Is the MTG Arena Mastery Pass Worth It?

Last updated on October 13, 2023

Ingenious Mastery | Illustration by Cristi Balanescu

The Mastery System. It can be a bit of a contentious topic, for a variety of reasons. We talked about it a bit in our win resets and XP article, but we wanted to go a bit more in-depth. So, here we are! If you’re new to MTG Arena, the Mastery System might not mean much to you. On the other hand, if you’ve been around for a while, it probably means all too much. And not necessarily in a good way.

Before we get too ahead of ourselves, let’s go over what the Mastery System even is. Basically, it’s an experience track that rewards you with stuff every time you level up, which happens every 1,000 XP. You earn XP by completing daily quests and winning games. There’s a free version that everyone gets called “Set Mastery” and a paid version that requires you to purchase an MTG Arena “Mastery Pass” to access. This Mastery Pass is the equivalent of a “Battle Pass” in other games. But it wasn’t always like this.

Some Mastery Pass Context

Lich's Mastery | Illustration by Daarken

Back when Core Set 2020 was released in July 2019, MTGA players were treated to a complete overhaul of the XP and reward system. Before that, you could get five packs a week even if you only played one day, you just needed to get the wins. Obviously, the Mastery System completely changed that.

At first you only got XP for the first three wins each day and there were super strict daily caps, which basically meant you had to play every single day, buy the Mastery Pass, or get barely anything at all for your time. Eventually, Wizards returned the weekly reset system and made some adjustments over time. And they’ve continued to do so with each new set, changing the rewards for both Set Mastery and the Mastery Pass each time.

So, what does it look like now?

Is the MTG Arena Mastery Pass Worth It?

All right, now on to the Mastery Pass. As I mentioned, Wizards has tweaked what you can get with the Mastery Pass every time they release a new one since Core Set 2020. It’s obvious that they’re trying to find a balance between not giving too much while still giving enough to entice players to spring for the Mastery Pass without feeling like they’re being cheated.

This can leave us non-whale players in a… weird spot. So, they knocked down the rewards without shaving anything off the price tag, but does the money spent still cover the rewards offered? It can be hard to ignore the frustration (not entirely misplaced, mind you) with Wizards and focus purely on the bottom line, which is why we’re going to go over each Mastery Pass starting with Theros: Beyond Death to see if the math makes sense, or if you should just skip it this time around.

Yay… more math. Why do I always get these articles?

What’s In It For You

Quick note: Mastery Orbs can be redeemed for card styles and avatars on the Set Mastery Tree. That is all, carry on.

Listen, I could go off on how Wizards are a bunch of greedy corporate gremlins who don’t care about their free-to-play players and just want to bleed us all for everything we’re worth.

Wait, what was my point again?

…

Anyway.

All jokes aside, we all know that Wizards can push our buttons. If reddit is anything to go by, it seems like everything they do riles someone up. And the Mastery Pass is no different, so let’s just skip the exposition and jump into what you get, shall we?

Wilds of Eldraine

The Wilds of Eldraine mastery pass has a final level of 70, with each level being 1,000 XP.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you choose to go with the free version of the Mastery Pass, you'll be rewarded with 33 Wilds of Eldraine packs and 5 Mastery Orbs. You receive these rewards up until level 60.

Mastery Pass

Purchasing the Mastery Pass will give you:

• Kellan, the Fae-Blooded Avatar
• 20 packs (4x WOE, 4x MOM, 4x ONE, 4x BRO, 4x DOM)
• 10 Wilds of Eldraine mythic rare individual card rewards
• Kellan, the Fae-Blooded sleeve
• Syr Ginger exquisite sleeve
• Standard 2023 sleeve (Renewal)
• Blind Obedience sleeve
• Omniscience sleeve
• Oversold Cemetery sleeve
• Dragon Mantle sleeve
• Beast sleeve
• 25 Mastery Orbs
• 15 Common card styles
• 10 Uncommon card styles
• 1 Player Draft token
• 4,000 gold
• 1,200 gems
• Common Faerie pet
• Uncommon Faerie pet
• Rare Faerie pet

Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth

Source: Reddit user EmeraldBoar

The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth mastery pass has a final level of 80, with each level being 1,000 XP.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you choose to go with the free version of the Mastery Pass, you'll be rewarded with 33 Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth packs and 5 Mastery Orbs. You receive these rewards up until level 54.

