Magic Arena

[Hammettf2b]

The game is in open Beta. Its Magic's answer to get into the f2b market. Having never played Magic before, its a bit of a learning curve but I must say, I am really enjoying it. It's definitely a nice break from Hearthstone. (which is the only CCG I've played)

Click to read more...

 

[H3ckt1k]

All my friends play magic irl, so I'm probably going to start playing this to learn the game and see if I want to actually invest in cards.

 

[Hammettf2b]

All my friends play magic irl, so I'm probably going to start playing this to learn the game and see if I want to actually invest in cards.

If you've never played Magic before, I would suggest to play the tutorial in Magic Duels to learn how to play. Arena's tutorial doesn't really help with learning how to play Magic.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

It's a shame that drafting is with bots only.

Hard to justify getting into Arena when MTGO is just fine.

 

[Smash88]

It's a shame that drafting is with bots only.

Hard to justify getting into Arena when MTGO is just fine.

I thought Arena was replacing Duels?

Is it supposed to replace MTGO too?

 

[Hammettf2b]

I thought Arena was replacing Duels?

Is it supposed to replace MTGO too?

Arena is the f2p version basically. Also has a lot better animations/graphics.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

I thought Arena was replacing Duels?

Is it supposed to replace MTGO too?

Nah, MTGO is never going away, it's been around for too long and too many people have put too much money into it for WotC to axe it.

Arena is supposed to be Standard and Draft only I believe. No doubt they'll look at including Modern in it but I doubt they'll put Vintage/Legacy Cube or other Eternal formats on Arena.

 

[Smash88]

Arena is the f2p version basically. Also has a lot better animations/graphics.

Yeah, that's what I thought, it's basically just a more polished/advanced version of Duels.

Nah, MTGO is never going away, it's been around for too long and too many people have put too much money into it for WotC to axe it.

Arena is supposed to be Standard and Draft only I believe. No doubt they'll look at including Modern in it but I doubt they'll put Vintage/Legacy Cube or other Eternal formats on Arena.

Yeah that's what I figured.

Problem with MTGO is it's just not user friendly, I could see it slowly dying if Arena adds more versions of the game.

I can't see MTGO attracting too many new players anymore..

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Yeah that's what I figured.

Problem with MTGO is it's just not user friendly, I could see it slowly dying if Arena adds more versions of the game.

I can't see MTGO attracting too many new players anymore..

I know a lot of people don't like MTGO but I find it perfectly fine outside of the annoying bugs. I can't imagine Arena ever taking over MTGO, there are some messed up cards in Magic that Arena probably simply cannot handle so MTGO will remain the go-to for the high level stuff.

But we shall see! Arena is pretty sweet, as soon as drafts become real I'm in.

 

[Smash88]

I know a lot of people don't like MTGO but I find it perfectly fine outside of the annoying bugs. I can't imagine Arena ever taking over MTGO, there are some messed up cards in Magic that Arena probably simply cannot handle so MTGO will remain the go-to for the high level stuff.

But we shall see! Arena is pretty sweet, as soon as drafts become real I'm in.

The problem with MTGO is it looks like it comes from the 1990's. Many people open it and it's completely foreign to them if they are under 30 as the interface is just so bad, regardless of how well it runs. So it immediately turns them off. Which is why so many people that discovered Magic from the Duels game, never went to MTGO.

If MTGO can run the card, why wouldn't Arena?

I haven't played for a few years now, but I used to play "kitchen table" Commander weekly with a group of friends, and we all were never interested in MTGO, mostly because of how clunky it was.

I still haven't tried Arena, but I will most likely give it go soon, hopefully though it comes to console at some point, though it seems that may never happen.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

The problem with MTGO is it looks like it comes from the 1990's. Many people open it and it's completely foreign to them if they are under 30 as the interface is just so bad, regardless of how well it runs. So it immediately turns them off. Which is why so many people that discovered Magic from the Duels game, never went to MTGO.

If MTGO can run the card, why wouldn't Arena?

I haven't played for a few years now, but I used to play "kitchen table" Commander weekly with a group of friends, and we all were never interested in MTGO, mostly because of how clunky it was.

I still haven't tried Arena, but I will most likely give it go soon, hopefully though it comes to console at some point, though it seems that may never happen.

Arena is much more streamlined than MTGO. Arena could run all the stuff MTGO could but it comes at an added complexity.

I don't think this will find it's way to Arena for example.

MTGO is mostly great for drafting and playing Vintage and Legacy: drafts are always firing and the super expensive formats are much more accessible online since they can reprint duals on MTGO.

 

[Smash88]

Arena is much more streamlined than MTGO. Arena could run all the stuff MTGO could but it comes at an added complexity.

I don't think this will find it's way to Arena for example.

MTGO is mostly great for drafting and playing Vintage and Legacy: drafts are always firing and the super expensive formats are much more accessible online since they can reprint duals on MTGO.

Yeah makes sense.

I guess if they keep Arena to newer sets, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[mouser]

It's a shame that drafting is with bots only.

Hard to justify getting into Arena when MTGO is just fine.

