There is a lack of shuffling in the game, meaning the card draw order can be dictate by the player themselves, adding a strategic depth to a mechanic that is normally more luck based.
The Game Scout
My partner has had this game on his list for quite some time. We finally made the purchase and I was pleasantly surprised with the whole experience. It’s a compelling mix. There’s the deckbuilding of Dominion andthe co-operative team-up to fight the Big Bad of Marvel Champions with an apocalypse fantasy setting.
The game has a good pace. I was expecting the deep, dark fantasy theme to mean there would be a variety of moderately complex mechanics and difficult choices that slowed the pace of gameplay right down. Instead it felt much more like a marketplace deckbuilder, where the test of your deck’s strength was by how effectively the monster was slain, rather than how effectively your deck worked against the other players. All the makings of a challenging game are there with multiple choices to be made each turn that inevitably are a compromise on other possibilities. There is a lack of shuffling in the game, meaning the card draw order can be dictated by the player themselves, adding a strategic depth to a mechanic that is normally more luck based.
I really enjoyed my first play-through and have been wanting to play again. (Always a good sign) I liked that it scratched the itch of diving into a fantasy world for an hour without having to commit to a longer game like Arkham Horror. The first game that is recommended was seriously easy, so the next time we play, we will be ramping up the difficulty to keep the game challenging. It’s unusual for us to find this type of co-operative gameplay easy, so the balance of the first game may be too much towards ‘tutorial’ mode. Regardless, I’m looking forward to trying again and I feel certain this is a game that will come down off the shelf often.
The Game Scout
The Game Scout 