Magic: The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalker 2013 announced

Wizards of the Coast revealed a new chapter in the Magic: The Gathering video game series, dubbed Magic: The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013. Due this summer, the sequel will introduce a brand new story and gameplay features when it arrives for PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, PC digital stores, and – in a franchise first – Apple's App store.

The sequel is coming from Stainless Games, makers of the first Magic: The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers in 2009, and the 2011 sequel. It will include new decks, new challenges, a Planechase multiplayer rmode based on the forthcoming Planechase decks, and the option for more advanced players to manually tap lands. The 2013 iteration will also re-introduce the dragon Planeswalker Nicol Bolas as the game's main baddie.

“We are incredibly proud of our work with Wizards of the Coast,” said Patrick Buckland, CEO of Stainless Games Ltd. “We we are confident that Duels 2013 will be the best version of the game yet!”

Magic: The Gathering has carved out a respectable home in digital stores. According to Worth Wolpert, Director of Digital Games for the series, the first two games have been downloaded over two million times since debuting back in 2009. The second game even made Microsoft's top 10 list for most downloaded XBLA Arcade titles in 2011 (see Xbox Live's top games of 2011 revealed). Read our original Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers review to see where it all began.