I made the mistake of making a MtGO account. Okay, hundreds of cards is pretty sweet, but it's gonna take me to hell and back trying to make a DotP quality deck. Also, it's as slow as molasses. I wish there was a way to just make the DotP 2012 decks swiftly.
EDIT - Okaaaay, it seems DotP 2012 is actually Wizards of the Coast's way of pimping cards that don't exist! Still, taking the trip to Sci Fi City to get my card has my interest piqued. I'll consider using online play on my laptop. I cannot go paper. I leave for Active Duty in one year.
Ancient Depths keeps getting me killed, or near killed, but I love it so much. I keep ending up with high power creatures too early. I think I have too many. But if I have the elf summoner, oooohhh mana becomes irrelevant.
So, I fully unlocked Jace's deck tonight, and I have to say that Im not really feeling that deck as all that fun to play. It wins easily enough, but doesn't feel all that fun to play. Compared to the DOTP original decks for Jace, this seems kinda lame.
Im also trying to unlock the artifact deck, but I cannot really get this deck working well. My stone overseer's are so weak to removal. Playing Chandra and Sorin with this deck is just painful (particularly on Revenge Planeswalker difficulty). I can see this working really well against Ancient Depths or Strength of Stone, but I must be missing something on how to play this well.
Im also trying to unlock the artifact deck, but I cannot really get this deck working well. My stone overseer's are so weak to removal. Playing Chandra and Sorin with this deck is just painful (particularly on Revenge Planeswalker difficulty). I can see this working really well against Ancient Depths or Strength of Stone, but I must be missing something on how to play this well.
Remove all the white cards from the artifact deck and keep in the cheap, low mana creatures it unlocks (remove most of the higher cost artifact creatures like Razorfield Thresher except for the best like Wurmcoil Engine and a couple of the others). With an Etherium Sculptor in play you'll be able to throw down dudes in a hurry, with a pair of them (which does happen sometimes) you'll literally be throwing many of them down for 0-1 mana and your best guys will be like 3. Also ditch Shape Anew and Darksteel Colossus. The former is pointless in a deck brimming with artifacts (you'll rarely replace one thing with a larger) and the latter is too expensive in a deck with no mana acceleration and no way to reliably cheat him out otherwise.
Also, in general always make sure you keep your deck at 60 cards and don't play those artifacts that gain you life for playing a spell of a certain color (except perhaps in multiplayer if you and a buddy are going to play decks with the same colors).
So, I fully unlocked Jace's deck tonight, and I have to say that Im not really feeling that deck as all that fun to play. It wins easily enough, but doesn't feel all that fun to play. Compared to the DOTP original decks for Jace, this seems kinda lame.
Im also trying to unlock the artifact deck, but I cannot really get this deck working well. My stone overseer's are so weak to removal. Playing Chandra and Sorin with this deck is just painful (particularly on Revenge Planeswalker difficulty). I can see this working really well against Ancient Depths or Strength of Stone, but I must be missing something on how to play this well.
Im also trying to unlock the artifact deck, but I cannot really get this deck working well. My stone overseer's are so weak to removal. Playing Chandra and Sorin with this deck is just painful (particularly on Revenge Planeswalker difficulty). I can see this working really well against Ancient Depths or Strength of Stone, but I must be missing something on how to play this well.
Remove all the white cards from the artifact deck and keep in the cheap, low mana creatures it unlocks (remove most of the higher cost artifact creatures like Razorfield Thresher except for the best like Wurmcoil Engine and a couple of the others). With an Etherium Sculptor in play you'll be able to throw down dudes in a hurry, with a pair of them (which does happen sometimes) you'll literally be throwing many of them down for 0-1 mana and your best guys will be like 3. Also ditch Shape Anew and Darksteel Colossus. The former is pointless in a deck brimming with artifacts (you'll rarely replace one thing with a larger) and the latter is too expensive in a deck with no mana acceleration and no way to reliably cheat him out otherwise.
Also, in general always make sure you keep your deck at 60 cards and don't play those artifacts that gain you life for playing a spell of a certain color (except perhaps in multiplayer if you and a buddy are going to play decks with the same colors).
I haven't picked up 2012 as I have yet to unlock all the cards/decks from the last expansion of the previous game, but seeing an opponent play one of those life gain artifacts is always a reason for smile and an upward revision of your chances of winning.
