Unleashing the Voidspawn: Riftblade Expansion Q&A
We sat down with Riftblade's lead designer, Trey Chastain, to get the inside scoop on the exciting new Summons Mini-Expansion that's poised to shake up the battlefield. Here's what they had to reveal:
Q: What was the primary inspiration for the Voidspawn Mini-Expansion?
A: When you look at almost any other deckbuilder, you often see persistent elements on the board – Heroes, Constructs, Bases, things that provide recurring benefits. As a player, I've always loved that feeling of building something tangible turn after turn. So, when looking for ways to add new layers to the core Riftblade experience, introducing persistent Summons felt like a natural and exciting place to start.
Q: How does Voidspawn fit into the overall vision for Riftblade?
A: Summons are absolutely integral to both our short and long-term vision. In the short-term, they inject significant new strategic depth, offering fresh playstyles and fundamentally shaking up the existing meta. Long-term? Let's just say we have big plans to evolve this concept significantly, and I'm thrilled to start sharing early prototypes of what's next with our Founders sometime next year.
An early draft of the Rift Reaper.
Q: What was the biggest challenge you faced during the development of Voidspawn?
A: Without a doubt: Balance. Persistent elements like Summons are inherently powerful in any game. This was especially tricky in Riftblade where, in the base set, individual cards rarely deal more than two damage. Our initial 'fix' involved balancing stronger summon effects with lower defenses. While that technically 'worked' on paper, it just didn't create the unique, dynamic gameplay I wanted. It took dozens of iterations, testing, and tweaking to land on a compelling system that felt powerful, balanced, and distinctively 'Riftblade'.
Q: What are you most excited for players to experience with this expansion?
A: Massive, earth-shattering spell chains! Time and again, players tell us that chaining spells for huge effects is the biggest thrill in Riftblade. Summons crank that feeling up to 11. And oh, the possibilities when you start combining Summons with Weavings, our second mini-expansion... a master Riftblade will be able to unleash hell in some truly brutal, yet awesome, new ways.
Q: How do the new summonable creatures interact with existing Riftblade mechanics?
A: Everything in Riftblade fuels those large, satisfying spell combos, and Voidpsawn fit right in. It's not enough to just play a Voidspawn, like in most games. First, Riftblades must pay the Mana cost to pull it from The Rift. Then, crucially, they must Command it by slotting it into their spell chain for the turn. Some summons are dual-Aspected, acting as powerful bridges for multi-Aspect strategies. Most are single-Aspect and require careful planning to integrate. There’s no penalty if you don't use your summon in a turn – they aren't quite vindictive enough to strike back... yet! – but you only gain their power when you successfully command them within a combo.
An early version of Inferno Troll. Voidspawn is the first expansion that gives players an opportunity to expand their pool of Riftstones during play - a powerful ability, but certainly a target for any wise opponent.
Q: What kind of strategies do you anticipate players will develop using the new summons?
A: Honestly, even after hundreds of internal playtests, our players constantly surprise me with their ingenuity! I fully expect Summons will be used to push multi-Aspect strategies further than ever before, and I know the psychological warfare element of having persistent threats on board will intensify. But beyond that? I genuinely can't wait to see what other innovative tactics our brilliant players uncover.
Q: Are there any future plans to expand upon the Summoning mechanic in later updates?
A: You know, the first question I got from players when this expansion was announced was, 'This is great, when can we get MORE Voidspawn?' So, I think it's safe to say this mechanic has resonated and will absolutely continue to grow and expand over time. For now, though, I'll leave you with a question of my own—what if you could Overcharge a Voidspawn already on the battlefield...?
