Dreamblade


Dreamblade is a collectible miniatures game created by Wizards of the Coast that debuted on August 9, 2006, the day before Gen Con Indy. The game is a strategy contest that includes an element of chance which comes into play through various die rolls.
Similar to , each game represents a battle between very powerful individuals, in this case psychics called "Dream Lords." These Dream Lords battle one another across the landscape of humanity's collective unconscious by spawning dream creatures out of human emotions, in particular Valor, Fear, Madness, and Passion. Dreamblade's restricted landscape and army-building rules result in many aspects which are more similar to a collectible card game than a typical miniature game.
In October 2007, Wizards of the Coast officially announced that they would no longer produce Dreamblade following the Night Fusion expansion set.

Game play

In a game of Dreamblade, two players engage in a duel. The game is won by the first player to gain six "victory points". A "victory point" is gained by the player with the most "conquest points" at the end of a turn, earned by controlling territories and destroying your opponent's creatures. Some abilities also grant "victory points".
Each player begins with a warband composed of no more than 16 miniatures. In the course of the game these miniatures are put into play where they are used to accumulate conquest points towards winning the turn, and from there the game. There are two types of miniatures, creatures and locations. The miniatures, along with the playing area, and special six-sided attack dice comprise the unique elements of the game.

Game elements

Miniatures: The playing pieces of the game and the only element that is collectible. Each miniature will have a common, uncommon or rare designation. There are two types of miniatures, creatures and locations.
Playing area: The playing area is a five by five grid. Players start out on opposite corners of the grid. The back row is known as the spawning row, and the center 3×3 grid is known as the key cells.
Attack Dice: Attack dice are six-sided. Two of their faces count as misses, three of the faces count as damage, with a one-point, two point, and three point damage face. The final face is the dreamblade, which is used to power the special abilities of the miniatures in the game; unlike other games, these abilities are not optional – any blades rolled on a turn must be used if possible.

Tournament Play

Tournament play was a large part of Dreamblade. Wizards of the Coast held Duelists' Convocation International-sanctioned Dreamblade tournaments all over the world.

Formats

Constructed - Each player brings their premade warband of miniatures to the event. A warband must have no more than 16 miniatures and players may not use more than 3 of the same miniature.
Sealed Box - Players make a warband out of the miniatures they received from booster packs given out to each player as part of the tournament. If using three boosters, the warbands must have no more than 16 miniatures, as in constructed play. If using two boosters, the warbands must have no more than 12 miniatures, and once during the game at the start of the turn a player may take the miniatures in their graveyard and put them back in their reserves.
Booster Draft - Players assemble in groups, ideally consisting of 4 players each. Each group is called a "pod". Within each pod, boosters are opened one at a time, and players draft a single miniature from that booster, before passing the remainder to the next player in turn. This format can be done with either two or three boosters, and the maximum warband size requirements and "refresh" rule for two-booster format are the same as with Sealed Box.

Events

Edge - These were events held at local stores, and offered promotional alternate-paint miniatures as prizes.
1K - These were larger tournaments where the total prize awarded was $1000. The 1st-place winner received $500, 2nd place received $300, and 3rd and 4th places received $100 each.
10K - These were much larger international events where the total prize awarded was $10,000. The 1st-place winner earned $2000.
Championship - This event, which required qualification through earning enough points at other events, offered $50,000 in total prizes. The 1st-place winner earned $10,000. On August 19, 2007, at Gen Con, Ben Stoll won the only "Dream Series Championship" ever held.
Wizards of the Coast no longer supports these programs, though independent tournament organizers may still sanction non-premier Dreamblade tournaments.

Sets

Dreamblade sets were released on a three-month schedule:

Released Sets