Preview: Magic 2015: Duels of the Planeswalkers

Wizards of the Coast doesn’t beat around the bush with Magic 2015: Duels of the Planeswalkers and neither will we: digital versions of the game are meant as a gateway to physical card decks. Hell, if you go to the Wizards website and head to their Learn to Play page, it suggests you download the current Steam version of the game – 2014 – to use as a tutorial.

The difference between 2014 and the upcoming 2015 is that there’s a tremendous attention to detail for those to wish to learn. Moreover, further tweaks mean seasoned players might check out the game for use as a hearty travel version, or simply to see the types of new physical cards they’ll soon be able to get their hands on.

Magic is a big deal around the world; it’s Hasbro’s largest game, even beating out Monopoly. Over the last few years, the card-based game has really exploded in Australia and New Zealand, with one hundred retail stores across ANZ offering Friday Night Magic nights to make the game social (and competitive). Pro events in our country and around Asia Pacific offer hardcore Magic players the chance to compete for a spot at the Magic Grand Prix held annually in Vegas. It’s all very serious stuff.

That said, in order to take on other Planeswalkers in Vegas, you’ve still got to start somewhere.

Magic 2014 was well received in its digital form, but three big things stood out: the game didn’t really have a story, its UI was cluttered and busy, and experienced types couldn’t manage and build their own in-game decks. That all changes with Magic 2015.

First up, there’s an actual narrative in this year’s version. Garruk Wildspeaker, the Green Planeswalker, has been cursed, forced to hunt and kill other Planeswalkers. Your job is to set off amongst the many Planes inside Magic 2015 to put an end to the curse, with each battle unlocking the next as you push forward on your quest. Your goal might be simple, but this year’s story actually ties each battle together rather than just throwing random encounters your way. The game’s intro really sets the scene, so check it out:

Next up, the game’s UI has been redesigned to be clean and simple. There’s a white, minimalistic theme as you battle, with a ‘red zone’ coming into effect when a battle is about to take place, giving Wizards’ metaphoric term an actual physical (well, digitally physical) representation. Coming in as a relative newcomer, the lack of distraction on-screen made it easier to learn, focus, and apply knowledge. I went from having no idea what a Land would do, to throwing them down with nothing but confidence. It was quite refreshing to get hands on with Magic for once and not feel useless. As you learn, you can up the difficulty of the game. Each difficulty level means less on-screen prompts and suggestions as you play.

Finally, in an effort to make the game more accessible to those who find Magic old hat, 2015 finally brings with it the chance to manage decks. The new functionality lets you order by colour, or even filter cards in your possession in order to build something of your own choosing. An autocomplete function will take cards you pre-select and match them with others you own to find the best balance. You can hold up to 4 copies of the same card at any given time, so you can roll with multiple decks too. Decks can be named as you choose, and also foiled up to show off to others.

Magic 2015 is free-to-play, so you can unlock booster packs as you progress through the game and build your inventory. When you begin, you start to unlock 1, 3, 5 and 7 card packs, but it’s not long before you’re accessing full 14 card packs. As in real life, full booster packs contain 11 basic cards, 3 uncommon cards and 1 rare or mythic rare card. For those a little less patient, booster packs can be purchased like DLC. Purchased or earned, each booster pack will actually unwrap itself from its foil deck to show you with your new spoils. It’s a neat little touch. DLC will also allow for future cards to be added into the digital world. Magic 2015 will feature digital representations of physical cards that will soon come to market, giving fans a chance to see what will soon be in stores.

While we played Magic 2015 on iPad, a standard look and feel will be presented on all platforms – Xbox One, Xbox 360, iPad, Windows PC via Steam, Android and Kindle – when it launches later in the year.