As a kid, I loved trading card games such as Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! or Nintendo’s Pokémon, playing matches with other kids at school, trading on the playground and arguing over the best cards and strategies. One game that I never got into was Magic: The Gathering, a trading card game targeted toward an older audience, sporting high-fantasy card art designs and more mature themes. I went into Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 as an absolute newcomer, knowing absolutely nothing about its rules, cards or workings. In the end, I am glad I did, as it allowed me answer two questions: does it serve as an adequate introduction to the trading card game for new players, and is the game good enough to stand on its own without relying on its source material?
