The latest expansion set for The Elder Scrolls: Legends, The Houses of Morrowind, arrived last week. This is the game's second full-sized expansion, not including standalone adventures or promotional sets, and includes 149 brand new cards to experiment with.

One of the biggest deals about this set is the addition of three-attribute cards. This is a trope that has been done in similar card games, now brought to TESL, with one noticeable difference: when deckbuilding with the three-attribute cards, you are now tasked with playing a 75 card deck instead of your typical 50 card deck. This seems logical enough: whereas previously, with two-attribute decks, you could assume you had 25 slots per attribute, they simply upped the deck size proportionally to accommodate an additional one.

This brings up some interesting strategic decisions. Traditionally in card games, you want to stick to the bare minimum when it comes to deckbuilding. If the minimum is 60 cards, you should build a 60 card deck. If the minimum is 30 cards, you should build a 30 card deck. The reason for this is that you want the best possible odds to draw your best possible cards every turn. Every card over the minimum decreases your chances to draw your best cards when you need them. 

So when you look at a game like Hearthstone, that has 30 card decks, compared with TESL's newly introduced 75 card decks, it does make you wonder about the consistency of the deck or the ability to form a cohesive strategy within it. (Keep in mind you're more than welcome to play your traditional 50 card deck, just so long as you omit any three-attribute cards from it. You're also able to play with up to 100 cards as well, as that's the new deck limit!)

As we consider TESL a competitive card game, I wonder whether or not the tri-attribute cards are powerful enough to justify deck size in a competitive environment, such as the game's Rumble events. I think the most mathematical among us, who value the strategy and competition of games like TESL above all else, might give pause—that 75 cards will dilute your deck and strategy too greatly. Those mostly looking to have fun and do cool things, however, a camp which I often include myself in, will be more willing to make the sacrifice. It's also worth noting that TESL player Blackfall took a Tribunal decklist (Intelligence, Willpower, and Endurance) to Rank #1 this past week, so maybe there's something to three-attribute strategies after all.

Pros and cons aside, I love the design space that adding a third attribute to your deck opens up. If you've built around any of the tri-attribute legendaries, such as Archcanon Saryoni or Duke Vedam Dren, you may have noticed that the decks they're included in have a different feel to them—they just feel a little more epic somehow.

The expansion also introduces with it more single player puzzles. While the novice puzzles aren't immensely difficult, the expert and adept versions will certainly challenge you, and all are an absolute joy. They're rewarding and a great way to pass the time when you're trying to avoid something like ladder anxiety. The ten included puzzles are also an efficient means of introducing players to the four new HoM keywords and how they function: Rally, Betray, Exalt, and Plot. While two of the three puzzle groups are behind a paywall, it's a very reasonable one for the 31 puzzles you'll unlock, especially considering the rewards you also receive along the way. Completing the first two groups alone took a few hours, already making the price point well worth it for me.

If you're starting to wonder how many keywords is too many, you're not alone. In the five releases TESL has had, there has been a total of 17 keywords. In this most recent set, two of the keywords (Rally and Exalt) are similar or identical in name to keywords from Magic: The Gathering. While I always expect some overlap in card games (sometimes there are only so many names that can fit a mechanic), having keywords with names so closely related to others could get confusing for someone with previous card game experience to pull from.

Another curiosity that HoM brings up for me is when there will be too many cards in the format—and by 'the format', I mean 'the only format that currently exists in TESL'. When will older sets rotate, creating separate formats, similar to other games? With Houses of Morrowind, TESL has the following sets available to play with: Core Set, the Dark Brotherhood adventure, the Heroes of Skyrim expansion, the Clockwork City adventure, and the Houses of Morrowind expansion. 

And that doesn't include things like monthly rewards, the Madhouse Collection, or the Forgotten Hero Collection. That's a lot of playable cards: around 855 if my math is correct. There are currently around 1,100 legal cards in Hearthstone's premier format, Standard, which will drop down to around 900 after three sets rotate out with the release of The Witchwood expansion this week. With TESL quickly approaching that number, it may be time to look at rotating older cards and sets to keep a dominant format fresh and decrease the barrier of entry for new players looking to get into the game.

I think my biggest question, and one that isn't exclusive to this release, is how TESL will fare in the future. As one of Bethesda's original content creators for the game, I've personally loved it from the beginning. It's taken what other digital card games have done well and added onto it. That doesn't, however, change the success of Hearthstone or the potential success of Artifact, Valve's own upcoming digital card game. I want nothing more than for TESL to succeed in the long term, and I think each release has taken the game in a new and exciting direction, which is momentum I hope they're able to both keep up and build on.

If you're a TESL fan, an Elder Scrolls fan, or simply a fan of card games, I'd definitely recommend giving Houses of Morrowind a spin. I never got the feeling that Dire Wolf Digital was simply reskinning previously released cards, which is always a good sign when exploring a new expansion. The set has a feel all its own, unique from previous offerings such as Heroes of Skyrim, with enough new and innovative mechanics to keep things fresh.

Disclaimer: as Frank mentions in the piece, he's previously created content for Bethesda on TESL. 

The Elder Scrolls Legends expansion Houses of Morrowind went live today after a slight delay (from March 29 to April 5), bringing the strange land of the Dunmer to Bethesda's fantasy CCG. The expansion is notable not only for its incorporation of the studio's best RPG setting, but for the underlying changes it makes to the mechanical side of the game, including the addition of three-attribute cards which necessitate the use expanded deck sizes. 

What really hooked me about today's announcement, though, is the trailer. I honestly thought for a second that I'd clicked the wrong link, until the "Indoril" bit clicked—and then the appearance of the Guar, which really sealed the deal. (I didn't realize they had such big teeth.) After that it's the much-loved cliff racers, a mud crab taking the subway, and more from the Vvardenfell bestiary, all transplanted to real-world settings. It's very strange and I'm not sure how it relates to an Elder Scrolls CCG, but I like it. 

The Elder Scrolls: Legends – House of Morrowind will add 149 new cards to the game, Ash Creatures and Gods, three new keywords—'Rally', 'Betray' and 'Plot'—plus a a new 'Exalt" mechanic, and three new puzzle sets, each of them containing ten single-player challenges with rewards including Houses of Morrowind card packs, Soul Gems, and an exclusive card back. Full details are available at legends.bethesda.net. 

We'll have a report on how the expansion has changed the game next week, but for now just know that our global editor-in-chief Tim is complaining about not being able to mass disenchant the new cards, which means he's had the credit card out again. 

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.