Magic The Gathering

[Elephant Wurm#1]

post about magic T.G.

[Puhgete]

If Secret Level is out there, can you guys please post the card list as it is so far? Pretty please :D

[Propbuddha]

Hi I played the demo, a fun game PROVIDED you can mix the colors for your mage (I think you can from screenshots, but not sure). Here's what was in the demo...

RED:

CREATURES -

Raging Goblin - a 1/1 creature with haste
Goblin Hero - 2/2
Goblin King - gives other goblins +1/+1
?Somethingmancer? - 3/3 that causes damage to enemy mage when sorceries are cast at him.
Magma Giant - ?/? Causes 2 damage to all other creatures and players when cast
Volcanic Dragon - 5?/5? Flying creature.

SORCERY

Englfing Flames - Causes 1 damage to neares enemy creature.
Reckless Charge - Closes friendly creature gets +3/+0 and haste
Scortching Missle - Causes 4 damage directly to enemy mage
3 OTHERS I FORGOT

ENCHANTMENT

Fervor Gives all your creatures haste

GREEN SPELLS

CREATURES -

Llanowar Elf - a 1/1 "ability" creature that makes mana shards every 5 seconds
Elvish Warrior - Generic 2/2 creature
Giant Spider - a "blocking" creature that can hit flyers
Rushwood Elemental - 4/4 with trample that gets +1/+1 every time it respawns.
?Big Gorilla? - Big creature with regenerate
Avatar of Might - 8/8 With trample

SORCERY

Giant Growth - Nearest Creature gets +3/+3 until it respawns.
Tranquility - Destroy all enchantments
Run Wild - Closest friendly creature gets trample and regeneration until it respawns
Overrun - All friendly creatures get +3/+3 and trample until they respawn (VERRRY powerful)
Untamed Wilds - Creates a mana crystal
1 OTHER I FORGOT

NO ENCHANTMENTS

[Kim_Facadas]

Hi here do you download the demo men ?????:cool:

[TiaMaster]

I have received the demo directly from Atari, and purchased the one in Official Xbox mag., and neither one of them work. From browsing the games forums I see that this is a confirmed problem. Those of you that can run the demo be thankful.

[Elephant Wurm#1]

How do you download the demo

[W00dh34d]

The only way I know of getting the demo (for the XBox) is to buy the November issue (#24) of the Official XBox Magazine and hope that your Demo Disk works... (mine did, but I've seen posts of people having probelms with the demo disk).

I don't believe there is a downloadable PC demo of the game yet... I don't see one on the Atari Demo page anyway...

Cheers,

-W

[Puhgete]

^thanks for the partial but I have the demo so, I already knew about those. Here is one posted on the ign message board. No idea how tru it is though. He says that he got the info from some of the files on the demo disc.

copy of post:

Black

Carnophage
B
The Carnophage is a 2/2 creature who deals 1 damage to you each time it respawns.

Death's-Head Buzzard
BBB
The Death's-Head Buzzard is a 2/1 flying creature. When it is destroyed, all creatures get a -1/-1 penalty until they respawn.

Infest
BBB
Infest gives all creatures a -2/-2 penalty until they respawn.

Juzam Djinn
BBBB
The Juzam Djinn is a 5/5 creature who deals 1 damage to you each time it respawns.

Harbinger of Night
BBBB
The Harbinger of Night gives all creatures, including itself, a permanent -1/-1 penalty every 5 seconds.

Liability
BBBB
Liability is an enchantment that deals 1 damage to any duelist whose creature is destroyed.

No Mercy
BBBB
No Mercy is an enchantment that destroys any creature that damages you.

Vicious Hunger
BBBB
Vicious Hunger deals 2 damage to the closest enemy creature and gives you 2 health.

Dark Banishing
BBBBB
Dark Banishing destroys the closest enemy creature as long as it isn't black. That creature cannot regenerate.

Sengir Vampire
BBBBB
The Sengir Vampire is a 4/4 flying creature that gains a permanent +1/+1 bonus every time it destroys an enemy creature.

