Draftsim
Draftsim is a free, browser-based Magic: The Gathering draft and sealed simulator operated by Turn Sideways Media, Inc., serving MTG players who want to practice Limited formats. It complements its simulator with the Arena Tutor companion app for MTG Arena and a content blog, monetizing via advertising and optional Patreon subscriptions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersSan Diego, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Draftsim does
Draftsim operates a free, browser-based Magic: The Gathering (MTG) draft and sealed simulator across the Draftsim.com domain, serving competitive and casual MTG players who want to practice Limited formats (booster draft and sealed) without spending currency in MTG Arena or risking physical cards. The core product consists of a Draft Simulator with bot opponents and pick suggestions, a Sealed Simulator for opening simulated booster packs, and a Multiplayer Draft feature for real-time online drafting against other players using public pods, cubes, or Chaos Draft. Supporting tools include a Sealed Deck Builder (with decklist import/export from MTG Arena), a Basic Land Calculator, an EDH Bracket/Power Calculator, a Combo Finder, and a card ratings system layered across all MTG sets.
The company extends its platform with Arena Tutor, a free companion desktop application that overlays MTG Arena to track opponent cards in real time and provide deckbuilding suggestions for sealed pools. Draftsim pairs its tools with a content-driven media operation — a blog of deck guides, set reviews, and strategy articles, supported by an email newsletter ("The Daily Upkeep"), a YouTube channel, and an active Discord community. The site operates under the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy and is unaffiliated with or endorsed by Wizards.
The business is operated by Turn Sideways Media, Inc., a Virginia corporation registered at 1775 Tysons Blvd., Tysons, VA 22102, with a small team of 11-50 employees led by founder Dan Troha ("Head Honcho"). Draftsim is privately held, bootstrapped with no disclosed funding rounds, and monetizes primarily through advertising served by Raptive (CMI Marketing, Inc.), with an optional recurring Patreon subscription that unlocks an ad-free experience. Distribution is entirely self-serve and product-led: global, web-based, zero-download, and free at the point of use.
Draftsim firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Draftsim
- Legal name
- Turn Sideways Media, Inc.
- Website
- https://draftsim.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Draftsim is a free, browser-based Magic: The Gathering draft and sealed simulator operated by Turn Sideways Media, Inc., serving MTG players who want to practice Limited formats. It complements its simulator with the Arena Tutor companion app for MTG Arena and a content blog, monetizing via advertising and optional Patreon subscriptions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Draftsim industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Trading Card Game Tools
- NAICS
- Doll, Toy, and Game Manufacturing (33993)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sports/Racing Game Studios (MPAFAAAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Amateur/Grassroots Esports Leagues & Community Tournaments (MPAFADAL)
Keywords
Where Draftsim is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Diego
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Draftsim business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Advertising: The site displays advertising through Raptive (CMI Marketing, Inc.) ad network to generate revenue from free users
- Patreon Subscription: Optional Patreon subscription for ad-free experience. Users can connect their Patreon account to receive ad-free access. Users may optionally connect their Draftsim account to Patreon to receive an ad-free experience.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free tier - Core draft and sealed simulator access |
| Subscription | Monthly | Patreon subscription for ad-free experience |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Draftsim product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Draftsim is a free, browser-based Magic: The Gathering booster draft and sealed simulator that lets players practice Limited formats against bots with pick-suggestion support, open simulated booster packs, and build decks from generated pools. The platform extends to a real-time multiplayer draft lobby for drafting with other players and supports a companion app (Arena Tutor) and a Sealed Deck Builder for users preparing for prereleases and competitive play.
Product overview
Draftsim is a free MTG draft simulator and sealed simulator operated by Turn Sideways Media, Inc. The core offering consists of the Draft Simulator and Sealed Simulator for practicing Magic: The Gathering booster draft and sealed formats against bots. The platform extends to a Multiplayer Draft feature for real-time online drafting with other players. Supporting tools include Arena Tutor (a companion app for MTG Arena), the Sealed Deck Builder for decklist uploads, Combo Finder, Basic Land Calculator, and EDH Bracket/Power Calculator. The platform also provides card ratings and maintains a blog with deck guides and MTG news content.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Arena Tutor: A free companion app and draft assistant for MTG Arena players that tracks opponent cards and provides deckbuilding suggestions.
Products and services
- Draft Simulator A free web-based Magic: The Gathering booster draft simulator where users practice drafting against bots with pick suggestions, prepare for prereleases, and draft recent sets, cubes, or chaos formats.
- Sealed Simulator A simulator for opening simulated Magic: The Gathering booster packs, allowing users to practice sealed deck formats and build decks from generated pools to prepare for prerelease events.
- Multiplayer Draft A real-time browser-based multiplayer Magic: The Gathering draft simulator that allows users to draft online against other players, with public pods for the latest sets, classic cubes, and Chaos Draft, and private rooms for drafting with friends.
- Sealed Deck Builder A standalone deckbuilding tool that lets users paste decklists from MTG Arena or paper cards, sort cards by rarity, color, and converted mana cost, and export decks back to MTG Arena.
- Arena Tutor A free downloadable companion app and draft assistant that runs alongside MTG Arena, providing card ratings and analysis, deckbuilding suggestions for sealed pools, and automatic tracking of opponents' cards played to support sideboarding.
