Each minion has its own appearance, and its own walk, attack, and death animations, while each spell and artefact has its own animation as a card. These challenges tutor players well in tactics, and Counterplay Games puts a new one out every day, which shows a real understanding of how their game works, and breaks the embarrassing precedent set by Hearthstone. Counterplay Games should also be praised for its challenges, where you must use a predetermined hand and field to beat a general in a single turn. There are a few bland filler cards that no one uses, but generally most all cards have a place, and no card is so obscenely imbalanced that it renders all other cards of a similar mana cost pointless. The cards themselves are well balanced, which is more than a lot of other CCGs can say.

More on that later.ĭuelyst is a deeply flawed game for numerous reasons, but before ragging on it, the good points should be noted. Seeing the Hearthstone similarities yet? Fortunately, Counterplay’s addition of a grid does go some of the way to not only setting it apart from previous CCGs, but also some of the way to undoing some of the serious problems preventing older CCGs from really being games of skill. When playing, you and your opponent’s generals are placed on either side of the gridded pitch, and take turns moving your generals, and through the expenditure of mana, summoning minions to fight alongside you, casting spells with a whole host of effects, and equipping your general with artefacts. There are currently six factions, each with two available generals. Cards fall into three types: minions, spells and artefacts. That general’s corresponding deck is constructed from cards in your general’s faction and ‘neutral’ cards which any deck can use.

It’s built mainly out of spare parts from Blizzard’s Hearthstone, but Counterplay has avoided being the Hi-Rez Studios of CCGs by adding a grid upon which the game’s matches are played-in the vein of XCOM, Final Fantasy Tactics, and so on-to set their game apart.ĭuelyst pits you against player opponents with each side wielding a general. Duelyst is an online free-to-play collectible card game (or CCG) made by Counterplay Games.