Krovikan Vampire
BBBBB
The Krovikan Vampire is a 3/3 creature. If the Krovikan Vampire destroys a creature, that creature respawns under your control. If you lose control of the Krovikan Vampire, all affected creatures die.

Hellfire
BBBBB
Hellfire destroys all creatures as long as they aren't black. For each creature destroyed, you lose 3 health plus 1 health for each creature destroyed.

Infernal Medusa
BBBBB
The Infernal Medusa is a 2/4 creature who destroys any creature it fights.

Soul Feast
BBBBBB
Soul Feast drains 4 health from your enemy and gives it to you.

Havoc Demon
BBBBBBB
The Havoc Demon is a 5/5 flying creature. When it dies, it causes all creatures to get a -5/-5 penalty until they respawn.

Plague Wind
BBBBBBBB
Plague Wind destoys all enemy creatures. They cannot regenerate.

Blue

Unsummon
U
Unsummon forces the closest enemy creature to respawn.

Mage's Guile
U
Mage's Guile makes your closest creature unable to be targeted by spells until it respawns.

Counterspell
UU
Counterspell cancels any spell your enemy is currently casting.

Spindrift Drake
UU
The Spindrift Drake is a 2/1 flying creature. Each time it respawns, it drains 1 mana from your mana bar.

Wind Drake
UUU
The Wind Drake is a 2/2 flying creature.

Mana Short
UUU
Mana Short drains your enemy's mana bar.

Deluge
UUU
Deluge freezes all land-bound creatures for 5 seconds.

Horned Turtle
UUU
The Horned Turtle is a 1/4 blocking creature.

Clone
UUUU
The Clone becomes a copy of the closest creature minus any spell effects.

Pendrell Mists
UUUU
Pendrell Mists is an enchantment that makes all creatures drain 1 mana from their duelist's mana bar each time they respawn.

Spelljack
UUUU
Spelljack steals any spell your enemy is currently casting.

Air Elemental
UUUUU
The Air Elemental is a 4/4 flying creature.

Cowardice
UUUUU
Cowardice is an enchantment that makes any creature targeted by a spell respawn instead.

Mahamoti Djinn
UUUUUU
The Mahamoti Djinn is a 5/6 flying creature.

Zephid
UUUUUU
The Zephid is a 3/4 flying creature. It cannot be targeted by spells.

Time Stretch
UUUUUUUU
Time Stetch causes your enemy, your enemy's mana, and your enemy's currently casting spell, to freeze for 10 seconds.

Green

Llanowar Elf
G
The Llanowar Elf is a 1/1 ability elf who generates 1 mana shard every 5 seconds.

Defiant Elf
G
The Defiant Elf is a 1/1 creature with trample. Creatures with trample always attack and do not respawn until they successfully attack the enemy duelist.

Run Wild
G
Run Wild gives the caster's closest creature trample and regeneration until it respawns. If a blocking or ability creature is affected by this spell, that creature attacks.

Giant Growth
GG
Giant Growth gives your closest creature a +3/+3 bonus until it respawns.

Elvish Warrior
GG
The Elvish Warrior is a 2/3 creature.

Elvish Vanguard
GG
The Elvish Vanguard gets a permanent +1/+1 bonus whenever another Elf comes into play.

Priest of Titania
GGG
The Priest of Titania is a 1/1 ability Elf who generates 1 mana shard for each Elf in play every 5 seconds.

Untamed Wilds
GGG
Untamed Wilds causes 1 mana crystal to appear immediately. This does not affect the appearance of other mana crystals.

Giant Spider
GGGG
The Giant Spider is a 2/4 blocking creature. It can block flying creatures. Creatures with blocking stay where summoned and attack any enemy creature or duelist that comes near. They may attack after being affected by certain spells or creatures.

Gorilla Chieftain
GGGG
The Gorilla Chieftain is a 3/3 creature with regeneration. Creatures with regeneration respawn with full power and toughness for a cost of 1 mana if they take lethal damage.

Tranquility
GGGG
Tranquility destroys all enchantments.

