EXTRA SWAPS #2 - Five Things That I Think Magic: the Gathering Puzzle Quest Needs

Magic: The Gathering - Puzzle Quest MtGPQ General Discussion
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FIVE THINGS THAT I THINK MAGIC: THE GATHERING PUZZLE QUEST NEEDS

With the recent additions and changes that have come with the latest 2.1 patch, I got to thinking about what things MTGPQ could really use. I enjoy the game, and I’m always thinking of things that I would greatly enjoy. I’m not talking about fixing broken cards, weird errors and card glitches here: I’m talking about things that in my opinion would be positive and sustainable changes to the game.

Bugs, technical issues and cards in desperate need of nerfing aside, here are five things I think Magic: the Gathering Puzzle Quest need. Keep in mind these are in no particular order.

1. INTRACOALITION BATTLES: “THE ARENA”

While Training Grounds may now be the area where players test their decks, it can be discouraging to constantly run into Olivia, Mobilized by War, Baral, and whatever that creepy Pig thing is from Eldritch Moon, especially if these are cards you yourself don’t possess. How can we make a casual environment that is either more balanced and/or fun? Give the option to play your buddies!

The ability to play decks of your fellow coalition members, especially if you know your teammates personally, could make for some interesting banter and bragging rights in your coalition’s chat window. Furthermore, it could allow players to see what their teammates are running in their decks and provide feedback to help each other out, like… you know… a team.

Building camaraderie among coalition members would be a great way to make coalitions matter even more.

This game mode wouldn’t even have to reward players (not even 50 runes), it would be a welcome addition.

2. DECK TESTING BATTLES: “MIRROR BATTLE”

The ability to test your decks against each other is also a feature that would be immensely fun. Having a hard time with Koth? If you own him, play against him! Figure out what cards would be best against the most popular Koth builds (provided you make decks similar to popular builds, that is) Or maybe figure out what cards best deal with Liliana’s corrupt ability.

Again, even if they offered no rewards for completed battles against yourself (not even 50 runes), it would be a welcome addition, for sure.

3. A GREEN & BLACK PLANESWALKER

At the time that I’m typing this out, the only two-color combination in this game that is lacking a planeswalker is Green/Black. To be fair, there haven’t been too many Green/Black walkers in paper magic, either. Still, for the sake of balance and the ability to make use of the Amonkhet pseudo-mechanic of weakening your own creatures for various benefits, Magic Puzzle Quest would greatly benefit from a Green and Black planeswalker.

I think that Vraska, the Unseen would be the best option here, assuming that Hour of Devastation doesn’t provide any Green/Black walkers of its own. Here’s why I think it should be Vraska:

  • While Garruk, Apex Predator is certainly Green and Black, some of his abilities wouldn’t translate well to Puzzle Quest.

  • Flippy Garruk simply doesn’t do it for me. And given that Shadows/Eldritch has rotated out, bringing back transform for one planeswalker would feel very much out of place.

  • While Vraska’s final ability on paper would be waaaay too good if were actually implemented in Puzzle Quest, a simple change could make the last ability very interesting. Perhaps it could be something similar to Tezzeret the Schemer’s final ability. Her last ability could be a support that says “When a creature you control deals combat damage to your opponent, this support deals 3/5/7/10 damage to that opponent.”

*Speaking of Vraska’s final ability on paper, the creation of token assassins could easily be one of her first two abilities in puzzle quest. It could start out as a 1/1 assassin, then a 2/2 assassin with menace, then a 3/3 with menace and deathtouch, and finally a 3/3 assassin with menace, deathtouch and “When this creature deals combat damage to your opponent, it deals damage to your opponent equal to its power.”

4. MICRO(ER)TRANSACTIONS

For the most casual player, a payment of $4.99 may even be a bit steep, especially if all that player needs is another 5 or 10 crystals to get a premium pack. Sure: there are plenty of players that will pay 30 to 40 dollars for the latest and greatest planeswalkers and mythics like clockwork; I’ve done it a couple times. But if the goal is for the game to stay alive and be profitable, giving a transaction option that makes the game more accessible to players that can only afford to spend a couple bucks at a time would accomplish this goal.

