While the main components of each deck are static, you do get to customize them a little by adding other cards you unlock. The main method for doing this is going through the singleplayer campaign, taking on AI opponents; winning gets you access to new decks and new cards. The AI usually plays a decent if uninspired game of Magic, though it has two major faults. First, it can get confused when its side of the table gets too complex and make some bad choices, as can happen with some of the Blue/Black/Artifact decks. Second and far more annoying, it tends to repeatedly use Regeneration effects even when there is no good reason to. I don’t mean it will do it once as a safety precaution, which would make some sense. I mean it will do it five or six times for no reason, and it takes several seconds between each use of Regeneration on a creature to do this. A simple zombie card can easily end up adding a good 30-45 seconds to each turn this way, and while it is technically legal it’s also the sort of thing that would cause anyone at a Magic tournament to raise their hand and yell "Judge! My opponent is delaying the game!" That, or the punk would get hit in the face with a chair, which would probably be justified.*

The campaign may be how you get new cards, but it is hardly the heart of the game. Magic is essentially about competitive play with other people, and you get plenty of options for that. Co-op campaign play is provided, and competitive games for up to four players are possible over Xbox Live. The interface works pretty well, using timers to keep play moving smoothly. You can play head to head, have a free-for-all game, or even play in teams of two using the Two-Headed Giant rules. Voice chat is also supported, so you’ll be able to annoy your opponents by yelling "Hah! You just triggered my trap card, Yugi!"

Ultimately, my only real complaint about playing with others is that some of the decks do not seem to be created equal. I have seen very few players do well with the mono-Red deck, while I’ve had unusual success with the mono-White one, including defeating three decent players who were ganging up on me. The others seem to be basically balanced against one another however, and time will tell if the White deck really is too good or not but I have my concerns. Nonetheless, 800 Microsoft Points ($10) is a great deal for what you get. While the inability to build your own decks or trade cards is unfortunate, the rest of the Magic experience has been ported quite well to console play. Anyone with an interest in games that reward mental skill over twitch reflex will love this, and it’s definitely worth your time.

*: In case it needs to be said, don’t swing chairs at your opponent’s face for intentional slow play. Getting banned from the tournament will be the least of your worries if you do.