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Magic 2014 - Duels of the Planeswalkers |OT| Cracking Packs

Drop by my local card shop and it didn't receive any of the promo cards yet. :( I'll call them Tuesday. Will grind for unlocks a little later.
 

Violet_0

Banned
when playing the Eldrazi deck, you will get rushed by tribal aggro humans/illusions/zombies/slivers. If you manage to survive long enough to play All is Dust and get your powerful creatures on the field, all of these decks have countless removals to get rid of them and/or flying creatures (angels, illusions) that you can't defend against

the deck does have 3 titans however, that's pretty good
 
I'm doing well with the Eldrazi deck against everything except the illusions aggro deck. The life gain from Grazing Gladehart will usually help you survive long enough to get some heavy hitters on the board. You can also chump block with elves and oracles for a couple of rounds.
 

bunbun777

Member
So I pulled an Angelic Destiny AND Angel of Thune in my first 6 packs, the last 3 packs added some good support.

Another sealed deck got a Time Warp which works great with my 3 Archeomancers.
 

Violet_0

Banned
eh, I think I'll stop playing for now and wait for the dlc, really not a fan of the current decks. Hopefully they reset the sealed slots and expand the pool of cards to draft from

e: btw, here's why the new Aura deck sucks so terribly

+ Angelic Destiny
+ no Invisible Stalker (good riddance)

- no Narcolepsy
- no Mind Control
- no Followed Footsteps
- no Sun Titan
- no Aven Mimeomancer
- the list goes on and on

what were they thinking
 

red13th

Member
The decks are pretty awful in general yeah. It's astounding how often the AI has the one exact card they need to not die the next turn, it's pretty amazing.
I'm playing the new aura deck, it's so bad (I just went started the Revenge campaign and went against the other white deck that has fucking Path of Exile and Oblivion Ring while I have... Pacifism) but I'm having fun, especially when the AI topdecks shit to screw me over like Fleshbag Marauders or Sunburst Angels.
 

Minsc

Gold Member
The decks are pretty awful in general yeah. It's astounding how often the AI has the one exact card they need to not die the next turn, it's pretty amazing.
I'm playing the new aura deck, it's so bad (I just went started the Revenge campaign and went against the other white deck that has fucking Path of Exile and Oblivion Ring while I have... Pacifism) but I'm having fun, especially when the AI topdecks shit to screw me over like Fleshbag Marauders or Sunburst Angels.

I feel to some extent, in a proper deck, every card you draw should be a card you need. If you're drawing cards that don't help you win every turn (lands excluded), the deck needs work. :)
 

red13th

Member
I feel to some extent, in a proper deck, every card you draw should be a card you need. If you're drawing cards that don't help you win every turn (lands excluded), the deck needs work. :)

Well, the Aura deck is synergy based, I can imagine how it will look with full unlocks. But so far I still have chaff that I can't replace since there's nothing better. That's why I'm working to fully unlock it first, Auras are fun to play, and it has a handful of tutors which is always fun. I don't think I can make it curve well though, 2 drop slot is packed.

Also, I don't think the AI knows how to play with Mirror Entity. I was playing against the Slivers deck in Revenge campaign. It had a first strike sliver, the new Muscle Sliver (+1/+1 to all slivers, I forgot the name) and two vanilla slivers tokens, plus the Entity. It seriously activated Entity for 0 over five times in a row on its precombat main phase (not sure how many because I alt-tabbed after the fifth), turning them all into 1/1s for no good reason. Then it attacked into my 1/5 Mesa Enchantress. I blocked Muscle Sliver, he tapped out to activate Entity for 3, turning them all into 4/4s. Nothing died, I took some damage, then, after combat, it activated Entity again for 0, killing its Muscle Sliver (it took 1 damage from combat), then wiping its own board since they all become 0/0 without the +1/+1 from Muscle Sliver.
It was weird.
 

IvorB

Member
I feel to some extent, in a proper deck, every card you draw should be a card you need. If you're drawing cards that don't help you win every turn (lands excluded), the deck needs work. :)

Too right. I've had some great matches where it's mid-late game and I have no cards in my hand. But every turn the card I draw I can just play straight away and it's a good one. I've won matches this way. Good times :). Of course nothing can save you from the dreaded mana overdose. I've had matches were I've drawn like nine lands in a row when I've got nothing else to play.
 

IvorB

Member
Well, the Aura deck is synergy based, I can imagine how it will look with full unlocks. But so far I still have chaff that I can't replace since there's nothing better. That's why I'm working to fully unlock it first, Auras are fun to play, and it has a handful of tutors which is always fun. I don't think I can make it curve well though, 2 drop slot is packed.

