Line #69 VideoGame/InfinityWars


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/infinitywarsprofile.png]]
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3	''Infinity Wars'' is a [[CardBattleGame "digital collectible card game"]] developed by Australian developers Lightmare Studios. It launched on Platform/{{Steam}} after an open beta period.
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5	A millennia ago, "The Calamity" consumed the Old World, destroying almost everything. The world was split into multiple realities (potentially infinite ones, hence the title), populated by all sorts of different peoples and races. The world of Talich is home to the knights of [[KnightTemplar the Order of the Flame Dawn]] and the highly advanced [[MegaCorp Genesis Industries]], the plane of Reisch is fought over by the [[{{Wutai}} Descendants of the Dragon]], [[DealWithTheDevil the sorcerers of the Cult of Verore]] and the renegade [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Exiles of the Wastes]] and the New World is occupied by [[TheHorde the beasts of the Warpath]]. Worst of all, though, is the plane of Avarrach, once a prosperous world now completely consumed by a horrific [[TheVirus nano-virus]] that turned every living thing on it into a horde of cybernetic zombies--[[ZombieApocalypse the Sleepers of Avarrach.]] Now rifts are opening between the planes and conflict is breaking out, especially as the Sleepers begin to spread across the multiverse. The [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Overseers of Solace]] entered the fray to stamp out the Undead threat in the Ascension update. (A more detailed summary of the lore can be found [[http://infinite-network.com/articles/view/lore-compilation here]])
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7	The game takes full advantage of its digital status to incorporate mechanics that are impossible (or at least ridiculously difficult) to implement in hard-copy [=CCGs=], such as tracking the permanent buffs on multiple creatures, and most notably, simultaneous turn system. Additionally, all the cards are animated- the characters depicted on them live and breathe (or don't in the case of the undead Sleepers and the Genesis robots) and action cards often depict full-blown action scenes. Additionally, there are 2 main ways to eliminate your opponent: by reducing his life (or stronghold strength in this case) from 100 to 0, or reducing his morale from 100 to 0 instead (morale loss is most commonly caused by having your creatures destroyed, punishing you for taking [[WeHaveReserves a cavalier approach to their welfare]]). Since all decisions in a turn have to be made before you can see what your opponent is going to do, there is a heavy emphasis on accurately predicting the enemy's actions in advance and moving to counter them, resulting in games often descending into XanatosSpeedChess.
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9	As well as the 2013 base set, 6 expansions have already been released: 'Rise' which introduced the corrupted Exiles faction, 'Infestation' which focused on the spread of the Virus across the multiverse (resulting in a large focus on the Sleepers of Avarrach) and introduced dual faction cards to the game, 'Ascension' which introduced gun–toting angels, the Overseers of Solace, 'Order' which dealt with the aftermath of the Sleeper war (seeing the Sleepers phased out of the game, receiving only a single card), 'Oppression' which starts the next story arc (with the Sleepers defeated by the Overseers, the new threat to humanity seems to be [[KnightTemplar the Overseers]]) and 'Rebellion', with the mortal races and a number of angelic defectors fighting back against the callous Overseers. Additionally, [[http://au.infinitywarsgame.com/news/view/star_trek Lightmare have also released a special set of cards based on]] ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', which are playable in normal games but not in ranked matches.
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11	Development of the game was discontinued, with Lightmare announcing the development of ''Infinity Wars 2''. The servers were suspended at the end of March 2020 so resources could be redirected towards the sequel, with the intention of bringing the game back online later. This was later realised with the release of ''Infinity Wars: Classic'', a ground-up remaster of the original game running on a newer engine, with saw the release of the 7th expansion, "Intrigue" and later the 8th, "Revelations".
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13	[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] The 1992 Creator/MarvelComics crossover event ''ComicBook/TheInfinityWar'' or the 2018 crossover event ''Infinity Wars''. Also not to be confused with the film adaptation, ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''.
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16	!!''Infinity Wars'' provides examples of the following tropes:
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18	* AerithAndBob: The three neutral angels in the game--Radariah, Jubaliah and Cheryl. Their respective titles may provide a secondary example as well--the Untouchable, the Messenger and the Forward Scout.
19	* AlternateSelf: There are a few characters that exist in all realities, or at least all the ones we see. Aleta is an immortal who apparently survived the Calamity, while Agent Coyle's presence is as yet unexplained (though the fact that all versions of him can turn into a dragon raises some questions).
20	** It's implied that there's only ONE Coyle and he's a time traveller, with all the different versions representing him at different stages of his existence. ''Infinity Wars Classic'', with its far more in-depth flavour text for each card, clarified that there are actually ''two'' Coyles- Coyle Prime (who went through all the good factions, ending with the Overseers and wants to protect the multiverse) and the younger Coyle Alpha One (the one who became a Zomborg then was corrupted into a Demon, and consequently wants to destroy the multiverse). The two of them eventually clashed in a final duel to the death (seen on the card Single Combat) that resulted in them [[FusionDance merging into a single beiong]], "Agent Coyle Divinedemonic".
