My Top 10 Summoner Wars Factions - with Zee

0:08 Hey everybody, Zee Garcia here. And today I'm going to be talking about my top 10 factions for Summoner Wars second edition right here. These are going to include the ones that came in the box, of which you get six, and it's going to include the ones from all the waves that have come out, probably. Um there's brand new ones on here, there's a bunch of the original ones, there's the quite the Swaft, and I'll tell you a little bit as I pick them about what I like about that faction. This is not going to be a deep dive. I am not going to be analyzing specific cards or anything like that. This is going to be pretty quick, uh you know, uh fast and loose. I'll tell you the faction, I'll talk a little bit about why I like it, and why it's one that I very much enjoy. So, without further ado, let's jump right in. My number 10 is going to go to the Obsidian Dwarves over here. Uh and the thing I like about them is that they're kind of swingy. They're sort of unreliable. Uh and I enjoy that. They have tokens that you are going to accumulate for rolling the special on the dice, and you're going to boost this guy, and you can then remove you know, he gets stronger the the the boss and a few of the units if you have those things. But when you roll and don't get specials, he burns them off.

1:18 So, you can never quite rely on what's going to be your given strength at any moment. Some of the factions in this game are very reliable. These guys are not reliable, and I kind of like that about it. If you are if you are someone who is a Marvel Champions player, this faction reminds me a little bit of playing like Groot with his growth counters, or maybe someone like Colossus with the uh the tough statuses. You have to manage these things, and you're you're sometimes you you don't have them when you need them, sometimes they go away when you're hoping to gain some. And I really like that. I think they work well. They're they're kind of swingy, but they're bombastic and I I like that play style. I like the bombastic nature. You got to play from the gut when you play with these guys. So, my number 10, these guys right here, Obsidian Dwarfs.

2:10 My number nine is going to go to Phoenix Elves and these characters are all about one thing, pretty much, direct damage burn. They are going to be burning units on the board. You have archers who move around and uh you know, fire arrows at at other units without being in combat. You're putting out direct damage. You do have to protect your uh summoner because she can be fragile, but you know, take care of her, rush the opponent, rush the end of the game, and you should be able to come out ahead. This is a good faction also for someone who is just starting to learn the game, in my opinion. They're not going to be too tricky. They're not going to be too convoluted or funky. You know what you need to achieve, but but you know, lay waste to the battleground and and I think the Phoenix Elves are going to allow you to do that.

2:56 So, for me, number nine, Phoenix Elves right here. We go from one very straightforward faction to one that's a little sneaky and that is these right here, the Spectral Conclave. Uh so, these characters have these illusions, which are very cheap, uh very small little illusions that will show up, do a little something, and then when you turn around and try to attack them in melee combat, they vanish. And they are very hard to pin down. They have a little mind control mixed into the deck, so there's going to be a little bit of, you know, messing with the opponent's units. There's going to be a lot of sneaking around. There's going to be a lot of, you know, pulling the wool over your eyes. Um they feel like a swarm deck in many ways. They have a lot of little guys. Um they are tricky. They're a little bit funky. They're a little bit uh uh hard to pin down both you as the player playing them and certainly as the opponent Josh trying to hit something, and they keep vanishing, changing into something else. I really like them. I think if it's um you know, if you like swarm decks, if you like that sort of you know, a stick and move kind of feel, the Spectral Conclave here is going to give you a faction you're really going to enjoy. They're neat. They're quick and and uh just fun. Very very sneaky, very fun, very fast-paced. So, Spectral Conclave, number eight for me.

4:19 Number seven for me is going to go to one of the weirdest factions in the entire game. That is the Chosen Grove right here. So, these guys have a summoner that cannot move at all until you run out your deck of cards. And then this tree fella uproots himself and becomes an absolute beast. But, until that happens, he is vulnerable cuz you cannot move him. He cannot get away. Now, he does have 20 health, which is insane. Um so, he can take a lot of punishment, but you have to be careful you are definitely planning for the long game here. Where a lot of factions in Summoner Wars are about rushing the opponent, getting across to the other side, rushing them, uh trying to get, you know, sweep the leg before they're able to stabilize, Chosen Grove here is basically the exact opposite. You're going to be putting boost tokens on things. You're going to be building up. You are going to be playing that a long game until your summoner can finally become a playing piece on the board.

5:24 Really interesting, very different way to play. I like it. It's going to just feel unique as you play this faction. Having them in the fight is going to change how both sides have to react, and I really like that. So, for me, number seven, Chosen Grove right here. Number six for me is going to go to Savannah Elves. This is one one the factions that comes in the core box in the in the second edition core box. Savannah Elves here are really interesting. They're a little slow-paced. They're a little tanky. They're sort of big and can take some punishment. They are going to play a lot with boost icons that let them boost for more health, boost for more damage, things of that nature. So, you should be able to outlast your opponent, generally speaking. And they have some really interesting units. The Summoner here is a beast. He hits for five, has a ranged attack. So, if you get him into the fight, he can definitely do some damage.

6:19 And like I said, they all generally can hold their own. Um but that's kind of what you're playing. It's that mid mid-distance kind of faction. They are not the fastest faction by any means. Uh they're not the toughest faction, but they certainly feel kind of tanky and they can be very enjoyable. It's another good faction, I would say, for a player that doesn't have a ton of experience in this game or games of this ilk. Uh this is going to be another good one. I I really enjoy it. And so, for me, Savannah Elves is going to take that number six spot. Another faction that's going to feel pretty different from the average thing you do in this game, that is going to be my number five, Eternal Council right here. And they are all about one thing mainly, and that is drawing cards, drawing every card you can, having a handful of cards, uh and beating your opponent by the sheer fact that you have so many options available in your hand that you can do whatever you need to.

