Magic Duels: Complete Guide (Post-Support Edition)

A guide to Magic Duels in 2026: what still works after Wizards of the Coast ended support, how to earn cards without the store, how deckbuilding works, and how to get the most out of Story, Solo, and online Battle modes.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final content update (Amonkhet, April 2017); official support ended November 26, 2019. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Service status: Wizards of the Coast stopped adding new sets after Amonkhet (announced June 13, 2017, and Hour of Devastation never came to Duels). On November 26, 2019, WotC removed Magic Duels from online storefronts, ended support, and removed the in-game store and every purchase function. Their announcement said players who still have the game keep multiplayer matches, all single-player content, and all available cards, and that matchmaking would carry on as normal. As of September 2026 the Steam page says "Magic Duels is no longer available on the Steam store," but people who already have it in their library can still install it. Steam Charts still shows a small number of concurrent players (check the link in Sources for current figures), so online matches can take a while to find. Since the game is unsupported, the servers could go away without notice. For current Magic, the official successor is MTG Arena.

Quick Start

• You can only get it if it's already in your library. It was free to play, so if you ever added it on Steam, you can still download it. New accounts can't get it anymore.
• Coins are the only currency now. The store for real money is gone. Every card comes from coins you earn by playing (wins, quests, and story progress) and spend on in-game booster packs.
• Do the Story campaigns first. They teach the rules, give you coins, and each one is built around the colors of its set.
• Use Solo mode to farm coins safely. Beating AI opponents earns coins with no pressure from other players.
• Copy limits are per rarity, not four of everything. You can own up to 4 of a common, 3 of an uncommon, 2 of a rare, and 1 of a mythic. That's the most you can put in a deck.
• Open packs from the set you want to build around. Once you own the maximum copies of a card, you won't get more of it. Later packs from a set you've partly completed are more likely to hand you new cards.
• Deck Wizard is a real tool. If you're new to Magic, let the Deck Wizard suggest cards around a theme, then tweak.
• Quests refresh. Daily quests are the best steady coin source. Check them every time you log in.

Modes

Mode | What It Is | Why Play It

Story | Campaigns built around Planeswalkers and sets, starting with the Magic Origins stories of Gideon, Jace, Liliana, Chandra, and Nissa | Teaches the rules and gives coins

Solo | Custom games against AI at several difficulties | Safe coin farming and deck testing

Battle (online) | Matches against other players, 1v1 or Two-Headed Giant (2v2) | Real competition, as long as matchmaking stays up

Quests | Daily objectives (for example, win with a color or deal damage in a certain way) | Steady coin income

Two-Headed Giant | 2v2 with a shared life total. Co-op with a friend against two opponents. | A fun social format

Card Sets in Magic Duels

Set | Added

Magic Origins | Launch (July 29, 2015)

Battle for Zendikar | Late 2015

Oath of the Gatewatch | 2016

Shadows over Innistrad | 2016

Eldritch Moon | 2016

Kaladesh | 2016

Aether Revolt | 2017

Amonkhet | April 26, 2017 (final set: 158 new cards and a new story campaign, per the store page)

Every set has its own booster packs, story campaign, and mechanics (like Awaken and Landfall in Battle for Zendikar, Energy and Vehicles in Kaladesh, and Embalm, Exert, and Cartouches in Amonkhet). The store page advertised 1,300+ earnable cards and 60+ single-player campaign missions in total.

How Deckbuilding Works

• Decks are built from your collection, and the copy limits above apply per card by rarity.
• The deckbuilder can fill lands for you and shows a mana curve. Aim for a smooth curve with plenty of plays at two and three mana.
• Two colors is the sweet spot. Three-color decks work but get inconsistent without fixing.
• Deck Wizard suggests cards that fit a chosen theme or color pair. It's great for learning and for a quick draft of a deck you'll refine yourself.
• Premade decks are available, so a new player isn't stuck with a thin collection.

Deck Archetype Ideas

Archetype | Colors | Plan

Aggro | Red, or Red-White | Cheap creatures and burn. Win before the AI stabilizes.

