January 8th, 2022: Version 2.1!
A new version of the Playtest Kit is available! This version builds on the last release to make the game clearer, more enjoyable and available to more players.
There are changes to the game rules, to the playtest card layout, and to the rulebook. But the most important are:
Packet Sealed — a whole new way to play! This release includes four extra packets to enable Packet Sealed, a way to build decks with variety quickly and easily. Choose two Common and one Rare packet and shuffle them together to make a whole new deck ready to play. Find all-new cards, enabling new Divers and new strategies, immediately available in the print & play files and Untap deck constructions and coming soon to 3D tabletop play too! Check them all out in the 2.1 card spoiler ❯
Tabletop Simulator support! Add the official Diver: Core Link Playtest Kit mod to play immediately. While you’re playing on your favorite online 3D tabletop, enjoy also the all-new game reminder markers for essential stats like XP, danger, and lives remaining!
Did I say lives? Yes! Because:
A game that’s faster and easier to understand! Core Links now play at the beginning of the round, not the end, meaning that you begin the game with your favorite power, right out of the gate. Also, the confusing ‘set aside’ system for defeating Divers has now been replaced — each player has 3 lives, and getting a Diver defeated loses a life! Be careful, because hitting 0 lives means game over.
Card rebalances and clean-up! In the v2 kit, players could ‘danger farm’ at the end of a round, playing more and more powerful effects without any way for the opponent to respond. Now, a player’s round is immediately over when they reach 7 danger or more, which puts a hard cap to this strategy. Also, the Many toolset has been carefully reworked to keep its explosive strength and go-wide basics, but avoid less fun moments with unanswerable card draw loops.
Card layout updates! The new footer now shows whether a card has had text edits (⊘), functional changes (✶) or is new (↪) from the last Playtest Kit printing. Also, while there is no art yet, new card monograms let you easily distinguish different cards at a distance rather than rely on magnifying small text. And finally, all text has been edited throughout to be shorter and more understandable.
The updated cards are out now at divercore.link. New Print & Play files are available for all cards, including the new packets, both in cut-and-play and sticker forms. And if you’ve been playing online, cards are automatically updated for you right now, whether you use the preconstructed experiences on Tabletop Playground and PlayingCards.io, deckbuilding on Untap.in, or the new Tabletop Simulator mod.
Thanks for playing, and keep diving deeper! — millenomi ✾