MTG 2013 DLC Expansion Pack (XBLA)

Stainless Games, and Wizards of the Coast continue to bless us with more downloadable content for the "MTG: Duels of the Planeswalkers" series. While it took a while to arrive this latest expansion set is chock full of worthy additions to the core set. Straying a little from the path of the 2013 core set these new decks involve cards from an upcoming expansion release titled "Return to Ravnica". Luckily for diehard MTG (Magic the Gathering) fans these new cards can be experienced in their entirety through the 5 new decks that the DLC expansion pack offers. The new decks each feature dual color, and dual effect mana properties allowing for more in-depth strategies, and more involved gameplay. You will face five very ruthless duelists including Selesnya, Azorius, Rakdos, Izzet, and Golgari. Accompying the five new decks are 10 new campaigns, and 5 new challenges to familiarize you with the gameplay mechanics.

Gaining access to the expansions new decks can be a trying process, but if you choose wisely certain core 2013 decks will make quick work of the new duelists you'll face in the campaign mode. In order to gain access to the new decks (Collective Might, Aura Servants, Grinning Malice, Mindstorm, Sepulchral Strength) you will have to defeat the corresponding duelist in an all out battle of might, and magic. As you play against them you'll be able to see how the deck works, and learn the new methods of gameplay that the new set offers. After completing each of the 10 campaign duels you will be rewarded with a set of five new challenges. These challenges are basically a way to let you learn defensive, and offensive techniques that you can apply to the newly earned decks.

There are a handful of things that are different this time around. Each deck in the expansion features two types of colors/land cards (Plains - White, Swamps - Black, Mountains - Red, Islands - Blue, Forests - Green). Using each given deck to their fullest potential will ultimately depend on how well you play the hand that you are dealt. New features added to the decks include the ability to choose two different effects during certain sorcery/enchantment/creature cards as well as cards that require dual color costs. The effects as I'm going to call them can only be chosen, and activated if you have the proper lands untapped in the playing field. One example would be the dual land card "Lyzolda the Blood Witch". If you sacrifice a red card through this cards effect choices you can deal 2 damage to a target player, or creature. On the other hand if you sacrifice a black card you will be able to draw another card from your library. As you can tell the right choice would depend greatly on your current situation.

When it comes down to the deck attributes in this latest expansion you'll find a vast difference in what each deck has to offer as well as what playing style each deck will require. The first duelist you'll face in the new campaign is "Selesnya". His deck, "Collective Might" consists of both white, and green card types. The deck itself is token creature heavy meaning that you will be drawing a lot of playable creatures that will add token creatures to the battlefield. There are a handful of powerful creature cards in the deck as well, but most are on the mild side. Playing enchantments, instants, spells, tapping cards for added effects, and adding multiple creatures/token creatures is what this deck is all about. Some of the notable cards include "Scion of the Wild", "Hero of Bladehold", "Loxodon Heirarch", and "Parallel Lives".

Following your battle with "Selesnya" is a duel with a female Auramancer named "Azorius". Her deck is white, and blue in color. The deck uses mostly flying creatures, enchantments, and cards with added effects. As far as the decks attributes go the creature size is about 3 stars, the deck speed is 2 stars (if I remember correctly), The flexibility is about 2 stars, and the deck synergy is fairly high at around 4 stars. This is a deck that relies heavily on the assist effects, and cards. You won't really find anything to powerful in the way of creatures, but the fact that most have flying makes the deck more of a threat. Some of the notable cards you'll find in this deck includes "Lifelink (ench.)", "Daybreak Coronet", "Invisible Stalker", "Kor Spiritdancer", and "Auramancer".

Continuing on through the campaign you'll run into the next duelist, "Rakdos" who happens to be a demon/demi-god". His deck, "Grinning Malice" combines the use of both the red, and black card types. I can recall going up against this guy, and it was truly no laughing matter. When it comes to the new decks (if played right) this deck is truly a powerhouse. The deck's creature size, and deck speed are better than average (around 3 stars) while the flexibility is the highest attribute it has (around 4 stars). Surprisingly though the deck's synergy is among the poorest of all the new decks. While this deck does have some powerful creatures, most of the attack power will come by adding effects, enchantments, instants, and sorcery cards to the fray. As you play with this deck you'll notice that by using/tapping certain effects, and sacrificing creatures you'll be able to add strength and toughness to your most powerful creature cards. When in comes to the noteworthy cards of the deck you'll find that "Deathgreeter", "Blood Cultist", "Hissing Iguanor", "Lyzolda the Blood Witch", "Blazing Specter", and "Singe-Mind Ogre" are among the best.

Creeping ever ever more closely to the final duelist you'll find your next MTG adversary, "Izzet". This dragon-like duelist commands the "Mindstorm" deck which contains both red, and blue card types. The creature size, and deck speed are this decks poorest attributes while deck flexibility, and synergy are higher. Your main focus with this particular deck will be running the many instants, spells, and enchantments along with the small selection of creatures available. In the deck you'll find a good many "X" value cards that relate to things such as how many lands you have, number of card types you have, or the amount of cards in the graveyard/library/playing field. Among the more notable cards are "Razorfin Hunter", "Volcanic Geyser", "Invoke the Firemind", and "Petrahydrox".

Last but certainly not least is Golgari's deck, "Sepulchral Strength". This deck consists of black, and green card types. It is quite possibly the most powerful deck in the game, so far. When I went head-to-head with Golgari via campaign I thought I was never going to defeat him. This lord of the undead was capable of bringing my demise to the table very quickly, and did so multiple times before I figured out I needed to use "Pack Instinct". The creature size, and the flexibility of this deck was obviously better than average giving Golgari a unique edge in combat. Oddly enough though the deck speed was rated as slow. Even so the cards that were in his hand were easily accessible/playable giving him the upperhand several times. As far as the synergy goes it was one of the highest attributes out of all of the new decks. A lot of the power plays will come in the form of creature sacrifices, and card counter additions. Any proper MTG player will tell you that "Blood Artist", and "Bloodflow Connoisseur" are among the best available cards from this new deck. In the end this deck is all about trickery, and deception. If you don't pay close enough attention to someone using this deck you could lose in a heartbeat. On the other hand if you are the one using this deck you can pull of some really nasty things.

After spending some quality time playing through the campaign, experiencing the decks, and checking out the new cards I found myself once again falling in love with MTG. This latest expansion pack brings new features, new cards, and new gameplay mechanics with it making it one of the more noteworthy DLC items this year. For 400 msp you are definitely getting a heck of a deal. Along with the new campaigns, challenges, and decks you'll also earn new achievements as well as unlock some new character avatars for in-game use. Usually you don't get near that much content with DLC, but thankfully Wizards of the Coast, and Stainless Games know how to treat the gamers right. I definitely suggest you getting this DLC if you already have the MTG 2013 core game. If you don't have MTG 2013 you are most certainly missing out.