A New Look and Feel for a Classic: Summoner Wars Second Edition

(Photo credit to Plaid Hat Games)

 

Summoner Wars Second Edition 

Plaid Hat Games

2 players

Card game, dice rolling, PvP combat 

The land of Itharia is in jeopardy, will you rise up and join the war?

In 2021,  Plaid Hat Games introduced the new edition of Summoner Wars, a game that was out of print at the time.  Now Summoner Wars Second Edition is becoming a favorite for a whole new generation.  It has been described as chess with cards as it is a PvP game for 2 players.  In Summoner Wars, each player becomes a powerful Summoner of a faction in the broken land fighting to defeat their opponents and become the one ruler.  It’s a card driven battle in a box where you can choose from many different forces; each playing uniquely with their own units, events and champions, to defeat your opponent and claim victory.

Wield the power of a Summoning Stone: Game set up

Depending on if you have the starter set or the master set, each player chooses a faction and collects the cards for them.  Lay out the battle board and give each player a magic token to place on the summoning track of their side of the board. On the back of their Summoners card is the set up for each players beginning forces and their initial gate.  Next, shuffle their deck and draw 5 cards. Determine a first player who puts their magic token on 2 and their opponents on 3 of their summoning track.

Let the battle begin! A game round

The game is played in turns with each turn consisting of 6 phases.

1.  SUMMON – Summon units from your hand to the battlefield by paying the summoning cost in magic. Reduce your magic token the cost of the unit on the summoning track and place it adjacent to one of your gates.
2. MOVE – Select 3 of your units and move them up to 2 orthogonal spaces on the battlefield.  Units cannot move diagonally. Units like structures cannot move unless an effect allows it.
3.  BUILD –  Select any number of gates or structures in your hand and place them on your side of the battlefield.  They can be placed in any open space in your back 3 rows.
4. ATTACK- Select 3 units you wish to to use to attack your opponent. Roll the number of dice based on their attack strength indicated on their card.  Each symbol rolled that matches their attack type (melee or ranged) scores 1 wound on the attacked unit. If the unit has enough wounds that equals or exceeds their life value, it is destroyed and removed from the battlefield and placed in their owners discard pile. The attacker gains one magic point for each destroyed unit.
5. MAGIC- Discard any amount of cards from your hand and increase your magic by 1 for each card.
6. DRAW- Draw back up to 5 cards.

There are event cards that are played in specific phases indicated on their cards.  To play an event, discard the card in the indicated phase and follow the instructions on the card.  Play passes to their opponent and continues until one summoner is defeated. If your draw pile is empty, you will skip the draw phase and continue the game with your remaining units.

What’s different and why get the new edition: Some Final Thoughts 

When second edition first came out, I already had so many sets of the first version, that I was hesitant to start collecting the new ones.  The new version has modified the phases,  updated the units, especially the common units, streamlined the magic phase, and added custom dice instead of the standard d6’s.  The art is all new in full color and the cards have a new design.

I like using the customized dice and tracking magic on a track as opposed to counting cards. In addition, now with starting magic, you can summon units on the first turn.  Overall,  the game design is cleaner and easier to use.  Does it replace first edition? In my opinion no, but there are lots of new factions in addition to some  redone original ones.  If you are getting into it for the first time,  by all means get the 2nd edition starter set to get your feet wet before diving in for the master set.   Magic the gathering players may find the end of mana drain or burn a welcoming change.  Each faction deck is pre-built, no chasing after rare cards though you can customize your deck if you like. It’s a fantastic game and definitely worth your attention.

Until next time, keep moving those meeples and happy gaming!

 

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