There have been a lot of trading card games (TCG) in the blockchain gaming space and I think developers are appealing to the higher stakes that crypto brings to games in web3, bagging that feeling of having more things put on the line. One contender for these trading card games is Skyweaver. Bringing familiar TCG mechanics and adding crypto technology to make it more competitive. 

Graphics/Artstyle

I like to believe that most trading card games share similar elements and that makes designing visuals for these card games especially hard since each card has to look unique as well as fit the specific theme that portrays the role of the card in the game. In Skyweaver, the cards don't look jaw-dropping but they have their own charm and feel like they still belong to the same theme of the deck they are in. Think of the graphics from familiar TCGs like Hearthstone mixed with the mystical flare of Legends of Runeterra and you’ll get a grasp of how Skyweaver looks and the feel of the game. **
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I also like the user interface of the game as it does not look cluttered. It’ll become familiar even after just one game, knowing what is happening on the board becomes second nature. Understanding where your cards are located, the graveyard pile and also your mana pool. It also helps that when you hover over the cards, they show you all the details you need to know about that specific card. Allowing you to adapt your strategy around it.

Gameplay

I believe SkyWeaver is an easy game to learn but hard to master. There is a lot going on within the game and I can talk about it for hours but to save you time, I will try to keep this part short. You start off with a hero card which is like a King piece in a chess match that you should always keep safe at all costs because it’s what will win you the game. You use the other 25 cards in your deck to keep your Hero safe and defeat the opponent's hero.  As with other trading card games, there are a variety of decks in the game which includes: Strength, Agility, Wisdom, Heart, and Intellect. 

Each deck has its own unique playstyle; whether you like to execute an enemy fast with a lot of spell cards or you want a slow, methodical way of tearing your opponents' wits apart then there is a deck that corresponds to these types of plays and you can try the game’s starter decks that you get by completing tutorials to get a feel of what cards you like and create your own to craft a deck that corresponds to your playstyle.

Units are also classified by their elements like fire, water, metal, dark, light, etc. This means that you cannot use spells that target water cards on fire cards or vice versa.

Tokenomics

It’s refreshing to see this type of game in the blockchain gaming world. Since Skyweaver does not have its own token (yet). The way to earn in this game is by actually playing the game and ranking up to get silver and gold cards that you can then sell in the game’s marketplace for USDT. I think USDC is also a choice out of concern for its players. This makes it seem like the developers care about the players and don’t want to scare them with a variety of crypto coins just to start playing the game. The game is also built on the Polygon network so gas prices are low if you want to buy/make transactions in the game. Although they are using their own Sequence wallet developed by the game's developers, Horizon. **
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However, this is the first game that I have seen in the blockchain gaming market that only uses one stable token for its in-game economy and I am interested to see how things will pan out with this decision. 

Final Thoughts

Overall, I believe Skyweaver is a great game. The good graphics and gameplay are enough to keep your hands glued to your device for hours. There’s good replayability, especially if you are a trading card game aficionado. I guess the only negative thing I see in this game is its earning potential. If you aren’t good at the game, then it will make it harder for you to grind the silver and gold cards in the higher levels of play. Also since the player base is still quite small, there is still no huge demand for these cards. If you ever get to the stage where you can get these rare cards, it’d be smart to keep some of them to make your own deck stronger so you can climb higher in the leaderboards. If you are crazy good at trading card games and willing to put in the work and resources, then you may see yourself getting some earnings from the game. But at its current state, if you want a game to play just to make a quick buck, then I’m afraid this isn’t it. 

I think Skyweaver is making moves in the crypto space that we haven’t seen before. Their model looks like a standard one but they just added more value to the rare cards by turning them into NFTs. It’s like adopting a system we’re familiar with but adding new technology to bridge the gap between digital and reality. I’m hoping the developers continue making the game better and maybe increase the earning opportunities to attract more investors in a game that mixes the familiar TCG we used to love with the earning power of crypto.