Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013

Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 is a 2012 digital adaptation of Wizards of the Coast's hugely popular Magic: The Gathering collectible card game, developed by Stainless Games and published by Wizards of the Coast. Part of the annual Duels of the Planeswalkers series, it was released across Windows, Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and, as POCG noted, iPad, broadening Magic's reach to console and tablet players. The game serves as an accessible entry point to Magic, teaching its rules through a streamlined interface while letting players battle a roster of AI 'Planeswalker' opponents and other players online using pre-constructed, unlockable decks. Rather than the full freeform deck-building of paper Magic or the later Magic Online and Arena, the Duels series offered curated decks that players expand by unlocking cards through play, lowering the barrier to entry for newcomers while still delivering the strategic depth of the card game's combat, mana management and spell interactions. It featured single-player campaigns, challenges and multiplayer modes including the multiplayer free-for-all 'Planechase'. Well received as a polished, approachable gateway to Magic, the 2013 edition exemplified Wizards' strategy of using the Duels series to introduce the venerable trading-card game to a wider digital audience.