Mastery Pass

Purchasing the Mastery Pass will give you:

• Gandalf Avatar
• Frodo and Sam Avatar
• Legolas Avatar
• Eowyn Avatar
• Galadriel Avatar
• Gollum Avatar
• Aragorn Avatar
• 20 packs (4x LTR, 4x MOM, 4x ONE, 4x BRO, 4x DOM)
• 10 The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth mythic rare individual card rewards
• Frodo the Ring-bearer sleeve
• Galadriel exquisite sleeve
• 25 mastery orbs
• 15 common card styles
• 10 uncommon card styles
• 1 Player Draft token
• 4,000 gold
• 1,200 gems
• Common Spring Ent pet
• Uncommon Autumn Ent pet
• Rare Winter Ent pet

March of the Machine

The March of the Machine mastery pass has a final level of 71, with each level being 1,000 XP.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you choose to go with the free version of the Mastery Pass, you'll be rewarded with 27 March of the Machine packs and 5 Mastery Orbs. You receive these rewards up until level 54.

Mastery Pass

Purchasing the Mastery Pass will give you:

• Archangel Elspeth Avatar
• 20 packs (5x MOM, 5x ONE, 5x BRO, 5x DOM)
• 4 copies of Katilda nad Leir
• 4 copies of Slimefoot and Squee
• 4 copies of Goro-Goro and Satoru
• 10 March of the Machine mythic card styles
• March of the Machine sleeve
• Elspeth’s Smite exquisite sleeve
• Thalia and the Gitrog Monster sleeve
• Baral and Kari Zev sleeve
• Yargle and Multani sleeve
• Djeru and Hazoret sleeve
• Zimone and Dina sleeve
• 25 Mastery Orbs
• 15 Common Card Styles
• 10 Uncommon Card Styles
• 1 Player Draft token
• 4,000 gold
• 1,200 gems
• 1 common Noxius Stinger pet
• 1 uncommon Ichorous Bearhino pet
• 1 rare Furance-Host Akki pet

Phyrexia: All Will Be One

Phyrexia: All Will Be One goes up to level 80. Each level is 1,000 XP.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you don't purchase the Mastery Pass, you can get up to 33 Phyrexia: All Will Be One packs and 5 Mastery Orbs. You receive rewards up to level 66.

Mastery Pass

If you purchase the Mastery Pass, you can also get:

• 1 Koth, Fire of Resistance avatar
• 20 packs (3x ONE, 3x BRO, 3x DOM, 3x SNC, 3x NEO, 3x VOW, 2x MID)
• 10 ONE mythic ICRs
• 1 Myr Convert sleeve
• 1 Atraxa, Grand Unifier exquisite sleeve
• 25 Mastery Orbs
• 5 common card styles
• 5 uncommon card styles
• 5 rare card styles
• 5 mythic card styles
• 1 Player Draft token
• 4,000 gold
• 1,200 gems
• 1 common Skitterling pet
• 1 uncommon Skitterling pet
• 1 rare Skitterling pet
• Level 81+: 1 uncommon ICR

The Brothers' War

The Brothers' War goes up to level 80. Each level is 1,000 XP.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you don't purchase the Mastery Pass, you can get up to 33 The Brothers' War packs and 5 Mastery Orbs. You receive rewards up to level 66.

Mastery Pass

If you purchase the Mastery Pass, you can also get:

• Urzan Automaton Avatar
• 20x Packs (4x BRO, 4x DMU, 3x SNC, 3x NEO, 3x VOW, 3x MID)
• 10x The Brothers' War mythic rare ICRs
• 1x The Brothers' War card sleeve
• 1x Exquisite The Brothers' War card sleeve
• 5x additional The Brothers' War card sleeves (obtainable from The Brothers' War Mastery Tree)
• 25x Mastery Orbs
• 15x common card styles
• 10x uncommon card styles
• 1 Player Draft token
• 4,000 gold
• 1,200 gems
• Common Urzan Soldier pet
• Uncommon Urzan Soldier pet
• Rare Urzan Soldier pet
• Level 81+: 1x uncommon ICR

Dominaria United

Dominaria United goes up to level 80. Each level is 1,000 XP.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you don't purchase the Mastery Pass, you can get up to 33 Dominaria United packs and 5 Mastery Orbs. You receive rewards up to level 66.

