Summoner Wars by Plaid Hat Games

[Nukatha]

Double Posting! The last Plaid Hat Podcast of the year had the crew talking a little bit more about Summoner Wars 2. @truth , @Grungebob , @mrbistro , time to update the heroscapers ads!

[Flash_19]

Originally Posted by Nukatha

Double Posting! The last Plaid Hat Podcast of the year had the cree talking a little bit more about Summoner Wars 2. @truth , @Grungebob , @mrbistro , time to update the heroscapers ads!

Wait, are they reprinting summoner Wars?

[Heroscaper Guy]

Originally Posted by Flash_19

Wait, are they reprinting summoner Wars?

Gonna do 2.0 like monpoc, to fix some of the problems. They have the dude who did Crystal Clans doing the artwork.

[Flash_19]

Originally Posted by Heroscaper Guy

Gonna do 2.0 like monpoc, to fix some of the problems. They have the dude who did Crystal Clans doing the artwork.

Cool - Thanks! Glad to hear that about the artwork.

[Nukatha]

Plaid Hat has announced that you can order Summoner Wars Version 2 starting March 1st

.

@truth
There's a bit more information in this week's podcast. 14:00 mark is where Summoner Wars stuff starts.

---

Originally Posted by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn

The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie.

---

Last edited by Nukatha; February 19th, 2021 at 05:54 PM. Reason: some text didn't display for some reason.

[Dad_Scaper]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing, Nukatha!

[Nukatha]

Plaid Hat & Co have put out more information on SW 2nd Ed. including purchasing options:
Click here for full information.
But, in the interest of having all the information in one place:
Game is launching with a 6-deck Master Set (similar to the original Master Set I guess).
Four 'classic' factions are reworked here (Fallen Kingdom, Vanguards, Benders (Renamed to Breakers), and Cave Golbins). Also included are Polar Dwarves (break-off faction after the Tundra Guild alliance? Deep lore), and Savanna Elves (someone realized that Lions and Elephants are more likely to be found there than in a Jungle I guess).
Box includes eight dice, a board (I don't see whether it is cardboard like the original Master Set, or neoprene like Alliances) and tokens. Tokens and dice may get 'upgraded' based on the quantity of sets pre-ordered. In addition, two mercenary promo cards will likely be included based on the current 'stretch goal' list.

Purchasing options are a subscription-based $50 for the master set, with an additional $30 quarterly, with two decks included per quarter. PHG says you can cancel any time. Digital access included.

$50 master set one-time purchase.

Shipping is included with subscription cost in the contiguous US.

There's also a digital app option. $10 for four months of access, with $2.95 per month afterward. If anyone at PHG is reading this, please also include 1-time purchase options here. (That is, the same pricing model as the original app.)

I've yet to read the rulebook/card text to truly appreciate the differences, but there's the rundown.

[Agent Minivann]

Just skimmed the rules. It looks like the custom deck construction has more flexibility. Some of the event cards have different times in the turn sequence you play them. Also the placement of gates(walls) is different. You either place them in your back three rows, or adjacent to your summoner. So you can't place them on your front row without moving your summoner, and if you are really aggressive you can place them on your opponent's side of the board. I think a lot of the other stuff is changes in layout, and stuff like that, but it has been a while since I checked the rules or played. The idea of placing a gate on the other side of the board is intriguing.

[lefton4ya]

Rulebook: https://media.plaidhatgames.com/file...lebook-web.pdf
FAQ: https://media.plaidhatgames.com/file...65f27d/faq.pdf

