Tentative Score: 7/10

After weighing the pros and cons of this prototype, we're giving Evokers a 7/10. It's tentatively good. Evokers does a remarkable job of creating sprawling board states full of unique, eye-catching demons drawn from a massive deck, and it avoids breaking under that weight because the demons are generally well-balanced. The fusion mechanic further elevates these board states. Still, even though the basic rules are straightforward, the intricacy of individual demon abilities and the ways they interact means this game is not for the faint of heart.

Even though we've played Evokers many times, we still find ourselves referencing the rulebook because new demons keep surfacing with unfamiliar abilities and timing triggers. When demons start fusing and forming even more complex creatures, the game's complexity rises to a level we haven't seen in most other card games. It can be thrilling for those who love discovering combos and puzzling out synergy, but it can also overwhelm even experienced card players.

In that sense, it's hard not to be impressed by the sheer design scope. Every demon feels like a mini-story, and you're constantly testing which ones might fuse for new possibilities. The question is whether all that reading and technical detail is worth it for you, dear reader. In Yu-Gi-Oh!, fusion is a highlight or a rare event, whereas in Evokers, it's part of everyday gameplay. For instance, adding melee bonuses to a ranged attacker would be huge in many other games, but it's just another turn here.

Evokers isn't trying to be a trading card game; the designers call it a "kitchen dueler" or a "MOBA-like" card game. The dispel mechanic is directly inspired by MOBA champion bans, and it's easy to see parallels to DOTA's "if everything is overpowered, nothing is" mantra. In Evokers, nearly every demon has a powerful twist, so they sort of balance out.

Mammon, for example, perfectly embodies Evokers in one card. It has imposing stats and swaps sides at the start of each turn, which feels absurd until you realize you can fuse it with other demons or exploit its ability to unexhaust itself. Suddenly, you're marching it out of harm's way to avoid getting punished when it flips over. Moments like this highlight how Evokers can be simple and wildly complex when the right demons enter play.

At its core, Evokers is the most straightforward yet most complicated 1v1 mage-dueler I've tried. You might finish a game in ten minutes or stretch it beyond an hour. It's easy to grasp the basics, but the learning curve is steep if you want to master it—especially if you're using the entire deck plus variants like dispel and amend fate. You need to know most, if not all, of the 120 demons to play at a high level.

We recently hosted a mini-tournament with four players that lasted about two hours, and it was fantastic! We played various deck styles, from a familiar-based swarm strategy to a powerful beatdown build. The card game veteran players quickly grasped the complex combos, while newer players took a bit longer to adjust to the intricate mechanics. Regardless, everyone agreed that the tournament showcased the variety and depth of Evokers, reinforcing our belief in its great potential. For new players, they could get a lot of fun out of drafting their decks for such a format. Perhaps by drawing sets of four face-up cards and letting everyone see and pick a card until reaching 15.

Suppose you thrive on open-ended possibilities and don't mind a bit of rulebook referencing. In that case, Evokers can be a standout experience, provided you have a partner equally fascinated by demon fusion. It's a highly technical and punishing game where every summon matters, and most matches resolve in about three rounds. Even in this prototype form, it delivers plenty of memorable scenarios and feels like a promising "alpha" version of what it could become by its planned April 2025 release. Don't be surprised if the final product merits an 8 or even a 9 out of 10, just be aware that it targets a more niche crowd than something mainstream like Star Wars Unlimited or Magic: The Gathering.