Overrun
GGGGG
Overrun gives all of your creatures a +3/+3 bonus along with trample until they respawn. If a blocking or ability creature is affected by this spell, that creature attacks.

Rushwood Elemental
GGGGG
The Rushwood Elemental is a 4/4 creature with trample that gains a permanent +1/+1 bonus whenever it respawns. Creatures with trample always attack and do not respawn until they successfully attack the enemy duelist.

Ancient Silverback
GGGGGG
The Ancient Silverback is a 6/5 creature with regeneration. Creatures with regeneration respawn with full power and toughness for a cost of 1 mana if they take lethal damage.

Avatar of Might
GGGGGGG
The Avatar of Might is an 8/8 creature with trample. Creatures with trample always attack and do not respawn until they successfully attack the enemy duelist.

Vitalizing Wind
GGGGGGGG
Vitalizing Wind gives all your creatures a +7/+7 bonus until they respawn.

Red

Reckless Charge
R
Reckless Charge gives your closest creature a +3/+0 bonus plus haste until it respawns. Creatures with haste move significantly faster than those without.

Raging Goblin
R
The Raging Goblin is a 1/1 creature with haste. Creatures with haste move significantly faster than those without.

Engulfing Flames
R
Engulfing Flames deals 1 damage to the closest enemy creature or duelist. If a creature takes damage from this spell and then dies before respawning, it cannot regenerate.

Goblin Hero
RR
The Goblin Hero is a 2/2 creature.

Goblin King
RRR
The Goblin King is a 2/2 Lord who gives all Goblins a +1/+1 bonus as long as he lives. This bonus does not apply to the Goblin King himself.

Goblin Sky Raider
RRR
The Goblin Sky Raider is a 1/2 flying creature. This creature cannot be attacked by most ground creatures.

Threaten
RRRR
Threaten makes the closest enemy creature attack the enemy duelist and gives it haste. Creatures with haste move significantly faster than those without.

Scorching Missile
RRRR
Scorching Missile deals 4 damage directly to the enemy duelist.

Retromancer
RRRR
The Retromancer is a 3/3 creature that deals 3 damage to any duelist who targets it with a sorcery.

Fervor
RRRR
Fervor is an enchantment that gives all your creatures haste. Creatures with haste move significantly faster than those without.

Magma Giant
RRRRR
The Magma Giant is a 5/5 creature that deals 2 damage to all creatures and duelists when it comes into play.

Gratuitous Violence
RRRRR
Gratuitous Violence is an enchantment that doubles your creatures' power.

Callous Giant
RRRRR
The Callous Giant is a 4/4 creature who cannot be damaged unless that damage is at least 4.

Inferno
RRRRRR
Inferno deals 6 damage to all creatures and duelists.

Volcanic Dragon
RRRRRRR
The Volcanic Dragon is a 4/4 flying creature with haste. Creatures with haste move significantly faster than those without.

Insurrection
RRRRRRRR
Insurrection is a spell that causes all creatures to gain haste and attack your opponent until they respawn.

White

Suntail Hawk
W
The Suntail Hawk is a 1/1 flying creature.

Guided Strike
W
Guided Strike gives your closest creature a +1/+0 bonus plus first strike until it respawns. Creatures with first strike do all their damage in one swing.

Youthful Knight
WW
The Youthful Knight is a 2/1 creature with first strike. Creatures with first strike do all their damage in one swing.

Spiritualize
WW
Spiritualize gives your closest creature the ability to give you health equal to the damage it deals until it respawns.

Demystify
WWW
Demystify destroys the enemy duelist's last cast enchantment.

Warrior's Honor
WWW
Warrior's Honor gives all your creatures a +1/+1 bonus until they respawn.

Venerable Monk
WWWW
The Venerable Monk is a 2/2 creature who gives you 2 health when it comes into play.

Blessed Orator
WWWW
The Blessed Orator is 1/4 blocking creature that gives all your other creatures a +0/+1 bonus as long as he lives.

Thunder Spirit
WWWW
The Thunder Spirit is a 2/2 flying creature with first strike. Creatures with first strike do all their damage in one swing.

