Magic: The Gathering - Puzzle Quest

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
MtG: Puzzle Quest

Could be interesting... I've played the original Puzzle Quest and loved it. Haven't played Marvel: Puzzle Quest though (I think by the same company) because no space on my phone though.
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
LOL. It's a Match-3 game set in the Warlords universe (from the turn-based or Battlecry real-time games).
 

turgy22

Nothing Special
Bejeweled with spells and crap.
What's Bejeweled?
Spiderman said:
LOL. It's a Match-3 game set in the Warlords universe (from the turn-based or Battlecry real-time games).
What's a "Match-3" game? Like Tic-Tac-Toe?

Also, I'm being serious with my questions. These are games I'm completely unfamiliar with.
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
This is probably the only website I frequent where people aren't familiar with Bejeweled. That stuff has been everywhere over the past decade and I think it's one of the most popular video games of all time or something. Forgoing silly word restrictions, the original Puzzle Quest (I never played later versions) goes like this...

There is an 8x8 grid, randomly filled with different pieces. During your turn, you can switch two pieces that are horizontally or vertically adjacent if this would create a row or column of at least three identical pieces. The matched groups of three identical pieces then disappear and pieces above them fall, filling in the empty space, with new pieces emerging from the top of the screen so that the entire grid is full again. You gain something based on the types of pieces that were destroyed, and then you pass the turn to your opponent, who proceeds to do the same. Often, you are only able to make a switch that matches up three of the same type of game piece, but sometimes you make a three-part row connected to a three-part column or you make two rows or columns side-by-side, which still works. You can also get it so that your move lines up more than three of the same piece, and there are bonuses for matching 4, 5, or more in a line. This can allow you to take another move, rather than passing the turn to your opponent, so it's really good to do. Also, some moves make it so that when pieces fall, they line up and create a cascade where a lot of pieces are destroyed at once, which gives you bonuses and is called a "Heroic Effort."

Each type of game piece has is own function and you gain something for matching them up.

Yellow bubbles make air mana when matched.
Red bubbles make fire mana when matched.
Blue bubbles make water mana when matched.
Green bubbles make earth mana when matched.
Skulls do damage to your opponent when matched.
Gold coins give you money when matched (in-game money though, not real money).
Purple stars give you experience when matched.
Wild cards can be used in place of any color of bubble, and make bonus mana when used in a matching group.
Glowing skulls explode when matched, doing extra damage and destroying the pieces next to them at the time of the match.

And of course, you can use the mana you accumulate to cast spells. But if, at any point, there are no available moves, the whole board is wiped and replaced with a new one and both players lose all of their mana. This is called "Mana Burn."

The strongest spells require some mana from all four elements, but usually one is primary. Many good spells use only two or three different elements. Generally, fire spells and earth spells are the strongest, but druids can do really nice stuff with air and wizards can use it too if they want. Water sucks and no one uses it except as a tertiary element.

The wizard has some fire spells that enhance damage and blow stuff up, and can set spells up with each other for big nukes. Air is secondary to most of this, but it's easiest to focus on fire. Earth is an OK support element for some of the wizard spells too, but mostly air the support color. There are no good options for water and it's only there for spells that require some of all four kinds of mana. In the immortal words of Henry Winkler: water sucks, gatorade is better.

The druid is the easiest class to go totally crazy with because it can snare opponents, taking away their turns, and then cast spells that change the board, cycling through different pieces until it has all the mana it needs for expensive, finishing spells. Earth druids are probably the most powerful approach in the original Puzzle Quest, but there's an alternative focused on air spells as a primary instead and it's fine too. Fire is a minor support color and water is relegated to the lowest importance because not only does Gatorade quench your thirst better, it tastes better too.

The warrior is like a better version of the wizard. It's all about fire, with earth and some air as support, but mostly fire. And skulls. Turn everything into skulls. No really, my warrior setup can just one-shot most enemies with a single spell. Super broken, and not much need for water because water sucks. It really, really sucks.

The knight is weird and honestly, the one I didn't really bother with. Air seems to be the best element for the knight, but it needs some fire and water to support that. Knight's can do stuff with purple stars, which is not particularly impressive because gaining experience faster in a game where you level by grinding isn't nearly as cool as just having better stuff once you do get more experience.

Later versions of the game balanced things better, from what I've heard. But where's the fun in that?
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
It's been so long since I've played the game that I forgot what hero I used, although I think it was a Warrior or Knight. The Match-3 board serves as the "combat" part of the game when you need to fight stuff, but there's a whole storyline and whatnot you follow and I think some other mini-games in there (like when you have a pet). I thought it was pretty fun.
 

TomB

Administrator
Staff member
As an update I downloaded the MtG: Puzzle Quest game the other day (it wasn't actually released yet when Spidey posted about it) and I've been checking it out. It's not too bad, though I'm still trying to figure out what all the symbols and effects are. And the fight with Jace at the end of the first "story" is one I've yet to win...:mad:
 

TomB

Administrator
Staff member
A "patch" came through today in the form of an update to the game which included some new cards and an event which I don't really understand and am probably not quite ready for in any case...;)
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
Heh. I meant for Oversoul's game breaking glitch; if it happened a while ago, it seems it should have been patched and fixed by now. Or maybe not... :)
 

TomB

Administrator
Staff member
An update (of a sort): I finally beat Jace and have progressed to the Battle for Zendikar storyline...:)
 
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