For those individuals that are looking to increase their ability with Magic: the Gathering, Duels of trhe Planeswalkers is a must-have. The various challenges that await planeswalkers on single-player mode allow for the more nuanced plays to be understood under the comprehensive rules of the game. The high-contrast design of the battlefield and zoomable aspect to the cards provides further information to those players that may not be familiar with each card in their (or their enemies’) deck. Duels of the Planeswalkers provides a rapid Magic: the Gathering experience, with the AI making decisions generally quicker than a human would.
The deck design tool provides players with information about the CMC (converted mana cost) and the breakdown of colors in their decks. For this year’s Duels of the Planeswalkers, there seems to be a greater focus on multi-color decks. These decks will provide players with an array of different strategies and a sense for how the paired colors bolster each other. The greatest addition to Magic 2014 has to be the sealed deck variant. This means that players open a number of packs and create their own deck. This means that there is considerably more variation to the game play than was present in previous iterations of the game; the sealed deck campaign allows players to earn additional packs through the completion of different challenges.
With the next expansion (Magic 2014) to be released on July 19th, casual players and hardcore Magic: the Gathering fans alike will find considerably replay value to this $10 title. Make sure to keep an eye out for additional decks released by Wizards of the Coast, which will be released in a regular fashion.
Rating: 9.2/10
Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2014 PC Review / Wizards of the Coast / http://www.wizards.com /