Orim's Prayer
WWWW
Orim's Prayer is an enchantment that gives you 1 health every time a creature attacks you.

Pious Warrior
WWWWW
The Pious Warrior is a 2/3 creature who gives you health equal to the damage dealt to it.

Divine Presence
WWWWW
Divine Presence is an enchantment that reduces all damage of 4 or more to 3.

Warrior Angel
WWWWW
The Warrior Angel is a 3/4 flying creature that gives you health equal to the damage it deals.

Wrath of God
WWWWWW
Wrath of God destroys all creatures. They cannot regenerate.

Angel of Retribution
WWWWWW
The Angel of Retribution is a 5/5 flying creature with first strike.

Blessed Wind
WWWWWWWW
Blessed Wind resets your health to 20.

Artifact

Mox Emerald

Mox Jet

Mox Pearl

Mox Ruby

Mox Sapphire

Emerald Medallion

Jet Medallion

Pearl Medallion

Ruby Medallion

Sapphire Medallion

Helm of Awakening

Sphere of Resistance

Copper Tablet

Ankh of Mishra

Culling Scales

Mightstone

Weakstone

Razor Pendulum

Stone Calendar

Mana Matrix

Planar Gate

Feroz's Ban

Urza's Armor

[SeXyHappy]

sweet list. I hope this gets moved over to the game thread once it is opened up.

[Drace24]

Anyone know if Phage is in this game?:sour:

[Ranma12]

hehe, yup, that's the list I created & posted on the IGN forums. It's legit... and it's more accurate than a lot of the cards listed on mtggame.com.

Juzam Djinn drains 2 life from a creature? Monstrous Growth costs GGGGGGGG? Oooooookaaaaaay....

I hope the webmasters get their stuff straight. Even on the Wallpapers download page, "Maraxus of Keld" is listed as "Maraxus of Kelp" :)

[Omega Platinum]

Originally posted by Propbuddha
Volcanic Dragon - 5?/5? Flying creature.


r u sure? i have Volcanic Dragon in card form and he's 4/4

[cbjusdontplay]

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but the card game features hundreds of cards, whereas battlegrounds is simply being advertised as having "over 70". Are we in for a majorly limited letdown here, or am i missing something?

[NMercy]

I don't think its going to be a major let down with only 70 cards to begin with (and a downloadable content almost right off the bat) especially with the ability to mix colors...

You also have to take into accout that a lot of the cards in the card games are very similar, maybe cost more, have different fine tuning abilities or power/defense...

We'll have to wait and see, but I don't think only 70 cards will be a probem with more coming... I mean I've been playing the demo and that limited amount of cards hasn't bored me yet and am still finding new strategies to use...

[Omega Platinum]

there are over 3,000 different cards in real life....only 70 cards is BS....there are at least 100 in a good set!

and its power/toughness !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NMercy]

Oh no... heaven forbid that I forget that it is toughness and not some other word for defense...

And oh my... they are 30 cards short of a good set (most likely only 10 short if that after the near launch DLC)... whatever will we do? Heaven forbid they don't have 10 different cards that do the same thing...

I guess it doesn't matter that its not the card game, just based on it...

[cbjusdontplay]

And oh my... they are 30 cards short of a good set (most likely only 10 short if that after the near launch DLC)... whatever will we do? Heaven forbid they don't have 10 different cards that do the same thing...

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I think this is operating under the assumption that its 70 cards per color. From the promotional material, the general impression I've gotten is its 70 cards divided up between all the colors, which, if you ask me, is indeed a bit of bs. That seems like an incredibly limited amount of creatures if nothing else. I'm certain you can put in quite a bit more just for the sake of diversity, without even touching on creatures that do the "same thing".


I guess it doesn't matter that its not the card game, just based on it...

Its their game, and it may be based on the card game, but above and beyond that you'd think it'd have a more diverse collection of creatures/sorceries/enchants. simply for the sake of giving the game that more depth. Or maybe we're completely wrong and it is in fact 70 cards per faction.

