I recall the very first Magic: the Gathering PC game... the Windows 95 one that only had 4th Edition cards and a smattering of OMGWTFBBQ rares (Black Lotus, Moxen, Time Walk, etc.)
I actually forked a fireball so many times that it crashed my desktop. Did some 680 damage. Ahh, the good old days. #magicthegatheringtactics
The reason I liked the XBLA MTG game was because it didn't get crazy with collecting and booster packs. Kind of like Dominion. Some people like card based strategy but don't want to have to buy tons and tons of cards to stay competitive. If this game avoids complicating the formula it could be a fun way to get people into MTG without the intimidation of a billion cards. #magicthegatheringtactics
@forgecat: I was under the impression that the pre-constructed decks are exactly what turned off so many from the XBLA game. There's no real freedom in XBL Magic, and essentially being told what decks and strategies you'll employ take a lot of the fun out of playing a CCG in the first place. #magicthegatheringtactics
@Kobun: I have a lot of friends who love the XBL Magic precisely because there is no real "freedom" as you put it.
The act of playing a card game and enjoying those mechanics and the game of chance that comes from a shuffled deck can be enjoyable to a lot of people, but the deck building and money sink aspect can be both daunting and frustrating. Divorcing the two gives us a card game... for the masses perhaps?
There are a lot of casual CCG players out there who enjoy the act of playing but can't handle all the stuff around it. Chess still has its fun without shoving extra pieces on the board. I like CCGs but I like my deck building aspects to be limited or else the pressure to keep up with new expansions and new counterdecks and all that drives me up the wall.
Hence the popularity of Dominion which has a very fixed smaller card pool to deck build from saving a lot of headache for CCG enthusiasts who can't handle 1000 cards or something. Call us casual but we still like cards with shiny pictures. :) #magicthegatheringtactics
In my book, an exclusive is only exclusive when you only have one option. Xbox and PC is still two options. But yeah.. go figure.. #magicthegatheringtactics
@ThursdayNext: I like the "Console Exclusive" and "Exclusive" definitions. The first one means it could be on PC but you won't find it on both PS3 and XBox360. The second one means 100% exclusive to one single platform.
hmm... and there I was expecting some sort of wizardry where the PSeye would be able to read magic cards for a second to create an eye-of-judgement style 3d visual version of the card game.
Idk how I feel about this. I used to be a huge magic buff back during 6th - 8th edition. Duels of the Planeswalkers got me back into Magic and I have been recently playing tournaments. I really enjoy playing the card game in the digital realm and irl. I don't know if a 3D strategy version of the game is necessary. For example, Yugioh: Duelists of the Roses. I enjoyed the game, but I feel like I would have liked it even if the Yugioh license wasn't used. #magicthegatheringtactics
@raresquare: I think a big part of why they would release something like this is because a lot of the Magic lore and flavour isn't communicated well in the actual card game (yeah, apparently Magic has a story to it). With this, those that are interested in such things can get a little more background on the world and what the physical manifestations of the spells from the card game would be like, while at the same time attracting new players to the card format. And if the card game doesn't suit some people, well hopefully they'll still get a great experience out of this variation. #magicthegatheringtactics
@NeöStarr: true. That would allow for newer players to be able to jump into the lore of magic. I have read a great deal of the books over the years and the Magic the Gathering lore is superb. I'll have to see some more info before I get my hopes up:] #magicthegatheringtactics
@NeöStarr: That's a really good point. I remember back when I first started playing it was like "Hi, I'm in Dominia. Your Hurloon Minotaur shouldn't have come so close to the tower, it just got knifed by my Royal Assassin." Then slowly as I got serious and started attending major tournaments it all became numbers and cash to me. Oddly enough after 15 years of on and off Magic play I would have to say that the most fun I had with Magic (the game itself, not people associated with it) was Shandalar in the Microprose Magic game. I'm sure I'm due up to be shot for this, but I'd say it's Sid Meier's best game. Let's hope that they manage to hit this one out of the park. #magicthegatheringtactics
You know what would be great?
