Do you like collectible card games, but hate spending all your real money on boosters just chasing that perfect card for your deck? Then Millennium Blades is your new to-go game! All the thrill of blind boosters, card collecting, trading, and deck building, and the added convenience of guilt-free fake money! Ready to enter the tournament? Let’s check it out!

What Is It?

Deck Building / Deck Construction – There are 3 deck building rounds throughout the game, each with 3 timed phases, where players can buy new cards, sell cards for money, fuse unwanted cards into promos, and try to trade with other players for the cards they need. During these phases, players must build a deck of up to 8 singles, 2 accessories, and 1 deck box to bring to the tournament phase, and can also build a collection of up to 8 cards of the same type of element for bonus points.

Real-Time – The deck building phases are all timed (7 minutes for the first 2 each round, and 6 minutes for the last each round) so players have to be mindful of that for timing out when to buy, sell, and trade.

Hand Management – Players will have a lot of cards at their disposal but can only bring 8 singles to each tournament, and they’ll often only play 6 of those. They have to try and find cards that work well together, and then be sure to play them in just the right order to outplay their opponents.

Variable Player Powers – Each player starts with a unique deck and a character card with a unique ability, which may help them decide on their strategy going into the game.

Who Is It For?

  • 2 to 5 Players – Fine at any count, but definitely longer with more. I personally like it best at 2, as a head-to-head, or 3 players for a little more interaction
  • Ages 13 & Up / Mid-Weight Gamers – There’s a lot of cards to read and evaluate, so younger or less seasoned gamers may find themselves overwhelmed, at least at first
  • Fans of CCGs who maybe don’t have a good scene for real CCG play consistently
  • Fans of deck construction and the thrill of booster buying

PROS

  • Aesthetics – Great art, and a lot of unique art across all the cards
  • Rules – Well written and clear
  • Variety – Lots of options in cards, characters, and strategies
  • Smooth play (both simultaneous and turned based during tournaments)
  • Simulates a lot of aspects of CCGs really well
  • Simultaneous play during the deck building rounds works well
  • Even though the deck building rounds are timed, you usually don’t feel overly rushed. It gives you plenty of time to evaluate and choose cards

CONS

  • The game can run on the long side (2+ hours) and depending on how you play, you might find a lot of downtime in some of the deck building phases
  • You end up reading a lot of cards to ultimately not use very many
  • A hefty set up and clean up
  • No opportunity for trading during 2 player games

Final Thoughts

At first glance this doesn’t seem like a game I’d be very into. I do not like CCGs and I usually wouldn’t want to play something this long either. But something about this just works! It’s 8 years old and still holds up really well. It gives you the thrill of booster buying, and tournament style play, all without having to constantly keep up on new releases or spending real money. If you can keep up with real CCGs, that’s cool, but if, like me, you find the idea exhausting, but want a similar, though more closed-off experience, you’ll definitely want to check this one out!

Additional Information:
My Final Rating – 7/10

Designer – D. Brad Talton, Jr.
Artist – Fábio Fontes
Publisher – Level 99 Games
MSRP – $79.99
Website
Millennium Blades … Again! Kickstarter