Posted 6/17/11 10:56 am ET by Matt Morgan in Hobby Gaming
Only a few short months ago, gamers were introduced to Nightfall, a deck building card game that debuted to strong reception. The game was published by AEG, the established leaders in merging deck building with theme, but Nightfall brought more to the table by incorporating play mechanics that directly combated the most prominent criticism of deck-builders.
These types of games were commonly referred to as "multiplayer solitaire" but Nightfall was a game rife with player interaction, where players were engaged in non-stop direct combat with each other. Now, gamers are ready for more, and eager to see how the first expansion Nightfall: Martial Law stacks up to the original. Read on for the full review:
Just the Facts:
Players: 2-5
Playing Time: 45 minutes
Age: 12 to adult
Publisher: AEG
MSRP: $39.99
Release: July 2011
The Gameplay:
Since Nightfall: Martial Law is a standalone expansion to the original Nightfall, it contains many of the same gameplay elements. For a rundown on how the base game mechanics work, check out the Nightfall review posted back in March. Here is a summary of how the game changes with the incorporation of Martial Law:
Aside from the abilities that require new rules listed above, a few other twists make their way onto Martial Law's minion and action cards. Previously only seen on the card "Bad Smoke," several new cards will stay in play until they are destroyed rather than being discarded after the attack phase. There are also some creative new ways to inflict damage, such as the cards "Relentless Grinder" and "Shining Cross" which inflict damage on your opponent equal to the number of cards in their hand above 5 or equal to the number of vampires they have in play, respectively. In our games, these sorts of cards helped mix things up a bit.
Along those lines, the cards in Martial Law tend to have slightly more complex effects than those seen in Nightfall. Here, there will always be some added caveat to a simple "deal X damage" or "draw X cards" effect, or a feed ability will be tacked on to pose the question of how many times a card is worth resolving. Overall, this makes the gameplay slightly more strategic.
The Components:
• 300+ cards
• Card dividers
• Rule book
I give AEG huge credit for the quality of Martial Law's rule book. It treats players as if they have never played Nightfall before, but is quick to highlight on page 1 which sections experienced players should review in order to learn all of the new rules as quickly as possible. The lack of this organization was a major complaint of mine with a past AEG standalone expansion, Thunderstone: Dragonspire, but the lesson has definitely be learned here. The rule book also helps to deepen the Nightfall universe with two great short stories by author Kenneth Hite.
The cards on the whole are a positive for this game, only marred by a few misprint lines of type on some cards' kicker effects. The card quality is good, though, and the art is even better than what we saw in the original Nightfall. The art is at its best on the cards "Bleak Resurrection," "Hysteria," "Relentless Grinder," and "Forlorn Hope" (which is used on the game's box).
The other notable inclusion for Martial Law's components is a top-notch box, complete with card dividers and storage foam. As you can see in the picture below, this allows players to easily fit all of the card from both Nightfall sets with plenty of extra room for future expansion.
Nightfall on the left, Martial Law on the right, all in one box.
Final Thoughts:
When I first heard about Nightfall: Martial Law, I was not expecting this initial follow-up to the base game to be a large standalone expansion. Set to release only four months after the base game's debut, it would be more common to offer small incremental upgrades to Nightfall's mechanics. That's actually what wound up happening here, though, so why did this expansion ship in as a $40 package equal in cost to the original? Yes, the new additions do make a good game even better, but is there enough there to make doubling the cost of the game worth it?
I still believe that Nightfall is still a must-own title for deck-building card game fans, so if you haven't bought the original yet, I would definitely recommend this version over the original. Deciding whether it is worth the cost to pick up both sets is simply a matter of personal taste and how often you expect to get Nightfall to the table.
The cards are all good additions, but for the most part, they do not bring make any revolutionary changers to the game. If you have played Nightfall to the point of growing bored with the base cards, then that makes Martial Law a must-buy expansion. If you haven't gotten enough play of the original, though, it may be worth holding off.
Disclaimer: MTV Geek received a complimentary review sample of this game
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Posted 9/21/11
Posted 9/21/11
Posted 9/21/11
Posted 9/21/11
Posted 9/21/11
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