Stats:
No. of players: 2-4
Amount of time to play: 45-60 min
Age requirements: 9+
Set-up time: 5 min

Summoner Wars Alliances Master Set brings eight new factions to the series. You can play this on its own, or add it to the previously released factions, which exponentially adds to your deck construction options.

Summoner Wars Alliances Master Set Description:

The Summoner Wars Alliances Master Set could be considered a stand-alone expansion. If you are unfamiliar with the series, you can read my overview of the game play and review of the original Master Set here.

The Summoner Wars Alliances Master Set does not really add any new rules to the game. One faction is able to boost units, but they must pay magic to give those units boost tokens.

This set does add new ways you can construct your faction decks. The eight new factions are a combination of two of the previous sixteen factions. The new summoners can use cards from the Alliance Master Set or any cards from the old factions. Likewise the old singular faction summoners can use any cards from the new combined faction.

For example, the new Fallen Phoenix faction combines the Phoenix Elves and the Fallen Kingdom factions. The new summoner, Immortal Elien, can use any of the new cards plus any from the original Phoenix Elves or Fallen Kingdom factions. And if you use Ret-Talus, the original Fallen Kingdom’s summoner, you have access to any Fallen Phoenix cards. When you add in Mercenary cards, your deck construction options grows immensely.

The new box is big and includes dividers for all the factions, their reinforcement packs and their second summoners. In this one box you can fit your entire collection of Summoner Wars.

Other new components include neoprene boards that roll up and fit into the box and poison and boost counters.

Quick Review of Summoner Wars Alliances Master Set:

Summoner Wars Alliances Master Set is a lot of fun as a stand-alone game or when added to the original Master Set. The new factions mirror their original counterparts but play uniquely and just feel different.

The components are really nice. The art is great and the cards are of similar quality to those in the rest of the series. The neoprene map is decent. It keeps the cards from slipping, but you should roll it up for storage or it could get creased. The box is fantastic. I live that it holds everything from the original series and reinforcement packs and has dividers for everything. The rules are mostly the same as those from the original Master Set.

I love the new possibilities for deck construction this set introduces. Being able to use the new units with the original factions (and vice versa) creates a ton of new decks to build and try.

The next thing I like may seem to counter the one I just made, but you don’t have to change the decks in this new set if you don’t want to. The new faction decks are well built and play great straight out of the box. The ability to customize them is there if you own the original factions and want to, but there is a more than enough to enjoy and discover in this boxed set.

I mentioned that there is not many new rules are added in this Master Set. Well that is true if you have access to the poison rules. Most of the new elements that were introduced in the reinforcement packs are addressed. But for some reason the poison rules did not have a card. It can be found here.

I recommend picking up Summoner Wars Alliances Master Set. It is a fun addition to the series and an enjoyable game on its own. If you own the original Master Set this multiplies that game’s replay value. If you don’t own the original the question is which should you buy first. I think either is fine, but that knowledge of the original enhances your experience with this set. So get it first if you can.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 5 out of 6
Player Interaction 6 out of 6
Replay Value 6 out of 6
Complexity 3 out of 6
Fun 5 out of 6
Overall 5 out of 6