Magic: The Gathering Arena got an update yesterday, comprised mostly of run-of-the-mill bug fixes and a list of known issues that Wizards of the Coast is acknowledging and looking to fix in future updates. However, this update did also add a new pet to the game store, and fans are utterly preoccupied with how ugly it is.
Among the other features of the Magic Arena update was a fix for players who disconnect and reconnect during a best-of-three match, and a proper display for historic cards while players sideboard in Direct Challenge matches. Meanwhile, that information is being completely overshadowed as players have posted a video of the new pet to Reddit, which has hundreds of comments already and thousands of upvotes.
The new pet is a dragon whelp, based on the original Magic: The Gathering dragon whelp card from Magic’s first set. The dragon whelp sells for 20,000 Gold or 3,000 Gems in the game’s store, and it’s only one rarity (meaning it doesn’t have unlockable visual upgrades or color variations of any type). However, while Wizards of the Coast may have been going for “nostalgia” when creating this pet, it’s eliciting a different reaction from players: most of them are completely preoccupied with how ugly they find the little dragon.
Once the dragon whelp’s image was posted on Reddit, Magic: The Gathering Arena fans had a field day. “They went for cute, and they ended up with the sleep paralysis demon at the foot of my bed,” one Reddit user wrote. Other fans couldn’t help but be preoccupied with an unlikely part of the dragon whelp’s anatomy, wondering, “Should a reptile have a belly button? The idea of a pet that can be bought with gold is nice, but…well…”
Then again, to some players on Reddit, the dragon whelp is so ugly it’s cute - one user wished they could buy it, writing, “This is hard. I want the ugly dragon, but would rather have 20 packs / 4 drafts. No ugly dragon for me.” And another Reddit user absolutely is buying the dragon whelp, albeit not for the sheer joy of owning an in-game creature as a pet. “I’m buying it for the psychological advantage it gives me over my opponents, his threatening presence will intimidate them into conceding,” they wrote.
At the end of the day, it looks like there are still Magic Arena players who will buy the dragon whelp despite its apparent flaws, so perhaps it wasn’t such a bad addition to the newly-released full game after all.
Magic: The Gathering Arena is available now for PC and Mac OS.
Source: Magic: The Gathering Arena, Reddit
