Runestrike CCG

As a high rank/live tournament level veteran of games like MtG Arena, Legends of Runeterra, and Hearthstone, Runestrike is the perfect sweet-spot between the three. I honestly couldn't believe I never previously heard of Runestrike after playing it for just 2 minutes. Then I realized why: because its actually brand new. The mechanics are well thought out. Theres a lot of deep deck-building and plenty of interesting combinations to try across numerous Heroes. Its also amazingly well balanced for a game that just released. Economy — At first I thought the game seemed greedy in terms of in-game currency. Unlike in HS where you have access to all Heroes by default, you only start with 1 default Hero, and unlock 2 more via the campaign. The rest need to be bought with in-game currency which initially felt hard to get. Its 2 Days later and I’ve unlocked more than 1/3 of the roster, opened tons of card packs, and have enough “dust” to craft 3 legendaries. So they are actually super generous compared to games like HS and MtGA. Nitpicks — On release, the game can seem a bit small for a phone screen, and text is therefore hard to read at times. There are a few minor bugs in terms of rare and specific card interactions, which will likely be fixed. Overall — 10/10. More generous, with better mechanics, more depth, and less randomness than Hearthstone. Gameplay and deck limitations are most similar to LoR, but without the more annoying mechanics. Aesthetics are most similar to MtGA. Start playing now, before this game blows up!

The later levels are absolutely ridiculous. I get it’s supposed to be challenging but it gets straight up silly. You are begging for one card out of your entire deck to deal with the monstrous “free” effects the enemy player has and you just get gang banged over and over again. I want a challenge not a thorough stomping 20 times in a row from a guy that can summon free 1/4 cavalry every turn. Or the dragon guy that blows up all non dragon minions every 5 turns. Or the noble guy that steals your spells and gives you a peon. Yes I beat them both but only because I had to play every soldier and every dragon card I had respectively AND buy a fighter that could actually cast those spells. I’m interested in playing MY deck not catering to some weird arms tied behind my back situation we’re you have to reinvent your deck every level. It’s a shame I like it until it started to be change your deck out each time, and even then you are fighting an uphill battle. No thanks. I gave up on the free every turn cavalry summoning guy. Yeah you can say I couldn’t hack it, but if that’s what’s up I’ll gladly bow outta this one. It’s just not fun. Well here’s a suggestion… the sun champion is too difficult. 10 damage from him each turn? Come on now. AND you have to deal with him killing your creatures en mass about every 5 turns. So lame.

Runestrike has been a fun and refreshing experience. I’ve played Hearthstone (many years), Legends of Runeterra and Eternal. Runestrike has elements of all these games but really shines with the various Champions and mana & blood resource system. The separate abilities used with the blood resource adds a layer of strategy and decision making that is different for each Champion. I like the Mythology theme, the artwork is great and the game looks good overall, the animations could be a little more polished. if you have played other card games it is easy enough to pick up. Some may not like having to invest the time to earn the currency to acquire all the different champions if you are free to play and want to “collect” everything. This game doesn’t have the crazy RNG of Hearthstone, the mana & land issues of Eternal & Magic nor does it have the turn phase interruption strategies of Runeterra. The Champion concept is similar to Runeterra but the variety of 3 different abilities gives the player more choices that can add depth to your strategy. The reward system feels generous so far and I would compare it similar to Runeterra. Games like Eternal, Magic and Hearthstone are tough to stay free to play competitively. If you are tired of the games I mentioned in this review then I recommend giving Runestrike a chance.