METAZOO: A Nerdthusiast First Impression

 Metazoo First Impressions

With Metazoo gaining popularity and my personal adventure into the game, I thought it was time to share some of my first impressions. These come from my own personal experiences with the game and community so far. I’ve broken these thoughts down into the questions I ask myself most when looking at a new game. Hopefully this will encourage some people to try it out or do some more research. Without further ado, let’s jump into the first question!

How does the game play?

Coming from a background of Magic the Gathering, this game feels pretty similar. People I’ve played with often have a background from Magic or YuGiOh. There are obviously some main differences like artifacts can be attacked directly and attacker damage occurring first by default. Also, the small card pool has obviously left some aura types better than others. With 10 types already existing and talks of potentially adding more, I’m curious to see how they will handle spreading distributing new cards across the aura types. That being said, I’ve really enjoyed the gameplay so far. Games last a reasonable amount of time and have a fair amount of interaction. They’ve already shown signs of newer cards intending to counter the Water deck most consider to be the best in the game currently. This is hopefully a good sign of monitoring the game’s landscape in the future.

What’s the art style like?

Art is the first thing you notice when you look at a game. Good art never hurts, but it matters more to some than others. A lot of people praise the art style having a nostalgic feel and being done the right way. They’ve expanded on the art direction with merchandise, namely pins and promos with alternate art. Art isn’t so important to me but I see why some people really enjoy the art style of Metazoo. It does enough to show the style we all love without simply copying existing media.

What’s the community scene like?

I’ve been involved in the community of this game since the release of the first non-Kickstarter set, Cryptid Nation First Edition. As the game has gained popularity the community has naturally sectioned off. You’ve got your pure aesthetic collectors, market focused investors, competitive grinders, new to the scene casual players, and everyone in between. The sub community I’m most active in is a discord run by Caster Society. They have been the ones responsible for most tournaments to date, both online and in person. The whole discord is very supportive of one another and offers help to newcomers looking to join in on the online scene. The online scene is based on and facilitated by the Steam game Tabletop Simulator. A community updated mod proxies all of the game’s cards and necessary materials as any official online platform is still a bit away. It’s great to see people in the community creating things that they want and helping others in the process. I was talking to my new teammate Croast about the community and he agreed with my sentiment. 

Is there a competitive scene?

Personally, the competitive scene is what I care about most in a game. Metazoo is still in its infancy and Covid hasn’t done them any favors. That being said, it’s great to see the slack being picked up by a community like Caster Society. As of writing this, Collect-A-Con Orlando is running a few tournaments this weekend. While water decks currently rule the format, most other decks have some merit. This is also due to Metazoo’s unique 4th wall mechanic allowing customizable tournament formats. I’m really excited to see the scene that develops leading up to the mostly confirmed 250k tournament at Collect-A-Con Dallas. 

Closing thoughts

I still have some concerns about the direction of Metazoo, but I’m hopeful for the future. My main issues lie in the actions of the founder and some of their business strategies. Mike still interfaces with fans in their discord, but he is also quick to punish anyone for criticism of any kind. Many members of the community (including myself) have had negative interactions with the way they handle problems. This is not related to the gameplay and I try to ignore it, but it’s a worrying trend for the future. Many players are also concerned about the fast spread of Metazoo’s focus to a wide variety of merchandise. Merchandising gives them access to more money for future product and builds their brand, so I understand why they expanded this area between set releases. Overall, I’m personally very excited to see what the next 6 months has in store for Metazoo. Time will tell if this is truly the next big game that can become a mainstay in the trading card world. 

By Nerdthusiast  Content Writer Justin DiRe

Twitter @Beanster88