Source Wizards Of The Coast

Magic the Gathering Trading Card Game came out in 1993 at the Origins Game Fair in Dallas, Texas. It was an instant success. Since then the game has continued to evolve with stories, sets, and even into the digital age. My husband started playing the game shortly as it became available nationwide. I didn’t start playing it until I was introduced to it in 2002. My husband was the one to introduce me to it.

Magic the Gathering Arena, an online version of the card game allows you to buy decks and cards and to battle, other players came out Sept. 27, 2018. My husband has been playing this version for over a year now and my sons are at around the 6-month mark. They have been trying to get me to play online since they started. I kept putting them off saying I prefer the actual cards to the online. About a month or two ago I finally downloaded it but didn’t do anything with it. I finally played it yesterday with my son Jack sitting next to me to help me if I hit any snags. If you ask me, I think Jack just wanted to be included in the article. Back to the matter at hand.

Armed with my knowledge of how to play the game (this can’t be that different), my computer and my son I was off to play. I figured getting oriented would take a minute. Boy, it was a doozy. The graphics were great. They were rich and beautiful. There was a blue light that told you what was going on and gave somewhat helpful hits. I think part of it for me as I was overwhelmed by everything. I fully expected to come in and play a normal game. I really hadn’t watched it when my husband plays the game at the start.

The tutorial was simple except my head kept getting in the way. Since I know how to play MTG I wanted to play my way. I was expected to play it their way. Which meant I would win each round (Yay) but it was against the AI (Boo). I played five games. Each game had a different strategy to learn. Once done with the initial games you must level up your decks. You start with a white deck. You must unlock the others to play with them. I just leveled up my white deck. Next is to unlock the blue deck. I have yet to be able to play directly with my sons or husband.

My final thoughts on MTGA is that it is interesting to play. I would rather play with the actual cards. I can read them easier, it isn’t timed. I can look at my opponents’ cards on the board. The nice thing about the game though is I don’t forget bonuses or upkeep or anything like that. It is automatically done. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a solid 5. Do you have any questions about my experience? Do you want me to tell you more? Let me know in the comments below. Til next week…