Cardboard Corner: Review of Star Wars: Destiny

I am one of thousands of people who are sucked into expendable card games, many of which are produced by Fantasy Flight Games (FFG). The customization, the imaginative worlds, and the pedigree (art, QA, first principles, etc.) have my grey matter in a tight, warm grip. And so, despite the fact I have four competitive expandable games already sitting on my shelf, I was curious when seeing that FFG had released another. What's the wrinkle, and can FFG continue the success?

Destiny is a two-player collectible card game set in the Star Wars universe that works according to the same general principles as other tabletop card games like Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, etc. Players construct decks of cards to battle each other head-to-head. In Destiny, players start with hero/villain characters already on the table, ready to go—Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Obi Wan Kenobi, and a million more. They then draw hands of cards, which can include Support cards that bolster characters (vehicles, droids, etc.), Event cards that provide one time benefits, and Upgrade cards that can be attached to specific heroes/villains to provide bonuses. Reduce your opponent's hit points to zero, and you win. This is all pretty standard stuff.

Where Destiny adds a major wrinkle to the expandable card game market—an exceptional and fun wrinkle—is custom dice. Each hero/villain possesses a minimum of one die (two if they are in their elite form), as do many Upgrade and Support cards. Each die is unique to the card it represents, with each die face representing a specific aspect of their gameplay. Melee attacks, ranged attacks, shields, resources, grenades, special abilities, and other effects are possible, depending on the card/die. In the course of gameplay, players roll and use dice to deal damage, earn resources, throw away opponent's cards, gain shields, etc. Not just what you roll, however, the other player cards are the way to manage and mitigate dice effects, and are just as critical to winning—the hidden game within the game. Dice can be fun, and in Destiny they are realized in unique, enjoyable, and tactical (mitigatable) fashion.

Not a wrinkle but something that also separates Destiny from most other expandable card games is the speed with which plays. It plays fast. With one action per turn, plays bounces quickly back and forth between players: activate a character, resolve a die face, gain a shield, play an event car, etc. Games take 20-40 minutes. The rules are relatively quick and easy to learn. (They occupy only two A4 pages.) And as long as they can read the card texts, children can definitely play. Using the cards tactically is another thing, but in terms of ability to play and enjoy, it's 100% possible. In fact, it's easy to argue Destiny makes an excellent gateway to more complex, expandable card games given the low barrier to entry. The levels of complexity to be discovered only make it more likely to stick around long term.

If there are any quibbles about gameplay, then determinism, or the relative lack thereof, would perhaps be primary. Put simply, a best-of-three is the preferred decider of who is the better Destiny player (compared to a best-of-one). It is possible a player draws good hands and rolls most everything they need each round to make their deck and dice work with maximum efficacy. Most games are balanced and competitive, and players' cards do offer significant ways of mitigating luck, but because dice are involved, occasionally games are superb for one player and terrible for the other. Dice are dice. Looking at ultra-competitive tournament play, however, such games are a strong exception.  Most play out in balanced fashion. Thankfully, such lucky games are rare and take a short amount of time, meaning players can move on the next game.

What about Destiny's implementation of the Star Wars theme? Put simply, it's a quality buffet where anything is possible. Seemingly every character, item, and scene from the broad Star Wars universe is included. I consider myself a casual fan, meaning everything I thought would be in the game is in the game. But I still encountered so many characters and things I had never heard of. So, if you have interest in an obscure Star Wars book or anime, the game may offer it to you, that's how broad it is. Be aware, however, the wide selection results in “impure” combinations. Teenage Luke Skywalker fighting Rey. R2D2 firing a massive blaster rifle. Captain Phasma wielding Maul's lightsaber. Darth Vader and a Tuscan Raider teaming up. And on and on go the list of paradoxes that the purist will need to accept in order to play.   To be clear, thematic gameplay is possible.  Han can be teamed with Luke or Leia.  Rey can fight Kylo.  Etc.  But for those who not only accept but embrace such variety, the game may be the greatest Star Wars sandbox to duel in.  

For would-be players, it's extremely important to note Destiny's business model. At the heart of the game, it is possible to go to the store, buy a two-player box, and experience it. But be informed it will be a limited experience—a taste. For a full meal, players need to buy more. Destiny is sold in one- and two-player starter sets per hero/villain with supplementary cards sold separately in booster packs and bundles. For example, two people could buy a Rey starter set and a Kylo Ren starter set, sit down, and play a head-to-head game. They could have fun, for sure, but it wouldn't be 100% according to design. Each starter set contains only 20 cards compared to the 30 needed for a full deck. This means players need to supplement their starter sets with booster packs, bundles, or another copy of the starter set to experience a true game. As of the time of writing this review, the two-player starter set is available dirt cheap, as are some of the one-player starter sets and most booster packs. There are, however, one-player starter sets that have crept up in price, and some of the more obscure booster packs have also increased in price. Overall, fun can be had with 20 card decks, but this inevitably leads to...

Complaints regarding Destiny are complaints that apply to most FFG expandable games. Without complete decks and multiple copies of certain cards, gameplay can be erratic and luck-based over time. When it becomes apparent that you are losing because you are unable to regularly draw important cards, dissatisfaction naturally arises. Having two copies of the starter sets is better as it offers more consistency in card draw, less luck, and better tactical play. Having two copies of a starter set plus a good selection of cards from booster packs is even better as you likely get access to more powerful cards. But of course this results in the need for additional purchases. People should therefore go into Destiny understanding the fact that investment beyond starter sets will be needed if the game generates interest in your group/home.

Overall, Star Wars: Destiny is an easy game to recommend for a small group or family looking for a strategic, head-to-head card game with dice. It brings Star Wars to life in fun, fast-paced back and forth action within an engaging decision space. Compared to larger, more complex expandable card games like Legend of the Five Rings or Game of Thrones, Destiny is a tight, easy-to-learn game which can act as a gateway to such games. With time the game does reveal layers of depth and strategies that rival those games. It bears repeating that understanding the business model is important; Destiny could require investment beyond starter sets if it proves to be fun and there is desire to discover those layers of depth. In my family, we bought two starter sets, liked them, and bought two more. We enjoyed those, then bought second copies plus booster packs. We now have six complete 30 card decks, which gives variety when we sit down to play. It's also worth noting Destiny has done an excellent job introducing my seven-year old son to deck building and card strategy, but more importantly it has motivated him to improve reading. Books from school are one thing, but they can't hold a candle of interest to reading Destiny cards to figure out how to do more damage to dad's heroes...