What Are the Ranks in Magic The Gathering Arena? Constructed and Limited Ladder Explained

Lyssa Chatterton | Jun 10, 2025

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Figuring out how ranks work in Magic Arena can be tricky for new players because the game doesn't exactly tell you how to activate ranked play. For beginners who want to enjoy MTG without the costly card-collecting aspect, Magic Arena is an excellent alternative if you can stop yourself from buying virtual packs to add cards to decks that you construct. Want to know how to unlock and rank up in Magic Arena? Keep reading.

1. How to Unlock Ranked in Magic Arena
2. Types of Ranked Play in MTG Arena
3. How Many Wins to Rank Up in MTG Arena?
4. MTG Arena Rewards for Ranked Play
5. How Does MMR Work in MTG Arena?

How to Unlock Ranked in Magic Arena

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Ranked mode unlocks after you clear the three Starter Deck challenges and Spark Ranked. Spark Ranked was introduced in 2023 as a way for Magic Arena players to practice against other players with similar skills before trying out the more competitive Ranked matches available.

Ideally, you'll want to complete the Color Challenges as well because these matches teach you the basics of the core card colors in Magic The Gathering: White uses teamwork, Blue loves tricks, Black trades life for cards, Red pushes fast damage, and Green sends out big bodies. By the end, you have faced most core cards in MTG and should be able to spot the usual combat tricks.

All of the challenges and duels can get tiresome for new players, though. If you lose, you won't progress, so you might end up trying to win against the same bot four or five times in a Color Challenge or taking too much time to complete the three Starter Deck Duels if you don't have much experience with MTG.

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Try to look at these duels and challenges as a test drive, with Spark Ranked being a segue between them and battling more experienced players. You could switch to your phone when you've got spare time during the day to play a short match. A lunch break is the perfect time to play through some challenges!

Understanding Spark Ranked

You'll start at Spark Rank 4. Every time you win, you'll see one of the segments underneath your rank start to glow. There are five segments under each rank, so you'll need to win up to four times before you move up to the next Spark Rank. Some wins are worth two segments, and you'll start on the first one, so you might only need to win two or three times to rank up in Spark Rank.

How to Unlock More Ranked Play Variations

Once you've risen to Spark Rank 1 and won at least twice more, you'll unlock Alchemy Ranked Best of 1 and Alchemy Ranked Best of 3.

Winning these matches raises your Constructed Rank, but not your Limited Rank. To unlock more modes of play and different rule variations for Magic The Gathering, you need to keep playing and ranking up.

Related Article: Magic The Gathering Final Fantasy Arena Release Date, Rewards, Commander Decks

Rise to Silver 4 in Constructed Rank by playing in Alchemy Ranked, and you'll gain access to these other variations (which affect the kind of deck you can use):

• Standard Ranked (Bo1 & Bo3) - Play using using cards from recent sets.
• Historic Ranked (Bo1 & Bo3) - Play using using cards from recent sets with additional balance changes.
• Pioneer Ranked (Bo1 & Bo3) - Play using using cards from Standard sets back as far as October 2012.
• Timeless Ranked (Bo1 & Bo3) - Play using any card available in MTG Arena.

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Entering Silver 4 also allows you to sign up for various Draft events, including Constructed and Limited events. Entry to these events costs anywhere from 375 to 1500 Gems or 2,500 to 10,000 Gold.

Types of Ranked Play in MTG Arena

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Magic Arena splits Ranked into Constructed and Limited ladders:

• Constructed covers anything where you bring a deck from home. Standard and Historic are the main events, but the Arena also tacks on formats like Brawl, Artisan, or that weekly "Super Standard" chaos queue. You’ll see Bo1 (Best of 1) and Bo3 (Best of 3) listed side by side; each feeds the same Constructed rank.
• Limited collects every Draft or Sealed mode where you build from opened packs. The rank only cares about Premier Draft and Quick Draft, yet Traditional Draft and Sealed follow the same card-pool rules. If you love fresh-pack deck building, this is your playground.

Related Article: Magic The Gathering Final Fantasy Arena Release Date, Rewards, Commander Decks

MTG Arena Ranks

Both the Constructed and Limited ladders use the same set of steps for players to climb:

• Bronze
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum
• Diamond
• Mythic

Bronze through Diamond each contain four "floors." Bronze 4 is the basement; climb to Bronze 1, then push into Silver 4, and so on.

Reaching Mythic removes those floors. Instead, the Arena assigns you to a percentile alongside other players who play as well as you do.

How Many Wins to Rank Up in MTG Arena?

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Tiers	Points per Win	Points per Loss	Points to Rank Up
Bronze, Silver, Gold	+2	-1	6
Platinum, Diamond	+1	-1	6
Mythic	Not applicable, wins will move you up in percentage or number.	Not applicable, losses will move you down in percentage or number.	Not applicable, highest tier.

Each rank tier requires six points to move up. At Bronze, Silver, and Gold, wins are worth two points while losses knock off one point, so you can climb with a win rate just over 33%. This makes early tiers a bit more forgiving; you can fumble a few games, try out wacky deck builds, and still make progress if you keep your win rate steady. You won't drop from a tier once you've reached it during a season, though, no matter how much you lose. When a season ends, all players' ranks are reset.

Once you reach Platinum and Diamond, each win only adds one point, and each loss still removes one, so you need to win more than 50% of your matches to rank up. The math gets tighter, and you’ll feel every loss more. This is where the ladder starts asking for focused play from competitive players.

At Mythic, the system drops points and shifts to percentiles. Once you cross into Mythic, your badge will say, for example, "92%", meaning you're in the top 8% of Mythic players. Reach the top 1,200 players, and you'll be blessed with a specific rank number.

What Happens if You Finish Top 250 in Mythic?

If you're gunning for the top, hitting Top 250 in Mythic might be your ticket into Magic Arena’s competitive circuit. At the end of each ranked season, the top 250 Mythic players in either Constructed or Limited qualify for the next month’s Qualifier Weekend.

Keep in mind the deadline is sharp. Only matches finished before 12 pm PT on the last day of the season count toward your final standing. So, if you're hovering around 260 Mythic and trying to sneak into the cut, don't wait for the last ten minutes of the season to lock it in. This is where the climb gets sweaty, the queues get long, and one misplay can knock you out of the competition.

MTG Arena Rewards for Ranked Play

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At the end of each season, you'll get a reward. What you get and how much of it is based on your final rank when the season finishes, but every competitive player gets something.

Rank	Booster Packs	Gold	Card Styles
Bronze	1	0	0
Silver	1	500	0
Gold	2	1,000	1
Platinum	3	1,000	2
Diamond	4	1,000	2
Mythic	5	1,000	2

For those unfamiliar, card styles are alternate frames that you can use to customize how the front of your cards look when playing.

How Does MMR Work in MTG Arena?

MMR (Matchmaking Rating) is a hidden number that is measured by your recent performance in MTG Arena. It's used by the game's system to pair you with players near your skill level.

Although some third-party sites could take a guess at your number, Wizards (the makers of MTG) keep their formula close to the chest. It's best to avoid focusing on your MMR. Just play your matches and have fun!

See you in the queues; may your opening hands be keepers and your Mythic percentage start with a nine.

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