Eternal Destiny effortlessly explained the rules and tactics for its card-based play on the PAX East show floor, bringing players into the battle for demonic, cyber, and angelic supremacy.
The game plays on a small field, with each player able to lay down five creatures in front of them. These cards are laid on specific slots, and these slots have their own elements that will enhance, weaken, or be neutral depending on what the player lays down on it. Should the player lay down a Cyber card on a Cyber slot, it will get tougher, but the same card will get weaker on a demon space.
Players are given a set amount of MP at the beginning of every round. On the available Easy Mode demo, the player started each round with 10 MP, with some unused MP rolling over to the next round. Cards and skills each have their own casting cost, so saving up or using all of it can be useful if the situation demands it.
Playing another creature on top of an already-player creature grants that creature a permanent attack buff called a Reinforcement. Playing the exact same creature on top of itself will cause that card to evolve to another, stronger state that makes it even more powerful.
The player can attack their opponent’s creatures using their monsters, or attack their opponent directly should there be an empty slot in front of them. The opponent still gets a chance to defend even if the player is attacking an empty slot, although defending creatures do not do damage to their attackers. Should you do more damage than the defending creature can absorb, though, the overflow of damage will hit the opponent for the remaining damage the player’s creature can deal.
Players also have access to skills that certain creatures have. These cost MP, but can have dramatic effects on the game and save the player in a rough spot. Players will also have their choice of commander card with their deck, and each commander gives the player a special ability at the beginning of the game.
Some of the creature skills can prevent your opponent from attacking for a turn, destroy their creatures, or enact other various effects.
All of these rules flowed together naturally, allowing creatures to be buffed easily and making for easy-to-see creature evolutions. The three creature types and the slot systems allow for some complicated tactics later on, but are simple and approachable for new players.
The artwork was quite varied, even though the demo only had options for a handful of decks. There were dozens of different warriors to battle with, with great detail going into each card’s design. The game promises over five hundred cards with its full version, each with unique artwork.
The dungeon modes and card collecting/deck building elements were not demonstrated in the demo, but the gameplay systems themselves seemed approachable, yet deep enough for players to continue finding ways to challenge themselves and their opponents. With some pleasant visual variety to make each hand interesting, Eternal Destiny proved to be a light and fun, yet complex, card game.
