Gray Viking Games Review: Are They Worth Using?

Bazaar of Baghdad | Illustration by Christopher Moeller

Gray Viking Games (GVG) is an online store that sells MTG Arena codes for Arena packs, cosmetics, and bundles.

I've never interacted with them before, so purchasing from their store is a first for me. I'll buy two items, document the whole process step by step in this article, and then compare the prices I got from GVG versus the best prices we can get on Arena.

Let's set sail onboard this Viking ship and go shopping!

What Is Gray Viking Games?

Wandering Graybeard | Illustration by Nils Hamm

Gray Viking Games started back in 2015 selling MTG paper product via eBay. As COVID-19 hit and Magic Arena grew, they moved to their own website, which is what I'll be reviewing today.

GVG partners with game stores across the globe to buy Arena codes from tabletop MTG players that have no use for them and sells those codes to Arena players. According to GVG's FAQ, “Wizards has long been a supporter of strong healthy secondary markets for all of their product lines. Physical Code cards and digital redemption codes have had a widely established market since MTG Arena began.”

Why Buy From Gray Viking Games?

In my experience, there are two reasons to buy from Gray Viking Games.

First and foremost, prices for packs from most sets are better than what you get if you buy directly from Arena, even when considering the best-value gem bundle that Arena provides.

The other reason is that GVG offers cosmetics that you can no longer find on Arena since they were limited-time offers.

Gray Viking Games Review: Is Ordering Worth It?

In my experience, ordering from GVG is very much worth it. My transactions were hassle-free and almost instantaneous.

The GVG prices I've seen for packs are often cheaper than buying them on Arena. One major exception is packs from the latest set, though. As I discovered, GVG packs don't provide Golden Pack progress.

Prices for cosmetics are a bit harder to judge since beauty is in the Eyes of the Beholder. What GVG does offer is the chance to buy cosmetics that are no longer available on Arena since they were a limited-time offer.

Navigating the Site

Gray Viking Game's website is clean and clear. Compared to big online stores (like Amazon, eBay, Walmart, etc.) the product range is fairly small so it's very easy to navigate.

Searching for Codes

Searching for Arena packs is a piece of cake: just click on “Packs” from the top menu, and on the left side you'll see a list of all the sets they have packs for.

You can also sort items from lowest to highest price to see if they have a bargain.

Finding codes for cosmetics is similar. For example, you can filter by “Sleeves” from the left-hand menu if that's the Arena cosmetics you're after.

Last but not least, the site provides a global search tool. Let's see what they have for Wilds of Eldraine:

Selecting Codes to Buy

Let's buy a handful of packs!

I mostly play Standard on Arena. The “Packs” menu lets me sort products from newest to oldest, which is perfect for what I want since I'm not interested in older sets like Zendikar Rising or Theros Beyond Death.

Now here's something I didn't know before: Do WOE pack codes provide Golden Pack progress?

As you may know, if you buy packs from the latest expansion directly on Arena (either with gold or gems) you get a bonus Golden Pack for every ten packs you buy.

At the time of writing, the latest released set is Wilds of Eldraine. I had a hunch that packs from Gray Viking Games would not count towards the bonus Golden Pack, but I wasn't sure. For science, I decided to buy a Wilds of Eldraine pack code and a March of the Machine pack code and find out what happened (MOM packs you buy on Arena don't provide Golden Pack progress; only WOE packs do).

Clicking on the WOE pack code, I notice that I can use a single WOE prerelease code (for six packs) per account. I have never used a pre-release code myself, so I'm okay with buying this code, but it means there's no point in buying two unless you have multiple accounts.

Let's add this WOE code to my cart!

Pretty straightforward, just like any cart in any online store.

Let's now add a March of the Machine pack code. This time I'll use the global search feature.

It's a very simple choice: the only MOM product they have is pack codes. Let's click on it and check the details.

There’s the same caveat as for the WOE pack code: I can only use one MOM prerelease code per account, so no point buying two unless you have multiple accounts.

Let's add these eggs to our basket, and head for the checkout!

Placing an Order

Alright, time to do business with these Gray Vikings – their checkout page looks like this:

As you can see, there are several payment methods. After you process your purchase with your preferred method, you'll see a screen like this confirming your transaction:

And there we go! Now I'll need to check the email address I provided, where they should email my codes.

Receiving Codes

Wow, these Vikings sure sail quickly – I got my codes almost instantly!

I’m done with the GVG website. Next step and next stop: the MTG Arena client, to redeem those codes. I'll keep the above email at hand, since I'll want to copy-paste the codes to Arena.

Entering Codes into MTGA

First, I'll check my current inventory since I already have some unopened packs.

By the way: If you're wondering why I have so many WOE packs lying around, it's because I still plan to draft Wilds of Eldraine a bit. Since packs in Arena have duplicate protection, I'll open all my WOE packs after I'm done drafting the set.

Anyway, let's get those Viking packs!

To redeem my codes, I need to go to the Store tab and enter the code where it says “Redeem Code” on the upper right:

Note that I have zero Golden Pack progress at this point. If I were to buy WOE packs from the Arena store, those would count towards my next Golden Pack.

Alright, let's try the MOM pack code first. I'll copy-paste it from the email I've got from Gray Viking Games, press “Enter”…

And there we go! Success!

And same thing for my WOE packs: enter code, hit enter, claim!

The WOE code didn't get me any progress towards my next Golden Pack, though. That's something to keep in mind when you compare prices.

Final Results

Here are my shiny new packs!

I'm saving the WOE packs for when I finish drafting, so let's crack those sweet MOM packs to celebrate a super smooth purchase:

So Is Gray Viking Games Legit?

As far as I can tell, Gray Viking Games is very legit. I got my pack codes just a few minutes after my purchase, and entering codes on Arena is a piece of cake.

Did I get my money's worth?

As far as I can tell, GVG is absolutely worth it for packs for any expansion except the latest set. For expansions other than Wilds of Eldraine, the GVG prices we've seen today are cheaper than what you get on Arena even if you purchase Arena's best-value gem bundle. GVG charged me $5.95 for six packs, while Arena's best rate for gems equals $6 for six packs, and around $7 if you buy the $19.99 gem bundle.

On the other hand, we've seen that for the latest set, the packs I bought from GVG didn't give me any Golden Pack progress. When you consider the extra rares and mythics you get from Golden Packs, buying WOE packs directly from Arena is a slightly better deal if you can afford Arena's $19.99 gem bundle, and a much better deal if you can afford Arena's $99.99 gem bundle.

Cosmetics are a different kettle of fish. GVG allows you to buy products that are no longer offered on Arena since they were limited-time offers, so it's hard to compare prices. For example, the Shades Not Included sleeves aren’t for sale on Arena right now, but you can buy them at GVG.

Wrap Up

Gray Merchant of Alphabet | Illustration by Yangtian Li

Purchasing from Gray Viking Games was a smooth, quick experience for me, and I can definitely recommend them. Above all for buying packs from expansions other than the latest.

My only caveat is that packs from the latest set don't give you Golden Pack progress. For other sets, any time that you pay less than $1 per pack you're getting a better deal than Arena's best-value gem bundle, so GVG looks like a great choice if you are after those packs.

I hope you've found this review clear and helpful! Any comments you have, please stop by the Draftsim Discord for a chat.

Safe sailing and smooth shopping!