Is Magic the Gathering a good game to get into?

[jmann]

I have been a fan of card games like Pokemon and Yugioh back in the day and am looking for another card game. I tried the demo of MTG and enjoyed it but if I purchase the full version do I have to buy cards and expansions with real cash?

[Witchsong]

Are you talking about the online or physical version of the game? In either case you have to buy cards for real cash.

Magic the Gathering is a very good game. It's my favorite TCG of all time. The rules are very clear, with the oracle database explaining common misconceptions about how individual cards work. By now it has a very wide variety of mechanics, making the game very interesting, and release expansions very often, forcing you to make new decks and strategies if you play in modes where you can only use the two latest blocks.

And in my opinion the art of the cards is awesome.

[jmann]

Thanks for the reply, I am talking about the online version. Is it possible to become good without buying cards with real money, like can u collect them somehow?

[DemoBytom]

it's a great game.. But it's also quite expensive..
If you want really good deck - prepare to spend cash on boosters, individual cards, drafts, expansions etc etc.. Played it, gave up when I've spent more on cards than on food (sic!) XD But ye - it's one of the best TCGs out there for sure.

[PizzaSHARK]

I have been a fan of card games like Pokemon and Yugioh back in the day and am looking for another card game. I tried the demo of MTG and enjoyed it but if I purchase the full version do I have to buy cards and expansions with real cash?

MTG is a great game if you don't like having money. Otherwise you're best off using programs like Cockatrice to play with other people for "free."

Magic: The Gathering Online is pretty awesome if you can afford to constantly be buying new cards, tickets, and booster packs - the best rules engine in the business (which makes sense, considering it's made by WOTC) along with matchmaking and automated tournaments.

[tripleh]

I use to play back in the 90's in highschool. But started loosing interests in the game. Mostly it got annoying having good cards only to be told that some cards are considered banned or restricted in tournaments etc. A new expansion would come out with new cards with different names but mirror the abilities of older cards which then made the older ones banned or restricted depending on how the company felt. Some cards were worth more then others. I quit after a while. But unsure how things are now. I heard the unglued expansion was kinda fun to use.

[Kuthe]

I have iPad and PC versions of M:TG 2012 and 2013. Love them.
Play them with friends on regular occasions.

You start with two decks, and to unlock more, you need to either beat the bosses in the campaign (which is time consuming, requires luck) or just buy them for $1 per deck. But then there are special 'foil' cards, which I don't fully understand, but I think you need to vs other players/AI to unlock them seperately, or you can buy them for $1 and have all of that one deck.

I forked out 2$ for the full Goblin deck, because it's always been my favourite, and I don't regret it.
12$ for a game I play a heap.

Also there's another 5$ for a new DLC which adds 5 new decks.

So it's easy to jump in to.

[jmann]

So from what iv gathered you do need to pay for things inside the game but they are cheap?

[PizzaSHARK]

So from what iv gathered you do need to pay for things inside the game but they are cheap?

In MTG:O? It's pretty much MSRP, for wherever you happen to be. From what I remember, most trading between players use tickets (currency you can buy that allow you to participate in tournaments, drafts, etc) as a constant, consistent currency - most trades will be listed in terms of "tickets" (this card is 0.40 tickets, that one is 2.80 tickets, etc.)

[Varyk]

Magic Online is a very different animal than the duels of the planeswalker games. DoTP is a much more basic, casual experience with super basic interactions and cards. Magic Online is simply the actual game but digitialized. You can play casually, but it's basically for people to be able to play in events from their own homes.

If you are worried about spending money and don't really know how to play, get DoTp:2013. It's not really going to teach how to play very well, the only way to get better is by playing actual games (whether on MtgO or with real cards) against players that aren't horrible. There are programs like MagicWorkstation and Cockatrice that let you play with "free" cards, but there's next to no rules enforcement, and most people don't know what they're doing and will try to argue about blatant card/rule violations because "my friend who's a judge said I can do this...etc"

I've played for 13 years, with a 2-3 year break from 06-07. It's a fantastic game if you're in need of a hobby.

[jmann]

Okay now im confused, so there are two types of MTG games, Plainswalkers and normal Magic the Gathering Online?? Or is it just Magic: The Gathering - Tactics and you buy ingame cards and that?