[Lone Dragon]

I keep reading that there are 90 cards total, plus unlockables...


As far as I know, there are only 70-90 cards total. But, the way the game is set up, it shouldn't be that big of a deal, especially w/ regular DLC.

Does anyone know if you can put all 5 colors into one deck?

[NMercy]

I think your impression is right with it being only 70 spells split among 5 colors, though the did include a lot of artifacts which I'm not sure if they are in addition to the 70 or included in it...

Assuming that the 70 spells are divided among the 5 colors not including artifacts means that there are 14 spells per color which would seem limited in the card game but I don't think its going to be that limited in the game...

Just the differences between the card game and this game help show why this isn't limited. First the card game is turned based this game is real time, assuming you don't lose mana to your opponent you will have a certain amount of mana at a given time. Second you have access to all your spells from the very beginning of the match and can cast them any number of times where as in the card game you have to hope to get the spell you want at the right time and are limited to the number of times you can have a card in your deck. Third you're not going to want a lot of spells cluttering your spell book because if you have to look for a spell then you're gonna die, any more than three pages under the subclass of spells and it will hurt more than help...

The question you have to ask is, is this game going to be good because its based on the card game or because its based on a good idea... personally I think its because its based on a good idea and would still be a good game if it didn't have the liscense...

Lone Dragon - I think you'll be limited to 2 colors, at least that is the max I've seen in pictures...

[Chihiro]

About color mixing:

I'm almost positive we'll be able to use 2-color decks, but no more. If you look at the top edge of the arena, you can see 4 "pedestals", 2 for each player. This is where the icon for an active enchantment is shown. In addition to that, both of these pedistals displays the color of the player on that side of the arena. My guess is that if you're playing a Red/Green deck, one pedestal will be green and the other red.

This also brings up an interesting situation: will we only be able to have 2 active enchantments - one for each pedestal?

EDIT:

In addition, on the topic of number of cards in the game, I refer you to this exerpt from an extremely recent interview IGN conducted with Secret Level:

IGN: How many spells, creatures, enchantments and other cards are represented in Magic: The Gathering - Battlegrounds?

Leif Jensen: We have 70 spells total in the shipped version of the game and a bunch more for download later. To a Magic card player, it may seem like a small amount of spells, since the card game has thousands, once they start playing Battlegrounds, they'll understand that it's actually a lot of spells with an endless amount of strategy.

[Lone Dragon]

Thanks for the info, guys. I'd only seen 2 colors max, as well. However, when I was waiting for the MTGgame.com site to load up, it said something about controlling all colors, once you beat the single-player. I didn't know if this was merely a reference to unlocking all the spells, or actually controlling all colors... Actually, it says something about unlocking a Talisman. Hmmm...

Does anyone have an idea of how the artifacts work, and how many you can have?

edit: I didn't know if anyone else bothered to count that list of spells out, but there are 16 spells each, for a total of 80 spells. So, there are definetly more than 70, lol. There are also 24 Artifacts, so I don't think they're included w/ the spells...

[d-block]

hey can ya'll tell me the exact date that magic the gathering will come out

[NMercy]

Tuesday, November 18, 2003 (http://http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=210393)

[Chihiro]

d-block, I believe it's coming out on November 18.

[Cherel]

I think the second list must be wrong. It is coherent with the demo disk, but not with what we can find in mtggame.com For example, Test of Endurance is not listened in the white cards, while it appears in the web.

[Sengir Vampire]

Has it not occured to anyone that this version isn't going to be anywhere near as strategic as MTG CCG?

First it is a real time format which means you don't have time to consider your strategy mid game

Second having 70 cards in the WHOLE game would verify this, because the ammount has to be limited in what is really going to be a MTG strategy lite beat 'em up

Does anyone remember a similar game on the PS1 about 5-6 years ago? It was a massive pile of s*** and battlegrounds has a whiff of the same kind of gameplay.

