• Game: Summoner Wars Master Set
• Publisher: Plaid Hat Games
• Designer: Colby Dauch
• Genre: Card-based tactical battle
• Players: 2 (3-4 with a second set)
• Playtime: 20-40 minutes



• What's Hot: An already great game made greater by a tremendous package of new content; all-new factions almost double those available; good value at a $50 retail price



• What's Not: More new concepts would have been appreciated; new factions have fewer cards than legacy ones; 3-4 players require a second board

by: Michael Barnes

Colby Dauch’s Summoner Wars, published by his imprint Plaid Hat Games, was one of my favorite games of 2009. It’s a very simple card-based battle game that smartly marries a couple of different hobby gaming impulses and mechanical concepts while retaining the utmost simplicity. There’s an element of collectible card games, with the faction-based sets and special abilities for each card. Resource and hand management are key skills, and the grid-based board allows for some interesting almost chess-like situations created by movement and combat limitations. And there’s plenty of dice-rolling and direct conflict to satisfy the most bloodthirsty of gamers.

Summoner Wars initially launched packaged as two starter sets each containing two unique factions, but in the past couple of years the game has blossomed into a line of great products. New factions such as the lion-riding Jungle Elves and the special forces-like Cloaks have joined the fight through small box expansions, and neutral mercenaries have been added that increase opportunities for deck customization. Replayability has been huge for this great game, and every time I come back to it I find that its stature has only grown since I first started playing it.

But for 2011, Mr. Dauch has released his piece de resistance: the Summoner Wars Master Set. This is a $50 big-box product that doesn’t just repackage the game in a different format, but it also introduces six all-new factions along with a 2.0 rules set and a mounted board instead of the shoddy paper maps of the starter sets. And those starters and expansions that you’ve invested in are 100% compatible and there is no duplication other than dice and wound markers. You can even fit everything in the line in the Master Set box.

Rules are minimal, which allows for the interaction of cards, maneuver, and decision-making to be foregrounded. Cards represent your units, and there is an initial setup for each faction. On a turn, you can summon new units by paying their cost in magic (represented by cards discarded to your magic pile) and place them adjacent to your team’s walls, which represent strong points. You can move three units and attack with three units. You’ve also got a Summoner unit that must be protected since he’s the target for your opponent to eliminate. Each faction also has an array of specific event cards that are keyed to the particular flavor and abilities of their respective race.

The magic system, in concert with the simple dice-based combat, is a stroke of brilliance. You can discard unwanted or less desirable cards into your magic pile at the end of a turn, but more importantly every enemy unit you kill goes into your magic pile as well. And combat is weighted toward the attacker, with only ones and twos missing. This makes the game highly aggressive and the situation fluid. Interesting decisions emerge- do you wipe out the one hit point unit because you need magic, or do you train fire on a weakened wall to eliminate four potential spawning points? The powerful champion units can be quite expensive, and being able to manage your budget to bring them into play can change the tide of battle quickly.

The starter sets may be a better, low cost place for those new to the game to check it out, but veteran players will be thrilled to get their hands on these new factions. They’re fairly well-balanced and as is typical with the other decks they tend to have a unique twist on standard fantasy races that I really appreciate. For example, instead of boring old Minotaurs, Summoner Wars brings us the Vargath, anthropomorphic mountain goats and the usual steampunky dwarves are here gem magic slinging Deep Dwarves. Sand Goblins and vine-dwelling Swamp Orcs duke it out with the psychomantic Benders and the vampiric Shadow Elves. The new races all introduce some new concepts through their special abilities and each deck plays very differently, leading to some great asymmetrical but surprisingly balanced match-ups.