DevLog #1 - OTA Content Update

Welcome to our second DevLog for MTG Doctor Phoenix, the next generation of MTG Doctor. If you’ve been a member of the MTG Doctor community all these years, thank you for your support and if you are not familiar with MTG Doctor thanks for taking the time to read our log. 

Past & Present MtG

In the last 12+ years since we first launched MTG Doctor no other change in Magic: The Gathering has been more surprising to us than the amount of products released on a per year basis. Back then in 2012 Wizards released a total of 9 products, fast forward to 2024 and in this year alone we have seen around 65 products released (a large number of which being Secret Lairs). 

In terms of MTG Doctor this means that for each new product release a new version needs to be submitted to the app store to bring in the cards for that product. So while back in the earlier days where we would only release a handful of updates a year the increasing number of products by Wizards required sometimes multiple updates on a single month. The original approach we had in MTG Doctor also has some additional shortcomings just to name a few:

• Delay due to store approval process: Fortunately after being in the store for over a decade this review process is often a couple of hours but a delay none the less.

• All the cards: Given the current approach this means you also get all the cards for all the products whether you are interested in the product or not. 

• Lack of flexibility: The current approach also limited us from doing things like making spoiler cards available as it would further increase the number of updates in a given month that would need to be released. 

To address these shortcomings and more, we are taking this opportunity to rebuild our system with the idea of over the air (OTA) content updates at its core. This led to the creation of the feature we are introducing today, appropriately named “Content Update”.

Content Update

Flexibility and speed of availability were two of our three guiding principles driving the creation of the features. We wanted to be able to make new cards available as quickly as possible as well as any changes to the banned list without having to wait for an app version to be built and approved by the app store. We also wanted each individual player to have control of which sets they added or not. 

Also, gorgeous art and Magic: The Gathering have always gone hand in hand in our opinion so it was important to us this feature not only be functional but also highlight this aspect of the game.

Benefits:

• New cards can now be available as soon as everyone in the community has them which means less time waiting to get started building our decks. 

• We can also now have card spoliers become available as soon as they are. 

• Changes to the banned list can also be available soon after they are published by Wizards. 

• Precon decks both official and unofficial will be available this way too which means we can start upgrading them and playtesting right away. 

• Updates to the overall rules of Magic: The Gathering will also be available here meaning we don’t have to wait for store approvals for the latest version either.

Closing Thoughts

In the coming month we’ll continue updating the MTG Doctor experience with the lessons we have learned over the past 12+ years since we first launched, and continue sharing these with our community in these DevLogs.

Thank you for reading this far and for using MTG Doctor all these years. Whether it has been one year or the entire 12+ years MTG Doctor would not have grown into such a great tool as it has without all your support. Join us during future DevLogs as we continue to share the next generation of MTG Doctor built on over 12 years of experiences and lessons. 

We also have some giveaways as thanks to our MTG Doctor community coming soon, so don’t miss when we announce them by subscribing to our mailing list here. 

Enjoying these updates? 

Join us during future DevLogs as we continue to share the next generation of MTG Doctor built on over 12 years of experiences and lessons.

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