Just played this last night with the Pharaoh expansion. I really like what it added to the game, those extra cards are great! With the sphinx it was my understanding that they don't count as the other monuments in the monument majority, as they count as themselves, so would only count as 1 point if you have it? Unless I miss interpreted that 🤔
Oh no, you're completely right. I can't believe I missed that BOLDED line of text, I'm a hack! That makes me quite happy. Definitely would have improved it for me, and a little less punishing that way as well. Thanks for pointing that out!
At first glance, when I heard about this game, I wanted it all because it's too beautiful and interesting. However, this review put my mind at ease about Tomb of Wonders and Divine Offerings. Maybe, someday I'll get them. But for now, I'm going to focus on experiencing the base game and the Pantheon expansion later. Thanks for this review, it was really helpful!
I sold the playmat, divine offerings, artbook, the separate guardians pack, and Pharaoh expansion to offset the cost of the pledge while keeping the rest of it. oh, also sold the 2 stretch goal gods and 3d monuments (and 3d printed my own). essentially, I got to keep the rest of it for free.
Wow, thanks for showing the powers of the cards. That's what I needed to make my decision! I definitely lean towards agreeing with you on the ranking here. The powers you get in the Pantheon expansion are really cool and game changing, and the cards from the Pharaoh expansion really sound fun. Great video!
I agree on your order. We house rule the Guardians when we play. We have more per level to offer the variety. If you are playing with the Pharaoh expansion, my favorite, this game has tons of variety and fun.
I love all the powers you can get from the additional Pharoah cards, that's probably my favourite element of it, followed by the variance of the Pharoahs and how they affect the region's, and then followed by the sphinxes
To be fair, the cardboard for the gods also has open space to feet the powers without then moving around any time you stumble your hand over it hehe. And the playmat has the vantage of having the map AND the extra boards in one piece, wich is always a plus in my opinion. But yeah, i'd buy the playmat last. I would actually put the Pharaoh expansion in the last ones, just before the playmat, because it changes the game so much. Anything else you can throw in right away. But it's better to play the regular game a few times first, so that everybody on the table has at least some experience before you modify it with the extra Pharaoh mechanics hehe So my list, from first to last to buy would be: Tomb of Wonders - 2 new gods, lots of new guardians and most importantly, 3D monuments and plastic tokens! Panteon - 5 new gods, wich affect the game way more then guardians Divine Oferings - Way better god boards wich enhance the experience Extra guardians - Just a few extra guardians Pharaoh - Changes the gameplay experience. So you should get it after you got all the rest Playmat - Don't affect so much the experience, but it's nice to have hehe
I have to agree with you completely but I'm not happy to admit it :D I'd still put the Pharaoh to be my top1 because the guardians and the gods are replaceable miniatures but...but...but I want to own them!!!
Haha, exactly!! Honestly the Horus sculpt alone makes me want the pantheon. And I just think the gods abilities in that one are so fun compared to the other ones.
I got Divine Offerings and came to the same conclusion, that, since I don't paint the minis, I'm fine using the dashboard and choosing a proxy army. The start of the game is, pick your god, pick your plastic. 😂 I didn't get the Pharaoh expansion because I'm not really an expansion person. I don't have the table or mental space for them. I also don't like that the style of cards doesn't match the base game and that there are no deluxe boards to match the Kickstarter boards. I played my first few games without the Tomb of Wonders just to see if I liked the game before I cracked open the KS box. Once I did open it, I've got to say, the difference between the flat cardboard monuments and the 3D monuments is huge in terms of really highlighting the importance and location of the structures. And if you've got the 3D monuments, you should get Divine Offerings since those thicker tokens sit much nicer in the holders on each monument. I haven't found the need to proxy the Guardian pack yet but if I get bored of all the base & KS exclusive guardians, I could do that. My rank: 1. Tomb of Wonders 2. Divine Offerings 3. Pantheon 4. Guardians NR. Pharaoh
Challenge for you: develop some house rules that fixes your problems with this game. I'd happily play your rules because I agree with you. The figures, minis, and theme are SO great that I want to love it. But mechanically it has too many problems to hit the table that often
I would probably put something like you can't purchase ankh 2 powers until after the first battle, can't purchase ankh 3 powers until after the second battle. It usually works out that way, but that might force the games to be closer and put more of the focus on developing the board and preparing for battle which I really do love
The easy houserule we've started to incorporate after game #2 is the following: When you get a guardian, you lose a warrior. This way the Unlock Ankh Power is a bit nerfed, so not everyone will rush to do these. It makes sure that the board doesn't get too crowded, so it's easier to see what's going on. And finally, it prevents players from being present in EVERY region, nerfing the Worshipful power a bit so all tier 3 powers are viable. Hope this helps
I've backed the Eternal pledge and am only now getting around to unboxing. Only opening the core box for now to see if I even like the game before lowering resale value. I always regretted missing the BR and RS Kickstarters for the upgraded components but now I feel like I am gonna end up selling Tomb of Wonders no matter what, if ebay prices are anything to go by. Like, that box alone might end up paying for my whole pledge...
It's a tough call, I don't think you'd need either, I'm pretty happy with my regular Kemet 1st edition (or whatever edition was before) and then the prices for Ankh are likely going to be pretty nuts, that you may be better with the base game.
Really appreciate this ranking! I'd like to ask, have you tried the Pharaoh expansion with 2 players? I've heard doing so leads to a crap-ton of cards in hand. Like, too many cards to be reasonable lol
I've done it with 3, that's the lowest, and it wasn't too bad, but we did have 3-4 each so I can see how in a two player if you divide up it could make a difference. I didn't mind having the cards though, they're a fun aspect of it
Would you add the Pantheon gods as an option to players on the first games (besides the base game gods)? Or would you recommend playing with the base gods by themselves a few times first?
I know! If they did, I likely would get more for sure. How do you feel about some games using a Cloth type of board? I'm not sure how I feel about it, my fear is that bumping it would scrunch it up too easily and it would be annoying.
If you make an insert - I designed an insert that I thought was pretty good that got all 12 gods, all pharaoh content and the plastic buildings, into the main box, and then all the guardians into the stretch goal box, should be under the playlist of inserts and unboxings if you're looking for inspiration
You're right! Who wants to hear reasoning behind rankings anyway! I should just tell you the numbers and you should believe it wholeheartedly and never think for yourself!
