Spellstorm, a competitive strategy card game from Keith Burgun, has officially launched a new Kickstarter campaign this week. Set in the same world as Burgun’s video game Gem Wizards Tactics, Spellstorm features deck-building and asymmetric abilities.
In Spellstorm, players choose from 8 powerful wizards to use, each with their own playstyle. You’ll also draft spells based on three different elements. These elements also have unique playstyles, and counter each other. Players use them in battle, adjusting their drafts to adapt to opponents.
At this time, the Kickstarter campaign hasn’t crossed the halfway point yet. The estimated delivery is currently slated for April 2025. The gameplay supports 1 to 4 players, and is recommended for ages 10 and up.
Spellstorm’s world and characters have a somewhat generic theme, but they’re still adorable and full of personality. The artwork by Christina Zhong is lush, bubbly, and superbly inventive. It adds a lot to the game’s playful sense of humor. It could be enough to attract those who ordinarily avoid the deck-building genre.
The gameplay itself sounds very streamlined, which lines up with the target age range. But there are some notable tweaks to traditional deck-building and card battling. Browsing the Kickstarter, it begins to feel like Burgun made a list of quality-of-life issues in the genre and made Spellstorm to resolve them.
For example, I appreciate that some cards trigger effects when they’re discarded. And the wizards are flexible enough to choose multiple paths to victory, even if you pursue something outside their strengths.
The devs smartly describe this game as a “dance.” The asymmetrical powers promise to help the player exchanges evolve mid-game. I also like that the game doesn’t appear to prioritize speed at the expense of strategy.
Although Spellstorm just got a DT preview yesterday, the Kickstarter could still use support. I wasn’t afforded the chance to play myself, but I recommend keeping an eye on this one.
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