'Mythgard' game news: New online card game to compete with 'Hearthstone' and 'Magic: The Gathering'

Cover art for "Mythgard"Rhino Games

"Mythgard" is risking its hand by competing with the likes of online card games like "Magic: The Gathering" and "Hearthstone," as the developers of the online collectible card game (CCG) are confident that they can trump both.

Rhino Games, the developer of "Mythgard," is gearing up for the game's beta, and they state that the game will be released on the Apple App Store or Google Play once it is ready. Website Touch Arcade has claimed that what sets "Mythgard" apart from "Hearthstone" or "Magic: The Gathering" is how it manages to be a middle ground between the two, all the while maintaining a flavor of its own, perhaps a design quirk or gameplay feature that is unique to it.

The developers were also big fans of "Magic: The Gathering," but the problem they see with it is that they don't think it translates well into an online game since it originally was a tabletop CCG. As such, many factors come into play such as the user-interface, damage counters, and the hidden math behind every game match or card synergy since "Magic: The Gathering" is already quite complex on its own.

On the other hand, they also think "Hearthstone" from Blizzard is too simple and its mechanics too shallow or casual for them and for the game to be able to have different layers of strategy that would transcend the need for luck. Hence the inception of "Mythgard," which they claim will sit comfortably between the two and is made first and foremost, for smartphone devices.

Like "Magic: The Gathering," "Mythgard" will also be utilizing multi-colored decks and resource management, similar to mana in the former and "Hearthstone." The developers also ensure that the game will remain complex as much as streamlining will allow, making for a perfect balance between the two. One thing to note is that the developers of "Mythgard" are also veterans in the gaming industry, with the engineering and product lead on "Diablo 2" and the founder of Runic Games working together.

"Mythgard" is currently in alpha testing version but will soon enter the beta phase on Apr. 2018, with an eventual release on Sept. 2018.