Home Login Sign Up Forums News Articles Leaderboards Members Search
Welcome! Sign up to remove the advertisements.

Magic Duels: Origins -- MtG goes F2P

Game Review | January 25, 2016 7:53 pm
By Meta
Developed by Stainless Games, published by Wizards of the Coast.
1 player offline, 2-4 players online competitively.
Rated T for Teen.

Magic the Gathering has had an interesting presence on consoles & mobile devices. Originally billed as "Duels of the Planeswalkers," the game is now called Magic Duels.

This first iteration is subtitled "Origins" as its campaign mode has you playing 5 of the Planeswalker characters from the game's lore.

These are the 5 planeswalkers you use.

For each person, you start with a very basic deck and unlock more cards as you progress. Each of the 5 paths has you exploring and exploiting the mana colors' strengths & weaknesses. They serve as excellent tutorials for newbies and give veteran MtG players a quick survey of what they will be working with/against.

There are also solo battles against AI, friends or strangers. Two-headed Giant mode is back which should satisfy the many players that lamented its lack in Magic 2015.

The currency system is simple. A single 6-card booster pack costs 150 coins. You earn enough coins via the tutorial "skill quests" and story mode to purchase several packs and begin constructing decks.

Like the last game, players have full control over deck creation. There are filters to streamline the customizing and an excellent set of tools for beginners. There are 3 recommended archetype decks that will walk you through the process of building a deck that is viable against average players & AI.


Unfortunately, decks constructed with the step-by-step method cannot be freely edited, so newbies will need to reconstruct their preferred decks from their collection of unlocked cards.

Currently there are 805 cards available and, unlike last year's fuckup, no cards are behind a paywall; It's purposely not pay-to-win, although the grind will be strong if you don't fork over some real-world monies. Beating the AI rewards 5-15 coins per win based on chosen difficulty, but even on Easy these AI decks don't mess around. You get 20 coins for winning an online match as long as it's not private.

Each booster pack adds 6 cards to your collection and you can buy/"unwrap" multiple packs at once but there is no discount for a bulk purchase. Community quests add bonus coins per certain victory conditions, but it will still take a lot of effort to attain all the cards.

Thanks to the random number generator, Uncommons and Rares live up to their status. Mythic Rares & Planeswalkers, though, are frequently encountered online.

Overall this feels like a good direction for MtG on consoles & phones/tablets versus playing the official Magic Online on PC. It loses points for infrequent bugs and a laughably small catalog of cards. (805? Yu-Gi-Oh! has thousands...)


TL;DR:
+ It's free-to-play
+ Great artwork, as usual
+ Excellent tutorials for newbies, total control for vets
+ Clean, fast interface
+ Every card attainable without paying

- AI needs to be scaled back on lower difficulties
- Quests for bonus coins need to be more frequent
- Card pack purchases are random
- Grinding enough wins for a new pack takes too long
- Relatively small assortment of cards
- Can't earn coins playing with friends or 2HG mode

? Will expansions add more planeswalkers and artifacts?

Rating: 7.5 of 10
Reviewed: Magic The Gathering
Keywords: None

Options:
Archived: Article Discussion: Magic Duels: Origins -- MtG goes F2P

Posted Under: Articles
Re: Magic Duels: Origins -- MtG goes F2P
Xbox America Staff
Xbox America Staff

This is a staff member of Xbox America

Xbox America Friend
Xbox America Friend

This user has donated $1+ to Xbox America.

Burnt Waffle
Burnt Waffle

This user has achieved a gamerscore of 25,000 or higher.

Bronze Waffle
Bronze Waffle

This user has achieved a gamerscore of 50,000 or higher.

Silver Waffle
Silver Waffle

This user has achieved a gamerscore of 100,000 or higher.

Golden Waffle
Golden Waffle

This user has achieved a gamerscore of 150,000 or higher.

1,000 Posts
1,000 Posts

This user has written over 1,000 posts. Rock on!

Community Spotlight
Community Spotlight

This Xbox America member has been featured in the Monthly Community Spotlight.

Ron Burgundy
Ron Burgundy

This user has written 10+ published Xbox America news articles.

Discussion Sparker
Discussion Sparker

This user created a thread which attracted 150 or more replies.

Googler
Googler

This user used the Xbox America search bar.

I didn't even know this was a thing. Hmmm. I'll have to tell my kid- he's a nerd into this stuff.
Re: Magic Duels: Origins -- MtG goes F2P
Burnt Waffle
Burnt Waffle

This user has achieved a gamerscore of 25,000 or higher.

Bronze Waffle
Bronze Waffle

This user has achieved a gamerscore of 50,000 or higher.

Silver Waffle
Silver Waffle

This user has achieved a gamerscore of 100,000 or higher.

Golden Waffle
Golden Waffle

This user has achieved a gamerscore of 150,000 or higher.

