I’m not sure what it is about Summoner Wars that draws me in like few other board games. I like to imagine it’s the fact that Kait actually plays it. Maybe it’s because I unironically love Runebound. There’s a certain appeal to things which invoke the childhood fantasy that I voraciously consumed in my formative years. While I certainly avoid the genre now (a peculiarity since I write in it), I quite like the card/dice game of generic fantasy tropes smashing themselves rather comically against each other even if the system isn’t the most compelling or complex.

And I know you all have missed this conversation, so I’m glad to drag it up from the dead.

At any rate, here’s some Summoner Wars news! And I’m not talking about finally writing up my reviews of the last factions I own. Kait never finished the tournament we literally started over a year ago. I hold her solely responsible. However, given our progress in it, I can give a quick rundown of our findings to date:

Abua Shi: Long time favourite. Sadly outdated and outclassed. 

Bolvi: Pet project and powerhouse if given the chance. Crazy strong with help but abysmal without.

Farrah Oathbreaker: Strong but complex. Unfortunately too wordy.

Frick: Low key very good while still feeling balanced and fun.

Jexik: Actually balanced

Mad Sirian: Fun idea with awful implementation. A victim of the early “better safe than sorry” design which he can’t shake.

Nikuya Na: Struggle bus is real. 

Queen Maldaria: How are you winning?!

Rallul: How can you lose?!

Samuel: A+ for effort but outclassed with later releases. Still too safe of design for an aggression faction.

Saturos: Bonkers.

Torgan: Dark horse but the struggle is real. Sometimes you just need to rely on Lady Luck.

Now, with the tournament incomplete there’s a fair amount of ties and a significant amount of sway from outlier data points. I won’t deep dive this. At least not now. Maybe when I’m more bored.

No, what I wanted to discuss was that the artist for Summoner Wars 2.0 has been revealed! Well, he has been revealed for many months now. But I only recently stumbled across this news. 

See!

Ahem. Yes. Well. That was a choice.

Where do we begin? Well, this is my blog so let’s start with my feelings.

I hate it.

Thank you, that’s a wrap. See you next week.

No, of course I’m not going to end there. There’s actually a fair bit to unpack especially since I ragged on the original game’s horrendous art. The perceptive amongst you will notice something familiar about this new Summoner Wars. That’s right. It’s the exact same art style as Crystal Clans. 

And therein lies my issue. I believe I applauded the art direction for Crystal Clans. Wait, let me go and double check if I did…

Yes, I did. I was upfront that the style isn’t my favourite. And it’s still not. Martin Abel is a talented artist, for sure. I can’t hold a candle to his skill. However, I don’t like these cartoon proportions and bright stylizations that are typically sold as children’s animation. It lacks a certain detailing that I prefer. Also, whenever discussing art, I’m more on the realism than stylized side in terms of my tastes anyway. However, they are my tastes. What I was really happy with in regards to the art for Crystal Clans was the design of the factions broke the stereotypical fantasy mold. 

Day of the Dead necromancers that look like a fun Mexican fiesta? Yes please! Geomancy gypsies with a fondness for capoeira? Why not? It was its own thing and it was going to drum to its own damn beat. And I respected that. 

Alas… this is not Crystal Clans 2.0. 

Now I’ve hated the visual design for Summoner Wars for a long time. But, truthfully, I felt that within its own framework, they were improving. While there’s a certain lack of creativity when it came to factions (we are swamp orcs, we are green vs we are ice orcs, we are blue), overtime a certain style was emerging that was, by a bare minimum, tolerable.

However, taking the Crystal Clan design and just painting over the old Summoner Wars factions is literally grabbing the worst of both worlds. Now we have these exaggerated, simplified characters composing exaggerated, simplified armies. Boring undead necromancers look like squeaky dog chew toys. Generic white angels and blonde clerics look like the Saturday morning children’s tie-in for a 2001 Bratz Dolls collection. 

Maybe I’ll be surprised that there’s been a huge rework to go along with the visual overhaul to the game but since the artist has already shown us Ret-Talus of the Fallen Kingdom and Sera Eldwin of the Vanguard, I suspect that won’t be the case. 

Even worse, both Crystal Clans and Summoner Wars are fantasy IPs. By using the same artist and art style you make the products visually indistinguishable. Maybe that’s not a problem. Maybe Plaid Hat wants to be known as the child pastel board game company. I don’t know. I don’t sit in on their creative meetings. 

Or, perhaps, the artist had a bulk sale on commissions and with Crystal Clans tanking they had all these leftover designs that had to be used for something. 

And I want to reiterate – the original Summoner Wars art was bad. I am not hating on this new direction simply because it is a new direction. I know that drastic changes, especially to nostalgic pieces, can often face a lot of undue criticism by people who simply want to reignite the experiences of their old favourites. I think I would have not liked it if Crystal Clans never existed and this was the first time I saw it. But I wouldn’t hate it. And I’d most certainly be thankful it wasn’t anime. 

Which, I guess I am thankful it’s not anime.

I will say this. Plaid Hat must know that going for such a highly stylized design is going to provoke a strong reaction from interested players – whether that be adoration or derision. I can appreciate them being bold. I just don’t like how recycled it feels. I want Summoner Wars to have a more distinct identity whereas this is too muddying around with that other game. 

Will I buy Summoner Wars 2.0? We’ll see. I won’t let the art hold me back, that’s for certain. I didn’t with its first release. So that won’t be the line in the sand for the second. However, after my experience with Crystal Clans, I’ll certainly be more hesitant about a purchase. If it keeps the spirit of its gameplay which I enjoyed from the original, I’ll certainly push past its new coat of paint. 

I’ve done so before, I can do so again.

But I won’t be happy about it.