  • Get rid of the $69.99 pack of 1850 Mana Crystals (it offers the same exact 30% more as the $49.99 pack of 1300)

  • Add a $1.00 pack of 20 Mana Crystals

Even the most casual player that’s making a little money here or there with apps such as ones that reward you with play/appstore credit for answering survey questions would be able to use that dollar or two for the extra few crystals needed for that planeswalker or premium pack before it rotates out again.

Even if the 70 dollar pack doesn’t go away to fit in the 1 dollar option, I think the dollar pack of 20 Mana Crystals would be a very welcome addition to the purchase screen.

5. NEW SET: “EVENT MASTERS”

With the new decks to complete and their inevitable requirement to be used in specific events, it would make perfect sense to create a new set that is a comprehensive compilation of every card for every beginner, expert and master set of every planeswalker in the game.

If this theoretical set, “Event Masters”, were to eventually replace Origins as the mainstay set, there could be several benefits:

  • The set would make finishing beginner decks much easier, especially for newer players that might otherwise be discouraged when they can’t enter a special event.

  • The set would also keep chase rares and mythics needed to complete expert and master decks in the rotation.

  • A set that’s guaranteed to have cards that are used for at least one event deck, even if they could be duplicates, would be much more desirable than a plethora of commons that rarely (if ever) see play for no other reason than to slightly boost mastery.

  • Given that the set would have the cards for every planeswalker event deck, it would encourage players to invest in other planeswalkers if they happen to quickly collect a deck to one they don’t yet own.

  • This set could continue to grow as the game goes on, adding more cards with each round of planeswalkers, encouraging players to keep on eye on the set list, and possibly buy/save up crystals to take a chance on a new chase card.

I think “Event Masters” would be a great addition to the game, both for new players and old, and if there is one thing that I would like to see happen out of anything on this list, it’s this one.

SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Are these ideas too far fetch for future of the app, or do you think these would help the game grow?

Let me know what you think.

Peace, Love, and Extra Swaps to all.

Mick, a.k.a. “Mickleberry”

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First, when you copy and paste from Word or something else, please go in and edit your line spacing post-paste. Thanks.

I would definitely be in favor of coalition battles and facing my own decks. A few have mentioned it before, and I think it would be a lot of fun just to randomly hold intracoalition contests for bragging rights or be able to test against specific criteria.

We’ll get a green and black planeswalker the next time Wizards releases one. When MTGPQ came out, the developers brought in some old planeswalkers soon after release—Garruk, Ajani1, Tezz1, Sarkhan, and Koth. However, since then, they have strictly adhered to the Wizards expansions. This seems like it was a one-time effort to expand the stable, and there is no reason to believe they’ll include older planeswalkers in the future.

I’m indifferent on your Event Masters suggestion. I’d have to think more on it.

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Vraska was confirmed to be in Ixalan a few months ago :slight_smile:

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Where?

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Her and Ajani were revealed to be on the Ixalan boosters, although the set was called Atlazan at the time. Btw this information was confirmed as true when Amonkhet same out :slight_smile:

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Oh, you mean the picture of a Gorgon who isn’t Vraska, as Vraska has black tattoos/markings on her neck which were clearly missing from the Atlazan boosters. So no, no confirmation that Vraska is coming in Ixalan.

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actually, looking at her artwork closely, those arent tattoo’s, but seem rather to be a piece of neckwear, especially due to it’s metallic sheen, but it is made more clear in her concept sketches.

More importantly, her clothes on the atlazan booster has the exact same kind of green sheen that her armour has in Ravnica, meaning that if it isn’t her, it’s her long lost twin sister with the same fashion sense.

Also, it adds up to Vraska being one of jace’s main antagonists. I tell you that gorgo is Vraska. Moreover I am willing to bet you that Ixalan will be a multicolour block! :smiley:

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They’re definitely tattoos or some sort of skin marking. There’s absolutely no depth to them. There’s also no metallic sheen to them whatsoever, so you must be looking at the clasp around her collarbone, not the actual lines on her neck. Highly unlikely to be Vraska on the Ixalan booster art, so don’t get your hopes up.

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I would definitely be in favor of coalition challenges, me and my friends have wanted a way to play against each other’s decks ever since we started the game…also I’ve always wanted to see how the computer plays the decks I create.

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I honestly thought all of the ideas sounded fun. It would give us some less stressful stuff to do.

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No argument here. Bring on these changes. I specifically have been wanting to be able to play against my own decks for a while.

