We at Geeky Hobbies would like to thank League of Geeks for the review copy of Armello – The Usurpers Hero Pack used for this review. Other than receiving a free copy of the game to review, we at Geeky Hobbies received no other compensation for this review. Receiving the review copy for free had no impact on the content of this review or the final score.
A while back we took a look at the game Armello. What I liked about Armello was that it was an interesting digital board game that combined elements from different board game genres into an interesting game that gives you plenty of strategic choices. Armello -The Usurpers Hero Pack doesn’t drastically change Armello but it does add some interesting new content to the game for people who love Armello.
The main addition to Armello from The Usurpers Hero Pack are four new characters. The four new characters include:
Elyssia, Wardress of Warrens
Fight: 3 Body: 5 Wits: 5 Spirit: 3
Special Ability: If Elyssia ends the turn on a settlement, that settlement is fortified permanently. Elyssia ignores the movement penalty for entering fortified settlements.
Elyssia seems to be a character that is best for players that like to control settlements since her special ability gives her defensive bonuses while in fortified settlements and her fortified settlements cost opponents an extra action point in order to enter.
Sargon, The Death Teller
Fight 3 Body: 4 Wits: 5 Spirit: 4
Special Ability: The top card of each deck is shown face up when drawing cards.
Sargon seems to be the character for players that like utilizing a lot of cards. Being able to hold a lot of cards and being able to see the top card of each deck before you draw allows a Sargon player to carefully craft a strategy with the cards that they draw.
Magna, The Unbroken
Fight: 5 Body: 6 Wits: 3 Spirit: 2
Special Ability: All shield cards burned during battle reflect opponent’s attacks back at them.
Magna is a character meant for players that like combat. Magna seems to be a defensive fighter who should be able to take a lot of hits in battle.
Ghor, The Wyldkin
Fight: 3 Body: 6 Wits: 3 Spirit: 4
Special Ability: While in the forest, Ghor’s spells cost one less magic. Ghor can also cast a spell to any forest space.
Ghor is character that appears to be best for players that like to cast a lot of spells. Ghor would be especially good in situations where you could sit back and cast a lot of spells.
In addition to the four new characters the game adds four new rings.
Aquamarine: Bear Clan. While in battle or a peril gain one moon when you have zero rot.
Rubellite: Wolf Clan. Gain three fight when your character has only one health remaining.
Rainbow Quartz: Rabbit Clan. Gain one additional magic each dawn.
Tanzanite: Rat Clan. Gain one additional gold each time you escape a peril.
I give The Usurpers Hero Pack credit for adding some interesting new characters to the game. Each new character feels unique and brings their own style to the game. Some of the special abilities could lead to some unique new strategies. The characters are well designed and fit well in the Armello universe. With each character working well for only specific strategies, unless you like using all of the different strategies in the game you will probably like some of the characters more then others. Personally I can see using some of the new characters quite a bit while other characters I probably wouldn’t use often.
Overall I don’t see the rings adding as much to the game as the new characters. If a particular ring is useful for your strategy you might get a lot of use out of them. I could see a lot of players mostly ignoring the new rings though. While the rings are a nice addition, I think the driving force behind picking up The Usurpers Hero Pack will be the new characters.
If you really enjoy Armello I would recommend picking up The Usurpers Hero Pack at some point. The new characters and rings add new interesting content to the game so it is worth picking up if you are a fan of the game. The question comes down to whether you should pick it up right away or wait for a sale. With the DLC retailing for $9.99 your decision should come down to how much you plan on using the new characters. If you think you will use them a lot I think the game is worth picking up at full retail price. If you don’t see yourself using the characters a lot I would probably recommend waiting for a sale.