Might & Magic: Duel of Champions

 PC
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 75 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 75
  3. Negative: 16 out of 75

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  1. XelNecra
    Sep 2, 2014
    6
    If you consider this game because you played Magic the Gathering or Hearthstone, then this is the reveiw for you.

    I am a trading card game lover for 15 years now, and i am always out there to try out all the trading card games. When i came across this one, i simply had to try it. Basically, this game is what you get when you mix "Magic the Gathering" and "Battle Craft TCG". My first    If you consider this game because you played Magic the Gathering or Hearthstone, then this is the reveiw for you.

    I am a trading card game lover for 15 years now, and i am always out there to try out all the trading card games. When i came across this one, i simply had to try it.

    Basically, this game is what you get when you mix "Magic the Gathering" and "Battle Craft TCG". My first impression was a really good one. The graphics are fine and appealing. The tutorial is well designed and will tell you all the basics. Indicators of effects are clear, card keywords comprehensible, card art is good...

    But my first major complaint, however, is the pace at which the game is played. At first, you will play some AI-matches, which is really fine for a tutorial. But the AI plays incredibly fast, and will hurl cards at you like there is no tomorrow. It is not hard to win the tutorial, but it makes you feel uncomfortable and no-in-control. There is no way that someone who just started playing the game will understand what is happening, unless he puts considerable effort into starting to learn all the cards right away.

    You could say that I am nitpicking on that, but this issue actually snowballs into further problems. This card game has a large card pool with several factions. This is always a good thing, but this means that in your first hour of play you will roughly encounter 100 different cards. This is too much, at least for people who are not TCG-Veterans. In addition to this, in this game, it is very likely that you will play 2-4 cards in many of your turns. The game offers you many ways to draw additional cards, one of these ways is available (and usable) in every turn, starting at game 1, further increasing the overflow of information.

    And to top it all off, this game requires you to manage several resources (not counting life and card) at once, and maintain them every turn. Do not get me wrong, the resource system is very interesting and adds to the depth of this card game, but it makes it even harder for new players to get into the game. And guess what: i still did not explain everything you can do. There is even more information. But i will stop at this point.

    This all resulted in the first games all being very tedious. When I started, I only managed to play 2-3 games in a row. But i saw the potential, and i bite myself through it, and yes, it is worth it.

    Apart from the normal PVP, this game offers achievements, daily quests, and a (comparably long) campaign which all wield great rewards. I am really astonished here. The campaign, while challenging, will provide you with more than enough Ingame-Currency and Card-Packs to be able to create several decks. Until now, I did not once feel forced to spend money on this. The rewards in this game feel really... well, rewarding. I am not sure if this might change once i have depleted all campaigns and all achievements, but i am playing for 3 weeks now and still have a lot of content in front of me, and my card pool is already very decent.

    The game is still missing some features, like a draft or a sealed mode, which is really disappointing, since the way the game is designed it would be a great candidate for these game modes.

    Since this game is around for more than a year, i do not think that any of my complaints will change. All in all, there are worse ways to kill time. I do not see this working on the long run, but if you want to try out a new TCG that gets you hooked for a week and does not put too much buying pressure onto you, this is your game

    Adressing an issue: Many people complain about this game being "pay 2 win". I comments for that.

    Yes, spending money on this game will give you an advantage. The thing is: this is a trading card game. That buying cards for real money will give you an advantage, is part of the concept of this genre of games. Before trading card games were online, you could not play a TCG "for free" and get a "free booster now and then", no, you had to put tons of money into it to even get started. If you do not like this concept, do not play trading card games, they are not for you.
    You can really have a good time with this game without spending real life cash. If you want to go competitive, however, you will have to invest, but this is true for most games, and especially for most trading card games, because that is how trading card games are designed. Like it or hate it.    … Expand
  2. Rep77
    Sep 29, 2014
    5
    This game has some promise but they ruin it with a pay to win wall, you'll start out and do fairly well for a bit and then hit the wall and get smashed over and over by people who have dumped money into the game. Even single player plays this way, the first couple missions are ridiculously easy and then there's no way yo progress without luck or dropping a ton of money. Save yourself theThis game has some promise but they ruin it with a pay to win wall, you'll start out and do fairly well for a bit and then hit the wall and get smashed over and over by people who have dumped money into the game. Even single player plays this way, the first couple missions are ridiculously easy and then there's no way yo progress without luck or dropping a ton of money. Save yourself the time, money and frustration and steer clear.… Expand
  3. iluxxx
    Nov 29, 2013
    6
    The game itself is fun! It has really nice strategy and gives plenty of options to make card combos.
    But I will list some major problems:
    1. Problem is the money system: if you don't play 4-6 hours a day (which is boring) you will never be able to compete with people who invested money. 2. Problem: the "wildcard" currency. With this special currency you can buy specific cards that    The game itself is fun! It has really nice strategy and gives plenty of options to make card combos.
    But I will list some major problems:

    1. Problem is the money system: if you don't play 4-6 hours a day (which is boring) you will never be able to compete with people who invested money.

    2. Problem: the "wildcard" currency. With this special currency you can buy specific cards that you need, which is good. The problem is, that you can barely get this currency, unless you invest some real money. When you "burn" cards, that you don't need you will just get the basic "gold" currency and not a "wildcard" currency.

