This game is fantastic. It's a shame that it's flown so low under the radar, because I've really had a lot of fun with it. I've seen zero, ZERO buzz about this game. Sure, I get that some people don't like card games. That's fine. But with the popularity of Hearthstone (and let's not forget the Best Minigame of the Year, Gwent), I would think there are more people turned on to the genre than before.

At any rate, you should play this game if you like card games. It's free to play! And not in an insidious way! If there's anyone out there who's interested in Magic: The Gathering but is intimidated by learning its rules, this game is a great starting point.

If anyone's interested in knowing more about the game, you can read my review here. I don't think it deserves the criticism it seems to have earned from its Steam and iOS user bases.

I just downloaded this the other day but only got halfway through the tutorial due to a graphics bug.

Great to know this isn't a bad F2P game. Is it similar to Hearthstone's set up where playing the game earns you in game currency?

Yep, there's plenty of in game currency to be had. Card packs are 150 gold each, and you get 15 for defeating hard AI opponents in the one-on-one mode. Defeating players earns you even more than that. There's also a campaign, which if you complete will provide you with enough gold for ten packs. It seems very generous with its currency.

It's a shame you had a bug in the tutorial. I haven't had any bugs yet that I'm aware of.

I thought it was solid too (although I haven't played a ton of it yet). I was super excited to see that the two-headed giant co-op mode returned! It was missing from Magic 2015.

I've heard a lot of die-hard Magic players dislike the game very much. I however am a Magic novice still and very much enjoy it.

@huntad: Two-Headed Giant is fantastic. I would have also liked to see some of the other modes return, like the 3 and 4 players games of the first Duels of the Planeswalkers, or maybe Archenemy or Planechase. Still a solid package, especially for free.

I've only had time to go though the initial story campaign so far, but wow these story cutscenes have some of the worst CG I've seen in a long time. That's not really important for a card game though. I was just shocked by how bad they were.

The steam reviews seem pretty down on it, but I'm going to give the game a fair shake. A free-to-play Magic game that copies what Heathstone does is something that I've thought would be a great idea for a while now. I'm not sure how this managed to fly under my radar.

I don't know, dude...I like card games, but after seeing your post here I went and started reading through Steam reviews. This game sounds like a buggy mess at this point. I know Steam reviews shouldn't always be taken seriously, but when dozens of people are all complaining about the same things, there's probably something there. Common complaints are that the game is riddled with bugs and frequent crashes, "RNG" that is always strongly in favor of the CPU, an extremely limited pool of cards, a story mode that requires the use of preconstructed decks, and of course many complaints that the game is way too much of a grind, but that kind of complaint is sort of to be expected for F2P games.

For someone such as myself who does like CCGs but couldn't care less about Magic, there doesn't seem to be very many reasons for me to even check this game out, at least not yet. Say what you will about trollish Steam reviews, but when a game has 4,000 user reviews and 2,000 of them are negative, to me that says a lot about a game's quality.

I completely agree. That was one of the minor gripes I had with the game, as noted in my review. It reminded me of Planescape: Torment's CG, which is 16 years old at this point. It's fucking bad. But, like you said, it is completely unimportant in relation to the game as a whole, and there are so few cut scenes that they're easy to avoid.

I read some reviews as well. I don't doubt that there are some bugs and crashes, but I never experienced even a single noticeable bug in the 20-odd hours I've played. Not one. It may be that they've been fixed at this point, or at least the most egregious ones.

The limited cards thing doesn't bother me all that much right now. I'm still unlocking cards I don't have and getting used to the ones that my opponents through at me. The developers do intend to release future sets in the game digitally, so that will essentially fix that problem. That being said, if they don't add new sets, this game will not be around long, as I noted in my review.

By and large, I didn't mind the preconstructed decks in story mode simply because we are playing as specific characters from the Magic universe. You play through their origin stories and your decks get more powerful with each win. The only time it bothered me was at the beginning of Chandra's origin, where your deck is extremely underpowered compared to your enemy, which while fitting for the context of the story, was rather frustrating. The RNG hasn't bothered me either except in that one specific scenario. I guess I'm just used to RN-Jesus helping out my enemy instead of me in these sorts of games.

As for the need for grinding, MD:O seems like way less of a grind to me than Hearthstone. I think it adds up to about the same number of wins to afford a pack as Hearthstone, but I've never felt like I wanted gold and wasn't able to get it within a reasonable amount of time.

So I don't know. Maybe don't write it off too soon? I think it's a great game that's been overlooked by just about everyone. There's really no reason not to try it out since it's free. But if you're not into Magic: The Gathering, you probably won't be into this.

EDIT: I should also note that I've exclusively played on PC.

See...that's why I immediately discounted this game when I saw it on Steam and read the reviews. But when you opened up your thread with, "you should play this game if you like card games," I thought there might actually be something to this game for people who aren't MTG fans. And maybe there is something in there for some people, but I'm sure you see what I'm getting at.

I am into Magic the Gathering and I'm not into this. That's the problem. If it's not for people who aren't into Magic, and it's definitely not for people who are already into Magic, then who the hell is this for?

I currently can't even bring myself to wade through the god-awful unskippable tutorial duels. Yes, I know how to attack. Yes, I know how to block. I do not need 5 separate duels telling me all these things individually. I wish there was a good Magic game that wasn't a huge money sink like MTGO. This game could have been that game. It isn't.

