In celebration of the Foundry of Existence set launch, the fine folks behind Chronicles of Arcane held a learn-to-play event with the community over on their official Discord. It is cool to see creators, developers, and artists share their passion for the game with the community.
The event was a three-hour affair where developers showcased gameplay, answered questions, and did a couple of giveaways. I didn’t win, but it is nice to see the company giving back to the community. A game can’t exist without its community, and the Discord is shaping into an active and passionate one. If you want to stay on top of all the news, join any future events, and meet some cool people, make sure you’re already joined.
Aside from the cool art and flavor, the game features mechanics that have me on board. Chronicles of Arcne has five factions a player can control: Air, Earth, Water, Fire, and Void. Each faction has its unique quirk and win conditions, and based on the showcase, water seems to be my favorite. I’ll need to try the game myself, so I’ll need to make time for the TTS mod.
What makes the game unique is its Floating essence mechanic. Essence is the game’s mana system. It is what is used to cast spells and summon creatures. Each player starts the game off with a free, non-target permanent known as an Ancient that generates a floating essence at the start of a turn. The Ancient has other abilities, but those make more sense when during actual play.
A floating essence disappears at the end of turn, so it’s best to always use it first. There are other ways to generate essence similar to MTG’s land system, but I love that you always have access to this free one. You can still encounter mana problems like in other games, but it doesn’t feel as bad when you can at least play your one drops.
Combat and casting are straightforward like you’ve seen in other TCGs but with the added position and movement mechanic. The battlefield is split into a front and back row. This affects who can block and attack based on what is in front or behind them on the field. There are only six slots (3 on each row) that you can fill with permanents, but you can use their action to move them around the battlefield for a tactical advantage. Movement in a trading card game isn’t a novel idea, but it is nice to see.
I don’t want to get too deeply into the gameplay because there is a rulebook available, and a video of gameplay on the way. I’ll try to update this post with the video as soon as it becomes available, but its a good idea to join the Discord to make sure you’re always up to date.
I was impressed by the presentation and I am interested in learning more about the game. The cards look very cool, and the devs seem passionate. If you want to pick up Chronicles of Arcane, there are still boxes and decks available on the official website.
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