Magic Duels: Origins

Today a new product called Magic Origins is released on iOS (and soon it will be available for PC on Steam). Today I will tell you a little about what it is.

I did not notice that Duel of the Planeswalkers was cancelled and you probably did not either. This is the replacement for it but it seems that the ambitions with Magic Duels is much more, well, ambitious than Duel of the Planeswalkers ever was.

Don't quote me on this but I have the feeling that this is the product intended to take on Hearthstone.


Magic Duels is free-to-play with micropayments, so no more $10 per copy of the old game. It is also a platform intended to be upgraded with new card sets so in that sense it is closer to Magic Online than Duels ever was.

Coins
The thing you can buy for real money is Coins, the in-game currency of Magic Duels. These coins can also be earned through gameplay so in theory every aspect of the game can be enjoyed without ever putting any money into it.

Play modes
Story mode - you get to learn the story of the five Origins planeswalkers. You have to play with a fixed deck that is charasteristic for the planeswalker you are currently playing. Gideon is the one you start with.
Solo mode - Play against the AI
2-player mode - I am definitely not sure what this is.
Two-headed Giant - awesome, I love 2HG!

Platforms
IOS, Steam(PC) and Xbox One. No cross-platform support. You can, however, play off-line, which is nice.


This will be a new way to play Magic. I guess it depends on the quality of the product how successful it will be. I will be sure to try it. I am sure it will be a great entry level product, just like Duels was. The question remains how much more advanced players will enjoy it.

My only intial fear/disappointment with the product (before playing it) is that its relationship to Magic Online is very unclear. Will there be an effort to port players over to Magic Online (which I really missed in Duels)? Will this eventually replace Magic Online? What does that mean for the value of our investment. There is no opportunity for botting in this product. It just looks like a really neat way to play Magic from the comfort of your own home, which is kind of what Magic Online could have been.


The Magic Duels official page: http://magic.wizards.com/en/content/magic-duels

Download Magic Duels in the Apple store: http://bit.ly/1NTmx9k