I started playing Magic for the first time about a year ago. My friend is an avid paper Magic player, and I've always been interested, just have never took the plunge. One day I got home and poked around for an accessible introduction to Magic. I found DotP 2013 on Xbox Live for next to nothing, so I bought it and started playing. I was hooked.
I purchased DotP 2014 when it came out and really enjoyed the sealed play feature, so 2013 went to the back burner for a few months. Now, I don't consider myself a good Magic player; I win about 65% of the games I play online, but I feel like I've gained enough of an understanding of the game to provide useful feedback. I regularly watch DotP YouTubers such as IzDaisho, Tek, Headkase, etc. and have learned a lot from watching them play and build decks.
DotP 2015
Here are my opinions, in the form of pros and cons, about the newest edition. I'll explicate where I feel necessary, but if something's still unclear, I welcome any questions or comments.
Note: I've logged about 15 hours so far. I've completed the campaign, done a few of the "challenges," and have spent a few hours in Multiplayer.
Pros
+ Deck Building
I believe this to be the best feature of 2015. In previous years, deck builds were rather limited since you were only able to build decks using the premades from the campaign, or from opening boosters in sealed play. The ability to use the entire library for any given deck build is a welcome change and it's really the only thing keeping me interested at this point.
+ Campaign Opponent AI
While there still exist a few fights against AI opponents that feel a bit gimmicky, for the most part, each fight feels much more organic than in previous editions. No longer do opponents draw the same cards in the same order for each game. It's a much more interactive and dynamic experience should you fail to beat the opponent during your first encounter.
Yep, that's about it.
Cons
- UI
I feel like they've leaned heavily towards touch devices for this installment. UI performance is inconsistent at best; at worst, it's buggy, unresponsive, unintuitive, and clunky. Using the mouse wheel will sometimes scroll through menu options, and other times it won't. Actions will sometimes register, and other times will not. I've yet to find a pattern indicating any potential issues on my end. Some have complained of sluggish performance. I haven't experienced this, but I occasionally notice FPS drops at the beginning of a game, that will disappear a few turns in.
- Mana Tapping
The accuracy of the algorithms for deciding which lands are tapped for a given spell are at an all-time low. I'm not sure what happened, or if an algorithm even exists anymore, because I've found myself using L-Cntrl almost every turn in which it's relevant. Not a huge deal to me, but still rather annoying.
- Sloppy Communication Re Early-Game Choices
Before completing the tutorial (which you must do in order to even start the campaign), you are forced to choose a starting deck. At no point during the process are you informed that this decision is set in stone until you've completed enough of the campaign to unlock enough cards to alter your deck. The descriptions given for each color choice and combination are somewhat accurate, but only in the most general sense, as they give you no indication about what cards you're actually going to be using. The inability to change your deck is and will be a source of great frustration for many players, as was the case for me. I actually ended up having to find my save, delete it, and start over, since some of the starting combinations are so poorly put together, they're almost unplayable. This brings me to the next bullet.
- Incredibly Weak Starting Decks/Card Pool
Most of the archetypes are not playable until you've almost completed the campaign due to the extremely poor deck composition you're given to start with. I really feel like I'm being subtly urged to purchase cards by way of frustrating encounters with campaign opponents who're dropping tropical islands and mythics, while I'm stuck with a deck full of mediocre creatures lacking any coherence.
- Uninteresting Meta (so far)
Even after unlocking all of the cards, which is only possible by purchasing premium boosters, the cards they've decided to include in this version seem to neuter creativity. Without much mass removal, I'm seeing non-stop token and weenie builds. Maybe an occasional Orzhov Hurt & Heal by way of Sanguine Bond and Extort, but most of what I see is an abuse of Mentor of the Meek, Raise the Alarm, Seraph of the Masses, and Trip Spirits. The synergy is almost too good to ignore. I haven't played in a couple days, so maybe, hopefully, some players have mustered some type of ramping deck to counter all the mono white and G/W weenie aggro that's been so pervasive since release. I don't yet have all of the cards unlocked, so I'm pretty much forced into weenie aggro if I want to be competitive in multiplayer.
