I’m really excited about this post. Scythe is my favourite game of all time. I came to that conclusion after I did over ten thousand paired comparison tests of games in my game collection that I had played. It was a very exhausting process, and one that I plan to repeat next year.

But this post isn’t about how I came to the conclusion that Scythe is my favourite game of all time. It’s about me getting my grubby digital mits on some exclusive previews of four Encounter cards for an up and coming Scythe related thing. I believe there will be an announcement in the near future about what it is.

When I first saw these Encounter cards I spent minutes just enjoying the art. Just taking in how stunning the images were. And it is stunning.

I have to admit when I was looking at the options on each of the encounter cards I will be sharing with you the Magic player in me kicked in. I started evaluating the choices like I would the abilities of a Planeswalker. And in some ways you can look at these options as the Encounter equivalents.

So let’s have a look at the first of these encounter cards that the Stonemaier Games deep throat sent me to share with the world.

I’m such a fan of the art in Scythe. But this cards art is just so gorgeous. Seeing it for the first time I thought this was reminiscent of the scenes in the Force Awakens on Jakku with the crashed Star Destroyer half buried in the sand dunes. For me this is almost the cold weather version. The crashed half buried dreadnought dwarfing everything around it. Love it.

The options you have on this encounter are pretty cool. I definitely think the rescue option will be selected the most. The match one is very situational, and board state dependent. You don’t want to leave resources unclaimed ready for others to swoop in and take. So I can see that being the least selected option. The taking the credit option is a nice quick shot of power with a possible nice little benefit.

I’m not sure about Eastern European mountains, this art on Encounter 49 made me think of Scotland or the Lakes, and how beautiful they are in Winter. In fact it made me long to get back out on the hills and enjoying the amazing mountains we have. I just love it.

The reveal card option, I’m happy to take that gamble to gain power. It’s a very Magic the Gathering thing to do. I can’t remember specific cards, but there are a few out there where you are revealing the top card to gain health or do damage in a similar style. I actually like the middle option, it’s enough to push you into a higher scoring zone, or give you that final push to score the popularity star. Oh and that final option that’s removal, I like removal. That could remove a threat from another player who is in a position to attack, or it could set up your next turn for you to move into the now free space.

If I had to say maybe my least favourite art of the four cards, but it is still pretty cool. I’m kinda reminded of Constable and his work, or those early black and white photos of old time farming.

I’m in two minds about the first option. I like it, and the idea of getting another shot of drawing an encounter card. And if I was playing Rusviet I’d love this because getting to the Encounter token again would be real easy. But I don’t like the idea of leaving it there for others to nab. The middle option I do like a lot. It has the flexibility to be very very useful depending on board state at the time you chose which is the best token to move. And OMG that last ability. Warp to an empty spot on the board basically, and it doesn’t cost me anything to do!

This final Encounter card is so Magic the Gathering and Red.

For the last time lets look at the art. It’s different from the rest that we have seen. There are no mechs, no dreadnaughts. However it still manages to have that 1920’s alt history feel to it. It has an almost cinematic stand off feel to it. You feel that this would not be out of place in a movie trailer. It’s such a classic shot.

The first option for me is classic red in Magic the Gathering, card draw and then having to discard a card. I think that the bribe option is also red, it has it’s price, and you get a great benefit, it’s just random. It’s that chaotic, randomness that gives it the red feel. That last ability. That could be your last star to trigger the end of the game. The end of game out of nowhere. What a great surprise. It’s definitely a mid to late game option.

I know I kept making the Magic the Gathering comparisons when looking at the Encounters. But there has definitely been an influence here, and a positive one I think. There are some great options on these Encounter cards, naturally some fit certain tactics and factions better than others. But there are at least two options on each Encounter here that I would like to play if I drew that card. You can’t ask more than that really without seeming greedy. But if you are Polania where you can select 2 options per encounter card, choosing the first option pays for the third in more than one of the cases on the Encounters above. That’s a nice synergy.

There you have it four new Encounter cards that we will be getting our hands on. I can’t wait to be shuffling these into the Encounter deck and drawing one of them. I hope that I have done the cards justice, and not waffled too much, been too pretentious. You’ve read my thoughts on the cards. But which is your favourite? What do you think of them? Let me know in the comments below (if you haven’t commented before I will need to approve your comment, then you are golden after that to comment freely whenever. Sadly spam forces these sort of measures on me.)