This avoids online play being just a virtual platform, and allows the true game experience to be achieved both online and off. Unlike other titles with companion apps, like Ascension, players can scan the unique decks they create and upload them. The game is also a hybrid deck builder, so it will launch on TTS and to tabletops concurrently. Booster sets and packs can be combined in thousands of ways, letting players get more out of the game without buying costly decks right off the bat. Gary and Garfield have removed some barriers for new players to get interested in the title.
The same fused deck can behave totally differently based on the cards you play and upgrade during the game, which is a major draw. Deck creation never really ends, since you continue to build while you play. The one-of-a-kind decks keep drafting and fusion feeling fresh. There are many interesting and enjoyable aspects of the game, though. Even on officially sanctioned livestreams I watched that pitted staff from developer Stone Blade Entertainment against each other, gameplay trended towards players winning in a landslide versus finessed victory. Once a solid row of creatures was played, it was nearly impossible for the opponent to avoid taking 20-plus damage in a single turn. In my playtesting, one player often won a game, then lost the next spectacularly. Especially between two new players, wins tended to be by a wide margin rather than a few points. With limited play time and access only to the online TTS version, it was difficult for us to get into any strategy.Īnother pattern was sweeping victory. It takes one to two games with a faction’s cards to really understand the synergy and how best to wield them. We would often get distracted by other play elements or just get confused about what did what. I also noticed that my fellow playtesters and I tended to forget to use our Forgeborn powers. Unfortunately, this feature can be intimidating for new players since there isn’t much time to learn the turn flow or deck cycles before being thrown into the fray. Instead of the game dragging on with nothing on the board, play popped off immediately. There are no lands or resources needed to play stronger spells or creatures. I noticed that unlike MTG or Ascension, SolForge Fusion doesn’t have a slow ramp-up. There is a distinct learning curve to gameplay. This is an impressive feat considering players will help shape the future of the SolForge Fusion universe - each narrative tree will branch and change based on the outcome of Storyline Events (competitions once per release that decide the outcome of future plot points), the first of which is happening this weekend at Gen Con. On a call for this story, Gary mentioned that over three years of arcs have already been written, and the game’s official release is still over a month away. That means introducing a deck building mechanic that avoids the traps of overpowered “net decks’’ (created by one player, uploaded to the internet, and copied by the masses to crush opponents) and reduces the startup cost.Īnother key goal the devs had for Fusion was crafting the story and lore. Fusion was designed as a trading card game that could be playable for players of all skill levels.
After many months of Kickstarter tracking and Reddit forum searching, last week I finally got to blaze the trail to the forge during this year’s Gen Con in Indianapolis.įundamentally, the game is a revival of the original SolForge (a free-to-play digital card game released in 2016). To say I was excited to hear that Richard Garfield (creator of MTG) and Justin Gary (creator of Ascension) were creating SolForge Fusion together is an understatement.
I’m an avid player of Ascension, a meddler in Magic: The Gathering, a lover of Gloomhaven, and a fiend for all other staples of the genre. Every tabletop enthusiast has a favorite mechanic.