Introduction

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog! Today we’ll be taking a look at a bit of an unusual title, Kard: The World War 2 Card game. Kards is an entirely virtual card game in the same vein as titles like Magic:The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Hearthstone. However instead of going the route of many of these titles with a fantasy/outlandish aesthetic, Kards formulates its own style by basing its elements on real life historical events surrounding the second world war. 

As of writing this review the game has been released for nearly five years and is receiving a major summer update looking to revamp some of the systems. So let’s take a deeper look at Kards and see what kind makes it stand out against some of its contemporaries 

Story

Kards does not have much of a story to speak of given it’s main focus is on competitive multiplayer. However there are still campaigns to play through for those looking hungry for a single player experience. So far there are a total of five of these mission packs, each one focusing on one of the major axis and allied powers of the war. All of which follow a particular battle or series of battles, with the normal mechanics shifting to more closely emulate the actual events. 

While these are a nice change of pace from the multiplayer these campaigns are by no means fleshed out experiences and calling them storylines at all is a rather generous analysis. A far better descriptor would be challenge missions since they operate more like puzzles that test your understanding of the game’s mechanics placed into a historical context. 

So there isn’t a story but there is a lot of writing. Each of the game’s cards (a whopping +300) come with text that offers with it a piece of World War 2 trivia. Some of these could include the actions of certain notable regiments, biographies of famous historical figures, and insight into the strategies used in the midst of the war. Absolutely none of this is necessary to understand the actual mechanics of how Kards is played; however this can act as a real treat for history buffs. 

Gameplay

 Mechanical Overview

Kards is (as the name would imply) a trading card game wherein the ultimate objective is to destroy the enemies HQ. The game pits two players against each other who each wield a deck comprised of exactly 40 cards. These cards are selected from two nations, a main nation and a side nation. While a deck could in theory have all cards from just the main nation this is ill-advised since cards can often combo extraordinarily well with ones of other nations. However these options are limited since of the 40 cards allowed in the deck only twelve of them are allowed to be from the side nation. 

Kards has a total of five main nations. America, Britain, Russia, Germany, and Japan as well as three side nations in Poland, France, and Italy. Funnily enough there are no limits as to who you can ally with in your deck so feel free to mix and match combinations like America and Germany or Britain and Japan. Each of these countries do have their strengths and weaknesses however we will return to this shortly. 

Cards are played via the hand often at the cost of Kredits. Think of Kredits as your action points or mana as seen in other similar games. Nearly everything from playing cards to operating existing ones occurs at the cost of kredits. Both players start the game with one kreidt slot that increases by one at the start of every turn up to a maximum of twelve. 

There are three different types of cards that can be added into your deck. Units, orders, and countermeasures. Units are played onto the field directly. Each one has an attack stat and a defensive stat. Attack indicates the amount of damage a unit will do to either the HQ or another unit while its defense represents its health. Once the defense of a unit reaches 0 it is destroyed. Units may also come with certain effects which can either be massive or triggered by a variety of circumstances. 

Five different unit types exist in Kards. Infantry, tanks, artillery, fighter planes, and bomber planes. Before we talk about what each is capable of, let’s first look at the battlefield itself. When a unit is deployed it is added to the support line. The support line can hold up to four units but won’t often remain full for long as in order for most units to deal damage they need to be in the frontline. The frontline is the center of the board and cannot be moved into if there is an enemy present forcing units wishing to enter the frontline to attack one another. However once the frontline is emptied a unit can then capture it. This section capable of holding up to five units total. 

Now the troops themselves! Once a unit is deployed to the battlefield you will have to take note of its operation cost. This cost indicates the amount of Kredits it takes to preform an action. First off we have infantry which are by far the simplest units. Infantry are only capable of a single action per turn, either moving or attacking. It is worth noting that no unit in the game is allowed to move backward so if an infantry is in the frontline really it’s only action is to attack. Next up are tanks which are also simple. Tanks are capable of moving and attacking in the same turn. 

