I don't require Magic online, nor the purchase of real virtual cards. Notice that the core complaint of the OP is not the lack fo cards or the ability to purchase them but rather the lack of ability to customize your deck, which is a pretty fundamental aspect of a Magic. The game strip magic of Meta-gaming, mana management (oh dear god how how how???) and anticipatory strategies! How the hell can you still call it Magic?!?

Magic is a card game and when a video game uses the Magic franchise and is ALSO a card card (irregardless of the minor roleplaying) I expect a pretty similiar set of rules and concepts.

What the developer (and Wizard) have done here is deceitful at best. There is nothing wrong with using limited resources to create wonderful deck, open draft already does that with marvelous effeciency and fun. The big issue here is that the game strip away a lot of advance concept of Magic that completely ruins the playing expirience.

Take Facebreaker as an example, one look at the game's presentation and it's clear that its not taking itself seriously, that doesn't stop it from having the potential to be a good game. The end result however is an overly simplisitc button mashing farce with no depth and no fundamental link to actual boxing other than a pair gloves and a ring. (Kicks? weapons? One button??? really???) It was a shit game judged on its own merit, not because it was more 'casual friendly'.

If the criteria Twestern has stipulated are true (and again I must stressed that I have NOT played this game) then this game is heading for the same path. Expectation can change due to its presentation, price and market orientation however it should NOT be lowered to this degree.

This is not Magic, just like Facebreaker is not boxing; stop using a name to cash in on a franchise's success.

Make up a new game and stipulated a set of dumb down rule where meta-game, mana management and anticipatory strategy doesn't exist; there are plenty of other card games around all with pretty much the same set of fundamental ruleset as magic (most of them were inspired by magic anyways).

Have the balls to present the game as it is buddy, not hide behind the name of something more well known when you lack the resource and budget to make the game functional.

Here's a thought. does any other video game based on similiar card game exist on the market atm where basic deck building (meta game) is not accessable? I don't know but my guess is that there's precious little.

My verdict stand, call it Magic and its shit, call it generic fantasy card game v1.0 and (surpise suprise) I probably won't know it even exist.

So yea, as I said before, it's probably a great casual friendly game that is build around the concept of giving everyone a fair go, but its not Magic, its more like Magic 0.5... like a trial version for the real thing.

edit: Come to think of it, that's probably Wizard's intention, get player use to the game's core rule and addicted to the gameplay, then when they realize how limited the game actually is, in comes Wizard with the REAL deal (actual card game or Magic Online) which features all the things this game is missing, suddenly the noob is delighted that all these things they *wish* they could do was actually possible! Wow so you CAN built a deck from scratch afterall! Boy this will be so fun!

Sold my good sir!

*kachin$$$* says Wizard.

Well Wizard... stuff you *shake fist*

It's like this:

Me with an actual Magic card deck? Wouldn't happen in a million years!

Me downloading Magic: The Gathering on Xbox Live? Maybe in 500 years!

999,500 years difference! It may not be the popular decision, but with the less complicated, and more accessible release on XBL, there's no doubt that it was the right decision. In my opinion.

exactly.  This game wasn't made with hardcore magic players in mind.  It was made to get people that may not be interested in spending 500 dollars on building a deck to play.  For 10 bucks I love it, I haven't played magic in about 12 years, and here I am playing it again. 

I love the idea of balanced decks, I think it works and it doesn't put the hardcore magic players that have the advantage of years of experience at an advantage.  It puts everybody on a level playing field.  Who cares if it is all luck, 99% of card games are all about luck of the draw.  It works and it's fun.  Everybody should get it.

Well, Richard Garfield (game's creator) is playing online all day as well as several tournament champions so obviously there is love felt for the game in the magic community.

mysticD, look I like the game, you know I like the game. But serously deck building wouldn't break the system. So what if someone built a really kick ass power deck and smashed you with it, you would have the EXACT SAME cards and could then build that exact same deck. The main thing that unbalances magic is when it becomes about how many cards you buy. As long as no one is buying tons of cards it would still stay balanced. Now I know you say, well, everyone would just use the same decks. I don't agree. Maybe in a race for rank but who really cares about rank. Your average player would get tired of the same stupid combo over and over and would see playing the same deck constantly as a disservice to the fact that there were plenty of other decks to use. Your average player would want to play different strategies. So what if some cheese balls just exploit a certain build to win with. Play player matches and I promise it wouldn't be the same thing.

These guys are right, building your own deck is HALF the game of magic. But it is a double edged sword because you can always be one-upped by someone with better cards. That wouldn't be an issue here though so I think its perfectly workable.

