Magic The Gathering
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The Soapbox: There's no such thing as pay-to-win
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. I hate it when MMORPG players completely misrepresent this hobby. I cringe every time I find myself in the middle of a discussion about "MMOs" when most of the people chatting are pulling only from their experience as a World of Warcraft raider and nothing more. There are hundreds -- actually, thousands -- of MMOs in existence. Discussing MMOs without knowing about as many as possible is really talking about specific titles, not a genre. You wouldn't catch a group of "foodies" basing all of their passions on a few items from a handful of menus. The same should apply to MMO discussions if we ever want the genre to be taken more seriously by outsiders. MMO players love to pigeonhole titles. What are some of the worst descriptions? "Hardcore" is one. What does that even mean? Does it mean a title is hard to play? In what way is it hard? Does it mean that it takes time to play? How much time equals hardcore? "Facebook game" is another term that drives me crazy, and it's often used by many MMO fans to dismiss all sorts of titles. While I know that the term generally refers to FarmVille-style gaming, using the term literally reflects how little the person knows about the variety of games that actually appear on or are connected to Facebook. The term that drives me the craziest of all is pay-to-win.
Daily iPad App: Magic 2013 finally brings Magic to iOS
Magic 2013 arrived on the App Store recently, and it was a long time coming. It's the first real version of Magic: The Gathering that we've seen since Apple's platform was first created. The iPad's touchscreen seems like a no-brainer for collectible card games, and there have been quite a few of them out there already. But we haven't had a real, official Magic: The Gathering app until now, which means Magic 2013 is the first app that actually lets you play the official game that's been so popular for years and years. Unfortunately, Wizards of the Coast has had to make some concessions, and those shortcuts are problematic. First of all, this game is actually modeled off of (and created by the same team as) the Xbox Live version of the game, which means it isn't a "pure" version of Magic (where you can create your own decks at will). Instead, it's sort of a "sampler" version, with a bunch of different decks to play with and only slightly customize, rather than free access to the collectible cards. The other issue is that because this version is based on a controller-driven game, it's not nearly as tactile as you'd imagine Magic on the iPad to be. That's a shame -- instead of designing a different version of Magic just for the iPad, Wizards essentially ported the (already popular) Xbox Live version. Not being able to do things like interact with the cards in a realistic way is a bummer. There are obvious reasons for all of this. Wizards certainly doesn't want to cannibalize sales of the actual cards, and the Xbox Live version is already a proven success (not to mention relatively cheaper to port over than to create a whole new game). Magic 2013 is an excellent title if you like Magic. It definitely allows you to play cards, make moves, and play out the full game, against the AI or other players. It's just too bad we didn't get something a little more suited to this platform, instead of a copy of Xbox Live's big title. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Magic 2013 now (finally!) available on the iPad
The wait is over: Wizards of the Coast has finally brought an official, real version of Magic: The Gathering over to the iPad. Magic 2013 is now available on the App Store, and while there have been plenty of Magic-style card games before, and even an official Magic tracking app from Wizards, this is the first time that we've been able to actually play the real Magic game with official cards and everything. This version of the game is modeled after the very popular XBLA Duels of the Plainswalkers titles (and in fact, there's a new one of those out today as well), so it doesn't offer full control over your decks. Instead, cards are divided up into decks for you, so you can only customize your decks inside of the offered options. But that's not a huge problem: This is still full-on Magic play, with a single player campaign, three decks, and the option to play Plainchase mode for free, and then lots more via in-app purchase, including more decks, challenge modes, Two-Headed Giant and custom game modes, and even, yes, online multiplayer. It's been a long time coming, but we finally have a nice full version of Magic: The Gathering on iOS. Magic 2013 is a free download, and additional functionality can be purchased inside the app. If you're a Magic player, you've probably already headed to iTunes to grab it.
Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 gives returning players free deck key
As a bonus to returning Magic: The Gathering players, a free deck key will be granted in Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013. I discovered this when first booting up my review copy from Microsoft, discovering a message of thanks for my continuing patronage.You can use the key to unlock a full deck right away, including all of its 30 unlockable cards, or you can turn all of your cards in one particular deck into foils.
Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 launches on June 20
Time to break out your good staff of summoning because Wizards of the Coast will launch the next installment in its Duels of the Planeswalkers series later this month. Magic: The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 will launch worldwide on June 20 for Xbox Live Arcade, PSN, Steam on PC – and, for the first time, iPad.As for pricing, it's not necessarily a given that Duels 2013 will be a $10 title – Wizards reps would not confirm pricing.%Gallery-157177%
South Korean rating outs Magic: The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013
Game Rating Board, South Korea's premiere games rating board, has listed another entry in the Magic: The Gathering series of games, presumably for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 again. As things look, Stainless Games and Wizards of the Coast have no plans of stopping the annual installments.It shouldn't come as much of a surprise: both the original Duels of the Planeswalkers and Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 performed well, the former having sold over 500,000 copies on XBLA, while the latter was one of PSN's top performers last year. Considering both previous installments launched in the summer, we're betting we'll be hearing about Duels 2013 soon.
Rise and Shiny recap: Urban Rivals
I would like to start off by saying that Urban Rivals, a multiplayer collectible card game, is not an MMO. While I always try to play MMOs for this column, occasionally my "grab a random MMO, one that was recommended by a reader a while ago, and write about it" method needs some tweaking. I don't always get a chance to vet a game mainly because I want to go through the very first stages of play while streaming live on Mondays, so sometimes less-than-Massive games squeeze through. File this under Not So Massively. Other than that, I found some neat design in the game. I didn't find anything that would just blow us away as gamers, but it has some cool ideas and artwork all the same. There's also the mobile version of the game to consider -- a universal app for the iPhone or iPad that allows for gaming anywhere.
Unofficial Dominion on iOS now, official version later
I'm a big fan of Ascension, the iOS app that replicates the real-life deck-building card game of the same name. But when it comes to more self-contained deck-building card games where you build a deck as you play, as opposed to collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering, there's really one big name out there, and it's Donald X. Vaccarino's game Dominion. It's a great game that like Magic: The Gathering has been begging for a solid iPad/iOS port ever since Apple's platform first took off. That hope is coming true in more ways than one. There's already a version of Dominion available on iOS for US$1.99, but apparently it's unofficial yet (temporarily) approved. It may be strange to see a paid app that's unofficial and actually uses the art and IP of the game, but apparently Rio Grande is cool with that, because it has an official version coming out as soon as "a few weeks" from now. It's granted temporary licenses to developers to release their own versions of the game as long as those versions are down and gone by the time the official release arrives. Personally I'll probably wait for the official version, especially since it sounds like the wait isn't that long. But it's good to hear that one of the best card games around is coming in virtual form to Apple's tablet. As for Magic: The Gathering? Wizards of the Coast, the ball's in your court. Wizards has said it's releasing a reference app for Magic on iOS, but there are still no plans for an official version of the game itself. Meanwhile, Kard Combat is it.
Incipio shows off licensed, interchangeable, and battery charger cases at CES
Incipio had a nice booth on the show floor at CES this year, and kindly showed TUAW some of its new offerings in the world of iPhone cases and spare batteries. The latest and greatest news from Incipio is licensed cases -- the company has secured licenses to print cases with art from Magic: The Gathering, Hasbro, Alpine Stars, and gaming accessory company Gunnar, so we got to see those cases displayed at the show. Incipio told us that while licensed cases don't normally sell quite as well as plain cases (we heard last year that black is always the best-selling color for iPhone and iPad cases), licenses can often bring in interest to the company, from consumer buyers to retailers and other companies. Some of the licensed cases from Incipio Elsewhere in the booth, Incipio was also showing off its popular NGP case, which consists of two different pieces: a hardshell back that fits directly on the iPhone, and then a silicone case that snaps onto that one. Customers have really been drawn to the case, Incipio told us, because it's pretty easy to remove and change up. That's a trend they've noticed recently: That more and more customers are looking for iPhone cases that can come off easily, either because they want to try on multiple different cases for their iPhone, or just to allow the iPhone to connect to or sit in a dock. Incipio was also displaying the Off Grid Pro, which is a battery pack that follows up on its Off Grid series. The Off Grid Pro kicks up the juice to 1700 mAh, and it features a very slim set of batteries that can be replaced inside the iPhone case itself. I thought it was surprisingly thin, so users looking for a extra battery boost that doesn't take up a lot of room might be interested in checking it out. The Off Grid Pro will be out at the end of February for $89.99. Finally, Incipio showed us a prototype case it was working on that had both rigid and flexible parts. The rigid parts looked like an "X" and reached out to the corners of the iPhone, while the sides were flexible and allows for protection without making the iPhone much larger. That case was still in the making, a designer for the company told us, so it may never actually see store shelves in its current form. But Incipio and all of the other various case companies on the floor at CES are innovating as best they can, trying to both come up with new options and respond to consumer taste as quickly as possible. A case prototype Incipio's cases definitely stood out from the flood of similar accessories at the show this year. And just like last year, it was interesting to hear what kinds of trends and patterns are showing up in the world of iPhone and iPad add-ons.