Mastery Pass

If you purchase the Mastery Pass, you can also get:

• Jaya, Fiery Negotiator Avatar
• 20 booster packs (4x DMU, 4x SNC, 4x NEO, 4x VOW, 4x MID)
• 10x Dominaria United mythic rare ICRs
• Level 81+: 1x uncommon ICR
• Dominaria United Card Sleeve
• Exquisite Card Sleeve
• King Darien XLVIII stained glass card sleeve
• Rona, Sheoldred's Faithful stained glass card sleeve
• Braids, Arisen Nightmare stained glass card sleeve
• Squee, Dubious Monarch stained glass card sleeve
• Shanna, Purifying Blade stained glass card sleeve
• 25x Mastery Orbs
• 15x Common Card Styles
• 10x Uncommon Card Styles
• 1x Player Draft Token
• 4,000 gold
• 1,200 gems
• Rundvelt Goblin
• Caliman Goblin
• Otarian Goblin

Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate

Baldur's Gate goes up to level 70. Each level is 1,000 XP.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you don't purchase the Mastery Pass, you can get up to 27 Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate packs and 5 Mastery Orbs. You receive rewards up to level 54.

Mastery Pass

If you purchase the Mastery Pass, you can also get:

• Minsc & Boo, Timeless Heroes Avatar
• Lae'zel, Primal Warrior Avatar
• Gale, Holy Conduit Avatar
• Shadowheart, Sharran Cleric Avatar
• Wyll, Pact-Bound Duelist Avatar
• Astarion, the Decadent Avatar
• 20 booster packs (4x HBG, 4x SNC, 4x NEO, 4x VOW, 4x MID)
• 10x Alchemy Horizons: Baldur's Gate mythic rare individual card rewards (ICR)
• Level 71+: 1x Uncommon ICR
• Minsc & Boo card sleeve
• Shadowheart exquisite card sleeve
• 25x Mastery Orbs
• 15x common card styles
• 10x uncommon card styles
• 1x Player Draft Token
• 4,000 gold
• 1,200 gems
• Bronze Dragon Pet
• Silver Dragon Pet
• Gold Dragon Pet

Streets of New Capenna

New Capenna goes up to level 90. Each level is 1,000 XP.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you don't purchase the Mastery Pass, you can get up to 36 Streets of New Capenna packs and 5 Mastery Orbs. You receive rewards up to level 72.

Mastery Pass

If you purchase the Mastery Pass, you can also get:

• Ob Nixilis Avatar
• Raffine, Scheming Seer Avatar
• Lord Xander the Collector Avatar
• Ziatora, the Incinerator Avatar
• Jetmir, Nexus of Revels Avatar
• Falco Spara, Pactweaver Avatar
• 20 Booster Packs (3x SNC, 3x NEO, 3x VOW, 3x MID, 2x AFR, 2x STX, 2x KLD, 2x ZNR)
• 10x Streets of New Capenna Mythic Rare Individual Card Rewards
• Giada, Font of Hope card sleeve
• Treasure exquisite card sleeve
• 25x Mastery orbs
• 15x Common Card Styles
• 10x Uncommon Card Styles
• 1x Player Draft Token
• 4,000 gold
• 1,200 gems
• Adversary Construct Pet
• Rustic Construct Pet
• Demonic Construct Pet

Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Mastery

Neon Dynasty goes up to level 90. Each level is 1,000 XP.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you don't purchase the Mastery Pass, you can get up to 36 Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty packs and 5 Mastery Orbs. You receive rewards up to level 72.

