Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Duel at Mt. Skullzfyre
Please be aware this card game might not be suitable for all gamers. The rulebook uses strong language and many of the cards contain artwork of graphic violence, strong language and crude humor that some might consider inappropriate.
Overview
Nothing warms you up for a night of gaming like an insane wizard duel to death. This is a filler game that accomplishes awesome. It’s fast, epic, fun where even if you die pathetically it’s the raddest magical death you’ll ever experience.
The Artwork
Warning: Extreme cartoon violence (which we are not showing in this review). May not be suitable for young children.
The artwork is totally insane. Anyone with the heart and soul of rowdy 15-year-old boy will love it. It could be described as Adventure Time meets Ren & Stimpy, and let’s be honest that may be over the top for some people.
However, while some may find the game’s artwork strange, perhaps obscene, the skill level of the illustrations are exceptional. In fact I think the artwork of all Cryptozoic games are a cut above the norm.
Gameplay Overview
Players assume the role of a Battle Wizard and fight to death in an insane tournament of sorcery. There will be several rounds of glorious battle. The goal is to collect 2 ‘Last Wizard Standing’ tokens, these can only be earned if you’re the last one alive after all your opponents have been obliterated.
1. Set Up
Players choose a Wizard Hero Card and are dealt a hand of 8 cards from the Spell Deck.The wizard cards do not have variable player powers, but I think it’s a good thing. Fewer rules keep the game flow from getting too bogged down.
What the cards do have are bizarre characters with ridiculous names, like Fey Tickle Bottom, and are used to track hit points. The hero wizards basically add flavor text because to be truly awesome you should read off spells in that character’s persona – duh.
2. Cast a Spell
Simultaneously players select spell cards from their arsenal to conjure an incantation made up of 1, 2, or 3 cards. The 3 types of spell cards are Source, Quality, and Delivery; you can tell which type you have by looking at the nameplate banner.
The number of cards in a spell and the delivery card’s initiative determines which wizard’s spell will go off first. Obviously having the highest initiative in your incantation is not only hardcore but could potentially destroy another wizard before he has a chance to do any damage – what a looser.
There will be dice rolling, sweet treasure, and some major ‘pwnage’.
3. Dead Wizard Deck
A cool game mechanic is that if you die in battle the game is not over for you. Defeated wizards get to draw from the dead wizard deck and rack up bonuses for the next round of battle. Dead wizards can even wreak havoc on the current battle from the after life. This mechanic not only adds an extra level strategy but keeps the losers from getting bored while they wait for the true champion to be declared.
Who would enjoy this?
Strategy vs. Luck
Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards is easy to learn but takes some strategy. Spell initiative is the key strategic element — Is it better to make a weaker 2-card spell in order to go first? Or should you hold out and deliver a devastating 3-card spell?
This game is random but I’d call it ‘good random’. You’re at the mercy of the cards you’re dealt but it totally doesn’t matter because the joy of unleashing a Maggoty Gore-nado in your opponents face is so satisfying.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve ever tried the card game Creatures, Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards is similar but in my opinion more exciting. Correspondingly, the artwork in Creatures is not as intense.
If you’re ready for an all out wizard smack down with exploding carcasses and bloody entrails this game is ridiculous fun.
User Reviews (15)
Add a Review for "Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Duel at Mt. Skullzfyre"
You must be logged in to add a review.
I walked into forbidden planet the other day and found this. I’ve been having quite a lot of fun with it ever since!
Gameplay:
To get the first thing out of the way, yes this game does rely a fair amount on luck. However, if you can get over that, there is a fair amount of thinking involved as well with the biggest combo you can pull off with your current hand. The game is quite forgiving to those doing badly, as when you die you get a dead wizard card, which will help at the start of the next round by giving extra life, or more cards.
Art:
The art for this game is fantastic. If you like shows like Adventure Time and Regular Show, you will probably like the art style for this game. If you line up all the cards you play, they all merge together into one long card, even with borders which is a very nice touch.
Pieces:
The cards are all quite high quality and the backs are very nice to start with, there’s no chance of ever mixing them up. The manual is very detailed, has a quick referral guide on the back and has some setting fluff as well. The character cards, while silly, are all very well produced and amusing.