Rumor: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012's first DLC pack revealed
The source code for Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 supposedly outs the first DLC pack for the game, according to MTG Salvation forum user "luminum can". It's a triple pack of decks -- standard fare for all you mana tappers out there, including a red/blue, white/green and mono black deck. And if you fear change (hey, we get it -- just thinking about David Bowie gives us the chills), the original decks will each be bolstered by four new cards each. If you're looking to do some recon, a majority of the cards can be looked up through Gatherer, Wizards of the Coast's search utility for Magic: The Gathering. For the full list of cards found in the files, hit up the source link below.
Hothead Games settles on Kard Combat, deals out some details
Hothead Games, we have never been this disappointed in you. After you asked for titles for your magically-charged iOS trading card game, and we responded with pure gold like Hocus Poker and Guess Who: Portraits of Power, you went with ... Kard Combat. Sure, it succinctly sums up the free-to-play game's two biggest constituent elements, but we think that moniker could have used a bit of spicing-up. Also, some spell-checking, because "Card" is spelled with a "C," you silly geese. Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield served as a co-designer on Kard Combat, and explained in a press release, "For years I've wanted to create Magic-like experiences for people who play video games. Kard Combat on iPhone and iPad does this and is simple enough for anyone to pick up and play, but with plenty of depth for the hardcore player." Check out the gallery below and the trailer after the jump to see just what kind of depth we can expect from the egregiously misspelled title. %Gallery-126811%
Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 review: All decked out
Last year's Magic: the Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers was an unforeseen success for Wizards of the Coast and developer Stainless Games. Planeswalkers 2012 is an attempt to capitalize on that newfound audience and bring them into the tangible Magic: the Gathering TCG fold -- a goal it ambitiously reaches for with improvements to last year's model, such as a more robust campaign, and more cunning AI -- a much-needed fix for the previous game's pushoverable foes. Another key feature is, of course, the addition of more modern cards that will release as part of the 2012 Magic: the Gathering core set. Yes, even in the virtual world, you can't avoid the good old fashioned (and costly!) pattern of trading card game iteration. %Gallery-118886%
Duels of the Planeswalker 2012 preview: Scheming on the archenemy
When it came to Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers, I was in the minority. The fact that I couldn't fully edit a deck never really bugged me -- I enjoyed the structure. So, for me (and I imagine a lot of you), the biggest question going into my Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 preview session was how customization would work in the sequel. It's still structured, but not so much that you can't play around with those initial 60 cards in each deck. While lands are set in stone, any other card in that base deck list can be swapped out for another -- outside of the restriction that a deck must be at least 60 cards, you're free to mingle cards in and out that fit the parameters of that deck (e.g. color and creature themes). %Gallery-118886%
Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 launches June 15 on XBLA, PSN and Steam for $10
Anxious planeswalkers waiting to slap on their favorite pair of Nikes and make with the strutting of their stuff will be delighted to hear that Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 is set for launch on Wednesday, June 15, across Xbox Live Arcade, Steam and PlayStation Network. Wizards of the Coast confirmed the launch date (which we assume will actually be Tuesday, June 14, on PSN) today, along with a $10 price point for the sequel to 2010's surprise hit, Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers. Each version of Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 will also include a rare paper card bonus (while supplies last!), which can be acquired at your local card shop by producing a unique in-game code. Check out an image of all three cards just past the break. %Gallery-118886%
Enter at Your Own Rift: Zero-sum game
Ever since I started following RIFT, I've been entranced by the wide-open -- but not limitless -- class system. After all, the virtual world and everything populating it is only half the game; the other half resides in the avatar that sticks with you while you explore it all. Many MMOs have interesting ways of letting you build and grow your character, but sooner or later they come to a point where there's little more to be done other than incrementally increasing your stats by gaining better gear. Not so with RIFT, as even a level 50 can drop a few coins to shape a completely new build from scratch. No longer are we bound to a rigidly defined creation; we are free to experiment, tinker, and try out these roles to our hearts' content. With RIFT's soul system, there are a few ground rules that everyone learns early in the game. You can have up to three souls in your archetype active at any one time; you can only spend as many points in a build as you have in levels (such as 10 points at level 10); and you'll end up with 66 points at level 50, which means that you'll at least dabble in a second soul tree with every build. And while you can certainly spread soul points across all three trees, today I wanted to look at the benefits of a zero-point soul, the "third wheel," if you will, of builds.
Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 conjures first screens, trailer
Put on your wizard robe and hat and brace for some Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 media, because we've got a gallery of new screens and a new trailer. There will be new opponents, new game modes and, more importantly, new cards to collect.
Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 tapped for XBLA, PSN, PC this summer
Card tapping aficionados can take on other summoners this summer through the magic of the internet with Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 on XBLA, PSN and PC/Steam. The new standalone game will add "new game modes, Planeswalker opponents, decks, puzzle challenges" and more. The title will feature a tutorial to ease new players into the potentially overwhelming card game, along with a "new-to-digital" multiplayer mode called Archenemy, where two allies take on an AI. PAX East attendees can check out the new Archenemy game mode for Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 at the Magic booth (#648) on the show floor.
Magic: The Gathering - Tactics summoned to PC January 18
Sony has announced that Magic: The Gathering - Tactics will arrive on PC later this month on January 18 (the PS3 version is slated for later this year). The free-to-play game offers up a new take on the classic card game, allowing direct control over summoned creatures and simplified deck building options. Naturally, players will be able to purchase new cards for their decks or trade them with other players. Check out our E3 preview for a detailed look at the game. And find new screens below and a developer diary after the break. %Gallery-113278%
Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers summons third DLC pack on Steam
While the console versions of Magic: The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers are stuck waiting on that third DLC pack, PC users can now boost their virtual card collection through a Steam update today. The third content pack will set budding planeswalkers back $4.99, for which they get two new decks, a plethora of new cards to unlock, new challenges to conquer and, of course, a new single-player campaign to tackle. If you've checked out either of the previous two DLC packs, then you know this is pretty much par for the course. There's still no timetable for when the DLC will be available on consoles, though we've contacted both Wizards of the Coast and Stainless Games for comment. In the meanwhile, feel free to tap our gallery below for some magical screens. %Gallery-106678%
Guest Post: Getting into the WoW Trading Card Game
This article has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. Are you someone who plays World of Warcraft and purchases booster boxes of each World of Warcraft Trading Card Game expansion in order to get its loot cards? Do you know how to play the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game? If not, then you are one of many online gamers I've heard of who help make the trading card game a hot property but have not discovered that those cards you are packing up and burying in your apartment or house are actually a lot of fun to play with. For those of you who haven't taken a look at the trading card game at all, I'd highly recommend it. I have been playing card games since 2003, and the WoW TCG is no exception. I spent over a year writing about the game, as well as playing and working at some of its biggest events (with a short break in 2008 to finish school). It was because of WoW TCG that I ended up getting into the WoW MMO in the first place! The WoW Trading Card Game has been around since fall 2006 and has continued on through a transition from one company (Upper Deck Entertainment) to another (Cryptozoic). Organized play has had its ups and downs, but the game is starting to get more popular and attendance is once again picking up at events everywhere. However, a recent addition to the weekly tournament at my local comic book store mentioned that he knows plenty of people who buy the cards but never learn how to play. Why is that?