Mastery Pass

If you purchase the Mastery Pass, you can also get:

• Kaito Shizuki Avatar
• 20 booster packs (3x NEO, 3x VOW, 3x MID, 3x AFR, 3x STX, 3x KHM, 2x ZNR)
• Regent's Authority sleeves
• Betrayer of Flesh exquisite sleeves
• Dragonfly Suit sleeves (Obtainable from the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Mastery Tree.)
• Ace, Runaway Pilot sleeves (Obtainable from the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Mastery Tree.)
• Mukotai Soulripper sleeves(Obtainable from the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Mastery Tree.)
• Ogre-Head Helm sleeves (Obtainable from the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Mastery Tree.)
• Kappa Cannoneer sleeves (Obtainable from the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Mastery Tree.)
• 25x Mastery Orbs
• 15x common card styles
• 10x uncommon card styles
• 1x Player Draft Token
• 4,000 gold
• 1,200 gems
• Raibow Koi Pet
• Golden Koi Pet
• Infrared Koi Pet

Crimson Vow Mastery

VOW goes up to level 90. Each level is 1,000 XP.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you don't purchase the Mastery Pass, you can get up to 39 Innistrad: Crimson Vow packs and 5 Mastery Orbs. You receive rewards up to level 78.

Mastery Pass

If you purchase the Mastery Pass, you can also get:

• Sorin, the Mirthless Avatar
• 20 booster packs (4x VOW, 4x MID, 3x AFR, 3x STX, 3x KHM, 3x ZNR)
• 10 Innistrad: Crimson Vow mythic rare ICRs
• Level 91+: 1 uncommon ICR
• Chandra, Dressed to Kill card sleeve
• Sigarda's Summons exquisite card sleeve
• Edgar Markov card sleeve (can be obtained from the Innistrad: Crimson Vow Mastery Tree)
• Runo Stromkirk card sleeve (can be obtained from the Innistrad: Crimson Vow Mastery Tree)
• Olivia's Attendants card sleeve (can be obtained from the Innistrad: Crimson Vow Mastery Tree)
• Anje, Maid of Dishonor card sleeve (can be obtained from the Innistrad: Crimson Vow Mastery Tree)
• Bloodpetal Celebrant card sleeve (can be obtained from the Innistrad: Crimson Vow Mastery Tree)
• 25 Mastery Orbs
• 15 common card styles
• 10 uncommon card styles
• 1 Player Draft token
• 4,000 gold
• 1,200 gems
• Brown bat pet
• Black cat pet
• White bat pet

Midnight Hunt Mastery

MID goes up to level 60. Each level is 1,000 XP.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you don't purchase the Mastery Pass, you can get up to 24 Innistrad: Midnight Hunt packs and 5 Mastery Orbs. You receive rewards up to level 48.

Mastery Pass

If you purchase the Mastery Pass, you can also get:

• Wrenn Avatar
• A drifter, noble, and fisherman pet
• Werewolf card sleeve
• Transforming Arlinn card sleeve
• 25 Mastery Orbs
• 15 common card styles
• 10 uncommon card styles
• Player Draft token
• 4,000 gold
• 1,200 gems
• 20 booster packs (4x MID, 4x AFR, 4x STX, 4x KHM, 4x ZNR)
• 10 Innistrad: Midnight Hunt mythic rare ICRs
• Level 61+: 1 uncommon ICR

Forgotten Realms Mastery

AFR Mastery went up to level 80.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you didn't purchase the Mastery Pass, you could get up to 27 D&D: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms packs and 5 Mastery Orbs. You received rewards up to level 54.

Mastery Pass

If you did purchase the Mastery Pass, you could also get:

• Ellywick Tumblestrum avatar
• Four dragon pets
• Tiamat card sleeve
• Ancient Red Dragon Exquisite card sleeve
• 25 Mastery Orbs
• 15 common card styles
• 10 uncommon card styles
• Player Draft token
• 4,000 gold
• 1,200 gems
• 20 booster packs (5x AFR, 5x STX, 5x KHM, 5x ZNR)
• 10 Forgotten Realms mythic rare ICRs
• Level 81+: 1 uncommon ICR

Strixhaven Mastery

STX Mastery went up to level 90.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you didn't purchase the Mastery Pass, you could get up to 36 Strixhaven packs and 5 Mastery Orbs. You received rewards up to level 72.

