Star Realms - Cosmic Gambit DLC

Yet more trash gambit cards that completely unbalance the game from turn 1 If you are going to avoid any DLC, let it be these gambit ones.

This expansion sucks. Gambits will quite often scewer the game heavily in one players favor, from the very beginning. In a game where the luck of the draw, is already a big factor, this expansion will actively break the game.

Eeeeehhh ... okay, the only reason to get Cosmic Gambits in the digital is for everything [i]other[/i] than the gambits. The year two promo cards are phenominal. I'm especially a fan of the additions to Trade Fed. Since WWG doesn't seem to want to tell you what you're buying, see below for the new ships. Also, as far as I can tell, it adds 2 new ships per faction, not 1 base + 1 ship as advertised. Explanation: T=Trade, HP=Authority/Health/Whatever, C=Combat - Unaligned: [b]Merc Battlecruiser:[/b] 6-cost; pick-your-faction with Draw 1 - Trade Fed: [b]Federal Transport: [/b]2-cost; 1T 5HP, faction +2T <- my favorite here, a great inclusion to any deck - Trade Fed: [b]Security Craft:[/b] 4-cost; 4C 3HP, faction +3T - Trade Fed: [b]Bounty Hunter:[/b] 5-cost; 7C, faction +5HP - Star Empire: [b]Imperial Smuggler:[/b] 2-cost; 3C and [i]Draw a card, then discard a card.[/i]; scrap +2T - Star Empire: [b]Knightstar:[/b] 5-cost; 6C, and [i]if opponent has a base in play, gain an additional 3C[/i]; scrap Draw 1 - Blob: [b]War Kite:[/b] 2-cost; 5C; scrap to destroy target base. - Blob: [b]Stellar Ray:[/b] 5-cost; 3C, Draw 1; scrap +6C - Machine Cult: [b]Probe Bot:[/b] 1T, scrap 1; faction Draw 1; scrap +3C <- [i]possibly the best low-cost scrapper in the game at this point. Some trade, draw, AND self-scrap when no longer needed![/i] - Machine Cult: [b]Cargo Mech:[/b] 5-cost; 4T, scrap 1; faction Destroy Base Gambits are nice; in the physical card game, I love using them in a draft-pick system, where player 1 picks one, player two picks 2, then player 1 picks his second; after the match (if playing more than one), remove the 4 chosen gambits from the pool for the next draft pick (to prevent repetition). Same as with the previous gambits in this set, though, you're stuck with the bland 2-at-random base mechanic, which sucks and often leaves one player possibly feeling helpless. Some of the gambits are a huge departure from the previous set though, which is nice. The one that lets your vipers do +2C actually makes vipers useful throughout the game. There are a couple in there that let you scrap early on, which gives you a massive advantage over the one who doesn't have it. Scrap both my vipers on turn 1? Yes, please. However, I've noticed that a couple of the gambits in the digital version are gimped compared to their physical counterparts. And, I realized that it's because WWG didn't actually code in a persistant scrap heap, or the ability to add cards to the trade lineup. Compare: [Physical] Black Market: Add an additional space to the trade row above Black Market. Once per turn, the player who revealed Black Market may acquire a card from this space for one less than its trade cost. Otherwise, it functions as a normal trade row space for all players. With: [Digital] Black Market: Scrap: Choose a faction. This turn, all cards of that faction cost 1T less than normal. And compare: [Physical] Triumphant Return: Scrap to Draw 1; When you reveal this Gambit, you may pay the cost of a card in the scrap heap and put it into your hand. (Scouts and Vipers cost 0) With: [Digital] Triumphant Return: Scrap: Pay the cost of a card in your discard pile to put it into your hand. (Scouts and Vipers cost 0). So yeah, I am underwhelmed with the gambits themselves. Get the set for the ships, though.