Here’s How to Get a Refund for an MTG Arena Event

Archive Trap | Illustration by William Tempest

While most of MTG Arena gameplay is likely played in the free-to-enter queues for Constructed formats, there are plenty of events that you have to pay for on Arena (often MTGA Drafts but some others too). As with any software package, however, sometimes things go wrong, and since you’re paying valuable in-game resources like gems, gold, or Draft tokens (or even straight-up money) to enter these events, there needs to be some way to deal with these issues.

Luckily, Magic Arena has a pretty solid way to get refunds/compensation when this happens, and today we’re going to take a look at how that system works, and how to get a refund!

How Do You Get a Refund on MTG Arena?

Sorin's Guide | Illustration by Jason Rainville

Go to the Submit a request portal

The first step is going to the Submit a request portal on the Wizards website. You will need to sign in to the site either using your MTG Arena account details, or your Steam account details.

Enter the details of your problem

The form is divided into different sections. Give details of what your problem was in the description box. I’ve not found that I need to go into too many details here, but I would advise giving any information that might be useful. I don’t tend to ask for a refund when submitting the issue but will usually get one anyway when reporting a problem with an event that I’ve paid into (whether it was with in-game currency or real-world money).

Choosing the Event Type

One of the sections you need to complete is the event type. The events are split into two sections, Premier Play and Regular Play. Premier Play is generally the more competitive events, such as Arena Opens and Qualifier Weekends.

Regular Play refers to the more run-of-the-mill events, such as Leagues, Premier Drafts, or Quick Drafts. Note that, despite their name, Premier Drafts are found in Regular Play.

Attach Evidence

The last thing you need to do is attach evidence. If you’re on PC or Mac, then you should attach your activity log. Unfortunately, these logs aren’t available on mobile devices. Another form of evidence you should use, if available, is screenshots. This is especially useful if something strange is happening on the battlefield.

If you don’t have any evidence to attach, that’s fine! But it does help if you can attach it.

When Should You Request a Refund?

You should submit a request whenever there is a bug in the game that has caused an issue in your event. A non-exhaustive list of these are:

Arena Crashed During a Game

Arena is pretty good all things told, but it does still crash on occasion. Ok, potentially quite regularly. If this happens during an event that you’ve paid for that really sucks. This is probably the prime time to put in a request. Simply follow the steps above, attach your evidence and wait for your refund.

Note that even if you “trophy” your event it’s still worth submitting a Problem with your Event form as you may still get a refund.

Problems During Draft Section

Drafts are probably the most common paid events on Arena. Sometimes there’s an issue in the draft section. Maybe the game crashed in this section, or maybe the pack’s not displaying correctly, or you were unable to make a pick. These are all great reasons to submit a request, and getting screenshots when this happens is really useful!

Glitched Card Interaction

The rules engine on Arena works surprisingly well, all things told. That said, issues do sometimes happen. If you have an issue like this, make careful note of the exact details, and cards involved, then submit your request.

Note that every single time I’ve thought I’ve encountered a bug on Arena there’s been an effect or interaction that I hadn’t taken into account, and it’s turned out that Arena did things as expected.

Sideboarding Issues

If you’re playing a Best-of-Three event like Traditional Drafts, you may have issues when you go to sideboard between games. Maybe you’re not able to make changes or there's a graphical bug. This is another prime example of a time when you can get a refund. Again, make sure you collect all the evidence you can.

Erroneous Game Loss

You’ve just won a game, but it’s registered as a loss on your record? You should absolutely keep an eye out for this and make a claim. I think this predominantly happens if there’s an error during matchmaking. Although it will usually record the game as a draw, sometimes it’ll say you lost a game that didn’t start. It’s difficult to prove on mobile without logs, but you should still submit.

When Shouldn’t You Ask for a Refund?

While there are lots of reasons why you should file a request, there are plenty of reasons why you shouldn’t. Doing these too much can lead to Wizards penalizing you, including banning your account. So, take note!

Lost Internet Connection

If you’re playing and you lose your internet connection, either due to problems with your home internet, or your mobile signal, this is not the fault of Arena, and you shouldn’t make a claim.

However, Arena on Mobile is particularly unreliable, and I’ve found that even if there is a small blip in your mobile signal the game can kick you out while other apps are working fine. Personally, I have no issue putting in a problem with my event submission, although I never specifically ask for a refund. I’m not saying you should do this, but it is something I am happy to do.

The Shuffler is Rigged Against Uou

No it isn’t – the MTG Arena shuffler works just fine!

Please don’t ask for a refund for this, or for a rigged matchmaker, while we’re at it.

You Submitted the Wrong Deck

You’ve joined a big qualifier weekend, but submitted a bad deck? Sorry, that’s on you, not the app.

You Misplayed

Everyone does it. Even the pros. It doesn’t mean you should get your event refunded because you messed up, though!

How Do You Know if a Refund Request is Successful?

Once your refund is processed, you’ll get an email with the result. Often this will be a brief apology, with a note of the refund amount. Sometimes you do get some actionable advice on how to prevent the issue from happening again, or that it’s a known issue that is being worked on, which is good feedback.

You usually get refunded through your original payment method, be it a token, coins, or gems. Sometimes I have suspected that I’ve been refunded with gems when I’ve paid in coins but have never particularly cared and it may have been my imagination, but if it matters to you then keep an eye on that.

I’ve had refunds processed in under an hour in the past, but sometimes it can take up to two days, it just depends on how much demand there is for the helpdesk. This also implies there is a manual process to the refunds.

Can You Get in Trouble for Requesting Refunds Too Many Times?

Yes you can!

You can absolutely have your MTGA account locked if you abuse this policy, so my advice is don’t! Only use it for legitimate claims, although I’ve made multiple requests in a week before when Arena has been particularly buggy, and not had an issue.

How to Restore a Purchase

If you’ve made a purchase from the Arena store but there has been a problem mid-purchase, you may need to manually refresh your account. Go to your settings menu, click Account, then the button at the bottom labelled “Restore Purchases.” If you want a more full guide Wizards has one on their site.

Final Thoughts

Chasm Guide | Illustration by Johannes Voss

A lot of resources can be put into Arena, whether that’s time or money, so you want to make sure that those resources aren’t swallowed up by bugs in that small indie company’s system.

I hope you’ve found this guide useful and have managed to get back some lost stuff on Arena. Let me know down in the comments or the Draftsim Discord if you’ve been successful, then I’ll see you in the next article!