5 things Star Wars: Unlimited does better than Magic: The Gathering

Today's story time begins a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, because we're looking at Star Wars: Unlimited, a trading card game by Fantasy Flight Games, and seeing how it measures up against the thirty-year-old behemoth that is Wizards of the Coast's Magic: The Gathering.
Both games have iconic characters, locations, and events - but who has the better resource system? The better management of their color pie? And, most importantly to this lore mage: who has the best STORY happening on the cards?

[@zoesequeira5388]

I would love to see more SWU content. Especially like a dedicated video breaking down each aspect's strengths, weaknesses, and themes so far

[@MagicArcanum]

Noted!

[@Welank]

Great video! Star Wars Unlimited looked at all of the "magic, but fixed" games and took all of the best mechanics. My personal issue is that I have already played a bunch of "fixed magic" games and none of the SWU mechanics are new. I also don't trust FFG to maintain the game long term. But I am glad so many people are enjoying the game! This would be an interesting video series, you could also collab with creators for games you don't play. I moved from Magic to Flesh and Blood and whenever I play Magic now I am always surprised by how many non-games there are because of bad draws.

[@MagicArcanum]

It's true that Fantasy Flight doesn't have a great track record with supporting games long-term, but it does feel like they've learned a lot of tough lessons and Unlimited will benefit from that. They've said they already designed (or at least have plans) for the first 9 sets, which covers the next three years, and the previews for set 2 are showing off some interesting new mechanics (though I admit, some are still quite close to stuff you'd find in Magic and other games) But yeah overall I am optimistic and my local scene is pretty ravenous for this game so I think as long as it continues to sell well, we'll see it sticking around for a while!

[@Welank]

@@MagicArcanum Glad to hear they have a good long term plan. Since they have a 3 year plan and enough current support, it will probably have a big enough card pool + fan base to outlast official support if it comes to that.

[@Vektor480]

Flesh and Blood is a fantastic game and I love to see it mentioned in situations like this. That's all, I'm closing my combat chain and moving to arsenal this card.

[@RazgrizAce67]

Surprised you didn't mention the back and forth nature of the gameplay. Makes for very strategic planning of a turn.

[@MagicArcanum]

I do really like the back-and-forth as well, but I could see an argument for Magic still being "better" because it has the stack and Instants and the ability to react to things technically before they happen (looking at you, Counterspell) so I didn't want to talk about it in this video, because I wanted to focus on things I thought were absolutely better.

[@rickxhoshinji]

Ok. You convinced me.

[@cannon3231]

Agreed on all the comments interested in learning how to play! I've stuck with M:tG over the years in part because leaning a new system seemed daunting. Learning from a source familiar with other games (and comparing and contrasting) would be awesome.

[@srpad]

I was surprised by how deep the game is. I was able to make multiple different decks to play with from the one booster box I was able to get. They wouldn't win a tournament but they are all fun and play differently.

[@MagicArcanum]

Yes, that's been my experience as well!

[@BruceKarrde]

I'd like there to be an online version of the game. My city has no place for card games like this.

[@genie7190]

Coming in late for this video but I have been in the game since day one and let me tell you, it has been fantastic. I have bought more boxes of Unlimited than the 26 years of Magic: the Gathering. Set 2 is very good and I pulled my first showcase; Kylo Ren.

[@MagicArcanum]

Wow, congrats on the showcase!

[@RatedRKO269]

I played the online free demo and absolutely loved the gameplay. I just hate that the game still isn’t available here. I have no way to play it at the moment without spending far too much money to import cards myself.

[@MagicArcanum]

Glad you had a good experience trying out the game but I'm sorry to hear it's not available for you locally. That's rough!

[@Virtualvinyilradio]

Hope to hear more of your thoughts.

[@thergaming168]

Wait for "Smuggle" as another constructed and resource related mechanic!

[@MagicArcanum]

Yes, I'm interested to see how that impacts deck construction. The individual cards with smuggle are weaker than those without, but the overall flexibility granted by the mechanic might be stronger than it looks at first.

[@Zarkonem]

If they make an online version of it like MTG Arena or Hearthstone, i'm down!

[@micahvisser3772]

There is one already, it's called "Karabast", you transfer deck codes from SWU database and then play with random people or your friends for free.

