Game Info
Year
2025
Players
2-4
Age
10+
Playtime
30 min
Complexity
2.8/5
Collection
Your Tier
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Description
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 2 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video PSx3ANS4dss
Brains On Games Review at 0:00 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 87266 · mention_pk 227649
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Strong sci-fi themed art and flavor, with a clear pilot-mech concept that stands apart from fantasy-heavy TCGs
- High potential for deep card interactions and satisfying combos due to a large and varied card pool
- Two-player duel feels tight and focused, with meaningful decisions driven by energy budgeting and terrain/timing
Cons
- Prototype complexity leads to tracking wrinkles (no dedicated energy or token tracker in the display), which can slow play
- Board and card count can become table-hogging; organization inside the box will be important for a smooth experience
- Some players may find the game a bit fiddly due to multiple zones, interactions, and the need to manage both decks and on-board units
Thematic elements
- Mech combat with pilots, equipment attachments, traps, and faction-driven card synergies within a large deck-building framework
- Near-future sci-fi battlefield featuring giant mechs and piloted units on a modular battleground
- Hands-on, descriptive review focusing on mechanics and components
Comparison games
- Star Wars Customizable Card Game
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- board interaction and zone-based play — The game is played across a large battleground with deployment zones, traps, and technology that affect cards in other areas.
- Deck Building — Players build a deck from a large pool of pilot, mech, weapon, trap, and support cards, enabling varied strategies and combos.
- deck-building — Players build a deck from a large pool of pilot, mech, weapon, trap, and support cards, enabling varied strategies and combos.
- energy economy and deployment — There is an energy track (EXA energy) used to summon units; energy increments over turns and constrains what can be played each round.
- equipment attachment and ammo tracking — Mechs can attach weapon equipment with limited ammo, requiring tracking of ammunition to avoid wasteful plays.
- melee vs ranged with adjacent risk — Attacking a unit adjacent to you is melee and brings risk to your own card, making positioning and proximity crucial.
- pilot-Mech relationship — Each unit pair consists of a Mech with a pilot inside; defeating the pilot typically requires targeting the mech first, creating a layered threat model.
- summoning sickness / battle prep — Cards summoned to the board cannot act immediately, mirroring a summoning sickness mechanic and creating a staggered threat timeline.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a mediumweight strategy game
- you can create some interesting combos from the cards
- the main card that you're trying to protect as well and that really is the whole game
- this is a collectible card game that has that science fiction theme
- Summoning Sickness
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video nrB6OuE_D_A
Preview at 0:02 sentiment: positive
video_pk 69586 · mention_pk 166132
Click to watch at 0:02 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Thematic and lore-driven design that aligns with gameplay decisions.
- Strategic depth from nuanced card decisions and deck crafting.
- Engaging hybrid of lane battling and skirmish elements.
- Quick playtime and high replayability encouraging re-exploration of decks.
- Rich thematic integration with flavorful cards and world-building.
- Accessible and easy-to-follow card text.
- The potential for unique custom deck builds and playstyles.
Cons
- Might not appeal to players not interested in deck crafting or backing Kickstarters.
- Can lead to situations where one player has a significant advantage due to the 'reactor race'.
Thematic elements
- Conquering the planet Nyx as generals in starships, drawing power from mysterious forces, to annihilate opponents and rebuild decks.
- The Nyx, a planet inhabited by a fused mechanic and biological organism deity, where a god once left, leaving creation laws in play, and from that, abominations of flesh and metal appeared.
Comparison games
- Magic the Gathering
- Pokemon
- Keyforge
- Marvel Champions
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card Play — Players draw cards and play them based on resource cost and reactor initiation, with cards having attack, defense, movement, and unique abilities.
- Deck crafting — Players build their decks from various generals, mechs, regions, factions, and reactor-based cards, with the option for 40 or 60 card decks.
- explore — An ability that allows players to find and pull reactor cards from their deck when a scout moves into the Nyx zone.
- Global Events — The game features global events that affect both players collectively.
- lane battling — The game involves combat on distinct lanes or rows, with movement and range being important for positioning and attacking.
- positional play — Movement and positioning on the board are crucial for attacking, blocking, and triggering adjacency effects.
- Reactor Race — A mechanic where players aim to play a set number of 'reactors' to summon their Mech early, creating a race to access these components.
- Resource Management — Players gain resources each turn, which are used to play cards, with resource availability increasing in early turns and a special ability at turn 10.
