Is the Pack Bundle in MTG Arena Worth It?

Last updated on March 29, 2024

Jace, the Perfected Mind | Illustration by Chase Stone

Getting a good deal can feel pretty awesome. Discounts, freebies, bundles… anything that gives you more than what you put in. Preorder bundles on Arena try to do this, but are they really worth it?

The Pack bundle is here to throw that into question. The first iteration came with All Will Be One and featured Jace. Outlaws of Thunder Junction features Oko, the Ringleader. Maybe this bundle is worth it, and I'm just salty that as soon as I opened up Oko in Throne of Eldraine, it was banned. I definitely won't get it for the 6-pack Oko abs sleeves.

Let's keep our eyes on the prize.

What Is The Pack Bundle in MTGA?

Arena has had a few different Pack Bundles in the past, and it seems like Wizards might have finally settled on a definitive product yet. ONE’s version was the Jace Pack bundle and the newest version is the Oko Pack Bundle. A bundle like this pretty much only appeals to you if you’re a hardcore collector who wants a head start on the set.

The Pack bundle is one of three preorder bundles you can buy starting about three weeks before their set drops. These bundles are in the Arena store up until a few days before the paper release when the set is released on Arena.

The Oko Pack Bundle goes for $49.99/€49.99 and is the top end of the preorder bundles.

What Comes in a Pack Bundle?

The MTG Arena Pack bundle comes with:

• 1 legendary character card sleeve
• 1 legendary character depth card art style
• 1 legendary character card
• 50 packs
• 5 Golden packs

Outlaws of Thunder Junction brings attention to Oko, the Ringleader along with a potentially massive cache of rares in the booster packs.

Pack Bundle vs. Play Bundle vs. Pass Bundle

These are the preorder bundles for the set. The Pack bundle is clearly meant to cater to players who want to collect the set but maybe aren’t as interested in grinding for their collection. It’s sort of a fast pass to getting as many cards in the set as you can, right off the bat.

The Play bundle offers tokens for Draft and Sealed as well as Play-In points, and the Pass bundle comes with the Mastery Pass.

Why Do They Exist?

The Pass, Play, and Pack bundles are clearly Wizards’ attempt to score a little extra money by offering more niche products. They’re great if your playstyle is as specific as the preorder bundles, but you’ll be spending more money in the long run if you bought all three, and have a well-rounded approach to Arena.

The Pack bundle is what it sounds like: just a bunch of packs. Which seems great on the surface, except there’s not really a lot of substance to just buying a bunch of packs that come with a handful of exclusive cosmetics that you may or may not actually want. Not to mention that you could use gems or gold to buy regular Arena packs in groups of up to 90 packs from the Arena Store, so there’s nothing all that interesting or unique here.

The Play bundle is best for those interested in Limited and competitive MTGA, while the Pass bundle is aimed at those interested in Set Mastery.

Can You Buy More Than One?

While you can’t buy multiples of any individual preorder bundle, you can buy all three if you want a full range of what WotC has to offer.

Are Pack Bundles Worth Buying?

Technically yes, Pack bundles are worth buying in the sense that you get a little bit more than what you pay for. Packs are worth 200 gems each at about $1 for 200 gems, meaning 50 packs equals $50 worth of stuff. But then you also get five Golden packs, so technically you get more than you pay for. That’s also not counting the legendary card and cosmetics if you’re into that.

Alternatives to Pack Bundles

Buy Codes at MTGACodes

You might be able to get a decent deal on packs from MTGACodes if you want as many as you can get your hands on. Sometimes they go for a little more than you’d pay in Arena, and sometimes a little less.

You can also peruse the cosmetics section if you’re hoping to get the card sleeve and art style. There’s no official word on whether these will remain exclusive to the Pack bundles, so it’s entirely possible you’ll be able to get them here sometime in the future. It’s worth a look at least.

Buy Packs in the Arena Store

If you’re not interested in that particular bundle's character face or Golden packs, you can just buy regular packs from the MTGA Store. Your best bet is the 90-pack bundle, which goes for 18,000 gems or 90,000 gold.

You’re better off saving your gems for event entries and using gold instead, but I won’t tell you what to do with your hard-earned currency.

Draft

If you’re halfway decent at Magic and have the time, your best bet to get cards and packs (and plenty of other goodies, too) is to enter Drafts. Your event entry can become profit gems and packs if you win enough games, at least six wins in Quick Draft, three in Traditional, and five in Premier.

Rewards and Mastery Track

You can still earn packs and gold to buy packs even if Limited isn’t your thing. Daily and weekly rewards net you gold and Mastery XP, and you earn packs and more gold as you advance on the Mastery Track.

Should the Price for Pack Bundles Be Lowered?

Yes, the price for these bundles should be lowered. While the Pack bundles give you a little bit more than you’d otherwise pay for the contents, you’re not really getting a whole lot of bang for your buck. It’s only just worth it, which makes it not a great bundle since you’re barely even getting a deal.

It seems like Wizards is testing to see how little value they can offer and still get away with calling it a “deal,” and I’m not particularly impressed with this offer. Try again, please.

Wrap Up

Chandra, Dressed to Kill | Illustration by Viktor Titov

WotC’s greed is starting to show a little, don’t you think? I like the concept of these preorder bundles; offering something that caters to a specific kind of player instead of a broad collection of different things. But that only works when the bundle isn’t consistently tweaked to be worth less to those who pay for it and more for those who profit.

But maybe I’m judging the Pack bundle too harshly. What do you think of this latest Pack Bundle? What about the legendary card as a bundle-topper? It might be worth the price, but is it worth the price? Is Wizards trying to pull some sort of weird mind trick on us? Probably. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or @ us on Twitter. It’ll be the highlight of my day, I swear.

Anyway, remember to stretch and get some sunlight if you can, and may you always have packs to open.

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