Magic Workstation

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Magic Workstation (or MWS) is a program created by Magi-Soft that assists in playing Magic: The Gathering over the Internet and maintains a searchable database of Magic cards.

Users of the free game start with a card set taken from a might and magic mini game.

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[edit] Gameplay

MWS lacks a rules engine; the game moves forward by the players talking out their current actions. MWS has some features that Apprentice lacks, and MWS also allows for players to draw graphical arrows that indicate targeting, which is often faster than typing out card names, and resembles the official Magic Online client in a way. MWS is simply a virtual tabletop, allowing players to move cards around on the table and between zones, though it has reminder texts and downloadable rules questions, it has very little actual rules enforcement built into the program, outside of card zones. The program can be downloaded and installed for free, but a one-time registration fee enables extra minor features in the program. The game can be played fully without registration, albeit with advertising. The program suffers from many occasional glitches which can crash the program. For example, drawing an arrow to a card at the same time the other player moves the card to the graveyard will usually result in a crash. Similar issues can occur when taking control of objects. Even making the initial connection to an opponent can occasionally bug, swapping the players around or admitting 3 players into the game (with only 2 names), resulting in unpredictable behavior.

[edit] Available game databases

Magic: the Gathering was the primary game that MWS was made for, though there have been several compatible databases to enable play of other card games such as The Spoils, VS System and the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game

[edit] Program Interface

The programs includes an option for players to create their own themes when playing. Themes typically change the look of the virtual desktop, card borders, text and sometimes avatars.

Registered users can also create custom sets for their game, using fantasy cards. For example, one player made a VS System set containing The Legend of Zelda.

[edit] Limited Formats and Tournament Play

Magic Workstation features a built-in sealed deck generator. However, this generator is flawed as players have no way of knowing whether the decks being played were indeed built from the randomly generated cardpool. Netdraft does not currently support MWS security codes, and as such, cannot be used effectively with MWS. Because of this, and because of the desire to have tournament play, online leagues such as O-Gaming exist, which feature security code storage so players can check to make sure that their opponents are playing the decks they are supposed to be playing. O-Gaming also supports drafting via a Java applet, which does track security codes.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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