Also, I don't think the AI knows how to play with Mirror Entity. I was playing against the Slivers deck in Revenge campaign. It had a first strike sliver, the new Muscle Sliver (+1/+1 to all slivers, I forgot the name) and two vanilla slivers tokens, plus the Entity. It seriously activated Entity for 0 over five times in a row on its precombat main phase (not sure how many because I alt-tabbed after the fifth), turning them all into 1/1s for no good reason. Then it attacked into my 1/5 Mesa Enchantress. I blocked Muscle Sliver, he tapped out to activate Entity for 3, turning them all into 4/4s. Nothing died, I took some damage, then, after combat, it activated Entity again for 0, killing its Muscle Sliver (it took 1 damage from combat), then wiping its own board since they all become 0/0 without the +1/+1 from Muscle Sliver.
It was weird.

What difficulty was that? The more I hear about 2014 the less I want it. I don't know who they get to program these games...
 

darkside31337

Tomodachi wa Mahou
I just started the other night so I only have a few hours in.

Already know its rough when I only have a vanilla 4/4 creature on the board, my opponent only has a 2/2 on the board, I cast Nature's Lore and in response the AI casts a pre-combat Giant Growth..
 

Alucrid

Banned
Time to get my yearly fill of mtg, only this time it's on steam.

edit: is that six card booster just real cards or does it link back to the steam game somehow?
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Time to get my yearly fill of mtg, only this time it's on steam.

edit: is that six card booster just real cards or does it link back to the steam game somehow?

Real cards and exclusive to one platform (so you get a platform logo on the booster pack) specific promo card.

Anyway if anyone wants to help me with the '13/'14 "win an online round" achievement and then play some rounds PM me. I'd love to do that.
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
I got 4 jinxed idols across my two sealed decks..lawl..
 

daevv

Member
I got 4 jinxed idols across my two sealed decks..lawl..

I got 3 lol.
I did get a Grave titan and 2 Murders in though. I have a good Green/Black Titan/Beast deck because of it.

Can the sealed decks be used in the SP campaign? I never bothered to check. The starting green deck and the red one are not helping me much against the first all white deck in that mode.
 

Violet_0

Banned
Chandra and Garruk are both decent enough against the AI. Though I don't think I have seen anyone playing them online

you can't play sealed decks in the campaign
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
I think that's actually the only difficult fight in the campaign (assuming we're all on planeswalker). Once you get that white human deck it's lights out for the AI..I steamrolled the rest of the campaign with it.

Took my white/blue sealed deck online and had decent success, though the decks I were facing were pretty..weak. Also I must be the only person who still plays this game with a 60 card deck LIKE WE DID IN THE OLD DAYS.
 

IvorB

Member
I think that's actually the only difficult fight in the campaign (assuming we're all on planeswalker). Once you get that white human deck it's lights out for the AI..I steamrolled the rest of the campaign with it.

Took my white/blue sealed deck online and had decent success, though the decks I were facing were pretty..weak. Also I must be the only person who still plays this game with a 60 card deck LIKE WE DID IN THE OLD DAYS.

My decks are hovering around 70. I'm trying to get them down but it's tough...
 

Violet_0

Banned
My decks are hovering around 70. I'm trying to get them down but it's tough...

oh please play 60 cards (pre-constructed decks) and 40 cards (sealed decks). The fewer cards there are, the higher the chance you draw the ones you actually need to win

for those using Avancy's online, try to keep the mana curve low to make your deck aggro-proof, you're up against other fast creature decks 90% of the time. Goldnight Commander costs too much mana for what he does, you'll never get to play Devout Invocation against the zombie or illusion deck
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Took my white/blue sealed deck online and had decent success, though the decks I were facing were pretty..weak. Also I must be the only person who still plays this game with a 60 card deck LIKE WE DID IN THE OLD DAYS.

Technically, that's how the game is played offline. Problem is they chose to ignore that to inflate the decks for the "sideboard" instead of having it be a strict 40/60 limit.

Since they're now allowing main-deck editing (but not full deck-editing, you know what I mean) they REALLY should hard-limit the decks to 40/60.
 

daedalius

Member
Considering I've barely played Magic in the past, I barely knew that the initial decks were weak; but they certainly feel that way.

Now after reading in here, I'm glad that my initial impressions were mostly correct.
 

red13th

Member
No way I can beat revenge Jace with the Aura deck, either he swarms me before I can stabilize or he Mind Controls/Unsummons my aura carrier, all while Hexproofing his field preventing me from killing Illusions with my auras.
This game is so bad. lol
Give me back the Thragtusk deck from last year.
 

