For the thousands of players and fans of Magic: the Gathering Online II, version 3.0 is one of the most highly anticipated games in development, along with Halo 3, Final Fantasy XIII, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Duke Nukem Forever. Oh, and that new Zelda game too. But today, I have the honor of introducing a sister project to MTGO III which may well raise even more excitement – Magic Online Special Edition.

Although Magic Online has done an invaluable service to the game, a few problems have plagued it since its inception: Players unceasingly complain of frequent server crashes, scamming, and the high costs of playing in tournaments. MTGO Special Edition, nicknamed ‘Shandalar II’ by developers, addresses all of these problems quite elegantly.

Magic Online Special Edition uses the same powerful engine and popular interface as Magic Online III, but it incorporates many “bonus” features as well. Indeed, it’s such a powerful program that it doesn’t even require a connection to the server – the entire program runs on the client! This means players can avoid the dreaded server crashes altogether. And, since you will never be in actual contact with any other users, you can be assured that your account is safe from hackers and sharks (a nickname for “good players”)!

How can the game possibly work this way? You see, rather than going through the hassle of connecting you to other computers, Magic Online Special Edition uses advanced artificial intelligence to simulate playing against real opponents. Players start the game by selecting a name, avatar and some basic statistics. From the humble beginnings of just a Core Set preconstructed deck and 10 event tickets, they must work their way up through the queues and become the most powerful duelist in the world. If you run out of tickets or cards, don’t worry because you can just start all over again!

Just as Magic Online is a direct translation of playing a game of paper Magic, MTGO Special Edition is a direct translation of playing Magic Online. Many popular strategies from the classic MTGO remain the same:

• Bots: Players can set up trading bots, which take control of the mouse and keyboard, and watch the excitement in real time as they generate literally tickets a day!
  


• Clans: Clans are priceless tools for the aspiring duelist. If you can use your charisma to beg and whine your way into a good clan, you can gain the rare “tech” needed to improve your decks. As you work your way through the game, you can get the chance to join legendary clans like Cymbrogi and live the dream of “going infinite”.
  


• Intimidation: The mental game is as much a part of Special Edition as ever. A properly placed “gg?” can force your opponent to ship it in, but if used too frequently, the NPCs may think you’re a huge prick.
  


• Collusion/Bribery: Money can talk just as well to the computer characters as in real life. Buying a game might be the right choice if you think you can make more out of it later. But you better be wary of …
  


• Adepts: Have fun talking to (and bribing) all the imaginary people on Special Edition, but watch out for adepts! Adepts look for any misconduct and can punish it as they see fit. You could get muted, or even banned! If you do get banned, you have to wait for at least a month before playing the game again! On higher levels, Shadow Ninja Adepts are impossible to detect. So keep the vulgarity out unless it’s really, really funny.

Playing through the game once is only half the fun, because after you complete certain missions and side-quests, you unlock hidden characters – real Magic: the Gathering pros, both past and present! Play as Kai Budde, John Finkel, or the Ruel brothers! And each character comes with his own “special” powers. For example, if you play as Mike Long, you can enable “Super Sneaky Shuffling” mode, and make your fetchlands all the more better.

Magic Online Special Edition will be released with MTGO III on October 3rd and will retail for $49.99. It will be available for PC, Xbox 360, PS3, and Nintendo Wii.

Remember… Magic Online Special Edition – for only the most “special” duelists.


MTGOSE simulates the connection speed, adjusting how quickly your clock winds down.


Pesky adepts are always trying to spoil your fun!

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!

Related Stories

• Magic Online v3.0 Preview
• MTGO 2.0 Promises Amazing Features, None Currently Available
• Online Trader Makes $0.30 an Hour

For the thousands of players and fans of Magic: the Gathering Online II, version 3.0 is one of the most highly anticipated games in development, along with Halo 3, Final Fantasy XIII, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Duke Nukem Forever. Oh, and that new Zelda game too. But today, I have the honor of introducing a sister project to MTGO III which may well raise even more excitement – Magic Online Special Edition.

Although Magic Online has done an invaluable service to the game, a few problems have plagued it since its inception: Players unceasingly complain of frequent server crashes, scamming, and the high costs of playing in tournaments. MTGO Special Edition, nicknamed ‘Shandalar II’ by developers, addresses all of these problems quite elegantly.

Magic Online Special Edition uses the same powerful engine and popular interface as Magic Online III, but it incorporates many “bonus” features as well. Indeed, it’s such a powerful program that it doesn’t even require a connection to the server – the entire program runs on the client! This means players can avoid the dreaded server crashes altogether. And, since you will never be in actual contact with any other users, you can be assured that your account is safe from hackers and sharks (a nickname for “good players”)!

How can the game possibly work this way? You see, rather than going through the hassle of connecting you to other computers, Magic Online Special Edition uses advanced artificial intelligence to simulate playing against real opponents. Players start the game by selecting a name, avatar and some basic statistics. From the humble beginnings of just a Core Set preconstructed deck and 10 event tickets, they must work their way up through the queues and become the most powerful duelist in the world. If you run out of tickets or cards, don’t worry because you can just start all over again!

Just as Magic Online is a direct translation of playing a game of paper Magic, MTGO Special Edition is a direct translation of playing Magic Online. Many popular strategies from the classic MTGO remain the same:

• Bots: Players can set up trading bots, which take control of the mouse and keyboard, and watch the excitement in real time as they generate literally tickets a day!
  


• Clans: Clans are priceless tools for the aspiring duelist. If you can use your charisma to beg and whine your way into a good clan, you can gain the rare “tech” needed to improve your decks. As you work your way through the game, you can get the chance to join legendary clans like Cymbrogi and live the dream of “going infinite”.
  


• Intimidation: The mental game is as much a part of Special Edition as ever. A properly placed “gg?” can force your opponent to ship it in, but if used too frequently, the NPCs may think you’re a huge prick.
  


• Collusion/Bribery: Money can talk just as well to the computer characters as in real life. Buying a game might be the right choice if you think you can make more out of it later. But you better be wary of …
  


• Adepts: Have fun talking to (and bribing) all the imaginary people on Special Edition, but watch out for adepts! Adepts look for any misconduct and can punish it as they see fit. You could get muted, or even banned! If you do get banned, you have to wait for at least a month before playing the game again! On higher levels, Shadow Ninja Adepts are impossible to detect. So keep the vulgarity out unless it’s really, really funny.

Playing through the game once is only half the fun, because after you complete certain missions and side-quests, you unlock hidden characters – real Magic: the Gathering pros, both past and present! Play as Kai Budde, John Finkel, or the Ruel brothers! And each character comes with his own “special” powers. For example, if you play as Mike Long, you can enable “Super Sneaky Shuffling” mode, and make your fetchlands all the more better.

Magic Online Special Edition will be released with MTGO III on October 3rd and will retail for $49.99. It will be available for PC, Xbox 360, PS3, and Nintendo Wii.

Remember… Magic Online Special Edition – for only the most “special” duelists.


MTGOSE simulates the connection speed, adjusting how quickly your clock winds down.


Pesky adepts are always trying to spoil your fun!

Discuss this article in the Magic: the Gathering Forums!

Related Stories

• Magic Online v3.0 Preview
• MTGO 2.0 Promises Amazing Features, None Currently Available
• Online Trader Makes $0.30 an Hour