The acclaimed deckbuilding board gameDominioncontinues to shine in its newest expansion,Dominion: RisingSun, which hits shelves in September. The box includes 25 exciting new kingdom cards and introduces prophecies, omens and shadow cards, all of which shake up the core mechanics of the game in fun ways.
Fans can also purchase and playRising Sunright now using Temple Gate Game’sdigital version of the game, available on mobile devices and Steam.
Looming prophecies and omens
As a long-time fan ofDominion, I find it amazing how well designer Donald X Vaccarino continues to mix up the core experience of the original game, especially when you consider that 15 other expansions have come out before this one.
Rising Sun’s prophecy cards, in particular, have incredibly impactful effects on the game state. However, they take time to activate and won’t trigger until you play enough actions with the “omen” card type. The most dramatic example is Divine Wind, which removes all kingdom cards from the supply and replaces them with ten new ones. Now, that’s a literal game-changer.
Cards come forth from the shadows
Many of the newDominion: Rising Suncards have the shadow card type, which allows you to play them directly from your deck. These actions have a special backing to make them easily identifiable; they are also placed on the bottom of your deck after shuffling.
Many of these cards, such as Fishmonger and Alley, have simple effects. However, their rate of recurrence makes them more powerful than they appear at first glance. The Ninja, which has a similar attack to the core box’s Militia, also makes great thematic use of the new shadow mechanic.
Expanding your kingdom eastward
After some delays related to debt token creation, theDominion Rising: Sunrelease date is finally almost here. Even after only a few games with the expansion’s suggested kingdom card sets, I already comfortably say that it’s my favoriteDominionexpansion since the release ofRenaissanceback in 2018. However, this box is definitely tailored towards more experienced players. It reintroduces mechanics such as debt and events without much fanfare. If you’re interested in other exciting additions to yourDominioncollection besidesRising Sun,make sure to check out our ranking of thebest Dominion expansions.
