A new expansion is coming to the free-to-play fantasy CCG Shadowverse at the end of the month called Dawnbreak, Nightedge. The eighth new card set will add a new "Choose" keyword that enables the use of special abilities or effects when certain cards are played, a twist that publisher Cygames said will enable "unprecedented levels of strategic depth." And once again, we've got an exclusive look at three of the new cards that are on the way. 

We begin our reveals with a Gold rarity card by the name of Suttungr. It's  a 3/2 unevolved. 5/4 evolved Neutral Follower, meaning it can be used in any deck. The card banishes enemy amulets, or gains a +3/+3 buff if no enemy amulets are in play. 

Next up is Forest Whispers, a Silver rarity Forestcraft spell card that can nerf a strong enemy follower by transforming it into a Fairy, and also places a fairy into your hand. 

And finally, we have the Dragoncraft spell card Waters of the Orca, also Silver rarity, which summors a Megalorca, with extras summoned at higher levels of enhancement—that is, playing the card for more than its usual cost. 

Shadowverse: Dawnbreak, Nightedge will also include two cards that come with free leader skins chosen during last year's 1st Birthday Card Popularity Poll, and all players will receive a rare Legendary card, which will be revealed later this month, for free. To learn more about the expansion, hit up shadowverse.com.

Correction: The post originally indicated that the Fairy and Megalorca cards are new in the expansion. They are in fact existing cards, summoned by the new Forest Whispers and Waters of the Orca cards. 

Shadowverse is a great alternative to Hearthstone. Fans of Blizzard's mammoth CCG will find its mechanics familiar, but it's set apart by its distinct Japanese flavour and a neat 'Evolve' mechanic, which lets you buff and transform any of your minions. It's free-to-play and receives a constant stream of updates, the latest of which, Chronogenesis, came out this week.

As well as adding 138 new cards—some of which Andy took a peek at last week—Chronogenesis adds a new class called Portalcraft, led by Yuwan. His trademark mechanic is Resonance, which activates certain abilities when you have an even number of cards left in your deck.

On top of that, the update adds a new play format called Rotation, which only allows you to play with cards from the five most recent card sets, in addition to basic cards. You'll still be able to play with your entire deck in the Unlimited format. The expansion also adds a few chapters to the main story.

For the full change log, click here.

Card games that aren't named Hearthstone tend not to get nearly as much coverage as those that are, but there's a lot of exciting stuff going on in the digital CCG scene. The free-to-play Shadowverse is one of the leading alternatives to Blizzard's licence to print money: It's similar enough to Hearthstone that it shouldn't be scary for fans, but nonetheless has enough of its own (boisterous, anime-flavored) identity to stand out.

A new expansion called Chronogenesis is on the way that will add a new Portalcraft class and introduce limited rotations, which allows only cards from the five most recent sets, and unlimited, in which all the cards are playable. (Essentially a lot like Standard and Wild in Hearthstone). Of course there will be a bunch of new cards added too, and we've got three of them to reveal for you right here. 

First up is Lancer of the Tempest, a 3 Play Point card with an "Enhance" ability that deals two damage to all enemy followers if it's held back for 7 Play Points. This could make it very useful for Swordcraft players who haven't always had the best board-clearing abilities at their disposal. (The second card is the evolved form.)

Class: SwordcraftCard type: FollowerRarity: GoldTrait: Commander

Next is Leaf Man, a "regular weenie follower" as developer Cygames put it, but who also gains a big boost through Enhance: Waiting to play it for 5 Play Points will grant a buff to all your other followers, a feature that's of particular use in aggro Forestcraft decks that are apparently big in the current meta. 

Class: ForestcraftCard type: FollowerRarity: BronzeTrait: None

And finally, we have Cursed Scarecrow, a Bloodcraft follower who can't attack the enemy leader, but whose impressive stats make it very useful for knocking out other enemy heavyweights.

Class: BloodcraftCard type: FollowerRarity: BronzeTrait: None

Shadowverse: Chronogenesis will add 138 new cards to the game in total, plus three new leader cards, the Resonance keyword effect, and the Artifact trait. More information, including a list of all the previously-revealed new cards, is up at shadowverse.com. 

If you've found the current state of Hearthstone to be a little stale, you should consider trying Shadowverse. We recently ranked it as one of the nine best digital CCGs that aren't Hearthstone, and while it bears some similarities, "it stands out in its own ways," particularly through an "Evolve" mechanic that gives players the ability to buff and transform their cards. The, let's say somewhat excitable, anime art won't be for everyone, but look past all that embonpoint and there's a very solid card battler here.

Shadowverse's sixth card set, called Starforged Legends, is on the way, and we've been given an exclusive look at three of the new ones right here. We'll leave assessing their power to the experts, but the Dolorblade Demon looks to be pick of the litter: It's a Forestcraft-class card, 5/5 unevolved and 7/7 evolved, that deals one point of damage to all enemy followers. 

The Swordcraft-class spell card Round Table Assembly puts two random three-point Commanders from your deck into play.   

And finally, Star Priestess, a 2/3 unevolved, 4/5 evolved Havencraft card that destroys and allied follower or Countdown amulet and then returns it to play.

Of course, your mileage may vary: Feel free to let us know which of these cards (if any) will fit your deck.

Starforged Legends adds 104 new cards to the game on September 28. "This time the adventure takes place in the final frontier—space," developer Cygames said. "Enlist the power of celestial heroes, participate in conflicts of cosmic proportion, and forge your myth among the stars!"

In case you're not convinced, here's a trailer.