XBLA - Magic: The Gathering - 800pts

[Kaijufan]

Magic: The Gathering is coming to Xbox Live Arcade. (http://kotaku.com/357795/magic-the-gathering-coming-to-xbla)
Not much is known about it at this point, it's possible it will be like the PC version of Magic where you have to buy virtual decks and booster packs.

I loved playing Magic back in the day. I wouldn't be willing to pay for virtual cards, but if they just let us use cards for free, and $5-10 for entire expansion packs I would definitely buy this.

[Brak]

*shits pants*

[Puffa469]

The pc version charges full retail price for packs of virtual cards. If this version follows that model they can kiss my ass.

Im an old mtg player from way back and would love to get into this, but the $3+ for a pack of non existent cards always put me off to the pc version.

[tiredfornow]

oh my fucking god

:drool: :drool:

[mtxbass1]

*shits pants*

this.

[-Never4ever-]

oh god no

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

:cry::cry:

RIP Social Life

[Danimal]

The pc version charges full retail price for packs of virtual cards. If this version follows that model they can kiss my ass.

Im an old mtg player from way back and would love to get into this, but the $3+ for a pack of non existent cards always put me off to the pc version.
Couldn't agree more. This is exactly why I never got into the PC version either.

I'll be really interested to hear how they'll be handling it on XBLA, though.

[Logain8955]

As long as they don't try to charge for virtual packs, I'm five kinds of down.


What they should do is include a Key in each real world pack that you buy, containing the data for the cards inside the pack. That I wouldn't mind at all.

[Liquid 2]

I would have been all over this a few years ago.

If the cards are free though, I'd definitely pick it up.

[gamefan1686]

I haven't played magic in forever, but if they do this right ill be all over it. This is the perfect game for live.

Side note - any one remember the Pokemon trading card game for the gbc, I loved that trading card game.

[halfbent]

Hopefully it's like the old PC game, played that one something fierce.

As far as MTG:Online goes, I thought you could trade in and get actual copies of the card? Or did they nix that idea, I know it was talked about being done while it was still in beta at least.

[HotShotX]

Fuckin-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

~HotShotX

[Puffa469]

As long as they don't try to charge for virtual packs, I'm five kinds of down.


What they should do is include a Key in each real world pack that you buy, containing the data for the cards inside the pack. That I wouldn't mind at all.


Thats a great idea. At least then I have the actual cards and can sell them or trade them if I want.

[getmyrunon]

Ehh... I'd rather not spend hours arguing about ambiguously worded cards with kids who haven't hit puberty yet :)

[Puffa469]

Ehh... I'd rather not spend hours arguing about ambiguously worded cards with kids who haven't hit puberty yet :)

well isnt the whole point of an online version the rules clarification? If the game engine decides what does what, theres no more arguing.

[Kaijufan]

Side note - any one remember the Pokemon trading card game for the gbc, I loved that trading card game.
That was a great game. I would love to see Nintendo make a sequel on the DS. It would be a day one purchase for me, even though I haven't played the Pokemon TCG in years.

[Hitze]

I've never even touched a Magic card, or know how to play -- but for whatever reason, this interests me. Whether or not I end up buying it all depends how much they decide to rape you with the prices on stuff (I won't be spending much money to buy new cards and whatnot).

[lordwow]

I would pay per pack even, but I don't want to get raped here. I'd pay like $5 for a starter, and maybe like $1.50 for a booster. Not paying full price, even if I really want this.

[AngellicLulu]

I remember playing Magic on the PC but it was more like an RPG. Man, I loved that game. I wonder where it went.

[RelentlessRolento]

YAY! I hope this leads to more TCGs on XBLA. I can't get enough of them, especially if they are digital.

[SynGamer]

800 points should include the game and include all the editions up to this year. But that is very unlikely...so if they want my business, none of this pack crap. Offer me the entire edition for 100 points OR allow me to buy randomized decks from a specific edition for 50 points. Either way, i might actually pick this up, liked playing this casually back in the day.

[thrustbucket]

I played mtg a lot back when it first came out. Which I'd saved my cards, probably worth something now. Gave up on it for price reasons.

However, if anyone likes these types of games, there is a brand new card game that is NOT a CCG called Race for the Galaxy (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/28143) that has very CCG like mechanics that is a blast. It has currently rocketed to number 19 on board game geek, of best games of all time.

[hiccupleftovers]

Magic: The Gathering is coming to Xbox Live Arcade. (http://kotaku.com/357795/magic-the-gathering-coming-to-xbla)
Not much is known about it at this point, it's possible it will be like the PC version of Magic where you have to buy virtual decks and booster packs.

I loved playing Magic back in the day. I wouldn't be willing to pay for virtual cards, but if they just let us use cards for free, and $5-10 for entire expansion packs I would definitely buy this.

Agreed entirely.

That was a great game. I would love to see Nintendo make a sequel on the DS. It would be a day one purchase for me, even though I haven't played the Pokemon TCG in years.



I loved Pokemon TCG on GBC. I still play it here and there. That was such a fun game. It really would be great if they made a sequel to it, to Snap, etc.

[Logg]

Awesome news

[dave17]

here's to hoping it's like the original magic game on the pc (the rpg-ish one in sarandar). I still have that game somewhere, but I think it only works on windows 98. 8[

[lordwow]

I really hope this is done right, and sells well. I really think there's a place for CCGs on the consoles (like Culdcept Saga), but they haven't taken off yet without a mainstream release like this, at least on the 360.

[Jek Porkins]

I can't see this as anything but a MS points-sink, but if it's some kind of standalone like the old PC game, I'd be in for sure.

[KiLL3r]

Very interesting. Could see myself getting it but then again DLC packs of cards are going to cost a bunch of microsoft points. Hopefully they'll have a option to turn off DLC packs when u battle online.

[garrett_in_the_hat]

I hope this does well. I'd love to see Legend of the Five Rings and the old Dragonball Z card games put on Xbox Live.

[JadedJedi]

I can't wait at all. The old PC version is incompatible with Windows XP, so I need a magic fix. I just with it was out for DS or PSP. I played yugioh for months on end on my GBA at work.

[Sc4rfac3]

I haven't played magic in forever, but if they do this right ill be all over it. This is the perfect game for live.

Side note - any one remember the Pokemon trading card game for the gbc, I loved that trading card game. yeah if they do this right i'm all kinds of in. i used to love that pokemon trading card game for gbc. I hope they make it for ds

[DJSteel]

The pc version charges full retail price for packs of virtual cards. If this version follows that model they can kiss my ass.

Im an old mtg player from way back and would love to get into this, but the $3+ for a pack of non existent cards always put me off to the pc version.

I agree!

[FoxHoundADAM]

Awesome idea but I'm sure they will screw this up with grossly overpriced macrotransactions.

[Kaijufan]

I can't wait at all. The old PC version is incompatible with Windows XP, so I need a magic fix. I just with it was out for DS or PSP. I played yugioh for months on end on my GBA at work.
If you want to play the old PC version and still have a Windows 98 disk just download this program (http://www.vmware.com/products/server/) and you can run Windows 98 in a virtual machine on your computer.
I've used it to run Windows Server 2000, 2003, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and several Linux distributions. It works great.

[NTolerance]

This comes out on Wednesday. Any news on whether all cards are included with the game or is it microtransacation madness?

[Mafia]

I played the beta of MtG: Online for the PC years ago, and they should model the XBLA version similar to the beta, where you could simply buy as many boosters as you desired for free. A straight-up game with no cash-grabbing with numerous booster packs would be awesome.

[seen]

On a related note, I found a bunch of old Rare's(the actually mtg cards) from many editions pre 7th edition; do these have any value; if so where can I get the most for them?

[Techsticles]

This comes out on Wednesday. Any news on whether all cards are included with the game or is it microtransacation madness?
Woah where did you find the release date?

Between this and Ghostbusters... :whee:

[MSUHitman]

From what I've read it's only one of 8 preconstructed decks. I'm sure DLC will feature more decks after that.

Seen,
I would go on Wizards forums or some other Magic forum and ask. I don't play Magic so I have no idea.

[garrett_in_the_hat]

I'm going to buy this just so I can get the free alt. art Garruk.

[fart_bubble]

From what I've read it's only one of 8 preconstructed decks.

It gives you 17 slots in the pre-constructed decks to customize it but for the most part, you will still be seeing the same decks.

[spree4567]

I think there are somewhere around 280 cards total. It's by no means a replacement for the paper game or Magic Online on PC but it should still be fun.

Plus for the paper players, it'll come with a code to go to Wizards' site to redeem and get a free promo Garruk card. You could even probably sell the card for at least $5 as the card is a popular one that sees a lot of play.

[lordwow]

It's still way cheaper than buying the cards.

[NTolerance]

Woah where did you find the release date?

Between this and Ghostbusters... :whee:

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/59146

[NTolerance]

From what I've read it's only one of 8 preconstructed decks. I'm sure DLC will feature more decks after that.

Seen,
I would go on Wizards forums or some other Magic forum and ask. I don't play Magic so I have no idea.

:roll:

They fail to realize that there's a market of people such as myself that casually played Magic 15 years ago and this game is worth exactly $10 to them, nothing more.

[lordwow]

Ya, that's basically it. I'm not looking to get really really into Magic. If I were, I'd you know... play it.

I'm looking for a fun casual experience that I can sit down and play after work and play hopefully fairly quickly. I'd certainly buy DLC if they include new decks, new sets of cards, or cool options like the option to really build whatever deck you want.

[StarKnightX]

Somehow I hope that if this does well that it'll convince companies to release other TCGs or CCGs on XBLA or even WiiWare/PSN. Unfortunately givin the status of most of the other "major" games it doesn't seem hopeful:

Vs. Series = On Life Support
Duel Masters = US support discontinued by Wizards
Yugioh = Konami focused on Nintnedo systems
Pokemon TCG = Obvious
Pirates = On Life Support (already dead?)
Heroclix = unsure
DBZ (2nd version) = On Life Support (already dead?)

About the only ones that have even a possible chance are Naruto and WoW (either one).

[sleepy180]

man preconstructed decks...I havnt played magic in like 8 years but I would SO be down for a legit one like the PC one that doesn't charge the same price for virtual packs.

Ohwell guess i will keep waiting. Maybe in another 5 years.

[Spybreak8]

Magic the Gathering was what I did during lunch back in high school with my friends lol. Sold most of my cards but have some just so I hopefully can make some money in 50 years haha. The Magic the Gathering game published by Microprose in 97 for the PC was the best. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic:_The_Gathering_video_games) Unfortunately it runs extremely fast so the adventure mode is unplayable, duel after duel and only a few inches lol. I'm so down for an XBLA version.

[MSUHitman]

Somehow I hope that if this does well that it'll convince companies to release other TCGs or CCGs on XBLA or even WiiWare/PSN. Unfortunately givin the status of most of the other "major" games it doesn't seem hopeful:

Vs. Series = On Life Support
Duel Masters = US support discontinued by Wizards
Yugioh = Konami focused on Nintnedo systems
Pokemon TCG = Obvious
Pirates = On Life Support (already dead?)
Heroclix = unsure
DBZ (2nd version) = On Life Support (already dead?)

About the only ones that have even a possible chance are Naruto and WoW (either one).

VS- UDE support killed in Jan. 09, fan support ongoing at vssystem.org (Fuck Upper Deck!)

Yugioh- After the messy fallout between UDE and Konami (Konami claims UDE made counterfeit cards and other shady business practices) hobby support for the game is nearly dead as Konami made everyone go through them now and no one hardly is doing it and all the major tournaments dried up.

Pirates/DBZ- Not 100% for sure but I think both are dead.