Mastery Pass

If you did purchase the Mastery Pass, you could also get:

• 5 Magic Book pets (2 tiers each)
• Professor of Zoomancy card sleeve
• Silverquill Archon Exquisite card sleeve
• 25 Mastery Orbs
• 15 common card styles
• 10 uncommon card styles
• Player Draft token
• 4,000 gold
• 1,200 gems
• 20 booster packs (3 STX, 3 KHM, 3 ZNR, 3 M21, 3 IKO, 3 THB, 2 ELD)
• 10 Strixhaven mythic rare ICRs
• 5 Mystical Archive ICRs
• Level 91+: 1 uncommon ICR

Kaldheim Mastery

KHM Mastery went up to level 80.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you didn't purchase the Mastery Pass, you could get up to 33 Kaldheim packs and five Mastery Orbs. You received rewards up to level 66.

Mastery Pass

If you did purchase the Mastery Pass, you could also get:

• 3 Bear pet tiers
• Niko Aris avatar
• The World Tree card sleeve
• Glory of Kaldheim Exquisite card sleeve
• 4,000 gold
• 1,200 gems
• 20 Booster Packs (2x ELD, 4x THB, 3x IKO, 3x M21, 4x ZNR, and 4x KHM)
• 25 card styles (x15 common, x10 uncommon)
• 25 Mastery Orbs
• 10 mythic rare ICRs
• Player Draft token
• Playsets of the five rare cards from the Kaldheim theme booster
• Level 81 and beyond: uncommon ICR (1:20 upgrade rate)

Zendikar Rising Mastery

ZNR Mastery went up to level 130.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you didn't purchase the Mastery Pass, you could get up to 57 Zendikar Rising packs and five Mastery Orbs. You received rewards up to level 114.

Mastery Pass

If you did purchase the Mastery Pass, you could also get:

• 10 customizable text emotes
• 5 customizable sticker emotes
• 5 Elemental-themed swappable pets
• Nahiri, Heir of the Ancients avatar
• Zendikar Rising card sleeve
• Lithoform Engine Exquisite card sleeve
• 1,200 gems
• 4,000 gold
• 20 booster packs (x5 ELD, x5 THB, x5 IKO, x5 M21)
• 35 card styles (x15 common, x10 uncommon, x10 rare)
• 25 Mastery Orbs
• 15 uncommon ICRs
• 10 mythic rare ICRs
• Premium Draft token
• Level 131 and beyond: uncommon ICR (1:20 upgrade rate)

Core Set 2021 Mastery

M21 Mastery went up to level 90.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you didn't purchase the Mastery Pass, you could get up to 36 Core Set 2021 packs and five Mastery Orbs. You received rewards up to level 72.

Mastery Pass

If you did purchase the Mastery Pass, you could also get:

• 5 dog-themed pet variants
• Ugin, the Spirit Dragon avatar
• Best Friend basic card sleeve
• 1,200 gems
• 4,000 gold
• 20 packs (x5 ELD, x5 THB, x5 IKO, x5 M21)
• 15 common card styles
• 10 uncommon card styles
• 25 Mastery Orbs
• 10 mythic ICRs
• Player Draft token
• Level 85: Ugin Exquisite card sleeve
• Level 91 and beyond: uncommon ICR (1:20 upgrade rate)

Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths Mastery

Ikoria Mastery went up to level 80.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you didn't purchase the Mastery Pass, you could get up to 30 Ikoria packs and five Mastery Orbs. You received rewards up to level 60.

Mastery Pass

If you did purchase the Mastery Pass, you could also get:

• Regal Cub, Leosaur Cub, Nightmare Cub, Frost Cub, and Skycat Cub pets
• Lukka, Coppercoat Outcast avatar
• Greatshark card sleeve
• 800 gems
• 4,000 gold
• 20 packs (x4 GRN, x4 RNA, x2 WAR, x3 M20, x3 ELD, x3 THB)
• 25 card styles
• 25 Mastery Orbs
• 10 mythic ICRs
• Draft token
• Exquisite card sleeve
• Level 81 and beyond: uncommon ICR (1:20 upgrade rate)

Theros: Beyond Death Mastery

Theros Mastery went up to level 90.

Set Mastery (Free)

If you didn’t purchase the Mastery Pass, you could get up to 39 Theros packs and five Mastery Orbs. You received rewards up to level 78.

