Image taken from https://boardgamegeek.com/image/8939574/elemental-clash

Designer: Matthew Caron
Publisher: DarkDragon Entertainment
Artist: Garau Game Studio

As always with preview copies, I must thank Matt and the DarkDragon Entertainment team for sending us a prototype of the game for honest feedback and a review. So, thank you! We really appreciate it! And thank you for being so responsive to our original reach-out and our follow-up questions (sometimes we overthink things…). Also, everything pictured and discussed here is subject to change.

Let’s start with how this one plays, then we can get into thoughts and opinions. To start, each player draws seven cards from the deck to form their starting hand. If all cards are Alphas or all cards are Omegas, the player can discard and then refresh any number of cards.

From their seven cards, each player selects one card to be their Clasher. This is their main battler for the round and plays it face down in front of them. The only parts of this card that matter are the value and element; none of the effects will be utilized that round in play. Then, each player also chooses cards to form a fusion for their clasher. A fusion can consist of an Alpha and an Omega card or two Alpha cards and a Zenith card. The Alphas typically have a sacrifice-type effect for the player while the Omegas are typically beneficial. The Zenith cards have abilities that (after played) become continual in the game until that card gets replaced. From our experience, these seem to be more directly negative to an opponent or opponent(s). These fusion cards get placed face down below your Clasher.

After all players have selected their Clasher and fusion cards, the fusion cards get revealed starting with the player to the left of the previous winner (or dealer for the first round). When playing an Alpha/Omega pair, the Alpha effects get resolved first followed by the Omega. If the fusion is an Alpha/Alpha/Zenith, the Alpha cards still occur first and the Zenith gets resolved at the time the card describes as it’s a permanent (well, semi-permanent) ability. Fusion reveals occur until each player going clockwise has performed all fusions and related effects.

Note that the bottom effect on the Golem is supposed to say Alpha instead of Omega.

Once all fusions have been utilized, players simultaneously flip their Clasher over and compare values. Besides the printed value on the card, there are a few options for point modification depending on the elements in play as well as the strength of the fusion combinations. There is an elemental hierarchy that can add two bonus points to a Clasher’s score if they have a direct advantage over an opponent. Some fusions also have “if then” conditions where if a certain criterion is met, additional points can be added to the Clasher’s score.

After total Clasher strengths are calculated, the winner takes all Clasher’s and adds them to their win pile. If there’s a tie, the players gain their own Clasher and those who did not tie discard their Clashers. At any point, cards can be played from a player’s win pile to form fusions, but they can also remain in the pile until the conclusion of the game. Once one player has two sets of four cards in their win pile, they have succeeded in defeating all enemies! Note: these two sets aren’t just any two sets. You have to either have four cards of the same element or one of each element to count as a set.

Once the Clasher phase is over, assuming no one has won the game, each player draws back up to seven cards in hand. If you have more than seven cards already, you do not draw any additional cards. Then play continues until the winner is crowned.

So, what did we think of this one?

First, as you may have seen in other reviews for this game, this is a really solid choice for those that enjoy CCGs like Yu-Gi-Oh. The extra nice part of this one is there’s no upkeep in terms of creating decks, having to continually purchase cards, etc., but you still get the same feeling.

Here’s what we liked about Elemental Clash:
1) The (mostly) simultaneous game play means there’s minimal down time. It’s a very tactical and dynamic game, so there’s a lot to keep players engaged.
2) There are some interesting and clever design choices in this game. The Alpha/Omega negative/positive interaction in neat, as is the option to play an Alpha/Alpha/Zenith combination. The Zenith cards in general are also really cool and can significantly impact the game. The fact that they remain in play is also a fun twist.
3) Some of the cards have intriguing abilities with effects that can be unique. From our experiences, it can be difficult to get a good combo, but it’s a great feeling when you do, and it’s fun to puzzle out the best combination of cards to play each round.
4) The rules are pretty simple and straightforward. The game is easy to teach; there are only a few details and caveats that need to be remembered.
5) The artwork is adorable! Some cards repeat animals/creatures, but regardless, the artistic representations of each are really beautiful and add to the experience of the game.
6) Not nearly as important as the others, but the magnetic storage box is quite nice!

Here are a few critiques from our perspective:
1) There is a substantial amount of luck involved with this one. There is definitely strategy in terms of when to play cards and in what combination, but a lot of that is contingent on the quality of your hand of cards and if you can form decent fusion sets.
2) Even if you don’t include the multiples of certain cards, quite a few of the abilities are similar and therefore can get repetitive. It decreases our desire (overall) to keep playing, as it seems there’s not much more to discover (necessarily). There is a lot of inherent variability, though, in terms of combinations that can be created!
3) Some of the powers/abilities seem a little overpowered and/or not powerful enough. Depending on the cards you draw, there can be some turns that are quite unbalanced.
4) Overall, there’s nothing particularly original or noteworthy that makes this game stand out. The design of the fusion mechanic is quite unique in its presentation and functionality, but the effects part is pretty standard for most card games. It’s fun, especially if you enjoy these types of games, and it’s well priced, but it’s not really very exciting. Each round you just play cards from your hand to try to win, but you can only strategize as much as the cards allow.

And here are some points that are neither positive nor negative, they’re just things that we think are worth discussing and pointing out:
1) The elemental comparison that can create the bonus advantage between clashers is really cool but it’s hard to keep up with. Literally every battle I had to go back to the rules and check the order. While somewhat intuitive, it’s not sensible enough to my brain to be easy to memorize. Maybe there could be a reference card or something with the elemental advantage order on it?
2) This game is more enjoyable at higher player counts. It’s still a fun experience at two, but there are multiple aspects of this game that are better with more players. For example, many cards allow you to choose an opponent, which is automatically less enjoyable at two because there isn’t a decision to make. Also, when one person pulls ahead, it’s difficult to catch up when it’s only two players, where a three plus player game balances that out some. The elemental advantage comparison is significantly more interesting with more players as it’s not only one element vs. the other as it is in a two-player game. Basically, there is a lot of player interaction here, so higher player counts will just be more fun and interestingly chaotic. Some nuances of the game are also different at higher player counts, like gathering three or four Clashers in a round instead of just two if you win.
3) It’s a little basic. For some, that could be good, like those that want an easy game with almost nonexistent set up and take down time, or someone wanting to get their kids for family into this type of game. For more experienced gamers, though, this may be a little too unstimulating.

There you have it, folks! That’s Elemental Clash in a nutshell. Hopefully this helps you decide if this game is for you. Regardless, you should go check it out on Kickstarter; it still has quite a bit of time left and the page has some good additional information. There’s also a free mini expansion to investigate! 👀