Japanime Games

Japanime Games Debuts RISE OF THE OLD ONES!

by Emma Recher, Sales Manager

Kamigami Battles is Japanime Games’ long-running deck-builder series, first released in China as Kanzume Goddess before Japanime Games redesigned the concept from the ground up into the deckbuilder we know today. Take control as a god from mythological pantheons around the world, recruiting followers and sending warriors to do battle with your opponent’s god in a free-for-all for 2 to 6 players. Early sets included Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Babylonian, Hindu, Celtic, Japanese and Chinese gods, giving players an incredible range to choose from – each depicted with gorgeous anime-style artwork from some of the industry’s top talent.

Kamigami Battles: Rise of the Old Ones takes this same formula … and adds a Lovecraftian flare! Adapting the Old Ones and Elder Gods of HP Lovecraft’s famous Cthulhu Mythos to the epic god-battling deckbuilder formula of Kamigami Battles was easy. Gods, disciples, and cultist warriors are a staple of the game already! The art offered a unique challenge, however. How do you turn an incomprehensible, eldritch abomination like Cthulhu into a cute anime girl?

Easy! You just hire some extremely talented artists! Kamigami Battles thrives on its vibrant anime art style, with classic mythic pantheons populated by cute, anime-ified versions of Thor, Zeus, Vishnu, and more – and Kamigami Battles: Rise of the Old Ones is no different! And while that may not be a surprise to longtime fans of the Kamigami Battles series, what will be a shock is the new mechanics at play.

Rise of the Old Ones introduces Artifact cards – a new card type (so far) unique to this set, bringing ancient and powerful relics like the Necronomicon, Ring of Eibon, Green Stone Idol, and more – illustrated by legendary artist Brian Snoddy! Artifact cards bring new elements to play – powerful new abilities that can chain to your existing Warrior cards and change the game in strange new ways!

Artifacts are added to the Hall of Heroes just like Disciples and Warriors; effectively another row of cards you can buy during your turn. There are 12 new Artifact cards in the base Rise of the Old Ones game, while the expansions The Stars Are Right and Into the Dreamlands add five more Artifacts, each in addition to their exciting assortment of new gods, temples, disciples, and warriors! Lovecraftian aficionados will recognize some of their favorite entities from the mythos such as Nyarlathotep, Father Dagon, Hastur, and of course Cthulhu himself. While Temple cards, a staple of Kamigami Battles’ gameplay, feature iconic locations like Innsmouth, R’lyeh, and Lost Carcossa. There’s even a special card of HP Lovecraft himself!

These new editions fit smoothly into the formula of Kamigami Battles, making Rise of the Old Ones and the expansions perfectly compatible with all past Kamigami Battles sets – both River of Souls and Battle of the Nine Realms base games, and the past expansions Warriors of the Dawn, Children of Danu, Court of the Emperor, and Avatars of Cosmic Fire. Longtime Kamigami Battles players can add the new sets to their favorite deckbuilder and play without needing to re-learn the rules. This was a big component of designing the new sets. Finding interesting new mechanics was essential, but ensuring everything stayed compatible and balanced with existing rules provided a unique challenge for Japanime Games.

Japanime Games plans to continue Kamigami Battles in the future with even more new sets. After all, the current offerings only cover Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Babylonian, Japanese, Chinese, Celtic, Hindu, and now Lovecraftian mythologies. There are plenty of other pantheons that can be explored! As one of the company’s most popular deckbuilder series, Kamigami Battles takes the traditional formula and adds a much more aggressive, pvp spin on things that’s made it a staple of game stores, conventions, and tournament play. And Japanime Games shows no signs of that stopping any time soon!