10 x 10 Challenge #12: 100 Swords - Game #6

Carrying on with my 10 x 10 Challenge, it was the turn of The Blue Mammoth's Dungeon to be plundered of its loot. A dungeon deck that despite owning as long as The Red Dragon's Dungeon, I had not yet broken out other than to sleeve the cards. Since picking it up I have read a few posts over at Board Game Geek however, which suggested that when comparing the two decks side-by-side; The Blue Mammoth's Dungeon should be considered the advanced deck, which may have been why I steered clear of it initially. Using The Red Dragon's Dungeon to learn the game, before venturing into the more complex aspects of gameplay.

Feeling that I had a solid grasp of the basics now though, it was time to take off the training wheels.

How well did that go?

Well, as far as I can tell there were no errors made during gameplay and, if I'm honest the advanced deck isn't anything I couldn't have handled straight out of the box. There were a few situations where you needed to think a little harder about what you were doing, due to the timing of effects; but nothing major, and certainly nothing to intimidate the novice.

The Game

In brief, the game went a little like this..

Turn 1: Nothing of any real significance happened, but the whole dungeon was revealed due to my trademark play style; making planning for the next turn a lot easier.

Turn 2: Planning is one thing, but when you draw 5 Crappy Swords as your initial hand, you pretty much know that you're not going to be doing much that turn. The A.I however took the Laser Obelisk for 6 Gold; putting me on the back foot, and playing catch up.

Turn 3: I managed to take 2 Tempo Swords in this round, which as the game progressed I found to be incredibly useful for thinning out my deck. Something that I always found the Wither Sword was particularly poor at. The dungeon was also stripped bare in this round, with only one card remaining; which had also been revealed.

Turn 4: Not much to report in this round, other than the dungeon being completely revealed again.

Turn 5: I accidentally retired one of Tempo swords in this round (when a Tempo Sword is played, it retires a card in your deck; and the only card left in my deck was my other Tempo Sword). It wasn't all bad in this turn however, as I acquired a Combo Sword which I used to top-deck a Key Sword that I had previously looted. This was critical as I had just revealed a door, and without my turn would have been over. Instead I found myself with an extra trophy! Score!!

Turn 6: Another turn with nothing worth writing home about, which when compared to the previous turn really stood out as an anti-climax.

Turn 7: Another slow turn, with the only event of note being the revelation of the Pink Eye; which in turn revealed the rest of the dungeon.

Turn 8: I quite literally couldn't do anything this turn due to a poor draw. Having nothing that could deal with the Pink Eye that was now blocking the way, or any of the other threats on the dungeon.. Which I think is actually a first! Usually you can do something, even if you have to use rental items. Not this time though.

Turn 9: This turn I managed to slay the Pink Eye in the dungeon, but that was about all.

Turn 10: This turn I acquired the Bow Sword, which looked to be a very powerful sword. Alas, I did not get to use it as my last reveal unveiled the boss; which the A.I promptly took, ending the game.

Win, lose, or draw?

I took a loss on this one, trailing 30 Gold to the A.I's 36. A difference exactly the value of the boss, so this would appear to be another instance where the player that slays the boss, wins the game. Something that I believe happened in an earlier play through of The Red Dragon's Dungeon.

Afterthoughts

I cannot deny that I am impressed with The Blue Mammoth's Dungeon. Whilst it doesn't make any groundbreaking changes to the system, the little things that it does add are done well. Cards like the Tempo Sword for example, which have a one-shot effect when you take them, but then do something else completely different for the rest of the game.

This and other subtle little tweaks combine to create a gaming experience that mirrors the other dungeon deck well, creating a feeling of consistency; whilst not mimicking it so closely as for it to feel like more of the same with a different paint job.

In short, good stuff!