Xbox 360 Resources to become a better Magic DOTP 13 player

[mamessier]

Resources to become a better Magic DOTP 13 player​

Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 has been out since last June and the various deck packs and expansions have kept the veterans well occupied. But what about the newbies? After all, Duels of the Planeswalkers is the perfect place for beginners to start their Magic the Gathering journey. With its small tutorial and user-friendly interface, DOTP provides a well-needed visual assistance to understand the game. However, is that enough to make you a good Magic player? Magic veterans would certainly reply by the negative as they consider DOTP to be a watered-down version of their game. That's why I've decided to put together this small guide with a few resources to help you get your game and your understand of magic to the next level.


Decklists

Especially if you play DOTP on the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3, there are limitations to what you can see on the screen at once and how easily accessible the information is. That’s why having a decklist such as this one http://www.wizards.com/magic/digital/duelsoftheplaneswalkers.aspx?x=mtg/digital/d13/decklists handy can be very useful during any game. Chances are that you’re familiar with the cards in the deck you’re using, but remembering important cards from your opponent’s deck is often harder to do. So, by having your laptop by your side (or literally by tabbing to another window if you’re playing on PC), you will be able to scroll through the decklist and get a glance of all the cards in your opponent’s deck through Wizards.com. I like how the card images are of great quality and the fact that you can even click on a card to get all its information related to the full paper game, which is pretty important because after all DOTP was meant as an introduction to the Magic world, so you will want to learn more if you ever want to transfer over to the real deal. Of course, there’s no way to know what unlockables your opponent might have inserted into his deck, but by going through the list you will at least have an idea of what could come out of his hand.

Here are the decklists for the released expansions:

Deck Pack 1:
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1098

Deck Pack 2:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1118

Deck Pack 3:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/1143

Return to Ravnica Expansion
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/213c


GameFaqs

Gamefaqs.com is an old portal I was using when I was literally a little kid to help me in all my video games. The website still generates a big number of user-written guides of excellent quality. I found these http://www.gamefaqs.com/xbox360/671863-magic-the-gathering-duels-of-the-planeswalkers/faqs to be especially useful when dealing with challenges in the single player mode. I wouldn’t recommend that you resort to the cheat sheet all the time, but if you think a change of perspective would really help improve your game and solve a particular puzzle, by all means do so. I love the challenges included into DOTP because they force your mind to think several steps ahead and really master each mechanic of the game. Train your mind to solve the most complex of puzzles and you might just find yourself getting a genius idea during an important game afterwards!


Magic Online

I talked earlier about transferring to the real deal, well Magic Online (http://www.wizards.com/magic/digital/magiconline.aspx) gets you one step further. Inversely from Magic The Gathering: Duels of The Planeswalker 2013, Magic Online is a perfect simulation of the paper game. This means that instead of using preset decks like in DOTP, you will be able to use all the cards of the Magic universe and create your own decks. This adds way more depth to the game and force you to be even more versatile as a player. You can gradually incorporate more cards in your “mental directory” through the different formats. For example, the Standard format includes the latest sets and expansions from the last 1-2 years, while the Modern format goes back several years behind to include a huge card pool. DOTP will appear as a much smaller and simpler game once you will have experienced these game modes!


MTGO Library

MTGO Library (https://www.mtgolibrary.com/wikiprice) is a main tool to use in association with Magic Online. Compared to DOTP where you just buy expansion decks and packs and unlock more as you play, Magic Online works like the real paper game where you have to buy each card individually or through booster packs and more expensive kits. That means that you will need to check on prices carefully before buying if you don’t want to hand over your entire wallet to Wizards of the Coast. MTGO Library allows you to search for any card (be careful to correctly spell the name of each card) to get its average price and lowest price. You will also see a list of bots displayed, which you can add as your “buddies” in the game to trade or buy the cards directly using Tickets or “tixs”, which is the MTGO online currency. Shopping and buying the cards will help you memorize the cards even more.

As you can see the world of Magic goes far beyond Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planewalkers 2013 and even if you just want to stick to the slightly watered-down (but how cool and beautiful!) console game, you might still want to check out more resources to improve your skills. Successfully building a few decks in Magic Online can help you get a much better grasp of the game in general. I also found that I was more strategic and methodical in DOTP after playing Magic Online. That game is presented in a way that's more advanced and detailed, and I now have a better understanding of the stakes involved at each turn since I've gotten into MTGO. See if you can do the same to improve! If not, you will still have resources like decklists, Gamefaqs and YouTube to help you destroy your opponents in DOTP!