They aren't bad as such. Just really not as good as almost any more directly attacking a card that they are taking the place of.
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MaddocI'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother?Registered Userregular
edited June 2011
Generally speaking, and of course there are specific exceptions (though none I can think of in DotP), a card that gains life but doesn't do anything else is usually suboptimal
In that virtually any other card would have been more useful
In 1v1, the life gain artifacts are absolutely awful. You have to remember, at its core, Magic is a battle of resources. Spending a card in your deck/hand that does nothing but gain you some life does nothing to help you actively win, but merely try to prevent loss. Whether you're at 1 life or 100, once your opponent hits 0 you win. The tidbits of life you get from them are almost never worth the space in your deck or the time it spent to cast them (particularly if you could be playing a 2 power creature to start hitting your opponent with). Also keep in mind they're near worthless late game, when you're looking for anything to help finish things up.
They gain some small value in multiplayer, but even then I wouldn't play them unless I'm doing 2v2 or Archenemy and I know my buddies / enemies are going to be playing the colors I gain the life from as well. Those games usually last longer, so the life gain can be more prominent so long as you know there's going to be enough of it around. Also, if you keep an eye out, you'll notice there are several cards in the game (usually 1-2 in each deck) that gain more value in multiplayer (like Hunters' Feast, New Frontiers, Sizzle, etc). It's definitely worth tuning a deck for what mode you're playing beforehand.
Your opponent plays Lightning Elemental (4/1, haste) and doesn't swing because he doesn't want to trade.
Runeclaw Bear just gained you four life.
Next turn you do nothing and he plays a second Lightning Elemental and swings with both. You trade.
Runeclaw Bear just gained you 8 life and killed an opponent's creature on his way out. Where with the lifegain artifact, you've taken 12 damage and are facing death next turn without a play.
Taking it even further, if that next turn you draw another Runeclaw Bear, you're in good shape. If you draw another lifegain artifact, you just lose. So if Runeclaw Bear is better in more situations than the artifact, and Runeclaw Bear is a HIGHLY mediocre creature in the first place ...
Holy shit, 2 headed giant with the black deck and the dragon deck is a brutal combination. Me and a buddy ran it last night and just destroyed everyone in our path. The only time we did lose was when i literally only had 3 non-land cards the entire game. Just so much removal, we can take out almost any early threat easily and be beating them down with massive dragons and super beefed up vampires late game.
Just finished the revenge mode. Defeated Karn before he could play a single creature. Go white deck!
The artifacts deck is a beast, so is the vampire deck. (yeah I don't know the names) But they all seems pretty weak compared to the old magic game. I wish they could do some sort of cross-over... but they probably would charge you for that as well!
Oh, and if anybody want my "special xbox titan card code", PM me. I'm from Québec so I can't get it because of a stupid law.
In 1v1, the life gain artifacts are absolutely awful. You have to remember, at its core, Magic is a battle of resources. Spending a card in your deck/hand that does nothing but gain you some life does nothing to help you actively win, but merely try to prevent loss. Whether you're at 1 life or 100, once your opponent hits 0 you win. The tidbits of life you get from them are almost never worth the space in your deck or the time it spent to cast them (particularly if you could be playing a 2 power creature to start hitting your opponent with). Also keep in mind they're near worthless late game, when you're looking for anything to help finish things up.
They gain some small value in multiplayer, but even then I wouldn't play them unless I'm doing 2v2 or Archenemy and I know my buddies / enemies are going to be playing the colors I gain the life from as well. Those games usually last longer, so the life gain can be more prominent so long as you know there's going to be enough of it around. Also, if you keep an eye out, you'll notice there are several cards in the game (usually 1-2 in each deck) that gain more value in multiplayer (like Hunters' Feast, New Frontiers, Sizzle, etc). It's definitely worth tuning a deck for what mode you're playing beforehand.
The only deck where its worth even thinking about the life gain artifacts is the artifacts deck, and that's because you really need metalcraft immediately and the artificer makes them cheap. They also do become a bit useful combined with the copying artifact and some artificers. Laying an ornithopter for zero and gaining a land and 6 life is pretty good.
Still, even in artifacts they are marginal and situational except in multiplayer where your allies and opponents all are playing lots of artifacts.
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"That is cool" - Abraham Lincoln
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Descendant XSkyrim is my god now.Outpost 31Registered Userregular
edited June 2011
I found that the only really great lifegain card is Venser's Journal, and that's because you also have no maximum hand size after it's been played in addition to life gained for every card in your hand.
