Tash-Kalar: Arena of Legends Review

Tash-Kalar is crazy good. Almost an abstract, it nevertheless provides a distinct, light dusting of theme. The Arena of Legends is about more than taking territory and killing opposing pieces. It’s about using powers and achieving select goals. And then along comes Nethervoid, the second expansion. It keeps the same feel and goals as the base game while offering new abilities and even a new mechanic.

Nethervoid comes with eighteen being cards, all with a demonic bent appropriate for this new faction. You’ll find demons of wrath and gluttony along with frightful creatures like the Demon of Wrath. You also get tokens, including three Legendaries. Unlike previous factions, solid color backs are eschewed in favor of a flame motif on the tokens.

It also comes with a small, flat-bottomed glass bead. That bead is specifically for the new Gate mechanic used by the Nethervoid faction. Demons, it seems, aren’t just summoned like knights and dryads. Instead, a path to their plane must be opened.

When the first being is summoned, it becomes the Gate. If it was common and a heroic is later summoned, that new heroic being becomes the Gate. From there, numerous other beings reference the Gate. For example, the Power Seeker gets to do combat moves toward the gate. The Demon of Envy can summon common tokens around the gate. Some creatures even bestow additional abilities if the gate is on a particular space.

As a result, playing the Nethervoid faction is not just about getting your pieces into alignment and ready to summon the next thing. Instead, there is an extra challenge layered on top of also summoning in the proper relation to the Gate. The Nethervoid player, then, has to choose between playing pieces in a cluster (safer and easier to summon) or playing a little more spread out (taking greater advantage of the gate).

And the special abilities of the beings are also some of the most interesting in all of Tash-Kalar. Many of them provide players with a choice. They can get something extremely powerful, but only at a cost. For example, the Demon of Greed forces you to destroy a common and heroic piece of your own. But if you do, you get an extra action for each piece destroyed. Similarly, the Possessed Summoner forces you to play a piece of your opponent’s color. But after doing so, you can use their pieces to summon your next being. Even the Demon of Sloth is cool in that it is the most easily summoned heroic piece I’ve seen – but forces you to give up an action.

The Nethervoid player is faced with constant decisions. Many of the special powers are stronger than what you might see with other factions – but the drawbacks are critical. The player needs to carefully weigh how best to manage that drawback. As such, timing becomes critical. And every other power becomes important based on the location of the gate. Other factions want to summon in particular spots to make best use of an individual power. But the demons are constantly referring back to their gate – a particular fixed point on the board.

And that can really up the challenge. With most factions, there is always the temptation to wait for the perfect move and line your pieces up just so. Often, that results in having your plans dashed by your opponent. But that temptation is (appropriately) increased with the demon faction. Many of their powers are generally good, but situationally awesome. In my plays, I often find myself hoping for golden moments. As always, though, you can’t wait around hoping things line up. With the demons, you have to make your own opportunities – and when you do, you will experience a deliciously demonic glee.

Powerful creatures, a new mechanic, and the best looking pieces in the game- surely, these are signs that the demons are overpowered, right? Not at all. Despite the new ability and the new powers they bring to the game, the Nethervoid feel right at home in the Arena of Legends. It’s a testament not only to the skill of the designer, but also the resiliency of the underlying system. The demons can feel highly distinct while neither overwhelming its foes or being crushed by existing factions.

While Nethervoid adds another faction for Tash-Kalar, it doesn’t fundamentally alter the gameplay. So this expansion is targeted toward fans of the game who want to see more. If you count Tash-Kalar among your favorites (as I and all right-thinking people do), then this brings variety, tactical choice, and a fun challenge for an experienced player. If you didn’t care for the base game, then there’s nothing here to change your mind.