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Last updated on December 19, 2024

Skygames - Illustration by Sam Burley

Skygames | Illustration by Sam Burley

Wizards has made numerous forays into the video game market throughout Magicโ€™s 30-year history. Some strived to capture the essence of paper Magic in a digital environment while others departed from the card game framework entirely in favor of RPG or real-time strategy gameplay.

A lot of these games have not aged well. Some felt dated the second they were released, and many were completely abandoned by WotC. But donโ€™t let that stop you from checking them out! These are important relics from Magicโ€™s past and are worth a heartfelt chuckle at the very least.

Luckily you donโ€™t actually have to dig through the catacombs of YouTube videos and Wiki entries, because I already have. Iโ€™ve ranked each of the Magic video games for you, right here, right now. Letโ€™s hop right in!

How I Picked the Best

Illusion of Choice - Illustration by John Severin BrasselIllusion of Choice - Illustration by John Severin Brassel

Illusion of Choice | Illustration by John Severin Brassel

There are a few questions I considered when ranking the MTG games:

  • First, is it an accurate representation of paper Magic? Does it have multiplayer, and can you trade cards with others? Are you actually building decks and playing Magic digitally, or is it something else entirely?
  • Second, how well is (or was) it supported? Was it updated regularly as more sets were released? Was there support for competitive play, officially sanctioned or otherwise?
  • Finally, is it worth it? Is it fun? Does it look good? Is it challenging enough to sink time and money into? And howโ€™s its replayability? If itโ€™s not trying to replicate the paper Magic experience, is it executing another genre well?

Is There a Magic the Gathering App or Online Game I Can Enjoy Without Physical Cards?

Yes, Magic Arena is an app and your quick answer to how to enjoy MTG digitally. This list is all about playing Magic without the physical cards. Read on for the best MTG video game.

#12. The Magic: the Gathering Interactive Encyclopedia (1999)

The Magic: the Gathering Interactive EncyclopediaThe Magic: the Gathering Interactive Encyclopedia

Okay, The Magic: the Gathering Interactive Encyclopedia isnโ€™t really a game, itโ€™s an early encyclopedia of cards that was released in 1999 and defunct in 2002. The Interactive Encyclopedia is outclassed by powerful online MTG card databases like ScryFall and Gatherer, and the simple fact that anyone with a smartphone has no need for this antiquated program.

Magic, the Gathering Interactive Encyclopedia
  • Electronic Media (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • Wizards of the Coast (Publisher)

#11. Magic: the Gathering (1997)

Magic the Gathering (1997) game stillMagic the Gathering (1997) game still

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Commonly known as โ€œShandalar,โ€ the first Magic: the Gathering video game was just titled โ€œMagic: the Gathering.โ€ The PC game is a simple simulation of paper Magic with RPG elements included, like a randomly generated world map and dungeons populated with real-time enemies to duel when encountered and towns and merchants to buy and trade cards with.

Besides the single player campaign, the game also supported tournament and free-play duel modes. The game was generally regarded as a success with an expansion released later that year and an upgraded rerelease the following year.

Magic was just entering its fifth year when Shandalar was released. With a comparatively small card pool to pull from, the game does create an accurate representation of Magic at the time. But without multiplayer support, building and playing decks against the same computer players over and over becomes monotonous. The random world map and dungeons sort of compensates for this, but the game quickly became outdated as developer MicroProse sunk in 2001.

#10. Magic the Gathering: Battlemage (1997)

Magic the Gathering: BattlemageMagic the Gathering: Battlemage

WotCโ€™s next venture into the digital medium came with the help of publisher Acclaim, famous for the Tourach and early Mortal Kombat series. Battlemage was released on PlayStation and PC and was developed to be inspired by the paper Magic experience rather than an exact simulation. It featured real-time battles where players summoned iconic creatures and micromanaged their movements on a battlefield. Players could engage in a single player campaign or duel each other in 2-player battles.

Battlemage was poorly received. Poor graphics, a steep learning curve, and a difficult interface make the game very unappealing to look at, let alone play. Other real-time strategy games had it beat by leaps and bounds. Age of Empires and Warcraft 2 had both just hit the scene and absorbed much of what would have been Battlemageโ€™s audience.

Magic: The Gathering - Battlemage
  • Real-time strategic warfare based on the Magic the Gathering trading card game
  • Over 200 creatures and spells
  • Varying levels of action and strategy difficulties
  • All of the cards from the original game are represented
  • For 1 or 2 player

#9. Magic the Gathering: Armageddon (1997)

Magic the Gathering Armageddon promo imageMagic the Gathering Armageddon promo image

The handful of coin-operated arcade cabinets bearing the name โ€œMagic: the Gathering: Armageddonโ€ are a lonesome bunch, if any still exist. Effectively an upgraded port of Battlemage, Armageddon featured the same mechanics and real-time strategy combat but with simpler controls and more players. Allegedly only four were ever put into production, and their current whereabouts are unknown.

