Shadowfist
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Shadowfist is a collectable card game that was created by Robin Laws and Jose Garcia and released in 1995. It shares the same background as the Feng Shui role-playing game, which was also created by Laws and Garcia and released the following year. It represents the height of multiplayer asymmetrical strategic game design, and stands on the shoulders of games such as Cosmic Encounter, Dune by Avalon Hill, and its direct predecessor, On The Edge.
Shadowfist was primarily inspired by Hong Kong action and wuxia films of the late 1980's and 1990's, and by action films in general. In the game various factions from across time battle for control of the world's Feng Shui sites in a conflict known as the "Secret War." Time travel takes place through an alternate dimension known as the Netherworld which opens to various junctures.. The current open junctures are A.D. 78. 1859, 1935, 2005, and 2065.
Game Play
Players create a deck of cards (typically 40-80 total) and draw blind from a randomized stack, playing cards when possible and discarding unneeded cards. Card types include: Sites, Characters, Events, Edges and States. Sites are considered locations that stay in play permanently until removed or destroyed. Characters are used to attack and defend locations or other characters or generate effects and stay in play until 'smoked' or 'toasted', Events are played at any time and generate a specific effect and are then discarded. Edges are permanent cards that generate effects. States are played on characters and sites, and generate some sort of effect until removed from play.The goal of Shadowfist is to accumulate five Feng Shui sites. These can be played from a player's hand, or taken from other players. However, in order to win the game, a player's fifth Feng Shui site must be taken from another player via an attack rather than played from their respective hand. Attacking and attacking to win the game are very different events during the game. The former will draw a response from the defending player, the latter will draw a response from all the other players in the game.
Attacks are made by character cards that are played from the hand at a certain cost in power and resources. Power is derived from Site cards, Feng Shui sites and other power generating cards and can be accumulated. Resources are generated by characters and sites aligned with one of the nine factions in the game and can only be accumulated by controlling more cards that provide that resource. Players must spend power to play a card's cost, and have the resources required.
Another aspect of Shadowfist gameplay that simplifies the timing of effects is the concept of "first in, last out." When a card is played, or attack declared, players that respond after that play have their effects generated before the original effect. Therefore the final card in a series of effects is resolved first. Shadowfist has a very open format when playing cards (only sites, characters, and states cannot be played when it is not your turn), and the first in, last out format creates a logical, easy to follow heirarchy of effects in what, at times, seems a chaotic array of cardplay.
Shadowfist, released in 1995, differs from its CCG contemporaries in that its focus is on multiplayer gameplay rather than dueling. A key factor in Shadowfist gameplay is that players must team together to stop the player who is poised to win the game. All players can play cards that effect any other player's cards, even if they are not directly involved in attacking or being attacked. One of the most important skills in the game is judging when and how to use resources for defense against other players in lieu of attacking power.
Factions
There are currently nine factions involved in the secret war. (with a 10th on the way!)- The Eaters of the Lotus are a cabal of evil eunuch sorcerers from ancient China who have usurped power in the Imperial court using black magic and demons.
- The Architects of the Flesh are scientists from the future who have figured out how to combine magic and technology into a perverse new form of science called Arcanotechnology, which they use to convert captured demons into creatures known as abominations.
- The Dragons are a rag-tag collection of mavericks and heroes from across time who've banded together to fight against evil and tyranny in the name of freedom and justice.
- The Guiding Hand are a secret society composed of monks, revolutionaries, and martial artists who seek to drive all foreign influences out of China in 1859 and extend their vision of a world based on neo-Confucian principles across time.
- The Ascended are animals who achieved human form long ago and who now control the world both in 1859 and 2005 from the heart of a vast conspiracy.
- The Jammers are a loose organization of rebels, malcontents, anarchists, and cyborg monkeys. Originally from 2065, they believe that the only way to free humanity from tyranny and oppression is through the destruction of every feng shui site in existence.
- The Four Monarchs are two brothers and two sisters who once ruled the world in an alternate timeline. Their version of reality was erased by the Ascended, forcing them into exile in the Netherworld.
- The Seven Masters are a group of legendary warrior-monks who live in isolation and practice a philosophy of non-intervention, except in the most dire of situations.
- The Purists are former scientists from the Architects of the Flesh who secretly took up the study of magic and combined it with their scientific knowledge to create a new and unusual form of sorcery known as Paradox Magic. Having recently lost their stronghold in the future, they've quietly re-established themselves in 1935.
What's good about Shadowfist?
- Multiplayer - the game is especially well suited to three or more players.
- No eliminations - all players have a stake in the game until a player takes the final feng shui site for victory.
- Dynamic play - card flow is a very important aspect to the game, the more cards a player can play, typically the better they are doing in the game. This prevents turtling issues.
- Unique Backstory - the Shadowfist milieu encompasses elements of just about any action movie genre, including kung fu, wuxia, Hong Kong bullet ballet, Western, police drama, arcane horror, science fiction, military/war, gangster/mafia, pulp, and chambara.
The Future
Shurikens and Six-Guns - due out in late 2006, this expansion will focus thematically on the Old West and will introduce a tenth faction to the Secret War. The mysterious Syndicate is believed to combine chi with cybertech to control a dystopian alternate future. This set will contain 127 new cards and one reprint (50 common/45 uncommon/33 rare).
Critical Shift - the next core set, due out in late 2007. A new starter and booster core set reprinting the best cards from Standard edition all the way to and including Shurikens and Six-Guns. Also included will be around 75 new cards. Most importantly, Critical Shift promises to include a new, better-organized rulebook. This will be the best opportunity for new players to experience one of the oldest CCGs still being printed and supported today.
External links
- http://www.shadowfist.com/html/home.htm
- http://www.shadowfist.com/html/gallery/cardgallery1.htm
- http://www.shadowfist.com/html/gallery/card%20images/JPG%20images%20400%20pix%20high/yotd%20jpg%20400pix%20square%20corners/homo_omega_yotd_400.jpg
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