Ultra Pro Shards of Infinity

This takes the solid basis of Star Realms, infuses it with that distinctive Ascension flavor, and adds several new mechanics that really help add to the deck building game mechanics. The Mastery mechanic adds multiple paths to victory. The Mercenary mechanic allows mercenaries to be played directly from the board (instead of acquiring the card) which solves the classic problem in deck builders when you have purchase power but don't want to add any of the current cards to your deck. These two new mechanics really help keep the game engaging in late game when other deck building games can get a bit less interesting. I think this is one of the best games in the deck building genre today and will have no problem sitting next to the great ones like Star Realms.The game comes with four gigantic counters that let you track both health and mastery. They are a really nice touch, though the numbers would have been easier to read if they had been printed in dark ink. The yellow numbers especially can be hard to read from across the table. Another nice thing is that they didn't ship the game in an large, oversized box to make it look bigger than it is (I'm looking at you, Nightfall, shipping in huge box that's 90% empty). But that's the end of the good things I can say about the construction. The cards are thin and flimsy and I'm worried how they will hold up over time. If you're used to holding Magic cards, these feel fragile and crappy. Given that there's only 128 cards total, I would have much rather spend a dollar or two more on this and received cards printed on decent card stock. I might be cynical but it has to be pointed out that UltraPro is in the business of selling card sleeves. People who don't normally sleeve their games will probably consider buying them for this game out of fear and there's a very good chance those sleeves will come from UltraPro. When you buy a product, you shouldn't need to immediately buy another product to protect it because it was poorly constructed. That's just not how it should be done.If you weren't a fan of Ascension, you might still give this a try. While I like Ascension, it's not a very compelling game. I think overall the cards are less interesting and the board tends to get stale late game which leads to succession of very boring turns where no one can do much of anything. That is not an issue in Shards, due to the new game mechanics and the opponent-focused combat.TLDR; If you're a fan of Star Realms, then you are pretty much guaranteed to love this game.Game design: 5 starsFun factor: 5 starsProduction Quality: 2 stars

For the past few months, my wife and I have been *OBSESSED* with "Star Realms". We've gotten other friends and family members addicted to it, bought the app so that we could play games against each other at work or when away on work trips - it's awesome. So then we started looking for other deck-building games since we like the format so much.Enter "Shards Of Infinity" - a competitive deck-building game (as in "not cooperative", like "Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle") with layers of strategy stemming from some seriously cool and unique game mechanics. You'll be spending in-game currency to buy cards to add to your arsenal like usual, but there are also special Mercenary cards that can instead be paid for and played immediately to give a one-time effect before being added back to the center trade deck. Since some cards proc off of whether or not you've played cards from certain factions, you can combo off cards you don't even own while simultaneously removing it from the center row so your opponent can't purchase it to use it against you. Also, there's another "resource", of sorts - Mastery - that can be pooled up during the game that can make certain cards more powerful depending on whether or not you've reached a certain Mastery threshold. (Two of your starting cards actually work off Mastery, with the titular "Infinity Shard" instantly winning you the game if you reach maximum Mastery of 30 and then playing it.)So far we've only played about six games, but each of those games has had *VERY* different strategies applied by both of us and have played out very differently. We've had a game that was a race to gain Mastery points to unlock powerful secondary abilities, one that was aggro-heavy vs. shielding and healing then cycling through combos, one where barely any mercenary cards were fast-played, one where TONS of mercenary cards were fast-played, one that was a rainbow deck vs. close-to-monochromatic, and one that I completely dominated until my wife wombo-combo'd on her last turn and took me from 44 health to 0 in a single swing - and ALL of them had us talking about the game afterwards, discussing certain card buys, analyzing the order of our card plays, and lamenting when someone bought or fast-played a card that we had really REALLY wanted! I think THAT'S the sign of a good game - when you talk about it at length after it's over and can't wait to play it again.One thing that I've noticed about this game (as compared to "Star Realms") is there really aren't any cards that I've seen that are an "ALWAYS" no-brainer buy (like "Recycling Station", for example) - something that you should pick up no matter what kind of deck you're building. That isn't to say that the cards in "Shards Of Infinity" aren't strong - on the contrary, every card looks like a good buy at some point or another depending on the deck you're building. But a card that was the linchpin of your deck in the previous game will look like a waste of space the next game because it doesn't mesh with your new and current strategy. We haven't discovered a "one card fits all" in the game(... yet). This seems to me like this game will showcase a bit more diversity in card buy and deck strategy than "Star Realms", but that may be disproved as we continue to play.Anywho, long story short - this game is awesome! Not a "Star Realms"-killer or anything like that, but instead a different flavor of deck-builder that can coexist on your gaming shelf. While I feel "Star Realms" may be a little more newcomer-friendly with its particular rules and mechanics, "Shards Of Infinity"'s playstyle makes it feel more rewarding when you successfully build an efficient deck, see your strategies come to fruition, and use the mercenary and Mastery mechanics to pull off some damn fine moves. It makes it seem less like you simply RNG'd better than your opponent and more that you out-maneuvered and out-smarted them instead. A bit more of a sense of agency, where at the end of the game you can pat yourself on the back and say " *I* did that".

A few years ago someone introduced me to the concept of deck-building board games, and I was amazed! All of the fun of a Yu-Gi-Oh match with strategic elements but without having to spend a ton of money to get the cards you want! Instead you build your strategic deck as you play.I have played several deck-builders, but this is probably my favorite. It is simple to teach, easy to understand, and strategies emerge right away. You can heal and occasionally do massive damage with the Undergrowth faction, build an army with the Homodeus faction, race to level 30 with the Order, and so on. One of my favorite things about the game is the objective. To win the game doesn't mean beating all of the boss cards or having the most points, instead it is quite simply the last person standing. It makes the game much more competitive.Finally, there is the presentation. The cards have crazy good art, and sometimes if I'm playing with friends I will buy cards just because they look that awesome. The game also comes in a small box, rather than most clunkier deck-building boxes. It is very portable, and combined with the games length makes this game very portable.Once again, do not hesitate to buy this game, it is a favorite of me and the residents of my dorm!