On 30 November, Dexter’s Dragon Riders became available for pre-order. I thought I’d go over what this product includes, and review the first few cards spoiled from this set.

This set comprises two 30 card pre-constructed palettes, and is aimed at new players to the game. It includes the palettes, plus a Quick Start Rule Booklet, an unusual but welcome addition to Achroma products. The palettes are Dragon Riders of Altari vs Drake Rider Rebellion, telling us it’s going to be a classic achrom vs chroma battle, set in the snowy land of Altari.

As the cards are designed to be simpler than traditional card mechanics, and the fact this product is only £18 to pre-order, this is an ideal starting point for new players to the game. Additionally, since all cards are going to be compatible with regular canvas format in the Draco Planum realm, this will have an impact on competitive play. It’ll be shipping on 12 December, so just in time for Christmas.

Let’s have a look at some of the cards coming from this set, starting with the rares:

Dexter’s Dwelling is a cute winter cabin with Crackle and Boommarshka napping outside in the snow. Lore wise, this is set in Snivari Territory, named for the eponymous tribe of Ailorous from The Last Snow Dragons of Altari, and where you might find Hularla’s Shrine. A 3Δ +3, it’s already got decent stats, and the ACTION is a nice bonus for dragon heavy decks: you get to draw the top card of your palette if it’s a dragon. If it’s not, it goes to the bottom of your palette, so either way, you’re getting closer to more dragons.

The rares in Draco Planum are extremely strong, however if you’re looking for pure gain to cost ratio, and not worried about additional mechanics, this is actually in a class of its own (though Vast Volitarus is to be fair almost always better value), even if it is matched by the ever popular Monastery Nest uncommon. For that reason, I could see this finding its way into competitive pure chroma palettes.

The rare for the drakes palette is Haskus:

Continuing the theme of a number of Draco rares (Fibron, Jali, Corrupted Portal, Mist Mountain), Haskus sports ±2, but for an unprecedented (in Draco) 3Δ. You need to go to Norso Planum to see that sort of deal on any other card (Brisgavi Falls and Brynhild of Brisgavi). Not only that, but when you play this character you are guaranteed to draw at least 1 card (since Haskus herself is a drake), and easily more, which is amazing value in this game. And finally being a drake, you can use Haskus to trigger Achrom Haven. Achrom definitely got the better deal with their rares here. You can now have 4 rare drakes if you really like in a palette (Fibron, Umbra Aqueous, Umbra Igneous).

Curiously, the lore on her says that “Dark intent drives her to become more than a servant to Dragons”, which hints at a racial division between drakes and dragons which I was unaware of.

Now, on to the commons and uncommons:

Senna is the first Dragon Rider to be officially spoiled, and is amazing value at 1Δ for +2. The exact workings on the MOUNT keyword hasn’t been officially clarified yet, but the suggestions are that you will be able to attach riders onto Dragons and Drakes in a not too dissimilar way you might attach objects to characters, with a few yet to be clarified differences. An anticipated difference is that you’ll be able to play this character without having to Mount a Dragon, which would make Senna much more consistent as a character. I also like that her ability allows you to mount a Drake, even though one would assume that there are no Drakes in her palette. That’s a nice touch, and more flexible for competitive palette building.

Talking of Dragons, Glynther is an elegantly simple example. No ability: just a single prevent for 1Δ. The art on this card is also beautiful. Definitely weak in competitive decks, but in precon with the MOUNT mechanic this would be much stronger.

Slythen is like the dark mirror of Glynther. Another simple introduction to playing characters, that will likely be stronger in the precon decks.

The only spoiled object, Dragon Armour has PROTECTION and prevent 1, which will be strong in precon. Probably not overly strong in constructed play, but a great introduction to the Protection mechanic for new players.

And finally, a 2 cost Action to erase a location with a Shard Value of 3 or less. Again, a pleasing intro to control cards, and a cheap one even if it is unlikely to see play in competitive decks, since there are already 2 actions in Draco that erase locations with no restriction for 2Δ (Breath of Ice and Summon the Mist). This will be able to erase Dexter’s Dwelling which means it’ll have immediate use in these decks (assuming, given the achrom shard, that this card is from the drake palette).

Overall, I’m really liking these cards. The mechanics are clean and clear. There’s obviously some power here which will creep into competitive play, but assuming the rest of the cards in the palettes hit a similar level of power and mechanics, these are going to be a great pair of decks for new and experienced players alike to battle against each other.

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