I was sent full access to the TableTone app to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.
Table of contents
What is Tabletone?
TableTone is a helpful tool for any Game Master looking to enhance the quality of their next campaign with a little bit a music, and a few immersive sound effects. TableTone is an app packed with carefully curated music and sounds that makes it easy for Game Masters to make their next adventure a little more epic. The app gives Game Masters access to over 400 unique sounds from epic battle music, mood setting ambiance, and everything in between. Sure you can tinker your own sound board and juggle around YouTube videos, but none of that will be as easy or streamlined as what TableTone has to offer. Go try Tabletone today!
Sounds
TableTone offers over 400 sounds from music to sound effects. Access includes:
Over 80 location themed sounds
30 ambiance sounds
and over 300 action, monster, and other sounds to add a little flavor to your world. (I am a huge fan of the dragon roar and weapon sounds)
Is it Free?
TableTone offers a trial with a few sounds for GMs to try for free. Once users are hooked, TableTone has a $9 subscription that grants access to the app’s growing library of sounds. With new sounds releasing each month, the subscription is an attractive way to test for the sounds you need in your next campaign. Note that the subscription will not be available for apple devices in the future. More importantly, users can out right buy the sounds they like and keep them forever. There is even a package to buy it all at a discounted price.
Review
I’ve tried running campaigns with music and even dabbled in creating my own sound board back when I was an overly ambitious DM, but found the process too distracting. It was something I slowly fazed out because it was too cumbersome and a little distracting. TableTone fixes this issue by giving me everything I need (and sounds I didn’t know I needed) in an easy to use package that I can take everywhere. If you are looking for a soundboard, or just some epic music for your fight scenes, TableTone is a powerful tool that should be at every one of your next campaigns.
Ease of Use
TableTone is the easiest way to run a soundboard or play music during your most pivotal story beats without distracting from the story telling. All you have to do is click through the library of sounds, and the app does the rest. Everything is categorized by worlds, settings, and even mood. There are even sliders that help customize the sounds, ambiance, and music to perfectly fit the tone of your campaign.
Quality
TableTone delivers high quality sounds at a press of a button. I went through as many of the sounds as I could, and while I found some awkward ones that I will never touch, the app had a lot of sounds that will be recurring. The app has a selection of good music, cool sounds, and the ambiance is well created. I really like the background tavern noise or the leaking sounds that echo in the darkness when exploring caves. The problem I have with using YouTube is that I have to do the research and find the high quality sounds to play for my campaign, but TableTone already does that for me. That means I have more time to plan the campaign.
Performance
I used the Windows app during my testing and it worked great. Everything was snappy and worked as intended. I was able to flip through TableTone’s sizable library with ease. Everything played as intended, and I didn’t hit any crashes during my tests. I had no issues running the app through my IOS device either.
Impact
I ran the most random session of D&D using TableTone because I wanted to test as many of the sounds as I could. I was not ready for much better a campaign could be by just adding a little bit of music. The App lets users customize the music by mood. Each location has a relaxed, suspense, and action setting. The first time I transitioned from relaxed to action for that first encounter is a high I will chase for the rest of my life. My players loved that shift and the music. It sort of made them murder hobos because they wanted to keep hearing the combat music, but I am not mad because it was a silly one shot and I got to test a lot more of the sounds.
My only complaint
TableTone is a fantastic app for running inperson games. You can play the music from your phone or your favorite Bluetooth speaker with minimal setup. Unfortunately, I only run online games. The issue was finding a way to use the app over Discord. My solution was to screenshare. I have two monitors. One monitor runs TableTone while the other ran my campaign. It worked very well. My players could hear the music, but they could also see the buttons. I believe they started making choices that would get me push certain buttons, but I think they were just tying to help me test as much as possible.
There is planned Foundry VTT support, and as someone who love Foundry, I am very excited!
Conclusion
I love TableTone, and found it to be a nifty little tool for running tabletop rpgs. It has a wide range of sounds to fit a number of locations and genres. Most importantly, it is very easy to use. I wouldn’t call it a mandatory tool, but it is nice to have when you want to add a little flavor to your campaign. I recommend starting with the trial. While limited, it does give users a proper taste of the apps functionality. I would then graduate into the subscription to test out TableTone’s library, and then slowly buying into packs you like. You can do everything this app does for free, but its nice to support the people who work hard to bring you these sounds.
Now GMs who have been running games for a long time will have their curated playlists, and won’t find the app as useful. This is meant for a the GM who doesn’t want the added task of finding the perfect sound or song, or the newer GM who is starting with nothing. Like I’ve said before, TableTone isn’t something you need to get, but it something that is nice to have when you need it. It is worth trying out once, but you might have trouble stopping after. Go check out TableTone today.
