Games Thursday : Mytheria – Virtual CCG
I love virtual collectible card games and Mytheria is no exception. This Flash game by
Diffusion Games was only given a brief mention in Jayisgames‘ first Link Dump Friday of 2009 so I thought I might provide more extensive details on this fun little timekiller.
If you have played CCGs like Magic : The Gathering (sorry, it’s the only CCG I have any experience with), you’ll find the rules for Mytheria rather easy to learn and play. For those that haven’t, the single-player campaign will gently ease you into the world of Mytjeria while teaching you the nuances of the game system in the first three missions. The rules aren’t as complicated as physical CCGs though – no upkeep applies for deployed units and there isn’t a system for interrupts as in Magic : The Gathering.
As in any other CCG, power is needed to summon units and cast instants (the Mytheria equivalent of spells), enchantments and auras (global enchantments). Unlike Magic : The Gathering though, Mytheria’s multi-coloured powers are not acquired by playing land cards – instead, you are forced to decide on either increasing the rate of power growth by one each turn or draw another card from your deck. I find this game mechanic rather ingenious as it not only adds a degree of strategy to each game but also makes the game fairer for both players since resource management no longer depends on luck but on each player planning ahead.
Furthermore, by allowing players to directly control the power growth, it increases the possible strategies of deck construction since players can actually build and play decks containing a swarm of many weak, low-cost units to quickly rush and overwhelm the opponent or opt for a smaller selection of powerful high cost units bolstered with multiple enchantments and auras and so forth. Unfortunately, custom decks cannot be used in the campaign but only in the Challenges which will allow you to acquire another six additional cards for the Deck Builder.
The five factions with their distinctive strengths and playing styles affect deck construction (obviously 
) as well as make playing each mission in the campaign a very different experience especially when facing a deck from another faction.
Scythian (red) – Relatively strong units and direct damage instants make this faction very straightforward to play with. Leader units like Commander J’Ardan and Scythian Elites gain strength when deployed with other Scythian soldiers.
Solarian (white) – Strong defensive units like Solarian Fortress bear the brunt of the the enemy attacks while Solarian Walkers provide the offensive punch. Many healing and defensive enhancements are available for the Solarian faction.
Hrathians (blue) – Comparatively cheap robotic units.
Myrkin (purple) – Average units with a focus on instants, auras and enchantments like Power Drain that disable your opponent’s units and power resources.
Blackguard (black) – Mutually destructive auras and enchantments like Biochemical Assault and Contamination and make playing with or against this faction a very unpredictable and challenging affair.
Play Mytheria.
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Sounds really interesting and seems very polished. I’ll give it a try asap!
It’s excellent but very short unfortunately
There’s no multiplayer or skrimish mode to test your deck creation strategies either 
check out http://www.noks.com
Hi Joel – seems interesting – I’ll go check it out