Daniel (@dungeondive) looks at Card Tactics, a Game Crafter small-box card game (review copy) in which three heroes fight five escalating battles up a mountain to face a dragon. Pick three of six heroes (Ranger, Druid, Lancer, Guardian, Alchemist, Pyromancer), each with defense, health, a passive quirk and two abilities, then draw common items to start and rarer ones after each win.
Combat is a battle line: three heroes face three enemies, range counted from the attacker, movement by pushing away from the line or pulling toward it. Roll 2d6 plus modifiers to meet the target’s defense; double it for a critical. Enemies escalate from bandits, orcs and wolves through rare foes and bosses to the dragon, which summons unique allies into its line. Between fights the party camps to heal and reposition, and an event card twists the next battle: a river crossing that bans items for a round, or a pit fight that restrains both front combatants and strips two defense. Daniel’s demo shows the Lancer’s counter-attack stance, the Druid’s healing bleed, the Ranger’s four-range longshot finishing a bandit, and an orc chieftain who cannot die while allies stand.
He praises Victor Costa’s illustrations, the quick setup and just-right component count, and admits he has not beaten it; the item draw seeds a roguelike luck. His wish: a booster expansion with more events and enemies, since one game shows most of what is there.
Card Tactics fits a five-battle campaign in a deck box. How much roster and event variety does a small tactical game need before it stops feeling solved?