Violet_0

Banned
Chandra works quite well against Jace, possibly the only favorable match-up for the mono red deck

oh, and the unlocks for Avancy and Jace are ridicules
 

red13th

Member
Chandra works quite well against Jace, possibly the only favorable match-up for the mono red deck

oh, and the unlocks for Avancy and Jace are ridicules

Yeah I just beat him with fully unlocked Chandra, his draws were disgusting but lolillusions vs burn.
 
So I'd never played MTG at any point before I bought this the other day and put 3 or 4 hours in. Now I'm contemplating buying cards. I'm both excited and terrified of yet another expensive hobby.
 
Should I wait for the summer sale to buy this game?

Also, as a total nublet to these kinds of games, is the 2014 version a good introduction?
I mean, I won't be tuning and customizing any decks soon so are the pre-made ones any good?

This franchise routinely sees 50% off sales including the DLC and unless you have a burning desire to play online while the community is still there I'd say wait.
 

Afrocious

Member
So cause I think it'll be a hassle to read through this thread, what's the consensus of DOTP 2014? Is it worth getting after 2013?
 
So cause I think it'll be a hassle to read through this thread, what's the consensus of DOTP 2014? Is it worth getting after 2013?

Wait for the sale. If you liked 2013 that means you're willing to put up with most of the bullshit in 2014 but I can't recommend it at full retail with all the DLC coming down the pipe.
 

daevv

Member
So cause I think it'll be a hassle to read through this thread, what's the consensus of DOTP 2014? Is it worth getting after 2013?

Yup worth getting. It's only $10 which is nothing when compared to the paper game. I spend Over $200 last week between buying singles online and packs of Modern Masters. Glad I have disposable income lol.
 
Yup worth getting. It's only $10 which is nothing when compared to the paper game. I spend Over $200 last week between buying singles online and packs of Modern Masters. Glad I have disposable income lol.

At least physical cards don't throw up anything more than deck shuffling to slow you down. 2014's campaign might actually have worse pacing than 2013's.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Yeah there's a lot of bloat that they could trim down on. GUI especially. :/

Chandra's mono-red seems a lot better than the mono-green the tutorial starts you off with on first blush.
 
Yeah there's a lot of bloat that they could trim down on. GUI especially. :/

Chandra's mono-red seems a lot better than the mono-green the tutorial starts you off with on first blush.

Mono green's CMC balance is incredibly bad. You end up having to restart half your duels because you end up with 2 lands and 4-7 casting cost spells very often. Not to mention only two mana ramps. It is quite possibly the worst deck they've started players out with, trying to impress non-magic players with expensive, 'powerful' cards that don't stack up against the encounters tuned to overrun you on turn 5.
 

y2dvd

Member
Jace mirror matches vs another human were the lulz. Glad I could unlock cards playing vs other players. Thought I'd have to play campaign again.

I actually never had mana issues with the mono green deck. It has some powerful 2 drops, some decent 3 drops, a few ways to ramp, and a few fight cards. I think it's decent enough, but would get destroyed by Jace.

Anyone on PSN?
 

Yeef

Member
Mono green's CMC balance is incredibly bad. You end up having to restart half your duels because you end up with 2 lands and 4-7 casting cost spells very often. Not to mention only two mana ramps. It is quite possibly the worst deck they've started players out with, trying to impress non-magic players with expensive, 'powerful' cards that don't stack up against the encounters tuned to overrun you on turn 5.
I actually played through the entire campaign with the monogreen deck. Thought it was pretty solid given the environment. Between Kalonian Tuskers and Garruk's Companion, I pretty much always had turn 2 plays. Sacred Wolf + the auras usually kept the opponents on a short clock.. Prey Upon eats up all their creatures too. Breezed through the entire campaign with it. Only time I lost was the first revenge match against the Avacyn deck, because apparently Wizards thinks Path to Exile is fine removal in a game designed for beginners.
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Read what the 2/1 first strike legendary you have out does.
 

FaceDa

Banned
It does have two All is Dust. Not much beats that, unless there's an artifact deck I haven't encountered yet.

Blue counterspells. Also most decks have answers for your left over Eldrazi if you manage to get Eldrazi out, All is Dust out, and you haven't lost yet. There are way too many removal methods in this to make dropping 12 mana creatures with no protection worth it.

I'm playing the new aura deck, it's so bad (I just went started the Revenge campaign and went against the other white deck that has fucking Path of Exile and Oblivion Ring while I have... Pacifism) but I'm having fun, especially when the AI topdecks shit to screw me over like Fleshbag Marauders or Sunburst Angels.