[@animo358]

That's just Runeterra

[@BenChasebbchase]

There are unofficial ways to play online, though honestly, I hope they never make an official one. There too much baggage and too much pressure to squeeze money out of players.

[@Zarkonem]

@@BenChasebbchase I feel like MTG arena does it well. Yes, they try to get you to buy into things, but if you was playing with the physical cards then you would be buying packs and stuff and you don't HAVE to buy anything at all to play if you don't want. So i think it evens out.

[@BenChasebbchase]

@@Zarkonem Yeah, Arena isn't too terrible as those systems go, but it's still designed to get you to continuously spend money and to play every day. You're penalized for taking time off, which can lead to burn out. It also incentivizes people to game the system for rewards rather than just playing straight games. I'm also not sure I like the sort of global meta that it creates. Everyone shares decks and watches tournaments with SWU of course, but so far, there are still local meta variations, which I think is better for the game.

[@FozzyWozzy1203]

Agree with everything apart from number 5...Boosters are currently unavailable everywhere in the UK sadly

[@MagicArcanum]

I heard they made enough of set 1 to last about a year, but sold it all within the first month. They're working on reprinting to meet demand, but set 2 and 3 are already in the pipeline so those will get done first. I don't think it's fair to count being unexpectedly successful against my claims of better accessibility, because everything they have in place is still really good, from the organized play packs, to the event promos, to the fact that you only need 3x of a card to begin with. Once they get enough product into circulation to make everyone happy, all that other stuff will really shine but I agree we'll have a bit of a rough patch to get through first.

[@jameslarochelle8501]

I feel like having access to the game is a pretty big part of accessibility. So yeah, I do think it's fair to say that at this moment, the fact that nobody can buy any is a sign that accessibility is NOT something that SWU is doing better than MTG. FFG has consistently had trouble getting this right in the past with TCGs and they have a history of killing good games because of it, so I will not take for granted that they will eventually just get there. When I can preorder product at my FLGS and can count on my preorder being fulfilled then I will consider the other things they've done to make their games accessible.

[@Krashwire]

I started with MTG in 1993. I cannot think of a single thing I like more about MTG over SWU.

[@karllake3693]

Loved the video! More SWU content would be great.

[@nickfanzo]

That’s great but doesn’t matter if you can’t buy the cards, and your local stores don’t support the game at all, does it?

[@ImDoneItsOver]

Cant wait forvmore swu content

[@Jason-uf8uv]

Love it!

[@MTGJosh]

The mana system is good but Duel Masters did this first and then Lorcana copies them too 😢

[@MagicArcanum]

Both of those had restrictions though, right? In Duel Masters, you played your resources face up, and they made their own color, so it was still possible to get "color-locked" depending on how you drew. Lorcana requires ink icons and each deck has a hard cap at 2 colors, so I still think SWU is best because you CAN splash off-aspect cards if you feel they are worth it, and all cards work as resources that satisfy all color (or aspect) requirements. So it is the best combination of flexible but also balanced.

[@ceulgai2817]

1:10 Hard disagree that this is better than the way MtG does it.

[@Theframeinator]

Sure, it may have a better resource system, but when I compare the 2 I immediately see 2 problems. 1. It’s limited to only Disney Star Wars, which is becoming less and less popular. Issue number 2. When comparing the art design of the cards to mtg, mtg takes the cake, I find unlimited’s card art extremely ugly and not good to look at. Where as mtg, sure there are a handful of ugly cards, but most of the cards look great with solid design and theming. I understand that since WOTS in 2019 that most sets lack identity, but when I look at Star Wars unlimited, it looks like a pizza that has every topping on the menu on it. It’s chaotic and messy and there are no defined sides since I can just take whatever I want with the only downside being it costs 2 extra resources. Sure there are some cards that look great, but those are like $500 each and they don’t look $500 great either. I’d say another issue for me is that they didn’t only focus on the OT and Prequels and chose to add in the stuff from the shows. If it was only focused around those aspects I would’ve enjoyed it more as I don’t really like all of the new lore that they’ve added, plus if your a casual fan, you have no idea who most of these extra characters or locations are. If you enjoy it, great I’m glad, but there are a lot of downsides to acknowledge as well.

