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[charlequin]

"Yes, you hit the nail on the head when you suggest that the lack of card removal was for reasons of deck balance. To be honest, I also felt the same way as you originally (being also a jaded old Magic player!), and fought against the decision during the design phase with Wizards. However they were adamant that the Live arena must not be dominated by players with the sort of mindsets that dominate the Pro tour. They wanted all players to have the fun of adding unlocked cards to their decks, without the ability to create killer decks that upset the balance online.

I think this is a very good reason for them to have not included full customization, but it's not a good reason for them to have implemented the unlocked cards as "adds" instead of "swaps." They should have given each deck a 15-card sideboard you could unlock a card at a time and make you swap cards for each other one-for-one.

And Akroma isn't actually a very good card.

Akroma was played extensively both times she was legal. She's an excellent finisher for white control decks (which can use various tools to keep other creatures off the board until they can play her) and also one of the top five best creatures they've ever printed to use as a target for reanimation spells.

 

[NIN90]

Akroma was played extensively both times she was legal. She's an excellent finisher for white control decks (which can use various tools to keep other creatures off the board until they can play her) and also one of the top five best creatures they've ever printed to use as a target for reanimation spells.

Argh, that's what you get for starting with Mirrodin/Kamigawa. D:

 

[riskVSreward]

Why does this have to be so oversimplified and stripped down? I could really go for some real MTG on XBLA. I may still end up getting this and then regret it forever.

 

[Dunlop]

Why does this have to be so oversimplified and stripped down? I could really go for some real MTG on XBLA. I may still end up getting this and then regret it forever.

it's $10 and you'll get a card worth more than that (if you don't live in Quebec....), so regret it forever???????

 

[sparky2112]

I may still end up getting this and then regret it forever.

$10 of forever, even.

Edit: Doh! Beaten by a hair to the 'don't be a cheap SOB' punch...

 

[FlyinJ]

I think this is a very good reason for them to have not included full customization, but it's not a good reason for them to have implemented the unlocked cards as "adds" instead of "swaps." They should have given each deck a 15-card sideboard you could unlock a card at a time and make you swap cards for each other one-for-one.

Has it been confirmed that they actually add more land in automatically as you add in new cards?

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Was this posted? CEO of the dev team talks about the lack of deck construction:

"Yes, you hit the nail on the head when you suggest that the lack of card removal was for reasons of deck balance. To be honest, I also felt the same way as you originally (being also a jaded old Magic player!), and fought against the decision during the design phase with Wizards. However they were adamant that the Live arena must not be dominated by players with the sort of mindsets that dominate the Pro tour. They wanted all players to have the fun of adding unlocked cards to their decks, without the ability to create killer decks that upset the balance online.

As Wizards of the Coast do seem to know a thing or two about Magic, let’s face it, they’re probably right!"

Can I have your code since the game did not generate mine? Somehow it screwed up.

There's this thread on the WotC forum:

I'm sure many of you have noticed this error message by now. We are in contact with Microsoft regarding the issue and will have it resolved as soon as possible. No one should worry about their promo card. As soon as the problem is resolved, everyone will still get their code to redeem based on the rules of the offer.

 

[zoukka]

Well they want this to be a gateway to "real" MTG so you won't be getting deck customization... ever.

And is the Garruk card virtual or real? If so, then you can instantly sell it for more than 10$ what the fuck?!

 

[Grecco]

Was this posted? CEO of the dev team talks about the lack of deck construction:




There's this thread on the WotC forum:

Couldnt they have simply seperated them with people using the constructed decks and people using actual decks? Just like MTGO?

 

[Timedog]

This game is fucking stupid. I've played the 5th guy like 10 to 15 times--Jace Beleren, the water deck guy. Every fucking time I get a creature out there he either steals it, kills it with an instant, or puts it back into my hand with an instant. It's fucking ridiculous. Is blue deck just the most powerful deck in the game or something? I thought the game was kind of cool, now I think it's some of the shittiest bullshit.

 

[Dai Kaiju]

Can't...stop...playing.

