Last updated on December 9, 2023
Infernal Pet | Illustration by YW Tang
One part of Magic that I’ve always really enjoyed is the customization. From what versions of cards I collect, to the cards I put in my deck, to which sleeves I put my cards in, there are a lot of ways to express myself in Magic. Arena doesn’t quite have as many options for making the game your own, but there are still some ways to express yourself.
One way you can make your Arena experience more customized is by using one of several pets that are available in the game. Pets are tiny animated creatures from Magic, usually themed to go with whatever set they release with. They can be a fun distraction while you’re waiting on a slow opponent, or just a great way to show off what you like about Magic.
If you’re wondering what pets are available, where to get them, or just what they actually do, stick around and I’ll tell you all about these best bois!
What Do Pets Do in MTG Arena?
Imaginary Pet (9th Edition) | Illustration by Christopher Rush
You can select the pet you’d like to show up on the battlefield during each game you play in MTG Arena. Pets don’t serve any purpose in the game itself as they're just cosmetic options, similar to the avatar you choose to represent yourself.
Each pet has two distinct animations that happen when you click them. If you’re clicking on your own pet, it goes through a friendly or encouraging animation to show its support for you. If you click on your opponent’s pet, it performs a hostile or threatening animation.
For example, if you control a Thopter pet, clicking it results in the Thopter bringing you a pie. But if you click on your opponent’s Thopter, it turns red and makes a threatening gestures toward you.
How Do You Get Pets in MTG Arena?
Direct Purchase From The MTGA Store
The most straightforward way to buy a pet on MTGA is to just head to the “Companions” section of the Store. There you can buy any of the currently-available pets on the platform. There’s also a rotating slot for a “Companion of the Month,” which allows you access to pets that were previously on sale but aren’t anymore.
You can buy pets on the MTGA Store using either gems or gold. This is nice because you can just perform your daily challenges to grind enough gold to buy whatever you want. The Companion of the Month is a bit more expensive, but you should be able to buy any pet for “free” given that you have an entire month to grind for it.
Set Bundles
Arena offers a pre-sale bundle to players with each new set release. These bundles include a bulk number of packs and some cosmetic options. Some of these bundles also feature pets. For example, the Urza bundle for The Brothers’ War included an Urza’s Sentinel companion along with the packs and other cosmetic items.
If you’re a free-to-play MTGA player, I wouldn’t recommend this option. These bundles usually run around $49.99 and can’t be paid for with in-game currency.
A cosmetic bundle has the companion and its matching card sleeve, often for a good deal if the cosmetics are important to you.
Gray Viking Games and MTGA Codes
Gray Viking Games is a site that sells codes for various MTGA items, including (occasionally) pets. It's worth checking in the future to see if anything else pops up there as their stock rotates along with what's available in the MTGA Store.
MTGA Codes is another site that sells codes just like Gray Viking Games.
How to Get The Thopter Companion
The Thopter companion is available to all players for free. All you need to do is log on to MTGA on a mobile or tablet device and you’ll automatically unlock the pet. I don’t recommend actually playing MTGA on a mobile device, though, because it has a lot of issues. It’s still worth downloading and logging in if you want a free pet.
How to Get Free Pets
Apart from the Thopter, the only pet you can get without spending in-game currency is the Puppet Jace companion. Arena has a game mode called Midweek Magic every week. The mode is free to play and includes minor cosmetic rewards for winning games. There’s a 2% chance of getting a Puppet Jace companion as your random reward for Midweek Magic.
If you want a slightly more reliable method for getting a free pet, you should just focus on earning gold by winning games and completing daily challenges. While it’ll cost you some time, you won’t have to spend any real money with this method. You can also choose from several more pets plus whatever the Companion of the Month is.
