Hello again! It’s Magic the Gathering time. I hope you like the Colors Of Magic series I have been writing. If you missed my last article on Magic Arena, you can find it here. In my last article, we spoke a little about mechanics. Since I finally got through the tutorials, I wanted to share more on that.
My son Jack, who selflessly gives me help with game articles, played a bit of Arena with me today. We played two games. One we drew out ridiculously just so I could get information for you and he could utterly destroy me. He didn’t. The game was a technical draw because he “broke” the server. I will explain. I promise.
Like any Magic game, we start with twenty life and seven cards. Jack’s deck was over one hundred cards. Mine was only sixty. As you go through the tutorials, you are given “starter” decks. That’s what I was using. Jack, on the other hand, built his deck. Let me tell you, an opponent using a shrine deck is as annoying as all get out. Let me give you the outcome of the game. Even using life to put stuff out, he ended with 482 life and 143 permanents. I had one before the server “broke”. Added to that, the little booger had not one, but two Platinum Angels out. He drew more than twenty cards and at one point. I had to resolve more than seventy “cards”. Hand size still matters. You can only hold seven cards in your hand. However, this is Magic and there are ways around it. Jack got Reliquary Tower which gives you an unlimited hand.
So to play a game against your friend, in the bottom left corner there is an icon for your friends. Click on that and the list will show up. Hover over the friend’s name and to the left is the option to chat. To the right, is the option to challenge. Clicking on that brings new options. What format the game is, best one out of one, best of three, and others. The type of match, such as the type of tournament. You get deck options and coin flip options.
Now, let me explain more about resolving and breaking the server. Resolving happens with sorceries, instants, enchantments, and abilities. It is so you know what is happening and so you can counter it if you have something immediately playable. “Breaking the server” happens when you have a whole slew of instants and the other stuff I previously mentioned. Remember how I said Jack had over 70 “cards” for me to resolve? Yeah, that will break the server. You don’t actually shut down all of Arena, just the game you are playing.
Jack says this game was dumb. Not meaning he thought this was bad, just that it was ridiculous how much stuff he got out, in a funny way. Doing a few hundred things per turn is funny. He loves that we can play without physical cards and says they are way easier to get in the game than in real life.
So, the game is still fun but there are some things that are a little annoying. I constantly forgot to resolve and click next after everything. The game is great like I said before because the game does your upkeep, abilities, and whatnot for you. The battlegrounds are fun and they have pre-made comments you can use. Jack loves the pets.
Does this sound like a game you would enjoy? My husband, sons, and a few other friends love it. I like it too. Give it a try and let me know what you think in the comments below. Until next week…