Add me.

gamertag: Snuggle Mantis

 

[Dai Kaiju]

This game is fucking stupid. I've played the 5th guy like 10 to 15 times--Jace Beleren, the water deck guy. Every fucking time I get a creature out there he either steals it, kills it with an instant, or puts it back into my hand with an instant. It's fucking ridiculous. Is blue deck just the most powerful deck in the game or something? I thought the game was kind of cool, now I think it's some of the shittiest bullshit.

Which deck are you using against it? I've been playing non-stop since it came out yesterday and I finally cleared all campaign duels late last night. I struggled a lot with the first 4 or 5 of them, but once I started unlocking better cards, it got easier. Even if the blue wizard has better cards than you, eventually you'll play a game against him where he'll get really shitty draws, or you get really good ones. Try the red deck against him. It has tiny, faster creatures. At the very least, it won't piss you off as much when he kills them with an instant :lol

 

[NIN90]

This game is fucking stupid. I've played the 5th guy like 10 to 15 times--Jace Beleren, the water deck guy. Every fucking time I get a creature out there he either steals it, kills it with an instant, or puts it back into my hand with an instant. It's fucking ridiculous. Is blue deck just the most powerful deck in the game or something? I thought the game was kind of cool, now I think it's some of the shittiest bullshit.

It's just how that kind of mono blue decks work.
Just burn him down with the red deck or overrun him with the green one.

 

[jedimike]

This game is fucking stupid. I've played the 5th guy like 10 to 15 times--Jace Beleren, the water deck guy. Every fucking time I get a creature out there he either steals it, kills it with an instant, or puts it back into my hand with an instant. It's fucking ridiculous. Is blue deck just the most powerful deck in the game or something? I thought the game was kind of cool, now I think it's some of the shittiest bullshit.

Blue decks are control decks. They are there to manipulate the table, your hand and your deck. I beat him with the green deck. Makee sure you pay attention to his mana and how many cards are in his hand. The time to make your offensive moves are when his mana is tapped and/or his hand is empty. Otherwise play defense... throw up a wall or two and a spider and just wait. Hold back your good shit for when he can't counter.

 

[Timedog]

Blue decks are control decks. They are there to manipulate the table, your hand and your deck. I beat him with the green deck. Makee sure you pay attention to his mana and how many cards are in his hand. The time to make your offensive moves are when his mana is tapped and/or his hand is empty. Otherwise play defense... throw up a wall or two and a spider and just wait. Hold back your good shit for when he can't counter.

Walls don't do much because he just uses unblockable and flying characters. I never thought about paying attention to mana how many cards he has. How do you tell how many cards he has?

 

[Gowans]

I know your pain Timedog, I got really aggravated against that guy spoiling all my play and completely pulling apart my cards. Got him in the end with some craftyness.

So much fun!

 

[NIN90]

Walls don't do much because he just uses unblockable and flying characters. I never thought about paying attention to mana how many cards he has. How do you tell how many cards he has?

Upper left corner.

 

[sonicmj1]

Has it been confirmed that they actually add more land in automatically as you add in new cards?

CPU decks that have all the cards unlocked in them have 83 or 84 card decks, even though you only get 17 new cards.

Clearly, some lands are being added.

 

[Dunlop]

just purchased. I'm sure I'll cave by next week to extend my LIVE membership. Let's get a good community going


gamertag - dunlop75

(btw my kids are playing the 360 tonight...don't hold "now playing Bolt" against me...)

 

[Won]

I like the idea of more fixed decks, but man, that seems a bit too fixed.

Also overall a bit too much unlocking in the beginning.
Don't like the red and green deck. Thank god for the white deck. It is awesome so far. No matter how shitty the first 10 rounds are, it has the right cards to turn it around in the end.

 

[Ice Monkey]

You guys praising the blue deck or white deck or thinking the black deck is so awe inspiring are gonna love it once you unlock the three colored decks. Theres a card in the green/white/red deck with 5/5, 5 mana spent to summon, haste and vigilance that makes me smile whenever I draw it.

Theres also a card,

Spoiler

blightning

, in the green/black/red deck that costs 3 mana, does 3 damage to target player and makes him discard two cards. There are 3 of this cards in the deck.

