Hands On: Kard Combat

Conceived back in 2002, Kard Combat was originally known as Astral Tournament, an ambitious trading card game which did away with the conventional tangible format in favour of a computer-based platform. With a helping hand from Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield, revisions were made and in 2008 Astral Tournament resurfaced as Spectromancer.

Eager to reach out to more platforms, the creators flocked to the drawing board with ideas for a spiritual successor. By streamlining the Spectromancer gameplay formula and invoking the darker side of artistic talents at Hothead Games, Kard Combat was brought to life.

[drop]Keeping the narrative focus at a succinct level, Kard Combat centres around a dark construct known only as “The Tower.” The menacing spire plays host to a tournament every thousand years, pitting the Forbidden Kingdom’s most powerful magi against one another in a macabre struggle for ultimate power.

Unlike Astral Tournament and Spectromancer before it, Kard Combat adopts iOS as its primary platform. Though not an incredibly limited gaming device, with a reduced screen size (not so much a problem for the iPad) and a focus on touch-controls, it’s easy to see how in-depth trading card games could struggle where gameplay is concerned. For Kard Combat however it’s a very minor barrier; the game features a clutter-free interface and rapid gameplay, making it the definitive, no-nonesense TCG for iOS gamers.

Kard Combat offers a single player campaign titled “The Tower” as well as a quick match and online option. Though the game will be absolutely free to download, micro-transactions will be nigh on essential to get any sort of fulfillment out of the game. £0.59 will bag you one of the four current magi available, thereby unlocking every stage in The Tower for that character and also allowing access to the quick match mode.

Instead of coercing gamers into building extravagant decks, Kard Combat spews a random selection of up to 20 cards onto the playing field for both combatants, aligned in five columns each belonging to an element. As cards are summoned to the field they are replaced, creating an ever-changing mosaic of spells. Fire, earth, water and air are the four main elements, each with their own unique gameplay focus and artwork. Depending on which mage you actually play as will determine your fifth element which can either be death, holy, dominator, or machine, unlocking an extra gallery of exclusive cards.

[drop2]When your turn begins, a pre-set amount of mana will be restored to each of your five elements, encouraging players to summon a creature or spell at every opportunity. Once summoned, a creature will be taken from the hand and placed in one of six active slots in the active field. Positioning your creatures is an essential gameplay feature; they will always attack the card opposite them unless a specific ability dictates otherwise. The mechanic also allows for a supportive method of play too, as some cards will offer bonuses to neighbouring allies.

Attacking is completely automatic in Kard Combat and can only be avoided by skipping a turn. Every creature who doesn’t have summoning sickness will strike whatever sits opposite as mentioned before, though if there isn’t a card to attack, the damage will be dealt directly to the player instead. Usually both players start a match with 60 hit points, the main objective being to reduce this to zero whilst defending your own magi.

Though the micro-transaction element of Kard Combat is a little off-putting (especially if you went in thinking the game was completely free-to-play,) it’s admittedly the best way of drawing players into the fold. Considering that for £0.59 you unlock dozens of single player stages and a progressive virtual deck, it’s brilliant value for money. Kard Combat is a fantastic introduction to virtual trading card games; the gameplay is incredibly streamlined and most importantly, fun, with plenty of potential to expand further via the DLC route.