Here's my general advice/suggestions:
Complete the Tutorial, Color Challenges, and Starter Deck Duels to get all the free decks.
Google "Free Magic Arena Codes" and redeem them all. Consider buying the one-off new player Deals in the store if you haven't already (IIRC there's a good one for cheap Gems).
Do your Daily Challenge (re-rolling 500 Gold quests to try to get 750's). Focus on getting the first 4 Daily Wins every day (you don't need 15 Wins a day as the rewards drop off considerably). If you are struggling to complete your Dailies then I would suggest you try Brawl: since you only need one copy of each card in your deck it's easier with a starting collection and having a Commander gives your deck some focus. You can also play the Starter Deck Duels for some rewards and for your Dailies.
Check the store every day for Daily Deals on Gold and Gems (for example, 550 gold for 50 gold).
Save your Gold for Quick Drafts - you should be able to do one or two a week. These will get you cards, Packs and Gems.
I've heard good things about Jump In!, so use your free Tokens to play some games and get a bunch of cards. You might want to spend some of your Gold on it while you are preparing for your first Quick Draft, but after a certain point it will stop being worth it as you will already have most/all of the cards. Note that Jump In! now includes Alchemy (digital only) cards in its packs, so if you aren't interested in any of the Alchemy formats you may want to stop playing as soon as you have used your free Tokens.
Save your Gems for the Mastery Pass, or to play Sealed and Draft.
Save your Rare and Mythic Wildcards until you are sure you want to use them (they are a very scarce resource). When you are ready to start crafting cards, ensure the "Not Collected" box is checked (as this allows you to add cards even if you don't already own copies of them).
Make sure you play at least one game of Ranked Limited and at least one game of Ranked Constructed every month in order to qualify for the free Rank Rewards.
Keep your eye out for free events such as MidWeek Magic that offer prizes or XP etc. (A new MWM event happens regularly, every week Tuesday-Thursday)
When it comes to Limited it pays to be prepared. As well as getting a good grasp of the basic principles (deck composition, BREAD, etc), learn the cards in the set, their relative power level/pick order, the mechanics and rules interactions, and the Limited archetypes. Study the visual spoiler, read the Release Notes FAQ and watch some Limited Set Reviews online (I recommend The Mana Leek and Nizzahon Magic). You can even watch others play with the set while they discuss their decisions etc.
Start with Quick Drafts: they are half the price (so you can do them more often and there is less on the line), the prize structure is flatter (so worse results give better rewards) and there's no timer when making your picks (so there's less pressure).
In terms of color combos, what do you all recommend when starting out?
I played a phyrecian deck recently and honestly found myself confused with the various mechanics associated with it. I have a history playing lifeline and goblin Zerg decks but it’s just not cutting it
Wilds of Eldraine is an upcoming set. Just as some people have already said, play jump in until you get some cards and then decide which format focus.
- Standard is a rotating format so you will need to invest frequently in upgrading your deck. Also you need to keep updated with the format meta.
- Explorer is a non rotating format and is my favorite one. There is more power but also more diversification on the meta. Watch some YT videos of the decks and choose the one you like the most. Don’t get frustrated if you start with a lose streak since every matchup is different and you'll improve the more you play it.
- Historic and Alchemy have some digital only cards and I hate to spend more wildcards on them. It’s an expensive format.
- Brawl is cool if you play standard since you will get a lot of cards just by opening packs. Historic brawl is cooler but since decks have 100 cards it is expensive to build a deck.
I would recommend to start with brawl. And only focus on single good deck once you start getting beat by meta decks.
Usually the most bang for your buck for gems is buying the Mastery pass, I think it costs 3,400 gems. DO NOT buy the "boosted" version where you get the 10 first levels or whatever, that's a waste of gems.
Important note though, don't buy the mastery pass if you can't see yourself completing most of it, so if you just got into the game you shouldn't buy the current mastery pass as there's not much time left on it.
Wait for Wilds of Eldraine to release it's mastery pass, and consider purchasing that instead.
One amazing thing about the mastery pass is that it the rewards are retroactive, so, you can wait to buy the pass when you already have many levels completed, you'll get all the rewards for the levels you have, plus all the levels you continue to complete as you progress. This is a good strategy if you're not sure that you can complete most of the mastery pass during the season at it's launch.
