In the afterglow of the creation of the world, the Druids seek perfection in a new Card Crafting System game from John D Clair
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Vale Map: The Foggy Reach
7 months ago
– Wed, Nov 12, 2025 at 08:49:48 AM
Hello Druids!
Every other day of the campaign I will feature one of the Vale Maps and how they make each game a different experience. I will also feature a few interesting cards here and there!
After your exploration of the Gateway Vale on Monday, adventurous Druids can venture into the Foggy Reach to explore specializing in Aspects while crafting their cards or going the distance to reach the Tranquil Glen. You could even go for both with enough Spirit!
The first thing you'll notice on Foggy Reach is that there are 7 Vales to enchant that are not Vale cards, they are printed on the map! If you travel from the circle to the left side of the map you can be the first to claim Vales that benefit in collecting specific aspects. These mini-Vales only have space for 1 cube, so it's first come, first served!
When you enchant this Vale you gain the ongoing effect that that all the cards in your land with at least 1 Yellow Aspect icon will provide 1 additional Mana. Aspects specialize in different things, and one of Yellow's specializations is in Mana, which is used to purchase Advances from the market.
Enchanting this Vale will make all your cards with Green aspect icons provide additional Spirit. This will come in handy if you want to reach the Tranquil Glen on the other end of the map before the end of the game!
This Vale grants additional VP to your cards with Red aspect icons on them!
And finally, the Blue aspect vale will make your cards that have 3 or more Blue icons produce 1 Rain token. You'll need to pack a card with with multiple Blue aspect icons, but Rain tokens are worth it. Once you get 1 card stacked you can repeat and try to stack additional cards as well!
Keep an eye out for Wild aspect icons, as they will help you with making sure you use these mini Vales to the fullest. The Fleeting Lepidoptera can activate the Blue aspect all by itself, or activate the Yellow, Green, and Red ones if you choose to make the 3 of its wilds those those 3 different colors for the turn:
To venture over to the Tranquil Glen, you will have to go through Discovery Bay first! It will give you 5 endgame VP if you are the first to enchant here, but it will give all the other players 1 immediate VP.
!Immediate: Each other player gains 1 VP (immediate gold VP).
Blazing trails is a risky business, but being first has its advantages. One of the paths leading from the Bay takes you through the River Valley, the most direct route to the Tranquil Glen. The first Druid to place a cube on the River Valley will get 3 endgame VP and access to 2 Rain tokens that can be used at the most opportune times!
*Names are subject to change, as we may want them to match the features the Illustrator made!
And finally, the Tranquil Glen! Everyone who makes it to this Vale will get an additional Day Phase with 7 cards from the top of your deck after their last turn of the game.
Ongoing: After your normal last turn of the game, place 7 cards off the top of your deck into your Land (you cannot wither) and take a Day phase using just those cards.
You don't have to take this direct path, as random Level 1 and 2 Vale cards surround the River Valley with possibly more tempting powers along the road less traveled!
Get ready this Friday for some Sand and Shores action, where collaborating with your fellow druids to share some ports will benefit all involved!
-Kirk AEG Development Team Member
Vale Maps, how do they work?
7 months ago
– Mon, Nov 10, 2025 at 01:20:16 PM
Hello Druids!
One of the big questions about Mystic Lands is, how is this different than Mystic Vale? This version brings streamlined play, simultaneous tableau setup during the night phases, more forgiving withering when you bust, a smaller deck that lets you play your power cards more often, and rain token generation on Arid land cards that reward going wide with crafting. Add in the incredible new art integration—making this the most beautiful card-crafting game ever—and top it all off with the new Vale maps to explore!
The Gateway Vale map is the players' first introduction to the new mechanic of exploring and enchanting Vales. Everyone starts at the circle in the middle of the map and can follow several paths, enchanting the Vale cards as they go for victory points and special powers. The level 1 and 2 Vale card decks are shuffled every game and dealt to the maps for different opportunities every time you play.
Starting from the circle, players will have 3 paths to follow. One of those paths in the example above leads to Cathedral Valley which generates End Game Victory Points. The first player to spend 4 Spirit (the number in the upper right) to enchant this Vale can pick any spot on the left track. On the Cathedral Valley Vale, the best spot is obviously 4 endgame VP. Other Vales & Maps may make decisions like this less obvious, so stay tuned as we reveal them in upcoming updates!
A rule that applies to all Vales is that each subsequent player to enchant a Vale will pay less Spirit (a discount of 1 Spirit per cube placed by other players). For example, if 2 players have enchanted Cathedral Valley, the 3rd player will only need to pay 2 Spirit to place their cube.
Another path leads to the Spirit Cave. When a player places their cube on one of the top 3 spaces the icon adjacent to the End Game Victory Point award indicates that the Immediate effect of this Vale is also triggered, and they gain an immediate benefit of doubling the Mana they currently have collected for more Advancement buying power!
The 3rd path leads to the Giant's Causeway. The players who enchant the top 2 spots will place their cubes on the squares showing the endgame VP. The little arrow means that during the Night phase as they are moving cards from their deck to their Land, they can move the cube to the left covering the Rain icon to gain a Rain token. That token can be used to cover a Sun in their Land reducing the chances of withering!
Effects like that can only be used once per game, but there are powers on card advancements that will refresh vale spots, allowing you to do them again, like the Wildflower Hillside!
Let's say that the Yellow player chose to enchant the Spirit Cave during their Day phase:
They would gain the Mana from the immediate effect, and then reveal the next 2 Vales on the paths attached to the Spirit Cave by flipping the cards over. These Vales are now open to being enchanted by the Yellow player either this turn with their second cube (you can enchant up to 2 Vales per turn) or on later turns.
Other players will need to enchant the Spirit Cave themselves first to reach the Spirit Geyser or Starlight Willow. Players can only follow paths leading from the starting circle or from Vales they already have enchanted.
On Starlight Willow, the top 2 spaces can provide up to 2 Mana. You can move your cube left twice for 2 mana in one shot, or move it once this turn for 1 Mana now and once again later for a Mana in the future. Remember, some card Advance powers may refresh these spaces to be used again!
Spirit Geyser is our first look at a Level 2 Vale. They are more expensive to enchant, but have more powerful abilities to boot! The top spot will gain immediate VP (gold VP icon) equal to the total endgame VP (gray VP icons) shown on 1 of the cards currently shown in your land. Since you can choose when to activate this Vale power, you'll want to craft a card with a lot of endgame VP to target.
Now that we have the basics of how Vale maps and Vale cards work, my next updates will feature the other 5 maps included with the Oran Mór Edition of Mystic Lands. Come back on Wednesday and I'll show how the Foggy Reach map works and what new powers it brings to the game.
Each Vale map opens up a whole way to make sure every game of Mystic Lands grants a unique experience!
-Kirk AEG Development Team Member
We are funded
7 months ago
– Mon, Nov 10, 2025 at 09:06:32 AM
Across the newborn world the Druids have paused to give thanks.
Because of your support Mystic Lands has achieved its funding goal and we’ll be able to create the amazing Oran Mór edition for our backers.
On behalf of everyone at AEG, and John D Clair, we want to thank you for helping us.
