Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers

Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers is a game that's hard to judge. It's going to provide something radically different for different people, and your own enjoyment of it will depend heavily on your history with the Magic card game itself. In short, Duels of the Planeswalkers is a great introduction for newcomers, but might not offer the level of depth and customization that Magic veterans ultimately seek.

For those not in the know, Magic the Gathering is a ridiculously complex (but fun) card game. There are tons of nit-picky nuances that can easily leave newcomers feeling at a complete loss. Roping in new players is one of Magic's biggest challenges, but this is where Duels of the Planeswalkers shines. It does a great job at introducing the game's many rules at a reasonable pace, and the selection of cards available manages to show off what Magic is all about while keeping the craziness at a minimum. It also takes the liberty of automating a lot of the number crunching, and even provides cohesive premade decks for the player to use. The interface is pretty smooth, and the AI feels appropriate for those who aren't well versed with the game's more subtle tricks. Being accessible to new players is a tough balancing act for a game like Magic, but Duels of the Planeswalkers does it really well, and should have new players confidently throwing down Grizzly Bears and Cancels in no time.

The other side of this coin is that there isn't a whole lot here for veterans. As an experienced Magic player, Duels of the Planeswalkers doesn't do much that I haven't seen a hundred times before. The cards in the game are a bit too generic, and only being able to play with premade decks is a little boring. The AI is also pretty bad at doing anything tricky, making it easy to predict for someone familiar with the cards. Ultimately, there just isn't much depth for fans, and players of the card game will probably prefer to stick with that format. There is a silver lining here, however, as Duels of the Planeswalkers provides a good amount of content for its $10 price point. That price gets you relatively nothing in Magic, but will get you access to a ton of cards, roughly eight premade decks, and the ability to play online in Duels of the Planeswalkers. And to top it all off, Wizards of the Coast will send you a free promo Garruk Wildspeaker card just for buying the game! Seeing as Garruk currently goes for around $14 or more, the game essentially pays for itself.

Overall, the amount of fun someone can have with Duels of the Planeswalkers is most likely going to be determined by their familiarity of the card game on which it is based. It provides a great introduction to newcomers, but not a lot of depth for long time players. It all comes in a tidy, well priced package, however, which makes it relatively easy to recommend to anyone with a passing interest in collectible card games.

For additional information on my review style and scoring system, click here.