Wizards of the Coast just released Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012. Read on for an overview of all of the game's features, and be sure to take our personality quiz to find out your color!

Wizards of the Coast just released Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 for PC/Steam, Xbox LIVE Arcade and the PlayStation Network, and it's the perfect way to get both new and old players alike into the classic trading card game.

The ZAM team is full of Magic: The Gathering fans, including Wowhead's Miyari. She's been an avid player of the game for quite some time, from building physical decks to teaching her friends how to play using the original Duels of the Planeswalkers game. She's outlined all of the new features you'll find in Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, so be sure to get all the details and her impressions after the jump! And don't forget to keep an eye out for the launch of the Magic 2012 Core Set next month.

To celebrate the release of Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, be sure to take our Magic: The Gathering Personality Quiz! What color are you? Green, which values growth and life? Red, which is all about fire? How about White, Blue or Black? Take our quiz and find out your color while learning about the decks you'll find in Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012!

Keep reading below for Miyari's Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 preview!

Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 Features

By Miyari, Senior Wowhead Content Manager

Ever played Magic: The Gathering? Ever wanted to play, but not been quite ready to commit to the monetary investment into cards and massive hours of deck-building and strategy? Wizards of the Coast just released Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 on PC/Steam, Xbox LIVE Arcade and the PlayStation Network, and it's a brand-new redesigned Magic: The Gathering experience featuring all-new cards and decks. This sequel to last year's Duels of the Planeswalkers features an updated interface, new challenging puzzles and enemies, and a new multiplayer game mode! The game provides a near-perfect Magic: The Gathering experience that should please players of the classic trading card game, and is more than inviting to new players!

New to this game is the addition of the Archenemy gametype, where you and two allies (players or AI) must work together to take down a powerful Archenemy and survive the extra powers from the Archenemy's special deck. The classic puzzle challenges make their return, and are (of course) as challenging as ever! Co-op gameplay has been enhanced and you can now play with up to four players in a variety of formats, including the new Archenemy gametype or even classic two-headed giant! Wizards of the Coast has listened to the players, and all decks featured in Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 can now be completely modified, with the ability to add and remove cards from each of the decks to their preference. Each deck is composed of cards from the upcoming Magic 2012 Core Set and features a variety of unlockable cards.

As someone who invested pretty much my entire childhood (and quite a bit of my mom's money) in the classic trading card game (as well as old-fashioned methods of playing the game online), I was extremely excited to hear that Wizards of the Coast was bringing the game back to life in such an easily accessible (and super-affordable) format. I picked up the original Duels of the Planeswalkers on both PC and Xbox 360 and have sunk many, many hours into the excellent single-player and co-op experiences provided (as recently as last week, too). I've recommended the game to many friends, some who have picked up the game and completely learned how to play Magic: The Gathering from it. I've been able to use it as a tool to teach people in my own household to play the game in a matter of 2-3 games. I've taught many friends how to play over the past 15 years and Duels of the Planeswalkers has, by far, provided the easiest and most accurate method of doing so - even moreso than 1997's "Portal" trading card set, which was introduced specifically for that purpose. I'll take the digital method any day!

Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 aims to make the game accessible for everyone, but in no way does it dumb the content down, so experienced players definitely don't have to worry about getting put off by changed terminology or any sort of "easy mode." The game features an in-depth glossary and guide to all of the terminology and after just a few rounds, even someone who has never touched a Magic: The Gathering card in their life can keep up with the best. The game takes rules and confusion out of the mix and instead allows players to focus on strategy and skill.

That isn't to say that the game isn't true to heart. I've been able to pull off some pretty sick combo plays and downright brutal attacks, and I'm not gonna lie - the computer-controlled enemies are still pretty challenging! The game features three difficulty settings as well, just in case they aren't kicking your ass hard enough. When you're confident in your skills you can easily move on to challenge both friends and strangers online! You guys should definitely check out the game, especially since there's a free demo available on all networks. If you play the tabletop game as well, it's also a great way to get familiar with the cards from the upcoming Magic 2012 Core Set which will be out in a mere month.

Wizards of the Coast will also host a massive Magic Celebration event on Sept. 10, which promises to bring together Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 and Magic 2012 Core Set players for a celebration unlike any other! This should be truly awesome. One thing that I can't handle about this game is that it makes me want to play Magic: The Gathering again in full force! Thankfully, for those who don't have hobby stores or available means to play, Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 provides a completely accurate and enjoyable experience for new and seasoned players alike.