Sadly, they should have put it in Ancient Depths rather than Machinations.
Descendant X on
Garry: I know you gentlemen have been through a lot, but when you find the time I'd rather not spend the rest of the winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!
I want to know why Glazing Gladeheart (gain 2 life when you stick down land) is not in Ancient Depths. Understandably, it doesn't fit the undersea theme well (or of putting down more like like coiling oracle), but having two of those would undoubtedly have been better than Giant Octopus they originally had.
I want to know why Glazing Gladeheart (gain 2 life when you stick down land) is not in Ancient Depths. Understandably, it doesn't fit the undersea theme well (or of putting down more like like coiling oracle), but having two of those would undoubtedly have been better than Giant Octopus they originally had.
For the same reason the woodcrasher card from the old set isn't, it would be too good with the deck and give it too much synergy. Octopus just about works, but is deliberately weak so you have to rely on your big creatures coming soon.
Yeah, there's a few cards you see that you can't help but think "why is this not in THAT deck?" Venser's Journal and Psychosis Crawler would have both been great for Jace, for instance. You know, the guy who actually has a multitude of ways to draw cards and not have to play his single 4 mana artifact that only does it on playing more lands. Here's hoping some of the inevitable DLC cards for these decks include some Thirst for Knowledge cards for Tezzeret...
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FiggyFighter of the night manChampion of the sunRegistered Userregular
edited June 2011
So, is it just me, or have foil cards always been really fucky in these games? In the first as well as the second game, whenever a foil card is played the game pauses for a full second before it zooms up.
It's not game breaking or anything, but it's very noticeable, and I can imagine being entirely annoyed to no end if I ended up playing against an opponent who foiled their entire deck. I've upgraded my CPU, video card, and HDD in between the two games, so I really doubt it's a problem on my end.
Yeah, there's a few cards you see that you can't help but think "why is this not in THAT deck?" Venser's Journal and Psychosis Crawler would have both been great for Jace, for instance. You know, the guy who actually has a multitude of ways to draw cards and not have to play his single 4 mana artifact that only does it on playing more lands. Here's hoping some of the inevitable DLC cards for these decks include some Thirst for Knowledge cards for Tezzeret...
A lot of the time this is deliberate, and I expect it's more likely they will add new 'semi-synergistic' cards in the expansion rather than cards with perfect synergy. They are deliberately trying to control the power level here.
I the expansions I'd expect to see something like..
1 Multiplayer focused unlock for the deck
1 Unlock focused on the primary strategy
2 unlocks focused on the secondary strategy (or to add one if there isn't one)
A lot of the time this is deliberate, and I expect it's more likely they will add new 'semi-synergistic' cards in the expansion rather than cards with perfect synergy. They are deliberately trying to control the power level here.
Well of course they want to control the power level of the decks, but that can still be done without throwing in cards that make little to no sense in one deck when they fit perfectly in another. Vampires don't really have anything that off in them, for instance (Sangromancer probably comes the closest once Liliana's discard deck hits, but it still fits the theme with the other ability). Off the top of my head I don't remember Elves or the Equipment deck having cards like that, either, etc.
Though I'd say my bigger complaint is how some of the decks have their rares / mythics as cards they tend to want to pull. Tezzeret in particular has a lot of bad rares for his deck's style (Shape Anew, Darksteel Colossus, Venser's Journal) so on top of it's mana problems from starting out three colored it's little wonder people tend to see it as one of the weakest decks. Though I still think it's pretty competitive as long as you pull the white.
I have decided, I'm totally going to Friday Night Magic to observe. And when Core 2012 is released that's when I'll start purchasing.
I want to do this but I'm really just afraid of being the outsider
My friend knows some judges, and I think WotC pays these venues money to be friendly and inviting so they can more easily claim your wallet and soul. My local Sci Fi City had a big "How to Play Magic: The Gathering" cardboard booklet instructing the clerks on how to take any confuzzled guest and get a fast paced game going with them to get them interested.
Well the fact that I've visited the place in the past probably makes it easier for me. It's just when I go I'm gonna find the nearest clerk who's not occupied, introduce myself and say "hey I'm a noob who plays DotP whose come to observe.'
