I want to get into the Magic video game, and I'm not sure if I should get the 2014 version (which has better reviews) or the 2015 version (which has deckbuidling). Any ideas?

Thanks so much! A free to play version sounds awesome, and perfect for getting into Magic. Thanks for letting me know! :D

The best is to get Magic Online which is up to date and you can enter tournaments, play different formats including modern with old cards, play draft etc. I believe you can even sell the cards. The bad thing is their client sucks and can be pretty confusing for new players. The good thing is there is a free trial. Wizards are sitting on the goldmine yet they are wasting the potential. No wonder Heartstone is so popular despite being much inferior game when Wizards can't make a decent game client. Still Magic Online is the only Magic game worth getting into IMO.

Thanks for the reply. I've heard Hearthstone compared to Magic a lot, and decided to download it and give it a try, since it's free. I'll look into Magic Online.

MtG 2014 and 2015 are both very nice to play games. If you try to get them, be prepared that 2014 doesnt really have many players online, so after the single player campaign you wont find many opponents.

2015 is rated low because it doesnt have the twoheaded giant mode, meaning 2 vs 2 play, but the complete deckbuilding makes this mode kinda pointless, as its easy to get overpowered deck combos. Another thing people dont like is the towch friendly gui which is not ideal on normal pcs. Still its a very fun game, getting boosters for every won match and getting better and better, but somehow the start deck kinda decides if the game will be easy or hard, white-red or white-green is the best choice to start. And it does have more online players than the older versions ;)

And just when I had talked myself out of getting either, now I want the newer (more expensive) one! :P Thanks for the feedback! Being able to build a deck feels important to me, and having more people to play against is always a plus.

EDIT: Nevermind, good thing I tried the demo and realized it wouldn't play on my old XP. XD

To be honest if you are really into magic you're probably better off just getting into cockatrice (freeware the hardcore magic players use to emulate the game and experiment with deck building ).

The beauty of Duels of the Planeswalkers (as a casuals game) has now mostly been destroyed by Wizards of the Coast's incompetence. First they removed 2v2 which was the most popular online game play mode by far. Then they made deck building in 2015 a pay system. And as someone already mentioned producing a new version of duels each year cannibalizes the player base from the previous years.

The strength duels had as a game was its deck variety in the 2v2 format (somewhere between 15-20 if I remember correctly). Opening the flood gates to total deck customization (something I think would be fine in the 1v1 format) typically produces a narrowing of variety in gameplay. You often find everyone playing the same 3-5decks based on what is perceived as being the strongest.

Had Wizard's simply made duels a one time buy that had expansions year to year that added new themed modd-able decks or opened customization in the 1v1 format they would probably be in a much stronger position than they are now. As it is they are following Blizzard's Hearthstone business model which they will inevitably fail at, given Blizzard's lead, fan base, and their own inability to challenge paper magic or MTGO with Duels.

Oh well. R.I.P. Duels.

The best way to play Magic is without any hesitation with real cards and real friends!

Sorry for not being helpful, I guess I’ll never understand the appeal of virtual card games ;)

I get what you're saying. I've played both. (I started paper magic around 3rd edition).

DOTP 2012-2014 was legitimately better than paper magic though - in some ways. Namely the 2v2 and deck variety that comes from the themed decks approach (removing total customization but allowing for some).

Cockatrice or Magic Workstation (while not as fun as paper magic) are still the go to method for experimenting and nailing down what you want to invest in if you do end up playing with real cards. Remember MTG is an expensive hobby. :P

Never tried 2v2, but I’ve been playing a lot of 3 players "free-for-all" and found it quite fun. Especially as temporary pacts rise up and get broken multiple times in the same turn ;)
As for themed decks, I’ve always been building decks with some kind of theme behind them. Optimization is not the way I like to build my decks, I much more prefer something with some kind of graphical unity… My decks are not the hardest to beat, but they’re fun to play and beautiful!

As I said, I’m not into optimization, so it’s not *that* expensive. I never bought cards at the unit, only pre-built decks in my beginning years (somewhere around 2003, with 7th Edition and Onslaught) and boosters after that. Of course it’s still more expansive than buying a video game ;)
Actually I’ve not been buying any card in the last 7~8 years, my younger self already bought such a stock I can play until my old days with what I already have without the slightest hint of boredom.

2015 has NO pay only system. You can get cards by paying, but you can get all by playing, too. I have all without paying a single buck and got the game cheap in a Bundle sale ;). The 2headed giant doesnt work really well in 2015 as you can make decks like you want and if two people decide they paly together they can adjust their decks better than two random players that play against them. In 2014 and earlier you had to choose one of the premade decks with slight adjustments, but by far not so overpowered than the ones you could make in 2015 (considering 2 players working together).
They would have to make some "stock decks" from which to choose if you wanted 2hg mode.

Sometimes i wonder if all that people who complain about the game did ever play it or just did give bad rating because of interface and no 2hg mode. It can be alot of fun for people, too and well there are alot of casual players out there, too.
I played real magic back at 1st and 2nd edition and after that stopped, then started with 2013 again and did beat alot of people without having too much skill ;)

2v2 actually originated in paper magic. Depending on the store, you could even do "Two-Headed Giant" matches at Friday Night Magic and win prizes and stuff. Or play it around the kitchen table with friends. :)

It can be a lot of fun, and it's too bad they removed it from 2015. Maybe it'll be back in the new F2P game?

I never said it was a pay only system - simply that it was a pay system. Obviously that's what paying to unlock cards is.

The difference with 2015 as oppossed to other years is the rarity drop system. Previous years you simply won games to unlock cards which was a grind in itself (1/20, 2/20, etc). As of 2015 this grind is even larger as you rely on chance and rarity. So yes it's a pay system and yes it is more of a grind to unlock cards than before. It's also ethically questionable as people paying to unlock cards may not realize the limited lifespan DOTP has year to year. If you like that kind of skinner box design (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWtvrPTbQ_c) that's fine. A lot of people don't. I'm simply one of them. I don't find that aspect to be well designed or of much value to the player (obviously - it's value is to the developers). It's also antagonistic to the 'casual' style of the game.

As I stated - I have extensive experience with MTG. We simply differ in what we find fun and engaging.

It's suppose to be - unfortunately they're modeling the F2P off from Hearthstone and I don't see the point. That design is a waste of money in my eyes. Duels hasn't lasted longer than a year. Why spend money on digital packs for random cards that have such a small lifespan? Even with the longer lifespan of Hearthstone I don't find there to be much value in spending money for random cards in which you need ultra rares to play the deck you want. Themed decks at $2-3 bucks each on the other hand - I do. An improvement would be to allow those decks to be used in each successive year's DOTP (again treating each year as an expansion rather than an entirely different game).

Also allowing full deck customization changes the dynamic of 2v2 substantially. With full customization you won't have the deck variety and randomness of matches you use to. Again I would be fine with full deck customization in 1v1 but not 2v2. Like I said, I think that chaotic, random, comboness of 2v2 from DOTP 2012-2014 is gone and that's too bad because the gameplay improved on much of what paper magic is (yes I know 2v2 existed in paper but not sizably) T2 1v1 that focuses on the 5 deck meta game. DOTP 2v2 also promoted a comradery among teammates and friends that I find lacking in the adversarial silence of much of 1v1 paper magic.