It's sort of a mixed bag here, but I admit to sending conflicting messages.

Here's what I think: If someone has little to no experience with card games, but is open to seeing what they have to offer, they should play this game. If someone has played and enjoyed Hearthstone's style of free-to-play card game, they should play this game. If someone likes Magic: The Gathering or card games in general, they should play this game.

If someone is a die hard Magic: The Gathering fan who cannot tolerate MD:O having limitations on certain aspects of deck building, card variety, or game types, they should not play this game (at least for the time being). If someone dislikes Magic: The Gathering specifically, they should not play this game, obviously.

When you said you couldn't care less about Magic: The Gathering, I got the impression you fell into the latter camp. If it's more that you have no opinions on it either way, then maybe try it out. It's hard to say if someone should play a game or not if they have no strong opinions on it.

I think part of the appeal for people who aren't Magic fans is the Magic brand itself. Sure, Hearthstone is a similar game in many respects, but MD:O is at its core a card game that has been around for decades, with a pool of thousands of potential cards to bring in, as well as the working knowledge of how to keep a card game alive for years to come. The Magic setting, art, and tone are all distinct and have their own appeal as well, just like their counterparts in Warcraft/Hearthstone. I can envision people being drawn to one or the other on that alone.

I just want people to play this damn game. I think it's great.

I didn't mean to say that people who aren't into MTG won't be into this. More that people who actively don't care or dislike it won't be into this.

But I disagree that's it's definitely not for people who are already into Magic. Sure, some people won't like some of the decisions made when making the game digital. Fine. And sure, some people won't have the patience to go through a couple tutorial missions. But I think a good portion of Magic players would be willing to live with those conceits. I did, and others obviously have as well. I think this game is quite promising, and could end up being a decent alternative to MTGO, but unfortunately some people are unable to live with those conceits, or are simply having problems with bugs. It's a shame that all those people are being turned off from a game that is genuinely enjoyable.

If developers are going to have RBG favor any side, they should occasionally allow an adjustable slider that effects favorability the player can set for either side.

@shadowconqueror: I disagree. This is NOT for people who play Magic as someone that has been playing it for 20+ years. And it's not about the small card pool as magic players are use to designing decks with limited pools all the time and that can be really enjoyable. It's more about the removal of best 2 out of 3 with sideboards. Sideboarded games accounts for 66% of games played in Magic and is a huge part of the game. Magic draws can be very RNG where you get mana flooded or mana screwed and only playing 1 game just makes those hands all the more infuriating.

It's simple really who it's for. It's trying to go after the Hearthstone audience. And sometimes those groups overlap as I DO like Hearthstone. So that part of me can see where this game is coming from but it falls short on that front also. The thing that keeps me into Hearthstone is that the game oozes character and polish. People might not think something as simple as having voice work for every card or having a big crash when a large minion hits you actually amounts to anything but it does. On the flip side Magic Origins is soulless in comparison.

I downloaded this the day it came out on Steam, and managed to play half of the first tutorial before it lost connection to their servers, bugged out, and closed. It wasn't back up for a few days.

When it did finally fix itself, I was placed in the same spot I have been every yearly Duels of the Planeswalkers re-release. Wishing the game was so much more then it is, and seeing the potential that could have been, but being super disappointed. This game is not for anyone who has played Magic at even the smallest tournament level, FNM or what have you. The super limited card pool, the picking and choosing of what keyword abilities they included and what they didn't, the insanely slow (painfully) pace of any match, as well as not even having an option to say "yes I know how to tap my mana, please let me skip 1-2 hours of tutorial duels and get on with it", is so disappointing.

Like said above, the game is aiming at the Hearthstone crowd, people who may never have been around Magic in any form, and want to try another card game. I can't imagine it will attract too many people from that crowd though. That crowd is used to a finesse and quality that this game does not have. But you never know! More then a few people in recent years have made it to, and placed respectfully, in Grand Prix and a few Pro Tour tournaments, and they said that Duels of the Planeswalkers was their first entry into the world of Magic. So maybe some more up and comers will get inspired by this game.

I just wish it was more for people who are already decent at the game. Sadly this won't give me my Magic fix, so back to watching people play MTGO. If that wasn't so expensive I'd be playing it as well, but what can you do.

My exact thoughts. If they want to go after the Hearthstone audience, this game won't cut it. It doesn't have the polish or simplicity that Blizzard is so good at crafting into their games. The interface is clunky, getting playing is somehow even slower than beginning in Hearthstone, and it lacks the fun modes. At least Hearthstone has a fun limited mode (the Arena) even if it isn't as fair as a booster draft or something.

Hearthstone has ranked ladders and daily's and hooks to keep you wanting to come back from the moment you start playing, and it's all wrapped in a shiny package that makes you feel good. Duels is just a repackaging of the old DotP games in a F2P format and barely hits the minimum requirements on that list.

Will i like it if i liked the previous one on ps3? Was it duels of the planewalkers? I liked it well enough, im more of Yugioh player <ducks> but i found the previous magic game to be fairly fun.

Well obviously it can be, because I like it and I know others who enjoy it. Just because it's a simplified version of the game doesn't mean fans can't still like it.

MD:O has a ranked ladder and daily quests.

Yes, you will probably like it. Give it a try!