Heroclix- Shut down when Wizkids went out of business last summer. A new group is trying to get the rights but hasn't been able to do it so far.

WoW TCG- With the things happening with UDE, and declining sales, rumor is Blizzard is going to pull the license when it comes up for renewal. Little turnout at the major tournaments so far this year, most top pro players of VS/WoW have gone back to Magic.

Naruto- Only seen 1 store in the STL area ever hold tournaments for it and that was 2 years ago. Pretty sure it's dead.

Epic TCG- Made by some former Magic pros out of NY, and the game is terrible. Turn 2 wins EXTREMELY common. Doing the Spoils route of having money tournaments right off the bat but no one is showing up for them.

Hobby wise the only TCG's doing well are Magic and Pokemon; with Warhammer, Warmachine, and WoW Miniatures (also UDE) doing decent to good among the miniature crowd.

[KingDox]

Magic the Gathering was what I did during lunch back in high school with my friends lol. Sold most of my cards but have some just so I hopefully can make some money in 50 years haha. The Magic the Gathering game published by Microprose in 97 for the PC was the best. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic:_The_Gathering_video_games) Unfortunately it runs extremely fast so the adventure mode is unplayable, duel after duel and only a few inches lol. I'm so down for an XBLA version.

Yeah, I had the microprose game and it ran crazy fast even on my old ass PC. But it was sure fun to play the CCG and not have to worry about buying cards or finding an opponent to play. I hope the XBLA version is like that, even if expansions cost money. It would be worth it to me to pay some cash and get an entire expansion to play around with. Screw playing for booster packs of 15 cards.

[SynGamer]

Waiting on some reviews, but I'm definitely leaning towards buying this.

[George McBain]

:roll:

They fail to realize that there's a market of people such as myself that casually played Magic 15 years ago and this game is worth exactly $10 to them, nothing more.

^--- This

I have always enjoyed the game, but I (a) don't like having to spend a boat load of money, (b) am not great at deck building/strategy, and (c) have only one friend that still has some interest in it.

Me and my buddy are going to pick it up just to play ever now-and-then. We aren't phased at all about the limitations.

Nonetheless, I am excited by both this AND Sam & Max S1 tomorrow. Good times! :razz:

[Techsticles]

Yeah, I had the microprose game and it ran crazy fast even on my old ass PC. But it was sure fun to play the CCG and not have to worry about buying cards or finding an opponent to play. I hope the XBLA version is like that, even if expansions cost money. It would be worth it to me to pay some cash and get an entire expansion to play around with. Screw playing for booster packs of 15 cards.
You can get the Windows XP patch for Microprose MTG game here (http://ariel.unimelb.edu.au/%7Eyuan/magic.html) or direct link to file here (http://ariel.its.unimelb.edu.au/%7Eyuan/manalink132.zip) that will fix the speed issues on the pc Shandlar game. It does work and make it playable.

One of the few pc games I go back to and replay a few times a year, besides solitaire. :-#

[StarKnightX]

VS- UDE support killed in Jan. 09, fan support ongoing at vssystem.org (Fuck Upper Deck!)

Yugioh- After the messy fallout between UDE and Konami (Konami claims UDE made counterfeit cards and other shady business practices) hobby support for the game is nearly dead as Konami made everyone go through them now and no one hardly is doing it and all the major tournaments dried up.

Pirates/DBZ- Not 100% for sure but I think both are dead.

Heroclix- Shut down when Wizkids went out of business last summer. A new group is trying to get the rights but hasn't been able to do it so far.

WoW TCG- With the things happening with UDE, and declining sales, rumor is Blizzard is going to pull the license when it comes up for renewal. Little turnout at the major tournaments so far this year, most top pro players of VS/WoW have gone back to Magic.

Naruto- Only seen 1 store in the STL area ever hold tournaments for it and that was 2 years ago. Pretty sure it's dead.

Epic TCG- Made by some former Magic pros out of NY, and the game is terrible. Turn 2 wins EXTREMELY common. Doing the Spoils route of having money tournaments right off the bat but no one is showing up for them.

Hobby wise the only TCG's doing well are Magic and Pokemon; with Warhammer, Warmachine, and WoW Miniatures (also UDE) doing decent to good among the miniature crowd.

Didn't know that upper deck finally killed off support for vs. DBZ I agree is most likely dead , Bandai released the last expansion for it either early this year or late last year , heard nothing more from it since.

If Wizkids is gone , then Pirates is most certainly dead too (since it was also made by Wizkids. I just find it odd that there's seemingly always new sets at my local target whenever I go. Just lots of merchandise they are trying to clear out I guess.

Surprised that the WoW TCG is in as bad shape as it is. Figured that game would be doing really good. Epic TCG and The Spoils always intrigued me , but came off as TCG fanservice games , which seem like way to niche of a market for their own good.

As far as Yugioh and Naurto are concerned , you seem to relate tournament showings to actual performance of sales. Remember that both of those games make a lot of sales off of kids who most likely don't go to tournaments anyway. As it is both games continue to put out new expansions in a timely fashion. Naruto you might be right about , since it seems to be slowing down , but yugioh still seems to have some life in it yet.

[lordxixor101]

I'll hold out on decisions. My wife was really into this when she was younger (still has her cards and goes to her friends house for a game maybe 3 times a year). I've watched a few games, but was never into it (and with other hobbies, wasn't looking to get into something with high overhead).

If they could get something reasonable for 800 points, I might buy it. But, if this looks like micro transaction hell, I'm out. I'm willing to put 800 now, and possibly 400-800 more every 6 months to a year if the transactions are worth it.

But, we'll see.

[SynGamer]

Has a price been confirmed yet? I have a bad feeling MS and Wizard will try to push this out as 1200 points, and that's really unfortunate because I really want to play this, but not for 1200 points.

EDIT: just noticed there is a 'Download Now' button that takes you to a page on Xbox.com but XBL is down for maintenance...

http://www.wizards.com/magic/digital/duelsoftheplaneswalkers.aspx

[lordwow]

Price was confirmed on their website at 800.

[SynGamer]

Price was confirmed on their website at 800.
Awesome. Hopefully XBL is back up later today and i can bookmark the page. Would like to play this tomorrow before i have to go to work...been ages since i played though. We're talking high school which was *cringes* like 7 years or so ago.

[Spybreak8]

You can get the Windows XP patch for Microprose MTG game here (http://ariel.unimelb.edu.au/%7Eyuan/magic.html) or direct link to file here (http://ariel.its.unimelb.edu.au/%7Eyuan/manalink132.zip) that will fix the speed issues on the pc Shandlar game. It does work and make it playable.

One of the few pc games I go back to and replay a few times a year, besides solitaire. :-#

That's cool but is there a fix for running it on Vista? At least you can just play matches, that you set up, going around the speed problem.
We're talking high school which was *cringes* like 7 years or so ago.
Lol ditto.

[hohez]

I was crazy excited for this, but after reading about the 280 card limit, I have no interest what so ever. I love battling in a TCG, but the biggest boon for me is opening packs and seeing what I get.

[-Never4ever-]

Just a quick FYI, if you purchase the game, you get a free Garruk Wildspeaker card by entering a code here (http://www.wizards.com/magic/digital/duelsoftheplaneswalkers.aspx?x=mtg/digital/dotp/claim). The orignal currently goes for $20+ on eBay, so it stands that the promo could sell for anything between 8-12. those willing to do the work can get the game dirt cheap essentially.

VS- UDE support killed in Jan. 09, fan support ongoing at vssystem.org (Fuck Upper Deck!)

Yugioh- After the messy fallout between UDE and Konami (Konami claims UDE made counterfeit cards and other shady business practices) hobby support for the game is nearly dead as Konami made everyone go through them now and no one hardly is doing it and all the major tournaments dried up.

Pirates/DBZ- Not 100% for sure but I think both are dead.

Heroclix- Shut down when Wizkids went out of business last summer. A new group is trying to get the rights but hasn't been able to do it so far.

WoW TCG- With the things happening with UDE, and declining sales, rumor is Blizzard is going to pull the license when it comes up for renewal. Little turnout at the major tournaments so far this year, most top pro players of VS/WoW have gone back to Magic.

Naruto- Only seen 1 store in the STL area ever hold tournaments for it and that was 2 years ago. Pretty sure it's dead.

Epic TCG- Made by some former Magic pros out of NY, and the game is terrible. Turn 2 wins EXTREMELY common. Doing the Spoils route of having money tournaments right off the bat but no one is showing up for them.

Hobby wise the only TCG's doing well are Magic and Pokemon; with Warhammer, Warmachine, and WoW Miniatures (also UDE) doing decent to good among the miniature crowd.

Uh, just to clarify the state of TCGs:

Vs: DEAD (which saddens me, as I had just gotten into it, thanks to the PSP game). Marvel & or DC to join Universal Fighting System (UFS).

Yu-Gi-OH!: Hurt by the sudden switch up from UDE to Konami. Organized play dried up, sales still went insanely strong (almost as good as early 2008, and matched / surpassed MTG, despite no OP). OP is on the rise back up and they should have the #2 spot clinched by the end of 2009.

DBZ / Naruto: Naruto sales have dropped off completely, while DBZ is in it's 4th TCG and is doing poorly. OP is pretty much dead for both games.

WoW TCG: Doing great and is UDE's bread & butter with YGO out of the picture. Stagnant sales however.

Unviversal Fighting System: A hobby-exclusive card game tailored made for the fans (and in some regards, BY the fans). Slowly gaining ground, but no retail / mainstream exposure hurts it. Encompasses many Franchises such as Street Fighter, Soulcaliber, Darkstalkers, Samurai Showdown, King of Fighers, even Penny-Arcade (complete with my favorite card ever, Fruit Fucker :) ). Rumors abound of them acquiring the Mortal Kombat, Marvel (or DC, forget which one) and Tekken franchises.

Magic The Gathering: The king is slowly losing it's crown. Fan support is dying, sales are stagnant, OP is dropping off and the game is essentially in it's darkest hour. Still king of the hobby shops, but YGO & Pokemon have dropped them off the retail map and the hobby market is doing terrible in general. Things have gotten so bad that the entire research and design was altered and it seems as though they're drawing inspiration from Yu-Gi-Oh! of all sources. Time will tell if Magic can recover from the free fall it's currently experiencing.

[SynGamer]

Magic The Gathering: The king is slowly losing it's crown. Fan support is dying, sales are stagnant, OP is dropping off and the game is essentially in it's darkest hour. Still king of the hobby shops, but YGO & Pokemon have dropped them off the retail map and the hobby market is doing terrible in general. Things have gotten so bad that the entire research and design was altered and it seems as though they're drawing inspiration from Yu-Gi-Oh! of all sources. Time will tell if Magic can recover from the free fall it's currently experiencing.
Considering it started back in 1993...I'd say it's had quite a good run, and made more money then Richard Garfield and Peter Adkison could have ever imagined.

EDIT: And damn it, XBL is still down.

[Brak]

I thought this was coming out today...

[Darkside Hazuki]

You can search the Marketplace on the web and find the title card, but the link is broken. Sam and Max is up now, but it wasn't two hours ago. I think they're still coming out of maintenance.

[MSUHitman]

Just a quick FYI, if you purchase the game, you get a free Garruk Wildspeaker card by entering a code here (http://www.wizards.com/magic/digital/duelsoftheplaneswalkers.aspx?x=mtg/digital/dotp/claim). The orignal currently goes for $20+ on eBay, so it stands that the promo could sell for anything between 8-12. those willing to do the work can get the game dirt cheap essentially.