The dice are very nice quality, as are all the Last Wizard Standing tokens and the life counters. The mountain standee that’s included is quite pointless, but does add a little amusement for the first little bit.
I would highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a fun sidetrack between sessions of any other game they’re playing, as it tends to go for about half an hour or so. I would recommend 3 or more players though, as the dead wizard cards and some of the effects don’t work quite as well with only 2 players.
I would like to start off by saying that for this game to be fun, you are going to need to be willing to feed into the zaniness. This means using an exaggerated dramatic voice to say the name of your spell, speaking in the third person with the name of your character, that sort of thing. If you and your group are looking for a more laid back, serious card game, this isn’t it. I don’t drink and I enjoy the game, but I would certainly say that drinking wouldn’t hurt. One last disclaimer, this game isn’t for children. The depictions, while cartoony to the extreme, are graphically violent and there is profanity sprinkled in among the cards. You have been warned.
You open the box and you will find 199 different cards, several tokens, 4 six sided dice, 8 hero cards and one cardboard stand-up of Mt. Slullzfyre, the latter being absolutely useless except for ambiance. The art on everything is South Park quality cartoon stills. This may put some off, so I recommend looking at the box or the rulebook before purchase. What you see is what you’re getting. I have no complaints about the overall quality of the contents of the box, although the instructions can be a bit tiresome to read. It is one thing to use a stilted font on a game like this, it is quite another to have the size and lines change mid-statement.
Everybody picks a wizard. They have names such as Zanzabart the **** Genie, Lady Lazervere of the Space Kingdom, Princess Holiday & her Furicorn and Fey Ticklebottom the Enchanter. You choice doesn’t really matter since there are no character specific powers so pick whichever one makes you laugh.
Everybody picks 8 cards and then at the same time build their spells face down. There are three types of spell components you build your spell from; A Source, Quality and Delivery. You can build your spell from one to three cards consisting of no more than one of each of the spell types. Players who played one card go first, two cards second and three cards third. The delivery of a spell has a number on it that determines initiative. The higher the number, the sooner your turn. If there is no delivery card, initiative is considered 0. Ties are determined by die roll.
Each card in the spell indicates that something should happen. Damage may be caused to a player on your right or left, randomly or to strongest/weakest. if you have a specific target, care needs to be taken that you choose cards that will damage that player, so there is a strategic component to the game. This though is mitigated in that if your target was the strongest opponent when you built your spell, there is no guarantee they will remain so when your turn comes up. Delivery cards generally tell you to roll dice to get x/y/z result. Each spell component has a different magical glyph, arcane, dark, elemental, etc. Each glyph in your spell that matches the glyph on the delivery generally gets you another die to roll to determine the delivery’s result.
The names of the cards are pretty crazy, and you are encouraged to read the spell when it is cast. You then end up with combinations such as “Bleemax Braniac’s – Mysterious – Fist O Nature” or “Muzzlesnap’s -Ballsy – Testikill” for example.
The spell may also cause you to get a treasure card or cause someone to loose or gain one. Treasure cards often increase the power of your spells by adding dice to the power rolls, acting as an addition glyph of a certain color in any spell or cause damage to another player when they play certain types of spells.
You may also end up with a Wild Magic card, which can be played as a wild in place of any spell component. When resolving that part of the spell you draw from the draw deck until you end up with that component and add it to your spell. This can allow you to play components that were not available in your hand or let you take a chance on scoring a card with a glyph you wanted to play but didn’t possess.
Each player has 20 life, and it often disappears pretty quickly. It isn’t unusual for three rounds to go by for a winner to be declared. The winner, who killed everyone else, gets a “Last Wizard Standing” token. The ultimate goal is for one player to get two of these tokens to be declare the overall winner. However, when you die, you get a random “Dead Wizard” card. This card gives you some kind of boost the next game, be it additional hit points, larger hand size or a treasure card to start. This results in whoever got the Last Wizard Standing token last game to be the weakest wizard this time round. I would plan on a full game taking half an hour to an hour.
So, basically what you have here is a card game light on strategy and heavy on sophomoric humor, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you take the game as seriously as it takes itself, you will have a good time.
