Mahokenshi is a hex-based tactics deckbuilding game — without decks

These days, developers seem willing to adapt deckbuilding techniques to any genre or setting. This seemed at first a bit absurd, but designers have begun to see the potential for some very interesting and thoughtful hybrids.

This is one example. Mahokenshi The game is now available for Steam. It’s a strategy game with a Japanese-style world and folklore, from French studio Game Source. It’s not that Mahokenshi does anything revolutionary with its card game elements, but the care with which the developer has integrated deckbuilding into every element of the game — not just combat, but exploration and adventuring, too — is very pleasing.

It’s not worth spending too much time on the setting. The game lets you control four magic-wielding Samurai, who are from the elemental schools. They battle goblins and cultists on mystical islands. There’s some nice artwork, especially on the card illustrations, and the miniaturized maps of temples, forests, and little warring figures have a bonsai-like quality. It is a Western-based studio’s work, so it has a bit of a reverential, but generalized Orientalism. This style is losing popularity. There’s nothing offensive here — just a vague, borrowed mysticism that doesn’t seem deeply connected to the game itself.

It is a strategy game. MahokenshiThis is a fun, lightweight game. You direct your samurai on missions that are based on hexagon-based maps. You spend the card-game staple of energy when moving or playing cards, and it’s fixed (to begin with, you have four energy per turn) rather than building over time, although there are ways to increase it later in the game. Tiles have different properties — standing in a forest boosts your defense, while mountains increase attack rating — and also contain chests of gold, new cards to add to your hand, and locations like villages, dojo, and castles, where you can boost your cards or your character in various ways. Because everything depends on energy, you’re always balancing the rewards of exploration against defense and engagement, usually with one eye on a turn limit for the mission. It’s solid risk-reward design. Some of the cleverest card designs entwine all the game’s systems at once, combining movement with attack or defense skills in concepts like Fly or Charge.

Image: Game Source Studio/Iceberg Interactive

It is a game of cards. Mahokenshi has a twist, in that it’s not really a deckbuilder in the long run. Each mission will reset your deck to the basic starter cards. You can then build another deck by exploring and purchasing cards from villages. This is quite refreshing, in a way — it means Mahokenshi It is more about improvisation, thinking quickly and not trying to plan your next build. This makes it very accessible and immediate in its early stages.

It also doubles the impact of randomness upon the final outcome of your mission. Not only is the order you draw your cards each turn down to chance, but so, to a considerable degree, is the selection of cards you’ll have to draw from. It can prove difficult to complete missions as they become more challenging. Others might be able to find Mahokenshi Although it is a bit too random, this keeps the game light and interesting.

As deckbuilding burrows deeper into every corner of video game design, it’s popping up in ever more varied places and getting bent into ever more interesting shapes. Combinations are a great way to get your hands dirty. MahokenshiThis is an excellent opportunity to start a new chapter.