Mastery Pass

If you did purchase the Mastery Pass, you could also get:

• Common Nyx Owl pet + uncommon and rare visual upgrades
• Elspeth avatar
• Elspeth's Nightmare card sleeve
• 1,800 gems
• 4,000 gold
• 20 packs (x4 GRN, x4 RNA, x4 WAR, x4 M20, x4 ELD)
• THB Ranked Draft token
• 25 card styles
• 25 Mastery Orbs
• 10 mythic ICRs
• 3 rare ICRs (1:8 upgrade rate)
• Ashiok Exquisite card sleeve
• Level 91 and beyond: uncommon ICR (1:20 upgrade rate)

Gems, Gems, Gems: What Everything's Worth in the Midnight Hunt Mastery Pass

Section updated for MID by Max

One important thing to note here is that cosmetics are a pretty subjective issue. Because of that, I'll leave cosmetics to a section of their own and give my final verdict without considering them. Don't worry if you like collecting cosmetics; I'll also assign a value to those in their own area.

I'm going to be using gems as a currency to keep things simple. Let’s start with gems and gold, since these are the easiest to quantify. A similar unit of price makes it simple to compare cost and benefit.

I’ll give you two numbers: “cosmetics-are-valuable” vs. “cosmetics-ain’t-sh*t.”

Cosmetics-are-valuable

The easiest way to get a baseline for what things are worth is by looking at pack prices. Thankfully the first thing that we need is already done: how much packs are worth. Packs are simple since they’re worth a solid 200 gems.

For cosmetics, let's start with Mastery Orbs. These can be redeemed for card styles and avatars in the Mastery Tree, as we've already covered. Each color has five redeemable card styles with 1 common, 2 uncommon, 1 rare, and 1 mythic rare as well as a card sleeve for each color. But you get 5 Orbs free as part of the basic Set Mastery, so let's discount the commons to make things easy. So that's a total of 10 uncommon, 5 rare, and 5 mythic card styles plus 5 sleeves to get.

If we take a look at Arena's Store, we can deduce that common card styles are worth 400 gems, uncommons are 600 gems, a rare card style costs 1,000 gems, and mythics come in at 1,200 gems. Card sleeves, on their end, are worth 1,200 gems.

We've also just got regular old card styles on the Mastery track. 15 common and 10 uncommon, to be exact. Totaling the both of them up gives us a worth of 35,000 gems. Trust my math. I'm an engineer.

Next up is an avatar and five pets. Once again, the Store is our friend (relatively speaking). Pets are typically sold for 3,000 gems and avatars come in at 500 gems.

If we add all of the cosmetic stuff together, we've got a total of 44,500 gems worth of value. Of course, the value of cosmetics in MTGA's Store is wildly inflated. It's their biggest money-maker, after all. Either way, if you value cosmetics, the Mastery Pass is a good purchase.

Cosmetics-ain't-sh*t

With packs at 200 gems a pop, this means that 1,000 gold equals 200 gems as well, since you can buy one pack for either amount. With 4,000 gold up for grabs on the track, that equals a total of 800 gems.

Moving on to the draft token, which allows you to enter a Premiere or Traditional draft. These each have the same entry fee of 1,500 gems, so that's what the token is worth.

Circling back to the packs, we've got a total of 20 from the current Standard sets. Even if you get a pack you don't really want, they each contribute to your progress toward rare and mythic wildcards. They can help build up your collection too if you're a new or casual player. Adding all 20 packs up to their total, they're worth 4,000 gems.

Even if you've already completed previous sets, duplicate protection will kick in. Assuming you only open rare cards from the packs, you're rewarded with 20 gems per pack which would make them worth about 400 gems instead. This only applies if you've already collected every single rare and mythic from the previous sets, though.

Sticking with duplicate protection, this considers mythic rares worth a mere 40 gems. 10 mythic ICRs are then worth 400 gems.

Final tally, here's what the Mastery Pass is worth:

• Casual/new players: 7,900 gems
• Experienced player with a full collection: 4,300 gems

With the Mastery Pass costing 3,400 gems, it's well worth your investment whether you're a new player or a competitive one. Even if you don't value cosmetics.

So, if you complete the entire Mastery pass and max out at level 90, yes, it is worth it. But that’s not necessarily reality, is it?

