Review – Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Champions

Making a bill of fare game spinoff of a popular franchise has been a go-to money making method for a while now. That it's taken this long for Warhammer to attempt their hands at a licensed CCG surprises me profoundly. Even more so is the quality of the cease product, which bears no resemblance to the Hearthstone clone many would expect. As a thing of fact,Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Champions in general is a strong departure from the standard digital menu game in all the right ways.

The gameplay is simple. You and your opponent both start the game with a deck representing one of the four Grand Alliances, your choices beingness Order, Anarchy, Destruction, and Decease. Representing your faction are four Champion cards which you lot take turns placing on the lath. You then take turns either playing a carte from your paw or skipping in order to draw from your deck. Cards include spells, units, and actions cards that do annihilation from rearranging your champions to directly dissentious your opponent.

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The UI is barebones, but hands shows you everything you need to know.

What's different here is how each card functions afterwards being played. At the corners of nearly cards are circles containing values. Every turn that card is on the board, it rotates clockwise to the next circle and does something (or cipher) depending what'due south inside. For example, the cardHealing Storm rotates through four values and each turn heals yous for the amount shown. The game is filled to the brim with cards that make exceedingly clever utilize of this mechanic, from shield spells that fade over time to berserk units that trade turns damaging both sides.

When a card reaches the end of its rotations (ordinarily four rotations, though some cards have less), it is then discarded and that Champion information technology was played on is now costless to field some other card. This cycle of playing a card on a Champion and locking them down for multiple turns means the rush strategy prevalent in most CCG's is non a factor here. Neither you or your opponent tin have more than than iv cards on the table at any time.

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Ability cards are unique in that they are instant-cast. This is balanced out with poorer results compared to a multi-turn hitting unit or high damage dealing spell.

If you lot think that would tiresome the game downward, with a huge accent on waiting for card to elapse, you lot would exist mistaken. Due to the boilerplate low hand size and lack of minion harm absorption, games are fast paced and over quickly. Turtling isn't possible because minions neither absorb or block damaged, recovery items are few and far between, and with the rotating mechanic you will be dealing consequent damage non long into each game. It's one of the most option up and play friendly digital card games I've ever seen and perfect Switch textile.

The gameplay may be fun and innovative, but the real test for whatever menu game, especially digital ones, is the economic system model. But how much is this game going to toll you lot if yous want to play it well? InChampions case, not any more then what you lot choose. Playing through the opening mission and the first four stages of the game's main campaign, dubbed "The Realm Trials", will internet you a starting deck for each of the One thousand Alliances along with a themed booster pack for each. Ordinarily starter decks are mostly worthless and either serve as a base for a real deck made up mostly of purchased cards or to be trashed completely in favor of annihilation else, only not this time.

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The one hiccup to the Real Trials organization is energy costs. However information technology drains slowly and refills apace, and there'south enough of other things to exercise that aren't connected to this way specific system.

They don't give abroad the most powerful cards in the game mind you, but they aren't the most worthless either. Each deck is a full PvP ready production that accurately represents the intended play mode of each Alliance, with full internal synergy. This is the kind of deck that you tin play online with no issues. That they exercise this while also serving equally a decent template for newbie deck builders to build on is cypher curt of a miracle. Earning booster packs to refine and build your ain decks is done at a respectable charge per unit as well, through the usual system of daily missions and gilt per game played. There'southward even the crafting system fromHearthsone which hands allows you to turn cards yous don't want into ones you do. All in all, this is one of the most player friendly models I've e'er seen in any game, regardless of genre.

There's no skimping on content either. In addition to the standard Versus mode, there's an array of single-player content too. The headliner is the Realm Trials, a series of increasingly difficult stages that advantage anything from booster packs to aureate. You can even unlock special thematic campaigns that recreate various stories from the Age of Sigmar world. There'due south also a Versus AI to test out decks and Event modes that rotate out oft. If in that location was ever a CCG that catered to single-player purists, while not ignoring multiplayer players, it's Champions.

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Opening five booster packs of whatsoever kind volition unlock a free five carte booster pack. They work really difficult to proceed the rewards flowing instead of being stingy, something many games could stand up to larn from.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Champions may not be as flashy or high budget as most other franchise CCG spin-offs, but it makes upwards for that with pure quality. An engaging core mechanic that promotes fast yet tactical play, a variety of modes for players of all types, an economy model that isn't designed only to eat through your wallet, there is a lot to love here.

Graphics: 5.0

The UI, board, and card animations are all minimal to nonexistent. You're just playing cards here, no frills, no taking advantage of the medium.

Gameplay: eight.0

The carte rotating mechanic is as ingenious as it says on the box. Rarely has a game fabricated each play experience like it matters as much equally Champions has.

Audio: 3.0

Do you similar hearing the same handful of beats repeated over and over once more? If not, bring your own music. What sound furnishings are present are strangely satisfying, and so there's something.

Fun Factor: 9.0

A CCG with a unproblematic, notwithstanding intriguing, gimmick that is and so utilized intelligently by the game? One that isn't completely appreciative to the "must buy more" mentality of the genre? This is a CCG that yous actually want to play, non only collect.

Final Verdict: seven.0

Warhammer Historic period of Sigmar: Champions is available now on Switch and Steam.

Reviewed on Switch.

A copy of Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Champions was provided by the publisher.