As a brief aside, combat occurs when a unit is attacked by another and will result in the attack of each unit being inflicted onto the other’s defensive stat. As previously stated if a unit’s defense falls below zero then it is defeated and removed from play. If combat occurs and no units have their health lowered to zero than each one simply remains where they were at the start of combat

Then we have artillery. Artillery has the distinction of being able to attack from anywhere on the field and takes no damage in return. Similarly bomber planes are able to accomplish much the same with two important caveats. If a fighter plane is present in a line the bomber must attack it first and they deal no damage when they are defending. Meanwhile fighter planes are also capable of attacking anywhere on the field and share the same rule as all but tanks in being unable to move and attack on the same turn. 

Another thing worth pointing out is that all of this is subject to change with effects. Effects are meant to alter the state of play and there are far too many nuanced ones to go through here. But generally speaking, here are a few tips you can keep in mind. Infantry are all rounders often possessing decent attack and defense with lower operation cost. Tanks lean higher stats with higher operation cost to compensate. Artillery, while powerful thanks to their range, often has low attack and defense to compensate while bombers have high attack but are incredibly vulnerable to fighters which also typically have higher operation cost and stats. These elements hopefully act as a good foundational understanding of how units function but understanding their quirks will be vital to your success. 

Thankfully the other two groups of cards are much more simple. Orders are instant use and offer a variety of effects ranging from buffing your own units, hurting the enemy, or creating advantage for yourself. Countermeasures meanwhile occur in response to the actions of another player often to their determinant. For instance the card ‘Careless Talk’ is capable of instantly dealing three health damage to a unit upon being deployed. 

Now before we get into the gameplay let’s talk about the rarities of cards. Rarity not only determines how powerful a card is but also how many of them are permitted into a deck. For instance players are permitted 4 copies of standard cards, 3 copies of limited cards, 2 copies of special cards, and only 1 copy of each elite card. Additionally elite cards, arguably the strongest ones in the game, must come from the main nation of that deck. With that said there are no limits on the amount of each rarity you can put into a deck. So if you want to fill it with common cards you may or you can shove in as many elites and specials as your heart desires.

Gameplay

Now that you have a fundamental understanding of how the game is played we can talk about how these mechanics fit in together. Let’s kick things off by talking about the main nations which are what the strategy of the game is built around. Main nations have pros and cons and the key to building a powerful deck is striking the balance between playing to your strengths while covering your weaknesses. 

As an example let’s look at Japan. Japanese units specialize in dealing damage to the HQ directly, often playing fast and aggressively. Many of their basic units have very high attacks with low health values coming with bonus effects like their destruction directly inflicting damage onto the base. Their aggression however comes at the cost of low board presence making it difficult for them to obtain momentum if they don’t start with it initially. 

In order to combat this liability you may choose to ally them with the British. The British have some of the highest defensive units in the game but can struggle to act aggressively early on, often forced to wait for their more costly and offensive units. Here we can see a simple example of how the different nations synergize with one another but this prospect grows significantly more difficult the more in depth you decide to go. 

Which is why like many other games in the genre, Kards doesn’t expect you to go at it alone. Your deck building can be greatly helped with the use of archetypes, or cards that have pretty much one to one benefits with another. As an example we’ll take a look at the Russians this time which have something of a swarm strategy. They have many cards which summon units called ‘Light Infantry’, incredibly weak but low cost units that they then have other cards to boost their capabilities. For instance the card ‘Frontal Assault’ gives all friendly light infantry on the field additional attack and defense, putting them up to par with some of the better mid tier units in the game.

Now while this is a good idea in theory, in practice it’s not so simple. Now I could be in the minority for this but I believe that archetypes should provide a foundation, offering players who have the correct cards to practice their deckbuilding and strategizing with a laid out guide. However there are a few archetypes within Kards which are so effective they essentially wipe out any need for coming up with your own ideas. 