UVS games sent me the two King of Fighters Challenger Series decks to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review. I have both team hero and team rival decklists up. I’ll also be using my TCG player affiliate link where possible. Always support your LGS, but it really helps me out if you use it for product your LGS doesn’t carry.
Table of Contents
What is Universus TCG?
I’ve written about Universus in a past post where I go into detail about the game and how to play. The short version: Universus is a fighting game turned into TCG. Players will use thier resources to land powerful attacks, block oncoming damage, and use abilities that will turn the tide in seconds. The game users a unique resource system that is more RNG reliant than your typical TCG, and it uses established IPs like those from fighting games, anime, or my favorite of all time, Heroes of Exandria. It is my favorite TCG that no one seems to be playing, for now.
Challenger Series Decks
Universus releases two types of sealed constructed products: challenger and starter decks. Starter decks are striped down versions of the TCG that are meant for people who have never touched a TCG in their life. The game includes some unique art cards, but the decks are pretty much useless except for giving players the most basic understanding of the game. I don’t follow the competitive scene, but have played enough card games to understand that the starter decks (as of writing this) don’t have the cohesion and percentage to give players a full version of the TCG. Starter decks are not bad products, I love my Heroes of Exandria starter decks, but the challenger series decks are a lot more fun.
Challenger series on the other hand, are a bit more complex. They aren’t going to win you many games at locals or worlds for that matter, but they provide a more honest experience. If you are trying to teach someone who has never played a TCG, the starter decks are cool until you outgrow the decks. If you want to try out the game to see if its for you and have the chance of building into something more competative, pick up a challenger deck from your favorite series.
My Perspective
I am coming at this from a casual perspective. I don’t follow the meta and can’t speak on how the King of Fighter decks match up against it. I have cannibalized some of the other decks I’ve received to build some strange decks I have fun with. I like Universus and am sad there isn’t a local scene. That said, I understand why. The game isn’t fun to collect. Universus has some of the most beautiful secret rare and unique art based on your favorite characters from your favorite IP, but the rest of the cards are screen grabs. Some sets are fine and look fine in the binder, but other sets are just not interesting to collect. For customers going into the store and seeing all these fun shinny unique cards, Universus gets overshadowed.
The art shouldn’t be a problem when the gameplay is good. The game has unique mechanics, a cool resource system, and a solid loop. The problem is that if I am not familiar with a particular IP, the common cards aren’t very memorable. This will change when they drop their newly announced Rebel Frontier. The art for the teasers look sick and I can’t wait to see what goes into it! More on Rebel Frontier when the information becomes available.
Review
I have mixed feelings about the King of Fighter challenger decks. On one hand, I appropriate the new mechanics and the ammount of flavor that goes into them. Universus is very good at making uniquely flavored decks. The problem I have with the decks is the art, I am not a fan. They may not be the worst cards I’ve gotten, but they aren’t very impressive. At least they’re fun to play.
The Art
The art for the heros is fine, but when you compare it to the street fighter decks, they are a little underwhelming. At least you get three heroes. The heroes feel fine with a good amount of power, but I am not crazy about the art. Personally, Shun’ei was my favorite not because of power, but because his abilities vibed better with my playstyle. The common cards that aren’t in the anime style are ugly. It’s not as bad as the Tekken Decks, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to collect them. Luckily the mechanics are fun.
Gameplay
I like how the decks change enough of the game to keep it interesting. Now I only play casualy once in a while so it always feels fresh, but there are decks I like more than others. I don’t think I would pick these over the street fighter decks, but I would pick them up in addition. The art doesn’t matter when the game is fun, and the games I played with the King of Figher challenger decks were fun. I don’t know how they hold up to the rest of the meta, but they seemed pretty balanced to us. I play with TCG veterans who only play Universus when I ask them to help me test.
Conclusion
If you like the King of Fighters games, pick up these challenger decks. The decks are fun, and you might appreciate the art more than I did. I never got into King of Fighters and couldn’t form the same connection I had with a series like Heroes of Exandria. I think the decks are fun and will pull keep pulling them out, but I wouldn’t pick these up as a collector. If you want cards that look good with solid mechanics, get the Street Fighter decks.
Universus TCG has released its King of Fighter’s Challenger Series Decks on January 30, 2026. There are two challenger decks: Team Hero and Team Rival. Both decks come with 60 cards and a special foil booster pack to bling up your deck. This is the Team Rival Deck list. You can pick up the Team Rival Challenger deck at your LGS, or through TCG Player using my affiliate link. I also have the Team Hero challenger deck list up.
