GameSpy's Free Agent is your advance recon into the world of free-to-play games. His mission: jump into a free game every week and put in some hours to see how much fun can be had without spending a cent, then try out some paid items to see if they're worth the asking price. This week, he tries his hand at deck building and planeswalking in Magic: The Gathering - Tactics.
No Money Down
That box packed with Magic: The Gathering cards? I have no clue how it got into my games cabinet… or why some prankster would write "Sharkey's Magnificent Magic Decks!" on it.
Ahem.
Alright, alright, I'll admit it: I'm a Magic fan. Building decks and perfectly putting them to use against another player is a blast, but I'd avoided diving into the latest online version, Magic: The Gathering - Tactics, when it came out last year because the trailers reminded me of some of the less-than-stellar earlier videogame translations. And so it was with low expectations that I downloaded Tactics and began my free-to-play experience. Almost immediately, I recognized that despite the top-down perspective, the grid, and the animated characters, Tactics plays true to its roots.
It appears Chandra has me cornered...
If you've played the Magic CCG before, you'll be able to get up to speed in a heartbeat. Much like the CCG, players take turns summoning characters from their decks in an effort to pummel the opposing Planeswalker (wizard) into submission. In Tactics, the action plays out on a 3D grid, and you not only have to summon characters to attack and defend, you have to move them into proper position around the map, which adds welcome flanking and feinting elements to combat. Perhaps the biggest difference in Tactics' gameplay is the addition of small structures like walls and fallen trees strewn across the battlefield that players can use to set up defensive positions, protect them from pesky ranged attackers, and force foes into choke points.
I was happy to discover that the five deck types from the card game are all available.
Once I learned the basics in the tutorial, I jumped into Tactics' three-hour free PvE campaign (the first chapter of a larger five-part campaign) that sets up a basic storyline of who the Planeswalkers are and why they so desperately want to murder one another. I was happy to discover that the five deck types from the card game (Black, White Red, Green, and Blue representing death, life, and the basic elements) are all available and playable in the campaign, complete with the characters made famous by the artists at Wizards of the Coast. These starter decks are fairly thin and lack Magic's powerful marquee heroes (like White's Serra Angel), but being able to sample each of the different deck types for free was a pleasant surprise.The story itself is a bit thin, but it does provide context to all of your summoning and spell casting, and it also opens things up to mission variety. For example, in one of the later missions I was tasked with stopping a mad wizard from bringing a powerful demon into the world by activating four pillars around the map. That meant I not only had to kill the evil bastard, but block him from the pillars and slow down his surprisingly speedy pillar-activating progress. The missions don't get too deep, and they are mostly of the "kill everything" variety, but there are some welcome challenges and changes of pace.
... Or does she? Summon Force of Nature! Haha, who's cornered now?
Get through campaign missions and you not only receive new card rewards to add to your starter decks (and, when you get the hang of it, build your own custom decks) you also receive XP for your Planeswalker. Yes, Tactics adds RPG elements to the mix, and as you earn enough XP, your Planeswalker levels up and gains Talent Points that can be used to unlock new spells and abilities. For example, the Husky Size talent granted me a spell that would add 10 attack and 10 health to the next character I summoned -- a must for the cheap but easily dispatched low-level characters in my decks.
Free players are at a distinct disadvantage in PvP.
But then what? My biggest complaint about the free-to-play content in Tactics is how quickly it evaporates. After the free campaign and quick, 10-minute daily missions, there's nothing to do except replay the campaign. PvP is also available, but as I discovered (so you don't have to) free players are at a distinct disadvantage.I got my ass handed to me in Tactics PvP. I know how to play Magic -- fairly well, in fact -- and I assumed I would be able to jump into an online match and at least compete with just a starter deck and the few extras unlocked from my PvE experience. I couldn't have been more wrong. Despite being matched with players equal in level, I was toting a vastly inferior spellbook and my Planeswalker's 200 health was, despite my defensive-focused efforts, repeatedly quickly siphoned.
Bottom line: free players limited by the thin card, XP, and coin gains from the free campaign will likely be pummeled in PvP. It's an unfortunate reality, and SOE could have avoided the issue with a matchmaking server dedicated strictly to free players.
Insert Coin
To even the playing field, I opened my wallet and traded $5 for 500 Station Cash. I should mention that, thanks to Tactics' addition to Steam last month, my purchase went through my Steam Wallet -- a welcome feature given the hackolympics that took place at Sony Online and The Station last year. I picked up Chapter 2 of the campaign for 250 SC and added the potent Djin of Deceit character to my deck for another 200. You can also buy 14-card "Booster Packs" for 299 SC ($2.99) or massive 24-pack Booster Boxes for 6499 SC ($64.99).
Victory, something that's tough to achieve for free in multiplayer.
The campaign's second chapter added Chandra and Jace, two faces familiar to Magic fans, and I found it to be a much more enjoyable and challenging PvE experience. Whereas the first chapter felt like an extension of the tutorial, this felt like a real Magic storyline -- something absent in head-to-head Magic CCG battles. While this content is worth the $2.50 in the grand scheme of things, I do wish there was more free single-player content that would enable me to continue to level my character and unlock cards without having to shell out cash. Those free daily 10-minute missions don't quite cut it.
This time I actually felt competitive, despite an unimpressive win-loss record (I really should manage my mana/land cards better).
After paying $5 and conquering Chapter 2, I was able to level-up my character significantly and add valuable character cards and Planeswalker talents. Confident, and with a heftier spellbook in hand, I once again took to the PvP realm. This time I actually felt competitive, and despite an unimpressive win-loss record (I really should manage my mana/land cards better), I felt like the playing field was at least close to even.Free or Flee?
Much like the original Magic CCG, competing with a starter deck alone in Magic: The Gathering – Tactics is a recipe for defeat, and free single-player content is as rare as a Sphinx of the Steel Wind. However, Tactics is a solid turn-based strategy game that manages to capture the feel of the collectible card game it's based on while adding some strong new tactical features to the mix. While I was disappointed in the free game, a mere $5 quickly put me over the hump. I confess, my time playing here has hooked me, and I plan on investing to recreate Sharkey's Magnificent Magic Decks online in Tactics.