The cardboard fantasy world of Magic: The Gathering has become the basis for free-to-play action RPG Magic: Legends, which is now available in an open beta for everyone to try. I say ‘open beta’ because it’s officially its status, but it’s actually out now. Magic: Legends looks like Diablo with deck building. I like Diablo, I like deck building, and I like Magic too much for my own damn thing, so sure, I’ll give it a try.
The action RPG foundations look pretty straightforward and do the ARPG monster mashing, so let’s watch a January trailer about deck building in Legends:
So, maps suggest the spells our magician can cast and the insects they can summon. We have a pack of 12 cards and get access to a hand of four at a time, with new ones drawn at random to replace the ones we throw. And while we’re starting with a pre-constructed deck that represents one of the five magical magic schools, we can pick up cards from other colors to build multicolored decks and direct swap colors. This sounds interesting. Somewhere between Magic: The Gathering and Guild Wars.
The open beta is now available via Perfect World’s Arc and the Epic Games Store.
Magic: Legends was created by Cryptic Studios, the gang behind City Of Heroes and Star Trek Online, and published by Perfect World. The full launch is later this year (also on PS4 and Xbone), although the developers say ‘it’s considered’ soft launch ‘and they do not intend to wipe out the servers. Basically outside, just potentially not completely polished.
I love Magic: The Gathering. I played so much magic in my life, tournaments and all, until I had to stop because it got out of hand. I’m still very much admiring how Wizards Of The Coast has been refreshing and adapting it for 28 years with new maps and stories. A staggering achievement. However, my worship of the table game makes me less interested in this. For me, a Magic Deck tells a story about a wizard’s master plan, setting up everything from the landscape to the twists and turns of the plot, while trying to envelop a rival wizard with their own arcane master plan. The Magic I know and love cannot be put down on an action RPG. But it’s good, it’s good, it’s a licensed game with familiar places and people and insects and a wide concept of maps, it’s good. If I want my wizard stories, I can just play Magic. I mean, if I do not mind kissing goodbye for another decade of my life.