A magic card game for pc, or a console, that is just that. The cards. All sets up until now, include rule variances, online play, and best of all, don't make us have to buy virtual cards.
@Demonbird: Buying cards is what separates the men from the boys. You don't see as much diversity in the meta-game when everybody has access to every card. #magicthegatheringtactics
@NeöStarr: In actual tournaments, yes. In type 2, yes. In expanded on apprentice, you see LOADS of different decks. It is surprising what people come up with. There's no point to digital magic if you have to buy digital booster packs. #magicthegatheringtactics
@Demonbird: Where have you been going to find people to play against on Apprentice? Thats my one gripe with it, having to connect by IP. I've been using the chatroom for a forum I go to but there are only about 3-4 people that play in there. #magicthegatheringtactics
@NeöStarr: Many tournament level players don't even own their own decks used in each event. I used to show up with a few fun decks and then just borrow whatever cards I needed for the main event after talking to my old deck building group and a few other groups/people with whom I was friendly and deciding on what would best fit the field as we saw it.
Scarcity causes diversity... and stagnation at a local level since you wind up playing the same decks repeatedly when playing in small circles. I would move that people are more likely to try goofy shit when they aren't forced to plunk down $100-8,000 just to test out a new deck (proxies be damned, they're too much of a pain.) The only thing that the monetization cards does is make money for businesses and avid traders.
Anyway, back to topic: Given a limited pool you can expect limited development. When the only bounds known are imagination and format restrictions you can expect to see "net decks", but you will also see people making adventurous, fun decks. Additionally, when you're not forced to pay for cards you're less likely to go for a "mean" deck that's designed to dominate an opponent in one way or another. When there isn't money involved you tend to be a bit more likely to engage in flights of fancy.
@Demonbird: I'd never pay a dime to play online, but WotC makes something like 1/3 of their profits off of MTGO. (It's free to them other than server costs, advertising, and a few programmers to throw cards on every 4 months.) #magicthegatheringtactics
@Suichimo:
I haven't played in a long time so I can't help you, but I would say the best bet is to find 2-3 huge magic forums, and asking if people play apprentice. Bound to be hits. #magicthegatheringtactics
@Suichimo: Use Magic Workstation. It's better in basically every manner, and it has servers for game seekers. (Think like a standard menu-lobby that allows people to join a 1v1 lobby from which you can launch the game.) There are also online leagues that have IRC chats, you can usually find relatively competitive games there, and often free tournaments with actual prizes depending upon the league.
In all fairness, the current game isn't that good. Deck customization needs a different system like I need a good night's rest, but I will say that the puzzles are truly great. I dunno where to put this one, but we'll see how it goes. #magicthegatheringtactics
So can you actually download these now? I tried multiple times yesterday with no luck. All three Wednesday releases gave me errors when I tried to get the trial games. Haven't been home yet today to see if they now work.
@jcb231: They started working late yesterday evening.
I've been having loads of fun with Magic. I played the game when I was younger, but it (and other TCGs like World of Warcraft, which I also played a couple years back) are simply too expensive to keep up with. Something like this is great.
Makes two of us... Was never a Magic player, but several of my friends were while growing up. Had a good stack back in the day I inherited from a friend who quit but gave them away to a buddy of mine.
Shamelessly, I played the hell out of Pokemon TCG and Yugioh TCG back in the day.
@SilverFireshot: I used to love SWCCG, but I know a lot of people that considered it too complicated. M:TG is very simple to learn, so I think that helps it stay alive. I do tend to still get cravings to dig out some of my old cards and play, be it Magic, Star Wars, or even DBZ. This game just might sate my appetite for playing.
@zalbaag: I loved the Yu-Gi-Oh card game. I got into it because the main show is a guilty pleasure for me, and I was able to drag a few friends into the great nerd abyss of CCG. Yeah, it's poorly thought out game, but I loved the variety of strategies in deck construction. That Worldwide Edition GBA game probably spent more time in my Gameboy Player or DS than anything else.
