How do you play?

[TowerWizard]

There are so many expansion packs, and laying all of them at the same time is probably not recommended. Playing just one at a time seems ideal, but then there are the promo packs as well.

Are there any recommended combinations of expansions and/or promos to play? Should you always include the base/10th cards?

[Oddysee]

Well, simply put, expansions with shared or similar mechanics are intended to be played together. For example:

Base game + Return of the Fallen
Storm of Souls + Immortal Heroes
Rise of Vigil + Darkness Unleashed
Realms Unraveled + Dawn of Champions
Dreamscape + Delirium + Deliverance (any combination of the three works well)

As for the promos, if I remember correctly, they are intended to be played with the first three sets I mentioned. However, they can be pretty much played with anything as it's not going to dilute mechanics enough to matter (as long as you don't use all the promos at once). Hope this helps.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that while it's technically fine to add the base game to any combo of expansions, I personally don't, because I feel it dilutes the deck too much.

[TowerWizard]

Thank you for this.

[playdek]

Thank you Oddysee. Also Gift of the Elements and Valley of the Ancients pair well. The Dreamscape, Delirium and Deliverance combination is indeed very engaging. You can play with all the sets and there are players who do but we would suggest you start with paired sets and then find the combos that work the best for you. Enjoy!

[Narcissistic Cannibal]

By the way, where did Gift and Valley disappear from the store? Are they now included in the base game urchase?

[MarioFanaticXV]

For the most card variety without going too much into mechanics that are heavily dependent on their own types of cards coming out, I recommend using the following sets:

Core set (original or 10 AE), Return of the Fallen, Storm of Souls, Immortal Heroes, Realms Unraveled, Dawn of Champions, and Gift of the Elements, and promo packs 1, 3, 4, and 6.

This combination has very few cards that rely specifically on cards from their own set showing up (energize, dreamscapes, day/night time, temples of life/death, and portals). While Promo Pack 2 doesn't have any such cards either, it does have Ender of Days, which I really wish there was a way to add the rest of Promo Pack without them- it can make games end way too early under the wrong circumstances.

For a smaller card pool, I second Oddysee's suggestions, though any of the "large" sets are great to play by themselves.

[space0pilot]

I tend to play between 3 and 5 expansions at the same time. Gives enough variety that you can't plump for a single strategy and you get surprises with cards that appear. I find 3-4 adjacent sets work well in general.

[space0pilot]

But to add to this - maybe play them one at a time for a few plays before combining them... that way you can learn how each set works/what it gives before mixing them together!

[Tostiman]

Originally posted by Narcissistic Cannibal:

By the way, where did Gift and Valley disappear from the store? Are they now included in the base game urchase?

yes