Disclaimer

Universus sent the Critical Role: Heroes of Exandria clash decks, the Grog playmat, and a few packs to cover on my blog. While I am very grateful, these will be my honest opinions of the set. I will be using TCG Player affiliate links where possible, but make sure you always support your LGS.

What is Critical Role: Heroes of Exandria?

As of writing this, Heroes of Exandria was Universus’ last set. Universus is a unique card game that sort of feels like a fighting game. If you’ve never tried it, you should at least get a couple decks to try them out. The game uses various popular IPs as flavor, and the mechanics are sound. Now Heroes of Exandria is a very good looking collaboration done with popular IP, Critical Role. The set includes 8 Chrome rares, which you’re going to want to collect, and some very good looking art if you’re a fan of the series. What makes Heroes of Exandria unique is the inclusion of unique boss cards for an even more unique PVE experience.

PVE Boss Cards and Rules

Heroes of Exandria introduced PVE rules to shake up the hobby. There are 6 bosses to defeat, each with a unique ruleset and flavor. I am a little bummed the cards are included as a randomized boxtopper, but its nice of them to provide the rules and proxies online for free. Make sure you go to the official site for the complete rule breakdown, but I’ll leave the images of the cards bellow. The Briarwoods is definitely my favorite, but the all the cards look pretty cool.

The Chrome Rares

I love the art in this set, and the chrome rares are no exception. As a collector, I definitely want to go broke chasing these serialized beauties. As a fan of the series, I can only appreciate the amount of flavor that went into each and every card. Since I lack the luck to pull any of these cards, here is what they look for to get you hyped:

Ultra Rare Alt Art

Heroes of Exandria definitely has some of my favorite art of the card game. Even the commons in this set look good, but I really like the IP so there is some clear bias. That said, the Ultra Rare Alt Art cards are the reason to buy into this set because they are just beautiful. I love the use of color, the character design, and the amount of flavor that goes into each and every card. I don’t want this post to be too long, so I pain painstakingly chose a few of my favorites, but maybe I’ll do a post with all of them in the future. You can find the entire visual card list on the official Universus site as well.

Character Alt Art

The character alts for this game is simply amazing. Hell, the regular version of the characters in this set are worth collection. I’ve always been a fan of how Universus handles their character cards, but they’ve truly outdone themselves with Critical Role. I love the retro fantasy vibe of the artstyle, and if they are anything like the Attack on Titan Alt arts, they are going to shine on any table. Again, because I don’t want this post to get too long, here are some of my favorite:

The Clash Decks

I did receive the sets two clash decks for free and have the deck lists available for both Percy and Beau. If you’re new to the card game, clash decks are Universus beginner product. They are basic decks aimed to help beginners learn the fundamental mechanics of the game. If you’re trying to get into the competitive scene, this product isn’t worth it. You aren’t going to find any meta defining cards, and they avoid the games more complex mechanics. These decks are designed for people who have never played a TCG.

That said, I had a lot of fun with the Heroes of Exandria decks. They are a lot better than the Attack on Titan clash decks, but you’re still not getting anything you can take to locals. The decks feel pretty balanced, although I preferred the Percy deck because the character art is cooler, and his abilities came up more often. If you’re just trying to play some casual Universus, or trying to teach someone the game, this is a fantastic product to add to your collection. Collectors are also going to want to pick these up because the character art is very cool.

My Impressions

Heroes of Exandria is easily my favorite Universus set, but I am strictly speaking as a collector. I enjoy playing the game, but I play very casually and can’t speak on how it fits in the current meta. That said, if you are a fan of Critical Role, there is a lot of value in this set in both art and flavor. I very much enjoy all the little details and references that is seen throughout the set, and the cards look great in person. Unfortunately, the print line on the foils still exists, and it drives me crazy. Its not bad enough where I wouldn’t buy the set, but I can’t ignore that it happens.

Either way, you can pick up all your Critical Role: Heroes of Exandria product from TCG Player using my affiliate link, but please make sure you support your LGS first.