Manalink : play Magic over the Net!

                       by Dave Booth

I have been a fan of Microprose's Magic : the Gathering (MtG)
since its release.  However, I've fought shy of moving into the
world of Magic the card game, on which the PC game is based.  It's
one thing to battle against computer AI in the warmth of home,
quite another to duel adolescents and middle-aged civil servants
in a room smelling of pickled onions (to paraphrase James Judge).
Give me home any day.

As with any semi-successful PC game, MtG has a loyal following on
the Net.  The consensus, naturally enough, was that this game
cried out for multi-player ability.  Now this, I thought, could be
for me.  Human-to-human MtG without the personality clashes and
smells.


Microprose promised for ages that it would come, and duly it has
arrived.  "Manalink" is the budding PC Planeswalker's route to
online Magic.

Past SynTax reviews have outlined the requirements to play MtG.
Of course, to play online you need a modem, and an internet
account.  You can also play over a local area network.

To play MtG online it's also necessary to acquire the Spells of
the Ancients update disk, which also includes goodies like a lot
of new cards and a revised, slicker user interface.

Finally, you'll need two files from the net : the Total
Entertainment Network (TEN) client program, and the Manalink
program itself.  Both are available from http://www.gathering.net.
Be warned, together they are 13 megs in size.

Now, if you don't mind waiting a while, a further expansion called
'Duels of the Planeswalkers' is on its way.  This will include a
new set of additional cards, plus Manalink.  If you've already got
Spells, and don't mind waiting for those big zip files to
download, go for it.

Once the installations are complete, I thoroughly recommend that
you print and read the various guides on the gathering.net site.
These exhaustively explain how to connect and register with TEN,
run Manalink, and fight duels in a Manalink arena.  However,
here's the rundown.

TEN is an online games server, of which many have cropped up
(particularly since online Quake came along!).  Normally these
folks charge users to use their service, but Microprose have
struck a deal with TEN to allow MtG duellists to access the
service for free.  I assume this is a loss-leader to promote
'Duels'.  In any case, I'm not complaining.

The would-be duellist needs first of all to register with TEN.
This is where your main potential problem can occur, in that TEN
is a US/Canada based service.  The registration input screen
simply won't accept non-American postal (zip) codes.  The
solution?  Lie.  No, I mean it.  Just put your real address,
including "UK", in the address text.  I did, and so far they've
let me get on with it.

(Alternatively, for those in the know in these things, you can
play Manalink MtG using Kali.  I've never used Kali so can't
comment on it compared with TEN.)

Once registered, you're launched into the MtG zone, from which you
select one of a series of rooms.  Each room is very much like
another, though a theme is developing such that duel Types should
be different depending where you go.  Type 1.5 duellists (like me)
play with decks containing no banned cards and a max of 4
restricted cards.

Other souls prefer Wild mode, which allows players free use of any
card in their hand.  Though a hand consisting of 10 Black Lotuses
and 30 Lightning Bolts might *just* be a bit unfair to use. :)


You're presented with a list of potential players, their status
(playing, waiting or just visiting), and a number representing
their rank.  Rookie players start at 1600.  You can then select a
potential opponent and Invite them to duel; if they accept, you
decide what type game you wish to play (Wild, 1.5 etc), the
minimum number of cards in each deck, your play deck (which the
opponent won't see), and the number of rounds, and send your
proposed parameters.  Assuming your victim (tee hee) agrees,
you're pitched into the game proper.

A word first about the Manalink program.  This bolts on to your
standard MtG front end, and announces its presence as a little
square 'jewel' in a corner of the screen.  Text on the jewel
indicates your Manalink state : NONET (ummm you're not on the Net,
or not connected to TEN, maybe that should be NOTEN?) or USERS, or
OPPNT.  USERS means that you're in a MtG room but not duelling, so
click on the jewel to bring up the room list and pick a fight.
When the jewel shows OPPNT, the same click brings up the room list
but tells you to whom you're currently registered.  The Manalink

proggie also amends the Duel section of the MtG front end to allow
you to send or receive duel parameters.

Okey dokey, you've made it into an online Duel.  What now?  Well,
first of all, be prepared for a bit of a wait.  I used Manalink
during periods when the folks Stateside were online, to have a
chance of duelling more than 2 people (!).  But natch, this means
contending with lags.

But it's worth it.  All the functionality of MtG is there of
course, but now you're playing against a *human*!  No buggy AI
here.

During your battle, you can send messages (affectionately referred
to as 'Taunts' in the FAQ) to each other.  One duellist thought it
amusing to remind me several times that it isn't a good idea to
Control Magic a Force of Nature when you have no Forests in your
deck! (Doh, 8 damage points every round....) But it made me feel
better to see another opponent tap 6 lands and then realise they

couldn't cast (mana burn!), especially when he sent me a message
cursing his/her stoopidity.

You really do see the potential in MtG in this mode.  All sorts of
card combos come to light that I never knew of.

The other aspect of the game that comes out when you play a human,
of course, is the bluff element.  Magic is, after all, based in
part on poker.  Looking at an opponent with 7 cards in hand, it's
tempting if possible to cast a Mind Twist to make him discard a
few... until you find that he's been stacking his hand with basic
land cards.

Similarly, playing a blue theme deck, I noticed my opponent was
playing blue/black.  Black critters and blue control cards, eh?
So I let him cast a couple of black weenies, to lull him into a
sense of security.  His next move was to cast a Juzam Djinn and
try to Clone it, creating two 5/5 Djinns... until I Fireballed the
original Djinn, sending it and the Clone into the gravy yard.

My favourite theme is a black deck I call Khabal Pump; this uses
Khabal Ghoul, Diamond Valley, and lots of weenie black creatures.
Cast a Bog Imp, use Diamond Valley to sacrifice the Imp, gain 1
life, and the Ghoul gets 1+1 permanent boost.  Combined with some
red burn cards to take out the opponent's first flush of weenies,
and soon you're looking at a 8+8 or better Ghoul.  He's a big
hitter.

I haven't yet been flamed by an opponent, though one cried "You
suck!" after one particular manoeuvre (I attacked with a 3/4
Serendib Djinn; he counter-attacked next move with his 2/2 Black
Knight; I Twiddled my Djinn back and killed the Knight off).
Players are well enough versed in netiquette to keep to the spirit
of the game, which is all to the good.

You can rely on a typical game to take a 1/2 hour to play, so
unless you have a free phone account or a large wedge (ooer
missus), it's easy to find MtG online eating into your bank
account.  Still, the fun of playing against a flesh & blood

opponent is worth the odd 30 minutes at a weekend!  And the
software's free too (if you discount the download time).

If online Quake is too brutal for you, and the perils of traipsing
around Diablo pursued by other players gives you grief, give
Manalink a try.  MtG is something of a niche interest as computer
games go - though the card game is immensely successful - but it's
my cup of mana.

Now then, let's see who I can subject to my latest Burn/Control
deck...








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