Table of Contents
The List
Champions
Isla, Dreaming Brilliance
Dolores, Hidden Wisdom
Heidern, Hard-boiled Assasin
Foil Cards
Assault Saber x 2
Hadir x 2
Heidern End x 2
Nesh x 2
Scribe x 2
Wild Style x 2
Non-Foil
Team Rival XV x 3
Fill-In x 4
Hilzuni x 3
Storm Bringer x 3
Amanda’s Help x 4
Drips x 4
Graffiti Artist x 4
Hidden Motives x 4
Holly Soil x 4
Investigating Verse x 4
Ready to Sortie x 4
Revered Hermit x 4
Unit Commander x 3
Visual List
Champions
Isla, Dreaming Brilliance
Dolores, Hidden Wisdom
Heidern, Hard-boiled Assassin
Foil Cards
Assault Saber x 2Nesh x 2
Hadir x 2Scribe x 2
Heidern End x 2Wild Style x 2
Non-Foil
Team Rival XV x 3Storm Bringer x 3Graffiti Artist x 4Investigating Verse x 4Unit Commander x 3
Fill-In x 4Amanda’s Help x 4Hidden Motives x 4Ready to Sortie x 4
Hilzuni x 3Drips x 4Holly Soil x 4Revered Hermit x 4
UVS sent me the a Guilty Gear Strive Blitz Box to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review. 2026 is going to be an exciting year for Universus TCG, so make sure you check out the road map! I am super excited for some Fairy Tail cards. Also check out my reviews for other universus products like Attack on Titan and my favorite set so far, Heroes of Exandria. I’ll also be using my TCG Player affiliate link where possible. It helps me out if you use it before buying anything.
Table of Contents
The Set
The Guilty Gear Strive set came out on November 28, so I am a little behind on the draw. Holidays have been a little busy for me. While the new King of Fighers comes out soon, I think it is still worth looking back at a fantastic set. Guilty Gear Strive released with a new type of product, the Blitz Box, which is a 12 pack booster at a much more attainable price point. The game features unique art and foils that you are going to want in your collection, especially if you’re a fan of the fighting game. If you haven’t played Universus, it is a fantastic unique game that I have fun playing everything time I get product. I’ve talk in more detail about the game in other posts, so make sure you check that out.
Character Cards
The Guilty Gear Strive character cards are some of my favorite since I’ve started playing the game. If you are unfamiliar with the game, Universus usually uses screen grabs for most of their artwork except for a handful of alt cards and character cards where the art is unique. I have never played a Guilty Gear game, but I kind of want to now because the characters looks so cool. The character cards are all vibrant, with cool looking characters that are going to be fun to collect. Here are a few of my favorites:
Token cards
Non-alt character cards in this set are tokens. Instead of the normal backs, the backs have a few rule explanations. While it may take away from the TCG aesthetic, it does offer a different back for easy orginization. As a casual player, I appreciate the easy reminder of rules I would otherwise have to look up. It is a handy tool for newer players. While I understand that it stops being useful the more to have, it is handy.
Token Back
Chrome rares
While some might be upset that their character cards have been made tokens, there are some nice chrome rare versions available for those who want to bling out their deck. I like the more cartoonish, oversaturated look of the art. You know it is going to look fantastic on the table. While I didn’t pull any of the chromes for my collection, I can sit hit and look at them longingly:
Alt cards
The real reason I love this game is how much effort is put into the alt cards. The alt cards in this set are all fantastic. I was lucky enough to pull a few of the alt cards and I am so happy with my pulls. If you are a fan of the series, you are going to want to try to pull some of these cards, at least for your collection. It is very hard to choose just a few cards, so here is as many as I could fit in no particular order:
Review
I am writing this as a collector. I love this game, but I play it very casually. I can’t speak on the power it adds to the game nor how it is shaping the meta. I can say that this has been the most fun set to open (aside from the the Heroes of Exandira). Guilty Gear Strive has the best quality of any set I’ve pulled from, and the best looking art.
Quality
Guilty Gear Strive, at least the box I pulled, has some of the best quality I’ve seen from this game. The foils still curve, but that is an unavoidable truth in the TCG space. Regardless of that fact, none of them had that annoying print line that seems to plague previous sets. Coming from the Riftbound cards I pulled, the quality is night and day. If they can keep this level of quality for future releases, and even spread it to Riftbound, I can see this game surviving at least another year.