Tempo fliers | White-Blue | Evasive creatures and tricks

Midrange ramp | Green, or Green-Black | Big creatures, removal, and card advantage

Energy | Kaladesh cards (Green-Red, Blue-Red) | Stack energy payoffs from Kaladesh and Aether Revolt

Graveyard | Black-Green (Innistrad sets) | Delirium and recursion themes from Shadows over Innistrad and Eldritch Moon

Control | Blue-Black | Counters, removal, and one or two big finishers

Practical tip: The AI in Solo mode struggles against fast aggression and evasive fliers. For coin farming, a fast low-curve deck finishes games quickly and earns more coins per hour.

Earning Coins Efficiently

• Finish every story campaign. Each set's story is a one-time source of coins.
• Do quests every day. They're built to be finished in a few games.
• Solo mode at a difficulty you can beat quickly. Coins per minute matter more than a tough AI.
• Online Battle wins pay coins too, while matchmaking still works.
• Spend on one set at a time. Getting close to finishing one set's pool before starting another reduces duplicate waste.

Coins you already hold stay yours. With the store gone, you can't buy more with money, so don't waste them opening packs from sets you won't use.

Rules Basics for Newcomers

Magic Duels teaches the fundamentals as you play, but here's the short version:

• Lands make mana. You can play one land per turn.
• Creatures attack and block. Instants can be cast at almost any time, and sorceries only on your own turn.
• Your life starts at 20. Reduce your opponent to 0 to win.
• Summoning sickness: New creatures can't attack the turn they come into play unless they have haste.
• Combat tricks: Instants during combat (like pump spells) can swing a fight. Watch for untapped mana on the opponent's side.
• Auto-tapping: The game taps lands for you automatically. It's fine most of the time, but watch it with multicolored mana costs.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Removing it from your Steam account. Uninstalling is fine, since it stays in your library. But because it's delisted, if you use Steam's "remove from account" option for a free game, you may not get it back.
• Opening packs from every set. Duplicates past the copy limit are wasted. Focus.
• Too many colors. Stick with two while your collection is small.
• Too few lands. Go with around 40% lands (the deckbuilder's suggestion is a good start). Missing land drops loses games.
• Relying on online play. It's unsupported. Treat Solo and Story as the main game and online as a bonus.
• Skipping quests. They're the steadiest coin source you have left.

Advanced Tips

• Test in Solo before going online. Solo lets you check curves and combos without risk.
• Two-Headed Giant: Coordinate removal between teammates. The shared life total makes defense a team job.
• Mulligan decisions: A hand with no lands or all lands usually deserves a mulligan, even against the AI.
• Build a deck for each color pair. It helps finish color-specific quests quickly.
• Plan for MTG Arena: If you want current sets, competitive ranked play, and ongoing support, MTG Arena is the official replacement. Collections don't carry over between the two games.

FAQ

Is Magic Duels shut down? Not completely. Support ended and the store was removed on November 26, 2019, but WotC said multiplayer, single-player content, and all available cards would stay available to people who have the game. It still shows a small number of active players on Steam in 2026, but it gets no fixes or content.

Can I still download Magic Duels? Only if it's already in your Steam library. The store page says it's no longer available on the Steam store.

Can I buy coins or packs with real money? No. The in-game store and every purchase function were removed in 2019. You earn coins by playing.

What is the last set in Magic Duels? Amonkhet (April 2017). Hour of Devastation was never added.

Does my Magic Duels collection transfer to MTG Arena? No. They're separate games with separate collections.

How many copies of a card can I have? Four of a common, three of an uncommon, two of a rare, and one of a mythic rare.

Sources

• Magic Duels — Wikipedia
• Magic Duels — Steam store page
• Steam announcement: Ending Official Support for Magic Duels (November 26, 2019)
• Steam announcement: Magic Duels and Future Digital Products from Wizards (June 13, 2017)
• Steam Charts — Magic Duels player counts