Author: Newsroom
Lake Forest, CA – July 24, 2019 – Cryptozoic Entertainment, leading creator of tabletop games, trading cards, and physical and digital collectibles, announced the limited release of Epic Spell WarsTM of the Battle Wizards: ANNIHILAGEDDON Deck-Building Game at Gen Con, August 1-4, followed by a full retail release in September. Fans who purchase the game or any other entry in the Epic Spell Wars series at Cryptozoic’s Booth #503 at Gen Con, the annual tabletop convention in Indianapolis, will receive the exclusive Studd Spellslammer & The Juice! Promo Card Set, while supplies last. Gen Con attendees can also buy the limited edition Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards Statue for the first time anywhere.
The game brings the popular Epic Spell Wars series to the world of deck-building games with the trademark over-the-top, mature humor and art that fans have come to expect. It utilizes Cryptozoic’s Cerberus Engine in innovative ways as 2-5 players become Wizards and try to buy magical Spell, Wizard, Treasure, and Creature cards—among other card types—in order to defeat their opponents and become the Annilageddon Tournament Champion.
“Sharp-eyed players will notice that the oversized Wizards in the game are fully compatible with the previously released Epic Spell Wars card games, and the Wizards from those games can be used in ANNIHILAGEDDON too,” said Matt Hyra, the game’s lead designer. “Your Wizard becomes unique in the game in a couple of ways. When you start, you choose an Ability tile that grants you a special ability. Then you get to choose a Wizard and their Familiar, which sits next to your Wizard and is a powerful card that only you can buy. The amount of customization is pretty epic!”
The game’s heavy emphasis on Attacks results in a unique level of player interaction for the deck-building genre, as players constantly try to take opposing Wizards’ Hit Points (HP) down to zero. However, like all games set in the world of Epic Spell Wars, death is not final. After a player’s Wizard dies, his or her HP resets back to 20 and that player gains a Dead Wizard Token, which typically has some surprising negative effects, such as gaining undesirable cards, destroying cards, or decreasing HP.
“What would Epic Spell Wars be without a ton of blood, gore, and mayhem?” commented Cory Jones, the creator of the Epic Spell Wars world. “So in addition to all of the other players and Legends—ak.a., the bosses—trying to kill you, the main deck is going to exact a heavy toll on you in the form of Mayhem cards. If you thought you had a sweet plan for your next turn, think again!”
To coincide with the release, Cryptozoic will make the Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: ANNIHILAGEDDON Deck-Building Game Launch Kit available to retailers, providing guidelines for organized play events and prizes for tournaments. It includes 12 Abraca-Labrador Oversized Wizard cards, 12 Hocus Porkus Familiar cards, four alternate-art foil Cthulhu cards, a playmat, a poster, and organized play instructions. Retailers can order it from their distributors for $20.
Moreover, attendees at Gen Con will have the first chance to buy the Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards Statue, a limited edition 9-inch polyresin statue featuring Studd Spellslammer and The Juice!, one of the series’s Wizard champions and his sidekick, respectively. It will sell for $66.60.
Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: ANNIHILAGEDDON Deck-Building Game will be sold in limited prerelease quantities at Gen Con, August 1-4, and will subsequently be available at retailers across the U.S. in September for a retail price of $40.