Champions of Midgard (as played on Tabletop) tore onto the scene in 2015 establishing Grey Fox Games as a legitimate name in the hobby gaming sphere. This worker placement game provoked favorable comparisons to Lords of Waterdeep and Stone Age, but did things its own way. It espoused a Viking theme and injected a large degree of drama into the proceedings by utilizing dice to combat monsters of North mythology. Drama and suspense are enticing ingredients absent from most games of this type, so it was no surprise when this game took off like a Viking longboat careening towards Valhalla.
Champions of Midgard is back. Not one, but two expansions are being offered on Kickstarter. The amount of material was large enough to warrant the split, and both can be picked up in a combined pledge for $40. The inclusions span new dice, additional leaders, and exciting new mechanisms.
The first offering has been dubbed The Dark Mountains. This adds the number one request by fans–a fifth player. Even if you’re not excited about including another friend on your violent sojourns, it allows you another player power and options when allocating starting leaders.
The new mechanism present is land journeys. These look to mimic the sailing action that occurs at the bottom of the board, but possess a twist with new monster types as well as a new archer unit. You can liberate these archer dice from their ferocious captors and add them to your clan for maximum carnage. The dice and unit types are the soul of Champions of Midgard so to see the game branching out in this way is endearing.
Valhalla is the more intricate expansion presenting an interesting new mechanism. This extension awards favor to players when their warriors die in battle, softening the blow and presenting a twist to the economy of the game. Perhaps even more exciting, we have new leader dice to add to our forces, giving your clan Jarl-to-be a unique voice on the war torn countryside. These can activate special abilities and give you better odds in combat. It’s a fun and simple inclusion that adds minuscule overhead.
This second expansion also offers new Berzerkers (heck yeah) and Shieldwarriors (why not). These two new units provide devastating new outputs of damage in the case of the former, or renewed defensive capabilities in the case of the latter. Combined heightened combat prowess with a mention of new epic monsters and the amp is about to get cranked to 11.
One huge benefit of backing this project on Kickstarter is that the combined pledge will include a large new custom box. This exclusive item will hold both expansions and the base game. The fact that it includes room for sleeved cards is sweet icing on the cake.
With an option to add on the base game this project is even friendly to newcomers. Combine a great price with an excellent non-gameplay exclusive and it’s no surprise this campaign is spilling blood and claiming souls. It runs until March 14th and you can find the Kickstarter page here.
Have you played Champions of Midgard? Are you looking forward to the expansions? Let out a war cry in the comments below!
Featured Image Credits: Geek & Sundry
Image Credits: Grey Fox Games