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Eternal CCG is in open beta and on Steam

Shai-Tan

Banned
Apparently they wiped the closed beta today (no more wipes leading up to release). What is Eternal? It's a collectible card game like Magic the Gathering but simplified down a bit to be faster paced and play well on mobile (not sure if all the clients are available yet). It's developed by Dire Wolf Digital who are also developing Elder Scrolls: Legends (TESL). There are a lot of Magic pros employed there and on consultation.

Aesthetically it looks a lot like Hearthstone and borrows a few mechanics like (relic) weapons from HS. I highly recommend trying it if you like CCG games. The free to play aspect of the game is fairly generous. This is my first thread on this forum and I'm on a phone at the moment so apologies for not making an OT with screenshots.

eternalcardgame.com/

Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/531640

Patch notes are here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/EternalCardGame/comments/5dpc3u/open_beta_account_wipe_and_patch_v114/

more recent patch notes: https://steamcommunity.com/games/531640/announcements/detail/550963653025393832

If you want to peruse cards you can look at http://eternal.cards

Aside from the reddit forum the best community site is https://rngeternal.com

EDIT:

a correction because it has come up more than once - the game is apparently not out of closed beta on Android or iOS. The only people who have access to it now on Android/iOS got access in the closed beta

Update on 12/19: open beta on Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.direwolfdigital.Phoenix

Anyone who is interested in creating an OT feel free to do so and maybe coordinate with other people in the thread.

in addition to the Reddit forum Discord is very active - use this link in Discord to get hooked up to it - https://discord.gg/0yGXvBwAAD4F8044
 
IMO, Eternal is up there with Duelyst and Infinity Wars as one of the best card games. It's the closest thing to a digital MtG clone, and it's competently done.

@OP: Have they said whether they will reset the collections at launch? I don't want to get reset twice. :p
 

Shai-Tan

Banned
IMO, Eternal is up there with Duelyst and Infinity Wars as one of the best card games. It's the closest thing to a digital MtG clone, and it's competently done.

@OP: Have they said whether they will reset the collections at launch? I don't want to get reset twice. :p

No more wipes. I added a clarification in the OP.

I also wanted to add that draft can be a bit brutal for new people just learning the cards and game mechanics but if you hang in there improvement will come. If you're mostly interested in constructed then you don't actually have to win much to make a collection because you get to keep the cards you draft. There's also vs AI modes that get progressively more difficult in addition to a single player campaign that rewards a decent amount of cards and some quests that will unlock basic archetypal decks which aren't that good but have some good cards in them.
 

patchday

Member
Was in closed beta but didnt get a chance to mess with it much. Looked extremely solid though

Q: Is draft limited or you have to pay gold to enter?
 

Shai-Tan

Banned
is there a gamemode where you dont need to buy packs :<

Early on do the single player campaign then solo gauntlet completing quests until you have enough gold to draft. For the first month I went 0-3 wins a lot in draft but I got a lot of cards I wanted anyway. When you crack packs including in draft you get stones for creating cards too (equivalent of Hearthstone dust)
 

CzarTim

Member
Game is pretty fun but having a bit of genre fatigue now. Hard to motivate myself to start another card grind.
 

Shai-Tan

Banned
Game is pretty fun but having a bit of genre fatigue now. Hard to motivate myself to start another card grind.

Yeah, I just got a PS4 pro and a bunch of games after playing Hex, Eternal, Duelyst, Elder Scrolls Legends, etc for the last year and a half to near burn out. Watching people stream some fun decks and new patch glow has given me the itch again but I'm going to try to stick to one game so I don't get trapped in quest grind.
 

patchday

Member
yeah I just got CoD IW for the single player campaign (on my PS4) so want to give that a go. might get some time for Eternal at some point but I dunno.

honestly maybe I'd be more interested if it included all the cards like a living card game (Android Netrunner, Mage Wars, etc). I'd have no problem paying a one time fee but since thats not happening anytime soon for digital card games I've been drifting away from the genre. I still play Hearthstone a bit tho since that was my 1st love
 
The game deserves a detailed OT. It's the best DCG I've played since hearthstone (of course my opinion). This includes like 8+ games, including elder scrolls legends (the other game this dev is behind).

I got into the closed beta a month or two ago and had a blast with it. I was waiting for open beta so the wipe would hit so I could start collecting.

The way you build your collection while learning this game is playing the singleplayer, specifically the gauntlet (I think it's called). It's basically a constructed mode where you play random AI opponents. The further you get the better your reward. One loss and you start over. But it's free and you get a bunch of cards and often a pack from a run.

edit:
Wish I didn't have to redo the tutorial...
 

