Altered Is A Promising New Trading Card Game With Incredible Art And A Focus On Combat-Free Gameplay

While there are plenty of smaller exceptions, the trading card game scene is largely dominated by a handful of big dogs in the scene, with Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering being the big three for years, the former being a large part of my childhood. The endless sets of boosters, frequent crossovers, and a seeded community keep the trio ticking along, but it’s refreshing when a new kid comes to the block.

Following a massively successful Kickstarter campaign that raised over $10 million, French studio Equinox has, this week, entered the TCG market with Altered. The brand-new card game takes a more board game-centric approach, having been designed by Régis Bonnessée, the publisher of Dixit and Mysterium and the designer behind Dice Forge and Seasons.

Unlike many other TCGs, Altered’s gameplay isn’t based on confrontations or battling. Instead, players choose a Hero card that depicts a hero and their companion. From there, you create a three-card line-up of terrain cards shared between yourself and the opponent, referred to as the Tumult. Placing a hero token at one end and a companion token on the other, the objective of a match is to reunite the two anywhere within the Tumult, making the game more about exploration than executions.

Alongside the less violent approach to gameplay, Altered also features a companion app with various digital integration options. Each card has a unique QR code that, when scanned, adds that card to your collection. From here, you will be able to sell and trade cards once the marketplace goes live. Moreover, you’ll find foil cards in boosters and decks that allow you to choose which card from your collection you would like to foil and then have that card printed and sent directly to you.

Thanks to VR Distribution, we were sent two decks and some booster packs to try out this new TCG hands-on. Having now played the game, I’m eager to see what lies ahead.

Played in five phases, the flow of a match is easy to understand and learn, though it feels like the combination of card abilities leaves a reasonably high skill ceiling. Drawing cards at the start of your turn, you select which will be most helpful, creating a hand with them, before putting the others face down in the Mana section on the play mat. This Mana pool will be used to play cards, each with a cost that must be met.

Taking turns, you and your opponent then play cards into either the Hero or Companion side until both players pass. At this point, players will compare the stats on their collective cards (split into three region types: Forest, Mountain and Water). If your stats outnumber that of your opponent’s, and it matches one of the regions on the next available Tumult, you move that token forward, leaving your foes in the dust behind you. This continues until one player reunites their Hero token with their Companion token.

It’s a simple set of rules that are deepened by status effects, character abilities, and the occasional roll of a die, but it’s not hard for a newcomer to jump in and start playing, a trait essential for a new TCG. It certainly helps that the artwork on every card is also beautiful. There are six factions in total, each with its own distinct look and cast of characters. Bright and vibrant, it’s worth stopping to appreciate each highly-detailed card.

As with any new product coming into the market, there are a few concerns. While I love the idea you can choose which of your cards you’d like to foil, it does slightly diminish the excitement of opening a booster, knowing that you won’t get an endorphin rush if you spot a glistening bit of cardboard. On a similar note, the massive QR codes on each card does distract from the aesthetic quite a bit. I commend scanning the cards in because that is easy and efficient, but it does come at the cost of seeing a big black-and-white monstrosity on every one of your pretty cards.

I’ve hardly scratched the surface of Altered, and I’ll be sure to produce more content around it as I become more familiar with the game, but I’m very interested and keen to explore everything it offers.

The game’s first set, Beyond the Gates,  is available now at various retailers. There are six unique decks to be found, each retailing for $29.95, while booster packs containing a selection of 13 cards will run you $7.95. As of this week, Altered decks and boosters can be found at Vault Games, Milsims Games and Gameology, among other retailers.

Are you a TCG diehard? Does Altered sound like a fresh contender to you? Let us know in the comments or on our social media.