I enjoy both this and Elder Scrolls quite a bit. They are similar but really approach almost everything in different ways. Eternal feels more like Magic, Elder Scrolls feels more like Hearthstone. Especially the way combat is handled.
They are different enough that I feel fine playing both without feeling like I’m doing the same thing.
This has completely replaced Hex as my goto game. I still have to get gud at deck building though.
Haha, I feel weirdly way more accomplished for hitting Silver with godawful decks than most any ranks I got in HS.
I have been playing Eternal for the past 3-4 weeks and am really enjoying it. I had to retrain the MTG habits in my brain a little bit, but there are some articles online that help with negotiating the rules differences. It plays fast and due to the game mechanics you don’t have to worry about hitting pause (or missing it due to lag…) at the right time to respond to an opponent’s action. In fact, going back to playing Magic Duels feels painfully slow after playing Eternal.
Eternal offers card interactions that take advantage of the digital format, but it does feel streamlined compared to MTG, which has had two decades to grow and evolve. Sweepers and counterspells are very limited, making hardcore control not much of an option as far as I can tell. However, that also keeps the game moving with a fairly healthy mix of aggro, midrange, and combo/synergy deck styles. I imagine that additional card dynamics will be introduced in future expansions to diversify the gameplay further.
Eternal also features two drafting formats, a limited version against AI and a more standard draft against human opponents. I’ve never been that great at limited formats, but I’ve been trying them out as a change of pace vs. just playing on the constructed ladder. As a relative newbie, I generally do not have all the specific cards I would like for a particular constructed deck concept, so draft offers a way to build my collection and play against opponents working with a similar card pool. At the same time, I have gained enough cards/packs from playing that I can still build some pretty good constructed decks, even if I do not have all the rares that would make the deck a little stronger.
In short, anyone who enjoys Magic should give this game a try. I’ve only spent a few dollars to get a few free bonus packs, but will be spending a little bit more cash to support the developers. The community seems rather healthy for a new game, so I expect it to have legs for a while.
I’ve never been a fan of CCGs of any kind, but for the what-the-hell experience I’ve played some Eterna lately. Not bad, really. It certainly is depressing to redraw a hand and get all power cards, or to draw all 3+ units and never draw another power card again after your first two…
With more or less basic cards that aren’t crafted for some particular skewed purpose, seems to me shadow-primal is the best bet; with those I cruised to “master” level at the gauntlet mode without spending any cash on the game.
The various skewed decks for pvp I’ve seen either win or lose very quickly, but it’s always fun to run into a player who has either played the hell out of the game or spent a lot of money, because their decks are all composed of ultrarare cards…
Amen brother.
One of the best pvp decks is fire/justice and doesn’t actually have all that many legendaries…
4 Finest Hour (Set1 #130)
4 Inspire (Set1 #129)
4 Oni Ronin (Set1 #13)
4 Torch (Set1 #8)
4 Champion of Glory (Set1 #314)
4 Crownwatch Paladin (Set1 #139)
4 Rakano Outlaw (Set1 #20)
3 Vanquish (Set1 #143)
4 Sword of Icaria (Set1 #315)
4 Valkyrie Enforcer (Set1 #151)
4 Hammer of Might (Set1 #170)
3 Righteous Fury (Set1 #322)
2 Deepforged Plate (Set1 #317)
2 Soulfire Drake (Set1 #47)
6 Fire Sigil (Set1 #1)
7 Justice Sigil (Set1 #126)
4 Diplomatic Seal (Set1 #425)
4 Rakano Banner (Set1 #427)
4 Seat of Glory (Set0 #56)
Four legendaries (Deepforged Plate and Soulfire Drake) and fifteen rares (Champion of Glory, Valkyrie Enforcer, Hammer of Might, Righteous Fury) isn’t all that bad.
I was just messing around with a warcry deck. It can be kind of silly when you play an 11-11 cost-1 basic unit. I guess you mean fire/justice, not fire/primal, though.
right, yes, I just think of them in terms of colors.
My current deck is rather more legendary-heavy and probably worse on average, but it’s really fun to start a turn with two creatures in play and have another 150 power worth of creatures by the time you get to play a card.
4 Initiate of the Sands
4 Seek Power
4 Awakened Student
4 Desert Marshal (uncommon)
4 Temple Scribe (uncommon)
1 Voice of the Speaker (rare, maybe ought to have another)
4 Amber Acolyte
4 Knight-Chancellor Siraf (legendary)
4 Valkyrie Enforcer (rare)
4 Sandstorm Titan (legendary but very worth crafting, auto-include in pretty much any Time deck)
2 The Great Parliament (legendary)
4 Xenan Obelisk (rare)
1 Harsh Rule (rare)
4 Vodakhan, Temple Speaker (legendary)
1 Talir, Who Sees Beyond (free legendary)
7 Justice Sigil
12 Time Sigil
4 Combrei Banner
4 Seat of Progress
http://www.direwolfdigital.com/eternal-jekks-bounty/
Eternal’s answer to Hearthstone’s Adventures releases this week. Sixteen single-player challenges, with each one awarding a playset of a new card. 20,000 gold or 1000 gems (about 10 bucks).
Nice!
I can dig it.
In other news, what the hell is wrong with that page that Chrome sucks so badly at rendering it? Stuttering, jaggy scrolling like it’s pegging the system.
I somehow doubt my desktop gaming/dev system is being stretched by the Direwolf blog.
Luckily I haven’t had time to do drafts, so I have more than 20k gold already saved up!
That’s a pity. Hearthstone’s approach to singleplayer - i.e. using it as a throwaway vehicle for dispensing fixed set PvP cards, at a price that reflects the cards you’re getting and not the actual singleplayer content - is easily the worst possible approach to emulate.
The new campaign is out. I only have 10,000 gold due to a draft. Deciding whether or not to drop the cash.
I’m at about 15,000 – just need to grind that last little bit.
Couple of things to consider, though. One, all of the new cards have been spoiled and you can find them online or in-game, to help with your decisionmaking. Two, the new cards are also craftable. So if you’re (somehow) cash-poor but drowning in craft-stone, you could go that route. Three, the new cards are also (I think) UN-craftable, so depending on which new cards you don’t want, you could turn your 20k gold into a decent chunk of craft-stone for some specific legendaries.
I have no idea what this means.
I’m about halfway through the new campaign. My only opinion so far is that the challenges are not particularly difficult; I’ve switched between using two not-fully-optimized decks and only had one close game so far. The opponents don’t cheat with their special abilities the way I was expecting from HS expansions.
I think he means that you can woodchipper the cards you earn into dust.
ah, ok, that makes more sense.