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
Downloading. Does it need a seperate account or is it all via steam?

Please say its all via Steam.

Edit: seperate account son of a...
 

patchday

Member
The game deserves a detailed OT. It's the best DCG I've played since hearthstone (of course my opinion). This includes like 8+ games, including elder scrolls legends (the other game this dev is behind).

I got into the closed beta a month or two ago and had a blast with it. I was waiting for open beta so the wipe would hit so I could start collecting.

The way you build your collection while learning this game is playing the singleplayer, specifically the gauntlet (I think it's called). It's basically a constructed mode where you play random AI opponents. The further you get the better your reward. One loss and you start over. But it's free and you get a bunch of cards and often a pack from a run.

edit:
Wish I didn't have to redo the tutorial...

Interesting most card games take away the PvE content and force players into pvp pretty fast.

will keep that in mind. I barely had a chance to do the intro content in closed beta
 

Shai-Tan

Banned
Downloading. Does it need a seperate account or is it all via steam?

Please say its all via Steam.

Edit: seperate account son of a...

It has to be because they also have an iPad/android client. HOWEVER it looks like they took the links to sign up for those versions offline
 
The game deserves a detailed OT. It's the best DCG I've played since hearthstone (of course my opinion). This includes like 8+ games, including elder scrolls legends (the other game this dev is behind).

I got into the closed beta a month or two ago and had a blast with it. I was waiting for open beta so the wipe would hit so I could start collecting.

The way you build your collection while learning this game is playing the singleplayer, specifically the gauntlet (I think it's called). It's basically a constructed mode where you play random AI opponents. The further you get the better your reward. One loss and you start over. But it's free and you get a bunch of cards and often a pack from a run.

edit:
Wish I didn't have to redo the tutorial...
I am also annoyed that I have to redo the extremely time consuming tutorial. :(

I never settled on a deck in this game. All 5 colors are super appealing in different ways for me. Each one has a card that makes me say "YES, that is a card I want to use!"

I also can't believe that they didn't nerf Ephemeral Wisp. That card is ridiculous.
 
So good.

Just had a game where I drew an echo card. Echo cards duplicate themselves when you draw them. Then I played a spell that draws a copy of a unit in hand and gives it +1/+1. Used that on the echo minion and got 2 more copies of it (keeps the buff). Then I played a unit that returns a unit in hand to the top of your deck with reduced cost of 2. So next turn I got that minion that has +1/+1 with -2 cost, and yet another duplicate of it. Eventually I was playing 3 mana 6/5s and I had a lot of them. Was a steamroll.

I am also annoyed that I have to redo the extremely time consuming tutorial. :(

I never settled on a deck in this game. All 5 colors are super appealing in different ways for me. Each one has a card that makes me say "YES, that is a card I want to use!"

I guess polymorph type cards work too.

I also can't believe that they didn't nerf Ephemeral Wisp. That card is ridiculous.


Looks good. Requires a silence I guess. Getting some permanent buffs on that could be back braking. A lot of the empower cards seem really strong though tbh.
 
Add me up if you're playing: Karsticles.

So good.

Just had a game where I drew an echo card. Echo cards duplicate themselves when you draw them. Then I played a spell that draws a copy of a unit in hand and gives it +1/+1. Used that on the echo minion and got 2 more copies of it (keeps the buff). Then I played a unit that returns a unit in hand to the top of your deck with reduced cost of 2. So next turn I got that minion that has +1/+1 with -2 cost, and yet another duplicate of it. Eventually I was playing 3 mana 6/5s and I had a lot of them. Was a steamroll.




Looks good. Requires a silence I guess. Getting some permanent buffs on that could be back braking. A lot of the empower cards seem really strong though tbh.
Sick combo.

There's the "white" card that gives all minions +2/+2 permanently. I've gotten steamrolled by it several times. I am not sure if silencing the Ephemeral Wisp helps - does it stay silenced in the graveyard?
 
Add me up if you're playing: Karsticles.


Sick combo.

There's the "white" card that gives all minions +2/+2 permanently. I've gotten steamrolled by it several times. I am not sure if silencing the Ephemeral Wisp helps - does it stay silenced in the graveyard?

Yeah, silence is permanent. It will stop the empower going off.

sent add but might need the numbers, I'm #######
 
i don't really see it as similar to magic

it has the basics of MTG's resource & combat system, but without any of the complex non-combat interactions

and that might not be a bad thing because MTG is overly complex for most people, but i think they could have at least had permanents or something to provide an alternative to bashing creatures into each other
 

ViviOggi

Member
Game shits all over HS, I just wish there was still a good combo deck. Party Hour was super fun but got more or less deleted in closed beta and Clockroaches is too inconsistent to reach anything higher than tier 3 status.

