To join a game, you select one of the many competition rooms available that are divided by play level - casual games, advanced players, tournaments, league play, etc.  You are then taken to a screen with a room full of tables where you can see the avatars of the players engaged in a game.  It is almost strange looking at a room full of tigers, skeletons and goblins engaged in card games, but the avatars are a nice touch.  There are only five or so to choose from though, and it would give the game more personality if players could have more looks to select from.

Once in a room you can join a game in several ways: invite another player, click on an empty chair, or create a new game yourself.  In the last case, doing so will place a new table on the screen with your avatar seated on one side and an empty chair in the other.  It is best just to start a new game yourself, because it is frustrating looking for an open game.  You need to scan the tables waiting to see an open chair appear and hope that by the time you select it and specify the deck that you want to use, somebody else hasn't already taken the spot.

Once in a duel, MTG Online does a good job of managing and refereeing the game.  Cards that can be played will be highlighted, eliminating the uncertainty of whether or not you can play a card without accidentally revealing it if it is really not playable.  Actions such as tapping lands for mana, specifying the amount of mana to spend on variable cost spells, resolving multiple instants, and specifying blockers and attackers are all handled seamlessly, freeing you to concentrate on your game strategy instead of sorting out the resolution of each phase's actions.

The game also provides you with a lot of freedom in building your deck - you can buy an online version of any of the card packs available in stores.  You can easily manage your cards within the game, and build and analyze decks within the game as well.  Unfortunately, the deck statistical tools are not much help unless you really know the game.  There aren't any tools for a beginner to let him or her know if a deck is properly balanced for play or not.  The only way to get a feel for this is to go into the game rooms and see how it performs.

If you have a great deck of physical cards, you'll need to start from scratch in MTG Online.  There is no way to bring the cards into the online version of the game.  Also, you must launch the game and be connected to the Internet even to view your cards since they are stored on the game's servers and not your hard drive.  Should you want to physically hold your cards, you can pay to have them 'converted' into actual cards, but will lose your virtual cards in the process.

MTG Online does a good job of capturing the feel and gameplay of MTG.  If you enjoy the game but have a hard time finding opponents, then it is definitely worth a try.  The things that you do lose with the game is the human element of seeing your opponent in the flesh and trying to read his/her actions, and the feel of a deck of cards in your hand.  How important these things are to you when playing the game is something that you'll have to decide.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 85%.  It would have been nice if the game had more to teach new players than the mechanics of gameplay.  In serious competition, it suffers from the same drawback as the real world version of the game - players with deep pockets can buy themselves more powerful decks.  Overall, though, Magic The Gathering Online does a good job of translating the game to the computer - it can suck you in and have you playing all night just like the original did.  If you like a thinking person's game that never plays out the same way twice, then you owe it to yourself to give the game a try.

System Requirements:  Pentium II 333;  64 MB RAM;  4 MB Video RAM; 4x CD-ROM;  600 MB Hard Drive Space;  Mouse; Internet connection.

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