SUMMONER WARS 2.0 FAQ
• Is Second Edition compatible with the First Edition?
No.
• But why isn’t Second Edition compatible with the First Edition?
I want it to be!
I said NO!
• You just made it so that Second Edition isn’t compatible with the First Edition because you want more of my money! Right?!
No, I promise!
• I WANT more Summoner Wars but I don’t want to buy a whole new edition. Why didn’t you just make more First Edition decks?
Really?! You’re still here? Ok, listen, we made First Edition 12 years ago. We were babies! Summoner Wars has so much more potential than what we were able to pull off back in 2009. The only way to realize that potential is with a new edition. We needed to build on an improved foundation that takes into consideration all of the insights we learned from years of releasing first edition decks as well as 12 years of experience publishing games. If you don’t trust that this version is going to be better, just wait for the reviews to come in. If it’s just like, ‘the principle of the thing, man’ then we understand, enjoy your complete First Edition. We promise not to show up at your house and burn your collection in a devious plot to force you into buying Second Edition.
• This art looks like it is for babies! I liked the first edition art better. Why did you change it?
Out of spite for you personally. That and we wanted a fresh new look.
• Will Second Edition be available in other languages?
A Chinese version is releasing at the same time as the English version from the publisher MYBG. We also have partners for the following languages that have committed to releasing their versions later this year:
Hungarian
Polish
Czech
We will continue to look for publishing partners in other languages
• Can I pre-order from another country besides the United States?
Yes! We are offering $5 off shipping costs for the master set and subscription shipments to locations outside of the 48 contiguous states.
• Will I be charged immediately if I sign up for the subscription services?
You will be charged for the master set at the time of purchase, but won’t be charged for the first subscription product until it ships out. ETA for first subscription delivery (The Phoenix Elves vs Tundra Orcs Starter Set) is August 2021.
• Why is the Full Subscription the same cost as the Master Set only?
The cost is the same because we aren’t collecting payment for the first subscription product at the time of check out. Signing up for the subscription plan helps us know how many players are interested in PHG continuing the Summoner Wars line beyond the Master Set. The Full Subscription also gives access to the digital app for FREE! So we definitely recommend signing up for the Full Subscription. You can unsubscribe at any time!
• If I don’t sign up for the subscription will I still be able to purchase the faction decks I want?
Yes! Summoner Wars products will be available to purchase in our web-store and at participating retailers. The subscription program is just a convenient way to keep up with the product line and to get free shipping in the 48 contiguous states.
• Can I subscribe to the subscription service after the pre-order
period?
Of course! If you already have a Plaid Hat Games account you can sign in and click the subscribe button. If you don’t have an account you can add the subscription to your cart from our web-store and follow the instructions.
• What is the Beta version of the digital app?
It is a version of the Summoner Wars web app made available while it is still actively being developed for a full release. At first, this will be similar to the Breakers vs Cave Goblins demo, but during the beta we’ll be adding the other 4 master set factions as well as lots of critical features, including those reached from community goals but also important things like security, secrecy, etc, so that the game is suitable for competitive play.
• Will the app be available on platforms like Steam and Switch?
We may bring the app to other platforms in the future, but for now it will be accessible through any device with a web browser.
• When does my digital subscription begin?
When the app has all six factions from Master Set available to play - ETA August 2021.
• Will my friend need a digital subscription to play me if I already have one?
Yes, every player will need a subscription to play.
• Will there be deckbuilding in Second Edition?
Yes! See page 11 of the rulebook. The rulebook can be found on our website.
• I like pips on my dice. Do I have to use the second edition dice?
Yes. The new ruleset requires the dice included with Second Edition.
• What factions will we see in the future?
• August 2021 - Phoenix Elves and Tundra Orcs Starter Set.
• November 2021 - Cloaks Faction Deck and Skyspear Avians Faction Deck
• February 2022 - Eternal Council Faction Deck and Fungal Dwarves Faction Deck
Releases will continue in this fashion, with a pair of faction decks being released every 3 months. Our intention is to bring back every faction from the first edition while also introducing new factions at the same time. Sometimes the second edition versions of a first edition faction will have different names (like the Benders are now the Breakers and the Jungle Elves are now the Savanna Elves) and every first edition faction is being re-explored from the ground up, not just updated to match the new rules.

[Lord Pyre]

It's neat they're revisiting it. But I still have plenty of the old stuff that I don't play often enough as it is. And I like not having to deck build in the original, personally. Just grab someone who looks cool and battle with your friends. So yeah, probably going to pass here.

Honestly would be the same if Heroscape gets revived. The chance of compatibility would be low, and I don't want to start from scratch.

[OEAO]

My initial thoughts on 2.0 after reading the rulebooks:

Neutral:
Inevitability rules: everyone was already using this in 1.0 anyways, so it's a wash.
Walls: have to see how they work in practice, but they seem to be largely the same.
New Dice: I imagine they're making it harder to hit at range. This is probably a slight Pro, but it's tough to know now.

Pros:
Faction themes better defined.
1x purchase of anything max (can't include more than 4 of any single common, so no more buying multiple decks to get 10x of a common).
Better starting setups.

Cons:
Artwork: this is a huge turn-off for me. The original artwork wasn't great, but I hate the new look. I just can't get into the webtoon look.
Deckbuilding events: this is going to get degenerate as crap imo. No thanks.
Cross-Faction deck building: same as above, I don't trust cross-faction balance. It's just too tough to balance.

Biggest Cons:
This easily could've (and, imo, should've) been a 1.5 like Ashes. The rules have barely changed. An update pack (even if it was expensive) would still have saved a ton of money over the course of time. I have probably $500 sunk into a complete set of 1.0 with plenty of duplicate sets (like, a lot of duplicate sets). It just isn't worth the price of admission, UNLESS PHG ends up running good tourneys...
Which, unfortunately, they don't have a good record doing.

I really wanted to like this, but I think I'm out. The value for someone who has all of 1.0 just isn't there. I love the game, and if you don't have 1.0, definitely check it out.

[Jexik]

I disagree on the last point. The game has changed more significantly with respect to deckbuilding and the stats on units. This opened up the design space a bit and has made commons better. Have you tried the demo? Sneeks feels largely the same, but kinda like a greatest hits list of Sneeks and Frick. But there’s a 1/3 melee, 2/2 melee, and 2/1 ranged unit all at 0-cost. Similar variety is seen in the 1-cost breakers commons.