I’m enjoying this more than I did Hearthstone - but I think it’s because the offline vs. AI stuff (an AI Arena mode! Yay!) is so good and I’m actually really digging the (lengthy!) campaign. The artwork is incredible, as are the visuals/animations/effects, and I like the card design and the mechanics. Just excellent stuff so far, and I may drop $2 now and then to play the Arena just for fun.
I also like this quite a bit more than Hearthstone so far.
I actually enjoy this more than Hearthstone. Granted, it can’t touch HS’s production quality (no CCG I’ve tried can), but its PQ is decent in its own right, especially considering it’s still in beta. The additional mechanics in this game are what do it for me, such as two summoning lanes, lane powers, rune stones, and prophecy. Also, even though I enjoy HS’s randomness, those who don’t will likely enjoy this game.
EDIT: The devs have mentioned that players’ beta collections will carry over to the release version.
This looks a lot that Might & Magic CCG that was out and then (I think) died, what with the lanes and all. How does it compare to that for anyone who’s played both?
If I remember correctly, that game had more of a matrix battlefield (with rows and columns) as opposed to this game’s two lanes (think of each lane as a HS lane). It also had positional conflict such that creatures in each row could attack only those creatures opposite them in the same row, which I never enjoyed. In this game, as in HS, each creature can attack any opposing creature in its lane or the opponent’s hero (unless an opposing creature has Guard (HS’s Taunt)). But there’s at least one Legendary creature I know that can attack opposing creatures in either lane.
Also, the game limits each player to four creatures per lane. If you want to summon a fifth creature to a lane that already has four, you choose which creature you want to sacrifice so it can be summoned.
Right, Duel of Champions had 4 x 2 matrix with front and back ranks, and got a lot of mileage out of positioning, with abilities that hit different templates of spaces. That was really an excellent core game design – it’s too bad Ubisoft mismanaged it so badly.
This is nowhere near as elaborate, but still adds a bit of a positional wrinkle.
I got through the first 9 acts of the quests. It’s fast and fairly polished…unfortunately it’s a little too much like Hearthstone for me to get too excited about it. The UI and basic card effects are pretty much a carbon copy of HS. The lanes add a little wrinkle, but not enough of one.
Admittedly, I’m still going through the quests, so maybe the epic cards add some complexity. So far, though, it’s a little underwhelming.
For me, the extra lane is more than just a little extra wrinkle, it adds an extra dimension to the game. Not only do you have strategic placement of creatures (which you never had in HS), but you see more than a few cards that have effects that only impact a certain lane or allow creatures to transcend lanes (e.g. blood dragon can attack across lanes and also avoid guards).
It’s not a game changer, for sure, but for me it helps remove the one-dimensionality of HS without going to the other extreme like the might and magic ccg did. The cover system can also have a significant effect on gameplay as some cards have great effects (e.g. pilfer) that you really want to activate on your next turn. So action cards that damage creatures become a bit more powerful than charge creatures in HS as they can break cover.
The prophecy system is another great change, as it puts a little roadblock in front of snowballing. Even if you don’t have any prophecy cards in your deck, being able to draw an extra card or two when you’re behind can sometimes be all the difference (talking from someone who has lost to a couple of embarrassingly large turnarounds). I swear there are some other more minor mechanic changes but I will have to think about it. Both stole most of their game mechanics from Magic, of course.
I guess if you actively disliked HS or still play it regularly there isn’t enough here to hook you. I really liked HS but it was too simple for me for long-term appeal, this game (so far) seems more promising.
I was unsure of the rune system and the prophecy system tied to it at first. I really like both of them now and they can actually drastically affect the game. There are times when it’s best to not smack your opponent too hard all at once because you don’t want them drawing 3 free cards any of which may also play for free. It’s entirely possible to be ahead, smack them too hard, they get free draws all at once and end up in the superior board position and you can’t deal with all that they played essentially for free.
Yeah, I lost a game once where I was up like 45 to 9 and ended up at a severe card disadvantage. When he started coming back I couldn’t respond with an empty hand.
Agility and Intelligence are, by far, the most widely used deck types I’ve encountered in Versus mode. After 15 Versus games, here’s the breakdown of opponents I’ve faced:
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 9
Strength: 4
Endurance: 4
Willpower: 3
People just love to go for the face, I guess. I run a Willpower/Endurance deck that isn’t getting it done against those deck types (4 wins, 9 loses).
I’ve only dabbled a bit in competitive. The solo Arena has proven a lot of fun and a good return for the gold. Even when I don’t beat it I usually earn enough gold between the arena rewards and daily quests to run it again, and that’s on top of the decks and cards it pays out.
When I do hit versus I’ve been experimenting with an Orc themed deck. Strength/Endurance, I think? Not that I’ve been winning a lot.
After seeing Mysterio’s post on deck types, I thought I’d check my last fifteen games.
Agility: 8
Intelligence: 8
Strength: 6
Endurance: 4
Willpower: 4
I think in your face type decks are just easier for most people to get a handle on.
ENOUGH WITH THE AGILITY DECKS! Holy cow! They’re all I face in Versus!
…ahem…
I’m better, now, thank you.
I play agility ;) agi/wil
So Versus reward card for August is now shown in-game, and it’s a poor choice given the glut of Agility decks:
Smuggler’s Haul (Agility, 6 mana): Draw four random 0-cost cards.
sigh
Hi from the dev team. Longtime QT3 reader, joined back when Tom & Bruce were first checking out Star Chamber, but I mostly lurk and read.
We did tone down a couple Agility cards today, hopefully makes the environment more pleasant.
Great news! Thanks!
Totally digging this game. It’s got a lot of cool mechanics (I do like the idea of prophecy, but full free cards are kind of ehh.), great art, great sound, and great visual effects.The card rewards are really generous, and I love that I can play against the AI in arena, though sometimes they get total bullshit decks.
Currently having fun with green/gold.