- Combo Finder A standalone search tool on Draftsim for finding Magic: The Gathering card combos.
- Basic Land Calculator A standalone utility tool for calculating optimal basic land ratios for Magic: The Gathering decks.
- EDH Bracket/Power Calculator A standalone utility tool for calculating Magic: The Gathering Commander (EDH) deck power levels and bracket classifications.
Companies that use Draftsim
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Draftsim technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature5 records
Draftsim partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Raptive (CMI Marketing, Inc.)coreRaptive serves as the advertising partner for Draftsim, placing advertisements on the site. Raptive collects and uses certain data for advertising purposes. For eligible Patreon supporters who connect their accounts, Raptive detects this configuration and does not serve ads.
- ClerkcoreClerk provides the account system functionality beginning in 2026, allowing users to sign up using email/password or through third-party OAuth providers including Apple, Google, Facebook, or Discord.
- Wizards of the CoastminorDraftsim.com is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. The site provides tools for practicing Magic: The Gathering formats.
- Arena TutorcoreArena Tutor is a companion app created by Draftsim that runs alongside MTG Arena. It provides card ratings and analysis features, tracks opponent cards during sealed events, and helps with deckbuilding suggestions and in-game tracking.
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Draftsim competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Scryfall: Scryfall is a Magic: The Gathering card search engine and database with advanced filtering and developer APIs. It is comparable to Draftsim because both serve MTG players with tooling around the MTG card ecosystem, including Combo Finder-style lookups and card-level data access.
- MTGGoldfish: MTGGoldfish is a Magic: The Gathering content, deck-building, and finance tracking platform. It competes with Draftsim on MTG content, deck guides, and card/pricing information, targeting the same MTG player audience with a similar freemium model.
- EDHREC: EDHREC is the leading Magic: The Gathering Commander/EDH content and statistics platform, providing deck recommendations, card synergy data, and strategy content. It is comparable to Draftsim because both serve MTG players with card ratings, deck-building tools, and content-driven engagement around specific MTG formats.
- AetherHub: AetherHub provides a Magic: The Gathering deck builder, metagame tracker, and tournament tools. It is comparable to Draftsim because it serves MTG players seeking to build, test, and share decks online, overlapping directly with Draftsim's Sealed Deck Builder and deck-sharing features.
- 17lands: 17lands is a Magic: The Gathering draft analytics platform that collects and analyzes pick and game data from MTG Arena drafts. It is directly comparable to Draftsim because both serve the same MTG Limited player audience and compete on draft preparation, pick guidance, and data-driven card ratings.
- Untapped.gg: Untapped.gg provides an MTG Arena tracker and deckbuilding tool that overlays live game data and recommendations during play. It directly competes with Draftsim's Arena Tutor companion app, serving the same MTG Arena player base with in-game assistance and draft prep features.
Broad incumbents
- TCGplayer: TCGplayer is a leading trading card game marketplace with integrated deck-building, pricing, and content tools. It is comparable to Draftsim on the MTG deck-building and card-pricing tooling side, but operates a much broader card commerce platform spanning multiple TCGs.
- ChannelFireball: ChannelFireball is an established Magic: The Gathering content publisher, tournament organizer, and card retailer. It overlaps with Draftsim on MTG strategy content and tournament coverage, but operates at a much larger scale across multiple Magic formats and a card sales business.
- Mtgmelee: Mtgmelee is a Magic: The Gathering tournament pairing, streaming, and event management platform. It is comparable to Draftsim's multiplayer drafting functionality as both enable organized online play, though Mtgmelee focuses on competitive tournament infrastructure rather than casual draft simulation.
Regional players
- Cardmarket: Cardmarket is Europe's largest Magic: The Gathering and other TCG marketplace with integrated deck-building tools. It is comparable to Draftsim on the deck-building and MTG tooling side, but primarily serves a European audience rather than Draftsim's global English-language user base.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Draftsim social profiles
Digital presenceDraftsim financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Draftsim leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Draftsim funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Draftsim M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Draftsim
What does Draftsim do?
Draftsim is a free, browser-based Magic: The Gathering booster draft and sealed simulator that lets players practice Limited formats against bots with pick-suggestion support, open simulated booster packs, and build decks from generated pools. The platform extends to a real-time multiplayer draft lobby for drafting with other players and supports a companion app (Arena Tutor) and a Sealed Deck Builder for users preparing for prereleases and competitive play.
Is Draftsim a public or private company?
Draftsim is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Draftsim founded?
Draftsim was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Draftsim based?
Draftsim is headquartered in San Diego, United States, in the North America region.
How does Draftsim make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Advertising is the primary driver. The others are patreon Subscription.
Who are Draftsim's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Scryfall, MTGGoldfish, EDHREC, AetherHub, 17lands and Untapped.gg. Broad incumbents are TCGplayer, ChannelFireball and Mtgmelee. Cardmarket is listed as a regional player.
Does Draftsim have an API?
No public API is recorded for Draftsim.
What industry is Draftsim in?
Draftsim's product category is Trading Card Game Tools. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFAAAJ, Sports/Racing Game Studios, with a secondary code of MPAFADAL, Amateur/Grassroots Esports Leagues & Community Tournaments. Its NAICS code is 33993 and its SIC code is 7372.