Magic The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers

[Brel]

MAGIC THE GATHERING: DUELS OF THE PLANESWALKERS

Remember the PC version?  Well here is a new one for a video console...

Enter the multiverse of Magic: The Gathering–Duels of the Planeswalkers. Challenge immensely powerful planeswalkers, expand your arsenal of fantastic creatures and devastating spells, and destroy online foes in your quest for domination. The ultimate strategy game comes to Xbox LIVE® Arcade in 2009.

Source: www.wizards.com

[Tristan T. Angeles]

Is this the one where you explore Shandalar, then battling the mages? I'm playing that right now, despite the bad graphics. Nkk miss 2loy mag magic.

[Brel]

Yes, that is the one.  I am just not sure what are the included cards for this version and what has changed/improved.   Because of this game, I am kinda tempted to buy an Xbox.  hehe

[Tristan T. Angeles]

Tagal pa. 2009 pa pla eh.

[windz]

I really enjoyed the old PC game. Though the available cards were limited, it was still fun assembling your own deck and win duels, and it was the only time I can actually play good rares

[Rolf]

I miss the Shandalar game too but it was fairly limited to creature attack-type decks.  There wasn't the variety that we have today.

Anyone bringing M:tG to the OGM?

[Sexy Bro]

Thread necromancy.   

The PC version of this just got released (June 15, 2010). If you're willing to run um... under the table programs, there's a torrent out with the offline mode working without the need for the Steam client. Dunno if you can play with other players online.

It's pretty much Magic the Gathering but I can think of some complaints. The game has unskippable waiting/timing phases even for the computer opponent. They aren't long but it makes pauses between phases or after playing a spell a bit too long. Also, music seems repetitive already.

On the plus side though, it certainly looks better than the old Microprose game and the barebones campaign mode puts you against Jace, Chandra and the other planeswalkers. It also has a puzzle mode where you're given a set hand/scenario with the task of winning a game within one turn. Dunno about the card sets inside as I don't play the CCG anymore but I assume its 10th ed.


...and wat no more mana burn?

[catch8088]

I've been playing the old Shandalar game on Vista for the past few weeks and it hangs in a village when your card library reaches more than 450.  Other than that, it's fine.

616 MB.

[Rolf]

Funny, I've been playing it too - finished it for the 3rd time today on 2nd easiest level (had no choice but to reload - crashed on me twice at the final stat screen).  But it's running fine for me at almost 490 cards.  WinXP SP3.

[Talismanic (Mark)]

...and wat no more mana burn?

Yeah, they did away with Mana Burn since players often forgot that it can happen and were not applying it. Another example of Wikiality? 

[Sexy Bro]

Shandalar huh? Just in case you guys don't know, a group of people are still updating that, adding cards and additional modes of play to the standard duels (they couldn't integrate the additional cards to the campaign mode though). The fan made patch also tweaks performance, making the AI play better and faster, but the game is still prone to crashes in shandalar/campaign, when there's too many cards in the battlefield (i.e. during the last boss).

http://www.slightlymagic.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=25

Considering the card set in campaign mode/shandalar, easiest way to win even on very hard: black/white control deck. disenchant, knights, terror, swords to plowshares, serra, sengir, contract from below, hypnotic specter, dark ritual and greed  allows for card advantage, speed, and small efficient creatures until the big guns show up.


edit: ah yes, microprose's duels of the planeswalkers/shandalar is pretty much abandonware now. the forum above has dl links for it too. I still have it installed in my netbook actually, and in some ways, its better than this new duels of the planeswalkers, as the 2010 version doesn't seem to allow you to create new decks, or even modify the existing ones aside from side boarding. -_- seriously what the hell. who builds a deck with 26 land cards in it!?

[Fed]

seriously what the hell. who builds a deck with 26 land cards in it!?

I would.  In my control decks or vore decks.  haha.   But seriously, if you are forced to play 26 lands in a deck that isn't built around it then its just plain crazy.

[catch8088]

Considering the card set in campaign mode/shandalar, easiest way to win even on very hard: black/white control deck. disenchant, knights, terror, swords to plowshares, serra, sengir, contract from below, hypnotic specter, dark ritual and greed  allows for card advantage, speed, and small efficient creatures until the big guns show up.

I think this is purely opinion.  I've finished this game quite a few times on Wizard by using a blue artifact deck.  You allow him to destroy your artifacts at the start and use Drafna's restoration to bring them back.  Once you elevate your life using a Hacked Lifetap or Cyclopean Tomb, all opponents in mazes after the first battle become easy since your life is now 200+.  It doesn't even feel threatening when he has a 9/9 creature out.

Your blue deck usually should start out with an Old Man of the Sea and Tawnos' Weaponry combo.  Some Time Elementals take care of the enchantments and allow you to milk his lands with a Hacked Lifetap.  Things get boring once you Bronze an Ivory Tower or a couple of Moxes.

[Gaebril]

Speaking of the new version, I preordered it on Steam because it's just $9.99 - it works out less than a single precon deck, and with the orig version you don't have to worry about multiplayer servers and patches. Apparently it doesn't work on XP SP2 though, if that would matter.

I know most guys here don't play standard (type 2) anymore, but 24 lands is pretty much expected even for aggro (non-elf). 26 lands in a deck with a few big spells is perfectly reasonable.

[Rolf]

I'm using the fan-updated version but there are a few bugs I've noticed - some cards like Cyclopean Tomb, Nettling Imp, and even Paralyze do not seem to work correctly.  The latter two do not give you a chance to activate them during the appropriate phases.