Epic: A Look at the Past

There are those of us that have grown to love Epic The Card Game over the past 2 years. There are sadly many people who haven't heard of the game or played it yet. And then there are people who have known and played it since 2009. Well... kind of. Not everyone knows this, but the Epic game we know and love actually has its roots in a game with an uncannily similar name of Epic TCG. Sporting a very familiar designer credit by the name of Robert Dougherty, the game attempted its breakout several years before its most recent iteration. I, myself, had not known of that game. I don't know how it went under my radar, as I am a huge card game fan and have played a wide variety of card games from Magic to Star Wars, to Lord of the Rings, to Redemption.

Nonetheless, as I started to enjoy Epic more and more, I had heard about its roots and decided that maybe some other people would be interested in seeing where some of their favorite cards came from. This isn't a really in-depth analysis of the game, but rather picking and choosing some cards that will be very familiar looking, and seeing how the older game has been brought into the new. After this I plan on looking at some of the cards that could be in our future.

So let's look at some of our ancestry:

 

T-Rex - Ah, one of the most iconic champions in the game. The older version was far better. Where now you must show 2 Wild cards from hand to draw 2 cards, before you could show UP to 3 Wild cards to draw the same amount shown! Very flexible, far too powerful.

 

Blue Dragon - Now this one has a slight change in it. Now, dealing damage is triggered only when it is played, or when you play another 1-cost Sage card. Back then, you got to do this any time a player drew a card! Talk about OP. I can see why they changed this.

 

Drain Essence - One of my favorite cards right now was considerably different at one point. They may look very similar, and the old one might even look a tad underpowered, but the target difference is very significant. Being able to hit an opponent for direct damage AND heal yourself is a big deal. Right now you can only hit a champion, although you deal and gain 9. I think this was a wise choice by the designers.

 

Second Wind - This one got the correct nerf. You used to be able to automatically get a card and gain 5 health. Now, you still get the 5 health, but you have to Recycle in order to draw a card. This is a very reasonable change.

I just showed you 4 cards from the set, but if you look at some of the other cards, you will see a ton of familiar faces. There are many cards that are directly lifted from the old game into the new. I think it's a testament to the designer that so many cards have stayed the same. A later article will be looking at some cards that have NOT made it into Epic yet, but considering how much has already come over, perhaps we can make some predictions?

Honestly, look through the card list sometime. There are so many cards that are very similar, if not exact, to the current edition. Thankfully, most of the art did not transfer over. Here is a link to Coolstuffinc that has some pictures of the cards: http://www.coolstuffinc.com/page/1051?&resultsperpage=25&page=1

Here are just some cards from Epic TCG that are exactly the same to versions in Epic The Card Game

Ambush = Surprise Attack
Army of the Apocalypse
Avenging Angel
Banished
Inner Peace
Lightning Storm
Plentiful Dead
Psionic Assault
Tricerotops

Stay tuned next time as I look at some of the old cards and see how our Epic might look like in the future! Thanks for reading and happy gaming!