Why have I not discovered Eternal sooner? This free-to-play card game on both Steam and mobile has been flying under the radar. I did not hear about this game until literally a few weeks ago.
But regardless, long story short, consider me now hooked.
After a few matches to see what this game was about, everything started to snowball from there. Before I knew it, I found myself dabbling in all of the game modes and having a blast collecting cards toward my first “real” deck.
Familiar Territory
Without beating around the bush, Eternal looks a lot like Hearthstone and plays a lot like Magic: The Gathering (MTG). In fact, it would be accurate to call Eternal a hybrid of both games put together.
With that said, I believe Eternal does plenty of things to differentiate itself from both of those popular titles.
Sure, the gameplay IS familiar, but emulating some of the most popular card games out there wouldn’t be a bad thing, right?
All in the Details
I have plenty of MTG experience to my name, so getting the hang of Eternal was not challenging for me. However, Eternal does an excellent job of teaching you the game’s terminology and nuances nonetheless. There are lots of combos and intricate aspects, but the game also makes them manageable for any player — no matter their skill level or prior knowledge.
For instance, akin to MTG’s mana system through the use of different colors, Eternal does something similar as well with its “Influence” system. Like MTG, there are five colors in this game that all have their respective strengths and weaknesses.
The same concept is at work here. If you want more diversity in your deck’s strategy, you need to add more colors. But adding too many colors carries the risk of not getting the appropriate colors when you need them for specific cards.
You play “Power” cards that give Influence toward these specific colors. The main cards use the same Power as part of their cost, yet the Influence never drains itself during the turn you use it.
This is a subtle yet significant difference from MTG where you have to pay a particular type of mana for cards each turn.
In other words, Eternal modified a mechanic in MTG and made it “easier” to understand and execute.
Win to Play
Probably my favorite aspect of Eternal so far is how the game is generous with its own rewards in the form of cards and in-game currency. I have yet to pay a single dime. And yet, I feel like this will not stop me from making forward progress with building decently competitive decks.
The “pay-to-win” aspect of card games always deters players because they feel like they need to invest a mini-fortune to compete. In Eternal’s case, I believe there are plenty of ways to earn and craft the individual cards you desire without too much fuss.
And sure, you can expedite the process drastically if you fork over some cash, but I am patient enough to grind for my cards.
There are plenty of modes to practice in, and winning nets you plenty of goodies. I have already collected a lot of cards that will be great bases for other potential decks.
Just the Beginning
I feel like I am just scratching the surface of what Eternal has to offer and what it can turn into in the future. I love card games for the strategy aspect, and Eternal gets the gears in my head spinning. There are so many more things to discover and experience.
This is just the beginning for, what I hope, will be plenty of countless hours of card game fun.
I’ll be your huckleberry.
Eternal card images belong to Dire Wolf Digital.