Which takes me into the main thrust of this review which is the discussion of balance and Kards is… well it works more than it doesn’t, I’ll say that much for now. At low to mid levels of play Kards is a good time that allows for a wide variety of strategies and playstyles. However there are some significant faults. Having only started playing Kards around six or seven months ago I have not witnessed much in terms of power creep or rebalancing. So while I can not say for certain whether certain cards just aged out of their usefulness or were just poorly implemented, there is a definite need for some rebalancing across the board.

For an example of this we’ll look to Japan once more. Far, far too many Japanese cards have significant downsides built into them as what I can only presume is an attempt to balance them. A fine idea but one that fails to matter when getting any use of these cards is such a costly endeavor that it’s so obviously not worth the involved risk.

Cards like these are doubly baffling in large part due to some of the game’s tendency to then overcompensate with certain other effects. For instance the card Mare Nostrum, for one cost, gives any unit 1 additional attack and defense along with the added effect that any damage it deals sees the HQ of the attacker healed in equal measure. An extremely powerful effect tied to an already worthwhile card that allows any unit on the field a buff. 

Which brings with it a strange dilemma. As previously stated Kards has a myriad of different styles of play to utilize. However there are a number of these that are just blatantly unfun to play against. Now I know this may sound like whining but hear me out here. I understand that the meta of any game can introduce frustrating cards that feel impossible to play against. That’s simply the nature of card games. But Kards has a number of non-meta playstyles and cards that are just not enjoyable. 

Playstyles that remove cards from the hand like the German countermeasures or ones that just destroy what’s on the field constantly like the Amercians with their numerous instant destruction and damage options. The issue is not that these styles are ‘too good.’ Rather it’s more that they simply fail to result in an advancement of the gamestate. They exist only to delay and oftentimes fail to offer meaningful counterplay. 

Let’s step away from the gameplay for a second to talk about some of the surrounding elements. One of the game’s greatest strengths is definitely the constant flow of new cards being given to the player. Although this is subject to change since alterations to the in-game economy have been announced I have to say what we have so far does a great job of rewarding players. Each nation has an XP system wherein playing games nets you experience which constantly earn you new rewards including coins, new cards, or wildcards which can be used to manually select which cards you want to craft. 

After only a few weeks of play I was able to formulate a diverse amount of different decks which helped keep gameplay fresh and now after a few months I can craft pretty much any deck I want barring a few that require some of the game’s rarest elite cards. I should also mention here that Kards has two different primary multiplayer modes, Unranked and Ranked. Unranked is just as it sounds, a casual setting where wins and losses don’t really matter. Ranked however will tally up your wins, awarding you stars. Every five stars allows you to rank up and at the end of each month you’ll be given free rewards based on the rank you achieved. 

Aside from the primary multiplayer mode though there are also some bonus modes including training, draft mode, and skirmish. Skirmishes occur once every two weeks and last from Friday to Sunday. They offer variations on the standard ruleset and are a mixed bag of quality though thankfully only need to be won once in order to obtain the prize. Draft mode is actually a pretty fun spin on the usual game wherein you choose a main nation and side nation, after which you are presented with three random cards. You must then continually select cards from these groups three until you build a deck to compete with. Afterward every match you win earns you a prize which can include coins, cards, and even whole packs. While it costs coins to play draft mode you can also earn draft tickets which allow you to play for free through the XP systems.

And then finally there is training mode. Training mode allows you to test your decks against an AI opponent. This is a handy tool but honestly the bot is oftentimes not all that bright, often performing downright stupid moves that no real player would perform.  

As a final note to end this section on Kards does have an unfortunate bug problem. I would tell you what they are but frankly there is too many too list here. Thankfully my game breaking glitch encounters have been much more rare but there are still plenty of visual bugs to be found. While they do make plenty of bug fixes it is still strange to encounter this many issues. 

