For the sake of fairness and balance I gave arena another chance. I found a few things I like, namely I can farm gold to get into draft events, and there has been a free to play pauper event running. Anyone planning to farm gold should read this helpful article ...
https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/going-optimal-on-mtg-arena/?_ga=2.267416526.1315607544.1546369816-1892512991.1530902321There's still stuff I don't like:
- it demands extra time to play for free
- the game scene can be a bit confusing (I have skipped my turn by mistake many times, and the emphasis on playing fast combined with hidden card text results in occasional blowouts to on board threats). I think they should move the prompts to a more central position.
- It's a bit laggy and a bit buggy if you don't restart the game every few hours
Anyway, arena is growing on me.