They tend to be super casual unless there's a bunch of rule nazis and pro-wannabes in the shop. It's rare but I've seen it happen. Those shops don't tend to be open for too long.
They tend to be super casual unless there's a bunch of rule nazis and pro-wannabes in the shop. It's rare but I've seen it happen. Those shops don't tend to be open for too long.
Is anyone else having a problem with Welome to the Pit on PC? It won't let me sac my creatures without negating the block and letting through the attackers. Its really annoying.
I really want to play the dek Karn uses.
Favorite deck so far is the ancient depths on, as you just pump out land and really thin your deck which is nice. I understand they are trying to balance the power level, but some of the decks are still really meh. Apex predaotrs and the strength of stone decks come to mind.
Vampire can be gross when you get out the equipment and do some saccing with vampires/summoned bats.
Make sure you wait until after the declare blockers step has gone by. The timings in this game is weird. And even after that, the lines showing them attacking you will still be there, but you won't take any damage
So I read the OP and I'm interested in getting this game. I've never played a Magic game before but I've always wanted to. Seem very fun.
My questions are:
How friendly is this to new players?
What should I buy this on? I own a ps3, 360, and a gaming PC. I don't have a preference.
Grove on
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FiggyFighter of the night manChampion of the sunRegistered Userregular
edited June 2011
There is a tutorial and in-game help for anything and everything. Every card has a 'more info' tab where you'll almost always clear up and confusion you might have of what it does. The challenges along the way (like little puzzles) teach you some finer points regarding possible card usage in specific situations.
Overall it's very newbie friendly. I actually got into Magic (very casually) after playing the first Planeswalkers game.
As for platform, get it where you'll feel the most comfortable. There's lots of reading, so that might be a factor.
So I read the OP and I'm interested in getting this game. I've never played a Magic game before but I've always wanted to. Seem very fun.
My questions are:
How friendly is this to new players?
What should I buy this on? I own a ps3, 360, and a gaming PC. I don't have a preference.
I suggest getting it on Steam simply because it's easier on the eyes for me than reading the cards on my HDTV.
YMMV.
Descendant X on
Garry: I know you gentlemen have been through a lot, but when you find the time I'd rather not spend the rest of the winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!
So I read the OP and I'm interested in getting this game. I've never played a Magic game before but I've always wanted to. Seem very fun.
My questions are:
How friendly is this to new players?
What should I buy this on? I own a ps3, 360, and a gaming PC. I don't have a preference.
I suggest getting it on Steam simply because it's easier on the eyes for me than reading the cards on my HDTV.
YMMV.
Yeah I got it on steam. It's cool but I must be the worst player ever. I'm awful. I can't get past the first guy in campaign mode.
I did the tutorial and I think I have a good enough understanding of the basic concepts, but fuck if I don't get my shit pushed in.
I put it on easy too. I really don't know what I can do differently at this point. Clearly it's something but it escapes me. I've tried both starter decks and I've faced the guy probably 10 times.
I keep running out of cards and my guys are shit compared to what the other guy gets. I can strike early but he just weathers the storm and busts out big damage after 7 turns.
I like it, but fuck it's frustrating.
Grove on
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FiggyFighter of the night manChampion of the sunRegistered Userregular
So I read the OP and I'm interested in getting this game. I've never played a Magic game before but I've always wanted to. Seem very fun.
My questions are:
How friendly is this to new players?
What should I buy this on? I own a ps3, 360, and a gaming PC. I don't have a preference.
I suggest getting it on Steam simply because it's easier on the eyes for me than reading the cards on my HDTV.
YMMV.
Yeah I got it on steam. It's cool but I must be the worst player ever. I'm awful. I can't get past the first guy in campaign mode.
I did the tutorial and I think I have a good enough understanding of the basic concepts, but fuck if I don't get my shit pushed in.
I put it on easy too. I really don't know what I can do differently at this point. Clearly it's something but it escapes me. I've tried both starter decks and I've faced the guy probably 10 times.
I keep running out of cards and my guys are shit compared to what the other guy gets. I can strike early but he just weathers the storm and busts out big damage after 7 turns.
I like it, but fuck it's frustrating.
If you're getting a bad starting hand, mulligan. The first one is free. Just press ESC and restart the duel if your second hand is also shit, you'll get one less card for each mulligan after the first otherwise.
Which deck are you using? If you're finding all your creatures are really wimpy, you're probably using the white deck. That's how it's designed. Try the green deck if you want bigger creatures.
