How to Get Free Packs in MTG Arena: Every Method Explained
Magic: The Gathering Arena offers numerous ways to expand your collection without spending real money. Whether you’re a new player just starting out or a veteran grinding for specific cards, understanding all available methods for acquiring free packs can significantly accelerate your progress. This comprehensive guide covers every legitimate way to earn packs in MTG Arena as of January 2026.
Start with the Tutorial and Color Challenge
When you first launch MTG Arena, the game immediately begins rewarding you. The initial tutorial provides your first taste of free resources, walking you through basic gameplay while building your starter collection. However, the real treasure trove comes from the Color Challenge.
The Color Challenge consists of a series of matches that introduce you to each of Magic’s five colors. As you complete these beginner-friendly encounters, you’ll unlock ten dual-color decks—two for each color combination. More importantly, you’ll receive multiple booster packs throughout this progression. This represents one of the most substantial one-time infusions of free packs available in the game.
Beyond the decks themselves, the Color Challenge rewards you with individual card rewards and additional packs from current Standard-legal sets. For new players, this process takes just a few hours but provides a foundation strong enough to start competing in casual play queues.
Maximize Your Daily Wins and Quests
Once you’ve completed the onboarding process, your primary source of ongoing free packs comes from the daily and weekly reward system. This structure forms the backbone of free-to-play progression in MTG Arena.
Daily quests appear in your quest log every single day, offering gold rewards ranging from 500 to 750 gold depending on the specific requirement. These quests typically ask you to play a certain number of spells of specific colors or win matches with particular deck types. You can hold up to three quests simultaneously, which means you can strategically complete multiple quests in a single play session.
Meanwhile, daily wins provide incremental rewards for your first 15 victories each day. The first four wins are particularly valuable, offering 550 gold combined along with individual card rewards. While the gold per win decreases after the fourth victory, dedicated players can accumulate resources quickly through consistent play.
The weekly wins system adds another layer to this progression. Every week, you can earn up to 15 weekly wins that contribute to a separate track of rewards. These wins reset every Sunday and provide pack rewards directly rather than just gold. Consequently, players who log in regularly throughout the week maximize their free pack acquisition.
Climb the Ranked Ladder for Season Rewards
Competitive play offers substantial rewards beyond the satisfaction of climbing ranks. At the end of each monthly ranked season, MTG Arena distributes rewards based on your highest rank achieved in either Constructed or Limited formats.
The ranked system uses tiers from Bronze through Mythic, with each tier subdivided into multiple ranks. Even reaching Gold tier guarantees you multiple booster packs from the current Standard sets. Players who push into Platinum receive additional packs, while those reaching Diamond and Mythic tiers earn even more generous rewards.
Importantly, you receive these rewards based on your peak rank, not your ending rank. This means you can experiment with different decks or play more casually after reaching your desired rank without sacrificing your season-end rewards. The ranked season typically runs for approximately one month, resetting early each month and providing fresh opportunities to earn packs.
Leverage the Free Mastery Track
Each new set release in MTG Arena comes with an accompanying Mastery system that runs for several months. This system includes both a free track and a premium paid track, but the free track alone offers significant pack rewards.
As you play games and complete daily quests, you earn Mastery experience that levels up your Mastery track. The free track includes booster packs from the current set at regular intervals, typically every few levels. Over the full duration of a Mastery period (usually spanning the time between major set releases), free-to-play players can earn dozens of packs without purchasing the premium pass.
Additionally, the Mastery system includes Mastery Orbs as rewards, which can be spent in the Mastery Tree to unlock further rewards including additional packs, card styles, and other cosmetics. While the premium pass offers substantially more rewards, the free track remains one of the most generous ongoing sources of free packs in the game.
Enter Jump In Events
Jump In represents one of the most beginner-friendly ways to both play MTG Arena and earn rewards. This event format allows you to select two themed packet of cards that automatically combine into a playable deck. The entry fee for Jump In is relatively low, and the event structure rewards even casual participation.
Notably, Jump In lets you keep the cards from the packets you select, which effectively adds to your collection with each entry. While the primary cost is gold or gems, players can earn enough gold through daily quests to regularly participate. Furthermore, Jump In occasionally appears as a special event with modified costs or bonus rewards.
