Why You Should Try: Epic

Team Rankstar is back, in partnership with Inked Gaming, to exhibit a game that we love: Epic Card Game. My name is Nathan “noverb” Overbay and I have been playing Epic since its debut on Kickstarter in 2015. Epic has been near and dear to my heart ever since and I’m excited to share it with you today. Below are a few of the reasons why I think Epic is one of the best card games out there.

It’s Non-Collectible!

Epic is a non-collectible card game. This means that when you purchase a box or a pack of Epic all the cards in the product are guaranteed. You won’t be opening pack after pack just to find that rare you’ve been chasing. If you are shooting for just a Limited (Draft or Sealed) experience you only need to buy one of each pack/box. If you are looking for a Constructed playset to jump straight into building your own decks all you have to do is grab three of each set. This is great for a lot of reasons, but let’s cover the obvious ones. 

You know exactly how much you will be spending. When playing a collectible card game you will spend hundreds, if not thousands, on packs and singles when building your decks with no end in sight. The non-collectible model gives you a solid price point that you can buy in one purchase or a set at a time. Not only are you buying towards the deck you want to build and play right now, you are also getting access to every other card/deck you may want to play with in the future.

There’s much, much less filler. Not being collectible means there isn’t a need for a rarity system. Without rarities there won’t be commons designed to be throwaways when compared to rares. There will always be power differences among cards but Epic does a great job of making every card feel like it could have a home in your deck.

Another feature of it being non-collectible is that you can treat it like a board game. You can grab a stack of cards, split it between yourself and a friend and game on! This can be done straight out of the box. One of the new sets, Duels, coming out soon is created with this playable out of the box theme in mind.

Gold

The primary resource system is Gold, and for me it’s one of the main selling points of the game. Both players start each turn with one Gold. This doesn’t accumulate like what you see in Hearthstone. You will only ever have one Gold or none, so use it or lose it. In turn, a card either costs one Gold or is free to play.

So what does this mean for the game? What makes it so great? It means that you don’t have any resources in your deck. You will never draw too many, or too few, resources. Say goodbye to the awful experience of watching a game slip out of your grasp because you drew resource after resource. In Epic it is all action, all the time.

Starting with one gold also means that you don’t have a build-up period. Right out of the gates you can play the biggest, nastiest monsters to establish dominance! Get ready for some Epic games!

Epic Rewards Skill

Epic tests and rewards a players skill more than any other game I’ve played. That has a lot to do with the aspects I’ve mentioned above: 

Without the rare grind new players start on equal footing with veterans. There isn’t a game where you feel bad because they had more rares than you. It’s entirely about what you choose to put into your deck, which puts more weight on your skill as a deckbuilder.

Without resources in your deck you will face far fewer non-games due to bad starting hands. That puts the ball in your court to win the game using your gold better than your opponent. There is a lot of depth to when you should spend your gold. So while it may seem easy to learn, it is much harder to master.

Draft Is Amazing!

Drafting in Epic is something truly special. The primary draft format of Epic is called Dark Draft. It’s a two player draft format that can be played as long as either person has one hundred cards. This can be played with the core set right out of the box. Here’s how it works:

1. Each player receives a five card pack. From that pack they choose one card place it into their draft pool. They then pass the remaining four cards to the other player.
2. Each player receives the four card pack from the other player. From that pack they choose two cards to place into their draft pool. The remaining two cards are removed from the draft.
3. Repeat steps one and two nine more times. As a result, each player should have thirty cards. Proceed to play a match with those cards.

This is awesome for a few reasons. You only need two people to start a draft. I love drafting in Magic, but often you will see drafts not happen due to lack of attendance. In Epic all you need is one friend to play! There aren’t any resources in your deck that determine or limit what you can play. You are more free to draft any card you want in a draft. While there may be synergies or cards that want you on a certain path, you can still grab that great card you love. This also lets you more freely try out synergies and combos you might otherwise be unable to.

These are some of the reasons Epic Card Game one of the best games I’ve ever played and I highly suggest you try it out for yourself. Don’t just take my word for it, listen to these known Magic Pros!

So does Epic have your attention yet? Interested in learning more? Check out https://www.epiccardgame.com/. By the time this article releases you may have missed the kickstarter for the newest sets but you can still pick up what’s out now and a key to the Digital Alpha at https://www.shop.whitewizardgames.com/collections/epic-card-game.You can look forward to more Epic content from me as we get closer to the Epic Digital Beta! Cheers!

-Nathan “noverb” Overbay

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