Altered – Trial By Frost Expansion Overview and Impressions

A few weeks ago, the team behind ALtered in France sent over a wonderful little package that only only included some nice items like some chocolate and a scarf, but also 12 packs of the newest Altered expansion, Trial by Frost! We are always excited for new TCG content, and we have really been enjoying our time with Altered. The latest expansion has a very “snowy” and “Christmas” vibe, so let’s take a look!

From Altered’s website,

“Begin your ascent in Trial by Frost and face the dangers of the Cais Adarra, a steep range of mountains shrouded in eternal winter. Gear up, gather your strength and lead your expeditions through a hostile environment of ice and snow. Make your way to the heart of the mountain and look for answers encased in the ice.”

The new expansion consists of a whipping 270 brand new cards, but brings back the heroes from the original release with all new art. The big new addition this time around is Gear for your characters, which provide a variety of bonuses and count as Expedition Permanent, which means they remain until the expedition moves forward, at which time they are discarded. The art on the gear cards is really cool in my opinion, and this new way of manipulating the play area is a nice, welcome addition!

One other card I took particular notice of – and I’m not sure if there are lots of cards like this or not – was the Icebound Lake Landmark Permanent-Site card. This feels like a catch-up mechanic kind of card, which provides bonuses to your expedition if it is behind in the race. I do think Altered could benefit from a catch-up mechanic because we have had a number of games end in a landslide as one player piles on the other and ends up winning with ease. Having something like this card us great! The Icebound Lake, after three consecutive turns of being “behind”, can create a 5/5/5 Dragon Shade card that will help you win, and put a targeted character asleep.

It will take more time for us to fully explore this latest release as we open more cards and begin manipulating our decks, but based on what we saw in the 12 packs we have opened so far we are pretty excited about what is to come!