Uh, just to clarify the state of TCGs:

Vs: DEAD (which saddens me, as I had just gotten into it, thanks to the PSP game). Marvel & or DC to join Universal Fighting System (UFS).

Yu-Gi-OH!: Hurt by the sudden switch up from UDE to Konami. Organized play dried up, sales still went insanely strong (almost as good as early 2008, and matched / surpassed MTG, despite no OP). OP is on the rise back up and they should have the #2 spot clinched by the end of 2009.

DBZ / Naruto: Naruto sales have dropped off completely, while DBZ is in it's 4th TCG and is doing poorly. OP is pretty much dead for both games.

WoW TCG: Doing great and is UDE's bread & butter with YGO out of the picture. Stagnant sales however.

Unviversal Fighting System: A hobby-exclusive card game tailored made for the fans (and in some regards, BY the fans). Slowly gaining ground, but no retail / mainstream exposure hurts it. Encompasses many Franchises such as Street Fighter, Soulcaliber, Darkstalkers, Samurai Showdown, King of Fighers, even Penny-Arcade (complete with my favorite card ever, Fruit Fucker :) ). Rumors abound of them acquiring the Mortal Kombat, Marvel (or DC, forget which one) and Tekken franchises.

Magic The Gathering: The king is slowly losing it's crown. Fan support is dying, sales are stagnant, OP is dropping off and the game is essentially in it's darkest hour. Still king of the hobby shops, but YGO & Pokemon have dropped them off the retail map and the hobby market is doing terrible in general. Things have gotten so bad that the entire research and design was altered and it seems as though they're drawing inspiration from Yu-Gi-Oh! of all sources. Time will tell if Magic can recover from the free fall it's currently experiencing.

Wow if UFS gets Marvel and DC. They have been trying to get Mortal Kombat since Midway went with Score, but with the state Midway is in I doubt it will come anytime soon.

Well if OP is continuing again through Konami it's not being done in St. Louis, which used to be a Yugi hotbed. None of the hobby stores here are supporting or even selling Yugioh anymore. Only OP for Yugioh in the state is Lawrence, KS (Kansas City area.)

I would say WoW is not doing that great because all it had were strong sales (mainly from those trying to get in-game items especially when things like Spectral Tiger were selling for $500 plus on EBay) and the Pro Tour and now the sales are dropping, UDE is in a state of flux (lots of job cuts), and the top pro players from VS and WoW are going back to Magic.

I have friended a lot of the former VS Pros on Facebook and all their status updates are about Magic and all the stores here are still selling it so I didn't realize it was as bad as you say it is (and I defer to you as I don't play Magic.)

I would say they're taking from the best parts of VS, as combat resolution in VS does not use the chain (stack.) Wizards has already used the extended art cards and playmats so they're doing what the major networks did with the XFL (taking the camera on a wire over the football field) and running with the idea as they're own. It's good business.

[halfbent]

I thought this was coming out today...

I was able to queue it online, but once I got to my system to download. I keep getting "Can't download.." messages.

[-Never4ever-]

Considering it started back in 1993...I'd say it's had quite a good run, and made more money then Richard Garfield and Peter Adkison could have ever imagined.

EDIT: And damn it, XBL is still down.

Wow if UFS gets Marvel and DC. They have been trying to get Mortal Kombat since Midway went with Score, but with the state Midway is in I doubt it will come anytime soon.

Well if OP is continuing again through Konami it's not being done in St. Louis, which used to be a Yugi hotbed. None of the hobby stores here are supporting or even selling Yugioh anymore. Only OP for Yugioh in the state is Lawrence, KS (Kansas City area.)

I would say WoW is not doing that great because all it had were strong sales (mainly from those trying to get in-game items especially when things like Spectral Tiger were selling for $500 plus on EBay) and the Pro Tour and now the sales are dropping, UDE is in a state of flux (lots of job cuts), and the top pro players from VS and WoW are going back to Magic.

I have friended a lot of the former VS Pros on Facebook and all their status updates are about Magic and all the stores here are still selling it so I didn't realize it was as bad as you say it is (and I defer to you as I don't play Magic.)

I would say they're taking from the best parts of VS, as combat resolution in VS does not use the chain (stack.) Wizards has already used the extended art cards and playmats so they're doing what the major networks did with the XFL (taking the camera on a wire over the football field) and running with the idea as they're own. It's good business.

I should clarify, since I made it seem a lot worse than it actually is. Magic is still holding to the #1 spot, and I doubt they'll be removed anytime soon. HOWEVER, they have a serious problem getting new players aboard. The problem is so severe that they're doing everything they can to change up and appeal to the YGO! crowd (which is a bad idea IMO). While it's great that they are trying to get new blood into the game, it's bad because they're alienating their core fan base.

[bvharris]

I shudder now to think about how much I spent on Magic cards back in middle school and early high school in the late 90s. Thankfully I was able to sell all my cards for a pretty good sum, since I took good care of them.

I've toyed with the idea of getting back into it over the years, an idea I don't think my girlfriend would be thrilled with. I stopped playing around 2000, which I guess was like 6 or 7 cycles ago now, so I'm sure the game would be totally unrecognizable to me these days.

[SynGamer]

Game is finally live.

EDIT: Can't download. I purchased the game, but it gets to 1% and says it can't be downloaded.

[Danimal]

I should clarify, since I made it seem a lot worse than it actually is. Magic is still holding to the #1 spot, and I doubt they'll be removed anytime soon. HOWEVER, they have a serious problem getting new players aboard. The problem is so severe that they're doing everything they can to change up and appeal to the YGO! crowd (which is a bad idea IMO). While it's great that they are trying to get new blood into the game, it's bad because they're alienating their core fan base.What things are they doing to appeal to the YGO! crowd specifically, or what inspirations are they taking from it, if you don't mind me asking? I'm not at all familiar with YGO, or any other TCG besides Magic for that matter, and even with Magic I'm more of a collector than a player. I've been into the game off and on (mostly on) since it's inception, but I really only ever play it with my brother and my son. I wasn't aware of it's flagging popularity, or of the game having trouble getting new players. Thanks for any info.

[Danimal]

I've toyed with the idea of getting back into it over the years, an idea I don't think my girlfriend would be thrilled with. I stopped playing around 2000, which I guess was like 6 or 7 cycles ago now, so I'm sure the game would be totally unrecognizable to me these days.Nah, you'd get back into it pretty quickly. There'd be a few new wrinkles to learn, some new game mechanics and whatnot, but it's like riding a bike. I stopped playing for about 4 years after my kids were born, but eventually the collector in me couldn't stay away. :lol:

[bvharris]

What things are they doing to appeal to the YGO! crowd specifically, or what inspirations are they taking from it, if you don't mind me asking? I'm not at all familiar with YGO, or any other TCG besides Magic for that matter, and even with Magic I'm more of a collector than a player. I've been into the game off and on (mostly on) since it's inception, but I really only ever play it with my brother and my son. I wasn't aware of it's flagging popularity, or of the game having trouble getting new players. Thanks for any info.

I can only speak anecdotally to its flagging popularity, but this seems to gel with what I've seen. When I was playing back in Middle School I could rattle off a half dozen local hobby shops off the top of my head which had regular tournaments (this was during the heydey of Pokemon and Star Wars TCGs as well). I don't live around there anymore, but most of those places have shuttered or if they're still around, don't have tournaments anymore. I always played video games AND Magic (this was before I had girlfriends), but I would suspect that electronic entertainment is largely to blame. The 13 year old who was arguing card rules with you in the mid 90s (I promise this wasn't me) is now "pwning" you on Halo.

Nah, you'd get back into it pretty quickly. There'd be a few new wrinkles to learn, some new game mechanics and whatnot, but it's like riding a bike. I stopped playing for about 4 years after my kids were born, but eventually the collector in me couldn't stay away. :lol:

If I ever did get back into it, it would probably be as more of a collecter than a player. I'm past the point in my life where I'm interested in sitting in a hobby shop with sweaty teenagers for 5-6 hours. :D

[AlohaMars2]

Game is finally live.

EDIT: Can't download. I purchased the game, but it gets to 1% and says it can't be downloaded.


Same here

[StarKnightX]

Unviversal Fighting System: A hobby-exclusive card game tailored made for the fans (and in some regards, BY the fans). Slowly gaining ground, but no retail / mainstream exposure hurts it. Encompasses many Franchises such as Street Fighter, Soulcaliber, Darkstalkers, Samurai Showdown, King of Fighers, even Penny-Arcade (complete with my favorite card ever, Fruit Fucker :) ). Rumors abound of them acquiring the Mortal Kombat, Marvel (or DC, forget which one) and Tekken franchises.

Wow if UFS gets Marvel and DC. They have been trying to get Mortal Kombat since Midway went with Score, but with the state Midway is in I doubt it will come anytime soon.

I completely forgot about UFS , particularly because , as mentioned , its not very mainstream. Good to hear its going strong though. Given the franchises that it encompasses , it seems like it would be a great candidate for a virtual card battling game.

One game that I forgot to mention before , and I'm curios if either of you or anyone else knows the status of it , Chaotic. That was a game I didn't think would last very long , but yet the show and the game keep chugging along.

[MSUHitman]

I still think Magic is taking more from VS than Yugi. From what I understand the only major change in the rules is combat damage not using the stack, which is the same way as damage resolution was in VS.

VS worked liked this:
declare attack (either to character or directly to player)
attack declaration goes on chain (attacks can be made illegal by effects)
attack is declared legal by defender, attacking character exhausts
attacking player has priority to put effects on the chain
defending player responds
when both players pass, chain completed, damage calculated all in one-step, also check if any effects trigger on combat resolution/character stunning (auto KO, additional loss/gain of life, exhaust another character, etc.)

The new Magic rules seem to be
player declares attack and exhausts attackers
defender declares blockers
attacking player can put abilities on the stack
defending player can put abilities on the stack
combat resolves, no additional affects once you enter into combat resolution (ie before my character dies I do x.)

Now I don't play Magic so I could be totally wrong with that so please correct me if I'm wrong. Also from what I've read this game uses the new rule set that's starting in 2010 for the physical TCG so beware of that also.

[Spybreak8]

SynGamer[/B]] Game is finally live.

EDIT: Can't download. I purchased the game, but it gets to 1% and says it can't be downloaded.

Same here

Ditto, error 80070057, something wrong with them hopefully.

[Jonsoncao]

keep getting 80070057 error when trying downloading this

same happens for Rocket Riot

[halfbent]

Yep, it's something with the ongoing maintenance (24hrs lol) that is causing the problems I guess. Someone had a semi-transcript of their call to CS on the official forums that said as much.

[Skelix]

Well good thing the take your points as you purchase part of the marketplace is still working! Assholes!

[leshrac55]

Hopefully it's like the old PC game, played that one something fierce.

As far as MTG:Online goes, I thought you could trade in and get actual copies of the card? Or did they nix that idea, I know it was talked about being done while it was still in beta at least.

As far as I know, you can do this trade only once you complete a set, which, for casual players, is kind of tough. You can do it with "foil" cards or "regular" cards.

While boosters are regularly priced on Magic Online, there are tons of single cards available for fairly cheap from "bots" (typically much cheaper than they would be IRL), so you can typically build the decks you want for cheaper. I guess you can look at this as the "tradeoff" for having real, resellable-for-cash cards (or you can work on getting a whole set so that you can sell it IRL, I suppose too... or there are other typically more complicated ways of turning the digital cards into real cash, but you can look into that yourself). One other benefit of the online game, depending on how/where you play IRL, is that booster packs that you win from drafts/tournaments can be used towards more drafts/tournaments. This may not be possible where you play IRL, as stores like to be able to sell you their stock of cards rather than let you bring in your own (presumably cheaper) packs, so playing drafts/tournaments on Magic Online may actually be cheaper for you if you can win some packs when you play.

