In December 2019, Arc Games announcedMagic: Legends, which nobody saw coming. It sounded promising as an MMO action-RPG, blending elements of different genres that allow players to explore theMagic: The Gatheringmultiverse like no other title had before. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to last.Magic: Legendswent through several alpha testing periods and even launched in open beta, but then Arc Games announced it was cancelled. Servers remained online for a few months before quietly closing down at the end of October 2021.
In the wake of this cancellation, many fans asked themselves what went wrong.Magic: Legendswasn’t without its flaws, with many players criticizing its microtransactions and short storyline. However, it earned praise for some of its RPG innovations that deserve to be honored through a newMagic: The GatheringRPG remixing some ofMagic: Legends' ideas through a lens less focused on live-service elements.Magic: The Gathering’s multiverse has so much to offer thatMagic: Legendscan’t be the only attempt at bringing it to life.
RELATED:Magic the Gathering - First Kamigawa Neon Dynasty Planeswalker Could Be a Powerhouse
Reviving Magic: Legends' Innovations
One of the biggest sources of praise inMagic: Legendswas its deckbuilding system. Arc Games set out to incorporateMagic: The Gatheringcards intoMagic: Legendsas much as possible, and it found a very elegant approach. Players built decks of abilities to use in combat, drawing new abilities like cards whenever one was used. That mechanic deserves to be revived and expanded for a single-playerMTGRPG where players can draw cards more deliberately.Other games likeSlay the Spirehave proven the potential of card-based combat, so a newMTGadaptation shouldn’t feel intimidated making such a system work.
Another strength ofMagic: Legendswas its environments. Players could visit a variety of iconic planes fromMagic: The Gatheringand explore at their leisure. Although there’s lots ofMTGgames out there, few have rendered theMagicmultiverse in such detail. The diverse fantasy settings thatMagichas is perfect for a large-scale, open-world RPG about planeswalkers discovering the breadth of the multiverse. The nextMTGgame should look toMagic: Legends' renderings ofZendikar, Dominaria, and so on.
RELATED:Magic: The Gathering’s Early 2022 Sets Take the Game in Bold New Directions
Focusing on Magic: The Gathering’s World
Because ofMagic: Legends' mixed reputation, any studio that makes a newMagic: The Gatheringgame has to take its legacy into account. The next RPG adaptationshould step away fromMagic: Legends' free-to-play MMO elements. Any second attempt at making a live-service game with microtransactions will no doubt get a wary response from fans, even if the microtransactions are implemented modestly and responsibly. It’d be better to make an RPG that’s either purely single-player or has party-based online multiplayer so friends can explore areas and complete missions together.
Magic: Legends' short life is a tragedy for the IP, butMTGstill has a lot that it can contribute to the video game industry. Anyone who needs evidenceMagic: The Gatheringoffers a good RPG setting should look no further thantheDungeons and Dragonscrossoverexpansionsit has already generated.Dungeons and Dragonssupplemental books about Ravnica, Theros, and Strixhaven have all been received praise, and those are only three of many worlds worth visiting. IfMagic: The Gatheringis so well suited for a tabletop RPG, it can certainly slot into a video game format well too, so long as it’s cared for properly and finds a graceful way to inherit the achievements ofMagic: Legends.
MORE:Dungeons and Dragons 5e Should Introduce a Constitution-Based Class
