The Jon Venture

By Jon Venture

Before there was Jon Venture, there was Jodah.

Jodah sat in the halls before first period during middle school and played Magic the Gathering with his friends. He got up an hour earlier each day just so he could catch the early bus in time to throw down a few rounds of Magic. Yeah, there were the typical conversations about girls, the Dolphins game, and how bad we all did on the last quiz, but it was all while playing a Cursed Scroll or getting mauled by a Morphling. In this world, Jodah stood heads and shoulders over the rest. That was over ten years and two lifetimes ago.

On June 17^th, 2009, Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers was released for Xbox Live Arcade and Windows by developer Stainless Games and Wizards of the Coast. From the deepest depths of my mind, Jodah has resurfaced.

No, not the guy from 30 Rock.

For those gamers who have never picked up a deck, Magic the Gathering is a table-top card game that puts you in the role of an all powerful being known as a Planeswalker fighting other beings for glory and dominance. You’d think with all that power there would be less squabbling, but alas, Planeswalkers are no more mature than those other guys on Mount Olympus.

To dominate the other Planeswalkers, players must cast creature and magic spells that ultimately bring the other player’s life total down to 0 from 20. To cast these spells, players may play one land card each turn and use their mana (the land’s resources) to play increasingly costly and often powerful spells in one of five colors. White represents the aspects of life and protection, and cards of that color usually adhere to that rule. Black cards promote death, green is for growth, blue is for manipulation, and red is for destruction. That whole dueling scene you saw in the Harry Potter films a few years back?

It’s kind of like that, but with less whining children and more devastation. Wipe out entire armies, destroy the ground they walk on, and set it all ablaze… or protect them all. With enough imagination, you too can live out your most evil or righteous fantasies. The thorough tutorial might be of help as well.

Now, why would anyone want to pick up a game they played over a decade ago with cards and a Peter Pan complex?

The strategy is the reason. There is an overwhelming sense of strategy in Magic that separates you from the guy sitting across from you. That one card, that one combo, that unwavering combination of strategy and luck that make other people NOT want to play against you. That’s what Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers is all about. A digitized version of schoolyard one-upsmanship revamped and leveled out so that everyone from experts to newcomers can join in the organized chaos.

If you’ve not already stopped reading with cries of “NERD! NERD!”, then you’re probably wondering if Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Plainswalkers is worth your 800 Microsoft Points. The answer is a resounding yes.

Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers grants gamers one of three colored starting decks in order to bring down the other Planeswalkers and unlock more cards to beef them up. If a straight red, white, or green deck doesn’t suit your play style, defeating Planeswalkers in campaign mode will unlock a blue and black one, as well as a few multicolored decks.

The controls in Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers do get a little frustrating at times, especially managing the “stop timer” feature in order to play instant spells and abilities. While the cards themselves are vibrant and familiar to veterans, the simplest task of managing mana can be an issue when I can only count tiny borders to check what I have available to play that critical Overrun and have enough to regenerate my Troll Ascetic.

With those inconveniences aside, the game does have a high replay value, especially for those willing to unlock all the available cards for their chosen decks. The game is begging for downloadable content, and there are years of cards to draw from. While some may complain about the inability to construct their own decks from scratch (hopefully just for now), it does force players to rely on their wit and abilities to strategize rather than paying out for the top cards. I always hated that about the traditional Magic the Gathering meta-game; the rich could simply buy their way to the top of their neighborhood after finding a deck list online. With Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers, we’re all on the same level so long as we earn them in game.

Whether you’re dueling against others solo or joining up to three others in a free-for-all or a 2 vs. 2 game of “Two- Headed Giant”, there is quite a bit to enjoy in Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers. No, the Halo fanboy frat boys may not instantly swoon over a card game for their digital fun machines that involve elves and fairies, but then again these were not the guys who were playing Magic years ago. If you’ve never played a single round before, give Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers a try. For ten bucks worth of Microsoft Points, you can’t go wrong. The sixteen year old card game sensation from Richard Garfield is as compelling as ever and will undoubtedly draw in more players with this foray into Xbox Live.

There’s no need to hide your addiction any longer with Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers for Xbox Live Arcade. Jodah has finally returned.