I have been a huge supporter of the Duels of the Planeswalker series since it began back in 2009. Honestly, it was what introduced me to the world of Magic the Gathering after watching my friends play the actual card game for nearly two decades up until then. The series has made incremental improvements to the series over the past couple of years but this year things are going to change drastically. Wizards of the Coast has announced Magic Duels: Origins for release this coming July.
Magic Duels is the successor to the Duels of the Planeswalkers franchise and this year’s edition will tie in directly with the upcoming Origins card set. This is intended to be the foundation for a product that will evolve over time as regularly scheduled DLC will be released over time in order to keep it up to date with the new card sets that are released. Some of the other features being touted for the new franchise are an improved deckbuilder (with detailed guidance), the addition of Planeswalker cards, expanded multiplayer modes including the return of Two-Headed Giant, weekly community challenges, and much more.
The most surprising part of this announcement is that the game is being distributed as free-to-play. Wizards has stated up front that all content for the game is earnable within the confines of gameplay, so you will never have to spend money unless you choose to do so on your own accord. The game will launch in July on the Xbox One, PC and mobile devices. A PlayStation 4 version is also planned to launch later this year.