[Deleted]

Magic Online is like the game you play with real cards, which means that you can make your own decks from any cards you want. DotP is a simplified version that has very limited card options but it has many different decks that you can modify to some extent. I would suggest DotP to a starter because it's cheap and you get to know the rules pretty well because they are forced on you.
Oh and Magic the Gathering is an awesome game!

[nightmarez]

Op the people are not really reading your question i think...

the online version you just buy only once and don't need irl cards to get new cards in-game.
what the people in this thread are talking about is the irl version of the game with real cards.

[Deleted]

Okay now im confused, so there are two types of MTG games, Plainswalkers and normal Magic the Gathering Online?? Or is it just Magic: The Gathering - Tactics and you buy ingame cards and that?

Plainswalker games are something on their own, they don't really have that much in common with actual MTG matches, they're just very basic.
If you want to play MTGO, its essentialy the same as with physical cards, it involves real cash.
MTGO is really good tho, and there are ways to get things started pretty cheaply, which is a ton of fun if you're really into playing Magic.

[jvbastel]

To clarify, there are a couple of ways to play Magic: the Gathering on digital platform.

1.Duels of the planeswalkers (pc, xbox,ps3,ipad) is a fairly cheap game, which offers games vs. AI (and also other players iirc) aimed at newer players, but experienced players can enjoy it as well. The game gives you a (limited) card pool to work with, and you can unlock more cards by winning matches, or buying the decks.

2.Magic: Online is the digital version of the real game. You need to buy boosters or single cards, and playing in tournaments costs money. Almost every card in the game is available.

3.MWS/Cockatrice allow players to test their decks for free online. You do not get any real value from your cards, but they're a great way to playtest your decks without spending money.

[Hraklea]

No, it isn't. There are better and cheaper cardgames currently, both online and physically. Even tearing money is better than playing MtG in its current state.

[Jon]

Magic is a fantastic game, better than all the other options out there, but it does take some money and effort to get into.

Duels of the Planeswalkers might help beginners to learn some basic rules of the game, but really it's greatly different from the actual game, and could end up actually confusing you if you try to play some real Magic after trying it out.

[Kankuri]

Magic the Gathering is a really fun game to get into. I'd suggest Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 to get into the flow of things. It's a nice little game to help beginners understand the mechanics and build basic fundamentals. If you can find friends and play the card game, that's even better.

But you know what more people should like? The effin' Pokemon TCG.

It's 90% similar to Magic the Gathering, and I've been hooked on it since I was young. NO ONE WANTS TO PLAY IT THESE DAYS ;-;

[FattyXP]

If you wish to really stay on the cheap but be able to play magic, I suggest just getting a couple of starter decks from one of the latest sets and participate in friday night magic in your local shop, or enter into some draft or sealed tournements. This way you get a decent amount of cards and cards that you can trade for other cards you need, a bit cheaper than just buying boxes upon boxes.
With MTG:O, there really isn't much of a way to stay as cheap as possible, as you have to buy everything and there isn't much card for card trading, no freebies from people, etc.

Either way, if you want to remain at all competitive and have "fun" (unless you enjoy getting your face stomped) you'll have to dump a pretty decent chunk of change to really get into it on either MTG:O or the physical game.

[Pendulous]

If you wish to really stay on the cheap but be able to play magic, I suggest just getting a couple of starter decks from one of the latest sets and participate in friday night magic in your local shop, or enter into some draft or sealed tournements.

You might get a lot of cards but you'll be laughed out of there. You shouldn't really enter those tournaments unless you're a serious player.

Tactics is a terrible game, but it's free. It's a turn-based grid style combat game, which doesn't help you at all to learn the real game. Duels of the Planeswalker is a good game to get started on. There are three different versions, all available on Steam for cheap. They help to learn the rules as well, and even I've learned things from playing it. 2012 has, I think three expansions, 2013 is new, and the older one has 3 or more expansions. Mostly the expansions add new decks for you to choose from. You can unlock cards by beating other decks (A.I, not humans). The problem is, since the rules of the card game get updated frequently, you'll want to play the most recent version. Fortunately, 2013 has some great decks compare to 2012 vanilla.