Magic: ManaStrike Beginner’s Guide: Tips, Cheats & Strategies to Rank Up Fast and Outsmart Your Enemies

Magic: ManaStrike is a new real-time strategy game from Netmarble, the company behind a number of top mobile games, such as BTS World, Destiny Knights and The King of Fighters: Allstar to name a few. Magic: ManaStrike is available for iOS and Android devices via the App Store and Google Play, respectively.

Before we get to our Magic: ManaStrike beginner’s guide, let us give you an insight into the game. Magic: ManaStrike is a player vs. player real-time strategy (PvP RTS) game. Challenges take place in a magical arena where your main goal is to destroy the Guardians with your deck of cards.

This deck consists of seven units, which can be a combination of spells, buildings, o creatures. You also get to use your Planeswalker, which you will learn is the most compelling character in this virtual world.Since Magic: ManaStrike is a PvP mobile game, battles involve other players. You have one opponent striving to kill your Planeswalker and defeat your Guardian. Whoever slays the other’s Guardian first is the victor.

This game is a combination of skills and strategy. You can have the best and strongest cards, but you can still lose. There are other important aspects of gameplay, including the mana cost of every unit. In some cases, the main Guardian is challenging to beat. There are two other sub-Guardians on each side. Their job is to make sure your units and Planeswalker do not get to their leader. To win, your best bet is to defeat at least one of the sub-Guardians.

The game mechanics of Magic: ManaStrike are quite familiar. It’s one of the most tried and tested formulas in real-time strategy card games. You have a deck of cards that you have selected prior to the battle. Then, you drag your card to the arena while pushing toward your opponent’s lane. You make it your mission to kill the boss, which is the Guardian. The other guards will try to stop you, and you should defeat them to get to the main Guardian or to win the match.

Picking the best cards and coming up with a strategy to outsmart your enemies will help you rank up. As you progress in the game, your opponents will get stronger. You then have to have to level up your cards. It helps increase their attack and your defense, among other stats.

Our detailed Magic: ManaStrike beginner’s guide covers everything you need to know to rank up fast and outsmart your enemies. Now, we are going to share some of the best tips, cheats and strategies, that will lead you to rack up winning points in the game.

1. Learn And Understand The Basics

As with any game you have already played, you need to master the basics of Magic: ManaStrike first. It will surely save you a lot of time and headache. When you start the game, you get a background of what it is about, including a hint of the Planeswalkers story. These Planeswalkers are the protagonists in the game. You will choose from them, and your choice will be your principal character.

The story starts with Nicol Bolas who recalls the tale of how a handful of Planeswalkers defeated him. As a form of revenge, he created an alternate universe where he gets to control these Planeswalkers. His purpose is to understand the strengths and weaknesses of those who overpowered him so that he can take over next time. As the player, you will test out his alternate universe. Once the story finishes, the game will take you to a quick tutorial that tackles the gameplay basics of Magic: ManaStrike. You will play the fire mage, Chandra Nalaar.

If you do not have any experience playing PvP card games, it’s best if you do not skip the tutorial. From there, you can learn the ropes before you compete against a real player. Basically, your primary duty is to put together an effective deck of cards, which you will use against your opponents. This deck contains spells, buildings, and another unit type of your choice. You complete your battle lineup with the Planeswalker.

You have a total of seven cards in your deck (not including your chosen Planeswalker). When in the fighting arena, you can only see four of these cards. On the right side, you get a preview of the next card that will replace your last selection.

2. Pick The Best Planeswalker For You

You have several protagonists to choose from in Magic: ManaStrike. You are allowed to switch from one Planeswalker to another. However, if you genuinely want to win the game, we recommend you stick to just one as much as possible. Changing your main hero will only confuse you – and can be quite expensive when it comes to upgrades.

You have five slots to fill, so you can quickly change back and forth if you wish. By default, slot 1 is Chandra Nalaar or the Fire Mage. Tapping on her image will give you the list of other characters you can choose from, including NIssa Revane (Elf), Liliana Vess (Human), Jace Beleren (Human and Telemancer), and Ajani Goldmane (Lion).

There are more Planeswalkers that you can unlock as you progress in the game. You can test them out and read about their abilities, strengths, and weaknesses by clicking on them. Using your Planeswalker, you will build a deck that will support your main hero.