The new Aura deck isn't bad, I've been alternating between Jace and that one. Revenge is against fully unlocked decks with promo cards thrown in so no shit they have better builds against a 0 unlock deck. The AI in revenge also gets better draws than they should be getting, Revenge is more of an optional challenge than anything else. Game is made for playing against other people.

Ajani gets 2 Double Strike fliers for 3 mana, and then multiple auras that can boost them to 5/5 on Turn 4. Since it's doublestrike they swing for 10 each turn. Removal can be dealt with by not putting everything on one creature, and your numerous tutors that allow you to pick auras out of the graveyard or library.
 

FaceDa

Banned
No way I can beat revenge Jace with the Aura deck, either he swarms me before I can stabilize or he Mind Controls/Unsummons my aura carrier, all while Hexproofing his field preventing me from killing Illusions with my auras.
This game is so bad. lol
Give me back the Thragtusk deck from last year.

I beat the entire revenge campaign with Aura deck fyi! It's not a bad deck at all but I started unlocking from normal campaign and had a decent pool of cards to pick from by the time I started revenge. I still didn't even fully unlock it after beating Revenge.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
I actually played through the entire campaign with the monogreen deck. Thought it was pretty solid given the environment. Between Kalonian Tuskers and Garruk's Companion, I pretty much always had turn 2 plays. Sacred Wolf + the auras usually kept the opponents on a short clock.. Prey Upon eats up all their creatures too. Breezed through the entire campaign with it. Only time I lost was the first revenge match against the Avacyn deck, because apparently Wizards thinks Path to Exile is fine removal in a game designed for beginners.

I dunno, man. It's got a few 1 or 2 mana 2/2's but given most of the AI decks are going for quick beatdowns (unless Blue/White, I'm assuming those are going to be removal/control like previous years) ramping up isn't so good.

I will admit that Prey Upon is pretty GDLK in that deck though. So good. I should hunt down four of those in M:tG:Online.
 

Yeef

Member
I dunno, man. It's got a few 1 or 2 mana 2/2's but given most of the AI decks are going for quick beatdowns (unless Blue/White, I'm assuming those are going to be removal/control like previous years) ramping up isn't so good.

I will admit that Prey Upon is pretty GDLK in that deck though. So good. I should hunt down four of those in M:tG:Online.
I edited the deck such that it curves out at 5, but most stuff was available at 3. My final version of the deck was this:

3 Rancor
4 Prey Upon

3 Kalonian Tusker
3 Garruk's Companion
4 Nature's Lore
3 Gloom Widow
1 Predator Ooze
2 Eternal Witness
1 Leatherback Baloth
2 Sacred Wolf
2 Oaken Form
1 Elephant Guide

1 Master of the Wild Hunt
1 Fangren Firstborn
2 Cudgel Troll

1 Bellowing Tangle Wurm*
1 Overwhelming Stampede*
2 Enlarge*

24 Forests

* I would usually side these out for other stuff depending on which deck i was playing against.

Also, in the real game, Pit Fight is better than Prey Upon 9 times out of 10:

 

PantherLotus

Professional Schmuck
Chiming in here -- I love most things about 2014. In particular, I've noticed the artwork looks so much better. Not sure what the difference is, but it looks like they've gone back and touched up some of the inking here and there (or just had much better scans/uploads).

I thought the campaign was dumb, but the campaign was dumb last time too.

My biggest gripe? They've taken Ajani's amazing life gain deck from 2013 and butchered it, splitting it up between a white weenie deck and a dumb aura deck. Man I kicked ass with that thing.
 

red13th

Member
The new Aura deck isn't bad, I've been alternating between Jace and that one. Revenge is against fully unlocked decks with promo cards thrown in so no shit they have better builds against a 0 unlock deck. The AI in revenge also gets better draws than they should be getting, Revenge is more of an optional challenge than anything else. Game is made for playing against other people.

Ajani gets 2 Double Strike fliers for 3 mana, and then multiple auras that can boost them to 5/5 on Turn 4. Since it's doublestrike they swing for 10 each turn. Removal can be dealt with by not putting everything on one creature, and your numerous tutors that allow you to pick auras out of the graveyard or library.

It's comparatively worse than most other decks becuase it has bad removal and just begs for large tempo losses. It's still my favourite deck this iteration, despite the fact there are basically unwinnable decks, like Jace and Liliana. It's fun overall.
In comparison to decks from older DotPs it's crap, but I guess the same could be said for every deck. The designers weren't very inspired this time. Or maybe they really embraced the "DotP is an introduction to MtG" spirit.
 

Phreaker

Member
I think its just Two-headed Giant is local only. Free for all and Sealed Play are online only.

I played 2HG online with a remote friend. We played against two AI opponents as well as two online opponents (two different matches, obviously).
 
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