The best part is that the creators understand how important mana is to these tri color decks, so guess what? They give you about 8 different cards that can pull land from the deck, making getting the right mana relatively painless for a game that is limited by not letting you customize the deck.

There is a whole lot of gold card loving in this game, and I'm really thankful for that since they are some of my favorite cards. 2/2 haste for 2 mana? Sign me up

The one thing that is really making me batshit insane is how they have one opponent using blue/black and artifacts but THEY DONT LET YOU USE THIS DECK RAGEQUIT!!!!!!!!!!! ARGH!!!!

 

[Kifimbo]

Man, the old Nightmare illustration was so much better (nostalgia FTW).

 

[Spire]

This game is fucking stupid. I've played the 5th guy like 10 to 15 times--Jace Beleren, the water deck guy. Every fucking time I get a creature out there he either steals it, kills it with an instant, or puts it back into my hand with an instant. It's fucking ridiculous. Is blue deck just the most powerful deck in the game or something? I thought the game was kind of cool, now I think it's some of the shittiest bullshit.

Don't throw down your big guns until he's tapped out. Also, just below his portrait it shows how many cards are in his hand and in his deck. That deck is almost all control and flyers, I don't remember what deck I used to beat him but any of those early three should work. Just play smart and you can romp him.

 

[Cynar]

Man, the old Nightmare illustration was so much better (nostalgia FTW).

wow, what did they do to that card, I loved the old one and the new one looks so much more cartoonish

 

[riskVSreward]

More often than not, the old art is much better.

 

[sonicmj1]

Fun fact about online play: players can quit out of ranked matches and deny you a win.

I'm glad Wizards has learned lessons that everyone should have learned from the moment online play came into existence. Especially after they tied achievements to ranked victories.

 

[riskVSreward]

Fun fact about online play: players can quit out of ranked matches and deny you a win.

I'm glad Wizards has learned lessons that everyone should have learned from the moment online play came into existence. Especially after they tied achievements to ranked victories.

*sigh*

I'm re-downloading MTGO tonight and will be playing Open games extensively.

 

[Amory]

I'm liking it so far. Obviously being able to create my own deck would've been a major plus, but I'm really hoping they use DLC to flesh out the game.

I'm happy they included the challenges too. I used to get a magazine called the Duelist that had one of the "must win this turn" scenarios each issue, and I loved trying to figure them out.

The game plus the limited edition foil easily makes it worth the 800 points.

 

[IJoel]

I'm liking this quite a bit. I won an epic match earlier against the CPU, where it was leading 16-1, with me having a meager 2/2 card and the rest being land.

 

[NameGenerated]

I just re-downloaded MTGO, I hope I can remember my login info. I got so many cards for free on there, I had a pretty good deck with them.

I've been playing the demo for this game a bit and, despite it being super-simplified, it's still Magic and still pretty fun. I might get it.

 

[Won]

Just did 2 online games. Lost one, but won the other one. Went over pretty flawless so far. Even got the Spellslinger achievement! ()

 

[Kifimbo]

It needs more challenges. Two of the last three were pretty hard and figuring them out was really satisfying.

 

[TwiztidElf]

Played a LOT in real life from Urzas block to Mirrodin/Kamigawa, and still play occasionally on MTGO. As far as MTGO goes, the loss of monthly leagues when they moved from v2 to v3 has been the biggest loss.

Anyhow, I reckon this is the ducks nuts. Awesome, awesome stuff.
Look at it from Wizards point of view. This is the perfect promotional vehicle to promote the game to people who may have never had any exposure to it.
And for us old veterans it's a fun, lightweight way to scratch the itch.

I'm just really happy to have a really accessible way to play MTG, and this is really the first time it's been translated to the consoles with such care, compared to that horrible xbox/PS2 game. The AI is better than I expected too.

I don't have a problem with the fixed decks. It's awesome to keep it balanced, the downside is that it increases the luck factor and some of the card choices are horrendous. A milling card in the blue deck? wtf?

Did we really expect, or could it even work to have a MTGO style client on a console? I don't believe it is a realistic expectation. And why would Wizards want to cannibalize their real card and MTGO markets?

Really enjoying playing this one. Just unlocked the Black deck.
Kudos to the developers and Wizards.

