The next expansion to Bethesda's CCG The Elder Scrolls: Legends will be called Houses of Morrowind, and as the title suggests it will feature the sights, sounds, and strangeness of the ancestral homeland of the Dunmer. Ahead of its release at the end of the month, we've got a couple of new cards to reveal for you, one of which really emphasizes the "strangeness" of the game world it's based on.
First, though, let's have a look at the relatively conventional Ebonheart Oracle. She's a 3/5 legendary Willpower card played for 5 mana with the Drain keyword, meaning that every time she does damage, she heals your hero. Normally the amount healed is equal to the damage dealt, but Ebonheart Oracle doubles the amount of health gained. That's a big boost in decks looking to go long, or stave off aggressive pushes from fast decks.
And here's the weirdo: The Ascended Sleeper, one of my favorite denizens of Morrowind (because it's so damn weird), a 3/6 card for 6 mana who's unusual not just because of the face (although it's hard to overlook) but because this is one of the new three-attribute cards that the expansion will add to the game. The Ascended Sleeper is one of the new tri-color cards, with the attributes of Strength, Intelligence, and Agility, reflecting its relatively high status among Dagoth Ur's minions.
Cost reduction effects in card games are always potent (hello, Emperor Thaurissan), so this is definitely one to watch, despite the fact you need to meet a restriction—having a creature with 5 power on board—in order to proc the bonus each turn. I also like that it only reduces the cost of creatures, not actions, so it's less likely to be used from insane combos. Although I suppose there is potential for Wispmother shenanigans.
The Houses of Morrowind expansion will include 149 new cards in all. It The set will also see the arrival of three-attribute cards, though decks wishing to use them will need to meet the requirement of running at least 75 cards, increasing the instability of their draw. The expansion is set to roll out on March 29. Check out the sweet full card art below.
Having already done Skyrim and Clockwork City, The Elder Scrolls: Legends is ticking off another stop on the tour guide by heading Vvardenfell for its next expansion: Houses of Morrowind. The new set was announced earlier today and is scheduled for release on March 29. It will add 149 cards to the game based on the mystical realm of the Dunmer, and also make some big changes to the core mechanics of the game, foremost of which are the addition of new three-attribute cards and an increase to the already voluminous deck size limit.
Legends decks are normally limited to two attributes, or "colors": Agility, endurance, intelligence, strength, and willpower, plus "neutral" cards that can be played in any deck. Houses of Morrowind will introduce cards that feature three attributes, and which when included in your deck will enable you to pick from all three of those colors. Check out Dagoth Ur at the top of this page, which is a Strength/Intelligence/Agility card. He also has the new 'God' tribal tag, and just about every basic keyword crammed into his card text.
There is, as always, a catch. In order to use three-attribute cards, you must have at least 75 cards in your deck. Those of you who play TESL will likely be aware that the maximum deck size is currently 70, but the expansion will also increase that limit to 100 cards, for all decks. To the uninitiated this might sound like a good thing—more is better and all that—but as players of almost any collectible card game will tell you, running more cards is almost always sub-optimal because it dilutes the overall quality and means you're less likely to draw your most important cards.
Not that that's stopped players from experimenting with 70-card decks already, so I'd expect plenty of fun to be had with the potentially powerful and versatile tri-colored decks. Just bear in mind that they're also likely to be less consistent. However sweet Mr Ur might look, it's not so much fun if you never draw him.
The Houses of Morrowind set will include cards that enable five of the ten possible three-attribute sets, one from each of the factions in Vvardenfell:
House Redoran: Strength/Willpower/Endurance – Redoran cards can also take advantage of the new "Rally" keyword, which adds +1/+1 to a random creature in your hand whenever a Rally creature attacks.
House Telvanni: Intelligence/Agility/Endurance – The Telvanni have a new "Betray" mechanic: After playing a Betray card, players can sacrifice a creature in their hand in order to play it again.
House Hlaalu: Strength/Willpower/Agility – The new Hlaalu keyword is "Plot," which triggers special abilities on a card if you've played another card in the same turn.
Tribunal Temple: Intelligence/Willpower/Endurance – The home of Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil offers "Exalt," which grants bonuses to creatures when they're played for higher-than-normal magicka costs. Exalt can have an even bigger impact when the gods come into play, as seen on the Vivec card:
House Dagoth: Strength/Intelligence/Agility – The Morrowind bad guys offer special bonuses for having creatures of 5 power or higher in your hand.
The Elder Scrolls: Legends – Houses of Morrowind is set to go live on March 28. Full details are up at bethesda.net, and you can also read our review of the base game here.