While you can pick two or more Planeswalkers, it helps increase your mastery permanently if you only have one. Plus, you get to understand who the hero is and its abilities for a better result.
As the leader of your troops, your chosen Planeswalker will be in command. Unlike the other cards in your deck, you can easily summon this hero for free. None of the Planeswalkers cost any mana. However, there’s a catch: you can only summon them up to three times, plus during ManaStrike, totaling to four summons max. Also, their skills can only be used once for every summon.

You should choose the Planeswalker that best fits your playstyle. For instance, the leonine Ajani Goldsmane deals damage to a horde of enemies. His specialty is protecting allies, but he is not as sturdy as some of the other characters. Meanwhile, Jace Beleren is a long-range fighter and can call upon mirror images, which can confuse enemies. Unfortunately, his ability to cause damage is mediocre.

3. You Only Have Three Minutes To Fight With The Other Player

Use your time and mana wisely when you start a PvP match. The battle lasts for three minutes but is actually divided into two parts. The first part is up to two minutes. At this time, you must secure your win where you destroy the Guardian.

However, if both you and the other player did not manage to take down the main Guardian or at least one of the sub-Guardians within the first two minutes, another minute will be added. This part of the battle is called the ManaStrike.

Often, the extra minute is given when the game is tied. As a tie-breaker, you can kill one more sub-Guardian to surpass your opponent. You can also end the game by killing the main Guardian. It should be easier than the first two minutes since mana racks up faster, along with one more Planeswalker card for you to use.

Winning is rewarding. You will receive ManaStrike packs, which can have cards and other items. Your rank points also rise, which you need to rank or level up. Ranking up allows your Guardian and Planeswalkers to increase in level as well.

4. Login Daily, Open Your Mailbox And Rank Up To Get Rewards

You need to log in every day to get rewards from the game. You should also take advantage of the Daily Shop. Check back every few hours throughout the day. You can get 200 gold once per day, along with cards that you can purchase using your gold coins. Do not get tempted into buying a lot of cards, though. You will need gold for upgrading your existing cards, so save as many coins as you can.

There are daily quests as well in the game, which will provide you many cards as rewards. Some quests will reward you with uncommon and rare cards, which are often difficult to obtain even after winning a match.

The daily battle quests can last more or less 40 minutes, especially for beginners. As you master the game, however, it should take you anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to complete each quest.
You also get two or more Magic Season quest each day. The task is to summon your Planeswalker and fight enemies just like you would in a standard match. When you complete the daily Magic Season quests, you get sparks, which you can use to level up your Magic Pass.

One important thing to remember is that you should always collect your rewards after every quest. They will not reset the next day if you have not received your prizes yet.

5. Take Advantage Of Magic Pass For Extra Rewards

We have mentioned Magic Pass in the previous tip. What is it exactly? Magic Pass presents many awesome rewards for those who continually play the game. You need to complete tasks in the game and destroy the Guardians of your enemies. You can see Magic Pass right below your Ranked Points.

Whenever you complete the missions listed, you will receive Pass Points, which you can see below the tasks. These points allow you to claim bonuses that you can use in the game to get stronger. Some rewards include gold and new cards.

While you should earn a lot of Pass Points, there is a maximum that you can accumulate. Keep earning rewards so you can claim them all before the season ends. Magic Pass lasts for one season. Therefore, once you are done with all the missions, you need to wait for the new season to start to get new tasks.

If you have Gems, you may want to upgrade Magic Pass. Doing so allows you to claim all the rewards for the upgraded category. In this case, you will receive both Common and Magic Rewards. Even better, you can get them without completing some missions. Upgrading your Magic Pass also unlocks premium rewards, including coins, boosters, and a ticket for selecting skin for your character.

6. Familiarize Yourself With The Cards Before Adding Them To Your Battle Deck

Magic: ManaStrike has more than 70 cards for you to choose from. There are three card types, namely spell, creature, and building. The spell cards are usable anywhere on the field. Drop them wherever you want, particularly on an enemy unit to damage or even kill it. Spell cards typically inflict Area of Effect (AoE) damage, which means they can cast a spell over an area as opposed to just one target.

An example of a spell card is the Ratchet Bomb, which can hurt enemies in a specific area. Another spell, which is the Hysterical Blindness, temporarily takes away the sight of creatures and Planeswalkers.

When you use a creature card, it involves a unit that can either walk (or run) or fly. Remember that the cards are not equal in capabilities. Some can attack both ground and air units, but others can only kill one type.

Finally, building cards are those that you place on the arena to injure your enemy’s units, but they cannot move around. Barrack, which is one of the building cards in the game, lets you summon soldiers. These soldiers spawn every few seconds to attack ground units.