 

[Spire]

I think, considering what this game is supposed to be, the only thing that really bugs me is not being able to swap out cards in the deck. Only having 17 optional cards is fine, but let me swap them out for other cards instead of just adding them to the deck. Any deck size over 60 cards better have a fucking good reason for doing so, it just rubs me the wrong way when they mindlessly balloon your deck size.

 

[AstroLad]

Once you beat it once, what are you supposed to do? I wanted to unlock more cards but it's tougher with starter characters against the ramped-up new characters. And then when I went back to my old green deck and beat some of the people a second time it didn't seem to give credit (like the little symbol it shows when you beat them the first time).

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

Once you beat it once, what are you supposed to do? I wanted to unlock more cards but it's tougher with starter characters against the ramped-up new characters. And then when I went back to my old green deck and beat some of the people a second time it didn't seem to give credit (like the little symbol it shows when you beat them the first time).

Can't you just take the starter characters and go against the starter enemies? That was my plan.

Anyway, I totally fucking schooled the Black Deck in one move. That first challenge taught me the joys of doubling buff cards so in this one turn I had my fucking GRIZZLY BEAR (lol) dealing FOURTEEN damage. Oh, what's that? You only have 14 life, Black Deck Lady?

Oh, hm, sorry. Thanks for the amazing Wolf Pack card, SUCKA!

 

[Ice Monkey]

Can't you just take the starter characters and go against the starter enemies? That was my plan.

Anyway, I totally fucking schooled the Black Deck in one move. That first challenge taught me the joys of doubling buff cards so in this one turn I had my fucking GRIZZLY BEAR (lol) dealing FOURTEEN damage. Oh, what's that? You only have 14 life, Black Deck Lady?

Oh, hm, sorry. Thanks for the amazing Wolf Pack card, SUCKA!

This is my favorite part of this game so far, that wolf pack cards costs so many damn mana that it would be of little use in a competitive tournament because you's probably be dead before you got the 7 or 8 mana to use it, but it decimates in this duels "metagame".

Although it would also be of use in sealed deck (where you get a few packs of cards and play others with just those cards), not only are you hardly ever to see a card like the wolf pack, you also have to pay a certain amount of money every time you play sealed deck just to buy the cards.

 

[singularity]

Well they want this to be a gateway to "real" MTG so you won't be getting deck customization... ever.

And I still think it's stupid, despite their rationalizations. I can't bother with the "real" thing because I don't have the time, patience, or tolerance for sitting in dingy basements surrounded by plenty of nerds with bad BO and nacho-tinged fingers. I like the game; I dislike the gamers. I just want a nice, small M:TG experience that I can play on my sofa and the M:TG experience, to me, is all about deck customization. Not having customizable decks in a CCG game is like not having driving in Gran Turismo.

This is the first time I've played Magic in ten years. I've, somehow, managed to remember all the rules and some of the nuances of the game. I've remembered this stuff well enough to realize that none of the decks (only have one left to unlock) suit my play style. So I'm left with a bunch of decks I don't really like in a game that doesn't give me the choice to change them. I'm bored of it already. There's no reason for me to keep playing. Wizards could have had a relapsed Magic player with plenty of disposable income at hand (a luxury I didn't have when I actually played the physical game ten years ago), but instead they've pissed whatever good karma I might have had away. I'm so disappointed in this right now. Maybe in another ten years.

 

[Sinatar]

And I still think it's stupid, despite their rationalizations. I can't bother with the "real" thing because I don't have the time, patience, or tolerance for sitting in dingy basements surrounded by plenty of nerds with bad BO and nacho-tinged fingers. I like the game; I dislike the gamers. I just want a nice, small M:TG experience that I can play on my sofa and the M:TG experience, to me, is all about deck customization. Not having customizable decks in a CCG game is like not having driving in Gran Turismo.

This is the first time I've played Magic in ten years. I've, somehow, managed to remember all the rules and some of the nuances of the game. I've remembered this stuff well enough to realize that none of the decks (only have one left to unlock) suit my play style. So I'm left with a bunch of decks I don't really like in a game that doesn't give me the choice to change them. I'm bored of it already. There's no reason for me to keep playing. Wizards could have had a relapsed Magic player with plenty of disposable income at hand (a luxury I didn't have when I actually played the physical game ten years ago), but instead they've pissed whatever good karma I might have had away. I'm so disappointed in this right now. Maybe in another ten years.