While Armageddonโ€™s simpler overall presentation addresses the learning curve and awkward controls of Battlemage, it makes you pay for this in literal quarters. Definitely worth a couple plays if you see one still standing in an arcade or near your local game store, but I wonโ€™t be clamoring for a reissue anytime soon.

#8. Magic the Gathering: Tactics (2011)

Magic the Gathering Tactics promo imageMagic the Gathering Tactics promo image

Magic Tactics was a turn-based strategy battle game that plays out sort of like chess with a Magic skin. You control a planeswalker, summon creatures, and cast spells on a grid-based battlefield in something akin to a digital version of the D&D Miniatures battle game.

While the game included โ€œdeckbuildingโ€ and trading, the core mechanics of the game differ so much from the card game that it's nearly unrecognizable. It had a small devoted following and was supported for several years after its release.

#7. Magic the Gathering: Battlegrounds (2003)

Magic the Gathering: Battlegrounds on PCMagic the Gathering: Battlegrounds on PC

Battlegrounds saw yet another attempt at a real-time strategy combat game for Xbox and PC in 2003. Each battle saw two wizards (or โ€œduelists,โ€ or whatever WotC landed on this time instead of โ€œplaneswalkerโ€) dance around each other and send preselected creatures and spells across a battlefield. Mana is locked to a timer and โ€œspellbooksโ€ are 10 cards of no more than two colors.

What Iโ€™m sure started out as an interesting visualization of the actual battles planeswalkers partake in against one another resulted in a clunky fighting game populated by Soulcalibur rejects.

#6. Magic: the Gathering (Sega Dreamcast, 2001)

Magic: the Gathering (Sega Dreamcast)Magic: the Gathering (Sega Dreamcast)

In 2001, an exclusive MTG video game was released in Japan for the Sega Dreamcast, imaginatively titled โ€œMagic: the Gathering.โ€ The Dreamcast game was one of the closest attempts yet at simulating a true paper Magic experience and would become the skeleton for the digital Magic products from here on out.

Interestingly, it featured the first instance of unique cards with mechanics that would be impossible to replicate in real life. Cards like Murgish Cemetery that randomly selects a number between two and six couldnโ€™t be easily replicated with a simple dice roll (I guess theyโ€™ve never had to play Warhammer 40,000).

The biggest critique of the Dreamcast MTG game is its interface. Once again, allowing for the subtleties of priority and the multitudes of actions you can take in any given moment prove difficult to manifest in a digital space. This game was a good start, and we see this skeleton improved on in the years to come.

#5. MTG Puzzle Quest (2015)

Magic the Gathering PuzzleQuest promo imageMagic the Gathering PuzzleQuest promo image

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The mobile game MTG Puzzle Quest (Google Play | App Store) is a classic Candy Crush-esque gem-matching game with a little Magic spice thrown on top. The game takes a lot of mechanics from Magic and applies them in interesting ways to the simple app game. Instead of matching little candies, or plants and zombies, or angry birds or whatever, you match different combinations of mana to pay the cost for spells in your hand which you use to defeat the opposing planeswalker (also matching gems from the shared pool).

MTG Puzzle Quest does get regular updates, but the game suffers from the same monetization drawbacks that all mobile games do. That is to say, it exists solely to tempt you to spend a dollar here and there to unlock a new card or get another life or boost your cooldown time. I canโ€™t recommend spending a lot of time playing this, but it serves its purpose as โ€œsomething-that-isnโ€™t-Twitterโ€ to fiddle with while you wait in line at the next prerelease.

#4. Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers (2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)

Magic the Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers (Steam Gold game bundle)Magic the Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers (Steam Gold game bundle)

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The original Duels of the Planeswalkers, released on Xbox 360, Playstation3, and PC in 2009, was a true paper Magic experience. It auto-tapped lands to save time and fixed the priority problems of earlier games by adding a timer for players to pause when they wanted to respond, allowed for a smooth multiplayer experience.

Duels of the Planeswalkers was generally well received and was supported with DLC until 2011 when its follow-up was released. DotP 2012 added more cards and the Archenemy format. DotP 2013 added the Planechase format with Sealed formats added in 2014 and, finally, deck construction in DotP 2015. At last, players could build entirely new decks in an exciting digital world! Except the grindy gameplay and general cynicism for microtransactions would spell its downfall.

I have fond memories of playing through each of the single player campaigns in the Duels of the Planeswalkers titles. What the game lacked in diversity they made up for in cost. The low initial cost of the games gave me a lot of play to squeeze out of these titles. One more piece of my memories are the bumping soundtrack that are great for deckbuilding and playing Magic to.

By the end of the series these were close to being near analogs to paper Magic and were excellent introductions to the card game.

#3. Magic Duels (2015)

Magic Duels promo imageMagic Duels promo image

Possibly the most controversial Magic video game title, Magic Duels is the successor to the Duels of the Planeswalkers series. It was the first to allow players to track their card libraries and freely build their decks, albeit with the caveat that they were limited to one mythic, two rares, and three uncommons per deck.

