AI clears a 'nerd benchmark': Astra designs original Magic deck and beats a bot on Arena
emollick · x · 2026-09-08
Ethan Mollick reports that another informal 'nerd benchmark' has fallen: Astra autonomously designed an original Magic: The Gathering deck and used it to defeat a bot on Arena. The deck may not be stunning, he notes, but it is original and it worked.
This is a clear step up from his earlier test of Claude with Computer Use playing MTG Arena, which concluded 'not yet': card selection and mulligan decisions were solid and general strategy sound, but the model frequently got the mana math wrong, ultimately trying to play a card while tapped out.
Related event: AI Designs Its Own Magic: The Gathering Deck and Wins in Arena(2 posts)→
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