The Sharp Wit of a CCG Tournament in Millennium Blades

March 29, 2020 | Sessions | 4 comments

Experience a highly strategic collectible card game tournament of wits and humor with Millennium Blades.

There are a few other solo games I want to continue to play, but sometimes it’s hard not to get invested in an experience that works so nicely! Millennium Blades is such a unique sort of game with its collectible card game simulation. From deckbuilding to tournament play, it offers up an exciting time. To the card battle of the century!

Game Overview

Game Name: Millennium Blades
Publication Year:
 2016
Designer:
 D. Brad Talton, Jr.
Artist:
 Fábio Fontes
Solo Mode: Included in Millennium Blades: Set Rotation

I decided to try out a new character, along with a new starter deck. These represent only a small portion of the variety, though! The combinations are almost endless.

Fulton Suitcase was my tournament representative this time. What a name! I hunkered down for the challenge.

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First Play

March 27, 2020

Complexity

4

Latest Play

November 7, 2021

Expansions

7

Setup Time

10 Minutes

Lifetime Plays

12

Play Time

40 Minutes

:

High Score

204

1

Game Area

32" x 26"

;

Low Score

76

Simulated Card Packs

The store area is always populated with 9 unique card “packs” and the visible card on top of the giant stack.

I appreciate how realistic these card backs look! Each one seems to contain an entire deck in one of those foil wrappers that inevitably get torn to pieces.

These all house a single card, but the card backs are useful. Aside from the core set, they indicate the possible card elements and types in that set. More on that later!

The core set might look boring, but the cards are the cheapest and can contain practically anything.

Element and Type Meta

One surefire way to earn ranking points during the scoring phase is with the metagame. At various points during the deckbuilding phase, this pair of cards is revealed.

Most cards have a single element and type, though some have more, and others have less. Matching cards with the element and type can help earn up to 30 ranking points!

At the same time, the boss can also benefit from these bonuses. Flipping his or her related cards is important.

It’s not the end of the world if the metagame cards aren’t fulfilled, but those lost points can make a big difference.

Tableau Time

Perhaps one of these days, I’ll go through some of my decisions during the deckbuilding phase. Yet with the timed rounds, it’s hard to pause and lose focus.

Besides required apps, real-time timers are one of my least favorite aspects. At the same time, it works here!

I’ve been surprised by how much I like having that little bit of tension in the background. I have to make decisions, though it’s not like I’m rushed.

As usual, I spent about 14 of the 20 minutes acquiring cards. The rest of the time was given to crafting this deck.

Orella, Then and Now

It didn’t dawn on me until the tournament ended that I had Orella in multiple forms! Each card may only appear in a deck once, but these are definitely unique.

Although possibly not the funniest thing ever, this was still another reason for me to smile. At least we can rest assured that Orella completed her training. Ha ha!

There was a reason for this duo, though. I had to protect against a clash with the star value of High Priestess Orella.

The other was used to prevent card flipping and earn extra ranking points during the scoring phase.

Max and the Sky Whale

Do I need to go into any detail with these cards? Crazy Maximilian cracked me up and was in my deck to protect against earning ranking points during the tournament.

Wait… What?! That’s right: I didn’t want to earn any ranking points until the scoring phase. All will be explained in a little while. I had a strategy!

The +1 tokens were there for bonus ranking points. And then there was a City-Backed Sky Whale.

This is another example of the flavor text humor. Maybe there’s a reference to something, but I still laughed!

The Mutant Deck Box

Here was where my main strategy came from! By avoiding ranking points, I could earn 50 ranking points in the scoring phase. I just had to plan correctly…

Talk about strange! I wonder what my cards looked like after emerging from this mutant container.

This was very difficult to pull off because I had to build my deck around singles that only awarded ranking points during the scoring phase. That was it!