List of MTGA Companions
Note: any pet that's listed “Not Currently Available” may become available as Companion of the Month in the future. Prices are generally 3,000 gems or 15,000 gold when available, and these usually drop to sale prices of 2,400 gems or 12,000 gold near the end of the month.
| Pet Name | Image | How to Get | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Dragon Pet |  | Store “Companions” tab | 1,000 gems or 5,000 gold |
| Red Dragon Pet |  | Store “Companions” tab | 1,000 gems or 5,000 gold |
| Green Dragon Pet |  | Store “Companions” tab | 1,000 gems or 5,000 gold |
| Blue Dragon Pet |  | Store “Companions” tab | 1,000 gems or 5,000 gold |
| White Dragon Pet |  | Store “Companions” tab | 1,000 gems or 5,000 gold |
| Brushwagg |  | Store “Companions” tab | 3,000 gems or 15,000 gold |
| Sol Ring |  | Store “Companions” tab | 3,000 gems or 15,000 gold |
| Thopter |  | Log into MTGA on a mobile device | Free |
| Puppet Jace |  | Midweek Magic reward | Free |
| Frost Cub |  | Store “Companions” tab | 1,000 gems or 4,000 gold |
| Amon-Cat |  | Pet of the Month | 2,400 gems or 12,000 gold |
| Trophy |  | Serra Avatar bundle | $59.95 on third-party sites |
| Beholder |  | AFR bundle | Not Currently Available |
| Black Lotus |  | Store “Pets” tab | Not Currently Available |
| Fox |  | ELD Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Elemental Cat |  | M20 Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Pack Leader |  | M21 bundle | Not Currently Available |
| Ebondeath, Dracolich |  | AFR Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Caliman Goblin |  | DMU Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Otarian Goblin |  | DMU Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Rundelvelt Goblin |  | DMU Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Squee |  | DMU bundle | Not Currently Available |
| Dragon Whelp |  | Store “Pets” tab | Not Currently Available |
| Chardalyn Dragon |  | HBG bundle | Not Currently Available |
| Bronze Dragon |  | HGB Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Gold Dragon |  | HGB Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Silver Dragon |  | HGB Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Holiday Fox |  | Store “Pets” tab | Not Currently Available |
| Ikoria Cat 1 | | IKO Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Ikoria Cat 2 |  | IKO Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Ikoria Cat 3 |  | IKO Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Ikoria Cat 4 |  | IKO Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Winged Cat 2 |  | IKO bundle | Not Currently Available |
| Winged Cat 2 |  | IKO bundle | Not Currently Available |
| Various Dogs 1 |  | M21 Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Various Dogs 2 |  | M21 Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Various Dogs 3 |  | M21 Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Drifter 1 |  | MID Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Drifter 2 |  | MID Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Drifter 3 |  | MID Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Drifter 4 |  | MID Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Pumpkin Cerberus |  | MID bundle | Not Currently Available |
| Koi 1 |  | NEO Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Koi 2 |  | NEO Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Koi 3 |  | NEO Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Koi 4 |  | NEO Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Spirited Companion |  | NEO bundle | Not Currently Available |
| Tanuki |  | NEO bundle | Not Currently Available |
| Beskir |  | KHM Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Bjorn |  | KHM bundle | Not Currently Available |
| New Capenna Sphinx |  | SNC Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Cappena Pre-Order Sphinx |  | SNC bundle | Not Currently Available |
| Strixhaven Book 1 |  | STX Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Strixhaven Book 2 |  | STX Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Strixhaven Book 3 |  | STX Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Strixhaven Book 4 |  | STX Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Strixhaven Book 5 |  | STX Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Codie |  | STX bundle | Not Currently Available |
| Kunoros |  | THB bundle | Not Currently Available |
| Mechanical Owl |  | THB Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Bat |  | VOW Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Grolnok |  | VOW bundle | Not Currently Available |
| Zendikar Elemental 1 |  | ZNR Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Zendikar Elemental 2 |  | ZNR Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Zendikar Elemental 3 |  | ZNR Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Zendikar Elemental 4 |  | ZNR Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Zendikar Elemental 5 |  | ZNR Mastery Pass | Not Currently Available |
| Rock Elemental |  | ZNR bundle | Not Currently Available |
| Mila |  | STX bundle | Not Currently Available |
Wrap Up
Dramatic Finale | Illustration by Steve Argyle
Pets are a great cosmetic option to further customize your MTG Arena experience. Many aren’t available right now, but they’ll likely rotate through the Companion of the Month at some point. It’s nice that pets from the Store can be bought with in-game currency, leaving it up to you whether you want to spend actual money or not.
Which pet is your favorite? Is there one you missed that you wish you’d bought at the time? What future pets would you like to see? Let me know in the comments or on Draftsim’s Twitter.
Thanks for reading, and I look forward to seeing you in the next one!
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