The Duels of the Planeswalker games in the Magic: The Gathering franchise are largely a way of providing those who are not as big, or as familiar, with the original card game a method of getting their fix, without the heavy financial investment. The 2013 version of the series aims to follow that trend, but will also add things that will cater to the hardcore fans as well, as well as some new game content overall.

One of the new items that the game will have is Planeschase, a game type where multiverse cards create various effects on the battlefield that can help, or hinder, a player’s progress. While Planeschase was originally available in card form, this will be the first time the game mode will be playable on the television screen. Making a return will also be Puzzle mode, where players have a limited number of moves to make to complete a specific scenario, as well as Campaign. Certain creature stats such as Exalted, where a creature gets stronger when attacking by itself, will also be introduced to the video game version, and balanced so that more than just white creatures will have the stat. The game itself is set to coincide with the upcoming 2013 card release this summer, which brings back Planeschase in card form, as well the newly balanced Exalted stat, and thus, already comes with these changes intact, so veterans won’t have to worry about playing an outdated version of the game at launch.

As mentioned before, 2013 will have additional items that cater more towards new or casual Magic players, and help ease them into the various intricacies of the game. Things like deck ratings give players an idea of a deck’s strengths and weaknesses, and helps users find a deck that more suits their playstyle. Mana curve stats will portray how many cards of a specific casting cost you have in your deck, and creature percentages inform you of how many creature cards you have in relation to everything else, further helping in deck building. Meanwhile, options for advanced players with previous knowledge of the game, such as manual tapping, are designed to give them a bit more freedom in how they play, while not being forced to be treated like a newbie playing his first game. Traditional game features such as leaderboards, online matches, and achievements, will round out the package.

While the cards in the game itself are not backwards compatible with previous versions, it’s at least being made available at a fairly reasonable price point, a paltry $9.99, with the special edition being priced at $19.99. It’s also good that the developers aren’t giving the feeling of alienating their more devoted fans that 2012 had, while still providing a way for newer Magic players to ease themselves into the game proper. The full release should hopefully be able to satisfy all groups equally, whether you’re playing for the first time, or are a Magic veteran of many years.

Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 will be out June 20, and players can go ahead and pre-order the game now. The game will be available on Xbox 360, PS3, PC, and iPad devices.

Michael Revis

Michael is a man of many things. Journalist, writer, gamer, professional procrastinator, cosplayer, super hero, whale wrestler, evil mastermind, and robot master. And that’s just on the weekends.