The boss had the ability to force me to play random cards, so I anxiously awaited the tournament results…

Session Overview

Play Number: 3
Expansion: Millennium Blades: Set Rotation
Solo Mode: Included in Millennium Blades: Set Rotation
Play Details: Easy Difficulty Level
Required Play Space: 32″ x 26″
Setup Time: 10 Minutes
Play Time: 35 Minutes
Outcome: 166-106 (Win)

Take that! It may look like I pulled off the easy victory, but the amount of planning that went into every move was a lot. This was still quite a challenging tournament!

%

10 Plays

Affordability

Price & Value

10

Functionality

Challenges & Mechanics

10

Originality

Design & Theme

10

Quality

Components & Rules

7

Reusability

Achievement & Enjoyment

9

Variability

Distinctness & Randomness

10

More Millennium Blades

Explore related posts about Millennium Blades!

Victory Conditions

Defeat the Boss

  • Overall Goal Progress 62.5% 62.5%

Goals and Milestones

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Win at least 1 game against They Game from Space.

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Win at least 1 game as Deques Applenti.

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Win at least 1 game as Fulton Suitcase.

R

Win at least 1 game at the easy difficulty level.

R

Win at least 1 game at the standard difficulty level.

Q

Win at least 1 game against EEG.

Q

Win at least 1 game as Greline Alcartone.

Q

Win at least 1 game as Shur Wen Na.

Continue the Conversation

Do you have a favorite card from Millennium Blades? The sense of humor adds a lot to the experience for me, and I find the lightheartedness very welcome nowadays. What are some decks you might like to see next? It’s not too difficult to swap out a couple of decks, and there is such a great deal of variety! Up next: An increase in difficulty level. I can’t wait!

4 Comments

  1. You’re getting better and better at figuring these bosses out. That Crazy Maximillian flavor text always cracks me up (he’s MAD MAX). How did playing Fulton feel? Was it sufficiently different from Deques? Fulton is my favorite character!

    Reply
    • Thanks! I still have only seen 2 of the 4 accessories in the They Game from Space boss deck, so we’ll see what else is in store down the line. I think there might be another singles card I haven’t seen, but I like the surprise of not knowing what to expect! It goes against the recommended rules for protecting against a boss’s worst cards, yet how often will those cards truly be new? Plus, I’m fine with losing as I learn the ropes!

      Whoa. I do believe the flavor text for Crazy Maximillian says to not call him mad. What have you done, Marco?! Ha ha! So many of the cards crack me up, and I love the lightheartedness mixed with challenging gameplay.

      Fulton was great! I think I’m ignoring the character abilities more than I should… I forgot to use his tournament phase power with some leftover money. Next time! He felt much different, though that might have been because I went from having an extra deck box and accessory to more money.

      I can’t wait to play with all of the characters! They all seem so unique, and change the deckbuilding phase right from the start. So much variety!

      Reply
      • Oh NO! I’m sorry Mr. Max! 😛

        I do think a large part of MB’s charm is the jokes/gags. However, those jokes/gags are on top of what is actually a good game. Jokes and gags alone do not carry a game, I’ve found.

        Fulton’s one of my favorite characters because his power is literally money. Money’s so good and versatile. I really like it! Everyone’s powers are actually based-on an IRL “player type”, which I’ve always found exciting.

        Deques is a creative, so his power makes it easier for him to build crazy decks. He makes a hodge podge of cards seem like a synergistic masterpiece.

        Fulton is a card stock investor (he speculates on the prices of new and rare cards), so his power gives him more cash and bigger bonuses for playing BIG and RARE cards during the tournament. 🙂

        Reply
        • I love all the nuances in the game! The characters themselves really come to life, and I love the biographies for them: I definitely see a connection between their backgrounds and the ways they play. Awesome!

          I also agree with you about humor in games: It’s always great to laugh, but it’s not as fun when the gameplay isn’t there. Sometimes I miss out on the flavor text because I’m so focused on putting together my card combinations.

          There’s a marked improvement in my gameplay, but I’m far from mastering everything!

          Reply

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