Have you ever wanted to live the particular experience of being a kid in the 90s playing a card game based on powerful mutants who start appearing in your world? If this has been your dream of late, the single-player RPG of Cardpocalypse is the perfect game for you.
Cardpocalypse puts players in the shoes of 10-year-old Jess. Mega Mutant Power Pets, the favorite card game of Jess and her friends, has just been banned by their school. The kids can get around this unfortunate problem by making sure they play when all of the adults aren’t around. Unfortunately, this does not mean getting caught playing their favorite game is the only area of concern for the kids. Characters from Mega Mutant Power Pets have started to appear in the world of Jess and her friends, and they are ready to challenge you to some adrenaline-fueled matches of the popular card game.
This is the exciting world players will experience as they traverse through the story of Cardpocalypse. While the title focuses on a single-player RPG experience, all of the battles you will find yourself in through your playthrough will be centered around the fully collectible card of Mega Mutant Power Pets. You will have the ability to build your signature deck through a variety of means to become the best player you can be.
Now, you are probably wondering how exactly the game of Mega Mutant Power Pets works in Cardpocalypse. The core aspect of this RPG’s card game is a player building their deck around rare champion cards. These champion cards all come with unique abilities that can be used as the base for a deck. Your objective is to get the health of your opponent’s champion card from 30 to zero, which will secure the match victory for you. You must be wary, though. When a champion card’s health reaches 15 or less, it evolves into its mega form. A champion card’s mega form provides an even more powerful ability than its regular form and can help players get back into a match.
You also have minions at your disposal, which are less powerful cards that have abilities to support your champion. These minions can be put into the playing field by using pet food. These minions all require different amounts of pet food to summon. Players will gain an additional piece of pet food every turn to allow them the ability to summon stronger minions for battle.
However, Mega Mutant Power Pets is not your ordinary card game in the fact that you have the power to alter the rules during a game to give yourself the ability to turn the tide of a match in your favor. You will need to make sure to keep some essential things in mind, though, when you are deciding how to change rules.
“It’s natural to focus on your latest deck and champion, but remember to think beyond that as you consider rule changes,” Colm Larkin, Cardpocalypse Game Director, told Prima Games. “Even within your faction of choice, each champion brings different playstyles to the board. A rule you initially dismiss as a bad match for your current champion could be a huge winner with another champion in your collection! Making extra decks to try out new champions as you get them means you’ll be familiar with more than one when it’s time to pick new rules. Also, don’t forget that rule changes apply to everyone, including all your future opponents. You are changing their game too. Some of your opponents will be boosted by your choices, so watch out!”
Altering rules is not the only way players can change how a match plays out. Stickers are items you can use to upgrade your cards to make them even more formidable threats to your opponents. It will be attractive to save your stickers to use on the better cards you collect in the future. However, your best bet is to go ahead and utilize the stickers you have for your current set of cards.
“As you start getting stickers to change your cards, it might be tempting to hoard them until you get more powerful cards to stick them onto,” said Larkin. “I say just go for it: stick away! We are super generous with stickers throughout the game, so don’t be afraid to use them as you get them. Also, don’t forget to use the rename stickers to give custom names to your fave cards. It doesn’t change any mechanics, but it does change how you feel about those cards!”
Every card game has the cards that everyone wants due to how powerful and useful they are when it comes to achieving a win. This does not mean there are not cards that may at first look underwhelming but can turn into beneficial pieces to your victory puzzle when used correctly. Take this example from Colm Larkin, who details how a simple card can turn into a powerful tool.
“Take a simple card like Gloodle, which is a 0/2 (attack/health) dog that gains +1/+1 each turn. It’s very weak at first, but if you can keep it alive, you’ll end up with a big dog for cheap,” explains Larkin. “Early in your playthrough combining this with other cards with Defender works well, but what about adding the ‘Hidden’ keyword with a sticker? Now you’ve got a card that can grow safely till you need it! Changing factions is even more powerful as you can grab powerful cards you wouldn’t normally have access to!”
As you make your way through the world of Cardpocalypse, you will continue to collect new cards and build your signature deck. However, it can be challenging to decide on exactly what style of deck you like to have when they are a variety of ones to choose. Fortunately, Larkin gave Prima Games an inside look at how you can approach deciding on what kind of deck you want to use.
“Early in the game, you end up with a starter champion for each of the four factions and the set of grey neutral cards that can go in any deck. From here, it’s a good time to experiment with the factions and see which ones are working for you. You’ll be gaining cards from all factions and can keep updating these four decks with them,” said Larkin.
“Once you start getting new champion cards, that’s when you should consider building new decks.” Larkin continued. “If you are unsure where to start, try a Queezy or Tock deck. Both of these work with lots of minions. They are also easy to build, and you get the champions early on. When you get other champions, try putting together a deck for them to see what works. You can also pay attention to what your opponents’ decks look like to get ideas!”
The world of Cardpocalypse is filled to the brim with plenty of things for players to discover and enjoy. Making sure you take the time to see everything that Cardpocalypse’s environment has to offer is one of the best ways you can as much fun as possible.
“Look around! There are so many details we have hidden around the school,” Larkin explained to Prima Games. “Have a poke around and see if you can recognize a few of our nods to the 90s hidden here and there. But most of all – have fun!”
The entertaining universe of Cardpocalypse is currently available on the Epic Games Store and Apple Arcade. PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch players will be able to experience Mega Mutant Power Pets themselves beginning on December 10th.