I understand why they made it the way they did. I still love it and I'm having a lot of fun. MOST of the community is having fun with it to. You people showing up here saying "well twestern didn't like it so I must skip it" are just missing out. At least try the freaking demo. Everyone acts like it would physically hurt them to just try it, as mentioned above meanwhile the game's creator and some of the best players in the world are playing as we speak. On other forums I read about 20 posts and even LOOKED for negative posts and no one had anything bad to say. Maybe a few minor complaints but no one was saying "I hate this, it sucks."

But seriously, if they are not going to make it where you can build decks, fine, but they at least need to add the ability to take out the starting cards from your decks. There is no reason to still have bears and worms when you have much better cards later on. Plus it waters down the deck to have that crap stuck permanently in.

I find the limited deck customizing to be perplex at first also but after I read the designer's note I fully understand why this route was taken. I had play CCG competively in sanction environment for many years and there will always be meta deck that everyone used. In your example, you said I could just make the same deck but don't you see that's not what the designer want for this game. They don't want to turn this into a game for Pro CCG player. They want this to be fun simple game of Magic where new and veteran player can both enjoy it.

Deckbuilding is probably the hardest part (and require the most understanding of game mechanics) in any CCG gaming. May be you can I can put up a decent deck but how about people like my daughter or my son or my more casual gamer friends who have limited knowledge in gaming let alone card games. How fun would it be for them to play against our uber deck and get smash everytimes. Eventually those people will find the game boring (no one want to get beaten down every games) and they would lost interest and stop playing.

I have mention before about me playing SWCCG, that was one bitch of a game to learn. The reason the game never gain popularity is because it was so hard to learn. The new people would get stomp constantly and eventually the player based never grew (except for a few that willing to learn it). It's the same analogy here. Before these new players learn the deck building they would get bore and tired of beat down by the pro players. and turn off by the game and stop playing.

@mibuokami

Yes, you are 100 percent correct, this is what Wizard want from this game. To get people excited about magic so that may be next time they go to Target or Wal-mart they would pick up the starter pack and get deeper into the world of CCG. Or get those old players that have long quit to start playing and try the Magic On-line.

Well, to be as condescending as you I could said there are people who think they know what game is bad because they said so.  

The designer of the game said why the deck building aspect of the game was remove and that is enough of the reason for me.  As an ex-CCG players do I find the removal of that elements somewhat jarring (just the same way the designer of this game was fighting Wizard to not remove this aspect of the game) but after watching my kids play the game and able to enjoy it without all the fuzz of deckbuilding or playing against Mr. suitcase I perfectly understand the wisdom behind it.

It's may not be the game you want it to be, but it's not by any mean a "bad" game.  

No, its not a bad game, the core gameplay is still enjoyable to most newbies to the series and even some veteran.

It is however a bad Magic game because they stripped away too many fundamental rules. There is no reason why they can't create a more advance ruleset that encompass deck building, mana management etc etc, the programming behind it would not be hard, nor would the framework be missing. They chose not to do it because they want new player to get into real Magic where their largest profit margin lies.

Like I said previously, this isn't really a full game as it is a cocktease for the real Magic.

And I also disagree with  the concept of killer deck, when I see a killer deck in action, the first thing I want to do is find a way to beat it not emulate it. For every 100 'meme' person out there, there will be a guy who sits down and think to himself: 'ok how do you rape this deck with the tools I am given?' Frequently, that one person is all thats needed to change the playing field. No deck is perfect, every deck has at least some weakness to be exploited, thats the way magic is built.

For example, I played competitively during 5th edition when Recurring Nightmare deck encompass more than half the playing field of tournaments, they are killer decks but no deck is perfect, the winner of the local comp was land destruction deck who  could have destroy any nightmare and blue control deck around (the other popular build at the tourney) I played a white weenie, I would have destroy the land destruction deck with ease but the Nightmare deck would have given me issues. I came 8th and eventually lost to card grinder deck (after beating a nightmare deck too!)

Paper > Rock > Scissors: When you're playing card games like magic, anything but the very top of the professional playing field is bound to contain variety.

You pretty answer your the question why this is the dumb down Magic in your post so in essence we do agree that it is Magic Lite (and that what it is).

Again, not sure what people were really expecting. It's suppose to be Arcade game ie fun, short butst of game with little fuzz. Pick a deck and have a go at it kind of thing.

Agree to disagree then :p

I still think its a bad game, but I can understand the perspective of someone that enjoys this.

Edge gave it an "8" so it can't be that "bad" of a game, consider Edge is usually pretty hash especially on download stufff.