Stats:
No. of players: 2-4
Amount of time to play: 40-60 min
Age requirements: 14+
Set-up time: 5-10 minutes

Mythic Battles Expansion 1 adds new talents, new tiles, hero cards, and six new scenarios. Read to see how they effect and add replay value to the game.

Mythic Battles Expansion 1 Description:

The first expansion for Mythic Battles adds some new components, new rules and new talents. If you have not played the base game, read my review of Mythic Battles and then return here. In this post I will assume you are already familiar with the game and its mechanics.

As I mentioned there are new talents, seven to be exact. As the talents in the base game these give your units special abilities. The new talents are unique to one of the new units in this expansion.

The new hero cards go into your deck and may be played when you wish. The hero for Athena, Tiresias, lets you choose specific cards from your draw pile instead of drawing off the top. And the Hades hero, Tantalus, makes your opponent spend a Power Point to maneuver.

The biggest new rule involves activation. Most of the new units have variable activation. This means one of their Maneuver cards can only be used when they are not too beat up. There is a small icon on the Maneuver card that must also be present on your unit’s current Health card to activate it.

New components are also included. There are new tiles with a new terrain type, aquatic. Aquatic zones stop movement and give your units a penalty to attack and defense while there. New tokens have been added for the new units and the old ones too. The new tokens have a different border so units do not blend in with the board as much.

Six new scenarios have been added that can be played after those in the base set or in tandem with them. They are taking place at the same time.

Quick Review of Mythic Battles Expansion 1:

Mythic Battles Expansion 1 introduces some interesting new elements to the series. Nothing is revolutionary or drastically changes the game play, but the new wrinkles it adds are good.

The components for this game are great. Everything looks as good as the original and is well-made. The rules are easy to read and follow too. There is a game aid which is nice, but it is on the last two pages of the rulebook. While I appreciate the effort, having two separate game aids not attached to the rules would have been better. The box for Expansion 1 is smaller than the original but has slots to hold cards and tokens from both sets. I just wish the original rules fit in the smaller box to make everything more portable.

My favorite new element is the variable activation. It represents units taking damage and not being as active. It might be frustrating but it seems realistic and mechanically makes sense.

The hero cards are also a nice addition. They too are mechanically sound and add a small wrinkle to game play that gives flexibility for Athena as well gives her team an obstacle.

Lastly all the new units and scenarios really add a lot of variety and replay value to both this expansion and the base game.

If you own Mythic Battles and are looking to freshen it up, pick up Expansion 1. You won’t be disappointed.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 5 out of 6
Player Interaction 5 out of 6
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6