There's a new card duelist in town. His name's Dominic, and he's in Briarwood helping Sir Wellington keep an eye on his archeological dig site. There have been thefts and attacks at the site, and Wellington needs help protecting it.

Dominic is the first link in a new card duelist quest chain. (You can get the new quest from Poe Tatters in Sanctuary.) While playing through the new quest, you'll meet new card duelists – and see a number of cards you've never seen before. No, the duelists aren't cheating by making up their own cards. These cards are previews from the brand new second set!

That's right, there's a whole new set of cards on the way! There is a bunch of new game mechanics in the second set, some of which are previewed in the new duelist quests. You could wait patiently to see the cards when they're played against you – or you could read on for an overview some of the new hotness from the second set!

Crush
One of the major new mechanics of the second set is the concept of "crushing" your foe in a battle. In order to "crush," your creature must not only win the battle, but must win by 4 or more. If you do, you gain an extra bonus effect – scoring an extra card, for example, or readying your creatures. With crush effects in play, you might find yourself playing tricks even when you're already winning. Winning isn't everything – not if you can win and crush at the same time.

Trickster
The second set also introduces "Trickster" creatures, which changes the way you think about defense. While a creature with the Trickster keyword is attacking, its foe uses its attack instead of its defense. For example, if a Trickster attacks Changeling Rock Warrior (which has 1 attack and 4 defense), the Warrior uses its attack (just 1) in place of its defense (its now-unused 4).

By swapping its foe's defense for its attack, a Trickster turns your opponent's low attack/high defense "wall" creatures into easy targets. But watch out for those high attack creatures for which Chaos is so famous. Attacking Shadow Talon Archer with a Trickster would be a mistake; not only does it have 3 attack, but its power-up gives an additional 3 attack for one blue gem. You'd be much better off attacking the archer's 1 defense with a non-Trickster creature.

Artifact Shards
There are four artifact shards in the second set – one for each sphere – and they feature prominently in the new quest line! What do these powerful artifacts have to do with Dominic and Sir Wellington? You'll have to play through the quest and find out for yourself.

What we can tell you is that the artifact shards are represented in the trading card game by new resource cards. These resources actually come into play zapped, and only take effect when you ready them. We'll be talking more about these ticking time bombs of arcane fury in the future, so watch this space for updates.

And Much More!
Like the new card duelist challenges themselves, this has been just a small preview of the cool new cards coming in the second set. There will be plenty more information on the new set in time, but for now, track down Poe Tatters and see if he has a new quest for you!


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