The deck There are two ways that I considered building Auraq. One was a more control-oriented build that runs expensive spells and tries to time your unevenly statted characters to block optimally. In some matchups, this deck will only get one ability activation, so you have to make it count. I opted instead for an aggressive build that aims to activate the hero ability as quickly and as many times as possible (usually twice). Sometimes you’ll hit a 1-drop, but it’s fine: at least you’ll get to try again in a turn or two. ...

One of my local game stores ran its first constructed event today. I felt a little guilty bringing a tested deck for a strong hero tricked out with uniques, but I was really curious to see how the deck would run after making the changes from last time. The deck The last time I played this deck. My updates to the deck are all in line with the Fen philosophy that I want every card to be something I’m happy to see at any point in the game, whether it’s in my hand or in reserve. ...

Since Altered’s release, every game I’ve lost has been to Sigismar & Wingspan, across draft, sealed, and constructed. I’ve internalized a lot of what makes the hero feel so powerful from the opposite side of the table and so went into the draft biasing pretty heavily towards Ordis. The draft Note: this draft was run with Kickstarter boosters. I started with a Bravos Bladedancer (F) as a cheap, on-rate play that would get a lot better if I ended up in a boost-heavy deck. I followed this up with an Ordis Cadets (R), a premium go-wide card that leaned towards Ordis. ...

Today I attended my first Altered constructed event. I decided to bring the strongest-looking Lyra deck I could come up with, which had me looking at Fen & Crowbar. The deck I think the most broken thing that Fen & Crowbar have access to is that their hero ability can get characters with the “anchor target character with hand cost 3 or less” support ability directly into your reserve. Whenever you resupply one of these, it’s as though your hero ability were Arjun & Spike’s minus the cost of a card from reserve, or (optimistically) “At Noon - Create a 4/4/4 in target expedition”. ...

It’s not every day you pull two Robin Hoods alongside three other solid bureaucrats in a sealed pool. I’m going to try not to play a ton of Waru & Mack in constructed, so I figured this might be my best chance to test them out! Uniques My rating system Ganesha - 3/7 While the cost of a card from your hand limits some of the more fun combos you can achieve with Mechanical Training (F), Parvati (R), and another Ganesha (F), the reduction in cost by from 7 to 5 makes it substantially easier to fairly reanchor your characters. Despite its mostly intact stats, the average rating is probably due to me thinking Ganesha (F) already requires too much mana and/or setup to get enough value out of the trigger. ...

After my first draft, I can confirm that even without any of its headline-grabbing innovations, Altered would still deserve to be a hit: the core gameplay is phenomenal. Where Altered exceeded my expectations was in just how tense some of the decisions were. I went into the tank on several occasions as to whether this was the target I needed to spend my one removal spell on. Do I need to advance this turn, or would I be better off saving my resources to make a push later? Deciding which cards to keep in your opening hand requires extra foresight due to the reserve system. ...

One of Altered’s strengths is that its world allows it to draw from and reimagine various cultural, fictional, and mythological touchstones. As I read through the cards and characters from Beyond the Gates, I realized I was unfamiliar with quite a few pronunciations, so I figured I’d compile the results from my investigation in case anyone else wanted to start where I left off. These are my best attempts and not an official pronunciation guide. I used a Discord post by Lokinox as a starting point, with a couple of additional pronunciations generously confirmed by Yoshi (narrative designer) himself. Please let me know if you see anything you believe is incorrect! ...

Today’s the day I’ve been waiting for since January! It’s been seven months since the Altered Kickstarter launched, and it felt amazing to finally hold the pledge rewards in my hands. ...

Score Summary Description 1 Very weak Severely understatted with abilities that will rarely be realized. 2 Weak Slightly understatted with abilities that usually won’t compensate. No stronger than an average common. 3 Solid On-rate stats, or understatted but its ability often compensates. Also includes cards with high ceilings but excessive requirements. Distinctly stronger than an average common, but no stronger than an average rare. 4 Strong Above-rate stats, or having abilities that push it well above-rate when its conditions are met. Distinctly stronger than an average rare. 5 Very strong Well above-rate stats and/or having abilities that can sometimes result in a large swing. A card that is a 5 but not a 6 is held back either by not offering more than just stats, or by having a slightly awkward cost or requirement. 6 Exceptional Will reliably swing a game in its favor. These often feature rare abilities (e.g. removal, ramp, card advantage), repeatable triggers, or heavy synergy with a certain hero’s gameplan. 7 Incredible Can singlehandedly win games when it is played. Some possess universally strong and grossly undercosted disruption effects. Others abuse a combination of generated abilities or an interaction with another card or hero. Each rating assumes the unique is put in the deck that best supports it. I consider how it will perform on average in that deck, not necessarily the best-case scenario. ...

When I’m introducing someone to Altered, I try to get as quickly as possible to the heart of what made Altered so compelling to me in the first place. I’ve settled on three main aspects of the game that I can cover in just a sentence or two each (though I have more to say in case someone is interested). This post is an attempt to flesh out my “Altered sales pitch”, so to speak. It’s intended as a script, not the pitch itself, but it might also be worth reading for someone who’s considering getting into Altered themselves. ...