Kickstarter

Genesis: Battle of Champions heads to Kickstarter for Metamorphosis set

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

Edge of Exile Entertainment (EOE) earlier this week revealed its plans to release its next set for Genesis: Battle of Champions. And that path is taking it back to Kickstarter, this time to hopefully launch its latest set by raising the CA$40,000 needed to get the set printed. The company first teased Metamorphosis last year. EOE’s first attempt to get the set printed through Kickstarter unfortunately came up short and the company took some time to regroup and plan its next move. Whereas last year’s failed campaign tried to raise funds without directly selling booster boxes, this time, the new set is the main attraction.

The Kickstarter campaign is expected to start on Friday, July 25th around 0800 ET. It will offer a number of pledge tiers, all of which will include at least one booster box of the new set. Backers will also get the new cards some six weeks before the set hits stores in early 2026. Let’s take a closer look at the campaign.

The first tier will allow you to buy a Booster Box with 24 packs for CA$95 (plus shipping), a healthy markdown over the $120 MSRP.

The next tier, the Starter Bundle, will include a booster box, a Kickstarter exclusive playmat (your choice of vertical or horizontal orientation) and the five mono-coloured starter decks released last year. It will cost CA$225.

The next tier is geared at local gaming stores who are signed up for the organized play program. It will offer a Booster case (6 booster boxes) for CA$450. Players looking for a booster case will be able to pick one up with the next tier for CA$510 (or CA$85 per box).

The last tier is known as the Mega Bundle. It consists of a case of Metamorphosis as well as a case of Origins, a case of Jaelara: Second Edition, a Kickstarter Exclusive playmat (in the orientation of your choice) and a surprise gift.

Needless to say, the Kickstarter campaign will have some stretch goals. They have so far teased a few of these, starting with one at CA$75,000 and running up to CA$345,022. Why that specific amount for that last tier? Because it is exactly CA$1 more than the first successful Genesis: Battle of Champions Kickstarter campaign back in 2022.

Metamorphosis promises a whole new set of cards along with some new mechanics. So far, we know that there will be a new Equipment card type which will attach itself to champions to give them new or improved capabilities as well as dual-sided transforming cards. With the launch now possibly only a few months away, I expect that we will soon find out more about the set as well.

Quick reminder, the Kickstarter campaign should start around 0800 ET on Friday, July 25th.

Genesis: Battle of Champions returns to Kickstarter

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

A year after Genesis: Battle of Champions died and was resurrected, it looks like the game is making a slow and steady comeback. Edge of Exile Entertainment (EOE), the new owners, released a new expansion set late last year (Invasion) and are now getting the next one ready, hoping to get it out soon. They celebrated their 50th livestream episode a week ago and used the occasion to announce some “big news.” A new Kickstarter campaign is kicking off on July 8th.

This is not the first Kickstarter for Genesis, Battle of Champions. Back in 2022, the world was a different place. The game was still run by Haunted Castle Gaming; we were still dealing with the repercussions of COVID 19; interests rates were starting to climb to levels unseen in a while. The campaign closed with more than 600 backers (666 to be precise – read into that what you want) and nearly CA$350,000 raised.

Things promise to be different this time around. The new ownership wants to try something very different with this campaign. Unlike the previous one, this upcoming one will not offer booster boxes. Instead, it will focus on various exclusive backer rewards. As Jason Malott, EOE President, explained during the livestream, the idea is to offer products that will not cannibalize LGS sales but offer complimentary products for fans of the game.

The Kickstarter is expected to launch on July 8th, a bit later than Canada Day. A nice touch if it would have happened as Genesis is a Canadian-made game.

