The Nova Blitz Alpha Is a Time Killer

[dropcap size=big]H[/dropcap]ere’s the thing. I’m a hardcore CCG fan. I have been since the days of Magic: The Gathering’s 4th edition. So, it should come as no surprise that as soon as I saw Nova Blitz on Kickstarter that I had to check it out. And after spending a half hour just playing hand after hand I have come to the conclusion that this game is digital crack. In a good way. As all other good CCGs should be. I finally managed to find the time to drag myself away from the digital table to write my thoughts on the current alpha build.

I will point out that I’ve only played Nova Blitz with the pre-built 60 card starter decks. Mostly because the card store isn’t open for business. You know, because it’s an alpha build. Duh. That said, even though I barely scratched the surface with what each of the five “energy types” can do I can safely say that there will be plenty of customization options once the core set and expansions start rolling out. Plus, while I have yet to try out the deck builder the types of decks that you can build are limited only by your current collection. And, like most CCGs on the market, you can mix and match each class of cards. Even going so far as building one with two, three, or even all five “colors”.

The best thing, and an aspect that’s sorely lacking in most games of this type, about Nova Blitz is that it is a fast-paced game of building your force and going out and trouncing your opponent into the dirt. From 30 health down to 0 it’s a back-and-forth battle royale between the two of you as every single phase is played out simultaneously. There’s little room to think. It’s just take a quick look at your cards, your options, and then toss down your strategy…one turn at a time. This is M:tG taken to the next level. Take my word for it. It’s intense.

For an alpha build, Nova Blitz is already shaping up to be a great game. While there are still a good deal of functionality usually associated with online card games missing, the basics are there. And it’s beautiful. You can play against the computer or against other players via online matching. The latter apparently netting you experience or something after looking at the main “lobby” area. How it works is beyond me as leveling up or whatever doesn’t look like it’s in yet. As are things like leaderboards, trading, etc. At least not what I’ve seen.

I love the look and themes of the cards themselves. I’m particularly fond of the “Divine” and “Tech” decks and while I used all five starter decks to get a feel for the game, those two (particularly “Divine”) are the ones that I kept going back to. Just because I’m a goody-two-shoes paladin lover and Cyberpunk geek. What I found most interesting is the use of both divine and demonic cards in the “Divine” set, but I’m sure that there’s some lore explanation or something.

I got addicted to Nova Blitz just after a few rounds and if the alpha is any indication I’ll probably end up spending hours just perfecting my technique once the full release comes around.