You can use a combination of these three types of cards to win. However, you should also consider the cost of the cards when you place them on the battlefield. Each card shows you how much they cost, which you can see at their top-left corner.

A good battle deck should contain strong cards and a combination of other things. Damagers or those with powerful attacks often cost a lot of mana. The trick is to include about two low-mana cards so you can drop them quickly during a match.

Also, make sure that you take some spells with you, particularly those that deal massive AoE damage and Crowd Control (CC) effect. CC reduces the ability of another unit, such as slowing them down.
As you continue to rank up, you will unlock more cards, which you can add to your deck. Take note though that you can only have seven cards in your deck at a time. You can get new cards when you win a match. Alternatively, you can always go to the shop and buy them.

7. Gold Is Expensive So Be Smart When It Comes To Upgrading Your Cards

Despite the number of quests that award gold, this in-game currency is hard to come by. You do get rewards for playing regularly. Each time you level up, you gain a small amount of gold as well.
When you get duplicates of the cards you already own, you can spend some gold so you can level them up. Cards get maxed out at level nine.

All units come with great descriptions, which is why it can be tempting to get them all and upgrade them. Realistically, however, you may want to stick to a certain color (or type) of cards based on your chosen Planeswalker. This way, you do not have to spend gold on units you probably will not use as much.

Another way to earn gold is by participating in Events. Some are time-limited, and there are others that you can play daily. You can unlock Events when you reach Rank 3. Unfortunately, you cannot participate in all of them unless you pay the entry charge. Don’t worry; it only involves gold, so it does not require you to spend real money – unless you want to.

With so many card options available, you should know which among them fit your deck and strategy perfectly. One way to determine their combined effect is to use them in real battles, although you can lose rank points if you lose.

A safer way to test your deck is through the Training Mode. Access it using the card menu, then tap on the training button that you can find on the right side. The screen will switch to practice mode where you will play against another Planewalker or AI. Even if you lose, it will not affect your current rank. You can also quit the match anytime.

8. Join A Clan To Enjoy Many Benefits, Such As Card Exchanges

Another benefit of ranking up fast is that you get to join a Team. This feature is unlocked when you reach 200 Rank Points. Being on a Team introduces you to other real players in the game, and you can freely interact with them. You can chat and share tips, along with game replays. You can study their card decks as well. Simply tap on their name, and you can go to their profile where you can get a glimpse of their cards.

If you cannot find a team you want to join, you can create one. However, it may be difficult to invite other players to join you, especially if you are a beginner in Magic: ManaStrike. One of the most significant benefits of being a part of a Team is that you can request for cards. This feature saves you a lot of time and effort in collecting the cards that you wish to use and level up. Of course, you still have to gather enough numbers to level up a card, but it does make things easier since you can specify the unit you want to get.

You can also test out your battle deck with other people. You also do not lose points here, which is a useful feature if you want to see how your new cards will perform. There’s a Team Shop where you can purchase items using your Team Coins, which are bronze, silver, and gold. The shop contains cards, both rare and common ones. Moreover, you can join a Team Mission where you have tasks with your guildmates. Each time a mission is completed, you can earn rewards.

9. Here Is The Winning Strategy: Carefully Planned Tactics For Battle And Card Synergy

It can get difficult to win a match depending on your opponent. However, there is a way for you to increase your chances of winning. You should be smart in using your mana. Remember that all cards cost mana, except your Planeswalker.

When you have enough mana, you should try to attack on one lane only. Ignore the other side unless the enemy has overwhelmed your sub-Guardian. Your goal is to get to the main Guardian first and inflict significant damage early in the match. This way, your opponent will find it hard to defend and attack at the same time. As long as there are not a lot of AoE units, you have a higher chance of winning.

Another technique is to play reactively, which means you should go slow. Summon creatures only when your enemy drops a unit. Keep your mana use to a minimum, so you catch your opponent off-guard later in the battle. Be sure to summon your Planeswalker hero wisely because you can only use them for a limited time.

Planning your tactics ahead and having synergy between the cards can help you reach victory. It always helps when you know the strengths and weakness of the cards you are using. For example, if you are going against an Overpowered (OP) unit in the game, such as Wavecrash Triton, you have to act quickly. This character has AoE damage and a tank with a hard pushback effect. Your best tactic is to prevent your other units from getting trapped, so they survive the battle.

These tips and tricks are sure to help you climb the Magic: ManaStrike leaderboard in no time. Do you know additional tips or strategies, that we haven’t included in the guide? If so, let us know by leaving a message in the comment are below!