Unchained

The Universal Monsters are unchained!

In the officially licensed deck-building game Unchained, players draft their initial decks for an asymmetric start, then continue purchasing cards on each of their turns while simultaneously sparring with the other players by attacking and defending with cards in their tableau. In more detail, on a player's turn, they:


Spar: Compare their total offense to an opponent's total defense, with a fatigue card going to the player with the lower value.
Chain: Play cards from their hand by matching icons; opponents may add to the chain as well.
Learn: Discard cards for effort, then spend effort to acquire cards.
Draw: Refill their hand to five cards, shuffling as needed and taking a fatigue card on each shuffle.


Each card can chain into other cards, creating powerful combos. Learn the signature moves of the Universal Monsters and try to stay in the fight the longest. The game continues until all fatigue cards have been taken, at which point the player with the least fatigue wins.

Unchained reimplements Nightfall with some notable changes:


An asymmetric starting draft with no pre-set starter decks, so the action starts on turn 1.
Streamlined card costs and abilities for a broader audience.
A new 3x3 purchasing grid system inspired by fan variants of Res Arcana.
Tokens to track card offense and defense.
A shield that can be activated to negate the player's next fatigue card.


-description from designer