Portal:Story

Overview

Story Mode is a set of battles against pre-constructed enemy decks which teach game mechanics, provide challenges (especially for new players), and give rewards. Story Mode content is always available in Magic: the Gathering Puzzle Quest.

Beating the first chapter of the Origins story using Nissa, Sage Animist unlocks Events and Coalition game content.

Story Mode was the only content available when the game was originally released in 2015.

Rewards

Resources are given as rewards for each game played in Story mode. In addition to the Runes awarded for every game played (more for winning, naturally), Runes are earned for winning while completing the first optional objective. Crystals are earned by completing the second optional objective, and afterwards, by winning the same battle once with Planeswalkers of every color. Winning with colorless Planeswalkers does not advance the "win with every color" objective, but multiple-color Planeswalkers give a win for all of their colors.

Even though Story Mode battles are functionally equivalent to PvE battles, Story Mode is not considered a PvE event, and so games won do not count towards Quests that tally PvE wins.

Story Mode Levels

Story Mode has four levels, navigated via the arrows facing right and left at the top of the Story Mode screen. Each level has at least 4 chapters, and each chapter has up to 20 battles.

Story mode level	Set(s)	Number of Chapters	Total Number of Battles
Origins (Story)	Origins	6	79
Training (Story)		22	73
Battle for Zendikar (Story)	Battle for Zendikar	4	35
Heroic Encounters (Story)	Origins	6	30

Origins

Main article: Origins (Story)

The Origins story features battles of increasing difficulty. In each battle, all of the opponents' cards are from the Origins set.

Training

Main article: Training (Story)

The Training story features short chapters with specially designed battles to introduce players to the new mechanics of specific Card sets. The player is given pre-fabricated decks in these battles, including cards that they may not own or see elsewhere for quite some time.

Many Training chapters provide cards as rewards, and in some cases Card packs, from the corresponding card set. Like all new cards, these are helpful for players to improve their Decks and manage their Mastery level.

Battle for Zendikar

The Battle for Zendikar story features a tutorial (similar to Training) plus further chapters of increasing difficulty. The enemies' decks in the tutorial consist of mostly BFZ and some Origins cards, unlike in the Chapters, which are only BfZ cards.

• Learn the Basics

Bosses - Mechanics - Rewards

1. Deathless Behemoth - Rally and Ally - Chasm Guide
2. Breaker of Armies - Landfall and Converge  - Geyserfield Stalker
3. Desolation Twin - Awaken  - Sheer Drop
4. Nissa, Sage Animist - Devoid , Ingest, and Processor - Benthic Infiltrator
5. Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger - Recap of previous abilities - BFZ Booster pack

• Battle for Zendikar - Chapter 1

Kozilek's Channeler, The Eldrazi Desolation, Conduit of Ruin, Swarm Surge, Bane of Bala Ged, Desolation Twin, Incubator Drone, Forerunner of Slaughter, Blight Herder, Silent Skimmer.

• Battle for Zendikar - Chapter 2

Mist Intruder, Smothering Abomination, Deathless Behemoth, Kozilek's Sentinel, Culling Drone, Blisterpod, Murk Strider, Tide Drifter, Endless One, Vile Aggregate.

• Battle for Zendikar - Chapter 3

Sire of Stagnation, Void Attendant, Barrage Tyrant, Void Winnower, Dust Stalker, Herald of Kozilek, Oblivion Sower, Brood Monitor, Breaker of Armies, Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger.

Heroic Encounters

Main article: Heroic Encounters

Heroic Encounters feature a set of relatively high difficulty story battles, corresponding to the five Origins planeswalkers.

Heroic Encounters starts locked, and is unlocked by completing the Win the Game objective of every node in Chapter 1, Parts 1 and 2.

Each level starts with the enemy getting some sort of advantage in the form of creatures and/or supports that are in play before the battle begins.

The Mana Rune rewards for winning the game and completing objectives are unusually high: 1760 or more.

Strategies

• Early on, play to win and run through the initial rewards, as you will not have the card collections to meet all of the objectives early.

• The Training section should be given a high priority; it is designed to teach players the mechanics of the game and it earns card rewards which are needed for Events and later sections of the Origins Story games.

• Some Training chapters are harder; some are easier or more lucrative. An example of the latter is the War of the Spark chapter, completion of which yields five Vanguard  cards, three of them Green, which are quite powerful early on.

• Since the player is not using their own Planeswalker, there is no damage done that has to be healed in the event of a loss, and the card order is not fixed for some of the hardest games, so they can potentially be attempted repeatedly. But on the other hand, for those who prefer to pick the lowest hanging fruit first, the games will forever be there to try again, until completed.

• All rewards in a single Story mode battle can be earned in two games. To do this, you would meet the two optional objectives in addition to using a three color planeswalker (such as Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh) in a first game, and an opposing two color planeswalker (such as Huatli, Radiant Champion) in a second game to meet all five color objectives.

As of the 2022 Streets of New Capenna set, all of the two-planeswalker combinations which cover all 5 colors are:

First planeswalker		Second planeswalker
	Narset of the Ancient Way		One of Garruk, Cursed Huntsman, Nissa of Shadowed Boughs, Vraska, Golgari Queen, or Vraska, Relic Seeker
	Sarkhan Unbroken		One of Daxos the Returned, Kaya, Orzhov Usurper, Kaya, the Inexorable, Kaya, Geist Hunter, or Sorin, Grim Nemesis
	Tamiyo, Field Researcher		One of Angrath, the Flame-Chained, Ob Nixilis, the Adversary, Sarkhan the Mad, or Tibalt, Cosmic Impostor
	One of Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh, Nicol Bolas, the Ravager, or Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God		One of Ajani, Unyielding, Calix, Destiny's Hand, or Huatli, Radiant Champion
	Dakkon, Shadow Slayer		Arlinn, the Pack's Hope, Domri, Chaos Bringer, Samut, the Tested, or Wrenn and Six