In terms of funding tiers, we will get exact information when the campaign goes live but up for grabs will be:

  • T-shirts featuring new art for Champions such as Erika and Oni
  • A Kickstarter exclusive playmat. The design is not finalized but it could be a map of Jaelara
  • Tokens featuring your backer or content creator name
  • Character cards based on your appearance either in Metamorphosis or Cataclysm
  • New Exert tokens from the same creator who made the commemorative Invasion Release Day ones
  • Kickstarter exclusive set of non-foil alternate art Champions appearing in Metamorphosis
  • Serialized set of alternate art of each Champion appearing in Metamorphosis
  • A very limited ultimate tier where you will get a chance to guest host on the Genesis BOC livestream

EOE hopes to raise at least $40,000 with the Kickstarter campaign. The funds will be used to accelerate plans, including getting Metamorphosis, the next set, to market faster (“hopefully before the cold weather,” according to Jason. Other plans for the funds include the launch of organized play and getting listed on TCGPlayer.

EOE also shared their Plan B should the Kickstarter fail. This includes delaying the release of Metamorphosis and organized play, possibly into next year. They also have alternative fundraising plans. Here’s hoping that they will not be needed.

I’ll update this post once the Kickstarter is live with more information on the different tiers.

Update:

A few new details:

  • The Kickstarter is expected to kick off on July 8th
  • Special discounts will be offered for the first 24 hours
  • If the campaign goal of $40,000 is reached, Metamorphosis will immediately go to the printers
  • Stretch goals for $45,000, $50,000 (including an enhanced Organized Play program), $60,000 (with OP promo packs), $70,000 (special commemorative exert tokens) and $150,000 (to get onboarded on TCGPlayer.com)

Update #2 (July 8th, 2024):

The Kickstarter campaign is live! It looks like a good start with the campaign almost 20% backed already!

Genesis: Battle of Champions – Origins on Kickstarter

/ Jerome / Leave a comment

A small detour today. In the early months of COVID-19, the boys and I discovered a new TCG called Genesis: Battle of Champions. One of our favourite LGS had been hyping it up and we ended up picking up a starter set to try something new in between games of Magic.

A few things appealed to us. Unlike Magic, the game involves a tactical element where the creatures, in this case Champions and their Summons, move around a 5 by 6 grid arena. This adds new gameplay dimensions like movement and reach. That powerful creature of yours could be undone by a smaller one because it is able to attack from further out and evade your attacks.

Another difference is that you start with all of your resources at your disposal. If you have that expensive spell in hand, you don’t have to wait for a later turn to cast it (although there could be reasons to hold on to it). Unlike Magic where your resources typically grow over time, in Genesis, they drop as you cast spells and they don’t regenerate. Managing this finite resource introduces another wrinkle into your strategy.

Your decks, better known as your Timelines, are built differently than in Magic. Each deck is made up of exactly 50 cards which must share the same affiliations (colours) as your Champion. Each card has a Chi value, essentially a power ranking, and your deck cannot go over 250 Chi. While there is no limit to the number of copies of a single card you can have, the Chi will force you to balance out your deck. Go with a few very powerful cards and you’ll have to add more less powerful ones to make sure you keep to the 50 card and Chi maximum rules.

Another plus for me is that Genesis is a Canadian game. It is designed by the Canadians behind Haunted Castle Gaming (including founder Assad Quraishi who happens to be an all-around great guy) and is printed and packaged in Canada. What’s there not to like?

Unfortunately, with COVID-19, we found ourselves unable to really get to play the game (in person for the most part) and we only played a few games here and there. Jump forward to late 2021. COVID is still around but enough normalcy is returning that in-store events are running again and the opportunities to get together with other players to better learn the game are starting to open up.

In the meantime, Haunted Castle continued to promote its game to an ever-growing network of LGS. As it stands today, it can now be found in over 80 stores across the world. Today, they also launched their newest set on Kickstarter. Not only did Genesis: Battle of Champions – Origins fully fund within 30 seconds, it blew the doors off nearly every stretch goal set out and has exceeded all except one and it won’t be long before that one falls as well. (Full disclosure: Yes, I am a backer but not part of that initial 30 second wave!)

Best of all, the new set is effectively a relaunch of the game with new champions, new mechanics and even a new affiliation. It is the perfect jumping point into the game or for us, the perfect time to jump back in! So don’t be surprised if you see us take some breaks from Magic to play some Genesis.