Counting Epic Games I have an extra 1300 hrs.

IS IT RIGGED? A little.
The shuffler is rigged yes but like it's rigged to make your opening hand better, which is maybe(?) more enjoyable. The matchmaking is rigged but it's to reduce the probability of joke/jank decks going up against metamancers, also maybe enjoyable.

IS IT PAY TO WIN? A little.
Playing F2P is limited but not impossible if you put in the work. It's also a double edged sword, on one hand, wildcards in the game mean $400 IRL cards are worth the same as $0.50 cards, meaning you will never be limited by product scarcity and demand. On the other hand, gaining wildcards can be slow. You can pretty consistently open about 1 pack free a day, which is worth $5.50 IRL. Every 3 packs you'll earn either an uncommon or rare wildcard, and occasionally a mythic wildcard. Every 10 packs you'll earn a gold pack with 6 rare/mythic rare standard cards.

You are (slowly) rewarded for opening packs with cards you already own the max of, and you are rewarded for the cards you lose in the every-other-year standard rotation as well. You make progress towards daily quests even in friendly battles. You are also gifted enough packs/wildcards to make about 1 free deck when you start, not to mention all of the starter decks for standard.

The game clearly caters towards Standard players, as some of those benefits mentioned above (standard rotation gift + goldpacks) only come from opening Standard packs. However, any game mode can receive a rank that is rewarded when the ranks reset about once a month. There will always be cheap/budget decks that can do well, but if you want something nice, you'll have to buy this. This might be a deal breaker for some but Magic isn't cheap IRL either.

CRITICISMS/REQUESTS? A few.
Brawl is fun, it's commander but renamed. It should have a 4 player mode. The world will change forever the moment Wizards of the Coast figures out how to incorporate 4 player Brawl into Arena. I'm sure they've thought of it already but they need to think harder. WOTC will also never do this as it will lose them money but they could use the steam market to allow players to trade cards, that would also change everything a million times over.

WOTC should add more support towards other play styles / gamemodes than standard. I play mostly standard but maybe it wouldn't have to be that way if other play styles were rewarded like standard was. WOTC Wouldn't do this however as standard's rotating meta allows them to constantly control the state of the game and also require players to keep collecting new cards, whether that's through F2P grind or P2W.

They should allow you a "creative mode" to play with any cards against friends. If they did this however the game would once again change drastically and the whole world would change forever. It'll never happen because it's not profitable.

~

The game can always be improved, I think criticism is just. I also think the game is fun to play, which maybe is the most important thing. Arena makes paper magic flashy and easier to understand, combined with maybe(?) being cheaper in the long run, it allows Arena to be an easy entry point to newcomers. All of the changes make Arena never truly magic but merely a parody of it. If you're okay with all of the above you'll find the game is good, deck-building is fun and the community is great.

Counting Epic Games I have an extra 1300 hrs. IS IT RIGGED? A little. The shuffler is rigged yes but like it's rigged to make your opening hand better, which is maybe(?) more enjoyable. The matchmaking is rigged but it's to reduce the probability of joke/jank decks going up against metamancers, also maybe enjoyable. IS IT PAY TO WIN? A little. Playing F2P is limited but not impossible if you put in the work. It's also a double edged sword, on one hand, wildcards in the game mean $400 IRL cards are worth the same as $0.50 cards, meaning you will never be limited by product scarcity and demand. On the other hand, gaining wildcards can be slow. You can pretty consistently open about 1 pack free a day, which is worth $5.50 IRL. Every 3 packs you'll earn either an uncommon or rare wildcard, and occasionally a mythic wildcard. Every 10 packs you'll earn a gold pack with 6 rare/mythic rare standard cards. You are (slowly) rewarded for opening packs with cards you already own the max of, and you are rewarded for the cards you lose in the every-other-year standard rotation as well. You make progress towards daily quests even in friendly battles. You are also gifted enough packs/wildcards to make about 1 free deck when you start, not to mention all of the starter decks for standard. The game clearly caters towards Standard players, as some of those benefits mentioned above (standard rotation gift + goldpacks) only come from opening Standard packs. However, any game mode can receive a rank that is rewarded when the ranks reset about once a month. There will always be cheap/budget decks that can do well, but if you want something nice, you'll have to buy this. This might be a deal breaker for some but Magic isn't cheap IRL either. CRITICISMS/REQUESTS? A few. Brawl is fun, it's commander but renamed. It should have a 4 player mode. The world will change forever the moment Wizards of the Coast figures out how to incorporate 4 player Brawl into Arena. I'm sure they've thought of it already but they need to think harder. WOTC will also never do this as it will lose them money but they could use the steam market to allow players to trade cards, that would also change everything a million times over. WOTC should add more support towards other play styles / gamemodes than standard. I play mostly standard but maybe it wouldn't have to be that way if other play styles were rewarded like standard was. WOTC Wouldn't do this however as standard's rotating meta allows them to constantly control the state of the game and also require players to keep collecting new cards, whether that's through F2P grind or P2W. They should allow you a "creative mode" to play with any cards against friends. If they did this however the game would once again change drastically and the whole world would change forever. It'll never happen because it's not profitable. ~ The game can always be improved, I think criticism is just. I also think the game is fun to play, which maybe is the most important thing. Arena makes paper magic flashy and easier to understand, combined with maybe(?) being cheaper in the long run, it allows Arena to be an easy entry point to newcomers. All of the changes make Arena never truly magic but merely a parody of it. If you're okay with all of the above you'll find the game is good, deck-building is fun and the community is great.