This is a cracking game to play, easy to learn and fun as well. Now plenty of games say that they are these things and as we all know they lie, but this game is these things.
The art of the cards sums up just what you are getting an irreverant game that pokes fun at all the serious fantasy card games that are on the market. Now there is nothing wrong with the serious card games out there, I enkoy them as much as anyone. However if you want a game that isnt going to task the grey matter too much (if at all)fancy reading out some insane spells and being mean and smashing your opponents all at the same time then this is the game to consider.
A word of warning though, for some reason the designers have used an awful lot of bad language and I mean serious bad language in the rule book. Not in the actual how to play section itself, but in the introduction and there is no need for it. In my opinion its not clever and its not even funny.
The game itself has cards with cartoon violence on it, but that is no problem to me. We all know that its cartoon violence its a cartoon. Some have got sniffy at the cards but I dont worry about that, the humour for the most part is simple but fun. Now that works for me, but may not be everyones cup of tea if your looking to play with young children.
The mechanics of the game are simple and while there is an element of strategy it isnt realy that big a thing and anyone over the age of 8 could grasp how to play in minutes.
All in all a real fun game only spoiled by the bad language in the handbook, and why they have to write like so kind of surfer dude is beyond me. Its a game I want to know what its about not that your trying to be hip and trendy, so cut it out and get back to real English please. Whinge over, sorry.
Buy it! enjoy it! ignore the stupid language.
Epic Spell Wars is as wild and wacky as the “colorful” artwork that is displayed through the entire game. As a Battle Wizard duking it out on the wastelands of Mount Skullzfyre, your objective is to be the last wizard standing after wiping out every one of your opponents with a truly explosive spell!
ESW is a card game where by playing a Source, Quality or Delivery card, or any combination of the three from your hand to create a spell, the damage you deal could end up targeting a single wizard, multiple wizards, or everyone at the table. Strategy is employed based on how many cards you decide to play or by the initiative value found on the Delivery cards if everyone happens to lay down the same amount of cards from their hand. The game is simple to learn and once you cast your first spell, get ready for the fun to begin – the results are simply chaotic, as you blast away at your foes left, right and center. On the flip side you may end up biting the dust before you get to cast your own deadly spell – one moment you may be at a healthy 18 HP, and then the next you’re pushing daisies, as sometimes that’s just the way the game goes.
Hardcore strategy gamers beware! While there can be some LIGHT tactics applied to this game it is mostly overruled by the random nature of the spell targeting mechanics. Even if you were to lay a single card down in order to be the first to play, the chances of you taking anyone down are very slim. However, because of the fast nature of each game, players who are eliminated will not be left out for too long, and they also benefit from gaining Dead Wizard Cards that come into effect during the next round. Good things come to even those who are dead in this game!
Overall, Epic Spell Wars is an light and enjoyable game that is sure to appeal to those looking for something casual to play. It’s fun to see what crazy spell combo every player creates as they announce it in their best wizard’s voice and it’s even more fun to see who ends up claiming the bragging rights of being the Ultimate Battle Wizard!
When I saw Wil Wheaton play this on Table Top, I knew Epic Spell Wars would be a hit with my game group. In particular one person who has the most aggressive playing style I’ve ever seen. At times near-Kamikaze.
Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Duel at Mt Skullzfyre (ESWotBW:DaMS) is a riot and may even cause one.
So much laughter around the table that I don’t care if I win or lose. And it can get nasty as you can get taken down most of your 20 hit points in one turn.
I love the “Dead Wizard” cards that allow players who have succumbed early to come back the next round a little more powerful. The treasure cards add another layer of spell-slinging goodness.
Be warned though, the art and theme is too mature for the little ones.
Pros:
Amazing art work and card text
Very little feels broken in this game (but, see Dead Wizard comment below)
You will laugh and enjoy meting out damage
You will laugh (sort of) as you are severely damaged. The amount of wreckage that can pile onto you in one turn can be astounding. Last game I played, I was knocked down 17 of my 20 hit points. 17 man!
Cons:
Too graphic and raunchy for some (have to say that I don’t care for the vaguely racist Jung Jung)
While great one can collect Dead Wizard cards if defeated early, there can be too much down-time for some players beaten up towards the start of the round.
