If you are a fan of Doomlings, there are a dozen expansions out there that could make this hilariously fun game even better. The one I will examine today is “Legends of Enderas”. It’s actually the first expansion I am playing so I will not be able to compare it with other expansions.
“Legends of Enderas” is an expansion that adds variety to the game with new trait cards, new ages and new mechanics and it actually is a five-in-one expansion. It contains five different types of cards that have something in common: they come from the past. Going back to the eras of Dinosaurs, dark magic, mythical beings and forgotten technologies maybe the key to avoid the inevitable end of the world. Or not!
The five collections included in the box are:
- Treasures
- Dinolings
- Mythlings
- Techlings
- Fuselings
Let’s see what they are all about:
Treasures is a special new type of card that represents powerful artifacts and can be played on your turn to turn the tide in your favour and grant you precious points. They are hidden from other players. At the start of the game, they are shuffled to form the treasure pile and one card is dealt to each player. When an age is revealed, players draw a treasure card if they have less than two. You can play as many treasures you want on your turn. Most treasures have two effects but you must choose one of them to play. There are five different effects on treasure cards: Rush, Mutate, Echo, Adapt and Cloak. “Rush” effects are played before the start of your turn and enable you to do things like draw or discard cards or even stabilize. With “Mutate”, you can “mutate” one trait from your trait pile and put it on the bottom of the trait deck, then play a trait from your hand, of the designated color, to replace it. “Echo” effects enable you to play one more trait from your hand, having the same color as the one you just played. With “Adapt”, you can ignore the effect of the trait you are playing and play an action of another trait of the specified color. Finally a “Cloak” card can be played any time in the game in response to a specified, non-dominant, effect, preventing it entirely. There are 26 different treasure cards in this expansion.
Dinolings are (what a surprise) huge creatures like our dinosaurs, that have cool mechanics dealing mostly with the discard pile and including high risks. This expansion includes 21 new traits (including 3 dominant ones) and 2 ages (including one catastrophic).
Some cute dinolings
Mythlings are mythical creatures of the past that enrich the world of Doomlings with magical spells and mischievous tricks. These cards include discard effects and introduce a new shiny spell icon on cards. This expansion also includes 21 new traits (including 3 dominant ones) plus 2 ages (including one catastrophic).
Mythlings
Techlings are, as the word implies, techie freaks. They use a new “attachment” mechanic and are played into the trait pile, as attachments to a “host” card. They cannot be targeted for removal and the only way to discard them is to discard / return their host. They cannot be attached to dominant cards but they can be dominant themselves. They count towards the total color and trait total. This expansion includes 21 new traits (including 3 dominant ones) plus 2 ages (including one catastrophic).
Fuselings are combinations of Dinolings, Mythlings and Techlings. They help gaining bigger bonuses from Drop of Life effects and trigger exciting, new combos. This expansion includes 9 new traits (including one dominant) plus 2 ages (including one catastrophic).
Fuselings
Now let’s see how this expansion scores through our usual scoring categories.
Components
The same good quality of Doomlings can also be found in this expansion. Cards are made of high quality glossy cardboard and feature colorful depictions of cute Doomlings of the past. I dare to say that the little creature’s depiction is even more imaginative than the base game. The fact that they don’t look like the original Doomlings (being round, ball-like creatures) but resemble creatures with various forms, contributes to that.
The new cards can be easily distinguished from the original, by the name of the expansion which is printed on the cards as well as a special symbol appering in each card, depicting the specific collection the card belongs to.
A special mention should be granted to the effort made to make treasure cards more meaningful by telling the story behind each and every one. These stories are not just a few lines but whole paragraphs that tell exquisite and sometimes heartbreaking tales from the world of Doomlings. If you take the time to read them, in-between games, you will understand what I say and you will certainly delve deeper into the game. Many thanks to the designers for taking the time and effort to include this.
Treasures!
This expansion can be stored in the original game box, if the big divider is omitted and that certainly helps to keep your game collection as compact as possible. A little room is left in the box maybe for another small expansion. 9/10
Original gamebox with the expansion
Gameplay
Legends of Enderas, introduces many new elements in the game, making a lot of new strategies available. A few mechanics are added to gameplay too like enchantments and spells, introducing new challenges for those players that are enjoying the base game and crave for something more. By mixing the base game with this expansion, gameplay is taken to new heights. There are many more things to watch out for and more things that may make your plans fail. But that’s the beauty in this game: having pure fun.
Some players may find the new mechanics of the game, especially attachments, a bit overwhelming but that depends on the level of the players. Certainly you must have enough experience with the original game in order to proceed byuing an expansion. Personally, I found the added elements just what was needed to make the game even more strategic without taking out the fun. If some players feels that all the added elements are too much for them, they can gradually incorporate the different collections, e.g. playing first only with the Dinolings collection then gradually adding Techlings, Mythlings, Fuselings and Treasures at their liking.
Treasures make the game more unpredictable by bending temporarily the normal rules of the game. The fact that you can play as many of them as you want on your turn, choose between two effects and replenish them when ages change, makes them a game-changer.
The extra ages from each collection definitely add replayability to the game, adding new events that are related to the new cards and mechanics. 9/10
Some new age cards
Replayability
Doomlings is a game with great replayability as it is, but with this expansion, I think that it really takes off to new heights in terms of fun and added strategy. With so many new Doomlings cards and new ages, there are endless combinations of cards you can put together and maximize your score and you will certainly be wanting to try them all. 9/10
Techlings
Theme
Although this a light card game it never lacked engagement and a story behind it that made sense. There is a story indeed behind the creatures of this expansion and it is one that goes in their past, which is full of mythical creatures, magic, long-lost technology and innocent (or not so innocent) beasts. However the one element I was most impressed of regarding theme was the intricate stories behind each of the treasures. I found myself reading them, not while playing because there was no time for that, but one evening I was into reading something new. They were all so interesting and gave me insight of this world even if they were fragments of the past. The next time I played the game, I felt closer to Doomling’s universe and played closer attention to the base cards’s texts. It seems that this universe is so rich even a cartoon series could be made, based on it. 9/10
Player Interaction
Player interaction is emphasized even more with this expansion. Through treasures and new mechanics, such as “attachments” and spells, players can now interact more with other players and lead the game to even more fun and uncontrollable laughs. 8/10
Learning Curve
“Legends of Enderas” brings on several new little rules and mechanics, players must familiarize with. The rules of the new collections aren’t that complex but they may give an overwhelming feeling at first when played all together, to those that were used to basic rules. 6/10
Final Thoughts
An expansion with everything one would want from this game. More options, more mechanics, more cute little creatures. Many new elements are introduced allowing players to make even more strategic decisions while also maintaining and elevating the fun factor. This expansion set seems to make the game overall more unpredictable but also more complex. It’s ideal for all those that already have fun with the base game but crave something even more challenging.
If you would like to buy this expansion and/or explore more Doomlings expansions, you can visit the following link:
