Technically, Scrolls
is still in a paid- for beta, however just like Path of Exile, the in-game
store is already open and ready to take you money; to me, that makes it fair
game for an early review.
Scrolls is the new title from Mojang, already well known for
the ridiculous legal battle over the choice of name. It’s a paid for collectable
card game (CCG) with some micro-transaction elements thrown in. That makes it
quite an interesting choice for a second title as there are few, well known CCGs
out there.
The game is played on a hex-grid, with each player trying to
use their five rows to place units that can attack and defend idols, with victory
being achieved by destroying three of your opponent’s idols whilst defending
your own.
To do this, you unleash your scrolls which are essentially a
hand of cards. You start with a hand of five a draw one at the start of each
turn. You’re immediately presented with tricky choices as you have decide which
scrolls to sacrifice for resources, and those you want to play. Each turn, one
card can be sacrificed to immediately gain one resource, and increase your
total resource pool that refreshes every turn. Alternatively you can discard a
scroll to draw the next two.
It’s a nice and simple resource system that avoids the
problems faced by other CCGs. Anyone who has played Magic will have had games
where you drew no mana cards, and ended up losing through no fault of your own.
However Scrolls still has a similar problem. Despite having a deck full of creatures
to summon, I’ve played games where none of them where in my starting hand. It
could do with a re-draw mechanic at the start of match to help get your game
going.
Games are usually brief, lasting only a few minutes. This is
partly down to how the game escalates, with more and more powerful scrolls
being played each turn. But also due to the fact that it can be tricky make a
comeback if your opponent gets the upper-hand. Your summoned creatures do the
hard work of killing off your opponents units as well as taking out idols. So
if you lose yours, it becomes an up-hill struggle to get back in the game
without your units being taken out before they get to act.
Each creature’s power is represented by how much damage it
will do, how many turns it waits between each attack and how much damage it can
take. There are only a few scrolls that can heal units, so whittling down
enemies is a possibility. As well as creatures, there’s the expected range of
utility spells that can affect the game board and a selection of structures
such as walls and catapults.
Your deck is made up of at least fifty scrolls, with a maximum
limit of three copies of any single scroll. The maximum limit may seem a bit low,
but it suits the minimum deck size and also means you don’t need to be
incredibly lucky when opening scroll booster packs to get three copies of
something you want.
When you first start the game, you get to pick from one of
three pre-constructed decks. Each represents one of the resource types in the
game and a different style of play. I enjoyed the first few games I played
against the computer to learn the basics, but it quickly became clear that the
deck I picked was incredibly weak. I was struggling to beat a medium difficulty
AI and the deck was full of utility spells that I had almost no use for. Having
checked out the other starter choices as well, they really do need a redesign
before the game’s release to make them a bit more competitive; as new scrolls
are still being added and the starter decks already feel out of date.
It didn’t take me long to add to my deck though. Having
learned a few tricks, I jumped into the game’s challenge mode. These are duels
with a slight twist, such as starting with units on the board or having a
different victory objective to complete. Beating the first few earned me a
hefty amount of gold that I quickly took to the shop and picked up several
booster packs. There’s plenty of choice in the shop, as you can pick from
buying just a single scroll, or a pack of ten that will guarantee giving you a
rare drop.
The real money options are quite limited and this is
definitely a welcome design choice considering you have to pay up-front for the
game. Spending more cash will allow you to pick up some new avatar
customisation options or another of the pre-constructed decks cheaply. But at
the moment, there’s nothing to really spend your cash on. Everything in the
shop can be earned by playing games and you earn gold at a good rate. Although I
would say that the looser doesn’t really get enough gold from a match
considering the time invested. You’re rewarded slightly for completing a game,
but it’s not enough and you can clearly earn more by quitting and starting a
new match if you’re losing.
It certainly doesn’t take long to find matches against other
players. The user base is already large enough to mean that selecting quick
match will almost immediately find your opponent. If you’re feeling more competitive,
there’s also a ranked match option with player ratings so you can compare
yourself against other players. Playing a human opponent is rewarded with
almost double the gold of an AI player, so you’re definitely encouraged to duel
other players. That being said, if you want a quick game, the AI will take
almost instant turns. This is a lot better than some human opponents that enjoy
using their full ninety seconds they have for every turn.
The deck builder has a good set of features and filters that
let you quickly customise the scrolls you take into a match. You can easily mix
scrolls of different types as well, as there are plenty of scrolls that are designed
for mixed resource decks which adds to the variety.
So is Scrolls worth it? Well, when compared to its rivals it
holds up well, but there is clear room for improvement. The game design is good
and allows you to make some impressive strategic plays. Collecting new scrolls
and building decks is as compelling and satisfying as any other CCG. Where it
falls down is the poor design of the starting decks, and how difficult it can
be to make a fighting comeback. You have to be prepared to invest a couple of
hours to become competitive and that will put off a lot of new players. It also
lacks any other game modes or types, whereas a title such as Magic: Duels ofthe Planeswalkers offers a lot more for around half the price. The trade-off being
that the Magic titles never offer full deck customisation. As long as Mojang
keeps working on the balance, it will be a fun and worthwhile title.