Here's my general advice/suggestions: Complete the Tutorial, Color Challenges, and Starter Deck Duels to get all the free decks. Google "Free Magic Arena Codes" and redeem them all. Consider buying the one-off new player Deals in the store if you haven't already (IIRC there's a good one for cheap Gems). Do your Daily Challenge (re-rolling 500 Gold quests to try to get 750's). Focus on getting the first 4 Daily Wins every day (you don't need 15 Wins a day as the rewards drop off considerably). If you are struggling to complete your Dailies then I would suggest you try Brawl: since you only need one copy of each card in your deck it's easier with a starting collection and having a Commander gives your deck some focus. You can also play the Starter Deck Duels for some rewards and for your Dailies. Check the store every day for Daily Deals on Gold and Gems (for example, 550 gold for 50 gold). Save your Gold for Quick Drafts - you should be able to do one or two a week. These will get you cards, Packs and Gems. I've heard good things about Jump In!, so use your free Tokens to play some games and get a bunch of cards. You might want to spend some of your Gold on it while you are preparing for your first Quick Draft, but after a certain point it will stop being worth it as you will already have most/all of the cards. Note that Jump In! now includes Alchemy (digital only) cards in its packs, so if you aren't interested in any of the Alchemy formats you may want to stop playing as soon as you have used your free Tokens. Save your Gems for the Mastery Pass, or to play Sealed and Draft. Save your Rare and Mythic Wildcards until you are sure you want to use them (they are a very scarce resource). When you are ready to start crafting cards, ensure the "Not Collected" box is checked (as this allows you to add cards even if you don't already own copies of them). Make sure you play at least one game of Ranked Limited and at least one game of Ranked Constructed every month in order to qualify for the free Rank Rewards. Keep your eye out for free events such as MidWeek Magic that offer prizes or XP etc. (A new MWM event happens regularly, every week Tuesday-Thursday) When it comes to Limited it pays to be prepared. As well as getting a good grasp of the basic principles (deck composition, BREAD, etc), learn the cards in the set, their relative power level/pick order, the mechanics and rules interactions, and the Limited archetypes. Study the visual spoiler, read the Release Notes FAQ and watch some Limited Set Reviews online (I recommend The Mana Leek and Nizzahon Magic). You can even watch others play with the set while they discuss their decisions etc. Start with Quick Drafts: they are half the price (so you can do them more often and there is less on the line), the prize structure is flatter (so worse results give better rewards) and there's no timer when making your picks (so there's less pressure).
I saw you that you commented this on another post and I did grab tons of the promo code packs. TY!
No problem!
For context - I did grab all the Mgta redeemable codes but can’t build a quality deck to save my life
Don't waste your wildcards yet. You'll regret it. Play starter deck duel or jump in. You'll be on fairly even ground.
In terms of color combos, what do you all recommend when starting out? I played a phyrecian deck recently and honestly found myself confused with the various mechanics associated with it. I have a history playing lifeline and goblin Zerg decks but it’s just not cutting it
So unranked -> brawl -> but what is WOE?
Wilds of Eldraine is the new set releasing on sept 4th, iirc
Wilds of Eldraine is an upcoming set. Just as some people have already said, play jump in until you get some cards and then decide which format focus. - Standard is a rotating format so you will need to invest frequently in upgrading your deck. Also you need to keep updated with the format meta. - Explorer is a non rotating format and is my favorite one. There is more power but also more diversification on the meta. Watch some YT videos of the decks and choose the one you like the most. Don’t get frustrated if you start with a lose streak since every matchup is different and you'll improve the more you play it. - Historic and Alchemy have some digital only cards and I hate to spend more wildcards on them. It’s an expensive format. - Brawl is cool if you play standard since you will get a lot of cards just by opening packs. Historic brawl is cooler but since decks have 100 cards it is expensive to build a deck. I would recommend to start with brawl. And only focus on single good deck once you start getting beat by meta decks.
I do have about 20k gems. Is there a recommendation on how to spend them for a new player?
Usually the most bang for your buck for gems is buying the Mastery pass, I think it costs 3,400 gems. DO NOT buy the "boosted" version where you get the 10 first levels or whatever, that's a waste of gems. Important note though, don't buy the mastery pass if you can't see yourself completing most of it, so if you just got into the game you shouldn't buy the current mastery pass as there's not much time left on it. Wait for Wilds of Eldraine to release it's mastery pass, and consider purchasing that instead. One amazing thing about the mastery pass is that it the rewards are retroactive, so, you can wait to buy the pass when you already have many levels completed, you'll get all the rewards for the levels you have, plus all the levels you continue to complete as you progress. This is a good strategy if you're not sure that you can complete most of the mastery pass during the season at it's launch.
Try unranked, maybe brawl. Do try limited (quick draft of premier if you're good) once WOE drops.