Although I absolutely love video games, I’m a huge fan of all things tactical gaming in general (I don’t just sit glued to a screen all day you know!). One genre I’ve been a fan of for many years is the CCG genre and I’ve been playing Magic: The Gathering since the early 2000s. There have been some excellent iterations of this franchise on our computer screens and I strongly recommend giving MTG Arena a crack if you’re looking for something fun and free-to-play on PC.
Yet, we haven’t seen anything particularly special come to mobile though. The folks over a Netmarble are working on changing this with Magic: Manastrike.
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Magic: Manastrike is now in it’s pre-registration phase and if you think you might like to get in early you’ll get a raft of goodies for taking the time to put your name down when the game launches. Said goodies includes gold (the in-game currency), gems (premium currency), a player icon, and five emojis themed after Magic: The Gathering‘s Planeswalkers.
Those of you who know MTG don’t really need to know a huge amount about the lore or the way things work. Those of you that don’t know an artifact from an enchantment might want a bit of a heads up. This is a game about Planeswalkers, powerful individuals who can harness the five colours of mana to cast an array of powerful spells and summon deadly creatures to protect them. They can also travel between various planes of reality at will, hence their name. They then duel for mastery, which is about as simply as I can put it.
Googling the franchise will give you hours of reading and far more information than I can squeeze into an article. It’s definitely worth doing if you want any real clue what’s going on. Alternatively just go and read Peter Daubert’s Starter Guide here. In fact, go ahead do that (it’s good). While it’s technically for MTG Arena, it will still give you the gist.
In Magic: Manastrike, MTG‘s most powerful villain, Nicol Bolas (a particularly evil dragon Planeswalker), has created a parallel universe in which to test the weaknesses of his rivals. You will enter into a contract with him to provide combat data by controlling Planeswalkers and creatures in his universe. This dude is virtually a god so not complying to his demands is probably not a wise decision.
This is a game that’s easy to learn but fiendishly hard to master. You will engage in PVP duels with players across the globe as you collect cards and experience MTG‘s vast universe of original spells and characters who are presented with impressive animations in high-quality 3D. This isn’t just a game about collecting the most powerful cards to win – you’ll have to adapt the spells to your own unique strategy and play style if you are to be victorious.
Magic: Manastrike will be coming globally to the Amazon App Store and Google Play in the not too distant future. If you like what you see and want to get involved, you can go and pre-register here. If you’re a fan of collectible card games or just love a bit of tactical thinking it may be well worth your time.
Images courtesy of Games Press.
