Warner Bros. has concocted an intriguing collectible card game, Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, now globally available across Android, iOS, and PC. Our initial impressions of Harry Potter: Magic Awakened are positive, so it's only natural to push the title toward the top as one of the most anticipated games to land on Android in 2023. It has already seen a limited global release to prepare for the wider launch, and all of this testing has paid off.

Now that Harry Potter: Magic Awakened is avilable globally, you can get up to speed with this starter's guide. We cover the basic gameplay behind Harry Potter: Magic Awakened's collectible card mechanics, the essential daily activities for account progression, and how to approach building your first deck. Let's dig in!

How to create your Hogwarts student persona

Attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a core part of the game. After sitting through a series of cutscenes, you can create and customize your character. Options are somewhat limited, but more become unlocked after attending Hogwarts and visiting Diagon Alley during your breaks.

Character creation

• Enter your character's name.
• Select your gender, male (wizard) or female (witch).
• Customize your face: skin tone, facial features - including freckles, glasses.
• Choose your hair color, hairstyle, makeup style, and accessories.
• Pick your scarf and coat (4 choices).

The next step involves sorting into your house: you must choose between Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. Consider these houses as a chosen guild.

The Sorting Hat will suggest one by default, but feel free to override the Sorting Hat's decision anyway.

Once you gain control over your character after the Sorting Hat ceremony, you can open up your Knapsack and select New Look Mirror. The New Look Mirror will let you change your appearance anytime; note that the chosen gender is locked in.

Dive into Harry Potter: Magic Awakened’s gameplay

This section reveals the core gameplay behind Harry Potter: Magic Awakened. The game isn't shy about using a lot of flavor text, but not everyone will have the background going in, which is why we break down what everything means.

How the cards work

To put it simply, Harry Potter: Magic Awakened plays out like a real-time role-playing game (RPG) using a collectible card game system for your in-battle equips. Cards bring strategy to each battle; they are your general abilities when fighting, and each skill requires a unique point cost for its use, so balancing your deck is essential. Upgrading and equipping cards that synergize together unlock your full potential in a fight.

How movement works

Movement (tap on a movement card) and select any position on the map to move your Witch or Wizard to that location. Repositioning is restricted by how many movement cards you own, so be strategic!

Card types

Cards are categorized into rarity (from highest to lowest): Legendary, Epic, Rare, and Common. The rarer the card, the more potent it is. Also, cards can be further divided by type; Spell cards and Summoning cards. Spell cards go into effect immediately when cast, while Summoning cards and creatures are placed on the field to trigger their effects.

More importantly, decks need to include Companion cards and Echoes. Companion cards perform like assist characters, and Echoes generate buffs for your deck.

Your deck should be built around your equipped Echo. This is your most important synergy to account for.

Acquiring and upgrading cards

Cards are unlocked via completing Yearbook entries (story), opening Flying Car rewards, and participating in Magical Studies (using keys and Gems in a gacha system).

Similar to equipment in RPGs, your cards can be upgraded. Upgrades cost Gold and card duplicates, so plan carefully.

Collecting cards with Magical Studies

Using keys to begin a draw in Basic and Advanced Studies is another way to guarantee cards. The rates of higher rarity cards are low, but accumulating enough draws will ensure a Legendary card after 20 pulls (Advanced Studies). Basic studies will only give you a Rare card after 30 draws.

You need Gems to continue the draws once you've run out of keys. Never spend Gems on the Basic Study banner; stick with saving up for the Advanced Studies banner.

Switching and customizing decks

You can create multiple decks and customize them for the type of content you're aiming for, which is something we recommend. Essentially you'll want decks built for PvP and PvE; this takes some experimenting with which cards work better for which situation, though there will always be cards labeled as top-tier that are considered staple cards for many decks you build. But as a new player, you must work with the cards you receive from the Yearbook entries and Magical Studies.

To check the cards you have, tap Charms. You can edit your deck and select the ones to use in battle.

Choosing cards for PvE and PvP decks

Once you've unlocked more cards, it'll be easier to sort out which decks better suit PvP vs. PvE. For example, Crucio (Spell card) would be better used in a PvE-oriented deck (against a boss) due to its line of sight restriction — auto-targeting the first enemy and dependency on a stacking mechanic to reach full power. In contrast, something like the Protego Totalum Spell card generates a shield around your friendly units, even blocking some enemy Spells, which would be excellent utility in a duel (PvP) situation.

What to expect from Day-to-day activities

Prioritize these tasks every time you log in to stay on course, progressing through the content. Activities allocate Gems, Gold, cards, and experience points for your Spell Book level.

Class participation

Your efforts as a studious wizard/witch are well compensated. Class participation points are needed for getting Yearbook progression (story) and completing daily tasks.

Classes are divided into mini-games. Examples include a rhythm game at the Social Club (rhythm game), Harry Potter filled-trivia during History of Magic, and a tower defense game in Creature Care. Some classes are restricted when they are in session, so be mindful when you play (see Class Schedule for your first year)!

Class Schedule

Your first time attending class places you with your NPC (non-playable character) classmates, but you’ll likely use the matchmaking queue to join other players once you’re accustomed to the general gameplay loop.

As a new player, it's a good idea to spend lots of time in the Forbidden Forest acquiring Echoes and ingredients for potions.

Daily missions

Tapping on Homework opens your daily and weekly missions list. Gold is acquired by completing these missions. Otherwise, explore Hogwarts to find chests around the buildings and campus; new chests respawn periodically.

Story-mode

Your Yearbook displays where you’re at in the story. Each year’s record has a story segment and completing these nets rewards (cards, Gold, and Gems). This is the best way to guarantee unlocking Epic and Legendary cards.

PvP/dueling

PvP (1-v-1 or 2-v-2) or dueling players plays a pivotal role in this game. Spend time collecting cards, putting together a decent deck, and synthesizing potions to prepare.

Participating in the duels will reward a rank depending on performance and your overall score. Depleting the health bar of all the opponents determines who wins the duel, awarding duel points at the very end. Reaching Grand Master tier is how you can get on the global leaderboards after you've qualified to join the Global Duel. Echo Points rewarded during Global Duel matches will determine your placement on the exclusive Echo Leaderboard, where only the top players compete.

You can craft a PvP potion that prevents a rank drop when losing a match.

The future is looking bright for Harry Potter: Magic Awakened

You can expect plenty of card collecting, Harry Potter lore, and an original storyline with hidden Easter eggs, which should ensure Harry Potter: Magic Awakened is a welcomed addition on Android for some time to come. After all, there's no shortage of magic in this release, so if you're looking for a an alternative to Hogwarts Legacy on Android, then be sure to grab the game through widget below. Enjoy your journey through Hogwarts!