At each level, your Aethermon learns a new Battle Card. Let’s level up!

Last lesson we discussed the combination currency XG, which you can use to buy special items, and to level up your Aethermon. At each level, your Aethermon learns a new Battle Card. Let’s look into it!

There is a set deck for each Element which only they have access to, with internal strategies and synergies between its cards. This represents each Element’s preferred combat style, as mentioned earlier. Additionally, there is a ‘Normal Moves’ deck, which everyone has access to. 

At the start of the game, when you choose your Aethermon and receive your starting hand, you shuffle eight random cards from the Normal Moves deck into your element-specific deck. These are the cards you will be choosing from in future.

When you level up, you take the top three cards from your Future Moves Deck, choose one to learn, and shuffle the other two back into your Future Moves Deck. 

All Battle Cards (including Normal Moves, but excluding ‘baby moves’) have a Star/Heart Value totalling five, representing how powerful the move is and how many additional health points your Aethermon gains when learning it. By paying attention to your Aethermon during battle, you will be able to ascertain whether they need additional firepower, additional resilience, or more tricky combos available to them right now.

And you never have to worry that choosing move B over moves A or C will mean that A and C are gone forever – since they get recycled into your Future Moves Deck, you just have to wait until they show up again.

Aside from some convention apperances this year, we are hard at work on two future Aethermon games, which share one very important feature – the Aethermon Battle and Progression System! Let’s talk about it!

Unlike Collect, which has fairly abstract gameplay where players can discover the Aethermon creatures but not really interact with them, the Battle and Progression System is designed to provide a consistent interaction with your Aethermon of choice throughout your gameplay experience.

Think of it somewhat like a streamlined interpretation of old-school JRPGs: at the beginning of the game, you choose your Aethermon companion, and that one creature stays with you throughout the entire game, as you fight, quest, level up, gain strength and skill – and eventually, evolve.

At each new level you may choose a new battle card – representing your options when you enter a fight. Weaker battle cards are balanced out by an additional health bonus to your Aethermon – which means that you choose the particular style of play you prefer with any Aethermon regardless of type. Raivalp the Thunderstruck dog Aethermon might be designed to have lots of quick moves, and you can lean into that – or you can choose differently and end up with a particularly tanky little puppy that game.

Although emulating the JRPGs which inspired it, the entire system is designed to reduce player overhead, providing a smoother gameplay experience to players, rather than a maths challenge. Moreover, this system is compatible with multiple future Aethermon games, including both that we are currently working on, Aethermon: Ascent (co-operative 2-5 player roguelike boardgame) and Aethermon: Adventure (competitive 2-8 player adventure boardgame).

Look out for more information about these two games in upcoming blog posts and newsletters!

Stay awesome, AetherRen!