After last year’s severely disappointing and money-grubbing entry in the Duels of the Planeswalkers series left fans high and dry, it’s been difficult to muster up any excitement for any further iterations. However, Wizards of the Coast announced today that the next title, Magic Duels: Origins, will stray from the main series in more than a few ways once it’s released on July 2 on consoles, PC and iPad.
Perhaps the best news to come out of this announcement is that Origins will be free-to-play, making it a more tempting introduction for newcomers to the series and an enticing reason to return for burned fans. It also helps that beloved modes like Two-Headed Giant are making a return after being strangely absent from the 2015 edition.
As the name suggests, Magic Duels: Origins will closely follow the upcoming Origins set, tracing the beginnings of five Planeswalkers. Card sets released later in the series will be available through DLC packs, although no price has been announced for those just yet. Check out the list below for a more complete look at what will be included:
- Improved Deck Builder with step-by-step deck construction guidance
- First-ever playable Planeswalker cards
- Solo Battle mode featuring virtually endless AI opponents
- Expanded multiplayer options, including Two-Headed Giant mode
- Quest system with new individual and community challenges every week
- Limitless Free-to-Play with 100% earnable content
- All-new Skill Quest tutorial system
For anybody who has wanted to check out the digital version of M:TG, it’s looking like Magic Duels: Origins will be your chance to do it without having to spend a few bucks.