I'd expect they'll eventually add live drafts. While it has its flaws, drafting against bots is a great idea for the more casual players--can take their time to evaluate cards, and even pause the draft to resume later.

Hoping Arena will be available on mobile tablet at some point in the not too distant future. They've stated that's one of the longer term objectives.

 

[YNWA14]

Yeah, I can't wait for Arena to be on mobile or tablet, but at the moment I've been enjoying it quite a bit.

The drafting is fine now since everyone has the same competitive advantage of drafting against bots, but it'll be better when it becomes live drafting.

Still, I stopped playing magic ages ago and this has rekindled my interest. My only gripe being the number of times I've been manaflooded :'(

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Mana flood/screw is the worst.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Mana flood/screw is the worst.

It's nice when it happens to your opponent though.

I have grown to appreciate the concept over time, it is the great equalizer and leads to some really strong moments.

Top decking that land you need for the win is a feel great.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

I disagree. Even when it happens to my opponent, I just feel bad for the guy. Because I know it's not his fault (in all likelihood), but rather the result of an archaic resource system in the game.

You'd think they'd come up with a better solution to lands after all these years.

 

[YNWA14]

Indeed.

I've been doing 5-0 in Competitive Constructed with this Blue/Red counterburn deck I made. It works really well against the overly aggressive meta (literally 80% of the decks I've played against of late have been the mono-red rushdown with Steam-Kin/Experimental Frenzy). Feel free to critique or try it out.

Creatures (9)
3 Guttersnipe
3 Crackling Drake
2 Rekindling Phoenix
1 Niv-Mizzet, Parun

Planeswalkers (1)
1 Ral, Izzet Viceroy

Spells (26)
3 Shock
2 Syncopate
3 Blink of an Eye
2 Essence Scatter
4 Lightning Strike
3 Radical Idea
3 Ionize
2 Sinister Sabotage
2 Chemister's Insight
2 Expansion // Explosion

Lands (24)
8 Island
8 Mountain
4 Steam Vents
4 Sulfur Falls

Sideboard (15)
3 Dismissive Pyromancer
2 Negate
4 Omenspeaker
2 Fight with Fire
1 Ral, Izzet Viceroy
2 Switcheroo
1 Niv-Mizzet, Parun

 

[Do Make Say Think]

I disagree. Even when it happens to my opponent, I just feel bad for the guy. Because I know it's not his fault (in all likelihood), but rather the result of an archaic resource system in the game.

You'd think they'd come up with a better solution to lands after all these years.

You might disagree but you have to remember that the game designer's job isn't to have no feel bad moment, it is to create engagement.

The mana system does that in spades. It gets a bad rep due the fact that it does lead to feel bad moments but, at the end of the day, it allow beginners to have a chance against better players and the best players are the best despite getting mana screwed as often as everyone else does.

The best way of looking at it is that it creates a lot of tension and that is very positive in terms of engagement.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

It doesn't create tension. It just creates "throwaway" games.

Its basically "I kept a two-land hand, because the Mulligan system is very punishing for no guaranteed improvement on your hand. If I draw a 3rd land before my third turn, I'm set. Oh, I didn't. Guess I lose."

Or "Alright, I've drawn 4 lands in a row. Certainly, I can't keep drawing lands. Oh, I did. For the next 4 turns. Guess I lose."

It sucks when it happens to you, and even when it happens to your opponent, it's not a win you're particularly happy about. Because you didn't win because of anything you did, but rather because of the game's RNG.

 

[SeidoN]

I downloaded Duels and Arena last night. Arena seems like it has a much nicer and easier UI. im worried theres too much to learn in terms of cards but I guess we shall see. I was interested in taking up a new card game and Artifact looks convoluted af

 

[Hammettf2b]

I downloaded Duels and Arena last night. Arena seems like it has a much nicer and easier UI. im worried theres too much to learn in terms of cards but I guess we shall see. I was interested in taking up a new card game and Artifact looks convoluted af

use the tutorial in Duels to learn the game. Arena doesn't do a very good job in doing that

 

[Smash88]

I'm having a hard time understanding how the wildcards work.

They say they can get me any card of that rarity, but I can't seem to be able to make it work.

Other than that, I'm liking the game so far, I've only been using the pre made decks, as I figure I don't really have enough cards yet, to make a viable deck of my own.

I've been sticking to the Ranked play, as I'm getting crushed in the competitive constructed gauntlet run as I'm only using the pre made decks and keep going up against planeswalkers and some really crafty decks.

 

[Hammettf2b]

I'm having a hard time understanding how the wildcards work.

They say they can get me any card of that rarity, but I can't seem to be able to make it work.

Other than that, I'm liking the game so far, I've only been using the pre made decks, as I figure I don't really have enough cards yet, to make a viable deck of my own.

I've been sticking to the Ranked play, as I'm getting crushed in the competitive constructed gauntlet run as I'm only using the pre made decks and keep going up against planeswalkers and some really crafty decks.

Click on a card you don't have and this will show up

 

[Smash88]

Click on a card you don't have and this will show up

Where do you go to see all the cards? I can only see the ones I already have