Today we look at arguable the most important part of the Dark Lord board map for players to control: "the Eye." The game is very card-based and strategies almost always revolve around what cards to play and can counter your opponents' moves to destroy your campaign. However, it's undoubtedly important to have a strong presence on the board map to collect an ever increasing amount of resources from resource tiles at the beginning of your turn. And among all the different kinds of tiles to fight for control over, the tile that can instantly turn the tide of battle is the Eye.
The Eye is located at the center of the map, tempting players from all sides to come into its area and traverse ancient bridges to secure a strong position at its center tile. In the game's lore, an Angelic Keep was located at the center of the Land, sealing away the evil Hellrifts so that fewer Demons could enter the world, but as the last angels were destroyed during the Final War, the seals were broken and Hell burst free from below and set loose a massive amount of evil power and potential into the Land. It's here that a new Lord will travel during his/her campaign to call forth, absorb, and destroy with the power of Hell.
On the map, 4 Hellrifts surround the Eye, each granting the player who controls it 1 Demon on that tile at the beginning of his/her turn. But that's nothing compared to its tile: the Eye grants 2 Shadow Lords and 6 Mana, just for having 1 or more unit on the tile at the beginning of your turn. This can greatly empower a player struggling to stay in the game against opponents who have been more successful early game.
In addition to being the best place of power in the Land, a player may also send 3 Demons to the tile and sacrifice them to draw an Omen Card, once on their turn. Omens are very powerful, almost broken cards that rapidly give power and tempo to players who earn them (more on Omen Cards in an upcoming post).
On the map, 4 Hellrifts surround the Eye, each granting the player who controls it 1 Demon on that tile at the beginning of his/her turn. But that's nothing compared to its tile: the Eye grants 2 Shadow Lords and 6 Mana, just for having 1 or more unit on the tile at the beginning of your turn. This can greatly empower a player struggling to stay in the game against opponents who have been more successful early game.
In addition to being the best place of power in the Land, a player may also send 3 Demons to the tile and sacrifice them to draw an Omen Card, once on their turn. Omens are very powerful, almost broken cards that rapidly give power and tempo to players who earn them (more on Omen Cards in an upcoming post).
During conceptualization and for several major map versions after, the Eye wasn't a tile at all, but just a decoration to tie together the different map areas and reinforce an above-center view of the map. As we play-tested countless new versions and started filtering out simply what worked and what didn't for this kind of game, we reevaluated the Eye and decided to make it be more than just something cool to look at.
At first, we made the Eye area a shortcut to the opposite area, as before there was no way to simply cross over and invade without cutting through one of the other areas. After that idea was tested and refined, we added resource tiles exclusive to the area, giving the Eye area further importance. And finally, after many more iterations and testing, we decided to add the mechanic of sacrificing Demon units on the Eye in exchange for drawing an Omen Card (a mechanic exclusive to the Eye). And many versions later, we now have a final map featuring the finished idea:
At first, we made the Eye area a shortcut to the opposite area, as before there was no way to simply cross over and invade without cutting through one of the other areas. After that idea was tested and refined, we added resource tiles exclusive to the area, giving the Eye area further importance. And finally, after many more iterations and testing, we decided to add the mechanic of sacrificing Demon units on the Eye in exchange for drawing an Omen Card (a mechanic exclusive to the Eye). And many versions later, we now have a final map featuring the finished idea:
Do you have what it takes to properly harness the power of Hell and use it to become the next Dark Lord?
Matt Alden Brown
Creative Director / Co-founder
Dystopic Entertainment