- Pay Model
The fact that you can't unlock all of the cards without paying for the premium boosters leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. You know, I wouldn't mind paying some money if we had the ability to trade/sell our cards, but given the limitations on the series, the fact that they've introduced a markup of almost 400% into a game in which they've removed features makes this installment feel like a cash-grab. It's a shame too, because I know many potential Magic players will turn away from this amazing game after being made to feel like an entry in an excel spreadsheet.
- No Rematches!
After playing my first multiplayer game, I was promptly sent back to the menus without the option to play another game with my opponent. I can't describe how jarring this felt, and how counter-intuitive it is to creating healthy, interactive competition. I see no logical reason for this to happen and only hope something changes with a future patch. In previous editions, I really enjoyed playing a series of games with an opponent; making adjustments to my playstyle and deck as needed to suit each new encounter/playstyle.
In Closing
I'm pretty disappointed with this installment. I feel like they've botched a major opportunity to capitalize on the exposure consoles and tablets give a product. I realize businesses need to turn profits, but how they go about doing it is extremely important. In the end, if your customers are given a sloppy, stale product, you not only fail in maintaining the integrity of your company name, but you'll also cut into your profits after those who've been duped into buying a subpar product tell their friends to stay away. The power that "Word-of-mouth" has this day-in-age is at an all-time high due to the efficiency of internet communication. After reading a tweet by Worth regarding DotP 2015, I've little hope that any improvements will be made to this year's edition. I just hope they learn from their mistakes and make 2016 a priority. It would be fiscally naive to do otherwise.
If you've read my (incredibly amateur) review, thank you for your time. Please share your thoughts about the game, or any issues you have with what I've said. Thank you! =]
On the 360 it allowed me to have multiple games against the same player. I guess it's different depending on the platform. One gripe I have about Online play is you can't switch decks between rematches without leaving the lobby, so you're stuck playing the same decks.
The starting decks are pretty sub-par, but not enough to where you can't get enough boosters early on. I was able to go undefeated through Innistrad with a slightly tweaked Gruul starter deck.
There are some bugs, but hopefully those will be patched soon as well as the AI mana tapping, but ultimately you have to remember to manually cycle your mana options (which takes a while to get in the habit of).
I can definitely see the meta being a problem, but there will be DLCs released with new cards added, so hopefully, like with formats such as Standard, the meta will evolve to find a balance. But you also have to understand that a good amount of players will build the best decks no matter what and any of us who build fun decks will have to deal with it.
As a long time Magic player(on and off since '97) I'm actually really happy with the game and I have a lot of fun deck brewing with the limited card pool and that's even without the Premium cards. Sure, the microtransactions are a bit unsavory, but you also had to buy new decks in previous installments and I don't feel the Premiums are all too necessary to building great decks. This is a step in the right direction and hopefully they will pay attention to reviews and make a much better game next year that keeps the deck building feature. I understand some of your issues with the game though, but I have differing opinions (which is just what my statements are, opinions).
I did enjoy seeing what you thought about it though, especially since you seem like an exclusive DotP Magic player.
On the 360 it allowed me to have multiple games against the same player. I guess it's different depending on the platform. One gripe I have about Online play is you can't switch decks between rematches without leaving the lobby, so you're stuck playing the same decks.
The starting decks are pretty sub-par, but not enough to where you can't get enough boosters early on. I was able to go undefeated through Innistrad with a slightly tweaked Gruul starter deck.
There are some bugs, but hopefully those will be patched soon as well as the AI mana tapping, but ultimately you have to remember to manually cycle your mana options (which takes a while to get in the habit of).
I can definitely see the meta being a problem, but there will be DLCs released with new cards added, so hopefully, like with formats such as Standard, the meta will evolve to find a balance. But you also have to understand that a good amount of players will build the best decks no matter what and any of us who build fun decks will have to deal with it.
As a long time Magic player(on and off since '97) I'm actually really happy with the game and I have a lot of fun deck brewing with the limited card pool and that's even without the Premium cards. Sure, the microtransactions are a bit unsavory, but you also had to buy new decks in previous installments and I don't feel the Premiums are all too necessary to building great decks. This is a step in the right direction and hopefully they will pay attention to reviews and make a much better game next year that keeps the deck building feature. I understand some of your issues with the game though, but I have differing opinions (which is just what my statements are, opinions).