Magic Duels was originally named โ€œMagic Duels: Originsโ€ to coincide with the release of the physical Magic Origins set. New Standard sets were added to the game with each release until November 2019 when Wizards announced it was ending support for the game and removing it from digital storefronts, abandoning it for MTG Arena. This understandably made some fans upset. A lot had spent hundreds of dollars on the microtransactions to buy booster packs and craft powerful decks in-game, and now that was all gone.

Magic Duels served its purpose as the predecessor to Arena. It was a necessary stepping stone between the console releases and Magic Online.

#2. Magic: the Gathering Online (2002)

Magic Online logoMagic Online logo

MTGO truly has grown into a beast of its own since its inception as a digital companion to paper Magic. Magic Online was developed to finally find a way to digitize the paper Magic experience, including the price! Digital cards are purchased in digital packs and can be traded between players, allowing a parallel economy to thrive alongside the real secondary market. Competitive formats were well-supported by WotC, with DCI-sanctioned events in the usual formats.

MTGO has been praised as a great introduction to new players since the game plays out the complexities of priority and resolves difficult board states for you. But Magic Onlineโ€™s greatest strength is that every card from every set has been implemented into the platform, and cards will continue to be added for the foreseeable future. The immense card pool makes it ideal for a player looking to try out a lot of formats.

Its greatest weakness is its awful interface. I understand that implementing every Magic card into the game must take precedence, but come on. MTGOโ€™s boring visuals and less-than-intuitive interface donโ€™t make it great for new players, just better.

#1. Magic: the Gathering Arena (2018)

MTG Arena Liliana promo imageMTG Arena Liliana promo image

Wizards finally got it in 2018. MTG Arena is the missing piece between the complexity of the Magic card game and the freedom of a digital space. The game is the modern experience for digital Magic gameplay, easily shortcutting gameplay so it flows as naturally as the real thing. It also linked Magic to the esports world and the 2020 Magic World Championship Standard matches were played on Arena.

Magic Arena is free to play with the option to buy in-game currency to buy packs, and participate in events. The microtransactions on Arena arenโ€™t as poor as Duelsโ€™ were and you could play the game for years without ever spending a cent on it without missing out on much content. The biggest drawback is its lack of trading between players. Without ways to offload extra cards your collection becomes bloated with useless digital cards that you canโ€™t help but wish you could exchange.

Arena revisits the concept of cards that can only function in an online environment and has expanded this concept into an entirely formats, like Alchemy which has a short rotation of two years and the true to paper, anything-goes Timeless that allows you to play any card that's coded into Arena. The reviews on Alchemy are mixed (Iโ€™m not personally a fan), but I like that these cards have been mostly cordoned off to their own format, leaving a classic Magic game still just a tap away. As long as you enjoy 1v1 Magic, Arena has a mode that you can enjoy.

And I have to say that the tutorial for Arena is just excellent. Iโ€™m ashamed to admit I use it to teach new players the basics of Magic instead of running an intro game myself. Itโ€™s a simple introduction to the game that covers all the major ways cards interact with each other and seems to have replaced the starter deck in WotCโ€™s eye.

Is Magic: the Gathering on PS4 or PS5? Xbox? Nintendo?

There have been several console releases for Magic titles, though none have been released on Nintendo consoles. The first was Magic: Battlegrounds, released on Xbox in 2003. Each entry in the Duels of the Planeswalker series was released on PlayStation and Xbox, and Magic Duels was also released on both.

Are There Likely to be More MTG Video Games in the Future?

We may yet see more MTG video game titles. Wizards had plans for a Commander MTG game as recently as November 20, 2024, and intends to offer collectability and multiplayer Magic.

Back in 2021 there was work on Magic: Legends, a supposedly Diablo-like RPG set in the Magic universe. The open beta for the game launched on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in March 2021 but was shut down in October of that same year. The vision for the game, according to director Stephen Ricossa, โ€œmissed the mark.โ€

Ready Up

Ready to Rumble | Illustration by Josu Hernaiz

It might seem counterintuitive at first glance to expand a card game so reliant on the social aspect into a digital space. But Magic has potential to be as rewarding and fun experience in a video game as in real life, as weโ€™ve seen after more than 30 years of trial and error. While Universes Beyond brings video games like Fortnite, Assassin's Creed and Final Fantasy to the card game, the video game space allows developers to push cards and rules in new directions we could never see in the physical card game, and I canโ€™t wait to see what comes next for Arena and Magic Online.

Choosing between Arena and MTGO is difficult. They both seek to emulate paper Magic in different ways and are ultimately meant for different players. Whether you love one or the other, itโ€™s clear those two are the top picks.

What do you think of my rating? Is Arena really the best Magic video game, or does MTGO hold that title? Will we ever hear from Magic: Legends again? And where on earth could those Armageddon arcade cabinets be? Would the MTG TV series breathe new life into a Magic video game? Let me know in the comments or in Draftsim's Discord. And hey, if youโ€™re Arena player, make sure to check out Draftsimโ€™s Arena Tutor for personalized stats, deck tracking, and more.

Thanks for reading, and keep gaming!

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