Duelyst

CCGs are very popular at the moment, and they have been for a couple of years now, thanks to games like Hearthstone, Magic: The Gathering and a few others. They all try to bring something new to the genre and help the players have a good time, but most of them fail to make the experience both enjoyable and challenging at the same time, which is the goal of a strategy game.

Duelyst is a unique CCG with a variety of new tactical elements to keep you busy, not to mention the original battle mechanics that add an extra layer of complexity to the whole thing. At the same time, it’s also very easy to understand the rules and start playing right away, even if takes you a long time to really master the units at your disposal and all the other gimmicks.

To begin with, it’s worth noting that Duelyst is a lot like chess in certain regards, especially when it comes to how the units are summoned on the battlefield. Hence, the whole grid feels a chess table, not to mention the fact that your units can move around and attack whatever is next to them. Obviously, there are other things you have to keep track of, on the other hand, such as hit points or attack damage.

As in every other CCG out there, the goal is to defeat the enemy commander by reducing his or her hit points to zero. This is much easier to achieve in Duelyst, given the fact that the commander is on the battlefield with the rest of the units. However, generals are also stronger and tougher to defeat, which makes every match a blast from start to finish. It also forces you to play more tactical and position yourself much better on the battlefield.

Other than that, everything is more or less like in a classic card game, which means that you need mana to play new ones, and it’s possible to also make use of artifacts or spells to change the course of the match. On top of that, it’s also possible to occupy mana pools on the board and acquire extra points to gain an advantage over your opponent.

All things considered, Duelyst certainly has a lot to offer, especially if you are willing to learn the mechanics and you do not mind the slow progress when it comes to unlocking new cards. However, the matches are very engaging and fun, at least if the players take full advantage of the possibilities at their disposal.