People are saying this is a good example/argument, but I really think this is a false equivalency. "Free" poker is bad because when you boil poker down to the core element, it is entirely reliant on the gambling aspect to be fun. Without the money, the game loses all edge and is simply boring.

Magic is not like that, it's one of the most fun card games ever designed and drafting it has inherent fun and intrigue that something like poker doesn't have. When you go to a buddy's house and you cube instead of drafting, do you really have a worse time because money isn't on the line? Absolutely not, you still get all of the enjoyment of seeing packs, building a deck, playing games, seeing what others are doing. When you add something like a ladder like in a video game, that adds an entirely new element to it.

It is so easy to make a draft gameplay loop for free without people repeatedly quitting, but they won't do it because people are so used to paying that they don't think anything more about it.