Announced officially during The Game Awards earlier today, Wizards of the Coast is investing $US10 million into a global esports circuit for Magic: The Gathering that will be equally split across the digital and tabletop versions of the competitive card game.

More money into M:TG is a good thing. But for Australians, it's not all gravy: the Sydney Pro Tour will not be returning for 2019.

Magic: The Gathering Arena is the venerable card game's new entry into the digital space, and the free-to-play game is finally in open beta on PC after several months of closed beta. I've been playing it for those several months. I have some opinions.

I spent the better part of a decade with my head deep in Magic: The Gathering. I spent all my spare money on M:TG cards, I went to tournaments, I crafted decks, and I woke up in the middle of the night with ideas about possible combos.

I never did particularly well. Although I'm a competent player, I was an ordinary deck-builder, and stubborn enough not to net-deck everything. And even though it's been more than ten years since I "retired", there are life lessons Magic: The Gathering has taught me that have nothing to do with gaming and everything to do with living.

Magic: The Gathering has been running for as long as I can remember. Even when I was young, going to the games store to pick out new Game Boy games, I could see the packs and decks hovering over me. It's always seemed interesting but daunting. Arena makes those apprehensive first toes in the water a little easier to dip.

Similarities between a new Shadowverse illustration and an older Magic: The Gathering card had fans wondering about artistic infringement. Yesterday, the makers of Shadowverse issued an apology, explaining that the art in their new Holy Purebomb card was indeed taken from Magic: The Gathering.

Wizards of the Coast's Hearthstone-ish Magic: The Gathering Arena is a fresh take on digitising the venerable TCG, but it's still a game about spending money, virtual or otherwise, to collect trading cards. Here's our first look at how Arena is handling its in-game economy.