Over the last year or so, we’ve had the opportunity to unbox some incredible trading card game sets from some incredible companies, and most recently, we’ve been sent two starter decks for Altered: Beyond the Gates, by EQUINOX. A blue Ordis Deck, featuring Sigismar, the Commander, and a red Bravos deck, led by Kojo, the Rising Star.

Considering the somewhat small size of the packaging, they hold a significant number of components. Each deck is made of a total of 40 playable cards, with our aforementioned Hero, eight rare cards, and thirty-one common cards. Players will also find a further six Token cards, five Adventure cards, two Player Aid cards, a Foiler card, a New Player card, and fifteen markers, and to help you dive right in, there’s also a paper playmat and a rulebook. That’s quite an impressive list of contents for such a small box.

As with all trading card games, the artwork is immaculate, really delivering on the themes they’re trying to portray, and the easiest way to describe it would be “Americanised Anime,” or something like Avatar: The Last Airbender. It’s a brilliant mix of characters in heroic and charming poses, with the whole card sharing a similar colour palette to the deck’s main colour and not inundating you with walls of text and special rules.

There are a total of six factions available for play, including the two mentioned previously. Axiom, the brown cards; Lyra, the pink cards; Muna, the green cards; and Yzmir, the purple cards. While I was only able to check out the Bravos and Ordis faction’s cards, each faction has its own distinct theme and styling.

Unlike other trading card games, which traditionally revolve around combat, Altered offers a unique and modern experience. Players will select a hero and a faction before leading their expedition into a world reshaped by imagination and dreams, and rather than fighting off your opponent, it’s a race to victory. Games are fast-paced and ever-changing, with lightning-fast rounds and cards that never stay in play for more than a couple of rounds, and players will need to adopt new strategies as cards return from reserves. The whole concept sounds incredibly exciting.

With over 500 playable cards, players can keep track of what they have by using the Altered Companion App, available for both Android and iOS, and it offers some unique features. Most importantly, it is a way to digitally back up your collection. By scanning your cards into the app, your collection is available whenever and wherever you are, allowing you to build your deck and share your winning lists. In the unfortunate event that something should happen to your prized cards, the Altered Companion App even allows you to order replacement prints, and these can be printed in your preferred language, really opening the system up to players around the world, and it would certainly come in handy for the biggest surprise of all. Players can use the companion app to buy, sell and trade cards from their collection, meaning you’ll be able to sell and source cards from around the world.

After opening the two starter boxes we were sent, I’m excited to see what else may be in store for the Altered trading card game. Amazing artwork makes up the bulk of the card, and the text detailing each character’s rules is short and to the point. As a game that promises to be quick to play, I can see it becoming a very popular game to play during a school or work lunchbreak, and having the ability to create a digital backup of your favourite cards, as well buy, sell, and trade them around the world, there’s really no reason to not start collecting.

Written by: Mathew Lindner