While I'd never describe myself as a die-hard fan, I've dabbled in Magic: The Gathering since the 90s across its physical form, the early RPG-like Microprose adaptation of the game, and even a bit of Magic Online, which is still running despite having barely changed over the past 15 years.
The latest digital adaptation, Magic: Arena is currently in closed beta testing, and the developers have just outlined their initial economic plans for the game. While it may sound a little daunting, the abridged version is that this sounds more generous than Hearthstone for casual players, at the very least, although they've yet to pin down the final real-money pricing for the game.
]]>In the manner of a bodyguard hurling themselves in front of a bullet, I am hurling myself in front of a story about Magic: The Gathering's digital free-to-play card game, Magic: The Gathering Arena [official site] in order to protect Alice and Brendan from it. SAVE YOURSELVES, FRIENDS!
]]>Magic: The Gathering launches today its latest expansion, Aether Revolt (the 73rd, if you're counting), and it's already out in Magic Duels [official site]. Continuing to lark about with artifacts, energy counters, and vehicles on the pretty plane of Kaladesh, the expansion adds 124 cards to Magic Duels. The streamlined free-to-play take on the wonderful collectible card game has largely kept up with its cardboard daddy, which I've found mighty helpful as someone who likes keeping up with Magic goings-on but is not allowed to buy cards ever again ever. This latest cardblast keeps me safe a little longer.
]]>Now that the Duels of the Planeswalkers series has gone free-to-play, new sets are being released for the video games alongside their cardboard launches. That's nice. Magic's Eldritch Moon expansion will hit tabletops on July 22nd but Wizards of the Coast have announced we'll actually see it early on desktops and laptops in Magic Duels [official site] on July 20th.
It'll continue the Shadows over Innistrad block with a new story campaign, a new pre-built deck, and new cards with new mechanics. You can, for example, meld a town's soldiers and its battlements to form a writhing, horror-spawning meat-town. Nice.
]]>Wizards always have room for more tricks up their sleeves.
That joke's better than me. It deserves better. It could've been told so much better. Could someone better than me pick it up and run with it? Thanks.
Point is, the free-to-play wizard 'em up Magic Duels [official site] has launched its 'Shadows over Innistrad' update with 304 new cards to collect and cast. It's also added new story campaigns, new quests, bug fixes, and other patchy things.
]]>After the stonking success of Hearthstone and other free-to-play collectible card games, it was inevitable that Magic: The Gathering would follow suit (this pun was unintentional, but I'm leaving it in). Magic may be head honch of the cardboard scene, but its offerings on virtual tabletops have been relatively disappointing. The Duels of the Planeswalkers games only added proper deckbuilding - a huge draw of Magic, for me at least - in its fifth revision, for goodness' sake.
Magic Duels [official site] continues on from DotP and turns it free-to-play, and... seems to be a good direction for the series? It launched last night, available on Steam.
]]>I've been playing Magic regularly for the past five years, and the blame for all that lost time and money is the first Duels of the Planeswalkers [official site]. During that time, the game grew from gateway drug for its cardboard cousin into a full series in its own right, and one looked forward to by long-time fans and new players alike. Unfortunately last year's edition did almost as much work making me hate it as the original did making me love it. I've been playing the next iteration, Magic Duels Origins, to find out whether it manages to fix the series amid the move to an ever-updating free to play model, or whether it falls into the same trap (cards) all over again.
]]>Ah, Magic, my particular brand of cardboard narcotic. The first game in the Duels of the Planeswalkers series is what got me into it, while the last nearly got me out with its terribly designed interface, boring grind of unlocks and poorly thought out battles. Which way will the newly announced Magic Duels: Origins [official site] point me? It marks a switch from a yearly release structure to a free to play, updated regularly one. The former is what made it so popular, while the latter drove people off from last year's edition. The trailer and more details below.
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