Presentation 

I can tell you right away that Kards, above anything else it accomplishes, absolutely nails it’s presentation. To begin with, let’s take a look at the cards themselves, each of which comes with a piece of art at the top of it. Most of these are pulled straight from the history books while other original pieces aim to emulate the style of the time. Though there is a slight amount of clash on a few different pieces together they each make for cards that are both visually distinct and pleasant to look at.

But it goes beyond the cards themselves as there are also a variety of different boards that can be played on. Most of the base game ones are rather tame, usually a table with theming representative of a certain nation such as foliage at the edges to represent Japan or scattered blueprints for America. Then there are premium boards which must be paid for but offer some cool visuals, my personal favorite being a bunker where overhead shelling occasionally causes bits of broken concrete to fall from the ceiling and strike the play table. 

What is definitely my favorite aesthetic inclusion though is the card effects. Whenever cards attack special animations will play such as bullets firing of from infantry cards or bombs being deployed from bomber planes. The intensity of these noises will even increase with the attack of the card which lends itself to an engaging atmosphere. Some cards even come paired with special animations that activate upon their use such as ‘Winter Assault’ for the Russians causing a snowstorm to temporarily erupts, freezing the cards or ‘The Manhattan Project’ for the Americans causing a blinding explosion to erupt that decimates the cards on field.

Really my only complaint about these is that I wish there was more of them. Currently what cards actually cause an effect to happen seems random. While I’m not suggesting that each card should come accompanied with a visual flair as part of what makes them so appealing is their rarity, I would like to see some more included in a future update. 

Now let’s focus a bit more on the technical side. In the battles I’ll say that the UI is very well done. Your cards in hand are clearly visible at the bottom of the screen and a simple click on any of them allows you to view them more closely. Any of the common effects such as ambush, smokescreen, and blitz are also explained here which can act as an effective reminder of the game’s mechanics. 

I was unsure of whether to include this here or in the gameplay section but on the topic of card effects one definite issue is the lack of clarity in word choice. Here’s what I mean. Soe cares say on them ‘Deal 3 damage to any unit on the field’ while others may say ‘Deal 3 damage to any enemy on the field’ while yet another will read ‘Deal 3 damage to any enemy unit on the field.’ All of these sound quite similar but in practice mean different things. The first being an opportunity to damage your own units and the enemies, the second being exclusive to units, while the third could mean units or the HQ. While on paper this would just be a confusing wording issue that players could get used to over time it’s far less consistent than that, leading to the need to memorize which cards can do what. 

And while I’m on the subject of complaints the out of match UI is far more clunky than it has any need to be. The main menu is a cluttered mess that definitely takes some getting used to with elements like the shop being placed front and center. Additionally the deckbuilding screen has some frankly bizarre interface choices with filter options all over the screen making the act of making a new deck or editing an existing one a needlessly difficult prospect.  Still it’s not all bad as the quality of life features present like the search function and various filtering settings are all useful features to have, once you get to grips on how to use them. 

Last but not least I’d like to give a quick mention to the soundtrack which is a double edged sword. Aside from it’s menu theme Kards plays a handful of different tunes relevant to the time period in the background with some even being in the language of the respective nation. These act as pleasant bits of background noise for a while but after a while they do get a little tiresome. I wish there was a little bit more variety here to combat how often you’re hearing the same songs but I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy the calming selection that is present for the majority of my early playtime.

Conclusion 

In the world of free to play games Kards stands tall as a worthwhile title through it’s sleek presentation, unique aesthetic, and engaging gameplay loop. For fans of card games or world war 2 buffs this title is an easy recommendation. One that suffers from a few flaws here and there but overall successfully manages to strike a balance between aesthetic and strategy that easily makes it worth trying out even when pitted against other more notable titles. Download Kards today on either their website, Steam, Epic Games, or on your mobile device and I’ll hope to see you all again next time!