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naw, I'll just stick with MtGO, its cheaper for many of the same functions....

Um that workstation thing was wanting $19.95 to download.. and as for MtGO, I was given the core game (which came with MtGO and PHYSICAL cards) and have never payed for anything on it... and I have my dream deck on there... a five color indestructible (the mechanic not the deck) token deck, gained through playing and trading.... and I test it aginst a myriad of players....

and besides the core game is only $11.98

I've got it, I've used it, but I'm never online for it anymore.

true, cause my IRL collection weighs more than me and two of my friends combined and It only cost me a total of $50 or so. in either case, I'm not bad mouthing the program, I'm just saying that there is cheaper ways of getting those features for the wiley.

Ok ok, first of all... CALM DOWN... I merely stating my views, I even said that the program DOES have merit... I don't want to argue about something of so little importance. BUT I will try to answer your questions the best I can. but please note that I am not trying to get into a flame war...

1) Cost- To get the "Full version" of MWS, you have to pay 19.95. That does not sound free to me. so you weigh this initial cost versus the cost of a base MtGO account ($10-$12 depending on region) there is the Cheaper part. something is not FREE if one must pay to acquire it.

2) Cards- You do not HAVE to buy the cards, you get the core set with the account and you can use this to build a basic deck until you can trade/bargian/win more. as I have said before and I will expand on. It is VERY easy to acquire all the cards on MtGO, Myself and 4 of my IRL friends (3 if you don't count my brother) have acquired all the cards we want. My brother has only to click redeem on his account and Wizards will ship him PHYSICAL copies of every card in his collection. Sure users of MWS have ALL the cards (a more than spiffy feature) but there is little to no pride in it.. no earning. And MtGO's redeem feature is quite a good reason to put some difficulty into acquiring cards.

3)Play- While it is true that you can't play LotR or netrunner, that is because it is MAgic: the Gathering Online, its dedicated in entirety to ONE game and so can put more of the servers' resources into processing that. BUT you CAN test decks you've built against yourself as well as build decks of cards you don't have and share these templates with friends.

4)Creation- MtGO does not have a card/set creatore, it is meant to be as true to the ACTUAL game as possible. The Avatars are based on existing cards and their Vanguard abilities are in tune with the original Vanguard cards of yesteryear. Especially since MtGO has prizes/rankings just as with REAL MtG, you wouldn't want someone using a created set/card.

IN closing I hope that I have answered your concerns and apologize if I seem crass. I am merely stating my case with as much information as I can. You have valid point and I am not dipsuting what you say, I merely am going on record as having tried to explain myself fully. All I am saying is that paying $19.95 to download something that is likely going to be deleted (I move around alot and often switch computers) when I leave is not cost effective for me versus something I already have the disc for and my account/decks are maintained from ANY location. MWS may be ideal fro others, all I was trying to get across from the outset is that it may not be as "Spiffy" for others.

o.0; i was perfectly calm, i just don't understand why you say mtgo is cheaper when you have to pay for cards.

i played mtgo for 8 months regularly, still play occassionally, i started with the core set too (for free actually, but for a different reason). that's worth maybe like, what, $15 tix? I could never build a card pool off of 15 dollars, even with the wierd mtgo rates.

i get everything i need from mws (except bonafied tournament play with prizes, which is undeniably awesome) and i haven't put a dime into it.

but i mean, that's cool if you somehow built a card pool for free on mtgo. i mean... i'm kind of jealous, i threw over $150 into that game. i don't regret it, but i probably never would have if i knew about mws 10 or so months ago.

I don't like Magic Workshop for one reason, I can't use it. The lack of Cross-platform support prevents me from even looking at the card packages.

Now Lackey CCG is something I can get behind. They also have a decent set of directions on how to make your own CCG modules. I have an old CCG I was working on that I'd love to recreate in Lackey, just for easier play testing.

I can't compare Lackey to Magic Workshop because I can't review MWS.