Enter Pox Nora, the newest entrant in the online collectible strategy genre.  It is set in the world of Pox, which thrives upon the use of Nora, the energy of the world.  The world of Pox was essentially broken into three separate regions: the Valdac, the K’Thir, and the Sheoul.  For a time, the people of the three regions settled their disputes with a simple game. This worked until one day an act of violence occurred, an act which sparked warfare throughout the world of Pox.  This is the world that we, the players, enter.

The differences between Pox Nora and potentially similar games are such that it is easier to assume you know nothing about the way this game is played and continue from there.  The game is played by the purchase of rune packs, which are then sorted, and a battle group of twenty runes is formed.  Your battle group will be comprised of champions (the soldiers of your army), spells (magical castings invoked by the players themselves), relics (artifacts of power that stand alone and confer bonuses), and equipment (weapons, armor, and other artifacts wielded by champions).

Once you have selected the makeup of your battle group (a more involved and lengthy process that one would think), you are ready to start playing.  The goal of Pox Nora is simple: destroy your opponent’s shrine, while defending your own shrine from the champions of your enemy.  This is a goal typically accomplished through a combination of spellcraft and brute force.  While this may seem a simple enough proposition, it is really only the beginning of understanding Pox Nora.

Selecting the proper battle group can be influenced by a number of factors.  For starters, the levels that comprise the battlegrounds of Pox Nora can range from barren deserts to molten volcanoes to swampy marshlands.  These simple terrains will impact you in a variety of ways, especially when enhanced by spells.  For instance, the rune Bog Trap is an area effect spell, which will severely handicap any non-amphibious or non-flying champions.  This type of rune can sometimes make the difference between victory and defeat; more importantly, knowing when to use this rune can be the difference.

Being a member of the press, I received access to numerous runes and resources in which to make my battle group.  However, I found that playing through with the free sample groups was actually the best way to learn how to play.  It is truly hard to decide what types of battle groups are effective until you get beaten a few times by other players.  The sample battlegroups do an outstanding job at teaching the novice how to play the game, while giving them a taste of what Pox Nora is about.  As these are available free of charge, I strongly recommend trying them out.

Once you have selected your battle group and begin playing, you quickly see how the game works.  To start with, you will be able to reveal three of your runes, followed by two every turn thereafter.  In order to play your runes, you will have to make sure you have enough Nora available.  Nora is your game energy, and this will vary based upon how much you have stored up as well as whether you have relics in play which give you more.  In addition, if you control certain spots on the map, you will also see an increase in Nora.  Once you have paid the Nora cost and played your rune, you are ready to proceed.

Unlike similar strategy titles, in Pox Nora you will find that once you play a rune it is not actually gone from play.  All runes have what is referred to as a Cooldown rating.  This rating is a number which tells you how many turns have to elapse before you can replay your rune.  The Cooldown rating for certain spells, for instance, can be a major factor in the outcome of a game and it is always important to factor in this rating when assembling your battle group.

While there is certainly a lot more to Pox Nora than written here, I will save it for my forthcoming footage of the game.  Coming soon will be an interview with the developers of the game, a hands-on feature where you will find out first-hand about my lack of skill in Pox Nora, and, ultimately, a full review.  On top of that, we still haven’t discussed card trading, the ability for your champions to gain experience or tournament play.  Yes, folks, we have only just begun our coverage of Pox Nora.