Blaugust 2022 – Trying Out Mystic Vale
Posted on August 25, 2022 by Aywren
I had so much fun playing Tasliman that I decided I wanted to try out other board and card games similar to it. In my search, I discovered a card game called Mystic Vale – developed and published by the same folks. It was also on sale (though not quite as cheap as Talisman), so I decided to pick it up.
While I don’t find it quite as captivating as Talisman – probably because I’m playing it solo – Mystic Vale does have some interesting and unique gameplay elements for a card game. Keep in mind that I have not played the physical version of this game at all.
While it calls itself a “deck builder,” it’s actually more of a “card builder.” It took me a short bit of time and watching a couple videos to grasp exactly what the game was doing. While it did have a tutorial, it didn’t really sink in until I watched someone else play it while walking through the concepts and thought behind it.
You can find lots of these on YouTube, of course!
I won’t go into all the details of the game, but I do want to highlight what I thought was interesting about this one. The card building aspect is really neat! Each card in your hand is broken up into three slots – a top, middle, and bottom. Your goal is to use your mana each turn to build cards with combinations that help you earn points and win the game.
Below is an example of a very basic card where I’ve filled all the slots. Each Fertile Soil – top, middle and bottom – contribute three mana for me to use the next time I draw that card.
There’s a cycle of building and discarding. But the cards you discard eventually recycle back around into your hand. So what you select during this turn won’t be seen until the card comes back around in the future. The concept is harvesting, sowing and reaping those benefits – very fitting for a card game about restoring nature to the vale!
Of course, it gets more complicated than that as there’s also special cards you can play into once you earn enough of certain natural elements. All cards have a nice little animation to them when you hover or draw them. The art and feel of the game is very pleasant, too!
I still have a LOT to learn about this card game, but once you get the basics, it’s easy enough to play the AI and get some experience with them. The base game alone feels a bit on the small side, however, even for a fairly new player like myself. I know there are expansions that help with this, but I will hold off until I get a stronger feel for the game (and for them to go back on sale again).
Overall, Mystic Vale is a neat deck builder with a nice nature theme and some unique gameplay.