Card Game Review Draconis Invasion, a rather punishing dark fantasy deck-building game
Channel: Tabletop Bellhop
Date: 2021-08-31

Draconis Invasion a Dominion-like deck-building game that features some interesting new mechanics that I've never seen in a deck building game before. This fantasy card game features a static market along with a system where you need to pay for your defender cards, not only to draft them but also to use them when they come up during play. There's also a hotly debated Terror system that acts as a timer for play.

Draconis Invasion was designed by Jeff Lai and features some striking artwork from Juan Pablo Fernández, Vuk Kostic, Manthos Lappas, Grzegorz Pedrycz and Unrealsmoker. It was published in 2016 by KEJI Inc after a rather successful Kickstarter. 

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Disclosure: The designer of the game sent me a copy of Draconis Invasion and the Wrath expansion to check out. No other compensation was provided. 

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Timestamps:

00:00 INTRODUCTION AND SHORT GAME OVERVIEW
01:51 COMPONENT QUALITY
08:53 HOW TO PLAY
17:56 OUR THOUGHTS ON DRACONIS INVASION
33:47 SHOULD YOU BUY DRACONIS INVASION?
36:46 CLOSING 

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From the publisher, 

DEFEAT THE DARK ARMY
The King has commissioned you to defeat the invading hordes of Draconis. Hunt these vile creatures while recruiting powerful defenders, garnering gold, and completing secret campaigns. However, as the battle rages on, fatigue and terror will begin to take their toll, bringing your soldiers to their knees!

THE ULTIMATE FANTASY DECK-BUILDER
Unique in gameplay and artwork, this card game combines the epic dark fantasy illustrations of Manthos Lappas (Kolossal, Cryptozoic) and the mechanics of game designer Jeff Lai (Blue Orange, Outset Media, Smirk & Dagger). The result is a stunning strategy deck-building game that has impressed gamers across the globe.

A BETTER DECK-BUILDER?
Unlike other deck-building card games, Draconis Invasion incorporates hidden Campaign cards that reward points for killing specific Invaders, Terror cards and the Terror Die that add a doomsday clock so that your armies become tired and weak as time passes, and triggered Event cards that target the game-leader with potentially disastrous effects.

Kill six Invaders or exhaust the Events cards to end the game. When the dust settles, only one hero will stand victorious as the realm's greatest champion.

CONTENTS
1 Box, 1 Rulebook, 108 Gold cards, 90 Action cards, 114 Defender cards, 26 Randomizer cards, 16 Blue Invader cards, 17 Gold Invader cards, 24 Event cards, 1 Retreat card, 36 Terror cards, 28 Campaign cards, 48 Separator cards, 6 Turn Overview cards, 1 Starting Threat Level card, 1 Terror die.

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Links:

Head over to the Tabletop Bellhop blog where you'll find more tabletop gaming content, including game and game night advice, reviews, and more: https://tabletopbellhop.com 

Watch our Draconis Invasion unboxing video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAP5YgS90Bc

Check out our Draconis Invasion written review on the blog:
https://tabletopbellhop.com/game-reviews/draconis-invasion/

Pick up your own copy of Draconis Invasion:
US: https://amzn.to/3zvBZ9L
Canada: https://amzn.to/3t8iDVO

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