Magic 2015 finally lets you build decks from scratch

After many moons spent playing premade decks in the Duels of the Planeswalkers series, it's finally happening. The upcoming Magic 2015 entry in the franchise delivers what developer Wizards of the Coasts calls "the full deckbuilding experience." At long last, you have the power to determine the number of lands, basic or non-basic, and the number of copies of each card (up to four each) that make the cut for your 60-card deck. In other words, this is the closest that DotP has come to replicating actual Magic: The Gathering yet.

If you've played any of the previous downloadable Magic games, you should be familiar with the formula. Like its predecessors, Magic 2015 is the perfect introduction to the storied card game if you're a beginner, while still giving advanced players more than enough challenge. Your AI adversaries are as smart as you want them to be, acting as incrementally difficult roadblocks in a story that revolves around the now-corrupted Garruk Wildspeaker hunting you down. Magic 2015 starts you off with a multi-color deck of your choosing, themed with the Ravnica set in mind. Veterans will appreciate how much cleaner the interface is this time around, complete with a literal Red Zone when your creatures wade into battle.

The deckbuilder should extend Magic 2015's lifespan by a huge margin, with over 300 unique cards to choose from and microtransaction booster packs expanding your library further. For anyone who just winced, calm down--Magic: The Gathering, like any CCG, is just a series of microtransactions, so you may want to reassess your outlook. In any case, virtual cardfloppers should enjoy cooking up all kinds of unique decks once Magic 2015 releases around the same time as the newest real-life core set.

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