[@MagicArcanum]

You say it's a problem that it's limited to "only Disney Star Wars" but then admit they didn't focus "on the OT and Prequels" and "chose to add in stuff from the shows." So which is it? Are they not including enough other stuff, or is it too much? And then, you say "if your (sic) a casual fan, you have no idea who most of these extra characters or locations are." Isn't the same true with Magic? Do casual fans of the game read the stories and know who the legendary characters are in each set?

[@jadethethief]

I bought a prerelease pack and starter kit but have yet to play. The thing I found most interesting was the alternating turn structure; you don't get the boredom of waiting for the opponent to finish their turn because it's everyone's turn all the time, and you just alternate who gets to do an action. The "every card is a resource" system is also cool, and similar to other games like Lorcana.

[@elijahpatterson3583]

I would love to be able to play the game. Unfortunately, there just aren't cards available. I'm glad you were able to get enough to be able to build a variety of decks. I got exactly two packs before they were gone.

[@MagicArcanum]

Oh no! Sorry to hear that! I heard they printed enough of set one to cover their expected sales for a full year, but sold out in about a month, so it has been tough to find product. I was lucky enough to split a few boxes with my brother during release weekend, before word really got out how good this game is, but I agree it has been tough to find cards the last few weeks.

[@Breakstop]

I’d love to see a breakdown of how to play. I have the starter set but it feels a little daunting.

[@brandonabrams312]

The general moment to moment gameplay is very simple. There are some small eccentricities with this game's version of the stack, some individual card wordings and interactions but for the most part you wouldn't need to know those things. There is a website, called force table, which lets you play vs an AI and has the starter decks pre loaded. That should be enough to get used to how turns work.

[@stonerainproductions]

It's pretty easy to play, especially if you already know MTG. There are a few good videos tutorials already, but I'd love to see this channel make a video. I've played in three drafts and two Store Championships, absolutely love it!!!

[@derekcline950]

Ive played a few TCGs that try to fix the "resource issue." I find I actually really like MTGs land system. The thing MTG gets wrong that will make me leave? The brutal costs. I can pay the price. But it is very hard to get new players into some of my favorite formats, like Modern. And the greed (on Arena or with all of the extraneous sets) is just so frustrating

[@danalbert7166]

As someone who has attended a few large scale mtg tournaments I have some reservation. For instance If the resource system is fixed in this game, players won't be able to vape between rounds after mana screw making the games faster than the Kessel run. We need to think of the competitive ramifications

[@MagicArcanum]

Fun fact: at any point in the game, a player may announce "it's over, opponent. I have the high ground!" and then somebody definitely gets vaped.

[@ajtame]

@@MagicArcanum One day they will print a card that's called the high ground where you win by playing it, I'm sure of it :D they already did final showdown so alt win conditions will be possible!

[@lpsoldier78]

Seems like a nonsensical gripe to me lol

[@TSDreamCreative]

As someone who has played dozens of customizable card games, Star Wars Unlimited, while never 100% unique, might be the best CCG I've ever played. The meshing of mechanics is elegant and works perfectly. The game also has incredible strategic depth while also being one of the most mechanically accessible card games. It's definitely easier to play than Magic: The Gathering. What I think SWU does so incredibly well is keep players engaged during the game by accomplishing three things: 1) The theme is strong AND players are almost always able to play their favorite characters or vehicles. Star Wars fans are of course going to adore this. 2) The simple resource system works so well by allowing people to always be playing the game. Not only does the game allow you to resource any card, you also draw 2 cards a round, making sure you always net at least 1 card if you resource a card. This was one of the huge errors in Lorcana's game design. 3) The alternating action system keeps players constantly involved each round, rather than waiting for a player to take one massive turn. This also leads to much less swingy games and allows players to more directly interact with each without the need for off-turn effects (Which also make timing rules easier to learn). If anyone wants to try the game but it having trouble finding product, I highly recommend you either print proxies, or try it out on Forcetable.net or Karabest.net

[@rebelresource]

I’m off magic. This game engine is like a straight upgrade to MtG overall.

[@joseluna8957]

Thank you for bringing awareness to a newer game that is doing so many things right. Extra kudos for that emotive rendition of "NO!!!". I hope this game sticks around and availability catches up to demand so that more players can enjoy this game.

[@BenChasebbchase]

My very first game, my opponent played "I Am Your Father" against my Luke Leader and I think I was sold right then and there. There's so much flavor in the cards.

