QS stands for “Quickshot”, a series of short form review/preview/opinion articles.
Does the acronym “TCG” mean anything to you? It stands for “Trading Card Game”. Does THAT mean anything to you? If it doesn’t, then you are really missing out, because TCGs are some of the most fun you can ever have playing a game. Whether it’s virtually or in person, TCGs offer unparalleled levels of playstyles, mechanics, and strategy. Some of the greats are household names, like Yugioh, Pokémon, and Magic The Gathering. Still, sometimes a smaller competitor is the one to truly take home the prize.
In my opinion, no TCG in existence is better than Shadowverse.
Shadowverse is a free game available on nearly all PCs and smartphone devices. It’s not even that large of a download size, which is surprising considering the breadth of content available therein. Shadowverse is absolutely bursting at the seams with battles, stories, events, and collectables to partake in and enjoy. Best of all, you can play to your hearts content without ever spending a cent, because unlike other “free” games, Shadowverse won’t try to nickel-and-dime you into paying for advantages against other players. It’s a super generous game.
That generosity goes a long way to helping the game sink its hooks into you, but it’s the addicting and extremely compelling gameplay that fully pulls you into an obsession. I’ve yet to ever play a TCG that offers this much customizability and free range of options and styles dependent upon individual players and their preferences. You can truly play however you want and still find success, and the game strikes the perfect balance between guiding you into certain playstyles and giving you the freedom to explore to your heart’s content.
(Briefly, I’ll paraphrase how the game plays. You draw cards from your deck, which is made of of little monsters and soldiers called Followers, and cards with special effects called Spells and Amulets. Using what you have in your hand, and all the strategy you can muster, you have to beat up your opponent before they can do the same to you. Usually, this involves playing Followers, making them stronger with Spells and Amulets, and then attacking to win.
Cards cost a certain amount of Play Points in order to actually use. At the beginning of a duel, each play starts with one Play Point. This, obviously, isn’t a lot. However, that number goes up by one for each turn that passes, allowing you to play both better cards and more cards per turn as the duel continues. This helps to create a nice upward curve of tension for each battle, and most victories come down to whichever player is able to think several steps ahead at all times.)
Shadowverse has two unique and amazing mechanics, and the first of which will help me elaborate on that point I was trying to make several paragraphs above.
Before you even begin to make a deck (decks are what you battle other opponents with, and they are comprised of 40 cards), you first have to choose a Craft. There are eight Crafts in the game, and each one has its own distinct set of cards and individualized mechanics and techniques. Cards from one Craft cannot be used in another (unless they are Craft-free Neutral cards), but while that might sound limiting, it really helps each deck you make stand apart from the rest, and encourages experimenting with light restraints to emphasis each Craft’s gimmicks.
For example, Forest Craft cards get bonuses depending on how many you play per turn. As a result, Forest Craft cards are often extremely cheap, so you can play several per turn. This is the gimmick unique to Forest Craft. On the flip side, Dragon Craft excels at playing a single strong Follower per turn, and beating the opponent with sheer overwhelming strength. Their unique gimmick makes all of their cards stronger after the seventh turn of the duel. Cheap little Forest cards wouldn’t really benefit that mechanic, would they? With a bit of forward thinking, it becomes clear that the card restrictions dependent on Craft are a logical inclusion.
Each of the Crafts is super fun to play though, which is awesome, because it means you can keep making several decks per Craft and never run out of enjoyment. Sword Craft labels some of their Followers as Officers and some as Commanders, and the two work in tandem to grow stronger. Rune Craft focuses on Spells, and the more Spells you play the stronger your Spells become. Shadow Craft is all about bringing back dead Followers with special effects, or summoning ghosts to overwhelm your foes. And Portal Craft…is kinda crazy, actually, and the hardest one for me to wrap my head around!
Shadowverse‘s second unique mechanic alongside the Craft system is its Evolve ability. Basically, each player receives a finite amount of Evolve Points per duel, and starting from the fourth turn, these Evolve Points can be spent to evolve a Follower of your choosing. An Evolved Follower gains a bonus to their strength, and frequently some special effect as well. The very existence of Evolving is a huge extra level of strategy, as you have to carefully consider what Followers to evolve, when to evolve them, and how to predict and handle your opponent’s evolved Followers. It’s awesome!
Shadowverse doesn’t skimp on the presentation, either. This is an exceptionally beautiful game, from the jaw-droppingly gorgeous card art to the bright spectacle of the Evolve animations and fanciful explosions whenever you play a particularly strong card. There is a solid, entertaining, and frequently quite humorous dub as well, and everything in the game is voice acted from the story mode cutscenes to the little dialogue lines your Followers say when you play them. The soundtrack is also phenomenal as well, which helps keep each duel exciting.
So really, there’s no reason not to give Shadowverse a try. It’s free, not terribly inconvenient to download, and crazy fun to play! Whatever your play style, you’ll be able to craft the perfect deck that you’ll love. Want to battle real people? Head online and fight for the top spot in the world. Want to keep it chill? There’s hours and hours of single player story content and practice fights. Want to just spend hours collecting and admiring the cards and building decks? Go for it! New players start with over 400 free cards, and can earn hundreds more with ease.
I cannot recommend this game enough!
The Contrarian Corner 