Also, not sure if people have mentioned this in the few pages of discussion, but as of now this doesn't really work like regular Magic or Magic Online. You basically get a bunch of pre-made decks that you can play with and you pick up more cards as you advance through the single player mode... so deck construction is fairly limited. The game itself is sort of a streamlined version of the game, with lands automatically being tapped for you, etc.

Because of these differences, my guess is that expansions will be new decks to play with/against and more "puzzles" to solve (as there's a "puzzle" mode in the game too). I can't attest to the quality of the game yet as I haven't been able to play it yet.

[Kaijufan]

I also bought the game today but couldn't download it. I also wasn't able to join a friend's Ghostbusters multiplayer game that he set up. I guess Xbox Live is still having some problems.

[-Never4ever-]

What things are they doing to appeal to the YGO! crowd specifically, or what inspirations are they taking from it, if you don't mind me asking? I'm not at all familiar with YGO, or any other TCG besides Magic for that matter, and even with Magic I'm more of a collector than a player. I've been into the game off and on (mostly on) since it's inception, but I really only ever play it with my brother and my son. I wasn't aware of it's flagging popularity, or of the game having trouble getting new players. Thanks for any info.

Well the first changes came years ago, when they released the Kawigama block attempted to appeal to the Japanese culture. The latest "Yu-Gi-Fication would be the introduction of reprints in Starters (making the more sought after cards easier to get) and the introduction of a new rarity; Mythic Rares (which mirror YGOs Super / Ultra / Secret / Ghost rares). I wasn't aware of new rule changes, however.

I don't really play Magic, every time I try to get in, I just lose focus.

I also bought the game today but couldn't download it. I also wasn't able to join a friend's Ghostbusters multiplayer game that he set up. I guess Xbox Live is still having some problems.

Same here :(

[lordwow]

Works now.

The first match in the campaign, the green deck you can use matches up horribly against the red deck.

[SynGamer]

Anyone else having problems getting their code (for the foil card) to generate?

[GregSal1]

Anyone else having problems getting their code (for the foil card) to generate?

I'm having the same problem.

[-Never4ever-]

Works now.

The first match in the campaign, the green deck you can use matches up horribly against the red deck.

Not really if you think about it. The Green deck generates a good amount of mana acceleration and pumps out bigger creatures, coupled with trample cards and even massive life gain (the bane of burn decks -- ie; decks that seek to deal you damage through card effects, rather than monsters) can easily overpower the red deck and it's bunch of one-shot burn and weenies.

Just stay alive long enough to drop your fatties (bigger monsters) and then just sit there until you come across the one Sorcery that gives all your guys + 3/3 and Trample and then swing for the fences.

Looks like I have a new addiction besides YGO! 2009

[Spybreak8]

Woo I'm getting more than 2% on my download lol, can't wait this wait is killing me.

[Logg]

Just played the demo its a pretty good game not perfect but I like it. Not sure if I will bite though

[Spybreak8]

Gay, not the game but the fact that after I purchased it it said use the code underneath. The code could not be generated, check your Xbox live connection !? I'm connected online right now!? Oh well...

[DemonAlcohol]

Hmm.. it's ok. Matches take a long time because of an automatic 4-5 second window after every phase that you cannot skip. Also, when you win cards you can add them to an existing deck, but you can't take out cards that originally were in it, which is pretty damn lame. So no matter what, your green deck is going to have that stupid gain 8 life spell.

[infamyRISE]

Cripes. Using the initial green deck I killed the guy in one swift attack (after building a horde).

20 to -17 in a single offensive.

[Spybreak8]

Gah, every time I try to regenerate my creature he goes to the graveyard?!

[Trakan]

Works now.

The first match in the campaign, the green deck you can use matches up horribly against the red deck.

I didn't seem to have much trouble. Beat it my first try.

No online co-op and pre-made decks sucks, but this is definitely worth all of $10.

[crystalklear64]

Seems like the people online ranked are mostly still using that starter green deck.

Easy wins :)

But, I hope it counts as a win for you when the other person disconnects. People quit on the turn they are gonna lose : /

[Spybreak8]

I didn't seem to have much trouble. Beat it my first try.

No online co-op and pre-made decks sucks, but this is definitely worth all of $10.

This is from The Wizard of the Coast site:
Q: What game modes will be available in the Xbox LIVE Arcade version?

A: The Xbox LIVE Arcade version of Duels of the Planeswalkers features a full single player campaign game vs. AI opponents and a second cooperative (two-headed giant) campaign vs. AI opponents. Duels of the Planeswalkers also offers online two player, online cooperative (two-headed giant) play, as well as 3 and 4 player online multiplayer (free for all) game play.
Sooo, theres online co-op but I haven't tired it yet.

Hmm they're working on the code error thing, good to hear:
http://forums.xbox.com/27694985/ShowPost.aspx#27694985

[Genocidal]

It's alright, if I wasn't planning on selling the Garruk for $5-10 to make this cheaper I'd be disappointed though. Not being able to take cards out after you've won new ones is an extreme disappointment because as above, I don't want to run a terrible life gain card in the green deck. A majority of the time it also feels as though, because of the card mix and lack of deck building, that my wins and losses are dictated almost solely by topdecks and not my skill level. The puzzles were nice, but I wish there were more of them.

[lordwow]

I didn't seem to have much trouble. Beat it my first try.


Not really if you think about it. The Green deck generates a good amount of mana acceleration and pumps out bigger creatures, coupled with trample cards and even massive life gain (the bane of burn decks -- ie; decks that seek to deal you damage through card effects, rather than monsters) can easily overpower the red deck and it's bunch of one-shot burn and weenies.

Just stay alive long enough to drop your fatties (bigger monsters) and then just sit there until you come across the one Sorcery that gives all your guys + 3/3 and Trample and then swing for the fences.

Looks like I have a new addiction besides YGO! 2009

Damn. I played the opening game 3 times. The first two times I wasn't able to get more than 5 land out the entire game, while I got pounded by their two flying creatures. The final game they were just out-creaturing me every round, I think they ended up having about 8 creatures out by the end of the game, and just were using their spell that deals 3 damage to my creatures and then attacking.

I played Magic for a couple years about a decade ago, and I may try it just using the red deck.

[lordwow]

I just played it again and beat it easily. Must have been luck of the draw.

[OnyxPrimal]

Played the demo last night and enjoyed it. I think this will be enough to scrastch the itch I get for Magic. I have the old Microprose game as well, but its nice to play with new cards :)

[Number83]

Is the XBL version the same rules for the real card game, or a bastardized version of them?

[Genocidal]

The same version as the current rules oddly enough, and not the (terrible) updated rules coming out mid-July with the new core set. I imagine they aren't going to patch in an update either, as a couple of the challenges require damage to go on the stack from what I remember.

[Guerrilla]

Hrm.. demo was decent, but we can't build our own decks from scratch? :-s That's lame.

[lordwow]

The deckbuilding system is pretty lame.

[crystalklear64]

haha what deck building system?

Pick deck. Beat people. Cards get added to your deck that you have no control over.

[leshrac55]

The same version as the current rules oddly enough, and not the (terrible) updated rules coming out mid-July with the new core set. I imagine they aren't going to patch in an update either, as a couple of the challenges require damage to go on the stack from what I remember.

Actually, not sure this is accurate. I think it is using the new rules, though maybe it's hard to tell. If you turn off "Auto-assign damage" and you get multi-blocked you have to setup the order in which to assign damage, just like the new rules. Not only that, I've found that once combat damage has been assigned I'm unable to use abilities like "Regeneration", which also follows the new rules. So, I do believe that the new M10 rules are in place for this game.

[leshrac55]

haha what deck building system?

Pick deck. Beat people. Cards get added to your deck that you have no control over.

Yeah, this is disappointing.. You can control the cards that you win, but seemingly nothing else. Since the cards you win are typically more powerful than what you have it's usually stupid to take them out.

That being said, obviously that isn't the angle they were going for in this game.

[crystalklear64]

Not only that, I've found that once combat damage has been assigned I'm unable to use abilities like "Regeneration", which also follows the new rules. So, I do believe that the new M10 rules are in place for this game.
Yea that confused the hell out of me. I lost the first campaign round because of that with the troll rare card. Yes I will block your 6/4 wurm, I've got regen bitch! *combat occurs* Now to activate my Regen ability and.. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK

Troll died, drew shit. End game :(

Having to use regen before its even dead seems stupid.

[Genocidal]

Actually, not sure this is accurate. I think it is using the new rules, though maybe it's hard to tell. If you turn off "Auto-assign damage" and you get multi-blocked you have to setup the order in which to assign damage, just like the new rules. Not only that, I've found that once combat damage has been assigned I'm unable to use abilities like "Regeneration", which also follows the new rules. So, I do believe that the new M10 rules are in place for this game.That'd make more sense and is rather unfortunate. It's quite possible I didn't notice since it was extremely late at night when I was playing.

[leshrac55]

Yea that confused the hell out of me. I lost the first campaign round because of that with the troll rare card. Yes I will block your 6/4 wurm, I've got regen bitch! *combat occurs* Now to activate my Regen ability and.. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK

Troll died, drew shit. End game :(

Having to use regen before its even dead seems stupid.

Yeah... I think this is the one point in the new rules that is actually more confusing for new/casual players than the old rules. Technically speaking, the old rules you'd have to use Regeneration before combat damage has resolved as well, but you could at least wait until the damage had been ASSIGNED. It's really not a huge deal once you understand it, though I feel like if they wanted Regeneration to be a bit more intuitive they'd word the skill as "If creature would be destroyed, you may pay [regeneration costs] to prevent its death. If you do, tap creature." That way the skill would active only once the regenerating creature is destroyed. This seems far more intuitive to me... after all, why would you regenerate a creature before it's dead? =)

[crystalklear64]

Also, what is with the terrible 3 blue counter spell in the blue deck? Why not just use plain ole' counter spell?

I assume its to use the new card, but Cancel doesn't seem to offer any benefit over Counter Spell to make it be worth the extra blue.


Wow, so many things I never knew.

Apparently you can't counter a counter spell? When I played with my friends we almost all loved using blue decks and would have counter spell "fights." Apparently that is not legal.

[OnyxPrimal]

Yea that confused the hell out of me. I lost the first campaign round because of that with the troll rare card. Yes I will block your 6/4 wurm, I've got regen bitch! *combat occurs* Now to activate my Regen ability and.. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK

Troll died, drew shit. End game :(

Having to use regen before its even dead seems stupid.

So when do you use Regen now? after blocking asignment?

[crystalklear64]

So when do you use Regen now? after blocking asignment?
You can use it any time during your turn, but yea. After the blocking is your last chance if you want to save the thing.

[leshrac55]

Also, what is with the terrible 3 blue counter spell in the blue deck? Why not just use plain ole' counter spell?

I assume its to use the new card, but Cancel doesn't seem to offer any benefit over Counter Spell to make it be worth the extra blue.


Wow, so many things I never knew.

Apparently you can't counter a counter spell? When I played with my friends we almost all loved using blue decks and would have counter spell "fights." Apparently that is not legal.

I hadn't seen anything about not being able to counter a counterspell... That seems weird, and I don't see why that would be the case considering the game engine... but anything's possible.

As for the cancel, it is annoying... but basically your vanilla "Counterspell" is just no longer available in "Standard". I guess at some point a 2-mana Counter-all was considered too powerful, so it was replaced with a 3-mana Counter-all, and there are now several other more specific counters.