[@dredp3989]

The card being able to be a ressource anytime is just an inspiration from Duel Masters, which itsefl is an inspiration from... MtG 🙂

[@MagicArcanum]

It's been a while since I played Duel Masters but I thought you had to put your card down face up, and it generated its own color, right? So it was still possible to get "color-locked" by drawing an unfavorable mix of cards?

[@5p3cu10]

@@MagicArcanum this is correct. DM made it so ANY CARD can be used but... It needs to match the colour of the card you want to play.

[@Mando0Melkor]

The walled fatigue argument is a very strong argument.

[@Vermazing]

I started playing SWU 3 weeks ago and I am loving it! I have completely fallen in love with the structure of this game and I'm a Star Wars fan so it really hits home for me. I am playing Leia Red Rebel tribal and it gets does everything i liked about R/W Humans from standard back in amonkhet.

[@aceundead4750]

SWU sounds a lot like Duel Masters, which was WotC's attempt at making a less complicated MTG that was easier for people to get into then transfer over to MTG.

[@rusty5707]

Biggest issue with SWU, as with all FFG games, is the lack of product. If history is anything to go off of, Set 1 will be in print until the end of the game like im Destiny. Which they've already annouced a repeint scheduled for November.

[@MagicArcanum]

Good point. Set one sold out pretty fast, and set two looks to be doing the same, but I still take that as a good sign because it means the game is popular.

[@sashmiel6566]

It is not as bad as Lorcana was. That was incredibly bad.

[@unboundjackal]

​@sashmiel6566 I can't blame them for the shortage, apparently SWU sold way more than all their previous games combined and they even tried to make sure to have product saved just in case of a shortage lol

[@Leuber]

A lot of good points and it does seem to address some of MtG’s issues. However something that disappoints me in a game like this (same for Lorcana, Keyforge etc.) is that they are so like magic. Cards have power/toughness, tap and untap, typically not have haste, and the game is about attacking each other’s creatures and if you get through them a life total. Of course other terms are used for all of these, but my favorite are comparisons are the old Decipher Star Wars CCG and the old Middle Earth CCG. These games really work very different compared to MtG, MECCG probably most so where you have your characters traveling around over the map of middle earth, gathering allies, items and factions which all have VP’s. Then exactly half of your deck is hazards, cards (creatures or events) with which you can attack your opponent’s characters during their turn to try and prevent them scoring points. My point is, when you play MECCG, it really feels like a completely different experience compared to MtG. When I played Keyforge and I’m afraid this as well, it feels like playing the same game, just with different art, names for mechanics, and (for now) a more shallow card pool.

[@tesla6938]

i’m gonna have to disagree with you, the game plays extremely different from magic in so many ways

[@tesla6938]

yes they have power and toughness but so does like every other card game, except damage stays on units. again like every card game has tapping not anything specific to magic. and in swu you can attack your opponents base or creatures unlike magic, and there isn’t any blocking.

[@kayele]

The cards look dope! Just not sure about the font. Still looking to check this out. Good review

[@Mycatz]

Well done video. Fun to watch. I quit magic I’ve been trying out other TCGs going to play at my LGS Wednesday for a draft. Game looks fun. Excited to try it. Game mechanics seem very interesting too. Really been liking One Piece and Lorcana. Digimon was fun for a while seems to be dying in my area after One Piece released.

[@DanMan852]

I'll help you out with the rest of the list: 6. It's Star Wars 7. It's Star Wars 8. It's Star Wars 9. It's Star Wars 10. It's Star Wars

[@MagicArcanum]

(agrees with droid noises)

[@DesArthes]

11. It will use Star Wars Acolyte characters 🙂

[@timothymorgan1175]

You want a murderer machine put Chopper in you deck😂

[@micahorr8669]

Magic is dead. Break the cycle. Long live SWU!

[@jonnorth8089]

*taps 2* yeah no Counter Spell😂

[@chickenwingy15]

Does it seem like this will actually stick around? My biggest reason for not trying it was that I got into SW Destiny and that game lost support pretty fast.

[@MagicArcanum]

Destiny struggled because the dice were expensive to produce and ship, and the game was hitting its stride right as Covid started locking a lot of places down. Unlimited seems to be performing better by every metric. I don't have a crystal ball with the ability to predict how long it will exist, but the designers have confirmed they've already got about 3 years worth of cards in their file, so I am optimistic about this one sticking around.