I read in PC ZONE (words by Jeffrey Tseng Secret Level's Creative Director)

"Each of the 70 spells in battlegrounds is based on a real card in the MTG card game. Of those spells 35 are creatures and 35 are sorceries, instants or enchantments"

"Powerful spells cost more mana, so the key is to use your deck wisely or alternatively make frequent dashes for the mana fountains that bubble forth around the edge of the arena"
????????? WTF?????

The guy Previewing the game said this..."...MTG Battlegrounds, a strange new hybrid of one-on-one arcade action and real -time strategy-with online play" I hate this bit- "Think of it as Street Fighter 2 but with spells instead of kicks and punches"

Hmmmm... and Hmmmmm again.

Sengir Vampire

[Chihiro]

"Powerful spells cost more mana, so the key is to use your deck wisely or alternatively make frequent dashes for the mana fountains that bubble forth around the edge of the arena" ????????? WTF?????

Just to ease your mind, there is no sign of "mana fountains" in the demo. My guess is that this interview is an old one. I posted about the actual mana system in a different thread, so I won't do so again.

Actually, the fighter metaphor is very apt. It is like a fighting game... but with real strategy, and extreme customization, and cool effects, and that MTG goodness we all know and love!

[Namejacked]

Uhh... there's well more than 3000 Magic cards. There's roughly that many online alone. And that's just Invasion (Sept. 2000) through 8th Edition (July 2003)!

Approximately 6500 uniquely named Magic cards are in tournament legal sets. There will be about 300 more by next Summer. Then another 600 or so the next year. And so on.

In other words, there's a big PILE of cards.

[Lone Dragon]

Just to let everyone know... Though the game is releasing on the 18th, it may not be available until the 19th. Generally, at the Gamestop I work at, we get games on the shelf, the day after they're released. Some stores, however, will be selling it on the 18th, if they're close to the warehouse, and it's looking to be a popular title... Just to save everyone a trip...

[nightowl]

I agree with what has been said that including more spells in a given game would be too cumbersome with the style of gameplay that battlegrounds obviously represents.

However I do think more than "over 70" to build your deck out of would be cool and more enticing to people who love MTG. There should be more spells available to create spellbook with.

I've played the demo a bit (the first one from the OXBM didn't work, so pre-orded and got a working one from EB) and even though it wasn't everything that I hoped it would be, I did find it pretty enjoyable. For those curious, I'm an "older" gamer who started playing Magic when there was only one set, it had black borders. :)

Overall I think it will be a fun experience and worth playing, will have a touch/hint of the strategy found in the card version of the game, but ultimately may disappoint the die-hards who can't get past the lack of strategic options afforded them in the card version.

Green seems MUCH more powerful than Red in the demo. With the major exception of the 1-round creature control spell that allows you to hit green back with its own critter, the only way I've found to win is to try to just overwhelm them with goblins, and that isn't very successful if green knows what they are doing.

Course, to admit bias I prefer green and dislike red in "real" MTG. Much more of a blue meta-game control freak myself. (Which makes me wonder if i will like blue in this game, as many blue "effects" will be oh so difficult to translate).

Peace,

NightOwl

[Ranma12]

Originally posted by Cherel
I think the second list must be wrong. It is coherent with the demo disk, but not with what we can find in mtggame.com For example, Test of Endurance is not listened in the white cards, while it appears in the web.

The list is accurate, but not final. It was taken from the Demo files, so some cards could have been changed at this point. Test of Endurance is one of those cards that was added after the demo was made. Hopefully, they added a LOT more cards :)

[Chihiro]

Actually, the strategy in the demo is an interesting subject. I think at first everyone who plays it feels like Green is far better than Red, but that's probably just because Green has the easy-to-use creatures, just like in the card game. However, I've been playing the demo with my friends and as our skills have improved we've found the decks more evenly matched than we had first suspected. Red has some great counters, like Threaten (which you mentioned) to turn Green's massive creatures against her, and Engulfing Flames to pick off creatures before they can get you you. Don't underestimate the power of a well-timed Missile to finish off an opponent, either. Plus, Red has the awesome Magma Giant to clear the field of puny 1- or 2-toughness creatures, not to mention the hard-to-counter Volcanic Dragon. You have to stay on your toes, have a plan of action, and really get tactical when playing Red or you won't stand a chance - but hey, that's not a bad thing!

