How to Import and Copy Decks into MTG Arena

Last updated on December 31, 2025

Deckbuilding in MTG Arena can be fun, but it’s also a task in tedium since the meta keeps shifting. What works one day seems to get banned the next. It’s completely understandable to say “to deck with it,” and find something already built online, a practice called “netdecking.”

Lots of Magic websites that catalog or archive decks show you the decklist and also provide a copiable list so that you can import the deck to MTG Arena or MTGO. There are a couple things to keep in mind for this, though, like what the game is looking for to import, how to get import lists from different sites, and how to work with the deck once it’s imported.

Let’s jump into that, shall we?

Leaping Master | Illustration by Anastasia Ovchinnikova

Can You Import Decks in MTG Arena?

Yes, go to the Decks screen on MTG Arena and select the Import button.

How to Import a Deck in MTGA

After you use your favorite source to find a deck:

#1. Copy the Decklist

Copy the decklist from your source, if you need to highlight it, start with the word “Deck” then move down to the last card in the list. An icon with two rectangles on top of each other often means “copy this decklist to your clipboard” and is a great start to selecting all the relevant information.

#2. Go to Decks and Import

In MTG Arena, navigate to your Decks tab and then hit Import at the bottom of the screen.

#3. Confirm Your Deck Imported

A confirmation will appear to confirm that the deck was successfully imported from your clipboard—and show you its auto-named generic title.

#4. Find Your Deck

The wildcard icon means you can craft the cards to finish the deck. The yellow triangle shows how many cards are not allowed in the deck.

The deck will appear in your decks section called “Imported Deck.” You can sort by Last Modified, Last Played, and Alphabetical, and either way you sort, Arena starts with completed decks first, then lists your decks that need wildcards or have cards that do not fit their format.

How to Craft Missing Cards

If you’re missing any cards, you’ll see the wildcard logo on the deck image. If you hover over the logo, it will tell you how many of each wildcard you need to finish the deck.

The logo will look different depending on your wildcard situation. If you have enough to finish it, it’ll just show the Lotus blossom. If you don’t have enough wildcards, the Lotus blossom will have a yield sign around it.

If you have enough Wildcards to complete the deck, you'll see a “Craft All” button at the bottom when the deck is selected.

Decklist Format: What MTGA Is Looking For

When you import decklists, the game looks for specific strings of text to say which and how many of the different cards you want to use, but also where that card should go. Things like “Commander,” “Library,” “Sideboard,” “Companion,” etc. A basic import list will look like this:

Deck
4 Aang, Swift Savior
4 Aang, at the Crossroads
4 Appa, Steadfast Guardian
4 Aven Interrupter
2 Beza, the Bounding Spring
4 Bramble Familiar
4 Doc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius
2 South Pole Voyager
2 Tishana's Tidebinder
4 Airbender Ascension
2 Seam Rip
4 Breeding Pool
4 Floodfarm Verge
4 Hushwood Verge
4 Meticulous Archive
4 Multiversal Passage
4 Plains

Sideboard
2 Avatar's Wrath
1 Beza, the Bounding Spring
3 Clarion Conqueror
2 Kutzil's Flanker
2 Reclamation Sage
2 Seam Rip
3 Voice of Victory

Defiant Strike | Illustration by Dominik Mayer

The number goes before the name of the card, as you can see. You can go a step further and specify what set you want the card to come from. If you have, say, two Defiant Strikes from War of the Spark and two from M21. That would look like this:

2 Defiant Strike (WAR) 9
2 Defiant Strike (M21) 15

Keep in mind that the importer needs both the set code and the collector number to import it this way. Sadly, the collector number isn’t available in Arena, so you’ll have to source it from elsewhere. Also, make sure to leave out any leading zeros as Arena doesn’t like that in the import string.

How Do I Change My Deck's Format?

It's easy to change your deck's format in Arena:

#1. Go to Deck Details

#2. Select Your Format

Error Importing Deck: Troubleshooting

In a perfect world, all imports would go as planned. But, as we all know, the world is far from perfect. So, what happens when an import fails?

The most basic troubleshooting is to paste the decklist you’re trying to import into a word processor and check that the formatting, and spelling are correct. Beyond that, here are a few specific error examples:

1. Missing Card or Card Not Found

These errors happen when the game can’t find a card in your decklist. This can mean that it’s spelled wrong, you’re trying to pull the card from a set that it isn’t in, or the collector number is incorrect or not formatted properly.

In this error’s case, Ardenvale Tactician isn’t in War of the Spark, so the set name would need to be changed or removed

2. Invalid Line

This happens when something is off about the code. Sometimes it can mean that the line or format is incomplete, sometimes it’s because the code is misspelled. Either way, check what you’re copying for errors.

In this case, enough of the decklist wasn’t copied so the import wasn’t able to be completed

3. Empty String

This error happens if you select import with nothing copied. Make sure you copied your decklist by pasting it into a word processor first, and then try again.

Also keep in mind that if you successfully import a deck, you may still need to make sure you've selected the proper format (if you import a Timeless deck but set it as a Standard deck, you'll get an “Invalid Deck” error message).

Where and How to Get Decklists for Import

Importing decks is great, but where can you find them to begin with? You don’t want to build them all by hand, right? Let’s get into it.

Magic eSports

When on Magic.gg, open the deck you wanna import. At the top of the list, you see a couple of buttons one of which has a file icon with a down arrow.

Use this button, to download a TXT file with an uncategorized list that includes a line break to separate the sideboard for Arena.

MTG Goldfish

Open the deck you want on MTGgoldfish and then select “Export to Arena” under the deck’s featured images on the left. You’ll be redirected to a page with the decklist in the Arena import format, which you can copy.

Draftsim’s Draft Simulator

Like a deck you got in our draft simulator and want to try it out in-game? Well, once you finish a Draft or have your Sealed pool, hit “Build”. Then, create your deck and sideboard as you normally would. When you’re done, select “Export” to copy the decklist to your clipboard.

Draftsim’s Arena Tutor

Scroll through your Arena Tutor Decks tab and like that new deck? Highlight the deck and then click the “Export” button to copy it. Super simple!

Wrap Up

Patch Up | Illustration by Scott Murphy

Importing is a good way to skip a part of the game that can be tedious, cumbersome, and painstaking (if you’re not masochistic that way). Netdecking can be your friend in a lot of cases and importing is definitely the way to go instead of just building the deck card by card.

I hope you found our time together helpful. If you enjoy articles like this, make sure to keep an eye on our blog for more and consider becoming a Patron. If you want to share any interesting decklists you’ve found or have any questions about importing, the Draftsim Discord is a great place to drop a list and chat.

If you want to see the flip side of this, check out our article on how to export a deck from MTGA.