SolForge Fusion Review

 SolForge Fusion is a hybrid card game from Richard Garfield (Magic the Gathering, Solforge, etc.) and Justin Gary (Ascension). Half decks are generated by a special algorithm, each of them is unique. Kind of like Keyforge, yes. You choose two factions, mix them and form a deck. One of the unique features of SolForge is that when you draw a card, it automatically levels up. You start with weak cards and end with very strong ones. In addition, your leader Forged is also leveled. Each leader has three abilities that you can use during the game.

ABOUT THE GAME

 Quick layout, simple rules. You start with 50 lives. There are three stacks of cards in front of you: Level 2 cards, Level 3 cards, and the starting deck. You and your opponent take turns making moves, taking control of the forge, which turns each turn, indicating who moves first that round. As a rule, you can play 2 cards at a time. The first to play the card that controls the forge, then the opponent, then again he and again the opponent. Cards are placed in one of five slots on the field. You can play both creatures and spells. When both players have finished their turn, a battle is played out in all slots at the same time. Buffs, debuffs and damage from phase to phase are preserved; they can be tracked with dice or tokens. 3 player moves - one cycle. At the end of the fourth cycle, the one with more life wins - unless, of course, you reduced the opponent's life to 0 even earlier.

 SolForge is distributed in two ways. First, there is a starter set with 4 random decks (one for each faction), 2 paper play mats, 12 minion cards, 26 parameter modifier cards, and 2 paper Kowalski counters. RRC - $34.99. Second, there are boosters with 4 random decks and 4 bonus cards. RRC - $29.99.

 Let's analyze the pros and cons. Is the game worth the price?

PROS OF THE GAME

 — The gameplay is well-thought-out and very fan-friendly. There is a lot of strategy here, but at the same time, the game is not so mind-blowing that you miss something. It's great that you only have to keep track of 5 slots; thanks to this, you don't have to mess around too much with the calculation of battles. The strategy here isn't in deciding how or when to attack, but in the cards you're dealt. Should I play a suboptimal map just to pump it? The choice is yours.

 - Deckbuilding. When building a deck, you have to make a few decisions too, and I love that. If you got a bad deck in Keyforge, you can't do anything, it's your problem. However, in SolForge, even if your half of the deck doesn't look too promising, there is always an opportunity to find a perfect match for it and go destroy the opponents.

 - Game speed. There's a lot of room for strategy here, but little fiddling, so you can play games pretty quickly.

 — Availability of fashion in TTS. SolForge's Tabletop Simulator is completely free to play! So testing SolForge is not difficult at all.

 - Game support. SolForge plans to actively hold tournaments in which you can participate, in particular, remotely. Prizes and awards belong.

 - Development company. Stoneblades are simply stunning. They listen to feedback and actively interact with the community. Great company.

 - There are no bad logs. I have many, many SolForge decks, and I haven't seen any that are truly trashy. Even if she is inferior in strength to the average, you can always mix her with another, suitable half that will strengthen her, which is awesome. At Keyforge, you bought a deck, then you have to deal with it - and it doesn't matter if it's good or bad. The strength of different decks there varies very dramatically. Here, all logs are at least rakeable. Maybe not everyone is capable of winning the tournament, but there is no complete garbage.

CONS OF THE GAME

 - Art. To be honest, I love the art and I think it suits the game perfectly. But if you expected high-quality illustrations of the level of Magic or Flesh and Blood, then you will be disappointed. Everything is rarer here.

 - Absence of a rule book. Yes, there is no rulebook in the starter set. Personally, it doesn't bother me too much, but I've seen a lot of complaints about it. But you probably have the Internet at hand and can easily read it online. In addition, in games of this genre, the rule book is usually not included in the set. I played Magic in the 2000s without a rulebook, accessing the Internet via a modem. You could argue that Keyforge has a rulebook, but it's incomplete, so you still have to look up the rules online.

 - Play mats. The only minus, with which I will not argue. I recommend throwing away paper ones and buying decent ones. There is $19.99. The paper ones are not terrible, but they have an offset pattern and I don't really like them.

CONCLUSION

 I love SolForge. Haven't played such an exciting game in a long time. It is atmospheric, fun, fast and inexpensive. I highly recommend it. SolForge is actually a Keyforge without the Keyforge drawbacks. Definitely worth a try. Especially you Magic players, given that Hasbro is trying to drown your game; it's time to run from the sinking ship! :-)