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I like all the suggestions, but this one I think “we” would enjoy the most. It’s so great to meet someone from the coalition “in the wild”, but that happens way too rarely. In the suggestions forum I proposed to even have a coalition league of sorts, no rewards needed, just for the fun of battling people you know.

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I have been saying for a year that there needs to be a green/black PW. So you have my vote on this one.

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@Eglyntine
As a paper MTG player, I wouldn’t mind seeing Vraska. I suspect many won’t like me when I say this, but I enjoyed being evil playing my Deathtouch / Infect deck back in the day.

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3. A GREEN & BLACK PLANESWALKER

I’d really like to see this. More variety and depth to the game benefits everyone in the long run and has a relatively low development cost.

4. MICRO(ER)TRANSACTIONS

For all their claims of business reasons, they’re really missing the obvious. Many more people might pay $1 to get the last crystals they need to power up so they can play before they go to sleep than are willing to pay $99 for the max pack. Again, this would have a very low development cost.

5. NEW SET: “EVENT MASTERS”

I’d like to see decks for Standard and for each set so people could be ready for Halloween, etc. Instead, I have PWs that have 3 decks that are presented as goals but are not playable in events. That really means the design team is too large and uncoordinated. Cut designers and add bug fixers.

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Even if there isn’t a green/black planeswalker in Hour of Devastation, and even if the devs decide not to go with Vraska, they could go with Garruk, Apex Predator. While the paper version’s first ability wouldn’t work at all, the otrher 3 could easily work as viable options for Puzzle Quest powers.

Here’s an idea…

GARRUK, APEX PREDATOR

At Level 60:

113 HP
White 0, Blue 0, Black +3, Red 0, Green +3.

First Ability - “Follow the Tracks”
Lvl 1: (9) Summon a 3/3 Black and Green Beast.
Lvl 2: (9) Summon a 3/3 Black and Green Beast with Trample.
Lvl 3: (9) Summon a 3/3 Black and Green Beast with Trample and Deathtouch.
Lvl 4: (6) Summon a 3/3 Black and Green Beast with Trample and Deathtouch.

Second Ability - “Catch the Bait”
Lvl 1: (12) Target creature takes damage equal to the number of creatures you
control and you gain that much life.
Lvl 2: (12) Target creature takes damage equal to the number of creatures you
control times 2 and you gain that much life.
Lvl 3: (12) Target creature takes damage equal to the number of creatures you
control times 3 and you gain that much life.
Lvl 4: (12) Destroy target creature. You gain life equal to the number of creatures
you control times 3.

Third ability - “Set the Trap”
Lvl 1: (16) Trap 5: Each creature you control gets +1/+1.
Lvl 2: (16) Trap 5: Each creature you control gets +2/+2.
Lvl 3: (16) Trap 7: Each creature you control gets +2/+2.
Lvl 4: (16) Trap 9: Each creature you control gets +3/+3.

I love the idea of giving him creature-centric abilities that make it feel like you’re hunting your opponent down, letting loose hunting critters, picking off allies one-by-one and finally catching them off guard and letting your baddies pick up their scent and get closer to killing them.

@Brigby

any idea if the devs have a B/G Planeswalker in the works?

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I’ll always love you, Brigs. But I am wondering how the hell Infect synergises with Deathtouch.

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I was partial to green/white infect, myself. there is something very satisfying about playing Swords to Plowshares on your opponent’s creature while your dorks deal out poison counters like they’re candy :slight_smile:

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@Mickleberry
That’s certainly an interesting PW design. I can’t speak about the abilities specifically, since I’m not a designer, but I personally enjoy the thematic design you’ve crafted to fit the hunter archetype of Garruk.

I’ll be sure to pass it along to the developers for reference.

@shteev
I would put out a bunch of walls, then stalled by throwing cards like Aspect of Gorgon or Archetype of Finality onto them until I could get several flyers with Infect, such as Flesh-Eater Imp or Inkmoth Nexus.

It was a bit of a cheeky deck to be honest. :stuck_out_tongue:

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I’ve played a grand total of 3 people I know. I get paired against one an inordinate amount, but it’s always fun. Although with all the cycling going around it’s kinda comical. I’m all like “I got a 200 power Drake” flood waters. 3 turns straight.