Without a doubt, the last few years has been an incredible time to be a Trading Card Game (TCG) player or collector. Numerous new games have nudged their way into the spotlight, making room for themselves despite the dominance of the big three: Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh, which have themselves celebrated their own milestones, releasing huge, often nostalgia-fuelled products that have garnered mainstream attention.
We’ve seen the likes of the One Piece Card Game finding an audience of dedicated fans, we’ve witnessed the rise of spectacular indie title Achroma and the resurgence of the long-running UniVersus; there’s also been the absolute critical and commercial behemoth that is Disney Lorcana, followed by the runaway success of Star Wars Unlimited.
That just scratches the surface, however, with numerous other games also quietly (or, in some cases, not so much) making their mark. Sorcery: Contested Realm is one such TCG. Following a 2022 Kickstarter campaign which saw 6454 backers pledge a total of almost $3.5 million, the Alpha Edition was produced and distributed to all who contributed to the crowdfunding initiative.
As the game’s Beta Edition cards now bring the game into the hands of players, beyond the initial backers of the Kickstarter campaign, we thought it was about time that we took a closer look at the Sorcery: Contested Realm TCG Card List!
Sorcery: Contested Realm TCG Card Gallery
What’s Unique About Sorcery: Contested Realm?
Though the basic aim of Sorcery, which is to reduce your opponent’s life total to zero, will sound familiar to players of other TCGs or CCGs (Collectible Card Games), such as Magic: The Gathering, there are numerous elements that set Sorcery: Contested Realm apart.
Firstly, players have an in-game Avatar, such as the three examples in the image above. Though this is not unlike having a Leader card in One Piece or Star Wars Unlimited, particularly as each Avatar has their own special abilities, actually reducing their life total to zero doesn’t end the game. Rather, once at zero life, Avatars are said to be at ‘death’s door’, and once there, any further damage that would be dealt to them kills them, securing victory for their opponent!
Additionally, players lay site cards (with two examples of these above) as part of a 5×4 grid, building it up as they play. This creates a grid of cards that are used as a mana base to pay for your units and other spells to be played, as well as an environment which your units can move around.
This gives Sorcery: Contested Realm a much more board game-style feel than other TCGs; the hand painted art and game’s setting, drawing on folklore, mythology and even Lovecraftian settings, give it an appealingly rich aesthetic too.
How To Get Started With Sorcery: Contested Realm
The best way to get started with Sorcery: Contested Realm is with the pre-constructed starter decks; four of these, each representing a different elemental Avatar (The Waveshaper, Flamecaller, Sparkmage and Geomancer) are available. You can also check out the rules at the Sorcery: Contested Realm website here.
Once you’re comfortable with how the game works, you’ll likely want to expand your collection of cards and build your own decks; for this, you’ll need booster packs. There’s a refreshingly unhurried release schedule for Sorcery: Contested Realm’s new expansions too; this will allow players to get used to the game’s unique mechanics, as well as find interesting combos and synergies from the available selection of cards.
The current Beta Edition won’t be joined by a second set until the fourth quarter of 2024, when the Arthurian Legends set will launch. We’ll be keeping a close eye on Sorcery: Contested Realm as it expands both its audience and card collection; it looks like yet another TCG that’s well worth getting involved with!