[@chickenwingy15]

@@MagicArcanum I might give it a go. Thanks for your thoughts on it!

[@ZrinNZ]

Fantasy Flight has a well-deserved reputation of absolutely nailing the flavour of games that they make. I didn't know about this game, and am not much of a Star Wars fan, but holy hell do I wanna play this game now!

[@Phattmatt2772]

Long time Viewer here! Love to see that the channel is picking up SWU! I’ve been playing since launch and I’ve taken Boba Green to 2 separate Top 4’s in 1Ks in KY!

[@stonerainproductions]

I absolutely love SWU! I've been playing MTG since 94 and I genuinely believe SWU is better. Very strategic in every aspect imo

[@DayneGodwin]

Love that you're getting into talking about the game! I haven't played too much, but I've collected most of set 1 now. It's a fun game for sure.

[@Billchu13]

More unlimited content!

[@MagicArcanum]

Well ok then!

[@DocFox166]

I've been debating getting into this, and you deliver fantastic content so I would love to see more on SWU!

[@NicoleBolas]

I have been so excited to expand into Star Wars Unlimited in my wide swath of hobbies!

[@Dracobyte]

Very interesting video!

[@WelshJesus]

I’ve been playing since release and I’m completely sold on it. I’m having so much fun with it. I agree with most your points. The only point I’d disagree with is the accessibility of the game. My locals always has a few people that buy the starter deck to try it out, enjoy it then find out they can’t buy packs because they’re sold out. My store was telling me that distributors have already sold out of set 2 a month before release. I really hope they can sort this out as it would be such a shame for the game to fail because of lack of supply.

[@MagicArcanum]

They are addressing the supply problem and it really only happened because the game was more successful than they anticipated. That's a good problem to have, and once they sort it out, all the other stuff I said will still be true - while Magic will still have its own issues.

[@venkelos6996]

I haven't seen this card game yet, so it looks interesting. I do wonder if they gave, or will have, an interactive resource page, like Gatherer, that lists all of the available cards? Ar the risk of being a bum, I have never had particular luck in pulling from packs, be it when I poured money into Yugioh, Magic, Naruto, or Heroclix, and so all of these games eventually turned into going to second hand sites, like CardKingdom, or Troll&Toad, and cherry picking what I wanted, as it was still cheaper, in the long run, then basically gambling via loot bo...um, packs, just to fill a binder with copies of things I didn't need. I don't know anyone else in my area who plays this, bur I still think my own biggest barrier to purchase might be timing. I have personally really liked FFG's stuff. I loved their 40k RPG lines, back when they were allowed to handle that IP, and while I still never totally wrapped my head around the symbols = resources dice system it uses, their Star Wars stuff has also been fun. The timing, though, is Sequel. If I had any reason to believe that this game could hit me in the nostalgia with Legends stuff, I'd probably go but it now, or break out the Photoshop to design my own homages, but if this is relatively recent, then it's all going to be current canon, and while I don't hate that, I do feel like it is so much wasted potential, like the sequels themselves sometimes are. Regardless, though, that's just me whining, and shouldn't take away from any quality that this product has. I probably will go picking the internet, and see if I can find the cards, to see what types of things they cover! Unrelated, but I now also have an annoying desire to play the ANCIENT Star Wars miniatures game. 😊

[@metaridley1848]

The SWUDB has all the cards and is a nice deckbuilding site too. Buying singles is definitely the way to go right now.

[@MagicArcanum]

Yes, there is an official website with a full card image gallery right here: starwarsunlimited.com/cards Set one focused mostly on the original trilogy and set two is all about bounty hunters and the underworld, which lets them draw from all over canon.

[@MrRayRockstar]

There's no product as expected

[@MagicArcanum]

On the contrary, a lot of people predicted this game would fail right out of the gate and that product would be widely available, and cheap. The fact that this game did so many things well caused them to sell a year's worth of supply in just the first month, and now they are scrambling to get reprints into store's hands, so I don't see how you can say there's no product as expected, when this game is selling better than even the designers thought was possible.

[@trollingsoul3386]

i dont like it but art is ugly but it can bypass some old magic things but it looks like it will be boring after few months. and commander is still most fun for me so yea

[@Kresegoth]

The first time I encountered that resource system was back in 2006, when World of Warcraft TCG was released.