Wizards of the Coast (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes. Originally a basement-run role-playing game publisher, they popularized the collectible card game genre with Magic: The Gathering in the mid-1990s.

The Gathering colloquially known as Magic cards or just Magic is both a collectible and digital collectible gambling game created by Richard Garfield. Magic can be played by two gambling more players in various rule the, which fall into two categories: Limited formats involve players building a deck mtg out of a pool of random cards with a gambling deck size of 40 cards. When I was a kid I used to see all of these 'nerds' playing this card game known as Magic: The Gathering. I couldn't get over the fact that there were orcs and hobbits or whatever you call them alongside dragons and magic potions, and just never really got into it. One of my buddies is an avid player, and he was telling me how it is like poker.

In many ways, “Magic: the Gathering” is the father of modern esports. When they introduced the Professional Tour, shortened to the Pro Tour, it was the first time that the world had seen – as creator Richard Garfield referred to them – mental athletes. Of course, chess had been around but it wasn’t quite as enticing as this. Magic: the Gathering played like a sport, it was tense and strategic.

Currently, the game is doing better than ever. Its professional scene has grown in size, as has its player base, in general. Professional players like Luis Scott-Vargas supplement their winnings via content creation, often considered to be the real cornerstone of a Magic professional.

Writers. Streamers. Vloggers. Podcasters. YouTubers. Artists. Magic has been creating jobs.

However, it is beginning to see competition fiercer than it ever had before. While games like Force of Will, Yu-Gi-Oh and the Pokémon Trading Card Game had played in the same space as Magic, nothing ever really nudged their way into the market. That was until Hearthstone arrived. Bearing a similar level of complexity to Magic, and eerily similar gameplay, Blizzard’s Hearthstone took the genre of trading card games and redefined it for the digital age.

The Digital Age

Magic: the Gathering had attempted to go digital before, but has used it mostly to bridge players into the world of physical cards. While this satisfied the needs of some, others turned to Hearthstone. The initial wave of Starcraft II and World of Warcraft players had been enough to get the game started, but it was the influx of Magic pros, such as Brian M. Kibler, that finally cemented its place. Since its early days, Hearthstone has grown into one of the most popular esports today. The HCT series is much beloved, and the game is streamed on Twitch by tens of thousands of people at a time.

In reality, this has done seemingly little to hurt Magic’s presence. Some people even view Hearthstone as a “gateway drug” into the world of Magic. However, it’s becoming clear that this fad won’t fade. It seems that everyday a new digital trading card game pops up, including games like Eternal and Sol Forge which are designed by aforementioned Magic pros Luis Scott Vargas and Brian M. Kibler, respectively.

Magic had taken previous forays into the digital world with the Magic Duels series, and Magic Online. Magic Duels, a series with several installments playable on the Xbox, PlayStation and Steam, was built largely for new and casual players. While it served as a fine introduction to the game and could satiate a veteran planeswalker’s appetite for the game, it always felt a little bit behind. It stripped away too much of the complexity of the game and lacked the difficulty and customization that many players sought.

Magic Goes Pro

Magic Online is almost the exact opposite of Duels in some ways. Where Duels appealed to a very casual crowd, Magic Online is often crawling with Pro Tour vets, Grand Prix grinders and aspiring pro players. The level of competition on the platform is unparalleled. Additionally, it makes up for the lack of depth and complexity in Duels by providing a near perfect simulation of the way Magic is played on a table top. Players can control their actions on this platform just as delicately, if not more, as they could in real life. Magic Online also allowed players all of the options. It sanctions several formats, such as Standard and Draft (similar to Hearthstone’s Arena), and the lesser played, like Vintage, where decks can play cards ranging back to the beginnings of the game in 1995. Many of the 16,000+ unique cards in Magic are available on Magic Online.

The Shortcomings

The program has its shortcomings, however. Originally released in 2002, Magic Online saw some UI updates when they moved into Beta, but the program has too many relics of coding languages past to truly evolve. This leads to several bugs and often laggy games for what should be a simple card game. This has also prevented the game from being represented on mobile. Many players also dislike having to purchase digital cards – although they are often cheaper than the physical alternative.

As it became clear that Hearthstone and other digital trading card games were going to become competition for Magic: the Gathering, it also became clear that they needed to do something about their poor digital representation. When rumors began to circulate about “Magic Digital Next,” the Magic community was abuzz with rumors. Surely, they were replacing Magic Online. When support for Duels was unplugged it seemed obvious, especially after Hasbro executives said that “Magic Digital Next” would bridge their current online platforms.

Introducing Magic Arena

Earlier this month, “Magic Digital Next” finally arrived in the form of Magic Arena. Wizards of the Coast hosted a live stream to unveil the new program, alongside cards from their newest set Ixalan¸ and it seemed to raise just as many questions as it answered. The platform looks promising, however. It has the same sleek interface of Hearthstone with backgrounds and sound effects but allows for the same level of control as Magic Online. The game will be going into open beta soon, a process Wizards of the Coast saw great success with during the playtest for D&D Fifth Edition.

It appears the game has taken several steps to make itself streamer friendly, which will hopefully help the game to pick up popularity alongside Hearthstone. They are also looking to incorporate the game more with the physical card game and to make ranked play on Magic Arena tense and high stakes.

Is Magic The Gathering Gambling

Summary

It’s a little early into development to say whether Magic Arena will take down Hearthstone, but it looks like it will put up a fight. Especially with Hearthstone in a fragile period right now, Wizards of the Coast is ready to strike when the iron is hot. As Magic is already popular in its own right, it’s highly likely that a more enticing, exciting, and well-executed program will be the final step that Magic: the Gathering needed to take over the world of esports.

Magic The Gathering Online

Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game published by Wizards of the Coast LLC, a United States company that is based in Renton, Washington. In order to play Magic: The Gathering, each player must have a deck of Magic cards, usually consisting of about 60 individual cards. There also are versions that can be played online or using computer programs. The game can be played by two or more players, and in order to win, a player must reduce his or her opponents' life points to zero.

Game Play

The game is set in a fantasy world that is riddled with warfare between numerous factions. Each player represents a powerful wizard, with his or her deck representing that wizard's repertoire of magic spells, items and creatures that can be summoned. Each player begins with a hand of seven cards, and once enough mana, or magic energy, is accumulated, these cards can be brought into play.

In Magic: The Gathering, mana is generated by putting land cards into play. After a land card is in the playing field, its mana must be utilized to use cards. The cards are categorized into colors that represent different elemental varieties of magic. These colors are white, black, red, blue and green, with different types of land giving different color mana.