Unmatched is a board game that allows you to mix all kinds of fairy tale characters, superheroes, real people, and others to battle it out in deadly combat. Having a match where Robin Hood and Hamlet fight together against Bigfoot and Dracula in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is nothing strange, and the success of the board game has led to a flood of interesting licences. Thanks to this, characters such as Bruce Lee, Jurassic Park Velociraptors, Buffy, and Spider-Man have long been added as potential fighters and can battle on a map such as Daredevil's home turf, Hell's Kitchen.
Now this has been further expanded with something I guess many of you will love, namely The Witcher, a brand that feels tailor-made for Unmatched, and it's nice enough that we're getting CD Projekt Red's versions here. In total, there are two new expansions called Realms Fall and Steel & Silver, each with three new characters and a new type of Scheme card called "Ongoing" that remains in play between rounds.
Geralt and Ancient Leshen battling the T-Rex from Jurassic Park and Alice in Wonderland.
If you're not familiar with Unmatched, it can be played by 2-4 people, either in teams or everyone against everyone. A round normally takes around 30 minutes one-on-one, and around an hour if you play two-on-two. Since these sets contain three figures, it's everyone against everyone (unless you have more sets and want to mix them, which I personally think is the most fun, and all Unmatched sets are compatible with each other).
Here are my reviews of both The Witcher sets:
These three characters are included in the package: Geralt of Rivia, Ciri, and Ancient Leshen.
Unmatched: The Witcher - Steel & Silver
Steel & Silver is probably the most interesting of the two Witcher expansions and offers a concentrated dose of nostalgia from this universe. The expansion includes Geralt of Rivia, Ciri, and Ancient Leshen, where the first two are obviously the main attractions.
Geralt himself comes with more cards than any other character. He is designed as a kind of role-playing character where you get to choose his equipment before each match. Based on the opposition, you can optimise him by choosing the sword, armour, and potion you think you need. In addition to this, there are some really strong cards. This makes him a good and capable, but somewhat predictable and boring, character to play against and with. At his side is Dandelion, who complements him well by being Ranged, whereas Geralt is Melee.
Ciri is perhaps the most interesting character in both The Witcher expansions and affects the entire game. She is not particularly good at the beginning and cannot even use her special ability until she has played a number of cards. But as she plays cards, new abilities are unlocked that become stronger and stronger. A good tip with her is to play defensively at first, while your opponent has to go all-in to kill her first. If Ciri is still around when her latest traits start to unlock, she becomes deadly. She brings the unicorn Ihuarraquax into battle, which is not particularly remarkable but can take a lot of punishment and is therefore a good bodyguard.
Finally, we have Ancient Leshen, who I perceive as being on the verge of being too strong. Apparently, the game creators have come to the same conclusion, because Leshen can only move one step per turn (although there are cards that can help with this) and has only 13 health points. Otherwise, it is a cavalcade of potentially grotesquely powerful attacks, possibly the strongest in the game. At its side, Leshen also has two wolves, which are the usual setup that can withstand one hit each. However, they move three steps, and to my knowledge, this is the first setup where the main character and side characters have different movement speeds.
Two battlefields are included in the package, the most interesting of which is a dark and thematic map inspired by Kaer Morhen, where different zones can only be reached from one direction (you can jump down from the walls into the courtyard, but you can't walk from the courtyard up onto the walls). A brilliant map.
High marks for Steel & Silver, in other words, a pure Witcher feast. It's fun to play one-on-one, but it's best if you have at least one set so you can mix up the characters a bit and run different matchups, and if you have the opportunity to play two-on-two, it's absolutely phenomenal. Whether you want a fun board game based on The Witcher that doesn't feel like a quick cash grab, or you're just curious about Unmatched, or you already play and want to expand, this is highly recommended. The only thing preventing a maximum rating is the fact that the box "only" contains three characters instead of four (making two-on-two impossible straight out of the box).
Rating: 9/10
Dessa tre karaktärer ingår i paketet; Triss/Yennefer, Eredin och Philippa.
Unmatched: The Witcher - Realms Fall
Where Steel & Silver is really a kind of the "best of" from The Witcher world, Realms Fall is perhaps a little more for connoisseurs. It's not as if Triss and Yennefer are unknown characters, but here the ladies are joined by Eredin and Philippa, who are not quite as well known to those who haven't read the books or played the games. Fortunately, this doesn't affect the entertainment value.
Triss and Yennefer are, of course, the most interesting and have an unusual setup where both heroines can be used as the main character, making the other one a support. Yennefer can boost her attacks, which makes her very powerful, while Triss deals more unexpected damage that you can't protect yourself against, which I guess is supposed to be seen as her using magic. What they both have in common is that they consume their opponents' cards at a rapid pace, and Triss in particular is very interesting to play with.
Eredin has a setup we've seen before in Umatched, and has four Red Riders as support. If all of them die, he becomes Enraged, which makes him both stronger and faster, and he also has defence cards that can be used for attack. A possibly slightly unimaginative character who nevertheless feels strong and fun to play with. Having four supports makes it easier to flank opponents, block their paths, and make escape difficult.
Philippa has received a lot of love in the Unmatched: The Witcher expansions and is the best character in the game. She is Ranged, but only has twelve health points and not particularly good defence cards. On the other hand, she has the ability to dance around like few others, and at the end of each round, she gets to draw cards until she has four in her hand. This means you will very rarely encounter a Philippa without cards. Combined with the support character Dijkstra, she is very dangerous in the right hands, although it will probably take a few matches before you get the hang of her.
These three characters are included in the package: Triss/Yennefer, Eredin, and Philippa.
The set includes two new maps, one of which takes place on a boat. This one is absolutely phenomenal and is divided into two decks with a limited number of entrances and exits. It's really cleverly designed and leads to some extraordinary scheming, as the placement of all the characters becomes so important.
Overall, Realms Fall is also a well-made expansion, but with the exception of Philippa and the boat arena, it feels a little lacking in surprises. If you like The Witcher, you obviously need this one too, but if you only want one The Witcher board game, Steel & Silver is the one to go for. However, it's best to get both, as this will give you plenty of opportunities to vary your gameplay and engage in battles that far surpass the Netflix series.
Rating: 7/10
