When “The World That Was” ruptured as a result of The End Times, a majority of Warhammer Fantasy Battles fans were understandably upset. The setting and the universe was replaced by something strangely convoluted and alien in concept, to the point that it felt more like a Warhammer 40K spinoff. That was the initial reaction to Age of Sigmar which, over time, gained a dedicated following. Since then, Age of Sigmar‘s lore and mechanics have improved, and like any other Games Workshop product, had its own video games. Enter Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Champions, a collectible card game (CCG) where you build your decks from of the setting’s greatest heroes and villains.
The game released for iOS and Android devices last August. It will be available this first quarter (Q1) of 2019 for the Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. Check out its original launch trailer:
Sigmarines And Sigmarine Cards!
Many CCG and deck-building aficionados might be interested in what Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Champions has to offer. The core mechanics of the genre are still there, although there is a slew of changes that differentiate it from the tabletop experience. I actually had to consult a guide from Geekdad just to familiarize myself with the concepts. For starters, you and your opponent have health. Much like Hearthstone, the goal is to reduce your opponent’s health to zero.
Meanwhile, each deck is comprised of four champions, four blessings, and thirty action cards (units, spells, abilities). Champions are “named” or “generic” lord/hero classes that Warhammer players are familiar with, such as Archaon the Everchosen. Each champion has its own ability and also a quest. Quest steps include just being able to play a card or use a spell. When you’ve completed a quest, you gain a blessing. You can use these to either greatly buff your units/cards or deal tremendous damage to opponents.
From there, you and your opponent start playing your hands — casting spells, summoning units, dealing damage to your opponent — until the game ends. To give you a better understanding of how each game would flow, here’s a video from YouTuber Voodoo Turtle:
Physical To Digital
To be clear, we’ve yet to test out how Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Champions would fare for PCs. What we do know, however, is that the mobile version adds a unique quirk for owners of physical cards. That’s because developer Playfusion allows you to scan physical cards and obtain their digital counterparts in-game. So yes, you can buy decks in real life and proceed to use said decks in the digital game itself. How nifty is that? Obviously, it won’t work the other way around — hobby stores don’t just give you physical cards just because you showed that you have something similar on your mobile phone.
In any case, we’ll keep you updated with more news given that the game has a planned Q1 2019 release. Time will tell if Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Champions’ PC version will dominate the genre, or if it’d deserve a spanking just like Mannfred von Carstein. For now, though, you can check out the game’s official website to know more.