- Skirmish — A combat-focused game where players battle head-to-head with the goal of annihilating opponents.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is a sponsored preview video video meaning that they reached out to us and wanted us to cover their game
- all of the Thematic all of the experiential all of the beautiful artwork and decisions that you're making in the game they line up in the ecosystem of this world that we've been playing
- we are generals we are starships that have come to this planet to conquer it to take it over
- this game has a lot of little card decisions when you're building and crafting and establishing the cards that you want to play with and all of them for me tie back into those thematic roots that story that we're telling
- the cards so far have either established ideas that are easily repeatable or they have the text necessary to clarify what the card does and how it operates on the table whenever you're playing it
- this is extremely important and sometimes leads to what the Publishers or the designers have termed a reactor race a scramble to try to get access to all the reactors necessary so you can summon your Mech as quickly as possible
- Havoc plays quick it's accessible and every time I've sat down and experienced it I've wanted to go re-explore rebuild or reinvigorate my deck and dive back into it again
- it doesn't feel quite like a skirmish game in my opinion but it also doesn't feel like a lan battling card based game there is that interesting hybrid
- This game comes down to a lot of strategic deck building or deck crafting and construction very very purposeful and strategic card play and yet there is that veneer there is that oversight of it having a little bit of that Skirmish element mixed in.
- I do think you're going to get the most out of Havoc if you happen to be the type of player that enjoys crafting your own deck
- I instead jumped out onto the board got completely enveloped in a cloud of toxic gas that Shir played down one of those little uh tech cards that she was able to summon from the Spire over here
- I did suffer some cataclysmic damage very quickly my pilot has never been the same since his lungs were filled with a toxic gas that he has yet to be able to identify
- that's part of the charm of Havoc right like the story that it tells the adventures that you go on the fact that this has movement and scale and a landscape we're playing in means that those stories come through all the more richer
- Games like this don't get created without backers like you lending your voice your critique when it comes to play testing and prototyping and of course your support over you know the uh duration of the kickstarter campaign
- I'm still bitter I'm still bitter about it I'll be honest about that I'm man enough to admit ad MIT that my you know 39 week pregnant wife annihilated me at a game by using uh what I would consider uh unfair tactics
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video _8F15hzeOuY
Playthrough at 0:04 sentiment: positive
video_pk 69585 · mention_pk 166131
Click to watch at 0:04 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Engaging lore and flavor text
- Satisfying deck construction experience
- Strategic depth with reactor mechanics and pilot/mech combat
- Potential for tense and competitive gameplay
Cons
- Prototype quality might affect gameplay perception (mentioned as a disclaimer)
- Camera recording limitations due to 4K resolution
Thematic elements
- Sentient factions summoned to a mysterious world by a cryptic ferryman, piloting Mech shells to battle and eliminate opponents.
- The Terminus, a world drifting in the galaxy's heart, teetering at the edge of a black hole.
- Lore is conveyed through flavor text read aloud for factions and characters.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Acid — A status effect that deals damage during the owner's end phases.
- Card Play — Players spend resources to play cards from their hand, which have various effects, attack, health, and movement values.
- Decay — A status effect that reduces a unit's attack value over time during the owner's end phases.
- Deck construction — Players craft their own decks from scratch, choosing factions and cards that align with their strategy.
- Divine Code — An ability allowing a player to take control of an opponent's non-pilot Mech card for a turn.
- Erosion — A status effect that reduces a unit's attack value over time during the owner's end phases.
- Expedition — A mechanic allowing players to search their deck for a specific type of card (reactors) when a unit with this ability is deployed.
- initiative — Certain units can attack and move on the same turn they are deployed.
- lane battling — The core gameplay involves battling across lanes to take out the opponent's Mech and pilot.
- Lure — A defensive ability that forces opponents to target other units in the same row before targeting the unit with lure.
- Madness — A status effect that forces a unit to attack a random space in its row at the start of the owner's action phase, with immunity for Voma and Mech types.
- Molten Cascade — An ability that deals damage to all cards in a targeted row or column.
- Mulligan — Players have the option to redraw their starting hand if they are not satisfied with it.
- Pilot & Mech Combat — Players control both a pilot and a Mech, with the Mech protecting the pilot. The objective is to reduce the opponent's pilot to zero health.
- Reactor system — Players deploy reactors that provide discounts on cards and contribute to a 'reactor race' that can allow for earlier Mech deployment.
- Resource Generation — Players gain resources (SP) each turn to spend on cards.
- Stealth — Some units have stealth, making them untargetable until they attack or fulfill certain conditions.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The Terminus is a world of drift in the Galaxy's heart a riddle teetering at the edge of a black hole.
- Divinity grows bored without a game to play for eons the void mind has nothing but their own mechanized Horrors to shuffle around an empty board then came the settlers eight species of sentient life summoned to the Terminus by a cryptic fairy men who lured them to this place and served them from their far off home worlds.
- We are a channel that appreciates and values flavor text by the way so if you're not that skip forward like 3 minutes cuz we're going to go deep the lore of this game's pretty darn cool
- I think I think this time I think we're I think we're more prepared than she knows she's looking I can see her trying to see what we have in our hand she's not going to be able to tell I think we're more prepared than she's than she's fully ready for
- I don't know that Shir beats me board games ever when we're not when we're not playing a prototype
- Jesse just doesn't know how to construct a deck and Havoc
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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