I did enjoy seeing what you thought about it though, especially since you seem like an exclusive DotP Magic player.
Thank you for your thoughts!
I haven't gotten into MTGO yet, although I will say I've given it some serious thought over the last couple days. I realize it will be more expensive, but I'll also own the cards, so...
I'm often guilty of over-hyping a game in my mind, and I'm open to the possibility that's what has happened here. I will definitely be playing more before the fall semester starts, so maybe some of my disappointments will wane after more experimentation.
Hopefully it will seem better in a bit. If it does, please add an update to this thread once it has sunk in a bit more. I play paper Magic, so I can't speak much for MTGO, but I've been tempted to try it lately mainly for Pauper since my friends don't play that format.
On a side note there was a thread started in which people are posting and discussing deck lists for DotP. Perhaps you could post some of your lists and get feedback on how to help against tokens and other decks you may find problematic. Here's the thread!
I dislike the pay-for-premium model, but I'm mystified at people complaining about the grind to get regular cards. When has that NOT been the case for a dotp game? You usually unlock at least 2-3 good cards for your deck per duel at the beginning, compared to 1 or 0 in previous duels installments. I guess the decks also start weaker, but then the duels are also easier so whatever. I didn't even notice the explore nodes and still finished the game without any problems. Compared to how annoying some duels were in previous games (the clones duel and nicol bolas being standouts in obnoxiousness) all the duels in this game were cake. And if you're complaining about multiplayer - well, you'd be an idiot to think you have a good chance without grinding (or buying) all the cards for your deck, regardless of which dotp game you're playing.
I haven't played a TON (< 10 games I think) of multiplayer, but I've yet to see a token build.
The mana tapping is really annoying when using guildgates, it can take a LOT of cycling before you get the combination you wanted.
As I said, I dislike the premium model, but that said most of the premium cards aren't that great. White has some pretty good ones, but red I don't think I'd want to play any of them. When I saw sfm in the premium list I was worried, but honestly SFM sorta sucks in this game, there's barely anything worth fetching with her.
The UI is a bit sluggish because of the fog animations and such. Kind of annoying but not THAT bad. More annoying is the multiplayer issues where abilities don't activate when you tell them to.
People have complained about the loss of archenemy/planechase but personally I'm fine with that. I loathed planechase, that format is just the worst.
Anyway, overall I think this edition is fine. I really like being able to build my own deck, so that makes up for a lot of smaller stuff. I think people would have been ok with it if it wasn't for the premium boosters, but those put a bad taste in everyone's mouth right from the start so they found other reasons to hate it.
I started playing Magic for the first time about a year ago. My friend is an avid paper Magic player, and I've always been interested, just have never took the plunge. One day I got home and poked around for an accessible introduction to Magic. I found DotP 2013 on Xbox Live for next to nothing, so I bought it and started playing. I was hooked.
I purchased DotP 2014 when it came out and really enjoyed the sealed play feature, so 2013 went to the back burner for a few months. Now, I don't consider myself a good Magic player; I win about 65% of the games I play online, but I feel like I've gained enough of an understanding of the game to provide useful feedback. I regularly watch DotP YouTubers such as IzDaisho, Tek, Headkase, etc. and have learned a lot from watching them play and build decks.
DotP 2015
Here are my opinions, in the form of pros and cons, about the newest edition. I'll explicate where I feel necessary, but if something's still unclear, I welcome any questions or comments.
Note: I've logged about 15 hours so far. I've completed the campaign, done a few of the "challenges," and have spent a few hours in Multiplayer.
Pros
+ Deck Building
I believe this to be the best feature of 2015. In previous years, deck builds were rather limited since you were only able to build decks using the premades from the campaign, or from opening boosters in sealed play. The ability to use the entire library for any given deck build is a welcome change and it's really the only thing keeping me interested at this point.
+ Campaign Opponent AI
While there still exist a few fights against AI opponents that feel a bit gimmicky, for the most part, each fight feels much more organic than in previous editions. No longer do opponents draw the same cards in the same order for each game. It's a much more interactive and dynamic experience should you fail to beat the opponent during your first encounter.
Yep, that's about it.