3 Year Login Streak
3 Year Login Streak

This user has logged in to Xbox America every day for the past three years.

1,000 Posts
1,000 Posts

This user has written over 1,000 posts. Rock on!

Community Spotlight
Community Spotlight

This Xbox America member has been featured in the Monthly Community Spotlight.

Barterer
Barterer

This user has completed 3 or more game trades and is in good trading standing.

Discussion Sparker
Discussion Sparker

This user created a thread which attracted 150 or more replies.

Sociable
Sociable

This user introduced himself or herself in the Introduce Yourself forum.

Googler
Googler

This user used the Xbox America search bar.

Gamercard Lover
Gamercard Lover

This user has posted one of his or her official Xbox America gamercards on another website.

My kids want to know if it's just for the 360 or One
Re: Magic Duels: Origins -- MtG goes F2P
Competition Pro
Competition Pro

This user has won three or more gamerscore competitions.

Xbox America Friend
Xbox America Friend

This user has donated $1+ to Xbox America.

Burnt Waffle
Burnt Waffle

This user has achieved a gamerscore of 25,000 or higher.

Bronze Waffle
Bronze Waffle

This user has achieved a gamerscore of 50,000 or higher.

Silver Waffle
Silver Waffle

This user has achieved a gamerscore of 100,000 or higher.

Golden Waffle
Golden Waffle

This user has achieved a gamerscore of 150,000 or higher.

1,000 Posts
1,000 Posts

This user has written over 1,000 posts. Rock on!

Community Spotlight
Community Spotlight

This Xbox America member has been featured in the Monthly Community Spotlight.

360Voice Group
360Voice Group

This user is a member of Xbox America's group on 360Voice.com.

Discussion Sparker
Discussion Sparker

This user created a thread which attracted 150 or more replies.

Sociable
Sociable

This user introduced himself or herself in the Introduce Yourself forum.

Googler
Googler

This user used the Xbox America search bar.

Gamercard Lover
Gamercard Lover

This user has posted one of his or her official Xbox America gamercards on another website.

Miscellaneous Service
Miscellaneous Service

This user has performed some sort of miscellaneous service for Xbox America that deserves to be recognized.

I know it definitely on Xbox one not sure about 360!
Re: Magic Duels: Origins -- MtG goes F2P
Xbox America Staff
Xbox America Staff

This is a staff member of Xbox America

Xbox America Friend
Xbox America Friend

This user has donated $1+ to Xbox America.

Xbox America Sponsor
Xbox America Sponsor

This user has donated $15+ to Xbox America.

Xbox America Benefactor
Xbox America Benefactor

This user has donated $50+ to Xbox America.

Burnt Waffle
Burnt Waffle

This user has achieved a gamerscore of 25,000 or higher.

Bronze Waffle
Bronze Waffle

This user has achieved a gamerscore of 50,000 or higher.

Silver Waffle
Silver Waffle

This user has achieved a gamerscore of 100,000 or higher.

Golden Waffle
Golden Waffle

This user has achieved a gamerscore of 150,000 or higher.

1,000 Posts
1,000 Posts

This user has written over 1,000 posts. Rock on!

Community Spotlight
Community Spotlight

This Xbox America member has been featured in the Monthly Community Spotlight.

360Voice Group
360Voice Group

This user is a member of Xbox America's group on 360Voice.com.

Waffle Philanthropist
Waffle Philanthropist

This user has donated three or more games to the Waffle Order thread.

Barterer
Barterer

This user has completed 3 or more game trades and is in good trading standing.

Ron Burgundy
Ron Burgundy

This user has written 10+ published Xbox America news articles.

Discussion Sparker
Discussion Sparker

This user created a thread which attracted 150 or more replies.

Brain Stormer
Brain Stormer

This user thought of an idea for a new site feature which was later implemented.

Marketer
Marketer

This user has referred five users to Xbox America.

Master Marketer
Master Marketer

This user has referred ten users to Xbox America.

Representin'
Representin'

This user has given Xbox America some love in his Xbox Live motto.

It Defines Me
It Defines Me

This user mentioned Xbox America in his Xbox Live biography.

Sociable
Sociable

This user introduced himself or herself in the Introduce Yourself forum.

Googler
Googler

This user used the Xbox America search bar.

Gamercard Lover
Gamercard Lover

This user has posted one of his or her official Xbox America gamercards on another website.

Community Player
Community Player

This gamer participated in Xbox America's Xbox.com Community Playdate.

Beta Tester
Beta Tester

This user has participated in a Xbox America beta test.

Yeah it's not available on 360
1 17832
This thread has been archived. When a thread has been inactive for an extended period of time, it becomes "archived." These threads may be viewed but may not receive new posts. If you have something to post relevant to the topic, try searching for a more recent thread or create a new thread.