The Art
My biggest issue with Universus as a collector is that most of the cards are screen grabs. While the special treatment cards are always fun to open and collect, most of the time I am collecting screenshots of IPs I don’t always care about. With the exception of Heroes of Exandria, most of the sets have been disappointing to open. Riftbound, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Street Fighter (the worst in my opinion) were all boring. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fairs a little better because of nostalgia, but not enough to buy into.
The screenshots used for Guilty Gear Strive are a lot better than the previous sets. While I am still not a fan of the screenshot cards, they do look nice in a binder. I liked Guilty Gear Strive a lot more than the Street Fighter ones, and I can only hope they can carry a similar vibe with the King of Fighters IP. I am sure fans of the Guilty Gear series will appreciate the cards more than I did, but I had fun pulling them. I’ll probably only collect special treatment cards.
Conclusion
If you are thinking of getting into Universus, Guilty Gear Strive is a solid entry point. It has cool art, some solid mechanics, and the set is fun to open. I can’t speak on how it holds up against the current meta or how much return on investment you’ll get, but as a collector, I am very happy with this set and am tempted to pick up a bit more. You can pick up
I was sent a free copy of the Doomlings expansion, Castle Glass. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review. Make sure you also check out my review for the Doomlings Base Game and the Shadow Puppets expansion. I’ll be using my Amazon Affiliate link where possible. It really helps me out if you use it before you buy anything.
Table of Contents
What’s in the Box?
30 x New Traits
7 x New Dominant Traits
2 x New Ages
1 x New Catastrophe
1 x Mystery Foil
What is Castle Glass?
Castle Glass is Doomlings‘ ocean themed expansion. It features vibrant sea themed cards for a fun and colorful upgrade to your Doomlings deck. You will need the base game to play with these cards.
Castle Glass introduces three trait classes to the game: Shells, Coral, and Fish. With these new classes comes the trait system, an additional way to rack up points. If you collect two or more of the same class, you get a class score bonus. The class bonus are as follows:
Regular Shells, Fish & Corals are each worth +1
Curious Shells, Fish & Corals are each worth +2
Exotic Shells, Fish & Corals are each worth +3
This means that if at the end of the game you have 2 shells, one exotic and one regular, you get an additional four points added to your total.
Review
I love Doomlings. It is easily one of my favorite board games, and will bring it out often at my table. Castle Glass is a fantastic addition to my collection, but I do have a couple reservations.
Art
I love the fun and vibrant oceanic theme in Castle Glass. Despite the simple design, Doomling cards always have a lot of flavor and whimsy. The fish are cute and they very creative with their shell and coral designs. Castle Glass has the prettiest Ages cards I’ve seen so far. I love the scene of the sand castles at sun rise/sun set.
Gameplay
I believe Castle Glass adds interesting mechanics to the game. I had a lot of fun with the fish cards. Fish cards had abilities that let you play multiple cards a turn, letting players build their school of fish quickly. You can use fish to cheat out other cards in your hand, draw for better cards, or get that trait bonus at the end. It was very flavorful. Coral cards seem to add some disruption. It would have players discard cards, or it would let you get bonuses for cards in your opponents gene pools. Shells lets players peak at the next age, which is very valuable information if used correctly.
The only issue I see with this expansion is that it adds a new scoring mechanic to the end game tracking. It is not a hard mechanic to track, but some people aren’t going to like having to count the number of shells and worry about the types. Honestly, I don’t think it will complicate the game too much, depending on your deck size. If you have a massive Doomlings deck and cards aren’t clustered, it will add a couple of points, but nothing that will get out of hand. I played with a small deck to make sure they came out more frequently, and it never felt like scoring got out of hand. Even if you don’t like the extra math, the mechanics in this set are worth it.
Conclusion
The Doomlings base game is perfect, and if you are trying to get into this game, start there. Now if you’re looking for expansions to spice up your deck, Castle Glass is solid. It has a fun oceanic theme with some interesting mechanics to shake up the meta. Whether or not you should buy this expansion really comes down to if you are willing to do the extra math at the end. I don’t see it as a huge problem, but I also see hot it takes away from the casual vibe the draws people to the base game. I will say I do prefer the Shadow Puppets expansion a little more, but I won’t be taking Castle Glass out of my massive Doomlings deck any time soon.
Free League Publishing sent me a free copy of the Mutant: Year Zerocore rulebook to review for my blog. While I am very happy for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. Make sure you also check out my reviews for Dragonbane and The One Ring.
Table of Contents
What is Mutant: Year Zero?