It's really hit or miss sometimes with this game. I find that it seems like the AI cheats a lot. One time I was winning, and he came back with the red deck with like three or four burns, used a sorcery that gave us both brand new hands, and he continued to burn me to death.
Posts
At least that one has spells to just get rid of the vampire nighthawks (Terminate) and Zombify can win you a match if you keep a counterspell in hand.
Other than that, using mono green, restart continuously until you get a troll, blanchwood armor, and loxodon waraxe. Then it's cake.
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
EDIT - Okaaaay, it seems DotP 2012 is actually Wizards of the Coast's way of pimping cards that don't exist! Still, taking the trip to Sci Fi City to get my card has my interest piqued. I'll consider using online play on my laptop. I cannot go paper. I leave for Active Duty in one year.
Vicious little thing.
Im also trying to unlock the artifact deck, but I cannot really get this deck working well. My stone overseer's are so weak to removal. Playing Chandra and Sorin with this deck is just painful (particularly on Revenge Planeswalker difficulty). I can see this working really well against Ancient Depths or Strength of Stone, but I must be missing something on how to play this well.
Remove all the white cards from the artifact deck and keep in the cheap, low mana creatures it unlocks (remove most of the higher cost artifact creatures like Razorfield Thresher except for the best like Wurmcoil Engine and a couple of the others). With an Etherium Sculptor in play you'll be able to throw down dudes in a hurry, with a pair of them (which does happen sometimes) you'll literally be throwing many of them down for 0-1 mana and your best guys will be like 3. Also ditch Shape Anew and Darksteel Colossus. The former is pointless in a deck brimming with artifacts (you'll rarely replace one thing with a larger) and the latter is too expensive in a deck with no mana acceleration and no way to reliably cheat him out otherwise.
Also, in general always make sure you keep your deck at 60 cards and don't play those artifacts that gain you life for playing a spell of a certain color (except perhaps in multiplayer if you and a buddy are going to play decks with the same colors).
Realm of Illusions is being discussed here, how to trim the deck to perfection and all.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/624321-magic-the-gathering-duels-of-the-planeswalkers/59513036
I haven't picked up 2012 as I have yet to unlock all the cards/decks from the last expansion of the previous game, but seeing an opponent play one of those life gain artifacts is always a reason for smile and an upward revision of your chances of winning.
In that virtually any other card would have been more useful
They gain some small value in multiplayer, but even then I wouldn't play them unless I'm doing 2v2 or Archenemy and I know my buddies / enemies are going to be playing the colors I gain the life from as well. Those games usually last longer, so the life gain can be more prominent so long as you know there's going to be enough of it around. Also, if you keep an eye out, you'll notice there are several cards in the game (usually 1-2 in each deck) that gain more value in multiplayer (like Hunters' Feast, New Frontiers, Sizzle, etc). It's definitely worth tuning a deck for what mode you're playing beforehand.
You play Runeclaw Bear (2/2).
Your opponent plays Lightning Elemental (4/1, haste) and doesn't swing because he doesn't want to trade.
Runeclaw Bear just gained you four life.
Next turn you do nothing and he plays a second Lightning Elemental and swings with both. You trade.
Runeclaw Bear just gained you 8 life and killed an opponent's creature on his way out. Where with the lifegain artifact, you've taken 12 damage and are facing death next turn without a play.
Taking it even further, if that next turn you draw another Runeclaw Bear, you're in good shape. If you draw another lifegain artifact, you just lose. So if Runeclaw Bear is better in more situations than the artifact, and Runeclaw Bear is a HIGHLY mediocre creature in the first place ...
The artifacts deck is a beast, so is the vampire deck. (yeah I don't know the names) But they all seems pretty weak compared to the old magic game. I wish they could do some sort of cross-over... but they probably would charge you for that as well!
Oh, and if anybody want my "special xbox titan card code", PM me. I'm from Québec so I can't get it because of a stupid law.
The only deck where its worth even thinking about the life gain artifacts is the artifacts deck, and that's because you really need metalcraft immediately and the artificer makes them cheap. They also do become a bit useful combined with the copying artifact and some artificers. Laying an ornithopter for zero and gaining a land and 6 life is pretty good.
Still, even in artifacts they are marginal and situational except in multiplayer where your allies and opponents all are playing lots of artifacts.
