If you're looking to get into MTG for the first time, or if you want to rekindle your love for the game, 2013 is a must own. The game explains everything in detail, and the amount of content and modes are robust enough to keep players going for hours. This is the best Magic video game that is on the market today, and its all yours for 10 dollars. That is a great deal for what you get. I can not suggest Duels of the Plainswalker 2013 enough.
What really stands out about Magic 2013 though, is that whilst it is great entry into the genre for new players, with pop up help and a fine tutorial, it doesn't trade that off by dumbing down the experience for veterans. Literally the only thing missing is the feel of having a physical deck in your hands. We dare you not to become hooked.
There is just so much to do in this game. Learning the different strategies for different decks, etcetera. It more than makes up for the lacklustre effort that was Magic The Gathering: 2012. This is such a good game.
This game continues to be great fun. I enjoy all of the the play modes, but I spend most of my time playing online with 2 or 3 others. I'm curious to see how we acquire these "other" cards for our decks. I good it's not something unreasonable like going to FNM. What if you can't? Not everyone has the means or money to go play people with $150+ decks & take it all too seriously. I think that'd be terribly unfair simply due to the fact that this format is supposed to give everyone a more level playing field. The only reason I don't give this a 10 is that they STILL haven't fixed the timer issue. Someone can eat up or wipe out your time by pausing on their side AND WORST OF ALL they STILL haven't adjusted the timer for blocking! If someone comes at you with tons of attackers, you ALWAYS get screwed because the damn timer runs out!!! There needs to be some type if sliding scale for the blocking timer so you can make proper decisions much less have the time to physically make all the blocks!
Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 is, for the most part, a carbon copy of Duels 2012. The Encounters and Planechase mode are welcome additions, but the lack of diversity in the deck options seems like a bit of a step backwards in an otherwise static continuation of the series.
The overall effect is like taking a broom or a flamethrower to the rules, completely undermining the game as designed. Which is something I couldn't be happier to see, because the game as designed is in dire need of undermining. If there's anything that can breathe life into Magic the Gathering, it's a shake-up like planechasing.
Despite all of these complaints, the core game is strong. Everything works as expected, the cards are translated perfectly, and the AI can play at the level of an average human. Beginners – who are the target audience here, to be fair – should have a fine time. I'd recommend playing either of the previous two games before this one, though.
Too bad. This 2013 edition does indeed solve one of the two main issues of the series by giving the players the possibility of choosing what lands to tap in critical situations, but the 10 decks are considerably less interesting to play than the ones of the 2012 edition, and it's still impossible to simply craft your own decks with the provided cards. Those two shortcomings would be easy to solve, but it seems the developers don't want to, either by stupidity or laziness.
MtG- Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 has several improved features from previous years while retaining the charm and elegance of the core product. Duels is an excellent game to introduce new players to the world of Magic the Gathering. It slowly, but enjoyably teaches players the core concepts of the game. Learning Magic can be a daunting experience because of the depth and breadth of the rules but Duels 2013 makes the process simple by introducing concepts one at a time. Duels 2013 also does an excellent job of showing different strategies players can use when building decks. Every player should be able to find a deck that suits his or her individual play style. There are controlling decks and aggressive decks. There are mill-based decks and burn based decks. Creatures decks and removal decks. One problem with the game is that it lacks full customization options for its decks. Players can substitute a few cards, but experienced Magic players that want a digital version of the game will want more options than what Duels 2013 will provide. Especially after the Campaign mode is completed the game could have more repeatability if players could have more options for constructing decks of their own for multiplayer. The puzzles are much more difficult than last year but still easy enough to finish without using spoilers. The multiplayer section of the game offers the brand new "Planechase" that mirrors the non-digital release of the product and offers a high variance, but very fun alternative to two-headed giant and free-for-all play. Ultimately, just the campaign mode will give hours of fun for the low price of $10. The biggest problem with the game is the instability of the multiplayer games. They are difficult to get started and have a lot of connection problems causing players to drop frequently. Ultimately, even with these flaws this is an easy buy. The game should provide significant value to new and old magic players and is a steal at $10.
The only MTG available on console, so, if you like MTG, it's all you can get. It's not bad, but definitely leaves hard core players unsatisfied. The big issues, for me, are the controls, which could use some refining, automatic land quantity assigned (STILL!), lack of deck customization, and it still has a few glitches. With the deck customization, they still need more card choices for better customization, as even with the starting 10 decks most players end up with almost identical decks (everyone is playing the best choice with each color). So, I am not saying I need it to be like MTG on PC, but at least give us the entire core set of 2013 to make our decks from. Either way, if you want to play MTG on your 360 it is still decent, but still falls short of being great.
Some nice changes that were needed such as the whole land tap choice, but overall the decks are totally boring with frustrating cards. The bugs that plagued 2012 that would ruin one in three games still seem to be there which gives the hint that they really didn't care. Not overly surprising though, video game franchises that are on a yearly release pattern are always half assed. Lack of deck customization is still a glaring flaw in 2013.
I long for the days of Magic the Gathering: Battlegrounds. The best part of the card game is making a deck and dueling. When I play I want to win or lose with the deck I created!!!!! And that ladies and gentleman is the problem with these digital portrayals of MTG, they take the most fun creative element of the card game out of the digital version. It is like playing Fantasy Football with no draft, cake without frosting, this feels like a free trial!!! Deck building is a key skill in MTG that this version just decides to completely overlook. And to finish my rant what is with them adding a new dynamic every 2 weeks, i long for the days of just trample and first strike... Whats next, how about "flamboyancy" where if your card has any pink on it it cant be blocked by anything masculine.
Having played this for the first time in the 2012 version I was really excited to see this one released - never have I been so disappointed with a follow up! The new decks are too simple and even though they have 30 cards to unlock this is actually more of a hindrance than a help. Even the layout seems poorly designed, they have made some changes which are useful but general far less favourable than the 2012 version. Poor effort I'm afraid
SummaryFace a stiffer challenge in this version of the franchise. Play with friends or the AI, take on new encounters and opponents, and face up to 3 other players in the Planechase multiplayer format. Featuring 10 customizable decks, Magic 2013 offers new game items to unlock and introduces the option to choose what lands to tap when you cast ...