21	* AlternateUniverse: The game is based around them. There were only four when the game began: Talich (the Dawn and Genesis), Reisch (the Descendants, the Cult, and the Exiles), the New World (Warpath), and Avarrach (the Sleepers). A fifth has already been added (Solace, home to the Overseers), and references to the Old World (the Factionless cards) are constant.
22	* ApocalypseHow: The Calamity was apparently at ''least'' Class 6, although its exact nature is vague. Not only did it wipe out the population of the Old World, it also split it into multiple realities. Aleta and (possibly) Agent Coyle were involved somehow and the only survivors, and now they exist in all worlds.
23	-->After the Calamity not a single mortal human was left alive in the Old World.
24	* AttackAttackAttack: The Flame Dawn's hat; they have a monopoly on characters with Charge (causes them to deploy to the Assault zone rather than the Support zone) including their unlimited creature and fulfil the 'rush/swarm' role in the metagame.
25	* AwesomeButImpractical: The Ultra-Unit, which requires you to sacrifice all three of the Genesis Mega Units. Even [[LampshadeHanging its flavour text acknowledges the fact]] that the card is not only almost unplayable but complete overkill if you could play it.
26	-->"While incredibly cool, this creation will certainly never see the light of day. Any one Mega Unit can reshape the battlefield. Assembling all three together would be overkill."
27	* BeastMan: Many of the beasts of the Untamed World, guided by the hands of Aleta, Immortal Caretaker, evolved into these, who are the founders and leaders of the Warpath. They're mostly CatFolk or {{Wolf M\|an}}en.
28	* BigBad: Sol, the Tyrant of Solace, who overthrows the Council that leads the Overseers to take single control and enforce his own dictatorial vision on the Infinite Worlds.
29	* BloodKnight: The society of the Order of the Flame Dawn revolves completely around martial valour and requires endless warfare to fuel it.
30	* BodyOfBodies: The Zombie Abomination.
31	* ButtMonkey: Apparently [[MeaningfulName Yobo, Who Nobody Likes]], the only character in the game who actually GIVES you morale when he dies rather than making you lose it. Somewhat of a UnpopularPopularCharacter among the fanbase.
32	** When he dies, he doesn't even enter the Graveyard, he just leaves the game. Even the Graveyard doesn't like him![[note]]Actually it's just to keep you from repeatedly reviving him for easy morale recovery, but you can believe whatever's funnier if you like.[[/note]]
33	* DefectorFromDecadence: In Rebellion, several of the Overseers' new allies and even a few of the Overseers themselves turn against Sol's forces because of his callous indifference to the lives of mortals, including Lucca (who surgically removes the wings she'd been granted in the card 'Defiance' to become 'Lucca, Rebellion Leader'), and Lilariah (who becomes 'Lilariah, the Rebel').
34	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: With the release of the Overseers, the first two angels have become something of an anomaly. Jubalia dresses completely differently from the Overseers, but at least has the halo and pistols. Radariah, on the other hand, bears almost NO resemblance to them whatsoever- as well as lacking a halo, she's also the only angel to fight with a ''sword.'' Cheryl, on the other hand, is clearly one of the Overseers, despite still being Neutral.
35	** Jubalia has returned in Order as an Overseers character (Jubalia, the Valiant), still wearing the minidress. Cheryl also received an Overseers update (Agent Cheryl, the Last to Leave), strangely now wearing some kind of overcoat on top of her bodysuit. Radariah, the first angel ever released, has been forgotten.
36	* EnemyCivilWar: After Aleta is taken prisoner by the freed Vasir, the Cult of Verore falls into in-fighting, with Aleta's two lieutenants ''literally'' at each others' throats, as portrayed on the card 'Struggle For Power'. [[spoiler:It's resolved in the card 'The Price of Fame', with Rita killing Candit with a knife to the back.]]
37	* EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench: In the new voice-acted campaign, Priestess Rita of the Cult of Verore had a strong (yet inexplicable) French accent. At least until her lines were rerecorded when the campaign was updated again, possibly because Lightmare thought it was ''too'' out-of-place.
38	* EvilMeScaresMe: Aleta, the Immortal Tinkerer (the Aleta of Talich) became Aleta, the Immortal Searcher when she travelled to Averrach in the hopes of finding a cure for the Virus. Her discovery of Aleta, Immortal Sufferer disturbs her greatly.