Also prepare for the Rakano only meta while everyone grinds up their collections again
 
i don't really see it as similar to magic

it has the basics of MTG's resource & combat system, but without any of the complex non-combat interactions

and that might not be a bad thing because MTG is overly complex for most people, but i think they could have at least had permanents or something to provide an alternative to bashing creatures into each other

You mean like relics and relic weapons?
Xenan-Obelisk.png
 

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
just played about 25mins, fantastic first impression

draft vs AI = ty lord
 

Nordicus

Member
Oh shit, so the wipe finally happened huh?

Time to remake my janky deck!

My favorite one to play was a Praxis token Song of War deck. Get a bunch of 1/1s on the board, then get so many warcry buffs on one card that it can just end the game on the spot. #ForeverSilverLeagueScrub
So why should I play this over Shadowverse or Duelyst?
It's more Magic based than HS based, and at least compared to Duelyst, the card effects are much more interesting and their power ceiling is massively high, and the draft mode is amazing because it's MtG draft where you make your deck out of multiple actual packs and there is an actual deckbuilding phase, not just "Pick 1 out of 3, you're now stuck with it, enjoy your non-combo"

Examples:

Playing Hall of the Lost Kings, if you're at 25 (normal max) health, it's one 5/5 for 7. If you have 26 or more from overhealing, you get five 5/5s. It's not a good card, but it's a fun one to build your deck around.

Destiny = the card is played immediately (and any on-summon effect will happen) when drawn, then you draw another card. So Talir is a ticking tempo bomb for those turns when you might draw multiple Time based minions in a row. Not particularly competitive card either afaik, but more so than Hall of the Lost Kings
 
It's as if MTG embraced digital I think. And I don't mean a 1:1 translation or anything. But sorta what MTG could be if it was built ground up for a digital platform.

1 thing, for example, that Eternal does that MTG can't, is the echo keyword. When you draw this card, create a copy of it. Sounds simple. But add in the fact that some stat buffs are permanent and persist in your hand, deck, field, or graveyard, and things can get pretty complicated. If you draw an echo card with a buff already on it, that buff gets copied too. It could quickly spiral out of control. And echo is just one example. Another would be fate, which does something when you draw it. Or destiny, which automatically plays the card. Just not feasible in a physical format, and fully embraced in Eternal as a digital collectible game.
 

ViviOggi

Member
It's more Magic based than HS based, and at least compared to Duelyst, the card effects are much more interesting and their power ceiling is massively high, and the draft mode is amazing because it's MtG draft where you make your deck out of multiple actual packs and there is an actual deckbuilding phase, not just "Pick 1 out of 3, you're now stuck with it, enjoy your non-combo"
Plus you actually get to keep the cards you draft.

Just playing through tutorial, first impression is great

so what I shall do from here?
Play around with the cards and mechanics while grinding some forge. I don't know if they changed this, but in closed beta it was actually beneficial to concede the final match in gauntlet/forge in order to deny the rank up, which would upgrade the AI (they'd start playing near-constructed decks starting from gold which hurts especially in forge) and stop you from grinding efficiently.
 

Nordicus

Member
Got 16 packs as freebies from my collection in closed beta. It'll do.
Plus you actually get to keep the cards you draft.
Damn it, can't believe I forgot the best part

Just one decent Draft basically gets you half a ladder deck right there when you on't have much of a collection.

Here's the patch notes


A lot of card changes, and some outright removal of cards. That kinda surprised me
 

Shai-Tan

Banned
Playing Hall of the Lost Kings, if you're at 25 (normal max) health, it's one 5/5 for 7. If you have 26 or more from overhealing, you get five 5/5s. It's not a good card, but it's a fun one to build your deck around.

By the way one of the devs said there's more healing synergy in set 2 so that card might not be awful forever :)

I wanted to rebuild clockroach but they changed crown of possibilities to legendary :(

how does this compare to Shadowverse? I started it about 3 weeks ago and I LOVE it so much.

Shadowverse is a direct attack game like-Hearthstone whereas this is a attack with declared blockers game like-Magic. If you wanted to play another direct attack game the developer of Eternal also is working on Elder Scrolls Legends which is like a more complex Hearthstone.
 