Mutant is a tabletop roleplaying game about mutants at the end of the world. The game runs on the award winning Year Zero system which is a D6 system where things happen on 6s and 1s. Six is good and one is bad. There are no modifiers. Instead, stats and gear tell players how many dice they need to roll. More dice generally means better odds. Finally, Mutant is a survival game where the world is harsh, people have powers, and starvation is always a bad roll away.
Hook
Before the fall of civilization, Earth existed in a constant state of conflict. War broke out across the globe, quickly turning nuclear. Those smart and rich enough quickly found shelter in secure underground bunkers while others fled into the safety of space. Everyone else either died in the first wave, or had to rot away in the fallout. As the Earth became toxic, many began to mutate and develop powers.This was the next stage of evolution of man, but one that also marked its end. Mutants are sterile, and while there are tales of powerful folk that roam the wasteland, the population is aging towards is final days.
Some survivors band together and form flourishing communities known as arcs in an attempt to recapture what they lost, others turned to the harsh wasteland and let it transform. You were fortunate enough to grow in one of these arcs, and spend your days working towards a common goal. As the years go by, resources start to dwindle and the world becomes a harder place to live. Eventually, you and a promising group are tasked with going out farther than the usual patrol in search of anything that will extend your time on this planet. What secrets will you uncover beyond those walls? What will you bring back? Can humanity ever be saved, or are you merely surviving till your final days?
Gameplay
Mutant is a very easy game to pick up, but has enough depth to keep players engaged. The survival mechanics give players agency, without ever feeling like a chore. The mutation mechanic adds fun flavor that players can explore through their character, and it makes for some fun and interersting interactions. If you’ve ever wanted to be Xmen at the end of the world, pick up Mutant Year Zero.
Resources
Resources at the end of the world are limited. Players will need to spend their time constantly hunting for food, water, and other materials to survive the harsh dying world around them. Resources like food and water are expended every day for survival, but they are also used for healing. Rationing this precious resource keeps a high level of tension for the players. Players can choose to be at full health for the next encounter at the risk of starving to death. The system is streamlined so the bulk of the game is focused on the game rather than resource management, but you can make it more hard core if that is fun for you.
In Mutant, bullets are the most valuable resource after food and water. While players don’t need bullets to survive the wasteland, they are useful currency when it comes time to trade for better gear or materials. Bullets are also used for guns, and no one wants to be short a bullet in an important gunfight. Players will constantly need to weigh the benefits of trading away their bullets, and that will make for some difficult decisions.
Rot
The world rots away under the effects of the lingering radiation. While there are a few clean and hospitable areas left on this planet, there are pockets of deadly radiation spread in between. These areas give players rot points that slowly kill them. The only way to get rid of rot is to rest in a clean area, but those may be far in between during an adventure. The best bet is to avoid rot all together, or find some rot protection over time. Unfortunately, sometimes the only way forward is through a puddle of rot, and sometimes the only drinkable water is contaminated. The problem then becomes finding ways to mitigate the rot, and live with it.
Mutations
You can’t have a Mutant’s game without cool mutant powers, and this book has a very good selection of them. The DM can allow players to choose their mutation or roll for them at a table. I prefer rolling because that randomness gives the game its flavor. Survivors in this world wouldn’t have been able to choose their powers, neither should your players. That said, I’ll let a player choose their mutation if they have a fun idea that won’t kill the fun for anyone else.
As you would expect, mutations give players abilities they can use in and out of combat. Every player gets a mutation point per mutation at the start of each session that rolls over to the next if not used. Mutation points are the resource used to power the mutation. Because mutations are so powerful, this limit is used to balance the game. If the player could use their mutation as much as they wanted, things could get out of hand. Mutations can also backfire. They can explode or work as intended. They can also further mutate the user, leaving them weaker but with a cool new power to use.
Combat
Combat does not get any simpler than in Mutants. Attacks succeed on 6s and fail on 1s. Additional 6s give the user extra boons like bonus damage or the ability to disarm. Additional 1s can mean the weapon breaks, leaving its user defenseless. Weapon and gear do break in this game, and players will need a skilled craftsman for repairs, or enough bullets to buy the replacement.
What makes combat deep is the health and cover system. The way health works means that players will need to think carefully before rushing in. They may not have the resources to heal back, or they can get an injury that affects their performance. Learning how to effectively use the environment in combat is extremely important. Effectively finding cover in a gun fight or exploding a barrel can easily mean the difference between life and death.
Leveling
I love the leveling system in Mutant because it is streamlined and accessible. Players will need to answer the following questions:
Did you participate in the session? (You get 1 XP just for being present.)
