Dreamblade

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Dreamblade is a collectible miniature game by the US company Wizards of the Coast and was released simultaneously in Europe and the US on August 9, 2006. The game is a strategic competition and, thanks to special dice, also contains elements of luck. The game is only available in English and has not been produced since 2008.

Similar to the trading card game Magic: The Gathering , each game represents a battle between powerful individuals, in this case so-called "Dream Lords" with parapsychic abilities. Each of these Dream Lords fights in a landscape within the common subconscious of humanity by conjuring up dream creatures that spring from human emotions. These feelings are divided into the categories of bravery (Valor), fear (Fear), madness (Madness) and passion (Passion). Although there are some miniature games these days (see tabletop ), the feel of the game on a very limited playing field (called 'Dreamscape') with the summoning rules is more like a trading card game than a traditional miniature game.

How to play

At Dreamblade two players play against each other in a duel. Whoever wins six rounds first also wins the game. Each round is won by a player through so-called conquest points, which are obtained for controlling territories and by destroying enemy creatures.

Each player begins with a combat group consisting of 16 miniatures. These are gradually brought into the game and used to gain conquest points. There are two types of miniatures, creatures and locations. These miniatures, the playing field and the specially printed dice, which are used for the creature battles, make up the unique elements of the game.

elements

Miniatures : The main element of the game with a collectible aspect. Each miniature is provided with a symbol that expresses the rarity (often, less often, rarely). There are two types of miniatures: creatures and locations. These miniatures can be purchased in so-called starter packs with 16 miniatures or in booster packs with 7 figures, whereby the exact composition of the figures contained is unknown to the buyer.

  • Creatures : The standard attributes of each creature include the summoning cost, strength, defense and life points. Each creature belongs to one of the aspects bravery (Valor), fear (Fear), insanity (Madness) and passion (Passion) and can belong to a special lineage. Furthermore, many of the creatures have special skills.
    • Cost : The cost of playing a miniature differs between summoning costs and aspect costs.
      • Summoning Cost : The minimum number of points the player has to pay for summoning.
      • Aspect costs : Every miniature of the same aspect, which is in the game or already in the graveyard, counts as an aspect point. All other aspect points must be paid for by the player using summoning costs.
    • Strength : The number of special dice used in the attack.
    • Defense : The number of damage the creature can take before it is torn apart (technically speaking: placed on another free space).
    • Life Points : The amount of damage the creature can take before ending up in the graveyard.
  • Locations : Locations have Summoning and Aspect costs (like any creature), but no Strength, Defense, or Health. They cannot move, but they confer special skills on the surrounding creatures. Locations are played directly on a territory that contains an allied creature.
  • Aspects : Each miniature belongs to one of the aspects bravery (Valor), fear (Fear), insanity (Madness) and passion (Passion). Each aspect has different advantages and disadvantages, which are shown in the miniatures.
  • Skills : The original rulebook lists around fifty different skills. Blade skills are by far the most common of them.
    • Blade Skills : There are four types of Blade Skills: Blade, Double Blade, Multi-Blade and Double Multi-Blade, each reflecting the number of Blade symbols required on the special dice (one, two , infinite or an even number of any size). All Blade symbols rolled must also be used, as there are also disadvantageous Blade Skills.

Initiative die: At the beginning of each round, each player makes an initiative roll with a normal six-sided die. The combined result of both dice gives the number of summoning points in this round. If a one is rolled, neither player receives any summoning points (the dice are therefore rolled again in the first round). If both dice show the same result, the one with the most points starts - if there is a tie, the dice are rolled again. Whoever has made the higher roll will be the first to summon his creatures. If the opponent has also played his creatures afterwards, the winner of the initiative may first carry out his two actions (move figures and / or attack).

Playing field : The playing field consists of five by five territories. The players start on the diagonally opposite fields, which are also called portals. The territories in the front row serve as summoning spaces for the player. The middle three by three territories are considered to be the key fields, as these give away the coveted conquest points.

  • Summoning spaces : In the first round, creatures may only be played in the portal. Then the player may play a creature on the summoning spaces (the front row). An allied creature must already be in the same column, but not already on the same summoning space.
  • Key fields : Each of these three by three cells give conquest points to the two players. The row adjacent to the opposing summoning spaces gives 5, 4 or 3 conquest points (starting from the portal), but 0 to the enemy and vice versa. The middle territory yields 2 points to each player, while the two cells on the left and right only give one point. If there are not only your own but also enemy creatures in a territory, neither player receives any points for this.

Attack Dice : The attack dice are six-sided. Two sides count as "missed", three sides count as damage with 1, 2 and 3 points respectively. The sixth page contains the blade symbol, which is used for the special abilities of the creatures.

Web links

Official sites

Unofficial sites