Verdict:
Gather your friends, pop a few beers, throw on the Scorpions and Iron Maiden, and get ready to rumble.
Epic Spell Wars is a great little game that creates a good casual balance of Skill vs Luck that makes it a fun warm up game for a games night or for when your and your friends don’t have enough time to jump into anything too time consuming.
The game mechanics though simple are actually quite clever, players play several rounds of creating spells and blasting other players. These rounds then make up a match that ends when there is only one wizard left alive, the surviving wizard gets a point and a new match begins. However what makes this simple game really clever are the dead wizard cards that players draw at the start of each round once they die these cards then provide the player with advantages in the next match. This mechanic helps to decrease the chance of a player being ganged up on and wiped out early into the match as it would only increase his or her advantage at the start of the next one.
Epic Spell Wars boasts some great art that looks like it came out of shows like Rick and Morty or Adventure Time, one of the great pleasures of this game is seeing what each card looks like and how the spell will look when it’s all put together.
Epic Spell Wars is fun, quick, and easy enough that players can learn the rules in a few seconds and definitely worth looking into next time you want one of those games that can inspire yours and your friends sense of humour.
Epic Spell Wars is a very simple game to learn and play. Each spell has 3 components, a source, delivery, and quality. You can build a spell using up to one of each of these pieces. Also, each part of the spell has an element attached to it. The more of the elements that match the more die you get to roll when the time comes to give your opponents extra damage. You can end up picking up treasures that boost your game along the way. The goal is to be the last Wizard standing on Mt. Skullzfyre. Kill your opponents to gain the last Wizard standing token. Get two and you’ve won the game! Very simple playing.
The artwork and names of the spells are a lot of fun. Gore-nados and Testikills are two of my favorites along with the Double-downer treasure. If you are looking for something serious to play the name should have warned you otherwise. This game is NOT for the hardcore or serious gamer. It is lighthearted fun.
Even though you are killing each other off the game never seems to get personal as Munchkin or other stab your partner games can be. First, you are against everyone so you want everyone else to die. Second, spells tend to target a specific person in relation to your physical position or health. It never seems as if the group is picking on an individual for no reason Third, there is a lot of luck involved (die rolls, draws, etc) which lightens some of the blame. This keeps the game fun and not personal. Also, death is not the end as Last Wizard Standing cards are given out for each round someone is dead. These give a boost in the next round or damage an opponent in the current game for sweet sweet revenge.
The game is best taken in small rounds until there is a winner. It probably cannot fill a whole night on its own. It is a great way to end an evening with a fun bang or to fill time between games or while waiting for the pizza to show up. Also, don’t forget to set up the Mt. Skullzfyre prop. It is half the fun!
OK. First, the name is unwieldy. Second, there is a lot of VERY mature language in the rule book and some hormonal teen humor in the name of some of the cards. But, looking past that, Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Duel at Mt. Skullzfyre is one of the most fun, most laugh-inducing games, drawing the players in quickly with its simple ruleset, fast gameplay and pure tongue-in-cheek playability.
The game: You have a hand of eight cards. From those cards, you can choose 1, 2 or 3 of them to combine into a spell designed to totally eviscerate your opponents. A spell can be made up of a single Source (the magician who came up with the spell and is being lauded for it), Quality (a portion that inflicts some traumatic effect on the target(s)), and the Delivery (which determines the damage the target(s) will take). You can only have one of each in your attack unless you have a card that says you can do otherwise. The object is to twixe be the last wizard standing.
Strategy is almost non-existent, with the only true strategic element of this game is whether to perform a 1, 2 or 3 part spell. Whoever uses the least number of cards in their attack gets to play first. So, if you’re low on health or you have opponents who are about to be destroyed, you will want to play fewer cards in hopes to attack them before they have the chance to attack you. Otherwise, it’s coming up with card combos that will quickly and painfully destroy your competition. For instanc, I ended up going last on the opening round of the second turn of the game I demo’d at my FLGS the other night. By the time it came to my turn, I was down to one hit point left (out of 20) and was out of the game so fast it made my head spin.
