While MTG Arena has been going from strength to strength recently, the digital platform does have its problems. First and foremost, the client is, unfortunately, susceptible to bugs and issues that prevent players from enjoying the game. Thankfully, Wizards often compensate players when this happens. However, it’s obviously still not ideal. Alongside these occasional technical failings, MTG Arena lacks one of MTG’s greatest strengths, the social element. To combat this missing feature, Wizards routinely organizes events, such as Midweek Magic, to bring players together. Alongside Midweek Magic events, Wizards of the Coast delighted fans in 2021 with the spectacular MTG Arena Decathlon event.
Comprised of ten events, as the name suggests, this mega blockbuster event wowed fans with compelling gameplay and incredible rewards. Having been absent for an entire year, many players have been left wondering if this spectacular Decathlon event would ever return. Thankfully, just as all hope seemed lost, Wizards of the Coast announced that the MTG Arena Decathlon event is returning for 2022. Almost, at least…
MTG Arena Decathlon
While Wizards has announced the MTG Arena Decathlon’s return this year, unfortunately, the event won’t start in earnest until 2023. Thankfully, eager players don’t have to wait long into 2023, as the first events begin on January 1st, 2023. Running for fifteen days, MTG Arena Decathlon’s events are run in pairs, with each pair available for thee days. Following the initial events, MTG Arena players can also look forward to the Decathlon final on January 21st. Running for just two days, this final event promises the best and most exclusive rewards, as you might expect.
Unlike traditional tournaments, such as the MTG Arena Opens, the MTG Arena Decathlon’s structure is a little unorthodox. As if being run over three weeks wasn’t unusual enough, the Decathlon also utilizes a token-based system. These tokens earned throughout the Decathlon’s ten events grant entry into the final. However, only if you’ve earned enough. Due to the uniqueness of the MTG Arena Decathlon’s structure, here’s a rundown of what you need to know.
Arena Decathlon Events
Scheduled between the 1st and the 16th of January, each MTG Arena Decathlon event costs 2,000 Gold or 400 Gems to enter. Thankfully, for that non-insignificant entry price, players are immediately awarded the rather fetching Bronze Sundering Titan sleeve. As we stated previously, the event schedule features a variety of formats that rotate throughout the week. Here is the event schedule for the upcoming MTG Arena Decathlon.
1st – 4th January
- Decathlon 1: Jump In!*
- Decathlon 2: Pauper
4th – 7th January
- Decathlon 3: Mixed Dominarian Sealed* (Dominaria, Dominaria United, and The Brothers’ War)
- Decathlon 4: Standard with Gift Bag emblem
7th – 10th January
- Decathlon 5: The Brothers’ War Traditional Player Draft* (Best-of-Three)
- Decathlon 6: Alchemy
10th – 13th January
- Decathlon 7: Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty Bot Draft*
- Decathlon 8: Traditional Explorer (Best-of-Three)
13th – 16th January
- Decathlon 9: Omniscience Phantom Bot Draft*
- Decathlon 10: “On the Edge”
Unfortunately, albeit not surprisingly given the price, Decathlon events marked with * are Phantom events. This means that you don’t keep the cards that you Draft.
Arena Decathlon Rewards
Alongside the Bronze Sundering Titan sleeve entry reward, each Decathlon event also offers compelling rewards that can earn players their Gold back and then some. Below is the reward structure for Best-of-One and Best-of-Three events in the Decathlon.
Best-of-One Events
- 7 Wins: 4,000 Gold + Arena Decathlon Token
- 5-6 Wins: 3 Packs
- 3-4 Wins: 2 Packs
- 1-2 Wins: 1 Pack
- 0 Win: No Rewards
Best-of-Three Events
- 5 Wins: 4,000 Gold + Arena Decathlon Token
- 4 Wins: 3 Packs
- 2-3 Wins: 2 Packs
- 1 Win: 1 Pack
- 0 Win: No Rewards
For better or worse, the packs received from the Arena Decathlon are somewhat of a mixed bag. As Wizards states, “the Arena Decathlon’s pack prizes are drawn from across MTG Arena and include Standard main sets, non-Standard main sets, Alchemy sets, and even Mythic Packs.”
Arena Decathlon Final
While each Arena Decathlon event promises to be fun on its own, the real draw is the Decathlon Finals. Taking place on the 21st and 22nd of January, 2023, this event must be qualified for by earning three or more Arena Decathlon Tokens. To earn these tokens, players can compete in preliminary Decathlon events as often as desired. It’s important to note, however, that each Decathlon Token is unique and does not stack. This means that players must win a minimum of three Decathlon events to qualify for the finals. Winning more Decathlon Tokens will reward more entries into the final and a few added extras. Listed below are the rewards for earning Decathlon Tokens during the event.
- 0-2 Decathlon Tokens: Nothing
- 3-6 Decathlon Tokens: 1 Arena Decathlon Finals entry + Silver Sundering Titan sleeve
- 7-9 Decathlon Tokens: 2 Arena Decathlon Finals entries + Silver Sundering Titan sleeve
- 10 Decathlon Tokens: 2 Arena Decathlon Finals entries + Silver Sundering Titan sleeve + Gold Sundering Titan sleeve + 10 Play-In Points
Players skilled enough to earn their place in the Arena Decathlon finals can look forward to playing a rather unique format to win it all. Named “Phantom Duplicate Sealed,” this traditional best-of-three format gives players an identical pool of cards to build their deck. Wizards of the Coast states that “there are many possible decks, so choose wisely!” The structure of this event is four Wins or one loss, so there is little room for error.
Below are the rewards for the Arena Decathlon Finals:
4 Wins
- Voucher for one of every card in Phyrexia: All Will Be One
- 4 Mythic rare wildcards
- 4 Rare wildcards
- Phage the Untouchable avatar
- 4 Player Draft tokens
- 5 Showcase basic lands from Core Set 2021
3 Wins
- 4 Mythic rare wildcards
- 4 Rare wildcards
- Phage the Untouchable avatar
- 4 Player Draft tokens
- 5 Showcase basic lands from Core Set 2021
2 Wins
- Phage the Untouchable avatar
- 4 Player Draft tokens
- 5 Showcase basic lands from Core Set 2021
1 Win
- 5 Showcase basic lands from Core Set 2021
0 Wins
- No rewards
Back at Long Last
With the promise of incredible rewards, such as one of every card in Phyrexia: All Will Be One,” it’s no wonder that MTG players are excited about the Decathlon’s return. Taking to Reddit, MTG players were quick to voice their exuberance at the news. Reddit user u/camilobogado, for instance, noted that the “Decathlon is super fun, but it’s quite expensive to play that many events.” Voicing similar praise for the event, u/childroland stated, “I am so excited for this. Events look mostly interesting and definitely varied. I also appreciate the shorter finals (four rounds instead of seven and max two entries per player).”
Unfortunately, not all players were so enthused about the Arena Decathlons return. For example, players such as u/gabochido highlighted that the Decathlon event is undoubtedly aimed at competitive players. “This is a cool event but it’s definitely oriented towards the competitive, skilled player. […] I wish they made it a little bit more casual-oriented or at least had options for the more casual player. Not zero stakes like [Midweek Magic] but cheap with low risk, low reward.”
Ultimately, while the Arena Decathlon event might not be the perfect holiday celebration, it should still be a lot of fun, especially for competitive-minded players. Thankfully, everyone else isn’t being left out in the cold, as Wizards recently gave players a free bundle of goodies. This is available to players via the new Player Inbox feature recently implemented into the game. This holiday gift is a free 1000 XP for all players.
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