[NMercy]

lol... you should see the thread on gamefaqs.com (http://www.gamefaqs.com) about green and their elven rush...

While powerful I don't consider unbeatable in the demo and will definately not be unbeatable in the full game...

[Chihiro]

Yeah, the Llanowar Elf rush is loads of fun - I thought of it myself just from playing the game, and then was surprised to find other people did too! It's even used in a gameplay video on IGN, heh. I counter it with Engulfing Flames if I can, cuz that thing is freakin' deadly if it goes off. Of course, it doesn't work later in the game because of Magma Giant, which has the same cost as Overrun.Also, if you Giant Growth your Llanowar Elves before Overrun-ing, it makes the combo twice as deadly and much harder to stop with Magma Giants.

[Lone Dragon]

Me and one of my friends were playing around w/ the Llanowar Elf/ Overgrowth / Overrun strategy. We took one Llanowar Elf, and pumped it up to the point that it did 20 damage by itself. It might have done more, but there was no way to tell... Today, I discovered that if you put 4 Goblin Kings out, and 1 Raging Goblin, the Raging Goblin will be a 5/5 creature, lol. I never noticed that before, and thought it was pretty funny...:D

[Hailfire]

The demo for this game really surprised me, it seems to combine the heart of Magic with real-time strategy and pulls it off very well.

Being an old-school Magic player (I played from the day it came out until the Legends expansion) it seems to keep in the spirit of what I remember of the game. Even after I quit playing Magic, I kept an eye on the game and how it evolved over the years... but the money 'black hole' aspect of it has kept me away from jumping back in. This game seems like the perfect thing for old players like me to tap back into the essence of the game without having to go out and drop a fortune on it again. The Xbox Live feature alone will guarantee competition and fun.

There are concerns I have after coming away from the demo though...

From what I've gathered, it's 'over 70 cards' total with about half being creatures... so, 35 creatures divided among 5 colors equals about 7 creatures per color ? is that all there is ? in the demo both sides have six creatures to choose from, is this all that they have ? from what I can tell, there is no "deck-building" aspect when playing single colors, you just have to run the same set of creatures all the time for each color... is this right ?

I am looking forward to this game and the demo is incredibly fun, but it would be nice to hear more info from SL about exactly how the game works, and what their plans are for downloadable content.

[ouchy]

Just to address the "only 70 cards" issue. This is not the card game. Its a real time strat/fighting game. It uses a lot of the eliments of the card game but there are some major differences. A big difference is its not turn based. Thus there is no "real" tap phase. This alone would rule out the usage of 100's of cards (pretty much every card is an instant).

Another BIG difference is that the cards in your deck are never discarded. You have 10 cards that you take into battle that you can cast over and over as often as you can afford. Each deck is only 10 cards to begin with. WHy would we need thousands of cards to choose from to make it fun. It works great for a turn based game. But in real time it would be extremely hard to balance the game with this many cards. There is only so many abilities you can give a card in this play mode. Getting to crazy with abilities would just result in "cheap" cards.

I would love to see a "real" version of MTG online. But for what Battlegrounds is - it does a good job.

[Lone Dragon]

Okay, I keep hearing that you only get 10 spells, total. Gamespy says 3 Sorceries, 3 Creatures, and 3 Enchantments. I honestly hope they are misinformed, because that would be horrible. You need cheap spells to start off w/, and as a match progresses, then you start using the more expensive spells. 20 spells should suffice, but 10? C'mon... I'm too interested in this game to be let down a week and a half before it comes out...:(

[Chihiro]

Well don't worry, it's not 10 spells. I mean come on, look at the demo - that's our most up-to-date and reliable source of information at this point. In the demo you get over 10 cards with each deck.

[Lone Dragon]

Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking. I mean, there are 15 slots for spell w/ Red, and 12 for Green... I started a thread on the various things I've heard. The most interesting, is the "no spell limits"...