Geralt vs. everyone – The Witcher enters the unmatched arena -.

Unmatched is a board game that lets you mix all kinds of fairy tale characters, superheroes, real people and others to battle it out in deadly battles. It is not strange to have a game where Robin Hood and Hamlet fight together against Bigfoot and Dracula in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and the success of the board game has led to a flood of interesting licenses. As a result, characters such as Bruce Lee, Jurassic Park Velociraptors, Buffy and Spider-Man have long been added as potential fighters and can fight on a map such as Daredevil’s home base, Hell’s Kitchen.

Now this has been further expanded with something I think many of you will love, namely The Witcher, a brand that feels tailor-made for Unmatched, and it’s nice enough that we get CD Projekt Red’s versions here. In all, there are two new expansions called Realms Fall and Steel & Silver, each with three new characters and a new type of Scheme card called “Running” that stays in play between rounds.

If you are not familiar with Unmatched, it can be played by 2-4 people, in teams or everyone against everyone. A round normally takes about 30 minutes one-on-one, and about an hour if you play two-on-two. Since these sets contain three figures, it’s everyone against everyone (unless you have more sets and want to mix them, which I personally like best, and all Unmatched sets are compatible with each other).

Here are my reviews of both The Witcher sets:

Unmatched: The Witcher – Steel & Silver

Steel & Silver is probably the most interesting of the two Witcher expansions, offering a concentrated dose of nostalgia from this universe. The expansion includes Geralt of Rivia, Ciri and Ancient Leshen, with the first two obviously being the main attractions.

Geralt himself comes with more cards than any other character. He is designed as a kind of role-playing character where you can choose his equipment before each match. Based on the opponent, you can optimize him by choosing the sword, armor and potion you think you need. In addition, there are some really strong cards. This makes him a good and capable, but somewhat predictable and boring character to play against and with. At his side is Dandelion, who complements him well by being Ranged, while Geralt is Melee.

Ciri is perhaps the most interesting character in both The Witcher expansions and influences the entire game. She is not particularly good at first and cannot even use her special skill until she has played a number of cards. But as she plays cards, new skills are unlocked that get stronger and stronger. A good tip with her is to play defensively at first, while your opponent must go all-in to kill her first. If Ciri is still around when her newest abilities begin to unlock, she becomes deadly. She brings into the fray the unicorn Ihuarraquax, which is not particularly noteworthy but can take a beating and is therefore a good bodyguard.

Finally, we have ancient Leshen,, which I see as on the verge of being too strong. Apparently the game’s creators came to the same conclusion, as Leshen can only move one step per turn (although there are cards that can help with this) and has only 13 health points. Otherwise, it’s a parade of potentially grotesquely powerful attacks, possibly the strongest in the game. On his side, Leshen also has two wolves, which are the usual setup that can withstand one hit each. However, they move three steps, and as far as I know, this is the first setup where the main character and side characters have different movement speeds.

There are two battlegrounds included in the pack, the most interesting of which is a dark and thematic map inspired by Kaer Morhen, where different zones can only be reached from one direction (you can jump from the walls to the courtyard, but you cannot walk from the courtyard to the walls). A brilliant map.

High marks for Steel & Silver, in other words, a pure Witcher feast. It’s fun to play one-on-one, but it’s best if you have at least one set so you can mix up the characters a bit and run different matchups, and if you have the ability to play two-on-two, it’s absolutely phenomenal. Whether you want a fun board game based on The Witcher that doesn’t feel like a quick cash grab, or you’re just curious about Unmatched, or you’re already playing and want to expand, this is highly recommended. The only thing standing in the way of a maximum rating is the fact that the box “only” contains three characters instead of four (making two-on-two impossible right out of the box).

Rating: 9/10

Unmatched: The Witcher – Realms Fall

Where Steel & Silver is really a kind of “best of” from the world of The Witcher, Realms Fall is perhaps a little more for connoisseurs. It’s not that Triss and Yennefer are unknown characters, but here the ladies are joined by Eredin and Philippa, who are not as familiar to those who haven’t read the books or played the games. Fortunately, this does not affect the entertainment value.

Triss and Yennefer are obviously the most interesting and have an unusual setup where both heroines can be used as protagonists, making the other a support. Yennefer can strengthen her attacks, which makes her very powerful, while Triss does more unexpected damage that you cannot protect yourself from, which I think should be seen as using her magic. What they both have in common is that they consume their opponents’ cards at a rapid pace, and Triss in particular is very interesting to play with.

Eredin has a setup we’ve seen before in Umatched and has four Red Riders as support. If they all die, he becomes Enraged, which makes him both stronger and faster, and he also has defense cards that can be used for attacks. A possibly somewhat unimaginative character that still feels strong and fun to play with. Having four supports makes it easier to flank opponents, block their paths and make escape difficult.

Philippa got a lot of love in the Unmatched: The Witcher expansions and is the best character in the game. She is Ranged, but has only 12 health points and not particularly good defense cards. On the other hand, she has the ability to dance around like few others, and at the end of each round she gets to draw cards until she has four in her hand. This means you will very rarely encounter a Philippa without cards. Combined with the supporting character Dijkstra, she is very dangerous in the right hands, although it will probably take a few games to master her.

The set includes two new maps, one of which takes place on a boat. This one is absolutely phenomenal and is divided into two decks with a limited number of entrances and exits. It is really cleverly designed and leads to some extraordinary scheming as the placement of all the characters becomes so important.

Overall, Realms Fall is also a well-made expansion, but with the exception of Philippa and the boat arena, it feels a bit devoid of surprises. If you love The Witcher, you obviously need this one too, but if you only want one board game with The Witcher, Steel & Silver is the one to go for. It’s best to get both, though, because it gives you plenty of opportunities to vary your gameplay and engage in battles that far surpass the Netflix series.

Rating: 7/10