Test-Vanguard Exiles: Test: You should keep your fingers away from the new game of the Magic-the-Gathering inventor!

With Magic: The Gathering, game developer Richard Garfield invented the forefather of all trading card games over 30 years ago. Usually the developer legend adheres to analog board and card games in the real world. With Vanguard Exiles, however, one of his rare computer games has now entered the early access. An absolute festival for me as years of magic players and professional gamers. Unfortunately, this led to one of the worst gaming experiences I've ever had.

Vanguard Exiles is an Auto-Battler with a PvP focus, which according to developer information plays in a “fantasy era after the First World War in the diesel punk style”. Sounds original and is also chic to look at, but the 2D comic figures with pimples and gas masks do not really want to fit into the 3D environment.

Why do I quote the developers for this? Quite simply: the game itself persistently refuses to tell you something about it. This applies to both the story and the three playable factions. If you take a 3min YouTube video, the thing doesn't even have a tutorial. It is quite possible that this test represents one of the (if not the most detailed "instructions" for Vanguard Exiles that exist. But if so, then we do it right and start over.

Commissioner Coincidence moves into battle

Before you can plunge into the very first match, you need a few units first. However, you cannot assume direct influence. You have the choice between some randomly compiled troops with equally random name distribution, the meaningfulness of which is on a level with the naming of mini bosses in Diablo II. (Greetings go out to “Baumkopf wooden fist”!)

Each of these teams consists of relatives of two of the three factions. Also included are the war -loving dwarfs in their thick armor and with even thicker sticks, the elves, which experiment with a mixture of magic and science, and the magicians. You just don't know anything about the latter group. However, they somehow seem to mess around with dark magic and like to conjure up unnatural creatures when they feel like it.

Even later, the compilation of the squads cannot be changed and units cannot be exchanged or leveled up. If you have decided on one, you first set it. You have to earn a second, third and fourth squad for some variety.

But then it can start. Two commanders always compete against each other. The game board consists of numerous hexagon fields, of which some of which become acceptable areas at the beginning. If you manage to fill a field with your troops and spend two rounds undisturbed there, the field belongs to you and its victory points go into your account. Some fields also have special skills that reward you with upgrades or coins. It is played until a total of 80 points has accumulated. No matter how many rounds it takes.

Both opponents at the same time put their existing units on the fields, but do not see what the other planned. Once all placements have been completed, the auto-battle part begins. From now on your characters are developing a life of their own. If you are alone in a field, start taking it and move on afterwards. If there are enemy units there, the position will be fought beforehand.

Once all the ownership has been clarified, the round ends, the victory points are distributed and it goes to the replenishment and strengthening of your own troops. While you get the units for round 1 on hand in vain, you have to steal properly in the further course.

At the end of each round you get a gold coin that you can spend in the shop. If you prefer to save yourself the coal for a later point in time, you can then afford larger units. Which three units are offered to you is random again. The application phase, fight and the shop alternate until the first reaches the 80 points. Wasn't that difficult.

Young man wanted to play along!

In order to get a little variety into the game, Vanguard Exiles comes up with five different “game modes”. They do not change anything on the gameplay, but determine who marched against you.

In single player mode you compete against the AI ​​in increasing levels of difficulty. If you have done a level, the next more difficult will come and so on. In this case, however, it does not mean “more difficult” that the AI ​​would make more smarter decisions, but simply get more resources. If you can do it like this, you feel more like cheating than after a stronger opponent.

If you have a friend you want to drain, then the hot seat mode is practically made for you. Here both players sit on one device, but this leads to somewhat strange situations. Because so that the game works, players must not see what the other is doing. So it is always time to look away for one of both or go to the toilet.

Unfortunately, Hot-Seat is currently the only way you have when you want to compete against human players. In theory, there are public and private online matches and the option to just look at someone, but even after hours in the queue I was only matted against bots.

No wonder, because at the time of writing this text, according to SteamdB, only two people play Vanguard Exile and one of them is probably me. Too bad, because a functioning online PVP mode would do the game really well. At least better than to be annoyed by the over -fed bot for the 25th time.