The Spoils, a Tournament TCG

There is a new kid on the block when it comes to the Trading Card Game world, and it looks really good. The Spoils is unlike any other TCG on the market today, it has spent five years in development and was endorsed by many top players in the Magic community. The Spoils is very competitive, in fact it was designed as a "Tournament" TCG and that has been its biggest claim. Many games like Naruto, Yu-Gi-Oh and Dragon Ball Z were designed to be available to the public and aimed at children and recreational gamers, but the Spoils is nothing of the sort. The game was beta tested in August of 2006 and since has undergone revisions and expansion, most of your large retail stores like Wal-Mart and Target will not be supplied right away with this product because it is exclusive to the TCG market. So that means local card and hobby shops will receive first choice when this product hits shelves.

There are many different kinds of cards that make it into this game. You don't have your basic, Character and powerups, it's a lot more complex then that. Most TCG have 1-3 different kinds of cards, for instance Yu-Gi-Oh has monsters magic and traps, Dragon Ball Z had 2, Attacks and characters, and so on. These cards have different variations to them but in essence they are what they appear to be. The Spoils has a variety of cards including Faction cards, Items, Characters, Locations, and Tactics. Each serves a unique purpose in the game.

Faction cards represent an army or nation you control, they can also represent a group, each has their own purpose and goals. Faction cards have a certain influence, and once this influence is reduced to 0 the player controlling that faction will lose the game. Each player starts the game with a faction card in play, and follows the procedures listed on these cards. Each faction is different and unique, so while one faction may have 25 influence another may have 30 or 35. Also their powers differ, as well as the rules for how many cards you start with. Overall the variation of faction cards will allow the game to immerse players in a wide variety of deck types and play experiences.

Items are cards that remain in play for the duration of the game and have a positive or negative effect. Most of the time you will use items to hinder an opponents progression through the game by either stalling his characters, or destroying cards in their hand. Items are also used to help the player using the specific item. They can give effects like extra draw power each turn, restoring faction points or even delivering powerful assistance to your characters.

Characters are the blunt force behind your faction. These are your warriors, troops, mercenaries, and even common folk that will assist in the destruction of the opposing team. Characters have three limitations while in play, their attack power, their life, and also their speed. A characters strength will depend on their attack power, and life will determine how much damage a character can take before being defeated. Then you have speed, this will determine who gets priority when attacking, the higher you characters speed the more likely you will be to attack first.

Locations are like items in the sense that they stay in play, however they can be discarded. A location has a set number of structure points, and when these reach 0 that location is destroyed. The reason why locations can be destroyed is because their powers and abilities are much greater then that of normal items. Many times locations will restore influence to a player's faction or add power to his army.

Finally we have tactics. These cards are like quick hits that will serve as one time use cards. The great thing about tactic cards is the fact that you can use them on an opponents turn in order to respond to their actions. Many times tactic cards can turn the tide of a combat by upping you characters power or lowering an opponents. Sometimes they have greater effects like destroying opponents characters altogether. These are the key cards that can influence who wins and who goes home in each game.

The Spoils looks like a great game, although complicated. If you just take a look at the cards you will be shaking your head wondering how on Earth anyone could play this game, however with practice and by reading the rule book it's quickly learnable. It was designed with players in mind, although the game tends to be directed towards anyone who has played a TCG in the past. If you're a hardcore gaming fan, and have played games like VS System and Magic in the past you will feel right at home with this game. Another feature that the company offers is great prize support. A lot of cash prizes are available to those who participate and win at big events, and that's always a plus. If you have a local card shop you can play at then I would suggest demoing this game, you may be surprised how much you enjoy the smooth play and classic feel of the cards. The Spoils is a great game, and hopefully will be around for quite some time.