[Spybreak8]

Yea I lost because of that regen bs too lol. I think the trick with the first planeswalker in the campagin is to wait it out, like others said, and then trample em, played it like 5 times before beating that one lol.

We used to counter counters all the time, ah good times. Fireball! nope, counter, ah crap ok I counter that well I counter that! SHIT! LOL

[Guerrilla]

Just saw this-
I sent Patrick Buckland an email asking why the deck building/modification was not put into this game

his answer:

"Yes, you hit the nail on the head when you suggest that the lack of card removal was for reasons of deck balance. To be honest, I also felt the same way as you originally (being also a jaded old Magic player!), and fought against the decision during the design phase with Wizards. However they were adamant that the Live arena must not be dominated by players with the sort of mindsets that dominate the Pro tour. They wanted all players to have the fun of adding unlocked cards to their decks, without the ability to create killer decks that upset the balance online.

As Wizards of the Coast do seem to know a thing or two about Magic, let’s face it, they’re probably right!"


Really? That's fine if they want to keep the standard mode balanced with precon decks, but why not a veteran mode with true deck building?

[Spybreak8]

Even that or why cripple the single player experience with a multiplayer design system (deck balance system) in mind!?

[Survivor Charlie]

I grew up in an era of Channelball decks and Lock Decks. I simply cannot get into Magic as it stands today.

[lordwow]

You can use it any time during your turn, but yea. After the blocking is your last chance if you want to save the thing.

That totally fucked me over one round as well.

[leshrac55]

What they really need to create is a Live "Draft" game, where you draft cards to use for 1 use only (ie, you don't keep any cards). This would mostly even the playing field (other than first picks from packs) while allowing people to gain skill at the game both in terms of deckbuilding and playing. Not only that, it would inject a lot more variety into the game and thus make it far more interesting than simply pitting people against pre-constructed decks, which makes it mostly a game of straight luck.

[Trakan]

Sooo, theres online co-op but I haven't tired it yet.

Unless I'm missing something, the only available co-op online is if you sign in another person on your Xbox and you can take on another 2 people from another Xbox.

I can't find a way to do Two-Headed Giant (co-op story mode) online. I only see the option for local.

[crystalklear64]

My problem so far is that, and maybe its just the earlier decks, these preconstructed decks have no depth. They are very straightforward. Even the blue deck, which is what I always play, is fairly predictable.
I hope some of the later decks have many more options to choose from.

And hopefully more variations of cards that people recognize from when they played. Being able to pick an era or block of cards to play with would be fantastic. Invasion :drool:

[OnyxPrimal]

My problem so far is that, and maybe its just the earlier decks, these preconstructed decks have no depth. They are very straightforward. Even the blue deck, which is what I always play, is fairly predictable.
I hope some of the later decks have many more options to choose from.

And hopefully more variations of cards that people recognize from when they played. Being able to pick an era or block of cards to play with would be fantastic. Invasion :drool:

I'm also hoping they can put some older cards into play considering everything has a controller expansion symbol and it wouldn't effect "reprinting cards" especially since they are going for a different type of environment on live. I like see old favs like City of Brass or Vampiric Tutor (Yeah right!) from new sets I'd love to see Invasion, Apocalypse, and Torment for sure (I love playing black). I'm planning on buying the full version with the points my wife is getting me for father's day that I'm not suppose to know about. :)

edit: Thanks for explaing the new rule on regen to me by the way. :)

[Genocidal]

For those who haven't checked recently, the free card code generator is now working.

[Spybreak8]

For those who haven't checked recently, the free card code generator is now working.

Cool I just generated it and successfully entered it in. Thanks for the heads up.:bouncy:

Here's a good developers interview talking about the engine and rulesets:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/43c

As I haven't played in a while there are some new things to consider.

[gareman]

The demo brought back memories and I had a lot a fun with it. I think I will pick it up despite the lack of real deck making and the weird time in which you can use an instant. But hey its 10 bucks, totally worth it to play even a slightly gimped version with some old middle school chums over live.

[RelentlessRolento]

any good review sites?

custom deck editing limitations is a real turn off for me if it's not in a TCG digital game >_<

[heimdal]

WTF? The game doesn't allow you to take out the crap cards from the decks, even when you acquire new ones.

This basically forces you to play essentially with more than 60 cards, which is not good.

[Spybreak8]

WTF? The game doesn't allow you to take out the crap cards from the decks, even when you acquire new ones.

This basically forces you to play essentially with more than 60 cards, which is not good.

Apparently after trolling lol no, patrolling, through the xbox forums I've discovered why they did this. They focused on the xbox live matches and didn't want the pros to dominate people just like what happens with the paper tournaments apparently. I don't know why they'd limit the single player focusing on a multiplayer aspect but hey Im not on a development team, yet.:D

So yea short answer game balancing...

[MSUHitman]

You can choose not to add the new cards to your deck and that will keep as close to 60 cards as you want, although you'll probably want some of the cards in there. You will get multiple copies of some so just don't add all of them in there.

I am not having a problem with these rules, but I never played Magic before and have been raised with the VS System (with a little bit of Yugioh and Yu Yu Hakusho) so that may be why I'm having an easier time adjusting.

[lordwow]

The other sort-of-strange thing is you can't adjust your basic lands either. They don't even appear in the deck edit section.

[Genocidal]

The more I play this game (so far only single player campaign) the more I dislike it. The further you get the more underpowered your deck becomes; I wouldn't have as big of an issue with this if I could actually edit my deck, but since I can't it removes almost all of the skill and comes down to your ability to get lucky draws. The last game I just played against Garruk he got a fucking Loxodon Warhammer in play on his Troll Ascetic that finally ended up on his Molimo and ending the game with him at 48 life. I wouldn't be as annoyed by this but the fact that none of my cards are even nearly as good as Warhammer, coupled with the fact that I have no cards to deal with it really pisses me off.

It seems the past three or four matches I've gotten completely destroyed the first time, and then the second time I attempt them it's a walk in the park (Elspeth played a few Holy Days before dropping a Purity and Mass Calcify to completely wreck me in game one, game two she got mana screwed and could only stall with a pair of Holy Days). After reading that the AI purposely shuffles 'annoying' cards to the bottom against players who choose lower difficulties it's extremely disappointing knowing that the the only reason I'm probably winning is because the game is cheating on my behalf to give my opponent terrible draws and me good draws.

Maybe the multiplayer is better, but I've just about given up on this game. At least I should be able to sell the Garruk when it gets here in a month or two to recoup my cost.

[lordwow]

Nothing is more annoying than Holy Day.

[heimdal]

Nothing is more annoying than Holy Day.

Especially when you think you have the game won by casting Overrun. :D

[SynGamer]

So far i'm liking the game. Obviously playing against human players will be more fun. The sad thing is they could really expand this game over the coming months with a couple of updates (to allow more deck customization) and some expansions/DLC.

[crystalklear64]

Especially when you think you have the game won by casting Overrun. :D
I beat someone online using Evacuation after he had tapped out and cast overrun. With all my flying creatures he couldn't do shit with my 1 turn advantage.

I was feeling pretty 8-) as he had me down to 2 life and he would have won for sure if I didn't have that card.

[lordwow]

I got the 20+ damage achievement against the white deck. After they used all their Holy Days, I had 3 creatures out with the +1/+1 for each forest, I think I got them for about 35 damage with 3 creatures. Killed them despite their 24-5 advantage.

[Spybreak8]

The more I play this game (so far only single player campaign) the more I dislike it. The further you get the more underpowered your deck becomes; I wouldn't have as big of an issue with this if I could actually edit my deck, but since I can't it removes almost all of the skill and comes down to your ability to get lucky draws. The last game I just played against Garruk he got a fucking Loxodon Warhammer in play on his Troll Ascetic that finally ended up on his Molimo and ending the game with him at 48 life. I wouldn't be as annoyed by this but the fact that none of my cards are even nearly as good as Warhammer, coupled with the fact that I have no cards to deal with it really pisses me off.

It seems the past three or four matches I've gotten completely destroyed the first time, and then the second time I attempt them it's a walk in the park (Elspeth played a few Holy Days before dropping a Purity and Mass Calcify to completely wreck me in game one, game two she got mana screwed and could only stall with a pair of Holy Days). After reading that the AI purposely shuffles 'annoying' cards to the bottom against players who choose lower difficulties it's extremely disappointing knowing that the the only reason I'm probably winning is because the game is cheating on my behalf to give my opponent terrible draws and me good draws.

Maybe the multiplayer is better, but I've just about given up on this game. At least I should be able to sell the Garruk when it gets here in a month or two to recoup my cost.

Studying game design this is often how many games are programmed. You always face a harder opponent and then once you do defeat them, often more tries than one, you gain their specifics that made it challenging to take them down, (ie Metroid, Puzzle Quest). Don't get your hopes up on the Garruk card since everyone will have it more likely than not it will be a few dollars worth.

You might like changing the AI difficulty in the options before you set aside the game forever.

[Genocidal]

Studying game design this is often how many games are programmed. You always face a harder opponent and then once you do defeat them, often more tries than one, you gain their specifics that made it challenging to take them down, (ie Metroid, Puzzle Quest).Even though you've been commenting on this thread, I'm wondering if you've actually played the game or Magic in the past. The cards you're winning are well below the power level of the cards your opponents have up to this point, and since I'm already unlocking doubles and even triples of cards I can't imagine there will be a sudden spike in power, and even if I do unlock one powerful card, it doesn't make up for the handful of bombs that my opponents get, plus I can't remove the crap cards to make room for more of the 'good' ones.

Don't get your hopes up on the Garruk card since everyone will have it more likely than not it will be a few dollars worth.Considering the card goes for $10-20 now and is most likely to continue to be a staple since it's being reprinted in the new core set at the Mythic rarity, I'm pretty confident I'll be able to get at least the $5 I'm hoping for out of it. The subset of Magic players who pick up this game is also going to be smaller than the subset of Magic players who play T2 and would be interested in an alt art/cheaper Garruk.

You might like changing the AI difficulty in the options before you set aside the game forever.I've played off and on for going on 15 years now with a handful of those being at tournament level... there's no reason I should have to turn the difficulty on the game down from 'Normal' to 'Easy', due to what is almost assuredly cheating on the part of the AI if the interview with the programmer holds any truth. The fact that on my second attempt on each game I would completely demolish the deck that had just demolished me leads me to believe this is the case (Yes, I know, there is luck in drawing the right cards, etc, but these results have so far been staggering and consistent).

At this point, even a small patch that lets you edit the core decks would be a good start in placating me.

[Spybreak8]

Yes I have played Magic, 7 years ago in fact and I was really into it as well. I'm not that far in the campaign, doing challenges and duels, so I haven't been unlocking the cards you're talking about so sorry if I don't know that "the cards you're winning are well below the power level of the cards your opponents have up to this point". I didn't say I agree with the deck customization I just feel I understand why they did it. It would be very easy if they added in a setting in the options to enable or disable custom decks however and not hindering the offline play plus this is a casual version of the game. I don't care how good you are, AI always cheat, its like you've never played a video game sir. I think its 10 bucks worth of a purchase easily considering the price of one starter deck nowadays.

[deszaras]

I can't wait to give the demo a shot. I've always wanted to play TCGs but don't have any friends that would be interested. I know this isn't the same as playing with others but I hope this would be a sufficient substitute.

[MSUHitman]

FYI the demo is just the tutorial for the game, it stops after that.

How has online play been for folks? My only online game has been against Spybreaker but his satellite connection my have been what was causing the issues we experience. (I feel your pain my because my parents are stuck on satellite also.)

[SynGamer]

Anyone interested in playing a bit later today? I was thinking in an hour or two?