I tried to get into Magic for a bit when I looked to tryout other CCGs. I'd imagine a video game would make the whole tapping and mana management a bit easier to deal with, but it bugged me in real life. Hopefully the game will alleviate my petty gripe and have some decent AI in case I find myself raped again and again by the more knowledgeable long time fans.
11/02/09
11/02/09
I actually forked a fireball so many times that it crashed my desktop. Did some 680 damage. Ahh, the good old days. #magicthegatheringtactics
11/02/09
Still waiting for that with the xbox 360 Plainswalker title.... #magicthegatheringtactics
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11/02/09
The act of playing a card game and enjoying those mechanics and the game of chance that comes from a shuffled deck can be enjoyable to a lot of people, but the deck building and money sink aspect can be both daunting and frustrating. Divorcing the two gives us a card game... for the masses perhaps?
There are a lot of casual CCG players out there who enjoy the act of playing but can't handle all the stuff around it. Chess still has its fun without shoving extra pieces on the board. I like CCGs but I like my deck building aspects to be limited or else the pressure to keep up with new expansions and new counterdecks and all that drives me up the wall.
Hence the popularity of Dominion which has a very fixed smaller card pool to deck build from saving a lot of headache for CCG enthusiasts who can't handle 1000 cards or something. Call us casual but we still like cards with shiny pictures. :) #magicthegatheringtactics
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11/02/09
In my book, an exclusive is only exclusive when you only have one option. Xbox and PC is still two options. But yeah.. go figure.. #magicthegatheringtactics
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11/02/09
Everyone should use this definition. #magicthegatheringtactics
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11/02/09
That would rule, but this could be awesome too! #magicthegatheringtactics
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Still, interest has at least been piqued. #magicthegatheringtactics
11/02/09
A magic card game for pc, or a console, that is just that. The cards. All sets up until now, include rule variances, online play, and best of all, don't make us have to buy virtual cards.
Oh, wait, it's called apprentice and came out years ago. #magicthegatheringtactics
11/02/09
11/02/09
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11/02/09
Scarcity causes diversity... and stagnation at a local level since you wind up playing the same decks repeatedly when playing in small circles. I would move that people are more likely to try goofy shit when they aren't forced to plunk down $100-8,000 just to test out a new deck (proxies be damned, they're too much of a pain.) The only thing that the monetization cards does is make money for businesses and avid traders.
Anyway, back to topic: Given a limited pool you can expect limited development. When the only bounds known are imagination and format restrictions you can expect to see "net decks", but you will also see people making adventurous, fun decks. Additionally, when you're not forced to pay for cards you're less likely to go for a "mean" deck that's designed to dominate an opponent in one way or another. When there isn't money involved you tend to be a bit more likely to engage in flights of fancy.
@Demonbird: I'd never pay a dime to play online, but WotC makes something like 1/3 of their profits off of MTGO. (It's free to them other than server costs, advertising, and a few programmers to throw cards on every 4 months.) #magicthegatheringtactics
11/02/09
I haven't played in a long time so I can't help you, but I would say the best bet is to find 2-3 huge magic forums, and asking if people play apprentice. Bound to be hits. #magicthegatheringtactics
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06/18/09
06/18/09
I've been having loads of fun with Magic. I played the game when I was younger, but it (and other TCGs like World of Warcraft, which I also played a couple years back) are simply too expensive to keep up with. Something like this is great.
06/18/09
Makes two of us... Was never a Magic player, but several of my friends were while growing up. Had a good stack back in the day I inherited from a friend who quit but gave them away to a buddy of mine.
Shamelessly, I played the hell out of Pokemon TCG and Yugioh TCG back in the day.
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06/15/09
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06/15/09
I tried to get into Magic for a bit when I looked to tryout other CCGs. I'd imagine a video game would make the whole tapping and mana management a bit easier to deal with, but it bugged me in real life. Hopefully the game will alleviate my petty gripe and have some decent AI in case I find myself raped again and again by the more knowledgeable long time fans.