How to play Altered TCG? Our first impressions!

The collectible card game Altered TCG might have passed us by unnoticed if it weren't for a colleague from the purchasing department who followed the game on Kickstarter and launched his own internal marketing campaign after its release. The result? Suddenly, several colleagues had starter decks and booster packs. Eventually, we gathered enough players to organize a small tournament.

Why did Altered TCG catch our attention?

First of all, the game is pleasantly affordable. For less than 350 CZK, you get a starter deck ready to play. You can pick up an expansion pack with 12 cards for under a hundred. It's not such a big investment that it isn't worth giving the game a try.

After a few games, we agreed it was a good investment. We discovered a card game that, among traditional competitors like Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon TCG, brings several interesting and new mechanics to the table.

Altered TCG is a very fast-paced game. You can finish a match in under 10 minutes on average, and even less experienced players can grasp the rules in a few minutes. Despite its simplicity and speed, there are enough tactical options to keep even experienced players on their toes.

How does Altered differ from other collectible games?

Winning conditions: In most collectible games, players try to destroy each other. Not in Altered. Here, you send characters on expeditions, and the goal is for your hero and their companion to meet on adventure cards. At first, I thought it was just a different take on a health tracker, but there is more to this system than meets the eye. It's a tug-of-war over who will have more points corresponding to the terrain type their hero and companion are traversing. It's actually a trivial system, but it forces players to think about which side of the expedition to focus on, where it's better to sacrifice a point, and what kind of game they should play. It's not a problem at all to unexpectedly turn the situation around and win a seemingly lost game.

Reserve system: You can play most cards in Altered twice. Unless a specific ability forbids it, a played card moves to the so-called reserve at the end of the turn, from which you can play it again later. Several mechanics interact with playing cards from the reserve. At the same time, the card is revealed, and your opponent can permanently remove it from the reserve. In Altered, it's normal for a player not to have many cards in hand. You often have to play with what's already on the table.

Atmosphere: The entire game and its visual style are thoroughly positive, colorful, inclusive, and whatever else. I was quite skeptical about it. I suppose I belong to a generation that doesn't live for these "woke mannerisms." I was afraid that such an incoherent mix would feel forced and annoying. But it turned out not to be the case – in the end, we all agreed that it is actually a very refreshing detail.

I would also like to mention the resource system here. It's nothing unique, as practically the same system is already used by Star Wars: Unlimited TCG. At the start of the game, you draw 6 cards and must use 3 of them as mana. There is no mulligan here. The player is regularly faced with a difficult choice: which card to sacrifice for resources and which to keep. At the beginning of each turn, you draw 2 cards, and you can again use one of your cards for mana.

At this moment, not all services related to the sale of individual cards and their print-on-demand feature from the manufacturer are fully operational. Each card has its own unique QR code. Once scanned into the official app, it becomes part of your collection. The entire trading and card exchange is based on this digital copy; the physical paper card itself is practically worthless. The full market will launch at the end of this year, and it will be interesting to see how it works.

Want to join in?

Has Altered TCG caught your interest? Just grab one of the six Starter decks we currently have in stock, and let's play! But which one to choose? There are currently six different factions in Altered. Each has its own playstyle. At the same time, the whole game is well-balanced, and I couldn't definitively say if one is better than another. So, let's take a look at the individual factions together so you know what you're getting into.

Axiom

A faction of engineers, mechanics, machines, and robots. It focuses on playing permanent cards that provide regular bonuses. It takes a while to get all the necessary cards into play, but once set up, they can summon tokens—robotic bugs—practically for free and steamroll the enemy. It often works with cards in reserves and replenishing cards in the reserve from the deck.

Bravos

A faction of adventurers and warriors. An aggressive faction full of big creatures with high stats. It has many ways to buff other cards. It's a tricky faction you need to watch out for. It can quickly get powerful cards into play that are difficult to overcome.

Lyra

A faction of artists and comedians. A unique faction that adds a die to the game. Many abilities trigger based on the result of a die roll. This adds another layer of randomness to the game, but when things go well, a player can quickly surge ahead. On the other hand, a bad roll can ruin even a well-played game.

Muna

A nature faction. It is heavily built on cards that nest on the game board, do not go to the reserve, and gradually increase their effect over time. A small, weak mushroom suddenly becomes an annoying problem that is hard to deal with. And if that wasn't enough, dangerous giants enter the game. You need to keep Muna in check from the start and make sure they don't grow over your head.

Ordis

A bureaucratic military faction. Ordis can very quickly summon an army of seemingly weak tokens—soldiers. Then, all it takes is a hero, the soldiers get a buff, and the opponent won't know what hit them. Getting rid of a large number of characters is often a big problem. There is strength in numbers. Moreover, Ordis possesses powerful artifacts that speed up their game even further.

Yzmir

A faction of wizards and magic. Originally weak characters quickly become dangerous thanks to spells. Many spells return the opponent's cards to their reserve or from the reserve to the discard pile. It's an annoying control faction that often works with effects triggered during the opponent's turn.

What's next?

Altered knows how to captivate, and the Czech community is slowly growing. It will be interesting when the creators launch all the promised features, including the market, print-on-demand cards, and official organized play. The first expansion, Trial by Frost, is already announced for the end of January 2025, introducing new mechanics and card types. We at imago are already looking forward to it!

Join the Czech community discord server.

author Karel Krajča