[crystalklear64]

Online is fun, but it can be annoying when:
People pause the game after every single card you play and take forever reading it.

People quit before the match has resolved.

[will52]

FYI the demo is just the tutorial for the game, it stops after that.

Nope, you can play the tutorial and the first 2 campaign missions.

[Spybreak8]

Online is fun, but it can be annoying when:
People pause the game after every single card you play and take forever reading it.

People quit before the match has resolved.

Yea over at xbox's forums people are all talking about the online is broken since people just quite when they're about to lose.

Yea thanks MSUHitman, those two games, since one went out of sync prob due to me lol, were fun.:)

[OnyxPrimal]

FYI the demo is just the tutorial for the game, it stops after that.

How has online play been for folks? My only online game has been against Spybreaker but his satellite connection my have been what was causing the issues we experience. (I feel your pain my because my parents are stuck on satellite also.)

Ugh.. I was on satalite until recently myself and never even tried to play game over live on it. I feel bad for ya Spybreaker. Also does anyone know how long this promo card offer is going to last? I want to pick it up, but It will have to wait till next week or so.

[MSUHitman]

Nope, you can play the tutorial and the first 2 campaign missions.

Well my demo only let me do the tutorial, everything else was locked. Maybe mine was faulty because I downloaded it on Wednesday when everything was in a state of flux and it's been changed?

[Spybreak8]

Haha I had a fun match with the AI last night. She had a card that If I drew a card I'd take 1 damage which is like every turn right lol. I had a card to gain 1 point whenever I cast a green spell lol. That was probably scripted but no matter I thought it was neat and I came back when I was at 6 life points.

[sendme]

A few pages back I was reading people talking about how if it was a port of the PC version you might have to buy more packs. Is this like that or is it you unlock cards as you play? I'm just wondering what I'm getting into because I played the DBZ CCG on the GBA and you unlocked the cards as you played but they were under rules that had been changed a year before the game came out.

[spree4567]

There are 8 decks of cards for you to unlock. Each deck then has an additional 15-17 cards for you to unlock for the deck. You do not have to buy more packs of cards like on Magic Online.

You will have to buy DLC however, but that will be optional.

[Danimal]

You will have to buy DLC however, but that will be optional.I'm really curious to see what kind of DLC they bring out for this game, whether it will just be additional decks, or cards from newer sets as they're released, or what. One thing I'd really like to see would be the ability to build and customize your own decks for the single player. I know we won't see that for multiplayer, but it would add a lot to the single player part of the game.

[JDMxB]

Unlocking the cards is quite the grind. Especially when people quit out of ranked before your win.

[NeoFrank1]

The Black Deck is pure evil! Freaking Ravenous Rats making me discard... Looking forward to unlocking it and unleashing some of that cruelty on others.

[Spybreak8]

I'm stuck on the white chick, Elipith something, whatever her name is. Stop gaining life and using flyers!

[Trakan]

Stainless Games needs to test their shit better.

Douche bags on Live have figured out how to pause/stall the game indefinitely, either by quitting or repeatedly hitting X. Ran into it a bunch tonight playing 4-player matches. As soon as the guy knew he was about to lose, he'd pause the game repeatedly hoping we'd quit.

They made it way too easy to quit in this game. No penalty, no nothin'.

[DantheApe]

I love this game. I hadn't played MTG in close to 10 years but this took me back to my days in high school. Haven't tried online, but i am really digging the campaign mode. Going to wait until i finish unlocking all the decks before i try online though...makes me miss my old ice ages blue/black deck i had when i was younger.

[SynGamer]

There are quite a few things that need to be patched;


X time limit per game (think timed Chess) and/or X time limit per turn, no pausing/stalling.
Allow us to remove cards from our decks.
Ability to mix-n-match cards from every deck.
MORE CARDS.
Quick/disconnect penalty - this is almost a no brainier, how it was never implemented or why it wasn't...

Those are a few of the major issues I have currently. I know there are others but I haven't been playing this long enough to spot all the bugs/rules issues. I think a simple online option would suffice - 'Custom Decks' = fully customized decks. People can match up against others with fully customized decks and test their true skills.

Really though, this game will need more cards (in the form of DLC) soon along with some changes to the game if they want this to last a while.

[Guerrilla]

There are quite a few things that need to be patched;


X time limit per game (think timed Chess) and/or X time limit per turn, no pausing/stalling.
Allow us to remove cards from our decks.
Ability to mix-n-match cards from every deck.
MORE CARDS.
Quick/disconnect penalty - this is almost a no brainier, how it was never implemented or why it wasn't...

Those are a few of the major issues I have currently. I know there are others but I haven't been playing this long enough to spot all the bugs/rules issues. I think a simple online option would suffice - 'Custom Decks' = fully customized decks. People can match up against others with fully customized decks and test their true skills.

Really though, this game will need more cards (in the form of DLC) soon along with some changes to the game if they want this to last a while.
I completely agree... the problem is, will they realize this?

[SynGamer]

I completely agree... the problem is, will they realize this?
Considering Wizards are hoping this will expose the game to a wider audience...I think even new players to the game will agree with many points on the list, especially the quit penalty (or there lack of) and the inability to customize our decks...those two should definitely be on the list for the next patch.

[ninju D]

I'm really on the fence about this game. As a former MTG player, its great to play again with a minimal investment. That said, the glaring flaw of this game is the deck management (or should I say lack of). I think I can get over it, but a fully customizable deck should be manditory for any MTG video game!

[Techsticles]

Fun game, no doubt the best console MTG game to date, but has some major annoyances/flaws.

1) Automatic Mana tapping is no good for multicolor decks. They need a menu option to allow you to tap your own lands for the colorless mana costs.

2) Multiplayer between friends on 2 headed giant requires 2 people per console. 2 friends can't play from different consoles, no computer partner avilible either. 2 player co-op, you both must be on the same console. Only standard versus allows 2-4 people on separate consoles to play.

3) Deck editing is basically useless. You unlock cards and can add or remove only those cards from the deck. At least allow mana to be adjusted. Its understandable that they want to give everyone a fighting chance so they lock the base cards of every deck, but how about adding an advanced mode for people to play others on their friend's list that allows modifying the base decks only for that mode.

There are other issues, but these are the main 3 that seem to frequently affect me.

[Spybreak8]

Tried an online match yesterday and I won a 4 player one, I have only unlocked a couple of cards as well. I was surprised I could get in, due to my connection, but had no problem or quitters. It was a player match though so maybe the douches hang out in ranked matches.

To all those wanting deck editing, I did at first but then came to the conclusion that this is a casual MTG experience and the hardcore probably already play a MTG game that allows this customization.

I haven't tried a multi-color deck yet but I would think I would have to agree there though.

[AngellicLulu]

Has anyone had any problems with the game locking up on them in the campaign mode? I've had this happen 5 times now and 4 of them were in the last campaign and I can't get past the last one because it keeps locking up.
And by lock up I mean the battle stops but I can still pause and unpause and quit... etc. But the battle won't continue.

[Guerrilla]

Has anyone had any problems with the game locking up on them in the campaign mode? I've had this happen 5 times now and 4 of them were in the last campaign and I can't get past the last one because it keeps locking up.
And by lock up I mean the battle stops but I can still pause and unpause and quit... etc. But the battle won't continue.
That's the computer rage-quitting... but seriously, yeah it's a bug that some people have run into.

[Hellsfire]

I'm enjoying this game. It's not what I thought it'd be though. The old late-90's Diablo esque PC game was a lot better. Never thought I'd look forward to DLC.

I haven't played online yet except with a friend for reasons mentioned.

It's not a bad casual game for $10 plus I get my card fix without having to lose money in PLO. I would kill though to be able to make/modify my own deck.

[Trakan]

Has anyone had any problems with the game locking up on them in the campaign mode? I've had this happen 5 times now and 4 of them were in the last campaign and I can't get past the last one because it keeps locking up.
And by lock up I mean the battle stops but I can still pause and unpause and quit... etc. But the battle won't continue.

Just zoom in on a card with the left/right triggers and it should fix it.

[AngellicLulu]

Just zoom in on a card with the left/right triggers and it should fix it.
Hmm, I'll have to try that next time. I know I've hit lots of buttons before.

[Spybreak8]

Yea always use LT to zoom in on cards the computer has played, seems RT freezes it sometimes. Also I've heard clearing your cache with your hard drive makes things a bit more smooth and more unlikely to freeze. I did that trick with Universe at War a while ago.

[MSUHitman]

Has anyone had any problems with the game locking up on them in the campaign mode? I've had this happen 5 times now and 4 of them were in the last campaign and I can't get past the last one because it keeps locking up.
And by lock up I mean the battle stops but I can still pause and unpause and quit... etc. But the battle won't continue.

Against the necro chick my game completely locked up when she played one of the rat monsters that forces you to discard, but I had no cards in my hand. It was a complete lockup also, no response on any buttons or triggers. I had to go to the dashboard.

[vpr]

I bought the game, but was never presented with a "Code" or maybe I missed it.... Where do I find it??? I checked my email and didn't get an email response either.

What's up with that?

~Vpr

[Jek Porkins]

I bought the game, but was never presented with a "Code" or maybe I missed it.... Where do I find it??? I checked my email and didn't get an email response either.

What's up with that?

~Vpr

You are showed the code the first time you play the game, but if you missed it, you can find it from one of the main menu options.

[MSUHitman]

You go to the WOTC website and enter the code with your address to get your promo card. You can view the code and the website to enter the code again by going into the game options, then I believe one of the choices is labeled "code."

[ninju D]

There's a game update when you load today. Not sure what it does yet.

[square king]

I tried the demo last night. It was a bit cumbersome initially, but I fell into the groove after a bit. I haven't played MtG since middle school...a good nine years or so. I'm surprised at how much *hasn't* changed, really.

I have a feeling this is going to make me get back into the game. My gf is interested, so maybe I'll buy a few decks today. Ohh boy.

[Spybreak8]

There's a game update when you load today. Not sure what it does yet.

From Xbox Forums:
I had a update when I got on what was it?

I know it fixed the hand/discard bug. That might be it, we thought that one in particular was bad and we noticed it a couple weeks ago.

Rest assured, more bug fixes are incoming once we get another title update done and into certification. Unfortunately the cert process can be a little slow, but we've gotten pretty good at it by now.

I'm sure we'll have more news (and news on DLC) to announce soon.

Glad to see a quick turn around with the updae, more to come is good to hear as well.:applause:

[NeoFrank1]

It sounds like they're just fixing bugs though, and not drastically changing the game (i.e. allowing for some advanced mode for actual deck customization)

[Spybreak8]

Seems like they fixed the problem of people quiting on you:
So, according to the WotC post, quitting a game early now properly gives you the loss and your opponent the win. This is good news

[Trakan]

Very nice.

[AngellicLulu]

I beat the final campaign battle, the computer finally stopped rage-quitting on me. :)

[StickyWaffles]

Bought it after enjoying the demo because another friend told me he bought it and loves it so we're playing together. Funny thing, his face lit up when I mentioned this game, but he was trying to keep it a secret so that we didn't make fun of him for liking a children's card game. I played Yugioh when I was a kid, and this is just a better version of that, so I'm loving it so far. I had some friends that wanted me to go see Transformers with them tonight, which would have cost $10-$12 just for the ticket, and I'm positive that I had more fun playing Magic and talking on Xbox with my friend for the past 3 hours than I would have at the movies, so it's already been worth it to me. Amazing how much of a ripoff a trip to the movies is compared to video games.

