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Elder Scrolls Legends...
A relict from a time, when Hearthstone reigned the card-game-scene, and better competitors had to close their gates sooner or later, as they did not manage to generate income.
I remember, well how torn this situation made me:
I love card-games, and was extremelly grateful, that they had finally made their breakthrough into the esports-scene. But, at the same time, Blizzard exploited their monopol merciless, and locked Hearthstone behind a heavy and neverending paywall.
Then, Bethesda, the Behemoth behind the Elder-Scrolls series, announced, that they would release their own CCG, and the hype was unbelievable...
I started Elder Scrolls Legends from the very first day. It looked better than Hearthstone, had more mechanics and more depth, had better rewards, the beautiful soundtrack from the Elder Scrolls games (f.e. Morrowind), and had a way better atmosphere (imo).
What set the game apart from every other CCG, was a battlefield, that is divided into two separate lanes, where battles were fought mostly independant from another. Additonaly, there was a clever rune-mechanic, that let players draw cards for every 5hp lost (once), and if the drawn card had a certain keyword, you could play it directly for free, which added another layer of complexity.
I loved the game, played it everyday, and made it pretty high into the ladder.
And yet, there were downsides, that restrained the experience:
Most important, the card-pool was small, and everybody was playing the same couple of decks. Which became repetitive over time. And, that the balance wasnt finetuned, didnt make it any better.
Additionally, progress was painfully slow. Not Hearthstone-slow, but still a nightmare for f2p-players...
And, as time went by, i switched to other genres, and forgot about Elder Scrolls Legends...
Many years later, i was, once again, in the mood to play a good card-game, and tried all CCG's that i found on Google Play. And, just like with the amazing Gwent, i was incredibly surprised, that Elder Scrolls Legends is still online and actively played.
And, not only that: there are lots of new cards to experiment with, and the balancing has been overworked. Additionally, the game is more generous than ever, and with active playing, even a new player will grow his collection fast.
But... Not everything that has happened since my time has been positive. Three-colour decks have been added, and several crazy multi-color-cards as well. Which has made owning certain keycards much more impactful than before, and skill become much less relevant.
Additionally, control-matches take forever, as nobody wants to give the opponent an edge by breaking his runes, and i have had matches, that lasted longer than an hour, and where both players just waited for their super-cards...
Concluding, Elder Scrolls Legends is among the best card games that remain on mobile, and is definitely worth a try...
On a sidenote:
For those who are already enjoying it, i have an interesting anecdote:
Do you remember the statement of the lead-developer, in which he spoke about somebody who spent 1000 Euro into the game, and how bad he felt about it?
I was this person...
Within 2 hours, and under the influence of alcohol, i spent the outcome of a whole month of work, just to build the deck that i had in mind. When i realized what i had done on the next morning, i almost got a heart-attack, and keep doing so, whenever i think about it...
On the other hand, rewards have been considerably raised for everybody, because i had spent that crazy amount, so i guess i can accredit my mistake on my karma-account... 😅
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