Malediction: The New Wargame That Plays Like a Card Game
What if your wargame played like a TCG? Not just “has unit cards,” but is a full-on, deck-building card game at its core? That’s the fascinating concept behind Malediction, one of the most unique “print and play” hybrids we saw at Essen Spiel.
Our CEO Bart sat down with the team to find out how this TCG-wargame works, how it’s balanced, and how it solves the “card chasing” problem.
Our Interview with the Malediction Team
A TCG, a Wargame, and STLs in a Box
Bart – Head of Studio:
Malediction, a new wargame combining elements of card games and wargames, has recently entered the market. Could you elaborate on your new product and highlight how it differentiates itself from other fantasy skirmish games?
Malediction:
Malediction is a miniature card game, right? It takes the blend of card games and skirmish wargaming to the next level. With us, you’re basically building a deck of 30 cards or up to a 50 card maximum. And we have four factions that you can choose from to build that within. We have the Primal of Blood, which is like your rush-down, kind of heavy deck. You have your Legion of the Fallen, more of like your swarm decks. You have your Conclave of the Sphere faction; they’re very controlling, very magic-related. And then you have your Order of the Shattered Throne deck, which is more of your Paladins, they like to protect.
It’s primarily a STL-based product line, where you have your standard faction boxes. They come with all the cards needed for that specific faction, so if you buy one standard faction box, you’re getting all the cards needed for the faction. There’s no need to buy any other booster packs, there’s no card chasing in that regard.
Bart:
Let me clarify: you’re purchasing the core, but it includes a code for STL models, is that correct?
Malediction:
Correct. So inside there’s the cards for the faction, there’s a redeemable code for all the STLs for that faction, which includes all the units in the faction and all the terrain. In total, there’s probably about 25 to 35 STLs.
Now, we also offer the faction deck boxes, which are a little bit easier for those who have 3D printers. Those boxes come with cards for that faction, all of the STLs, and just a D20. The difference being the larger box comes with all the cardboard punch-outs or the standees. So for those who want to play out of the box, they’re more than able to do so.
How Malediction Plays on the Table
Bart:
So, it’s a skirmish wargame, right? How many models are on each side?
Malediction:
So it really depends on what faction and what kind of deck you’re running, but typically, you’re going to see about at any given time on the playmat, I’d say around five, six models from each side. Now, also you have a Seeker, so think of like Magic: The Gathering Commander. Your Seeker is your leader of your army. They’re also a unit on the field. The cool part about the Seekers is if they are defeated in battle, you’re able to deploy them in the next round, as opposed to your units which are sent to the discard pile.
Bart:
Beyond the card system, which is the primary distinction, how much space is needed to play?
Malediction:
The game is played on a 30 by 30 playmat or space.
Terrain is Part of Your Deck
Malediction:
Each player brings with them four terrain pieces from their choice of terrain cards. So again, when you build your deck, you’re including a Seeker card and a terrain card. The cool thing is, when you build a deck, say of the Primal of Blood, you don’t necessarily have to include their terrain in your deck build. You can include any terrain card from any faction, because the terrains have specific bonuses or passive effects.
For example, the Conclave of the Sphere, anytime that you’re on that terrain piece, you’ll have a reduction in magic cost. So for a red deck that’s very spell intensive, you might want that terrain. Four pieces of terrain that each player does bring: there’s one large, one medium, and two small. There’s also some strategy involved with terrain placement.
Balancing a Card Game Without “Card Chasing”
Bart:
Is the complete rulebook accessible to players online?
Malediction:
Exactly. The main and the newest updated rulebook is on our website malediction.gg. That’s in a PDF file. We also have a print-and-play ability on our website. And then the rules again are on there. There’s a card library that has access to all the cards that we offer in Malediction.
Bart:
Considering this is a card game, broken combos are inevitable. How do you approach balancing, and what’s the expected lifespan of this box before a significant portion of the cards require changes?
Malediction:
Correct. We try to balance things internally as best as possible, because we don’t want to publish all these erratas or ban all these cards. We do a lot of internal playtesting, but we also have an external playtester program. The cool thing is we actually use a digital platform to playtest our game and our cards. So there may be in a playtest build, there may be three iterations of one specific card, just that the card does different things. That way we can kind of streamline and pinpoint the cards that we like or we know are working better than others, and kind of avoid the needs to ban a certain card.
What If You Don’t Have a 3D Printer?
Bart:
For players without a 3D printer, what options are available?
Malediction:
So yeah, again, we have the standard faction box that’s more geared towards those who don’t have a 3D printer, because it does have the cardboard standees. A cool thing is our cardboard standee bases are the same size as the miniature resin-printed bases. So if there is a competitive play event, there’s no mechanical advantage to having a printed model versus a cardboard standee model. The bases are exactly the same.
Bart:
Is there any possibility of seeing standard models in retail sales?
Malediction:
Uh, yeah, so printed models, we do have plans in the future to sell on our e-commerce shop. Currently, all printed models that we do sell are only at the conventions. We are in talks with someone like, say, for example, Titan Forge. So, obviously, we want to get it out as soon as possible. The best part for someone who may not have a printer is to find either someone within our community, in the Discord, or hopefully have a friend who’s got a printer.
Future Plans and New Game Modes
Bart:
Okay, and what’s your plans for 2026?
Malediction:
We just released an Incursion video. It’s kind of like our roadmap. We just released a Herald or a Master program for all of our die-hard fans. And as far as organized play goes, we also announced some major events coming next year at the AdeptiCon in the US. That’s going to be our first official, large-scale event. And then obviously, we have plans to have store support kits. And then again, we want to go as far as, like, even saying World Championships.
Bart:
Is there a co-op or PvE mode, or is this strictly a PvP game?
Malediction:
Right now, as it stands, we have three modes available. We have a 1v1 mode, a 2v2 mode, and then we have a 2v1 kind of an asymmetrical mode that pits you and a friend versus one big bad guy who may start off weak, but then as the rounds progress, they gain more power.
Bart:
Wow, thank you. Thanks so much.
Malediction:
I appreciate it. Yeah, thank you.
From STL to Stunning Warband
Malediction is a great game for players who love to strategize. It’s a game where you’re building a list, crafting a 30-card deck, selecting your terrain, and choosing your Seeker. You also have full control of your army, with the freedom to print any models that fit your faction’s theme.
But that’s where the fun can meet the digital hurdle. You’ve got a folder of great STL files for your Primal of Blood warband, but your 3D printer is gathering dust. Or you just don’t have the 50+ hours needed to paint the models you’ve already printed.
This is where we can help.
Your job is to be the clever deck-builder. Our job is to take your digital files (or printed resin) and turn them into a great-looking, painted warband that’s ready to hit the 30×30 mat. Let us handle the printing, assembly, and painting, so you can focus on figuring out your combos.
Book a commission here.
