Magic: The Gathering Arena arrives March 25 for mobile

The full release of Magic: The Gathering Arena will go live on the Apple App Store and Google Play on Thursday, on March 25. The digital adaptation of the original Magic: The Gathering card game has been available on PC platforms since 2019, and entered early access for Android devices in January of this year.

Arena is a genuine version of the original card game, and includes all the complexity and combinations that makes the gameplay so deep and elaborate. The card sets in this digital version of the game keep pace with the release of physical sets of cards. That means players can fill their decks with all the same tricks, traps, and powerful minions available on the tabletop version. Players build their decks from sets of cards granted to every player in the free-to-play game, and round them out with booster packs that are available for purchase in-app.

The mobile version of Arena has touch controls, of course, but it’s otherwise the same as the PC and Mac versions of the game. Most importantly, it will feature cross-play with those other platforms. During the pandemic, Arena has become an invaluable way to keep local communities of players together and has become the official digital home of Friday Night Magic — a long-standing tradition where fans get together in local game stores for friendly games or more formal tournaments.