Sadly, they should have put it in Ancient Depths rather than Machinations.
For the same reason the woodcrasher card from the old set isn't, it would be too good with the deck and give it too much synergy. Octopus just about works, but is deliberately weak so you have to rely on your big creatures coming soon.
It's not game breaking or anything, but it's very noticeable, and I can imagine being entirely annoyed to no end if I ended up playing against an opponent who foiled their entire deck. I've upgraded my CPU, video card, and HDD in between the two games, so I really doubt it's a problem on my end.
A lot of the time this is deliberate, and I expect it's more likely they will add new 'semi-synergistic' cards in the expansion rather than cards with perfect synergy. They are deliberately trying to control the power level here.
I the expansions I'd expect to see something like..
1 Multiplayer focused unlock for the deck
1 Unlock focused on the primary strategy
2 unlocks focused on the secondary strategy (or to add one if there isn't one)
Well of course they want to control the power level of the decks, but that can still be done without throwing in cards that make little to no sense in one deck when they fit perfectly in another. Vampires don't really have anything that off in them, for instance (Sangromancer probably comes the closest once Liliana's discard deck hits, but it still fits the theme with the other ability). Off the top of my head I don't remember Elves or the Equipment deck having cards like that, either, etc.
Though I'd say my bigger complaint is how some of the decks have their rares / mythics as cards they tend to want to pull. Tezzeret in particular has a lot of bad rares for his deck's style (Shape Anew, Darksteel Colossus, Venser's Journal) so on top of it's mana problems from starting out three colored it's little wonder people tend to see it as one of the weakest decks. Though I still think it's pretty competitive as long as you pull the white.
Wow, check your account and call xbox. They're actually quite competent.
I want to do this but I'm really just afraid of being the outsider
My friend knows some judges, and I think WotC pays these venues money to be friendly and inviting so they can more easily claim your wallet and soul. My local Sci Fi City had a big "How to Play Magic: The Gathering" cardboard booklet instructing the clerks on how to take any confuzzled guest and get a fast paced game going with them to get them interested.
Well the fact that I've visited the place in the past probably makes it easier for me. It's just when I go I'm gonna find the nearest clerk who's not occupied, introduce myself and say "hey I'm a noob who plays DotP whose come to observe.'
They tend to be super casual unless there's a bunch of rule nazis and pro-wannabes in the shop. It's rare but I've seen it happen. Those shops don't tend to be open for too long.
I plan on going to this.
I really want to play the dek Karn uses.
Favorite deck so far is the ancient depths on, as you just pump out land and really thin your deck which is nice. I understand they are trying to balance the power level, but some of the decks are still really meh. Apex predaotrs and the strength of stone decks come to mind.
Vampire can be gross when you get out the equipment and do some saccing with vampires/summoned bats.
My questions are:
How friendly is this to new players?
What should I buy this on? I own a ps3, 360, and a gaming PC. I don't have a preference.
Overall it's very newbie friendly. I actually got into Magic (very casually) after playing the first Planeswalkers game.
As for platform, get it where you'll feel the most comfortable. There's lots of reading, so that might be a factor.
I suggest getting it on Steam simply because it's easier on the eyes for me than reading the cards on my HDTV.
YMMV.
Yeah I got it on steam. It's cool but I must be the worst player ever. I'm awful. I can't get past the first guy in campaign mode.
I did the tutorial and I think I have a good enough understanding of the basic concepts, but fuck if I don't get my shit pushed in.
I put it on easy too. I really don't know what I can do differently at this point. Clearly it's something but it escapes me. I've tried both starter decks and I've faced the guy probably 10 times.
I keep running out of cards and my guys are shit compared to what the other guy gets. I can strike early but he just weathers the storm and busts out big damage after 7 turns.
I like it, but fuck it's frustrating.
If you're getting a bad starting hand, mulligan. The first one is free. Just press ESC and restart the duel if your second hand is also shit, you'll get one less card for each mulligan after the first otherwise.
Which deck are you using? If you're finding all your creatures are really wimpy, you're probably using the white deck. That's how it's designed. Try the green deck if you want bigger creatures.
It's really hit or miss sometimes with this game. I find that it seems like the AI cheats a lot. One time I was winning, and he came back with the red deck with like three or four burns, used a sorcery that gave us both brand new hands, and he continued to burn me to death.
Just keep at it. Eventually, it will click.