Cons
- UI
I feel like they've leaned heavily towards touch devices for this installment. UI performance is inconsistent at best; at worst, it's buggy, unresponsive, unintuitive, and clunky. Using the mouse wheel will sometimes scroll through menu options, and other times it won't. Actions will sometimes register, and other times will not. I've yet to find a pattern indicating any potential issues on my end. Some have complained of sluggish performance. I haven't experienced this, but I occasionally notice FPS drops at the beginning of a game, that will disappear a few turns in.
- Mana Tapping
The accuracy of the algorithms for deciding which lands are tapped for a given spell are at an all-time low. I'm not sure what happened, or if an algorithm even exists anymore, because I've found myself using L-Cntrl almost every turn in which it's relevant. Not a huge deal to me, but still rather annoying.
- Sloppy Communication Re Early-Game Choices
Before completing the tutorial (which you must do in order to even start the campaign), you are forced to choose a starting deck. At no point during the process are you informed that this decision is set in stone until you've completed enough of the campaign to unlock enough cards to alter your deck. The descriptions given for each color choice and combination are somewhat accurate, but only in the most general sense, as they give you no indication about what cards you're actually going to be using. The inability to change your deck is and will be a source of great frustration for many players, as was the case for me. I actually ended up having to find my save, delete it, and start over, since some of the starting combinations are so poorly put together, they're almost unplayable. This brings me to the next bullet.
- Incredibly Weak Starting Decks/Card Pool
Most of the archetypes are not playable until you've almost completed the campaign due to the extremely poor deck composition you're given to start with. I really feel like I'm being subtly urged to purchase cards by way of frustrating encounters with campaign opponents who're dropping tropical islands and mythics, while I'm stuck with a deck full of mediocre creatures lacking any coherence.
- Uninteresting Meta (so far)
Even after unlocking all of the cards, which is only possible by purchasing premium boosters, the cards they've decided to include in this version seem to neuter creativity. Without much mass removal, I'm seeing non-stop token and weenie builds. Maybe an occasional Orzhov Hurt & Heal by way of Sanguine Bond and Extort, but most of what I see is an abuse of Mentor of the Meek, Raise the Alarm, Seraph of the Masses, and Trip Spirits. The synergy is almost too good to ignore. I haven't played in a couple days, so maybe, hopefully, some players have mustered some type of ramping deck to counter all the mono white and G/W weenie aggro that's been so pervasive since release. I don't yet have all of the cards unlocked, so I'm pretty much forced into weenie aggro if I want to be competitive in multiplayer.
- Pay Model
The fact that you can't unlock all of the cards without paying for the premium boosters leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. You know, I wouldn't mind paying some money if we had the ability to trade/sell our cards, but given the limitations on the series, the fact that they've introduced a markup of almost 400% into a game in which they've removed features makes this installment feel like a cash-grab. It's a shame too, because I know many potential Magic players will turn away from this amazing game after being made to feel like an entry in an excel spreadsheet.
- No Rematches!
After playing my first multiplayer game, I was promptly sent back to the menus without the option to play another game with my opponent. I can't describe how jarring this felt, and how counter-intuitive it is to creating healthy, interactive competition. I see no logical reason for this to happen and only hope something changes with a future patch. In previous editions, I really enjoyed playing a series of games with an opponent; making adjustments to my playstyle and deck as needed to suit each new encounter/playstyle.
In Closing
I'm pretty disappointed with this installment. I feel like they've botched a major opportunity to capitalize on the exposure consoles and tablets give a product. I realize businesses need to turn profits, but how they go about doing it is extremely important. In the end, if your customers are given a sloppy, stale product, you not only fail in maintaining the integrity of your company name, but you'll also cut into your profits after those who've been duped into buying a subpar product tell their friends to stay away. The power that "Word-of-mouth" has this day-in-age is at an all-time high due to the efficiency of internet communication. After reading a tweet by Worth regarding DotP 2015, I've little hope that any improvements will be made to this year's edition. I just hope they learn from their mistakes and make 2016 a priority. It would be fiscally naive to do otherwise.
If you've read my (incredibly amateur) review, thank you for your time. Please share your thoughts about the game, or any issues you have with what I've said. Thank you! =]
The starting decks are pretty sub-par, but not enough to where you can't get enough boosters early on. I was able to go undefeated through Innistrad with a slightly tweaked Gruul starter deck.