39	* EvilTwin: Aleta, Immortal Sorceress and Aleta, Immortal Sufferer to the rest of the Aletas. One's a LadyOfBlackMagic who enslaved a powerful demon prince to power the life-devouring sorceries of the Cult of Verore, the other is a tormented, insane and utterly corrupted cyborg who cannot die like the rest of the population of Avarrach due to her immortality. While the Sufferer isn't necessarily ''evil'' as such, she IS part of the undead faction.
40	* FateWorseThanDeath: The fate of Aleta, Immortal Sufferer, cursed to wander eternally among the dead of Averrach, unable to die and constantly struggling against the Virus that attempts to take her over. She's not happy.
41	** She appears to finally have found salvation, however, in the 'Oppression' expansion, with the card Reborn showing her admiring her new cybernetic body, apparently freed from the infestation, thanks to Genesis Industries and their version of Aleta. "Intrigue" saw the release of her new version as "Aleta, the Cured Immortal", who now has the ability to raise allies from the dead but ''removing'' the Undead keyword if they have it.
42	* FemaleAngelMaleDemon: So far played ''mostly'' straight- the three angels included in the game so far (Radariah, Jubaliah and Cheryl) are all women, while the demons controlled by the Cult of Verore are all masculine (or at least bestial enough that gender is indeterminate). While there ARE some female demons visible among the Exiles (Princess Hinekri and the demon girl in the background of the Demonic Mercenary) it's unknown how many of them are REAL demons and how many are [[WasOnceAMan corrupted humans]].
43	** Subverted when the Ascension update introduced male angels.
44	* FemaleMonsterSurprise: The "surprise" was largely because it was a blatant RetCon ("he" was changed to "she" on the card itself) but it turns out that Shikana, Who Demands Tribute is actually a female monster. She looks like [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/infinitywarsatcg/images/4/49/IW2013_SHIKANA_WHO_DEMANDS_TRIBUTE.png/revision/latest?cb=20140225131524 this]]. [[note]]This is a pre-retcon image of the card which still refers to her as "he".[[/note]]
45	* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: The proud and warlike Aberion, leader of the Flame Dawn, was reduced to a dispirited, overweight, drunken wreck by the time of "Intrigue" following the death of his good friend Bromich, as seen on his new card "Aberion, Fallen From Glory". He can be restored to his original form if you pay 4.
46	* HumongousMecha: Mega Units 01, 02 and 03, some of the biggest characters available to Genesis Industries. They can be 'sacrificed' to [[CombiningMecha form an even more powerful mecha]], the Ultra–Unit.
47	* IKnowYouKnowIKnow: An essential part of the gameplay; if you telegraph your moves too obviously, your opponent can punish you severely. On the most basic level, if you have a huge character ready to attack, you might choose not to attack with it and leave it in your Support Zone, causing your opponent's Death Ray (which will kill any unit, but only if it's on the Battlefield) to fizzle without effect. Bluff and counter-bluff are a HUGE part of the game.
48	* ImpossiblyLowNeckline: Candit, Head Researcher of the Cult of Verore, is nearly falling out of her clothes. The Verore Death Worshipper and the Aether Acolyte wear quite revealing tops as well.
49	* TheJuggernaut: Aberion, the Hammer of Dawn, the leader of the Order of the Flame Dawn. As long as he remains in the assault zone he's literally ''Indestructible''.
50	** Also any REALLY big creature with Unstoppable: whenever their attack kills a defender they carry on to attack the next one. The Dragons which Agent Coyle evolves into are the most notable examples.
51	* JunglePrincess: Aleta, Immortal Caretaker/Aleta, Immortal Survivor.
52	* {{Kaiju}}: The biggest Warpath creatures, [[MeaningfulName Hidden By Clouds]] and Titan of the New World, are absolutely colossal (Skraar is pretty big too, although not to ''quite'' the same scale). Some of the larger demons (such as the Hungry Abomination or Nysrugh the Hungry) also border on this, as is the [[BodyOfBodies Zombie Abomination]].
53	* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Orion, killed by Sol during the Flame Dawn/Overseers attack on Genesis Industries. His public memorial is an artifact in Order.]]
54	** [[spoiler:Candit, Head Researcher of the Cult of Verore, is killed off by Rita the Shadow Priestess at the end of their struggle to gain control of the cult in Aleta's absence. Subverted when she would reemerge in "Intrigue" as "Candit, the Demonic", who is almost impossible to actually kill.]]
55	** [[spoiler:Xi is apparently dead as well, judging from the fact that her 4th (and presumably final) incarnation is 'Xi, Martyr of Peace'.]]
56	* KnightTemplar: The Overseers. Arrogant, mostly unconcerned with the lives of those beneath them and willing to go to ''any'' lengths to annihilate the Virus of Avarrach. When Genesis Industries think they might be able to find a cure for the Virus, the Overseers (and the Flame Dawn) try to ''stop'' them because they don't want the infected cured, they want them ''annihilated'' (and because they don't believe Genesis can be trusted not to weaponise the Virus). [[spoiler:Then again, [[ProperlyParanoid they're right to suspect that]].]]