Did you perform a Day’s Work for a project in the Ark?
Did you explore at least one new sector in the Zone?
Did you sacrifice or risk something for your PC buddy?
Did you sacrifice or risk something for the NPC you want to keep safe?
Did you sacrifice or risk something to mess with the NPC you hate?
Did you sacrifice or risk something to reach your big dream?
Players get 1xp point per yes, and they level up when they earn a total of five. Leveling means players will get put a point into a skill of their choice or pick up a new talent. This system not only eliminates the guess work you would see in something like D&D, and it allows players to customize their character. Personally, it forced my players to act in ways they wouldn’t normally because they wanted an XP point. Where in a D&D campaign they wouldn’t care if the NPC died, they went out of their way to keep them alive and get to know them. I was not ready to RP as much as I have in Mutant, but I am not complaining.
Other Mechanics
There are other very cool mechanics that make this game unique and fun to play, but I don’t want this post to get too long. I pulled out the most notable that set it apart from other systems I’ve played, but also the systems I’ve liked the most. While I do not currently run a hardcore survival campaign, its nice to play something more bleak and I’ve been enjoying the story that has come from it.
Review
Mutant Year Zero is easily one of my favorite TTRPGs. I love how accessible the game is. It is easy to learn, and this is important for table of busy dads. Mutant also has some fantastic flavor with the mechanics that make for a good story.
Quality
I did get a copy of the physical book, and it is beautiful. The printing is high quality with vibrant colors, and the book is very high quality. I love the comic book style art. It gives the game its distinct personality and the book looks fantastic on my table.
The cover is phenomenal. I love how it draws the attention to the survivors combing a burning crumbling city for danger and supplies. Their nonchalant expressions suggest that they’ve grown used to the wreckage, and remain unfazed by the apocalypse. The worn mismatched outfits fit the flavor of the world, and the colors tie it all together. I love that each character has a hint of their ability showing. It is just enough to make a statement about their power, while still evoking curiosity. Are these good guys? Bad guys? You’re going to have to play and decide.
Story
The corebook has a prewritten adventure, and it is a very good place to start if you’re a beginner or just need a little help. The adventure offers a solid mystery with an interesting hook to get things rolling.
The players start at the arc, with an aging leader and dwindling supplies. They are sent out in search of more, but find hints to the fabled Eden. Eden is a place of abundance, populated by the most brilliant minds to find a cure for mutation. Some say the cure exists somewhere within its walls, the trouble is finding it. Others say its all a cruel joke told by those too dumb to realize it is all over. As fate has it, your players find themselves chasing a legend, and what they find isn’t what they expected.
Adventure
What I like most about how the adventure is written is that it gives players to tell their own story around the main goal. The adventure outlines a meta story, fills it with important NPCs and location, and sprinkles enough clues to create agency. The gamemaster players have the freedom to do what they want. I’ve never had my players more invested in the world building, because we were building our world. We had a session where we just talked about the fake mutant animals that existed in the one zone and creating bits of random lore that carried throughout the campaign. I love that I was not tied down by a dungeon crawl because it allowed us to tell some very cool stories.
Most importantly, I love that my players liked the meta story enough to keep playing through it. I’ve ran modules where I stopped using the source material because my players wanted to do something different within that world. I wasn’t ready for them to start asking questions about Eden and actively working towards it because of how much time we spend messing around in character.
Roleplay
This is one of the games where my players got into unique characters. I think the random mutation forced them to play a character they wouldn’t usually which was very cool to see. It might also help that I ran this game with theater of the mind using Alchemy RPG. The official module for Mutant is fantastic. Maybe the lack of math and battle maps gave players the room to get creative with their roleplay. Whatever the answer, it was a lot of fun.
Theater of the Mind
You can get as fancy as you want with Mutant. You can use maps with intricate terrain and figures, or load up your favorite VTT and do it digitally. Run this game in whatever way is most fun for your table. The system will work no matter what. At my table, we run games through theater of the mind. I’ll use maps here and there, but I like the focus to be the story and the current format works for us.
As a theater of mind game, Mutant is a fantastic system. The year one system makes checks and combat easy to manage, and the mechanics give enough depth without needing much outside aid. If all you have is the rulebook, some dice, and a dream, you are ready to run Mutant Year One.
Survival
Do not be intimidated by the survival aspect of this game. Run this game as hardcore as it needs to be for your table. I run a casual table and would frequently forget to manage resources. There wasn’t enough scarcity, and I didn’t deduct enough resources. I did break weapons and give players rot points, but I wasn’t running the game as intended. That said, the game never felt like it lost any of the survival element. Players were still cautious with their decisions, and scavenging when they could. My campaign, as silly as it was, was still a survival campaign. I like that freedom.