Some Nuances to Consider: Play Time, Experience, $$, and Competitiveness

Let’s say you’re like me. I don’t play ranked 99% of the time ‘cause I make too much jank to ever climb anywhere decent and I don’t really draft ‘cause I’m not very good at it. I spend just about all my time in the Standard Play queue, play a couple of days a week, sometimes hit my 15 weekly wins, sometimes hit four daily wins, and skip daily quests on the regular. I spend most of my gold and gems on cosmetics with some events splashed in here and there. I also buy stuff—usually cosmetics or a cool bundle—every once in a while.

I finished M21 Mastery at level 46. I landed only a touch higher on ZNR’s Mastery. So, if you’re anything like me, where do you land on MID’s “is it worth it” scale?

The good news is that, even if you don’t get very far in Mastery levels and you don’t value cosmetics at all, you’ll hit the “break-even” point pretty early on. If you're a new player, you'll hit it at Level 17, which is totally accomplishable even if you don’t play that often. As a more experienced player with a full collection of previous sets, though, you'll hit it around Level 44.

If you are getting the short end of the stick, though, how do you make the best of the Pass and have it be worth it? So many questions, so little time.

When Is the End Date for the Mastery Pass? How Long Does it Last?

According to Wizards of the Coast:

Set Masteries are available for the most recent Standard set, starting on the day the set is released and ending when the next set is released.

So this means that for Core Set 2021, for example, your set mastery pass would have expired on September 16, 2021, the date Innistrad: Midnight Hunt came out on MTG Arena. At that point, Set Mastery would have started for Midnight Hunt instead.

Should You Preorder the Mastery Pass?

Written by Pedro

The answer to whether or not you should preorder the Mastery Pass depends. You get a better deal if you preorder a given set's Mastery Pass, paying about $5 USD less. But you can only preorder the Mastery Pass with actual money, not gems. If, like me, you buy the Mastery Pass with gems earned via drafting, then it’s not a great deal, $5 off or not.

Is It Worth It to Buy Mastery Levels?

Written by Pedro

Generally no, it's not worth it to buy Mastery levels. In case you weren't aware, you can spend an extra 2,000 gems (for a total of 5,400 gems) when you buy the Mastery Pass to start off with +10 levels, making each level worth about $1. You generally want to get to level 20 for the Mastery Pass to be worth the cost, which is pretty easy if you’re regularly doing all your daily quests.

I’d say you’re better off spending your gems elsewhere, either for event entries or just buying packs since it's really not that difficult to level up well past the breaking-even point with casual play.

Making the Best of the Pass

All right. You have to optimize your time if you want to get as many Mastery levels as you can, and I’m sure you don’t like to waste your time. I get that, I don’t like to waste my time either. Yet here I am doing all this Maths™.

Saying that you need to play to your strengths is one thing, but what about Arena’s built-in options for optimization? The Mastery system is built to reward you in certain ways, so let’s talk about playing to those strengths.

Optimizing Your Blood, Sweat, and Tears

Daily quests, daily wins, and weekly wins. This is the literal and figurative gold mine. We talked about these separately, so I’ll spare you the dirty little details and keep it simple.

Either finish one quest every day or finish all three quests every three days. Re-roll the 500-gold quests you get (once a day) but don’t re-roll the 750-gold ones. The first four wins of the day reward the most gold, but you get Mastery XP up to the first 10 daily wins. Try to max your weekly wins (these reset every Sunday).

Events are the next key part. Some events reward Mastery XP, so it pays to keep an eye on these so that you know what to jump on. The Workshop event series started rewarding players with the “Haversack of Favor” on their first win after the first three events finished, which was basically just a fancy way of saying “we randomized the three possible reward options so you get either 500 XP, 500 gold, or an ICR.” Some other notable events of the past that rewarded XP were the Worlds Showcase, the Planeswalker Momir, and Standard Shakeup.

If you’re competitive, you’ll have a much better time and likely max out, just because to be competitive you generally have to win on the regular which levels you up. You’ll also probably complete daily quests on a daily basis if not closer to it. You can still max out without being a competitive player, it just takes more effort, especially if you’re not playing as often. You kind of have to maximize your time, which isn’t always the most fun thing to do. F2P faces similar “problems,” if you can call them that. But since the break-even point is so low, even F2P casual players can turn a profit with the Mastery Pass.

