All of Chapter 1 is now packaged up in booster packs. This opens up the option for playing Achroma Draft, a play format where players open up packs of cards, and use them to build palettes for doing battle.
I’ve tried out Achroma Draft with several people, including new and experienced players. While it has been fun, I’ve found a few issues:
The number of characters players are likely to draft is relatively low;
There are a number of abilities (such as cards that target particular character types) which are dead in the format;
The number of control cards is extremely low.
To solve these problems, I created and designed a custom Draft Kit (a solution used in other card games to fix similar issues), with some help from fellow community member Antinomy. When drafting, players would have access to these cards and could add them to their palette. Here are my cards:
For these cards, I’ve tried to keep within the limits of Achroma lore, while also creating realmless cards that really support the multi-Realm Draft format.
Drakontes were guard creatures from Greek myth, and often were poisonous. Appropriately, Drakontes serves the purpose of protecting your key characters, thanks to a combination of DEFEND and POISONOUS. You can of course dispatch an opponent’s Drakontes without harming your character if you have a 3 strength object, and because they cannot attack they cannot be used aggressively.
HAIM Operatives show up when you’re least expecting, and this character does the same. Providing a handy target for any REVEAL effects you draft, as well as DIG to keep your other characters around longer. Similarly, Shapeshifter provides a target for cards that rely on character types to trigger, such as Magus Elite Detective, Draco Fledgling, or Achrom Factory.
My last character is Lost Realm Runner is simple and flexible character that rewards you for having cards from across multiple Realms.
The location in my kit is Hidden Portal, which provides a little bit of consistency to your palette, allowing you to hopefully REVEAL a key card, so long as you pick the correct Realm.
And finally, Tornado offers some much needed control. While this card cannot erase the opponent’s key cards, it can slow them down considerably, and temporarily remove characters that otherwise would threaten to attack next turn.
In order to test these cards out, I’ve had them printed, and here’s how they look. I love how they’ve come out. They have the feel of an Achroma card, but look suitably different, mostly thanks to their borderless design, which make it clear that these are not an official product.
I’ve tested these cards out in Draft and they were very successful. The games felt well balanced. I allowed players to choose a maximum of 6 cards to draft from a pile that consisted of 2 of each of these cards. That way players chose whichever cards best filled in the gaps, and kept their opponent guessing as to which cards they’d chosen.
One final touch: I also had keyword glossary cards printed: a set of 3 cards that between them contained every single keyword from Achroma Chapter I. I simplied the definitions a little to only show the pertinent details.
These were fantastically useful, and meant my less experienced opponents were able to work out what all their cards did without having to constantly give away which cards they were drafting.
I’d love it if Realm Runner Studios made something like this an official product. Not only would it provide support for the format, but it could also add new cards to the game for constructed play.
Next time you’re ordering achroma products, please use the discount code dracotemple at checkout on the achroma webstore for 10% off all orders, including pre-orders. By using this code, you are also supporting me, as I earn commission on any sales using this code.
Draco Temple 