Review Originally Published May 21st, 2001
Mystick: Domination takes a different approach to the card-building games: A “premium card game”, Mystick encourages “customizability without collecting” by selling only complete decks (with every deck including every card).
THE GOOD AND THE BAD
Getting introduced to Mystick requires a steep learning curve which is – thankfully – lessened considerably by the thoughtfully included and well-executed Basic Tutorial pamphlet. Essentially the game boils down to this: With a Tarot-inspired card- and ruleset, Mystick allows you to play out Pawn cards. Pawns are then used to obtain Power, either from a central pool or from other Pawns. This basic mechanic is complicated with various action and environment cards, and a set of elegantly interlocking rules which give rise to a number of tactical possibilities.
The game can be played by 2-5 players. The Basic Deck only supports play by two players, however, and, unfortunately, I find the game to be severely lacking in two player mode: It is far too easy for the player with the first turn to build an unassailable lead, and the game’s mechanics generally seem to become either too simplistic or catastrophically clogged. On the other end of the spectrum, playing with 5 players also seems to strain the game (the round advancement mechanic – based on how times a “draw” action has been used – seems to speed play up too much with this number of players).
THE DEAL
Mystick: Domination has a sweet spot of 3-4 players, but when you’re at that sweet spot the game behaves like a well-tuned Ferrari (and its not exactly a Yugo at the extremes, either). The game is gifted with evocative and beautiful artwork which, in its classical stylings, is a refreshing breath of fresh air in the current card game market. Its playable straight out of the box. And it appears that Anoch is dedicated to giving all of this the support it deserves. Give this one a try.
The Verdict: B+
Publisher: Anoch Game Systems, Inc.
Category: Fantasy Premium Card Game
Release: August 2000
Format: 78 card Basic Deck; 78 card Power Deck
Suggested Retail: $19.99
In response to the rise of collectible card games, Mystick: Domination was experimenting with a form factor that Fantasy Flight Games would later call a Living Card Game (LCG). Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite perfected here: The Basic Deck and Power Deck were basically indistinguishable from each other on store shelves and, as noted in the review, if you only bought the Basic Deck, the game wasn’t terribly good.
(In point of fact, it turns out the designer of this game — Eric Lang — a bunch of LCGs for FFG.)
This review was originally written for someone other than RPGNet, but I have no memory of who that might have been. Since I have no record of its publication elsewhere, it must have either been rejected or the magazine it was intended for went out of business before printing it. Either way, I salvaged the piece by publishing it on RPGNet. And now, many years later, I’m salvaging it once again.
I debated whether to actually post this review: It’s for a fairly obscure game that’s long out of print. But the whole goal is to archive all of these older reviews, and I also have a lot of fond memories of this game. So if it encourages even one person to maybe go grab a used copy off eBay, it’ll probably be worth it.
For an explanation of where these reviews came from and why you can no longer find them at RPGNet, click here.