Conclusion
If you want to run a survival campaign with cool mutant characters and have a good amount of freedom to tell a cool story, pick up your copy of Mutant Year Zero. This has become our favorite, and it is going to be hard to switch to anything else. You can pick up your copy of the Mutant Year Zero rule book on the official Free League Publishing website, or on DriveThru rpg if you want to go digital.
UVS Games has just announced its 2026 roadmap, and the lineup will have fans new and old excited about the future of the game. As casual collector, I definitely see a couple of sets I want to whale on. If you want to pick up Universus, always support your LGS. You can also pick up Universus on TCG Player using my affiliate link. It really helps me out if you use it.
The Road Map
What’s coming in 2026?
2026 marks a very important milestone for Universus: the system’s 20th anniversary. With this milstone comes a collecion of iconic figures from fighting games, manga, and of course, Kaiju. Whether you are new to the game, casually collecting, or trying to take the top spot in next year’s circuit, there seems to be a little bit of something for everyone.
So what is coming?
King of Fighters XV Challenger Series
Godzilla Booster Set
My Hero Academia Challenger Series
TEKKEN 8 Booster Set
Street Fighter 6: Part Deux Challenger Series
Fairy Tail Booster Set
Thoughts
While I am not too crazy about the fighting game sets, Street fighter had some very cool unique cards and the decks were a lot of fun to play. They are a solid place to start, assuming you can’t find any Godzilla. What I don’t like about the fighting game sets personally are that most of cards are screenshots. If you’re a fan of the games in questions (and the games in questions are cool), then this becomes less of an issue. As a collector, these sets don’t excite me as much. I prefer the comic stills, especially like the ones in the Heroes of Exandira set. Those look really good in a binder.
That said, what is important are the mechanics and the unique cards that make this game worth collecting. If the mechanics change the meta enough or the unique cards in the set are cool, that will be enough to excite me. I may not vibe with most of the art for the Tekken and Street Fighter cards I do own, but the decks are fun enough and the champion cards are cool enough that I would buy into them if I didn’t already own the set.
What I am very excited for is the Godzilla cards. I missed out on the initial run of Godzilla when that came out, but what I’ve seen looks very cool. Some people will argue that Godzilla is problematic because it runs the meta, but I’ve played enough card games to know that it happens everywhere. Maybe the set changes up the type of Godzilla decks you end up playing against. Either way, as a collector, I can’t wait what this set has to offer and I am more than ready to open a couple packs.
What I am most excited for is the Manga sets. I know Deku is a problem, but the cards from previous MHA sets have all been pretty good. I feel confident in my excitement for this set, and I hope it brings new people in the space. The space needs it. More importantly, I am ready to whale on the Fairy Tail set. I love this anime and the set is bound to have some cool cards. It has to for the year to end on a good note.
Universus just released the Street Fighter 6 challenger series decks, and I have a copy of each. Always support your LGS, but you can pick up the Ryu challenger deck on TCG Player using my affiliate link. Here is the Ryu deck list for those who need it:
Weebs of the Shore made a few announcements over the weekend that should get fans, new and old, excited for the future of the game. If you’re looking for Grand Archive product, always support your LGS, but if you pick up product on TCG Player using my affiliate link, it really helps me out. You can also check out my newest sponsor NordVPN if you’re looking for the service.
Competitive Schedule
With 2025 worlds behind us, it is time to start grinding for 2026. Next year worlds will be in Singapore, so make sure you start planning your Acents. There are a few new countries on the list which means the game is growing and I am here for it. We also got a couple sets teased, Phantom Monarchs in December and a capstone set in March. A capstone set is meant to celebrate the entire history of Grand Archive so far, and I am very excited to see what this means. I am going to be so broke…
Revel Fest Promo
If you haven’t played all season, now is a fantastic time to hop in and grind a few events for that sweet sweet promo. Abyssal Heaven’s promo is Fire Resonance Bauble, and this card looks so good. Good luck!
Store Champ Promo
It is also time to get good to get a copy of that store champ promo. The promo for Distorted Reflections and Surviel the Winds and this is peak GA design.
Regional Top Qualifier Promo
If you needed a reason to grind out the competitive then you got it with the Distorted Reflections promo, Smoke Bombs. This art looks so good!
Ascent Top Qualifier Promo
It is really the best time to get good at this game. This card is not only a solid add to your deck, you know its going to look amazing in real life.
