Warhammer AoS: Champions

Plays a lot different from the other card games out there in a very good way once you get the hang of it. I will say this though for the devs. On certain cards as a newbie I Had no idea what they meant (EX. Rend) and the cards themselves fail to give you an idea on what that specific term means. I had to go out of my way and google the official rules to understand the games mechanics. Unless I was missing something in game I did the workaround but it was definitely worth as the game itself is really fun to play. I’ve been reading other reviews saying you can’t play this game without purchasing cards in real life but the game gives you 4 starter decks and you can earn other cards by just playing the game or purchase them digitally. All in all I really like it and hope this game continues to grow!

I love the App, and my son and I love the card game. The mechanisms stack in a competitive fashion and there’s also a lot of fun to be had as a casual player. I’d like to beg the developers’ indulgence on one point: I completely understand why you went to a landscape layout, and the slight mods to card placement from the physical mats are very well handled, even in the earlier version, BUT.. the portrait mode made it a lot easier to read small print on cards when building decks and looking through inventory, looking at purchases, etc., especially on a smartphone, which is probably the sort of device this will most often be played on. I’d consider making rotation an option even if only when you’re not in a game.

After playing the card version my friends and I were excited to try the digital version. Unfortunately, what we were most excited about isn’t an option. Unlike games like Magic with event stacking, it seemed the core mechanics of Warhammer Champions would make it be able ideal to play asynchronously against each other (like Ascension or Carcassonne). A large group of us that lost interest because we couldn’t connect up for games easily and feed of of one another’s discoveries. The ability to scan cards is brilliant, but playing offline could lead to playing online with the same people— just more conveniently. If the developers are trying to expand the user base, the virality of asynchronous invitation and play would be absolutely massive. It is the one missing component, in my view, to turn this game into a chart topper.

The game itself is fun, interesting, and unique with quite a bit going on underneath the basic surface. Game just released so card pool is limited, but that will hopefully correct itself with time. Definitely recommend once the client is fixed. The login servers are buggy as all, with me having to uninstall and reinstall multiple times, this latest one DC’d me a turn before I won and then had me stuck logging in as “you are logged in elsewhere”. Additionally I would say that the card view screen and deck creation screens are pretty difficult to work on a phone as you have to drag tiny boxes in/out. Would also make a feature that lets you scroll through cards in expanded view without having to close each card. Lastly viewing champions for does not allow you to click their quests to see what they need, something that would confuse early players. The little icons are there but no description to hover. The free to play aspect is there with quests and achievements giving you packs and currency and each win giving 1/20th of a pack. Not the best model but certainly could be worse. Game I’d give 9/10 client a 4/10. If you clean it up you’ve got yourself a nice gem here that will introduce a ton of new players to the physical card game and entice established Warhammer fans.

[ONCE LOGIN ISSUE FIXED, 5 STARS] The game mechanics (and everything else that matters to most people looking for a stimulating, competitive experience) are absolutely amazing. That’s all you need to know until the game is fully released. Now, to the negative reviews. This is part the fault of the player who doesn’t bother to do research and part the fault of the developer for not making certain points PAINFULLY obvious on the homepage of the app. The OPTION to buy physical cards is just that, an option. There are advantages to doing this that, as I understand, including trading and some others. BUT YOU CAN OBTAIN in-game currency, just like any other digital card game, and purchase packs using that or real money. From what I understand, there won’t be an “upgrade” mechanic for cards (usually employed to introduce heavy pay-to-win for profit). You simply collect however you want, and play like a champ. Keep an eye on this game, follow the beta progress - you won’t regret it.