7:17 They also have the ability to put events into play and then keep those events active for longer than they should be active, which is very interesting. Um but you do have to be careful. The trap here being that you just draw all the entire deck into your hand and then you have nothing else to do. So, you got to be careful. It's a It's a double-edged sword. It's that idea that it's, you know, it's in your hands how much you rev up your engine, but you don't want to blow a piston out of the side. That's kind of what these characters feel like. Very interesting, a lot of minutiae to deal with. So, not necessarily one that's going to be easy to understand out of the gate. Probably want to play this game a little bit before you jump into Eternal Council. But, if you like options, if you are someone who is deeply bothered by playing, I don't know, Magic the Gathering and having to just resort to top decking one card, and okay, this is what I have. Okay.

8:10 This is your faction. You will always have options in your hands. So, that is Eternal Council right here. My number four is one of the newest factions to have come out for the game. That is Drakehorn Rebellion right here. And these characters are dragon riders. That's the idea. You are going to have your units that get bonuses from getting a lift from a dragon, and you're going to have other units that are dragons that when they move can take an adjacent character with them. Jump on the back of the dragon, go across the board, leap off the back of the dragon again. So, very mobile, easy to get around the board. This faction is going to start with one of the champions, sort of the big, you know, the big units in the game. You start with one of those in play already. And that is specifically the mount for your summoner, which is very cool from a thematic point of view, an absolute win.

9:05 And they're just fun. It is It feels like you, you know, brought these monstrous beasts to the battlefield. It's going to be rewarding. It's going to feel uh you're going to feel powerful right away, and that's fantastic. And And you feel very mobile, which is interesting, because usually when you have big chunky units, they're not the fastest thing on the board, right? Well, with the dragons, you're going to be zipping around very nicely. So, I really like them. Again, like I said, they're a a flavor from a flavor point of view an absolute win and feel very interesting and that mechanism of dragon riding across the battlefield is very clean. So, you can wrap your head around that very easily. So, there you go, Drake Sona Rebellion.

9:53 When putting together this list, I realized that I tend to like my Summoner Wars factions on the creepy side of normal, let's say. I like the sort of dark spooky horrific ones and number three is certainly going to fall right into that category. This is going to be the Filth. So, the Filth is all about mutations with the idea being that you can have a unit on the board from which another one of your units springs forth to life. That's kind of disgusting, but that's what's going on and it introduces sort of a new type of unit actually because you have in this game your summoner at the very top, champions and then commons. Commons of which there's a few of each and they are pretty straightforward. This kind of has unique commons.

10:41 So, there's sort of a level in between those things and you can blow up a common and have it become one of those unique commons if you have it and you, you know, supplant one with the other. But that's basically what you are doing. You are going to be bringing things back from the discard pile. You're going to be mutating into bigger and better things. You are burning through your own people in order to get that sort of forbidden power. That's what the Filth is all about and from that thematic point of view, I really like it and I think it plays very very well. I it's it speaks to me this idea of forbidden knowledge of of you know, what have you all that spooky fantasy stuff. The Filth gave me that all the way through and I really enjoy them. So, my number three.

11:30 Number two is going to be my favorite faction from the core box and that is Fallen Kingdom. So, Fallen Kingdom here is sort of necromantic. So, that's what's going on. You are bringing bringing back you know, things from the dead. You get bonuses for units of yours that die, for units that are wounded, that sort of thing. So, you it's all about the sort of dark power, sacrifice, necromancy, all of that stuff. They are a little tricky to play. They are very very offensive of a unit of of a faction. You you want to get out there and fight. You want to bring the fight to the opponent. Um but I really like them. And again, that's a partly a thematic win for me. I really enjoy the idea that uh you know, you are playing the the evil characters in this world, right? And that's that's the faction you are.

12:22 But, I really like what they do as well. I like the I like the idea of hurting yourself to hurt your opponents more. If you enjoy that concept in games, uh then I think Fallen Kingdom might be the one for you. That's my number two. And to finish this trifecta of evil that sits at the top of my top 10 Summoner Wars factions is going to be Crimson Order. Uh this is my number one faction for Summoner Wars and these guys are basically vampiric. That's the idea. You are in some ways like Fallen Kingdom going to be gaining benefits from from from wounded things, from you know, you get damage you get power from damaged things.

13:09 But, then you're also doing vampiric things, sucking out life, that that sort of idea. Um there's going to be a lot of little guys in this one, so they feel a little swarmy in a way. But, that's the main push. That vampiric anything in any game, video games, board games, I love that. I love the idea of as I hurt you, I heal a little bit, too. Any game that gives me a faction where that's a thing I can pursue, I'm there. That's going to be my That's going to be my choice. And Crimson Order here certainly gives me that. So, I really like these guys. They're very engaging. And again, they sort of thematically let me play into the being evil, being the spooky faction at the table. Really, really like them. My number one right there. So, there you go, folks. That is my top 10 factions currently, of course, for Summoner Wars. Let me know in the comments below what you think. Which ones did I Which ones am I discounting?

14:06 Which ones of these shouldn't be in the top 10? That you think are not very interesting or very good. Give me your own top 10. I'd love to see what you think. So, that's going to do it, everybody. Thank you very much for tuning in. My name is Zee Garcia. I'll see you on the next one.

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