Sandbox Announced
Getting good is going to require a lot of practice, more than you can get at locals. Luckily, Weebs of the Shore is working on a Sandbox that will allow players a clean and hopefully automated way to play Grand Archive from the comfort of their home. I can only hope this lets me enjoy random matches, and I would appreciate a ranked mode. Not much is known yet. I assume it will be PC at launch based on the UI, but if these leads to an a phone app, Weebs of the Shore is about to take all my money.
Pantheon
Now if you don’t want to play competitively, or just want a break, Weebs of the Shore is cooking up a new casual format Pantheon. Will it be a singleton format like commander? A multiplayer game mode? PVE? Pauper? Personally, I think it will be something like commander based on the name, but we will have to wait and see.
Phantom Monarchs
Last but not least, Phantom Monarchs is dropping in December. We weren’t giving much other than a name, but we can assume it is an expansion set based on the release schedule we’ve gotten so far. Either way, I am always excited to see more grand archive.
Paizo sent me the first book of the Shades of Blood adventure path, Thirst for Blood to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, this will be my honest opinion of the resource book. I will also be using Amazon affiliate links where possible, but you can always buy Thirst for Blood directly from the Paizo store.
Shades of Blood: The Hook
Where the once great Alzanti empire stood, now sits fragmented remains scattered across islands and at the bottom of the ocean. The Alzanti once held dominion with its advanced technology, now its scraps are sold as oddities. Its been years since its collapse, and more of the lost empires secrets have began to surface. Unfortunately, not all of them are good.
At the bottom of the ocean, hidden behind a labyrinth of traps and stone, sits a prison for the empires most dangerous foes. Among these is an ancient vampire by the name of Nizca Irocol. Nizca was so powerful that the only way to stop her was to keep her in a state of perpetual stasis. Unfortunately, the Earthfall has shaken the force that kept Nizca locked away.
Newly freed, Nizca seeks to reunite with her long lost lover. To do this, she plans to use ancient Alzanti technology to put the world into perpetual darkness, and releasing a prison full of blood thirsty creatures into the world to sow chaos.
As fate would have it, a group of eager adventures have been hired in a nearby town to investigate the sudden anomaly. What will they uncover? What treasures will they find? Do they have what it takes to save the world, or will it fall to vampires?
What is Shades of Blood?
Thirst for Bloodis the first leg of the Shades of Blood saga. It takes players from levels 1-3, and acts as an introduction to the world, game, and characters. The players will arrive to the town of Talmandor’s Bounty, where they have been hired to aid a local astronomer. Everything erupts into chaos as the sky turns to black and an army of blood thirsty creatures starts attacking the city. The adventures now find themselves investigating this sudden chaotic outburst. Players will need to travel to a nearby island, and begin their delve through this fascinating mystery.
Impressions
If you are planning on running this adventure, you are going to need the GM Core. The adventure path doesn’t include any of the rules, or all of the stat blocks. There is also a free player’s guide to help players prep for the campaign. I’ll drop the file below for your convenience, but you can pick it up on the official Paizo site.
Thirst for Bloodis a solid start to the adventure. It has a few alternate modes of play (not everything is solved by combat), and it does a good job at getting players involved with the world. The early missions of the game has players interacting with NPCs as they complete chores around the starting city, and slowly introduces the games many mechanics. This is a very beginner friendly resource, and a good way to get into Pathfinder.
My only concern with the first chapter is that players need to be willing to roleplay to make some of the chores fun. I do appreciate that the game sets up ample opportunities for players to grow comfortable with their characters through the many social interactions. While chapter one does a great job at helping break the ice, some of the quests can be boring depending on the roleplay.
The rest of the adventure is a solid dungeon delve with fantastic flavor baked throughout. The book introduces fun enemies for players to fight, and provides a neat mystery for them to solve. I’m sure your players will find clever ways to skip around, but there are some cool ideas that I will be using in other campaigns. Overall, if you’re into a strait forward delve, this is a great place to start.
The book itself is very cool. I love the art, and the book is printed with the high quality standard I’ve come to expect from Paizo. I am a little bummed that it doesn’t include all of the stat blocks, but I guess it is fair that they assume players will at least a GM Core handy.
Aside from my issues with the first chapter, this is a solid resource. If you like vampires and dungeon crawlers, this a cool book to own. I personally enjoy reading about all the adventure’s lore, but there are also a few stat blocks I will be borrowing for future campaigns.
You can pick up the Thirst for Blood adventure path for $29.99 from Paizo and Amazon.