Some other good news is that you don’t have to buy the Mastery Pass before you know whether or not it’ll end up being worth it for you. If you’re in no rush, you can wait until you’ve hit whatever milestone you want to hit before you get the Pass, and you’ll get all of the rewards up to the level you’re at when you do. Because there’s a free Set Mastery track set up alongside the Mastery Pass track, your level reflects both.

You can (theoretically) wait until the very last second before the next Set Mastery comes out to get the next set’s Mastery Pass, and you won’t miss out on anything. I’d suggest not playing it that close, though. Maybe get it the day before.

Time Limits and Time Travel

I kinda touched on it already, but let’s talk about how long the Ikoria Mastery will be around. Each set’s Mastery lasts until the next set is released on Arena. And, in case you didn’t know, each set is released on Arena a little bit earlier than it’s released for paper.

Make sure you don’t wait too long to get the Pass if that’s your game, because once it’s gone, it’s gone. There’s no way to get more rewards from a previous set’s Mastery once it’s finished, you only get the stuff up to your level from either the Set Mastery or the Mastery Pass, depending on whether or not you bought the Pass.

Mastery Orbs

I've mentioned these above, but they merit their own section here. Mastery orbs are digital items that are redeemable for cosmetic card styles in MTGA. When you get mastery orbs, you'll see a little notification in the “Mastery” section on your in-game menu.

You can use these to upgrade certain card styles, with a little bit of choice about what cards you want the fancy versions of. It's a “mastery tree” because you're supposed to grow or branch out from the basic or more common cards as you get more orbs, getting rarer and mythic-er card styles as you progress.

Mastery Orbs are a little more forgiving than the other items you get with the mastery pass, in a sense. If you have any unspent Orbs from the previous set when the new one moves in, you have until that Set Mastery is over to spend them. For example, while you can’t earn any more of the last set's Mastery XP or rewards, you can still spend any unspent Mastery Orbs that you had already earned up until the next set releases on MTGA. Conversely, you’re no longer able to earn XP or redeem orbs for any older Set Masteries.

More good news time! Rewards don’t go away when a new set Mastery comes along. You keep all the stuff that you earned. Also, draft tokens don’t expire. I’ve seen a couple questions about that since we got a Traditional Draft token from Theros and we’re still getting Draft tokens. In theory, you’ll have those tokens forever if you don’t use them.

Mastery Pass Who's Who

All right, now it’s time to wrap this sucker up in a nice pretty bow. Who is it worth it for? Who’s going to get the most out of the Mastery Pass? And where do you fall on that scale, probably most importantly?

As much as it sucks that the Mastery Pass rewards are “shrinking,” that doesn’t change the fact that it is still worth what you pay for it. Yes, not as much as it used to be, and I won’t argue that the smaller rewards don’t suck, but at the end of the day, we’re still in a good spot in terms of F2P being viable.

The Mastery Pass is, unsurprisingly, the most worth it for people who play every day, complete their daily quests, and finish with at least four wins each day. These are the people who will get lots of the 81+ level ICRs.

For the average person who plays once a week, it’s probably not worth it. Even if you value the cosmetics you might be better off saving up your gold and gems for packs, cosmetics from the store’s daily deals, or (even better) events to make you even more gold or gems.

And then, lying in the middle, are players like me. Do you play every few days, sometimes every day, but not usually for very long? Your daily quests don’t get to top off at three too often but sometimes they do, and you sometimes finish your first four daily wins and all 15 weekly wins. If you fall here, the Mastery Pass is probably worth it. You may want to hold off until near the end of the Mastery to see what level you land at just in case. I have no self-control so I don’t do that, but that’s me and along with being bad at math I’m also not good with my money. It’s a winning combo, really.

Level Up and Out

Fervent Mastery | Illustration by Sean Sevestre

And that’s just about it. That’s all I’ve got for ya! Hopefully, I was able to shed some light on Set Mastery and the Mastery Pass and you know more now than you did before. What’s your take on how the rewards are heading? Are you mad about it, or do you think that people are overreacting? Drop us a comment down there and let us know!

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