    3. You can only buy specific cards of an expansion with wildcards if you already have 200 cards of that expansion.

    4. You can not use a card that you own in two different decks! Oh no, if you want to use your epic spell in two decks, you better own the spell twice! This is super ridiculous. Yes in real life you would need to manually take the card from one deck and put it in your other deck. But this is a digital game, with tons of drawbacks already, it could at least give us this benefit...

    Basically the whole game is screaming at you: INVEST REAL MONEY! (or you need to play for a year until you have enough cards to make different deck combos)    … Expand
  4. Summener99
    Jun 28, 2013
    7
    I tried this game for 3 days now.
    I like the easy to understand mechanic and the sort of ability a "planewalker" have.
    I believed it would have been another type of Magic the gathering but it have its own playing style and "mana pool" Its very easy to get caught into the game, however it lack the starting point of gaining cards unless you use the marks you gained from the start to buy    I tried this game for 3 days now.
    I like the easy to understand mechanic and the sort of ability a "planewalker" have.
    I believed it would have been another type of Magic the gathering but it have its own playing style and "mana pool"
    Its very easy to get caught into the game, however it lack the starting point of gaining cards unless you use the marks you gained from the start to buy the card box (which i recommend to at least buy 1 to give you good option)

    i think that this game is genuinely good and is a good addition to free to play online trading card game. only wish there was an actual way to trade cards.    … Expand
  5. TheRonin-STF
    Nov 27, 2013
    7
    Online CCGs... Never thought i would play any one day as I think that paying for digital cards is stupid especially if you can't trade them, can't even hold them and there is no real value for it as I suspect you can't sell any accounts legally. Thing is, one of my friend tried the game on steam and got me into it.
    I have played many TCG during the passed years, MTG being the first i    Online CCGs... Never thought i would play any one day as I think that paying for digital cards is stupid especially if you can't trade them, can't even hold them and there is no real value for it as I suspect you can't sell any accounts legally. Thing is, one of my friend tried the game on steam and got me into it.
    I have played many TCG during the passed years, MTG being the first i tried back in the 90s. Anyways, here are my impressions after 2 weeks of play.

    - The game is very simple. Turn by turn without any interrupts, your hero can't attack but some of them have one skill that can prove useful or not depending on deck build. Seriously they didn't invent anything there.
    - One feature I think is cool is positioning your creatures on the field. Melee on front row, range in the back and flyers can go on both. That brings a little more strategy to the game as spells can do AoE and line effects so you need to think your formation depending on which school of magic your opponent's hero has.
    - So far i been enjoying it a lot and found out that you can build a very viable deck and enjoy the game without investing a cent. Might not be the case in the top elo but as i see it now nothing is impossible. You just need to keep playing, you get gold each game, with gold you buy packs and eventually you get the cards you want. If you don't get them, you can always use wild cards, a currency you can find by opening packs that can be traded for those cards you really wants there is an option you can burn your extra cards to get a feature card (changed every 8 hours) or a little gold to buy some more packs.
    - Tourneys... I am using a creature deck. very simple. Creatures with a nice cost curve and damage spells to open up the way and i got some gold in jackpot tourneys and first swiss i entered i came up 2nd. I saw outrageously cheap trick decks that stalls you forever until they get tired of seeing your face that totally destroyed me but all the cards are accessible in some ways so one day if i keep playing and i wish it, i could make the same deck.
    -Concerning rewards, you get stuff by continuously login everyday, you get bonuses every time you level up, you got a small campaign that will surely gets bigger eventually which gives decent amount of wealth by completing it. you got different achievements that gives you bonus packs/gold/seals etc...

    Overall it is a decent game but definitely not a revolution. Entertaining for competitive geeks like myself but for how long? And Might and Magic? It could be any fantasy like card game i wouldn't see a difference. You can have fun for free and still be competitive, and that is the ONLY reason i rate this game ok, but i suggest you never ever pay for digital content such as collectible cards... it's not like you could sell em back for a profit in the future... like that ridiculous alpha black lotus card worth couples of hundreds if not more. Seriously, and even if you think your time is worth more than what you are paying in order to advance faster... don't. Those pixels you bought will eventually get outdated as new expansions comes. It is like bidding on an air guitar... Go buy a real game instead.
    -    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. GRYOnline.pl
    Feb 3, 2014
    90
    Ubisoft's card game demands lots of thinking, detailed planning and constant changes in tactics. The developer is strongly supporting the game (new decks, add-ons and balance fixes), what makes it a great tournament game. Perhaps it's not the best product for gamers avoiding long time engagement, but even they should consider it. Duel of Champions is a great game for a thinking player.
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  2. Games Master UK
    Feb 9, 2013
    84
    Accessible, challenging and endlessly strategic with a great community. [March 2013, p.89]
  3. GameWatcher
    Jan 22, 2013
    80
    Ubisoft are to be applauded for grasping, as Hi-Rez Studios did with Tribes Ascend, that the secret to a successful free-to-play title is building a healthy player base first and foremost and watching the income flow from that, rather than nickel and diming gamers for even basic content. It also helps if your core game is any good to begin with, and Might & Magic Duel of Champions is most certainly that. In fact, I'd heartily recommend it to fans of the Might & Magic series or online trading card games in general even if it had a price tag attached.
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