Contender Draft: Innovation, Fad, or Toxic Money Pit?

Last updated on May 27, 2026

Tenacious Underdog | Illustration by Zara Alfonso

Contender Draft is the newest way to draft on Arena, introducing an entry fee that’s twice that of Premier Draft and a more top heavy reward structure. However, the roll out of this format has left me asking a lot of questions: What exactly is new about Contender Draft? Why does this exist? Is this something that players want? Is this good for Arena? Unfortunately, the answers to these questions do not inspire much confidence.

Reward Structure

Just so we’re on the same page, here are the reward structures for Premier Draft and Contender Draft:

Premier Draft — Entry: 1,500 gems/10,000 gold

0 wins: 50 gems + 1 pack

1 win: 100 gems + 1 pack

2 wins: 250 gems + 2 packs

3 wins: 1,000 gems + 2 packs

4 wins: 1,400 gems + 3 packs

5 wins: 1,600 gems + 4 packs

6 wins: 1,800 gems + 5 packs

7 wins: 2,200 gems + 6 packs

Contender Draft — Entry: 3,000 gems/20,000 gold

0 wins: nothing

1 win: nothing

2 wins: nothing

3 wins: 1,400 gems + 3 packs

4 wins: 2,800 gems + 6 packs

5 wins: 3,200 gems + 8 packs

6 wins: 4,200 gems + 10 packs + 4 mythic packs

7 wins: 7,200 gems + 12 packs + 10 mythic packs

The Issues

Dissension in the Ranks | Illustration by Jakub Kasper

There is really nothing new about Contender Draft as a format other than the raised stakes, which is fine, but then why does it exist? The raised stakes must be the selling point, because that’s the only thing that’s different from Premier Draft, but is that really something players want? Maybe some do, but when the cost of entry deters players from Premier Draft, I can’t imagine that doubling the entry fee would entice them in any way. So it must be for the more competitive players, as those are the players who can stomach the cost and will feasibly win enough to not be deterred by the reward structure when they end up on the negative side of variance. But that’s a very narrow slice of the Magic Arena community, which makes me think of that final question: Is this good for Arena?

From a recent earnings call from Hasbro, they stated that Arena has not grown at the same rate as the rest of Magic: The Gathering, as despite the game being more popular than ever, the Arena player base has stagnated in size. As for why that is, there is no singular reason, but I’d wager to guess that part of it is due to drafting on Arena feeling a bit inaccessible. Contender Draft does nothing to fix that problem, nor does it really do anything for anyone who is not already a hyper-enfranchised player. This makes it feel more like it’s a change that’s designed to extract rather than to add, and that is not good for Arena.

Ultimately, no one is forcing anyone to participate in Contender Draft–it’s not like it’s the only thing being offered–but the fact that it’s an option means that people will participate in it, and it will likely leave a bad taste in the mouth of a lot of players, as a top heavy reward structure and high entry fee only favor the top few, and is a net loss for the vast majority. 

Going Forward

Scout's Warning | Illustration by Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai

So what does the future of Contender Draft look like? Really there are two options: people play it, or people don’t. Maybe there is more appeal than I think there is for a high stakes format, and if that is the case, then Contender Draft fulfills that desire. Otherwise, it will simply exist and no one will touch it except for every once in a while, a bit like Alchemy. And if that is the case, then it makes me wonder, what’s the point?

Again, no one has to participate in Contender Draft if they don’t want to, its existence is not necessarily a problem, but if it’s getting Wizards of the Coast more money from the existing players on Arena, then it can be a problem. The worst thing that could happen is that this becomes a tool for more efficient extraction of money from the enfranchised, stagnant player base. If this is seen as a win by Wizards of the Coast, then it likely means they won’t make the big fundamental changes that are needed to reinvigorate Magic Arena.

Final Thoughts

Thoughtseize | Illustration by Aleksi Briclot

This format is not a solution to any problem, it is not a new experience, it is not something that brings in any one new or keeps any one who wouldn’t already stay. It’s not good for the players, and it’s not good for Arena. At its absolute best, it will have a net neutral impact, but at this point in time with the rest of the game growing so fast, a neutral impact is behind the curve.