Magic the Gathering: Arena (BETA)

The first time I saw Magic: The Gathering was at a convention. Nobody had heard of it back then. The guy demoing it tried to get me excited about the collectible nature of the game and I totally didn't get it. What is the fun of a game if one person has an advantage? Anyway, I was wrong and MtG was immensely popular. Even today, 25 years later, it remains the best combination of strategy, tactics, depth, and accessibility. It spearheaded the most lucrative business model in gaming, the loot box. 

Overview

I only played Magic the Gathering: Arena beta for about 30 minutes, so forgive the lack of depth in this review.

The game starts with a tutorial, which is reasonably short and fun. For that style of play, Hearthstone is probably overall. After that, I was pushed to play against other players with a beginner deck. More decks and boosters were available for purchase.

The interface itself is well polished. If Hearthstone is the gold standard, MtGA hold up nicely. It still suffers somewhat because instant cards can be played on the opponent's turn, but at least in the tutorial it was handled well.

Who Should Play?

Normally I would say "nobody". If you want more cards you have to buy boosters with real money or grind out coins to buy them slowly. This is the reason I never seriously played MtG and I don't play Hearthstone. It feels too much like "pay to win".

However, MtG has maintained their business for 25 years and is still going strong. The game appeals to a lot of people. If you are willing to sink the money into the game, it might be for you.

Hearthstone and MtG are almost enough fun for me to pay for drafting tournaments. You pay some money, draft some cards from sealed decks, and play a tournament with your draft. When Hearthstone launched, that was a fun option. I don't know if MtGA has that game mode.

Magic is Fun

Magic the Gathering remains to be a very fun game. However, the style has been copied hundreds or thousands of times. There are plenty of deckbuilding games out there that are free, cheap, or offer different play styles. I would only recommend MtGA to someone who is already a fan of MtG and knows what they are getting into.