Mythic Battles Ragnarok is a skirmish-style game in which figures from Norse Mythology battle to collect rune stones or complete objectives. This is a standalone game but several high-quality expansions are available to enhance gameplay and replayability. Additionally, this game works seamlessly with Mythic Battles Pantheon (Ancient Greek mythology) and Mythic Battles Isfet (Ancient Egyptian mythology).
How to Play
Mythic Battles Ragnarok is a 2-4 player game, played in either custom skirmishes or by completing scenarios in a campaign-style adventure mode.
Mythic Battles Ragnarok is a skirmish-style game in which figures from Norse Mythology battle to collect rune stones or complete objectives. This is a standalone game but several high-quality expansions are available to enhance gameplay and replayability. Additionally, this game works seamlessly with Mythic Battles Pantheon (Ancient Greek mythology) and Mythic Battles Isfet (Ancient Egyptian mythology).
How to Play
Mythic Battles Ragnarok is a 2-4 player game, played in either custom skirmishes or by completing scenarios in a campaign-style adventure mode.
Skirmish-mode is a more open-ended option where players choose their own armies and battlefields. Players build their army by choosing a god or titan to lead and then selecting from a vibrant array of different heroes, monsters and troops from Norse mythology. Armies compete to kill their opponents’ gods or absorb 4 runestones, situated around the board.
Adventure mode encourages players to battle through a series of intriguing scenarios to complete epic sagas. These scenarios offer a twist on the usual style of gameplay to give a more story-driven feel.
Mythic Battles Ragnarok adds an interesting new feature in the form of a jarl mechanic. This mechanic allows players to add jarl attachment cards to their troops, giving them further helpful abilities.
Miniatures and Artwork
Everything about Mythic Battles Ragnarok looks and feels beautiful. All the components are made with fantastic artwork and high quality materials, giving a luxurious and polished feel to the game.
The artwork on each of the four game boards provides an immersive birds-eye view of a unique battlefield; from Naglfar, the mythical ship made of the fingernails and toenails of the dead, to Mimir’s Well, the icy spring where Odin sacrificed one of his eyes for wisdom. Each dashboard and card features detailed artwork of the units represented. The game books included also have beautiful artwork scattered liberally throughout.
The miniatures in Mythic Battles Ragnarok are truly epic. Each one is beautifully sculpted and highly detailed, making them fantastic gaming components even if unpainted. For miniature painters, these minis provide even more value as they are so fun to paint. Each one is dynamically posed with lots of interesting details, giving plenty of scope for imaginative techniques and vibrant colours.
Gameplay
In a skirmish game, players begin by drafting their army. With the wide number of options available in the Core Box, there’s plenty of choice. Each unit costs a certain amount of Recruitment Points. Players will initially choose their god (or titan) who acts as the army’s commander. They can then draft up to the agreed Recruitment Point cost from the pool of heroes, monsters and troops. Each unit has a unique collection of stats, talents and abilities. The handy recruitment cards make choosing the army much easier by collecting all the key information into one place.
Each unit has a different number of activation cards as well as different stats, talents and abilities, meaning that there is as much strategy in creating an army as there is in playing the game. Some hero cards even grant extra ‘Art of War’ cards; these cards can be used to pay for a range of different benefits so having more than your opponent does give you quite the advantage.
As there are two different ways to win in a skirmish game (either by killing the opponent’s god or absorbing 4 runestones), players can choose to create armies suited to one or the other win condition, or to be adaptable depending on how the game is going.
During gameplay, players draw from a deck made up of a different number of activation cards for each unit as well as ‘Art of War’ cards which can be used in various ways. This is a really interesting mechanism as players must balance strategy with the luck of the draw. Is it best to play a particular unit as soon as you have an activation card for them, or will you need them later in the game?
Naturally, one of the main mechanisms for the game is the clashes that take place between units of opposing armies. The game uses a dice rolling mechanic where unsuccessful dice rolls can be added together to make successful rolls. This mechanic needs some getting used to but becomes quite intuitive over time. This unusual dice-adding mechanic allows for weaker units to have a chance of doing some damage against a stronger foe and adds a further layer of strategy to the game.
Whilst not all units have the strength to go toe to toe with the gods, the array of different talents and abilities makes them useful in different ways. Some units offer boons to friendly troops while others prevent opponents from carrying out certain actions. This gives the Mythic Battles Ragnarok a more tactical edge compared with some other skirmish-type games. Additionally, using the versatile advantages granted by spending Art of War cards can give players just what they need to prevail in dire situations.
One of the things we really enjoyed about this game is how quickly the tables can turn and a losing player can make a comeback. For example, in one game, the player who looked to be winning had their god suddenly destroyed by another player who was woefully behind on absorbing runestones. The two victory conditions really help with creating an ever-changing battlefield where nobody can charge too far ahead towards victory.
Final Thoughts
Mythic Battles Ragnarok is such an enjoyable game. From high quality artwork and exquisite miniatures to interesting game mechanics, this game is so well thought out. The mythology theme is embedded deeply into the game so that you feel truly immersed in the story being created. The rounds are quick, there’s lots of opportunities for strategy and the multiple ways to win makes the game feel neck and neck right to the end.