If you want the magic experience without the nerds then you should be playing thishttp://www.wizards.com/Magic/Digital/MagicOnline.aspx.

 

[NovemberMike]

Really disappointed in the lack of customization. They could have only given certain options, but they should have had some kind of replacement option. Removes half the game as it is.

 

[NameGenerated]

Well fuck me, I couldn't remember anything about my old MTGO account so I went ahead and made a new one. If anyone has any extra crap cards that could possibly used for me to make a deck then that would be very helpful. I have no cards and I want to get a little momentum going. I might go ahead and get a pre-con deck though. Any really good ones out there? I noticed the newer ones only come with 41 cards for some reason.

 

[AstroLad]

Can't you just take the starter characters and go against the starter enemies? That was my plan.

Anyway, I totally fucking schooled the Black Deck in one move. That first challenge taught me the joys of doubling buff cards so in this one turn I had my fucking GRIZZLY BEAR (lol) dealing FOURTEEN damage. Oh, what's that? You only have 14 life, Black Deck Lady?

Oh, hm, sorry. Thanks for the amazing Wolf Pack card, SUCKA!

I don't think so. It's just the regular 16 characters still. I guess I'm not sure, maybe they just upgraded all the CPU decks and that's it. How does unlocking work anyway, I just went through the whole game with one deck, but do you unlock a card with any win or does it have to be a new win?

 

[XiaNaphryz]

I don't think so. It's just the regular 16 characters still. I guess I'm not sure, maybe they just upgraded all the CPU decks and that's it. How does unlocking work anyway, I just went through the whole game with one deck, but do you unlock a card with any win or does it have to be a new win?

I dunno, I've been going through the single player with various decks - usually with whatever deck is easiest to beat a particular opponent with. So far I've unlocked a few cards for each one, but I haven't tried going back to previous opponents with alternate decks yet. Maybe I should try that before finishing the last few opponents.

Random answers from GameFAQs include:

You can re-challenge any of the planeswalkers that you previously beat and win to unlock another card, also co-op campaign unlocks cards for your deck. You get the 17th card on your second playthrough.

You try perusing the WotC forums at all?

 

[AstroLad]

Interesting, it says 17/17 on my green deck and all I did was beat campaign+1.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

Interesting, it says 17/17 on my green deck and all I did was beat campaign+1.

The counter is totally messed up (although it might be accurate for you there). Last time it booted up, I was suddenly at 100%.

This game is pretty buggy. There's that and then every now and then the game will just freeze during an attack or block. Kind of annoying.

Still having a blast with it. Sucks that I'll need to play co-op to unlock cards because..

OH SHIT WAIT. I can play by myself with two controllers!

Ha ha! YEAH!

 

[xelios]

Fortunately I get my MS points at about 1/2 price, otherwise I'd feel bad that I spent more than $5 on this thing.

 

[Suburban_Nooblet]

I played Magic for years back in jr high/high school and had thousands of cards and took it quite serious. That being said for $10 I don't see how you can go wrong with this game.

Bought it this morning after playing the demo last night. My wife absolutely loves it as she played a bit of Magic back in the day and knew the basic rules so it's perfect for her.

Playing the co-op together was totally worth the 10 bucks to me.

Yes its true the game lacks deck customization and I can see how it would be a huge turn off for a lot of people. However, if you have fond memories of the game and would like to re-live a bit of that feeling I totally recommend it.

 

[charlequin]

It needs more challenges. Two of the last three were pretty hard and figuring them out was really satisfying.

Absolutely agreed. I'd pay $5 for just a meaty pack of challenges. Best part of the game so far. (The one with the black-green-red deck, #7 I think? Real clever, that one.)

 

[Jonsoncao]

so I have a question exactly how many distinctive decks r there?

 

[FFChris]

Never having played magic before, I've got to say I'm really enjoying this.

Yes the lack of deck customisation is annoying, but the game itself is great.