the Gathering Arena has server problems

Magic: the Gathering Arena has disabled the game's popular Draft modes amid issues with the game's matchmaking servers, affecting several different queues within the online TCG. The digital version of the beloved card game gives players a wide variety of ways to play, between both its typical constructed format and closed events. Players can try everything from Standard to Commander-like Brawl formats in Magic: the Gathering Arenaalong with set-focused “limited” queues for popular expansions such as Avatar: the Last Airbender and Final Fantasy. But draft works easily as Arenas most lucrative limited format.

Players who want to try Drafts in Magic: the Gathering Arena can participate by using either the free in-game gold currency or premium gems. Arena typically offer a wide variety of Draft experiences for their players, between drafts focused on new sets and “chaos drafts” that combine multiple expansions. Wizards of the Coast has even included physical prizes for its online drafts, with the Arena Direct series allowing players to win real life Magic: the Gathering booster boxes to perform well in Arena draft. Now, players who want to queue for the Draft have some serious problems finding games.

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Magic: The Gathering cards “may” change because of MTG Arena, and that's a problem

Magic: The Gathering underwent some changes with Edge of Eternities, with a popular card being “nerfed” due to MTG Arena.

Magic: the Gathering Arena has serious matchmaking issues

Magic: the Gathering Arena has temporarily disabled its draft queues amid ongoing issues with the online game's servers. The outage is reportedly linked to “matchmaking” according to the official Wizards of the Coast post, with some players claiming they can't even save their Magic traction tire. Fans of Magic: the Gathering Arena have also reported that the ongoing issues with the game's Draft mode extend to other parts of the game as well, with matchmaking queues seeing connectivity issues throughout the game as a whole. Wizards of the Coast didn't give a hard time frame for how long Arenas draft queue will be disabled, nor if full server shutdown will be required.

The ongoing server issues come as Magic: the Gathering Arena is in the middle of a big draft event for the game. The latest version of the game's Arena Direct event kicked off on December 26, with fans able to release it in limited formats to win real prizes. The event is centered around the newly released Avatar: the Last Airbender expansion, with players able to win entire Play Booster boxes to achieve at least six victories. The downtime has seen some players request extensions to the current Arena Direct, with server issues potentially causing significant downtime during the event.

Image via Wizards of the Coast

Magic: the Gathering's Crossovers have revolutionized the game

Magic: the Gathering has been giving fans plenty of excitement throughout the year with some big changes to the game. In 2025, Wizards of the Coast significantly expanded its Universes Beyond crossovers throughout the year, introducing the first standard legal crossover set with Final Fantasy. Magic: the Gathering followed up Final Fantasysuccess with two more major collaborations, including its first Marvel set with Spider-Man and Nickelodeon's Avatar: the Last Airbender. Magic: the Gathering has also teased a lot more on the horizon in 2026, mixing both crossovers and in-universe sets.

Magic: the Gathering is set to launch in 2026, already revealing the first new expansion scheduled to launch next year. Lorwyn Eclipsed will act as Magicfirst set of 2026, suggests a plethora of Faerie cards along with the five remaining “shocklands”. Crossover sets will make up the brunt of Magic: the Gathering2026 releases, introducing a variety of collaborations ranging from The Hobbit and Marvel to brand new properties like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Star Trek. Fans can only hope that Wizards of the Coast can fix it Magic: the Gathering Arenas server problems quickly and without further problems.