But boy did we have fun and have a good laugh over the combos created that wreaked so much havoc on my poor wizard, aptly named Fey Tinklebottom!
Pros:
Quick and easy to learn
Fast gameplay (games won’t last more than 40 minutes for the most part)
Comical, whimsical artwork
Cons:
Comical, whimsical artwork that has a cartoonish goriness
Some teenage hormonal sexual innuendo/play on words text on the cards
EXTREMELY adult language in the rule book. (Personally, I don’t see the reason for using that type of language in the rule book.)
If you’re looking for a light filler game, one that can be enjoyed by a fun-loving, albeit more mature (age-wise) group, you should definitely check out ESWOTBW:DAMS. If you like tongue-in-cheek card games, you should definitely check out ESWOTBW:DAMS. Actually….just check out this game. You won’t regret it. Just skip the first two pages in the rule book because it contains offensive, inappropriate and unnecessarily foul language.
———————
We have played this game numerous times now and have found that it’s best played with 3 or 4. We have played two 6 person games and the really drags out. One game lasted over 1.5 hours, the other we quit after an hour and fifteen minutes (during the third round) when it looked like a third person was going to get the Last Wizard Standing token. Just too many playing and it got a little stale.
This is a stupid game…not opinion, it really is a ridiculous and stupid game. It doesn’t have any redeeming mechanics or strategy. It’s a simple luck of the draw and placing cards. But, my God, why is it so **** fun!?!
Epic Spell Wars….is a draw from the deck card game and play 3 cards from your hand per turn. Yes, there are some simple rules in addition and what you might call “strategy”, but it’s basically playing one of each card type: “Source”, “Quality”, and “Delivery” cards that most appeal to your liking, either due to artwork, name, or you happen to like it’s effect, with the later being of lower priority.
In essence, it’s like a multi-deck game of War. I don’t mean “war” as a general term, I mean “War” as in the card game you played as a child. And that game would be very boring for 20-30-something year olds to be playing around a dinner table. Yet somehow, Epic Spell Wars…a game directly related to “War” in its play-style is extremely entertaining around a dinner table of 20-30-something year olds.
What is it about this game that makes it so “good”? Okay, firstly, it’s not a good game, it’s pretty terrible, but it is enjoyable and really fun. Perhaps the charm of the game really wins people over. I’ll agree the artwork is in that 80s style and almost “Adventure Time”-ish, rock ‘n roll sort of thing going on. But not everyone likes that style, I frankly hate it. It could be because the game is easy to pick up and everyone is an “expert” after the first round, but that’s the same as “War”. Maybe it’s just entertaining to play with friends and eliminate them one-by-one, again “War”, but yes Epic Spell Wars…does this a lot quicker.
My guess is that Epic Spell Wars…is able to be so fun because it has enough of that “party game” factor without having to be a party game. The game is specifically designed to be fast: pick three cards using the acronym S.Q.D. and place them in front of you. So, rounds fly by pretty quickly, even a 5 player game will last only 10-20 minutes; if more, then you’re doing something wrong. The game even rewards impatience by supplying eliminated players with “Dead Wizard Cards”, which are power-ups to be played on the next game to eliminated players given to them when eliminated and every subsequent rounds their sitting around waiting for the next game to start. You won’t be waiting long, as by the time one player is eliminated, the remaining wizards are also dead that round or most are on their last legs.
My thought regarding Epic Spell Wars…is that it spends less time worrying about being a decent card game, and really just focuses on entertaining the crowd. No one really walks away from this game with any stories of great triumph (or loss), since nothing has been really invested into the game, ie Casual Gamer paradise. No gain, no loss, great filler. Frankly, it’s my guilty pleasure game, that gets me a little giddy inside whenever a visitor to our game group asks, “What’s that?” Often times I play this with coworkers on our lunch break, great fun.
Conclusion: Stupid game, internal conflict within as to why I like it, really great for a laugh.
I’ll preface this by saying I have three board/card gaming groups my wife and I play with. The game was introduced to us, we bought a copy. We introduced it to the other two groups and another four copies were promptly purchased by those couples we game with.
The humor is a bit crude, and the artwork bloody/gross/comical. Even if that is a problem for you, don’t let yourself miss out on an absolute gem of a card game.