The event rotates its available packets periodically, ensuring variety and providing opportunities to acquire specific cards or strategies you might need for constructed play. For players still building their collections, Jump In offers excellent value compared to simply purchasing packs.
Redeem Active Promo Codes
Wizards of the Coast regularly distributes promotional codes that can be redeemed for free packs, cosmetics, and other rewards. These codes typically coincide with major events like set releases, streaming events, or special promotions.
To redeem codes, you need to access the Store menu in MTG Arena and look for the “Redeem Code” option. Codes are case-sensitive and must be entered exactly as displayed. While individual codes have expiration dates, Wizards maintains a steady stream of new codes throughout the year.
Common sources for promo codes include official Magic social media accounts, partner content creators, and major esports events. Additionally, codes are sometimes distributed through physical Magic products, creating a bridge between paper Magic and Arena. Staying connected to Magic community resources helps ensure you don’t miss limited-time code opportunities.
Participate in Special Events
Throughout the year, MTG Arena hosts various special events that offer unique reward structures. Some events provide direct pack rewards for participation or achieving specific win totals, while others offer alternative paths to building your collection.
Weekend events often feature special entry requirements like singleton formats or pauper restrictions, making them accessible even if you haven’t built tier-one competitive decks. These events frequently include pack rewards in their prize structure, sometimes offering packs from multiple sets simultaneously.
Furthermore, Festival events and other celebrations tied to set releases or Magic anniversaries often include enhanced rewards or free entry periods. During these promotional windows, even a modest win rate can yield substantial pack rewards.
Understand Draft and Sealed Rewards
While draft formats require an entry fee, they represent a pack-positive experience for players who can maintain reasonable win rates. Each draft entry includes the packs you open during the draft itself, and winning matches earns additional packs and gems that can fund future drafts.
Quick Draft, Premier Draft, and Traditional Draft each have different cost structures and reward distributions. Quick Draft costs less to enter but offers smaller rewards, while Premier and Traditional Draft provide higher stakes with correspondingly larger payouts. However, even losing records in draft typically return at least one pack beyond the cards you drafted.
Sealed events follow a similar principle but with a larger upfront pack investment. These events can be particularly valuable during the opening weekend of new set releases when special promotional events sometimes reduce entry costs or increase rewards.
Monitor the Wildcard Track
An often-overlooked aspect of free pack acquisition involves the Wildcard track that runs parallel to your pack opening. Every time you open a pack, you progress along this track. After opening a specific number of packs, you receive additional rare or mythic rare Wildcards.
Additionally, each pack has a chance to contain a Wildcard directly instead of a regular card. This system ensures that even if individual packs don’t contain the specific cards you need, you’re still progressing toward acquiring them through Wildcards.
The packs you receive from all sources—daily wins, ranked rewards, Mastery track, events, and codes—all contribute to this Wildcard track. Therefore, maximizing your free pack acquisition directly accelerates your Wildcard accumulation, giving you more flexibility in deck construction.
Take Advantage of Set Release Promotions
Whenever Wizards releases a new set, they typically offer promotional rewards to encourage players to engage with the new cards. These promotions have historically included free packs, special codes distributed through streaming events, and bonus rewards for early participation in new formats.
Set release weekends often feature special events with reduced entry costs or guaranteed minimum rewards. Additionally, the first week following a new set release frequently includes login bonuses or other participation rewards designed to showcase new mechanics and encourage collection building.
Optimize Your Free-to-Play Strategy
Successfully maximizing free pack acquisition requires consistency rather than marathon play sessions. Logging in daily to complete quests and achieve the first four daily wins provides the most efficient gold accumulation. This gold then funds draft entries or direct pack purchases, depending on your preference and skill level.
Moreover, focusing your play on Standard formats ensures that the packs you receive remain relevant to the competitive environment. While Historic and other eternal formats have their appeal, new players benefit most from concentrating their collection efforts on currently legal sets.
The combination of daily wins, weekly rewards, monthly ranked rewards, Mastery progression, promotional codes, and event participation creates multiple parallel tracks of progression. Players who engage with all these systems consistently can build competitive collections entirely free-to-play over time. The key lies in understanding each system and ensuring you’re taking full advantage of everything MTG Arena offers without spending money.