[Spybreak8]

Well that's harsh dude lol because I'm pretty sure Transformers 2 is worth that just for Megan Fox and awesome intergalactic robots lol. One difference in video games to movies, replayability and cost. Watch a movie once, spend a lot or play a game lots of times and spend a decent amount on it. Yea its 45 mins to the theater, or decent video game store for that matter, for me so its nice to be able to download arcade games with little to no time concern. I think they're banking on the nostalgia of this game for it's success as I know a lot of friends who also used to play back in high school. Anyone remember slammers and pogs?! Haha, no don't make an arcade game of that, please.

[Trakan]

http://www.destructoid.com/magic-xbla-will-have-dlc-microsoft-to-price-it-136704.phtml

DLC confirmed to be more pre-constructed decks and the price will be determined by Microsoft.

[davyd]

I'm actually kind of glad MS is doing the pricing over Wizards. Lesser of two evils I guess. It seems that whenever I see someone from wizards comment on how this game is $10 there seems to be this subtle passive aggressive response to how it should have been higher than that.

[wampa8jedi]

I've been enjoying this game over the past week--it's gimpy, but still enjoyable, IMO.

Though it really, really makes me miss the glory days of SWCCG :(

[paddlefoot]

Haven't played MTG in a few years have been enjoying it so far. Recommend to anyone familiar with the game to start on the highest difficulty, because it is still too easy. Game does make it difficult to do certain types of things, but it is an initial release and only $10!!! Quite happy to hear that, I have paid $9-10 every week to play in drafts and more for sealed deck games.

One thing I don't like is the lack of any sort of a deck editor. It would be nice to atleast allow players to edit the decks individually. The game is going to become repetitive quickly if you're playing against 12 (or even 20) preconstructed decks where you know the exact cards your opponent can play. Happened to me when I was playing the mono-blue deck against mono-green. Knew the only card I couldn't deal with was Troll Ascetic. Save counters for the Troll, made the game a cakewalk.

[Nealocus123]

I really like these types of card games but I hate actually paying for deck after deck. If I really liked the Pokemon card game on the GBA (please don't judge me) would I enjoy this? I mean damn for $10, I'd be interested.

[MSUHitman]

A bunch of content just released today, but nothing game changing. 4 premium themes (every color except black,) 2 picture packs, and a game add-on that is 4 different playmats to play on during the game.

[AlohaMars2]

I really like these types of card games but I hate actually paying for deck after deck. If I really liked the Pokemon card game on the GBA (please don't judge me) would I enjoy this? I mean damn for $10, I'd be interested.

Yes. I still play that game from time to time. Its a really well done virtual card game so dont be ashamed.

[ToadallyAwesome]

I beat the final campaign battle, the computer finally stopped rage-quitting on me. :)


I had the same problems too. I just mashed LT and RT and eventually it allows you to hit x and pause the game. After toggling x on/off it allows you to hit y and continue.

Annoying little bug

[NeoFrank1]

I found that hitting the D-pad left or right twice (to switch to the other side of the table and back) worked immediately. Since the update, though, I haven't had that issue.

[davyd]

Never thought it would happen, but I finally broke down and bought a premium theme. The Blue deck theme was too tempting.

...and I don't even play blue.

[zewone]

I <3 this game.

I'm so damn good.

[Spybreak8]

Never thought it would happen, but I finally broke down and bought a premium theme. The Blue deck theme was too tempting.

...and I don't even play blue.

Those premium themes look good but I just got the left 4 dead one free off the OXM disc today. ^^ That and the Perfect Dark theme should hold me off pretty well.

On a somewhat related note I was playing Puzzle Quest and I kept thinking of the card animations for my abilities and skills lol.

[wakawakawa]

Bought this. Back in HS I didn't really like Magic, but was into Guardians (another CCG). It's pretty fun and I'm essentially a new player. I lost twice to the first white deck (that deck seems hard to play against as a newbie), and then stomped it the next time. I wasted the first black deck on my first time, so I played again and still won, but was a lot closer.

[defmonkey05]

http://www.destructoid.com/magic-xbla-will-have-dlc-microsoft-to-price-it-136704.phtml

DLC confirmed to be more pre-constructed decks and the price will be determined by Microsoft.

So Microsoft is running the prices? Maybe we should all start bitching at microsoft then saying we don't have a true MtG game because we can't make our own decks. Then maybe M$ can do talks for deck customization I'd pay 800+ MS points to do this.

Its a great game, I really like it. there's a shit load of bugs though, I can't play lands in some games so I have to quit, the game freezing all the time on 2HG. And some of the error's the system makes in game.

The themes look nice though! Got myself a Red one, has some badass dragons on it. Might bite on the black one if it comes out.

[SynGamer]

Fuck that. I'm not going to pay $10 just to customize my deck when that feature should have been in the fucking game.

[MSUHitman]

Where's everyone at in the rankings? I'm 900 something out of 20,000 players in ranked two-player matches with a TruSkill score of 23.

[Ben7H]

What decks are people using in multiplayer? Haven't ventured online yet because I feel like I need to unlock more cards first.

[NeoFrank1]

I'm on my second run through the campaign so I can unlock cards, and it seems like every game one of two things happen: 1 - I pick an initial hand with a lot of mana (4-5) and then almost every time I draw I get more mana so I get destroyed since I have no creatures, or 2 - I pick an initial hand with low mana (1-2) but lots of good creatures, and then I hardly ever get mana on the draws, so I get destroyed since I can barely play anything. Does this happen to anyone else?

[Trakan]

Yep, just the luck of the draw.

[ninju D]

I'm on my second run through the campaign so I can unlock cards, and it seems like every game one of two things happen: 1 - I pick an initial hand with a lot of mana (4-5) and then almost every time I draw I get more mana so I get destroyed since I have no creatures, or 2 - I pick an initial hand with low mana (1-2) but lots of good creatures, and then I hardly ever get mana on the draws, so I get destroyed since I can barely play anything. Does this happen to anyone else?

ALL the time! I feel like my xbox needs shuffling lessons.

[MSUHitman]

I'm like 12-6 or so in two-player matches with the fully unlocked green deck (although I left two of the unlocked cards out of my deck.) I would say the top 3 decks played of the 8 would be in any order: green, green/black elf, black.

I'm 546th out of the 20K plus in two-player worldwide after some games tonight. Pretty good considering I never played Magic before! (Did play VS. System in real life for 5 years and it was designed by former Magic people.)

[DemonAlcohol]

Anywhere I can preview the MTG themes? Or any of the premium themes for that matter?

[HotShotX]

Is anyone else having a lot of bugs and crashes with the latest update? I've already had my game freeze in 4 player matches, cards become frozen on the screen when I zoom in (so I can't see what's going on behind it), etc.

~HotShotX

[sendme]

I didn't think I would want to get this seeing how you cant really do much to the deck you have. However after playing the demo I want to download this now. So it looks like I will be picking up a points card here in the next week or so. Would have been nice if in the demo they gave you 2 games and not just the one.

As for bugs in the demo at one point all it would let me to is play giant growth. I wasn't even given the option not to use it. It was not in the part telling me how to play so I should have had an option to play it or not.

EDIT: Just saw you do get 2 games. The second game all really pissed me off. All they played was flying cards in all 3 times I played against them. I think green decks only have one card to defend against flying in them. Atleast it seems like that.

[zewone]

I'm like 12-6 or so in two-player matches with the fully unlocked green deck (although I left two of the unlocked cards out of my deck.) I would say the top 3 decks played of the 8 would be in any order: green, green/black elf, black.

I'm 546th out of the 20K plus in two-player worldwide after some games tonight. Pretty good considering I never played Magic before! (Did play VS. System in real life for 5 years and it was designed by former Magic people.)

The green deck isn't that great. It doesn't have any (or hardly, besides Vigor) technical cards. It only has one card to block flying and it's not that great. It also doesn't have any cards to instantly kill a target creature or damage an opponent directly.

I'd say:

1. Black
2. Black/Green
3. Blue

[NeoFrank1]

ALL the time! I feel like my xbox needs shuffling lessons.

I'm really starting to think the computer is cheating. Out of the last 20 or so hands, one of those 2 situations I mentioned occurred 15 times. That's 75% shitty luck which is pretty suspicious.

[GizmoGC]

Yeah...not a fan of this game. I can;t complete the first challenge because I only get 1-2 Mana and nothing for the next ten rounds. I played Magic for 8 years and can't beat the first fucking level. Grr.

[Spybreak8]

Anywhere I can preview the MTG themes? Or any of the premium themes for that matter?

Yea a guy has a few videos on youtube showing them off. I personally just used a Magic the Gathering wallpaper I downloaded from their site as my background. I think the Blue Premium Theme is the nicest looking though.

http://forums.xbox.com/27801081/ShowPost.aspx

Gizmo, I had to play the first level 5 times before beating it and I had played Magic before as well. Once you get over that first hump I think its easier imo.

[paddlefoot]

Yeah...not a fan of this game. I can;t complete the first challenge because I only get 1-2 Mana and nothing for the next ten rounds. I played Magic for 8 years and can't beat the first fucking level. Grr.


Do you mean the campaign?

Thought all the challenges were just giving you a situation where you had to win that turn.

[sendme]

I played magic for about a year 8 years ago and can not get past Elspeth Tirel. All I have is the green deck and the red deck. I want to beat this game with every deck to unlock all cards so tips with all decks for here would be really nice.

[MSUHitman]

The green deck isn't that great. It doesn't have any (or hardly, besides Vigor) technical cards. It only has one card to block flying and it's not that great. It also doesn't have any cards to instantly kill a target creature or damage an opponent directly.

I'd say:

1. Black
2. Black/Green
3. Blue

Yeah I wasn't saying it was the best deck, someone asked what were the most used decks online. I've just used green because I've beat the single player with it, and I need to do it with the other decks now.

The Black and Black/Green decks are definately the best two. Third place is debatable.

[paddlefoot]

I played magic for about a year 8 years ago and can not get past Elspeth Tirel. All I have is the green deck and the red deck. I want to beat this game with every deck to unlock all cards so tips with all decks for here would be really nice.

I beat her with the green deck.

Easiest way is to use Blanchwood Armor on Troll Ascetic. Her deck has no answer for a 10/9 regenerating creature that can't be the target of opponents spells or abilities.

Other stuff

Try to bait her into using Pacifism early in the match. You want to be able to use Giant Spider for defense against fliers. If she use Angelic Blessing on a Youthful Knight (or another creature) early on, just take the 4 or 5 damage and move on

Don't waste blanchwood armors or overruns. Overruns = Win Game.... Usually, unfortunately the bitch has the one many cost spell Holy Day. So try to use Overrun when she won't play Holy Day.

Giant Growth is going to be your makeshift creature removal spell.

Don't worry about exchanging creature-for-creature early on.

[Spybreak8]

Yea I have to say the Elf deck can kick some series tail and that's where I'm at right now. I haven't been sticking with the same deck so actually looking forward in running through the campaign multiple times with different decks to unlock more cards.
Oh...
My Magic the Gathering Homemade (Free^^) Theme.
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/8259/adjustedtheme.th.jpg (http://img5.imageshack.us/my.php?image=adjustedtheme.jpg)

[sendme]

I beat her with the green deck.

Easiest way is to use Blanchwood Armor on Troll Ascetic. Her deck has no answer for a 10/9 regenerating creature that can't be the target of opponents spells or abilities.

Other stuff

Try to bait her into using Pacifism early in the match. You want to be able to use Giant Spider for defense against fliers. If she use Angelic Blessing on a Youthful Knight (or another creature) early on, just take the 4 or 5 damage and move on

Don't waste blanchwood armors or overruns. Overruns = Win Game.... Usually, unfortunately the bitch has the one many cost spell Holy Day. So try to use Overrun when she won't play Holy Day.

