Are You Prepared for Combat?

The banners are up. The crowd is hungry. Somewhere beneath the stands, a gate is about to open.

What are you bringing into the arena?

We asked our playtesters to share their impressions of Trial by Combat. The answers kept getting more interesting. Familiar cards are finding new partners. Deck ideas are getting another look. The placement of a Wonder, the classes on a card, and the opportunities in an adjacent realm are giving players plenty to think about before the next clash.

Bendless captured the setting’s appeal simply: “Existence and CoTS were great, but now it really feels like we’re somewhere.”

That somewhere is a world built for competition. Different arenas. Shifting momentum. A chance for the unlikely contender to become the Wonder everyone remembers.

And the excitement reaches well beyond the newest cards.

Across the feedback, players kept returning to the connections between Trial by Combat, Existence, and Call of the Stones. Old favorites are coming back into the conversation alongside new combinations. Faith and Devout have players brewing. Tokens are attracting fresh attention. Class synergies have people looking through their collections for the next piece of a deck.

Brotun described those connections as “magical moments of synergy that make every match feel whole and alive.”

There’s also a challenge running through the enthusiasm: pay attention. Players called out positioning, adjacent realms, Walkout, and Spectacle as reasons to look more closely at the world in front of them. Every card placed is another decision. Every new interaction is another possibility to explore.

The wish lists are already forming. jayfire88 has an eye on Purify. Loko4 called out Corsair’s Skyhook. Bendless is eager to see what players do with City of Immortals. Constructed decks are being imagined, limited play is drawing excitement, and the conversations keep producing another “what if?”

Kleeter’s verdict after retesting for WondersOnline was one word: “FUN.”

The competitive story will unfold when more players get their hands on the set. For now, these early impressions offer plenty of reasons to pull out your collection, revisit that unfinished deck, and bring an idea of your own to the arena.

The next champion could be waiting in your binder.

Welcome to Trial by Combat