The Elder Scrolls: Legends Now in Open Beta

The Elder Scrolls: Legends, Bethesda’s free-to-play card game based on their highly successful RPG franchise, is now available for PC players to download thanks to its open beta. More details are available on the official Bethesda.net website, including a detailed rundown on the mechanics that separate it from competitors such as the incredibly successful Hearthstone from Blizzard. An excerpt:

Lanes

The addition of lanes to our game has a lot of implications. You can play around large threats you can’t deal with. Cards you play don’t immediately get attacked by your opponent. You have to weigh your options on spreading your threats across two lanes versus using just one because of cards that impact creatures in a single lane. It adds a lot of diversity and strategic depth. Also, in our Story mode and in PvE matches in Battle and Arena, you see a whole bunch of other lane conditions that change the way you play. It offers a nice change of pace. Using our Support cards in conjunction with lanes means that you can have some important cards that can’t be attacked, which enables additional strategies and play patterns.

Runes and Prophecy

While there’s plenty of room for powerful aggro strategies in our game, the addition of runes adds interaction and drama. Runes give the defender card advantage, and prophecies add drama. On our streams, we’ve seen a few people who would say things like “you missed Lethal.” Many times, that wasn’t necessarily the case. Yes, I had creatures that could deal enough damage to kill my opponent, but when your opponent has a chance at pulling a Prophecy, you sometimes shift away from a singular “go face” mentality. Sure, sometimes it’s going to be the right choice to push for victory, but until you break that last rune, there’s always a chance of a turn-around.

Prophecies also make deck-building interesting. How many is the right amount? I usually like to run 10+ in a control deck but less in an aggro deck, because with my aggro decks, I’m not planning on my opponent hitting me that much. But even then I might include a few that can turn the tables in case I fall behind in the mid-game. Whether I’m running a control deck getting pounded down early or an aggro deck that’s looking for a way to squeeze in some extra damage, pulling a Prophecy from a rune is a really good feeling, because you get to play a card for free on the opponent’s turn. So, again, because of these swings, remember that pointing out “you missed Lethal” isn’t always straightforward.

Just like Fallout Shelter, The Elder Scrolls: Legends can only be downloaded via the Bethesda.net launcher and only after registering a Bethesda.net account.