You Can Now Report Griefers And AFK Players In MTG Arena

A fresh update to Magic: The Gathering Arena has added a report feature for players, letting you flag inappropriate conduct ranging from in-game griefing and AFKs to written abuse.

While the in-game chat feature is yet to materialize, this report function was always going to be a requirement before it could land in the game, so this new update might be a hint that this feature is also on its way soon. For now, let's look at this new update and its impact on MTG Arena and its player base.

Player Reporting Arrives In MTG Arena

As part of the August 17 MTG Arena announcements article over on the Magic: The Gathering website, there was a small section dedicated to the topic "Introducing Player Reporting"; however, it linked to a larger article detailing this new feature, how it should be used, and why it came about in the first place.

Player reports arrive in MTG Arena on August 18 and give players a chance to finally report others to Wizards of the Coast for a range of reasons, including but not limited to:

• Inactivity
• Hate speech
• Inappropriate usernames
• Verbal abuse
• Spamming

Once you submit a report via a drop-down menu with a text box for additional context, a human will review it. Wizards of the Coast has partnered with GGWP to moderate reports from MTG Arena, and once they believe the system is solid, they will introduce automation into the process.

What this means in the early stages is that reports are likely to take longer to action, but at least a human will be reviewing the report, and the outcome should be relatively fair as a result. This process will then be used to automate parts of the reporting system, with human involvement only if anything goes awry or for an appeals process, should one be put in place.

Truthfully, not enough details are being given on this system right now, and it's a little worrying. While human involvement should prevent too much disruption, the thought of any reporting process being handed off to "automation," which could also mean AI involvement, raises questions about the accuracy and authenticity of the process. This is where we tend to see false flags, especially when it comes to the inactivity category.

AFK, or roping as it's called in MTG Arena, is when a player sits and lets their timeouts get used up during a game that they've clearly lost. It's poor form and just childish behavior that is rampant in the game, even at higher ranks. However, can an automated system tell when a player is having connection issues, or when they're simply struggling to make a decision, but the reporting player is impatient because they are playing a faster-paced deck?

Time will tell whether this system works as intended, but the need for player reporting grew with the influx of inappropriate names, improper mid-game conduct, and the fact that abusive messages were easy to send once two players were friends in-game.

Is Player Reporting A Precursor To In-Game Chat?

In-game, or match chat now looks likely to arrive in MTG Arena at some point. This isn't confirmed, and despite some community unease about the addition whenever it's been suggested, player reporting is often a key demand many would need before feeling comfortable with it.

Given that verbal abuse and hate speech are two of the listed items for reporting, and chatting with random players isn't possible in MTG Arena, it suggests that a form of chat is coming to the game and this is setting the ground rules, however obvious, for when it arrives.

While we still don't have confirmation of in-game chat, the addition of player reporting suggests that it could be on the way sooner rather than later. Granted, this new reporting feature will need time to calibrate before it has to handle whatever is thrown at it when in-game chat arrives, but I wouldn't be surprised to see in-game chat arrive as early as Q1 2027 now that reporting is ready to go.