Welcome to the savage realms of Relicblade!
Metal King Studio contacted me about their indie tabletop skirmish game Relicblade, and while I don’t often have time to take on a new miniatures system, I’m very glad I said yes to this one. It looked easy to learn, fun and furious, and I’m happy to report that looks weren’t deceiving in the slightest.
In fact this is one of the best miniatures tabletop experiences I’ve had, along with The Drowned Earth and Moonstone, a fact that makes me realise that the real fun in tabletop gaming these days is to be found realms of indie and small publishers. The great thing about these games, and especially Relicblade, is that they’re quick to learn and play, and don’t make your brain explode with trying to retain several hundred special rules and modifiers. Maybe I’m getting old, but that’s a quality I definitely prefer.
Relicblade is so easy, I’m amazed it still has such great gameplay and a real sense of theme. A simple but ingenious D6 system does the trick, with target numbers clearly displayed on the cards, but the really clever thing here is that the number of actions you get each activation is measured by the actual dice you get to resolve them. Brilliant! Why has no one thought of this before? No action points, no extra tokens, and boosting a die roll takes away one of your action dice and reduces your options, so it becomes a lovely part of the decision-making process.
The wonderful art style of designer Sean Sutter (he wrote the game and sculpts the miniatures too) gives the game a really distinctive feel, and the blend of old school fantasy and interesting characters makes for a delightful experience. Not only that, this is the first miniatures game ever where I haven’t felt the need to redesign the unit cards, which proves how well done they are.
I can’t praise this game highly enough. Perfect for beginners, still interesting and exciting for oldies like me, I’m sure it will become my ‘pick up and play’ tabletop miniatures game of choice. Just watch my battle report to find out more, and download my rules and reference to check out the rules.
