Are Mythic Packs in MTG Arena Worth It?

Last updated on November 30, 2023

An Offer You Can't Refuse | Illustration by Dallas Williams

Cards can be hard to come by when trying to fill out your collection or build a certain deck. If you’re anything like me you just craft the first thing that strikes your fancy and take it for a spin, regardless of whether or not it works. But having the resources for the decks you need isn’t as easy as it might sound.

You’re probably here because you've been to the MTGA store or the deck builder and you’re looking for a way to grab those mythic rare cards you so desperately crave for your brew, and you’ve likely been eyeing the mythic packs for a while wondering if they’re really worth your time and money. That’s what I’m going over today.

I’ll take a look at everything you need to know about mythic packs and determine if they’re truly worth the purchase to get what you need. Let’s dive right in!

What Is a Mythic Pack in MTGA?

Mythic packs are special packs in MTG Arena that have a higher chance of opening a mythic rare than regular packs.

They're Wizards' way of trying to help completionists who like to finish off entire sets of cards or get more cards for constructed. These are supposed to help you hunt those last mythic rares they need and hone in on the cards you’re missing for just a little more gold per pack if you already have a complete set of rares.

That sounds like a fair deal. You pay a little bit more and guarantee that you’re going to finish your collection faster. Right? Well, let’s dig just a tad deeper.

What Comes in a Mythic Pack?

For an extra 300 gold you’re guaranteed a mythic rare or a wildcard in the rare/mythic slot, so there’s still a chance you won’t get a mythic rare. What’s more, that wildcard doesn’t have to be a mythic rare wildcard: it can be rare. And it sucks to open one up in a mythic pack.

The pack comes with everything you’re used to otherwise: two uncommons and five commons. That makes up the 8-card pack structure we know and love on top of the guaranteed mythic/wildcard slot. It’s just a little pricier.

Lovely.

Mythic Packs vs. Regular Packs

Mythic packs cost more, but have a higher chance of having a mythic rare than regular packs.

Normal packs and mythic packs both have eight cards, two of them being uncommon and five being common, but they branch from each other very lightly in that the normal packs have a single slot for a rare or mythic rare card while the mythic pack guarantees that you find a mythic rare in that slot.

The mythic pack also costs 300 gold more as a consequence of yielding only mythic rare cards or rare/mythic rare wildcards. Price and yield; two very small but striking differences.

Why Do Mythic Packs Exist?

Mythic packs exist to satisfy collectors for the most part, or anybody searching to pick up tons of mythic rares for completing expensive Standard decks. They make it much easier to get ahold of mythic rares by eliminating one of the middlemen and promising not to hand out rare cards.

If you have a set of cards that’s mostly complete with rares then you might head to mythic packs to finish off the set. There are other ways to do it, but the amount of time or money somebody can dig into a game varies per player so this is just another option that’s meant to appeal to those looking for a bit of a shortcut.

Are Mythic Packs Worth Buying?

Honestly, only rarely. There are edge cases where it’s nice, but you can get a similar if not better rate of return in terms of coins to cards if you’re clever. You’re likely safe to buy some packs if you’re just a few mythic cards away from finishing a set. Worst case scenario is you get rare wildcards to help you on the next set or you get mythic wildcards to make the cards you need from the one you’re working on.

It’s possible to make use of this if you like to test your luck sometimes if you’re hunting down specific cards to finish a deck. Otherwise I’d suggest using different methods to get your hands on cards. Luckily the alternatives are plentiful and pretty efficient!

Alternatives to Mythic Packs

Search for Tomorrow | Illustration by Greg Staples

Hey look, that thing we were just talking about! Like I was saying, there are plenty of alternatives to mythic packs depending on what you’re wanting out of those packs. Let’s take a look!

Buy Codes on MTGACodes

MTGACodes is my number one recommendation to grab codes for packs, cosmetics, decks, and all that jazz. Codes are limited per account in a lot of cases, so you have to be sure you don’t buy too much, but you can get codes for packs of cards that help contribute to your wildcard count as you open them for a much cheaper price than buying gems in bulk.

And you might also find some fun card sleeves to pick up while you’re there. You should check it out.

Buy Normal Packs

This one’s pretty simple. Unless you’re really, really craving mythic rare cards specifically, you should just buy normal packs. They’re 300 gold cheaper each at only 1,000 gold versus 1,300 gold, and they contribute the same amount to your wildcard progress.

And you wind up with some extra Vault progress and gems for your troubles if you manage duplicate rares that you already have sets of.

Draft

This is my personal favorite way to pick up new cards and farm currency. Sure, I may not always win, but if you’re good at Draft and like the format then it’s worth cranking them out one after another.

You’ll end up with enough currency to play again and some prize packs on top of that if you go positive. You’re just getting free stuff for the foreseeable future if you keep going positive. Sweet, right? Draft is my favorite format so I try to do this as often as possible.

You should check out Arena Tutor for some assistance in your drafting if you like Drafts and want to be able to make this work but are worried about whether or not you’ll succeed. You can also practice drafting using our Draft simulator. There’s no shortage of ways to refine your drafting skill, so give it a shot if this sounds like a fun way to farm cards and wildcards!

Open The Vault

This is extremely straightforward and you’re already doing it. You’re making progress on the Vault whether you open mythic or normal packs. Once you own four copies of a card, every copy you open of that card onwards grants Vault progress.

You land one mythic, two rare, and three uncommon wildcards when you finally open the Vault. It isn’t much, but it can be helpful when you make that final stretch towards finishing your deck. And this is just constantly happening so you never need to put any work into it actively. It’s all passive income.

Should the Price for Mythic Packs Be Lowered?

Good question! I have no earthly clue.

I get it, WotC is saying, “hey, I can promise that if you get a card in the rare/mythic slot it’ll be mythic.” That’s fine and dandy and it makes sense that you’re charged more for a tweaked outcome that isn’t the norm. But you also have to get a card in that slot. It can still be a wildcard.

If they were exclusively mythic wildcards that would be fine because then it would be no different from opening a mythic rare card, but it can be a rare wildcard. That’s not fine, believe it or not, because we came to these packs for mythics.

You could also look at it in a way that since you’re not able to get any rare cards at all you technically have less product available to you, so it should cost less. That’s an odd way to look at it, I guess, but it’s a way to look at it.

But I think I’d prefer to see rare wildcards be taken out of the pool of possibility that mythic packs offer. The price point would make sense after that. Maybe it could stand to drop to 1,200 gold, but that’s just me.

Wrap Up

Pack Guardian | Illustration by Filip Burburan

And so we reach the end once again. Hopefully I’ve armed you with everything you need to know about mythic packs. I don’t recommend them, but I can’t say they won’t help if your situation calls for it. It’s ultimately up to you.

But I do have to ask: what are your thoughts on it? Be it something I might have missed or an opinion on the price of the packs or even another question, feel free to comment or let us know over on the Draftsim Twitter.

It’s been a good one, so stay safe and have a good one. I’ll catch y’all on the next one!