Magic: Legends is looking to shake up the action RPG genre. The more that's shown of the Magic: Legends, the clearer it is that it's deviating heavily from the Diablo 2 formula that most modern ARPGs take inspiration from. Players will still be hacking and slashing with dozens of clicks, but the progression system is rooted in Magic-inspired deckbuilding. In a new trailer, interested gamers can see exactly what that means, as well as take note of Magic: Legends upcoming open beta.
In Magic: Legends, players will pick from five different classes, each based on card colors from the Magic TCG. However, players aren't limited by their class. They'll be able to build a deck of cards from other mana colors. This deck will make up the 12 different spells players have on-hand, which are shuffled so that they have 4 different spells available to use at a time. Players will start with a deck of their class' mana color, but can change their deck's color as they go on.
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Spell cards will be earned through gameplay, but will also grow in power similarly. Players will earn spell pages, as well as aether by playing through Magic: Legends' missions. These currencies can then be used to upgrade individual spells up to a level of 10. This is how players will grow in strength. Spells also have four tiers of rarity, though players will want to balance their deck with a mix of both high and low rarity spells.
As for when players will be able to check out Magic: Legends for themselves, it's now confirmed that the open beta will begin on March 23. The open beta will be limited to just PC at first, but Magic: Legends will ultimately launch on PC and consoles later this year. When it launches, Magic: Legends will be a free-to-play game.
Magic: Legends is in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.