Giant Growth is going to be your makeshift creature removal spell.

Don't worry about exchanging creature-for-creature early on.

Thanks I will give that a try. I think I'm at the match where you get the black deck when you win now with my red deck. Once I beat her I didn't really have much issue with the next ones. I have got to the point that if I don't get a good hand by the time I have 10 life left I just quit. I don't see a comback at all I know you can come back form just one life and they have 20 but when I have nothing but lands out I dont' see a win happening.

I played a game online last night and I have read how people quit all the time. Well I was about to get a win and next thing I know they were gone. They were using the green deck and I was using the red deck.

Also I'm going to guess Mage is the easy setting when it comes to the AI. Even at that setting it seems like the AI gets what they need when they need it.

[CKaz]

The too much mana/too many creatures pendulum really showed up how this model is dated today IMO. Free Realms TCG has resources cards - or you use any other card face down, so the game progresses. Apparently WoW TCG does a similiar thing, though I know nothing about theirs. I just do virtual TCGs since MtG back in the day...

You might give Free Realms a try, it has a lot of what I like about Magic, while avoiding a fair bit of what I don't like about it, too. And hey, free to try, WITH a deck builder. You will need to quest for more cards tho in that world, but I don't think that's such a bad thing. Another thing that surprised me about Free Realms was it had some table-top games that were Tower Defense - bonus :)

-> Free Realms is Sony MMO for PC, small-ish install, and a fair bit is in fact, free

[sendme]

If I was to still be into CCGs I would check that out. Hell I still might. Only downloaded this because I used to play it in high school. It is a big issue with getting nothing but lands or geting nothing but spells in your hand. The draw system is crap in this game. I ended up playing a game where I had just one land in hand and every thing needed 3 land to play. When I had 8 cards in hand I just quit playing. Went online and the same thing happend only I just played and let them beat me. I didn't want to be like others that drop when they are about to lose. I had someone do that to me last night when I was just playing around with the green deck. I almost wish I never bought this game. It has its times when it is fun and not just when I'm winning but when I'm losing it is fun to but other times it is not fun at all.

[Genocidal]

The too much mana/too many creatures pendulum really showed up how this model is dated today IMO.
The system works fine when you're allowed to actually edit your deck.

[davyd]

Crappy initial draws happens in real magic all the time. At least this game allows you to redraw your hand until you get a decent set of cards. Hell, the first time you redraw you don't even have to sacrifice a card.

I don't know if these are official rules or not but way back 10 or so years ago when I played you could only mulligan if you drew a hand with no basic lands whatsoever. And even then you were penalized for it - you redrew a hand with 1 less card and you lost your first turn advantage if you had it.

If it bothers people so much you can even just restart the game if you're playing against the AI. I'm not ashamed to admit I did a few times during the co-op campaign against the final boss until I got the first turn.

[sendme]

Hell in campaign I restart all the time. hell if they still have 20 health and I'm down to 10 or some times 15 I will restart depending on my hand and what is in play. I don't really think it is the bad hands rather the AI's lucky draws. For me they seem to have what they need when they need it.

[Spybreak8]

Crappy initial draws happens in real magic all the time. At least this game allows you to redraw your hand until you get a decent set of cards. Hell, the first time you redraw you don't even have to sacrifice a card.

Yea, I redid a mulligan a few times and lost cards along the way lol, whoops. Now I know.:newbie:

[vader1671]

I wish they had a full Magic Game on XBLA. That would be like crack.

[eastx]

Hey, if this one sells well, maybe they'll do a full sequel. I plan to buy it later in the summer.

[SynGamer]

Hey, if this one sells well, maybe they'll do a full sequel. I plan to buy it later in the summer.
Honestly, they can fix this game with a few patches and some DLC.

[eastx]

Yeah, but I don't think they're likely to go that route. Would be nice though.

[Spybreak8]

Ok sign me up for the group that hates the damn artifact deck, augh. I had two Lightning Elementals to finish him as I'm at 1 and he terrors one of them! Nooo, since he uses his fountain of youth I deal him damage and he's at 1. 1 FREAKIN POINT><
The artifact deck is almost as worse as my sliver deck back in the day.

[DemonAlcohol]

I hope they don't allow you to fully customize decks, or at least only customize within the pool of cards we already have. Go play MTGO if you want that. This lets me play the actual game without all the card collecting bullshit.

[Frogurt.man]

I hope they don't allow you to fully customize decks, or at least only customize within the pool of cards we already have. Go play MTGO if you want that. This lets me play the actual game without all the card collecting bullshit.

This.

I just want to adjust how many lands and creatures I have in my deck as I unlock more cards for the decks so I can stay around 40-50 cards. A casual MTG on XBLA would be awesome. I hope they patch it.

[wakawakawa]

I never really got into Magic back in the day. For this xbla game. I like the game, I like the general gameplay of Magic, but now that I'm playing against the harder decks there seem to be some cards that are fairly unbalanced. There are a fair amount of duds included in your starting decks, which brings the strength of them down. Took me about 6 times to beat the elf deck. Everytime I played I was shaking my head about how much better it is than any of your decks. Coat of arms is the glue of that deck, if they pull it at the right time, damn... I think I beat it with the red deck, crossing my fingers for no coat of arms, and nuking all their weak guys. Even then it wasn't an easy win.

I really wish they would allow you some customization of the decks. I think being able to swap out 10-15 cards would allow you to tune the decks (while keeping the game fair and deck themes the same) and make the game not as frustrating.

[MSUHitman]

So Free Realms completely stole the VS System mechanic of any card being a resource, interesting.

[paddlefoot]

Can someone tell me, did the rules change and damage no longer uses the stack???

Then I wanted to boomerang my creature back to my hand after it was targeted by Razormane Masticore, but all it said was (player) choosing target, then my creature went to my graveyard.

Found the answer to the first question, no, it no longer uses the stack.

Playing the mono-blue deck, which is by far the worst deck i have played so far.

[Tha Xecutioner]

The blue deck is by far my favorite and probably 2nd or 3rd best, I think.

[Spybreak8]

Razormane Masticore, ahhhh he always gets it... Plus the other card that gets +1/1 for every artifact he controls, Jesus. I try to use the red deck and have the goblin king out, bam terror.

[NeoFrank1]

Just played the worst game of Magic so far. I was blue playing against the computer which was black. The computer had two drudge skeletons out, and every time they would attack or any time I would attack, the computer would keep regenerating the skeletons until all of its mana was tapped, which was retarded because eventually they had like 15 mana and it took forever to do anything. So dumb.

[SqueeMK2]

http://www.destructoid.com/magic-xbla-will-have-dlc-microsoft-to-price-it-136704.phtml

DLC confirmed to be more pre-constructed decks and the price will be determined by Microsoft.
Hopefully they'll be reasonably priced, but I'd fear the worst. Reasonably priced in my mind would be $5 for at least a 5 new deck pack. Since it's $10 for 8 decks and the base game, $5 for 5 decks would be ok.

[paddlefoot]

The blue deck is by far my favorite and probably 2nd or 3rd best, I think.

Yeah, I overreacted last night. I got a concussion from the beating that deck gave me.

Just wish I could tweak the deck a tiny bit.

[dg7md]

Might have already been answered, but is there a list online of all unlockable cards for each color?

[Spybreak8]

Oh man, I finally beat the last guy in campaign and was soooo happy. Beat him with the black deck since he had two howling mines and I had the enchantment to deal him damage for each card drawn lol. Masticores couldn't do anything either (other than killing one creature) because I made him discard all of his cards!

[ninju D]

Just wish I could tweak the deck a tiny bit.

Me too. I'd be more than happy with this.

[wakawakawa]

(I know nothing about Magic the card game)

I've been unlocking all the cards for the white and black deck. The hints say you should be aggressive when playing against white, and white is defensive. The white deck in the game seems to be rush offensive deck. With Holy day you can commit all your flyers to nonstop offense, and then be able to stop any large attack on yourself. If you are building up cards it's pretty good against the first green and blue deck.

The black deck is a fairly defensive deck. You want to put out the rack, underworld dreams, megrim, scoot imp, and demon's horn. I usually sacrifice any of my creatures if I can kill something to keep the game fairly creature free and just let the special cards killl your opponent. It's ridiculously good against the first blue deck, so it's very easy to get all 17 cards.

Seems like a lot of people play the elf deck online. That's a pretty good deck, but I can usually kill it with the white deck. I beat this one guy (elf deck) 31 to 0, I pulled ridiculous cards though.

[Spybreak8]

Yea I just did a white versus white match in the campaign which was entertaining. Holy day is one card the devs said irked the playtesters a bit. The AI used it and I used it so it was a fairly equal match. It was funny though using pacifism on the two moth creatures so he couldn't block and gain 4 health, (he was able to do it once with one of them before I got pacifism on that card as the AI used holy day that one time as well) lol. ^^

[wakawakawa]

Wow, I just played a game on LIVE where I pulled 17 lands in the first 27 (or so) cards with the black deck. I think the longest streak was 5 in a row. I don't even know how many lands are in the deck but that's gotta be all of them. The sad thing is I lived very long and was up to about 35 life at some point. I had 2 consume spirits, I used them to kill off his creatures, if I knew I was going to have so much mana I would have waiting til the end and hit the player for 15 damage each, but how could I know. I pulled Mortivore (he was like 11 strength) about 3 turns from my death, but it was too late.

It was really one of those games if I pulled any number of key cards I could have destroyed him (like a Nightmare with 17/17 flying, or shatter mind and make him drop 15 cards :P). The guy must have been laughing the whole time.

[sendme]

At least you didn't quit. Ever game I play unless they are winning they quit. Well I have only played 3 or 4 games and one was a 4 player game. Even in the 4 player game the host quit. I had the host down to less then 5 life they draw and quit. My first game when my red deck only had 4 of the unlocked cards at most I had the guy down to 1 life and they quit. I lost only one game I can thing of and I just stopped trying. I had a good start then just lost everything and was only drawing lands. I ended up in the last 3 hands getting that dragon that lets you add one damage for every land you tap. I ended up taping all of them and put they guy at 10 health and lost the next hand. If I could have some one not lost that hand I would have won.

I would still like to win one game of this online and not have the person quit. It is one thing to just stop trying but it is another to flat out disconnect.

[paddlefoot]

They really need to fix the land tapping portion of the game. I get screwed at least once every 3-4 matches because of the AI taps my lands incorrectly. Really struggles with the 3 color decks

[sendme]

A lot needs to be fixed. I have at times tried to block and it would not even let me move to the card or go to different cards in my hand.

Hell I just found out that you can unlock more then 17 cards per deck. So anyone know what the number of cards for each deck their are to be unlocked in the game. I went back to the first deck with the red deck I have been playing won again and got another card so I'm just going to do that to build up more cards then try to beat the last deck with it. I have had them beat twice but they end up getting that card that is 10/10 with flying haste and trample on it. They get it just when they need it. Every time I only need 2 or 3 turns to beat them and they get that and I have no way to stop even 1 of the damage.

[Trakan]

Hell I just found out that you can unlock more then 17 cards per deck. So anyone know what the number of cards for each deck their are to be unlocked in the game.

What?

[foxdvd]

I am going to be completely lazy here and not read the previous 13 pages of hands on reviews and asked is this worth picking up for a former Magic fan?

[jwbrown77]

I am going to be completely lazy here and not read the previous 13 pages of hands on reviews and asked is this worth picking up for a former Magic fan?
Try the demo.

Even knowing the limitations (no deck builder), based on the interface alone and I haven't played since right after The Dark was released, I decided to buy it.

[jwbrown77]

Wow, the red deck is really, really awful.