Manastorm: Champions of G'nar

Let me first preface by introducing myself. I'm a Swedish card game enthusiast with 20+ years of MtG experience and been playing Hearthstone since beta. I also enjoy games such as Netrunner. Obviously, I also like VR. Especially the Vive. My take on this game is that it has a lot of potential. The basic system is very similar to Hearthstone. You have a deck of cards, a new mana crystal each turn and some abilities that are exactly the same as Hearthstone (charge for instance). The twist to the game as I experience it is in the unique VR features that differentiate ManaStorm from regular card games. Just like Hearthstone does things with RNG (such as summoning random minions) which just aren't possible with a paper card game, ManaStorm leverages the unique capabilities of virtual reality to add an extra layer to the game. Here are a few examples: * You start each game with a bow and a fire arrow (you can get more arrows through cards). This arrow can be used at any point in the game to deal one point of damage to an enemy minion, BUT only if you can hit it with your bow. This adds an element of dexterity and skill to your play. * One of the cards gives you a beam of searing light to wield for a turn. This beam spreads damage to anything you point it at for four seconds. There is currently a damage cap, but the idea of allowing the player's skill in handling this spell determine it's effectiveness is exciting to me. * You start each game with a shield, which can be triggered once to reduce damage. Currently it's a one-off and blocks every time you activate it. But adding an element of skill would be possible here as well. Timing your blocks to shield you from attacks and allowing critical blocks would be great gameplay. The creator of Manastorm has shown the ability to mix potions on the battlefield as a future feature. This also looks like an exciting feature if done correctly. The key to all of these features is to put the player under pressure to perform them. The way Hearthstone works is with a 90-second turn limit. If you're expected to play cards, assign attacks, shoot arrows and mix potions all in a minute and a half, I can see this being an exciting foundation for good game play. The game is now in it's early stages (pre-access that feels like early beta). And depending on how big the creators want to make it, their ambition might exceed their grasp. CCGs are very demanding in terms of content, balancing and gameplay. With a 3D model and voice lines for each card, that's a lot of work and the game is currently quite rudementary in comparison to other CCGs. I wish the very best for this game, and hope that they have the courage and tenacity to follow through on what they've set out to do. You have my $5 and my support. Let's make this happen! Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Daggasoft. I have not been given a review code or been incentivized in other ways to write this review. tldr; It's like Hearthstone but with fire arrows