Magic 2014 is a step in the right direction for the franchise and at $10, it's a game that anyone with even a passing interest in Magic will enjoy.
#Magic duels review how to#
Without a leaderboard system that actually ranks players in a relevant way, playing multiplayer matches is purely for fun unless you're interested in reaching the top of a leaderboard that doesn't even bother to explain how players are ranked-arbitrary points don't mean anything if you don't know how to earn them. Many elements that were once cluttered and uncomfortable make much better use of the space available on screen.Īside from the addition of Sealed Play, multiplayer is still exactly the same. Now you can actually use your mouse to click on various menu options without having to scroll through a horizontal list (at least in the main menu). Stainless has made some huge changes to the UI with everything now clad in varying shades of blue. It doesn't happen with every match, but it happened frequently enough to make me think that some of the AI's opening moves are predetermined in at least a few of the campaign duels. It's especially easy to lose any interest when your AI opponent always seems to draw the exact card that they need right when they need it, forcing you to throw away the only land that you've managed to draw in the past three turns. It may be fun to use a deck that revolves around removing your enemy's cards, but it's not so fun from the other side of the table. His blue-black deck is filled with cards like Thought Scour and Ravenous Rats-cards that force you to discard. The duel against Zorislav is a perfect example of where things break down. You'll still be battling themed decks across different parts of the campaign that sometimes feel like attempts to show off a specific deck mechanic in a way that should be interesting, but ends up being incredibly annoying. Unfortunately, many of the problems that plagued Magic 2013 have returned.