My wife and I have both really enjoyed this title with plenty of friends with a wide variety of tastes. It generally gets played at least once every time we get together to play games.
I am just hoping for an eventual expansion pack, but the game doesn’t necessarily NEED one.
It is extremely easy to learn, and fairly fast paced with a smaller group. (the winner is the first person to win twice.) You could always just play individual rounds, but that is how the game was intended to be played. With six people, getting two wins by the same person tends to take awhile.
Discovered this game through a random interweb meander a few years ago, that led me this review on this site (boardgaming.com), and subsequently hunted down the game from the presentation here. ( well done, boardgaming.jim).
Finally dusted it off again this evening after playing it once many months ago, and by adding a strict 30-second egg-timer rule for composing spells, this could fill in for a new King of Tokyo casual gap-game.
Note: Works best if you can get excited about intoning daft skater-metal spell names, while rolling a few d6 for damage.
Gonna tear you a new one, dude!
Epic Spell Wars… is an easy to learn cardgame that is insanely fun to play. The artwork in this game has it’s own unique look. That combined with a rule book written in a way that fits the artwork makes this a fun experience for both casual gamers and hardcore gamers. But for the hardcore gamers: don’t expect a strategic game that requires a lot of plotting and scheming. Expect an amusing cardgame that will make you laugh…a lot…if you like the artwork and creating silly spell names.
The goal of the game is to destroy every other wizard. You can play this game in 3 ways: Heal yourself from the start so other mages blow each other up, destroy the highest threat or just focus the one you want to annoy. That said, to win this game you MUST start to flatter people or stay off the radar. I don’t like that at all. It is way too random. Especially when you play this game with more then 4 people. Sometimes you already dropped to 5hp or less and you didn’t even cast something this turn (start at 20hp).
I played this game many times with a lot of different people and to be honest, the game itself doesn’t have a high replay value. Yes, there are a lot of spell combinations and items, but every time I played it, it pretty much felt the same. If you want to play this game again, do it with new people so you can enjoy their enthusiasm about the silliness and the art of this game.
Pro’s:
– Unique artwork and style
– Fun game concept
– Quick to learn and fast to play
– Good for both casual and hardcore gamers (for laughs)
Con’s:
– Low replay value
– Straightforward
(Inappropriate for small children)
Conclusion: This is an entertaining game that is ideal to start a boardgamenight with. Doesn’t take long to set up and will set the mood for the evening. Isn’t really much fun if you play it with the same group of people a couple of times, but I’m glad I have this hilarious game in my closet.
I played a few matches of this game for the first time last night. I had an old CCG buddy come over and we had a good time.
I really dig the ********* ‘feel’ of the game. In the 2 player matches we played, it’s definitely got a quick pace to it – which is great. This isn’t one of those games where you set up to an amazingly intricate move late in the game. If that’s what you’re looking for, look elsewhere. No, this is definitely ‘wham-bam-and no thanking any ma’am’ because I have a feeling Battle Wizards just aren’t that polite.
The overall product has great polish. The game text on the cards adds great flavor and we didn’t run into too many that made us work to understand what they do. There were a couple portions of the game that weren’t entirely clear after reading the manual. i.e. We weren’t sure if the surviving wizard resets to 20HP at the end of a game or just leave the HP counter where it was at the end of the game… before starting the next one in the match.
Update: Have learned that, yes, the last wizard standing does indeed reset to 20HP at the beginning of the next match.
We both enjoyed it and will be playing again… hopefully with a larger group.
So, I’ve been wanting this game quite some time and owned it just recently. I played it once with 2 players (with my girlfriend) and it’s awesome. It’s a take that card game with unique game play. Players gonna need to mix and match the cards (maximum number of 3 cards) into a powerful spell from their hands to obliterate their enemies.
It is hilarious, the artworks, the spell names and chaotic game play.
But there is a small downside, it has high luck factor (from the dice and cards draw) and some combination spell could be unforgiving.
I like and didn’t regret blind buying this game.
I played this last night at our gamer night… and it was an instant classic. Tons of replay value. Lots of card inspired banter and table talk. Great artwork. Lots of screw your neighbor play.