There are some bugs, but hopefully those will be patched soon as well as the AI mana tapping, but ultimately you have to remember to manually cycle your mana options (which takes a while to get in the habit of).
I can definitely see the meta being a problem, but there will be DLCs released with new cards added, so hopefully, like with formats such as Standard, the meta will evolve to find a balance. But you also have to understand that a good amount of players will build the best decks no matter what and any of us who build fun decks will have to deal with it.
As a long time Magic player(on and off since '97) I'm actually really happy with the game and I have a lot of fun deck brewing with the limited card pool and that's even without the Premium cards. Sure, the microtransactions are a bit unsavory, but you also had to buy new decks in previous installments and I don't feel the Premiums are all too necessary to building great decks. This is a step in the right direction and hopefully they will pay attention to reviews and make a much better game next year that keeps the deck building feature. I understand some of your issues with the game though, but I have differing opinions (which is just what my statements are, opinions).
I did enjoy seeing what you thought about it though, especially since you seem like an exclusive DotP Magic player.
Thank you for your thoughts!
I haven't gotten into MTGO yet, although I will say I've given it some serious thought over the last couple days. I realize it will be more expensive, but I'll also own the cards, so...
I'm often guilty of over-hyping a game in my mind, and I'm open to the possibility that's what has happened here. I will definitely be playing more before the fall semester starts, so maybe some of my disappointments will wane after more experimentation.
On a side note there was a thread started in which people are posting and discussing deck lists for DotP. Perhaps you could post some of your lists and get feedback on how to help against tokens and other decks you may find problematic. Here's the thread!
I haven't played a TON (< 10 games I think) of multiplayer, but I've yet to see a token build.
The mana tapping is really annoying when using guildgates, it can take a LOT of cycling before you get the combination you wanted.
As I said, I dislike the premium model, but that said most of the premium cards aren't that great. White has some pretty good ones, but red I don't think I'd want to play any of them. When I saw sfm in the premium list I was worried, but honestly SFM sorta sucks in this game, there's barely anything worth fetching with her.
The UI is a bit sluggish because of the fog animations and such. Kind of annoying but not THAT bad. More annoying is the multiplayer issues where abilities don't activate when you tell them to.
People have complained about the loss of archenemy/planechase but personally I'm fine with that. I loathed planechase, that format is just the worst.
Anyway, overall I think this edition is fine. I really like being able to build my own deck, so that makes up for a lot of smaller stuff. I think people would have been ok with it if it wasn't for the premium boosters, but those put a bad taste in everyone's mouth right from the start so they found other reasons to hate it.
EDH Primers
Phelddagrif - Zirilan
EDH
Thrasios+Bruse - Pang - Sasaya - Wydwen - Feather - Rona - Toshiro - Sylvia+Khorvath - Geth - QMarchesa - Firesong - Athreos - Arixmethes - Isperia - Etali - Silas+Sidar - Saskia - Virtus+Gorm - Kynaios - Naban - Aryel - Mizzix - Kazuul - Tymna+Kraum - Sidar+Tymna - Ayli - Gwendlyn - Phelddagrif 4 - Liliana - Kaervek - Phelddagrif 3 - Mairsil - Scarab - Child - Phenax - Shirei - Thada - Depala - Circu - Kytheon - GrenzoHR - Phelddagrif - Reyhan+Kraum - Toshiro - Varolz - Nin - Ojutai - Tasigur - Zedruu - Uril - Edric - Wort - Zurgo - Nahiri - Grenzo - Kozilek - Yisan - Ink-Treader - Yisan - Brago - Sidisi - Toshiro - Alexi - Sygg - Brimaz - Sek'Kuar - Marchesa - Vish Kal - Iroas - Phelddagrif - Ephara - Derevi - Glissa - Wanderer - Saffi - Melek - Xiahou Dun - Lazav - Lin Sivvi - Zirilan - Glissa
PDH - Drake - Graverobber - Izzet GM - Tallowisp - Symbiote Brawl - Feather - Ugin - Jace - Scarab - Angrath - Vraska - Kumena Oathbreaker - Wrenn&6