Editing Magic: The Gathering (section)

==Simulators==
Magic has only had two single player video games. One by Microprose which was really nice and, naturally since WotC sucks, is unobtainable (legally) anymore. It uses exclusively the 4th Edition card set, plus a dozen or so "Astral" cards created specifically for the computer game, with mechanics that could never work with paper cards in real life. It's technically called ''Magic: The Gathering'', but '''everyone''' calls it Shandalar after the plane it takes place on. Shandalar (the plane) has since appeared in fluff a few times. There's also a Dreamcast game which isn't bad... if you can read Japanese since it was never translated.

If you don't want to play singleplayer all the time, there is ''Magic: the Gathering Online'', which is the "official" way of playing Magic online, made back in 2002. It's survived all the way until today thanks to the expansive set selection and differing formats. However, the burden of continually updating ancient code from the 2000s is, as you can imagine, quite tiring. The game also kind of looks like an eyesore compared to today's standards. While they technically can't completely phase it out because that would cause a massive shitstorm, WoTC has been slowly deemphasizing Magic Online's presence in favor of the shinier, flashier, and all-around better Arena client in recent years.

Wizards of the Coast hired out a bunch of multiplayer-only games called ''Duel of the Planeswalkers 20_''. They're all shit designed to milk you on micro transactions, have limited deck building and most of them are completely obsolete now anyways. This series ended in 2015.

To get at that sweet, sweet Hearthstone money, they made another client called ''Magic Duels: Origins'', notable mostly for the emphasis on story and because the client wouldn't keep being replaced every year like Duels of the Planeswalkers. Despite looking promising, it failed to capture the eyes of fans, and was phased out in 2017. Also there was a bug at launch that allowed players to obtain infinite packs, which certainly didn't help.

Bowed, but not broken, Wizards kept at trying to get at that Digital Card Game money and made ''Magic: the Gathering Arena'', which is their newest and most current client. Perhaps Hasbro was getting tired of Wizards wasting money on failed games, or they just straight-up decided to actually give a shit. Whatever the reason, the client is actually very good for a change. The client is quite generous for a digital card game, and they regularly listen to feedback: something that many developers of other card games can learn to do. Since launch, WoTC has been pushing Arena as the premiere client to play Magic online in your home. Between the construction of an entirely new Esports Tournament Series specifically for Arena, an Arena-only path to the Magic Pro League, and the heavy ad campaign that saw even non-Magic related content creators sponsored to promote the client, WoTC seems confident that Arena will usher in a new age for Digital Magic.

''Small tip: When starting playing with Arena, google for the 'MTGA promo codes'. Wizards are fairly generous with them, so this will allow you to freely kickstart the game to a comfortably playable state.''

Fan-made projects include Forge. It's pretty nifty and, unusually for a fan-made simulator, has some good single player content. Unfortunately the PC version is based in fucking Java. The AI is limited and can be slow with lots of tokens in play.