Collectible card game fanatics will be able to battle with their friends very soon in Wizards of the Coast’s latest online venture. Magic: The Gathering Arena Direct Challenge will be arriving to the online-only game on November 15, 2018.
Magic: The Gathering Arena is an online version of the classic tabletop card battle game. Much like Hearthstone, players can grab the game for free and are able to earn cards through normal gameplay. However, they might want to speed things up by purchasing some gems so they can add a little punch to their decks.
For the moment, players are only able to match against random opponents. Playing with your friends is arguably one of the best parts of the game and the developers know it – they announced Magic: The Gathering Arena Direct Challenge in late October of this year. Now we’ve learned via Destructoid that this new PvP game functionality will be coming in just a few short days.
Direct Challenge will operate in a relatively simple fashion. Once you’ve got your deck sorted out, you’ll enter your opponent’s username and a summons to battle will be issued. If they accept, the fight is on! Rematches are made easy thanks to your last few opponents being saved in a drop-down menu.
These special matches won’t have any affect on your player rank. The games take place in a Best of One format with no timers (although you can still time out from the server if you’re AFK for too long). Much like real-life Magic: The Gathering, the new PvP game mode operates on the honor system. Magic: The Gathering Arena Direct Challenge will check for a legal 60 card deck and whether or not you have the needed cards in your collection. Beyond that, you can play the game however you like with your opponent and no automated enforcement of rules will take place.
Magic: The Gathering Arena is currently only available for PC. You can hop into the beta right now by going to the game’s official website. Bring a friend and enjoy some Magic: The Gathering Arena Direct Challenge on November 15!
