says, “Are you a competitive drafter?” Before specifically promoting the inclusion of mythic boosters as prizes.

Although it doesn't seem intentional, this line feels like it's trying to entice players to try Contender Draft. Maybe you've had some success with other draft modes, but can you beat this one?

Best of all, there are exclusive titles. Once you win the Contender Draft and get 7 wins, you'll earn the “Draft Contender” title that you can proudly display on your profile, and everyone who plays will see your performance.

Cosmetics are nothing new in MTG Arena, and there is absolutely no obligation to purchase them. But sneaking in on this particular title is like dangling a carrot to competitive players who want to be part of what we think is a pretty exclusive club. When you want to gamble this much at home, you have to wonder if you're getting a good deal, especially when the mode is only available for a limited time, adding to the urgency it's trying to instill in players.

luck of the draw

Since I paid 3,000 gems to participate in the Contender Series, it seems only right to show you the deck that earned me a 7-2 record. Based on previous Secrets of Strixhaven drafts, I was most familiar with Witherbloom and Lorehold. So I was happy to be able to put together an incredibly powerful Witherbloom deck that included a copy of Cauldron from Essence as the first card. This card does most of the heavy lifting and puts six of the seven wins on the battlefield.

Pairing this artifact with cards like Essenceknit Scholar, Lluwen, Exchange Student, Pest Mascot, Teacher's Pest, and Arnyn, Deathbloom Botanist meant I always had access to low-risk token creatures to gain health, deal damage, and sacrifice to use Cauldron to get the big hitter back on the battlefield.

Add in some infusion utility in the form of Poisoner's Apprentice, Foolish Fate, and Thornfist Striker, and this Witherbloom deck is an absolute steam locomotive from turn 3 onwards.

Still, I wonder how this deck would have fared without Cauldron of Essence, or whether it would have needed to expand its draft pool if it had experimented with the Withered Blossom card during the selection phase. Even though I came out the other side investing more than double what I invested, I would still tell players to avoid Contender Draft unless they have a serious trade-off for rewards.

No game mode in Arena should feel like gambling, and that's exactly what Contender Draft felt like. Unless Contender Draft returns after the release of the Marvel Super Heroes set with a heavily reworked reward system, I'll be sticking with Premier Draft for now.