Darkroronoa

Member
i am kinda addicted to another card game right now but i am gonna try this. Heard so many good things and that is like MtG, i liked Hex but its too expensive (or too much time consuming for farming AI, so boring) so i hope this will scratch my itch.
 

patchday

Member
maybe I'm spoiled by other CCG but this game always felt like it takes a step back or two. It can be so frustrating sitting there with a hand full of stupid sigils while your AI opponent pummels you

I'm sure it gets better as new players get used to it but it can be frustrating
 

Shai-Tan

Banned
maybe I'm spoiled by other CCG but this game always felt like it takes a step back or two. It can be so frustrating sitting there with a hand full of stupid sigils while your AI opponent pummels you

I'm sure it gets better as new players get used to it but it can be frustrating

There's definitely downsides of that type of resource system but it also has some positives like having open deck building and more powerful cards at the top end. They made a decision to make constructed decks 75 cards instead of 60 in Magic which can make mana flood and screw worse but the idea was it gives games more variation. They also made it so you get two guaranteed lands in mulligan and you can mitigate flood by including "sigil seekers" (including some creatures) which draw a sigil (basic land), thinning out the deck. Last they use the threshold system from Hex which means you don't have to do busy work of tapping lands.

edit: starting decks and sigil count without advanced deck building turned on also errs on the side of including the top end you would want for sigils. When you get to making your own decks you can be a bit more aggressive depending on mana curve. At the very least 4 sigils should be replaced with "Seek Power" or other seek card and there are some dual land type cards which mitigate threshold (color) problems
 

zoukka

Member
Wow this game seems crazy good at first glance. It has the great snappy usability and presentation of HS, but much deeper mechanics borrowed from MTG.

This has the potential of being the best digital card game.
 

Shai-Tan

Banned
Whih is the best way to build a collection?

Finish single player campaign, play gauntlet, finish quests, earn gold (and some packs), play draft. In addition gold and cards (sometimes packs) are received through winning in constructed. There's also Forge which is a single player substitute for draft. It's ok but the final bosses in it can be brutal. In the long run playing draft regularly is better.

Once per week(?) you will get a faction quest which rewards a basic deck. It's also worth mentioning that every pack has 100 stones (dust) which was 200 in closed beta. It speeds up the time it takes to get enough to make a card like a legendary. Like Hearthstone there are premium cards (animated with effects) and they can be converted to stones at equivalent to the stones it would take to make a regular version. So if you got a premium rare you could convert it into any other rare. Sometimes it makes sense then to take a garbage premium card in draft so you can make a different card for constructed.
 

patchday

Member
Yeah getting used to the mechanics a little more.

What's even more curious it seems to abandon the 'daily quest' mechanic. Looks like you can infinitely accumulate gold all day long.

Legendaries are crazy steep to craft though from what I recall (yep just double checked, legendary crafting looks like total crap to be frank)
 
What the fuck?? The deck is already garbagio, why make it even worse of an investment...

Might have been a bit too prevelant in draft at rare. I could see that card tearing shit up if it's pulled.

.
Legendaries are crazy steep to craft though from what I recall (yep just double checked, legendary crafting looks like total crap to be frank)

Not sure why they moved Bandit Queen to legendary...there goes that whole archetype for budget players. Back to Rakano, I guess.
 

Shai-Tan

Banned
Might have been a bit too prevelant in draft at rare. I could see that card tearing shit up if it's pulled.


Crown of Possibilities with echo units (clockroach) is actually pretty great as long as you're not running into aggro. That's the main reason it's inconsistent, because you get a bunch of cards in the starting hand that don't really do anything until you get the combo going. Anyway I can see it being at legendary being a chase card to motivate people to play more because it's one of the most fun decks to play at the moment in my opinion.
 

patchday

Member
completed the SP campaign. Idk if I will play much more but I enjoyed going through the campaign.

I'm a sucker for CCG SP campaigns I dunno why

I like some of the mechanics it has lots of good ideas. just not eager to dive back into another card grinder
 
Yeah, this might be the best digital TCG out right now. It's basically MtG but with a few extra digital mechanics. So many card games suffer from being overly simplified and while it's not quite as complex as MtG, it's not far off either. Instants, non-basic "lands", non-creature permanents, creatures and permanents that care about "lands", these are a few things Eternal has that I've seen so far that most TCGs cut for complexity reasons. It definitely feels like it has more depth than HS and it's ilk at first glance. Some of the rules text needs to be cleaned up but other than that I'm very impressed so far.

EDIT: Wow, you can even assign blockers and then sacrifice them to other effects. So many MtG strategies transfer over.
 
It's more Magic based than HS based, and at least compared to Duelyst, the card effects are much more interesting and their power ceiling is massively high, and the draft mode is amazing because it's MtG draft where you make your deck out of multiple actual packs and there is an actual deckbuilding phase, not just "Pick 1 out of 3, you're now stuck with it, enjoy your non-combo"

Examples:
That works for me I suppose! Playing MtG in high school is one of my favorite memories of all time.
 
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