Does the name Richard Garfield ring a bell? No? Well, the man is responsible for creating both Magic: The Gathering, the Star Wars Trading Card Game and a ridiculous list of other less notable (but still fantastic) collectable card games and board games. Better yet, he’s lending his lifetime of incredible expertise to co-creating a brand new strategy-based iOS card game called Kard Combat.
Kard Combat features a 33 battle campaign that sounds a little similar to how Duels of the Planeswalkers works in addition to single duel mode. Initially there’s going to be “over 100" cards, along with “four unique mages to master." I however have a feeling that the free online multiplayer mode is going to be the star of the show.
As someone who has spent more of my life playing Magic than not playing Magic, seeing Richard Garfield involved in an iOS game is fantastic news. There’s a ton of M:TG-like games on the App Store, but to someone who is familiar with lots of collectable card games, these always seem to feel half-baked and like they’re borrowing mechanics from existing card games. Also, the fast development cycles and low price points of iOS games don’t exactly allow for extensive testing to make sure these game are balanced as masterfully as something like Magic: The Gathering.
Like many online free to play games, Kard Combat is currently available in Canada before being unleashed to other regions. If you’re a “Canadian" or an actual Canadian, give it a try. I’ll be playing some battles today in preparation for a review whenever it actually goes online in the rest of the world. I’ve got my fingers crossed that Richard Garfield being onboard allows Kard Combat to side-step the issues other similar games have, it sure would be disappointing if it didn’t.
Canadian App Store Link: Kard Combat, Free
