I made a huge win in my first MTG Arena Contender Draft, but still can't recommend it

I've been having a lot of fun drafting in Magic: The Gathering Arena lately, thanks to back-to-back strong Limited sets in TMNT and Secrets of Strixhaven. It's therefore only natural that I would tackle the new limited time Contender Draft event for Strixhaven, but it has proven to be quite a risky proposition, and not something I can recommend for other players, should it return.

After sinking 3,000 gems (an approximate value of $18) in one run, I came out with seven wins and a 140 percent profit in gems alone, but I still can't in good faith advise that anyone actually invest in this draft mode. Its rewards are so poorly distributed compared to the other, cheaper Limited modes in Arena that it's simply not worth it.

All or nothing

The Contender Series costs twice as much to enter as the Premier and Traditional Drafts, four times as much as the Quick Draft and more than three times as much as the Pick-Two Draft. For this cost, about $18, remember, so it's not that small when the contributions add up, you'd expect the rewards to be spread evenly between the winnings.

But the reward for zero, one and two wins is absolutely nothing. Zilch, nada, now. Historically, you've always gotten something back even if you only manage a single win in a draft run, but the Contender Series seems to inflict some sort of penalty on players who can't at least break even with their wins and losses.

Offsetting this is the value of the rewards if you hit seven wins. In Premier Draft, your investment of 1,500 gems yields 2,220 gems and six regular card packs. With the Contender Series, if you get seven wins, you get 7,200 gems, 10 mythic packs and 12 regular packs. The gems alone are worth around $45, which means you've doubled your investment from the initial fee, and the packs are also worth 5,000 gems, or 25,000 in coin value.

While these rewards are incredibly enticing, the harsh reality of drafting is that much of it is out of your control. You can get some bad decks, have to change your strategy a few times, and possibly end up with a three- or four-color deck, which is far from ideal in Secrets of Strixhaven, due to Strixhaven College's compatibility. All of this comes before you even play a game.

So, is $18 a worthwhile investment when the odds suggest you could easily walk away with nothing? It's a hard sell, that's for sure. What tips the scale further against Contender Draft in its current iteration is that you won't even break even on your investment until you reach five wins, where the prize is 3,200 gems and eight card packs.

Maybe you're just not a “competitive developer”

The twist of the knife in this debacle comes when you read the flavor text found on the Contender Draft Arena page. It says, “Are you a contest writer?” before specifically hyping up the inclusion of mythic boosters as a prize.

It doesn't seem intentional, but the line feels like it prompts players to give Contender Draft a shot. You may have had success in other draft modes, but can you beat this one?

To top it all off, we have the exclusive title. Winning your Contender Draft and getting seven wins earns you a “Draft Contender” title that you can proudly display on your profile, so everyone you play with can see your accomplishment.

Cosmetics are nothing new in MTG Arena, and there is absolutely no obligation to ever buy them. But sneaking in this particular title is like dangling a carrot for competitive players who will want to be a part of what we assume is a pretty exclusive club. When the house wants you to play this much, you have to wonder if you're getting a good deal, especially when the mode is only available for a limited time, adding to the urgency it's trying to instill in players.

Luck Of The Draw

After paying my 3,000 gems to enter the Contender Series, it only seems right to show you the deck that gave me a 7-2 record. Based on my previous Secrets of Strixhaven drafts, I was most comfortable with Witherbloom and Lorehold, so I was happy to put together an incredibly strong Witherbloom deck that included a copy of Cauldron of Essence, taken as my very first card, which did most of the heavy lifting and was on the battlefield for six of the seven wins.

By pairing this artifact with cards like Essenceknit Scholar, Lluwen, Exchange Student, Pest Mascot, Teacher's Pest, and Arnyn, Deathbloom Botanist just meant that I always had ways to gain health, deal damage, and have access to low-risk token creatures to sacrifice to bring the big battlefields back onto the battlefield with Cauldron.

Throw in some Infusion tools in the form of Poisoner's Apprentice, Foolish Fate, and Thornfist Striker, and this Witherbloom deck was an absolute steamroller once it hit turn three and beyond.

Still, I wonder how this deck would have fared without Cauldron of Essence, or if I had gone on a dry run of Witherbloom cards during the pick phase, forcing me to widen my draft pool. It goes without saying that despite coming out the other side with more than double the investment I put in, I would still tell players to avoid Contender Draft unless some serious balancing is done to the rewards.

No game mode in Arena should feel like a gamble, but that's exactly how Contender Draft felt. I'll be sticking with Premier Draft for now, unless Contender Draft returns after the launch of the Marvel Super Heroes set with a massively overhauled reward system.