57	* LadyOfBlackMagic: Aleta, Immortal Sorceress.
58	* LastOfHisKind: The Last Sleeper, the only Sleepers of Avarrach card released in the Order expansion. Subverted when the "Intrigue" expansion introduced a new set of Sleepers cards, Lightmare having apparently changed their minds about phasing the faction out.
59	* LoveMakesYouCrazy: Unintentionally; the Virus of Avarrach was created by a man who fell in love with that plane's incarnation of the immortal Aleta, who was trying to find a way to avoid a MayflyDecemberRomance with her by making himself as immortal as her. Instead, he created a nano-virus that decided that the only way the man's body could survive eternally was to convert all of his organs to cybernetics. [[spoiler:He was PatientZero]].
60	* {{Matriarchy}}: The Cult of Verore.
61	* NanoMachines: The nature of the Virus of Avarrach.
62	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The Warpath prophetess Karani sacrificed her life performing a ritual to open a portal to Solace, allowing the Overseers to come through to the infinite worlds to fight the spread of the Sleepers. Unfortunately, [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman the Overseers care nothing for the beasts of the Warpath]], so they all but annihilate their world and nearly wipe out the Warpath altogether in an attempt to purge the Sleepers.
63	* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: The Sleepers of Avarrach are literal Zombie Robots (or cyborgs at least).
64	* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Humanoids in [[LatexSpaceSuit skintight latex]] who fight with pistols and apparently [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly draw their power from the consciousness of humans on all the planes]] (but not the Beasts of the Untamed World, hence [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman their willingness to commit genocide on them]] [[KnightTemplar to stop the spread of the Virus]]). They don't necessarily begin with wings, or may even have only one, requiring them to 'ascend' to earn their wings.
65	* OurDemonsAreDifferent: The "demons" are the monstrous counterparts of the angels of Solace, who entered the infinite worlds through the Hellmouth on Reisch and are mostly summoned and controlled by the Cult of Verore. They're distinct from the "devils", the [[WasOnceAMan corrupted humans]] that make up the bulk of the Exiles faction. Their level of monstrosity varies, as can be easily seen if you compare their two leaders, [[{{Kaiju}} the gigantic]] [[ImAHumanitarian man-eating]] abomination Nysrugh the Hungry, and the sexy CuteMonsterGirl Princess Hinekri.
66	* PatientZero: An actual card; he can kill anything in a combat zone with a touch and resurrect it on your side as an undead.
67	* {{Revenge}}: Aleta, Immortal Survivor swears revenge against the [[KnightTemplar Overseers]] for their near-genocide of the Warpath.
68	* RunningGag: "Specimen [[MadLibsCatchphrase <number>]] [[SophisticatedAsHell is easily identifiable by being]] [[BuffySpeak <really non-technical description>]]. Fleeing in panic is advised" - Genesis Industries Field Operations Manual.
69	* SchizoTech: Technology levels vary between the worlds. The beasts of the Warpath eschew technology almost completely, getting by on shamanism and their natural brutality. The inhabitants of Reisch rely more on magic and seem to be at roughly a medieval or Renaissance level. On Talich, the Flame Dawn seem to be at a high level of SteamPunk (they have {{Jet Pack}}s, guns and tanks, but still wear metal armour and fight with swords) while Genesis Industries are effectively space-aged (they have a sub-orbital ion canon as well as highly advanced robots and lasers). Avarrach may have been the most advanced of all - which ironically led to its downfall when their nanotechnology created TheVirus.
70	* SealedEvilInACan: Aleta, Immortal Sorceress imprisoned Vasir the demon prince below Veroria, using him as the key to controlling the demons. You would not ''believe'' how much trouble she's in [[FateWorseThanDeath now he's escaped and captured her for revenge]]. In-game [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration Vasir, the Chained Prince can't do anything until your opponent stops paying a large amount of resource every turn to keep him chained]] but once they let him become unchained they're in for a world of hurt.
71	* SensualSpandex: What some of the Overseers' {{Latex Space Suit}}s come off as, especially Lilariah and the Consecrating Angel
72	* ShoutOut: A lot of the original on-card flavour text[[note]]no longer included on the new cards in ''Infinity Wars Classic'' in favour of more in-depth paragraphs of lore[[/note]]:
73	** Agent Coyle, Alpha One: [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983 "I HAVE THE POWER!"]]
74	** Cartographer: [[Music/{{Metallica}} With dust in throat I crave/The knowledge I will save]]
75	** Pras, the Traitor of Dawn: [[Theatre/JuliusCaesar "Et tu, Brute?"]]
76	** Vengeful Warrior: [[Film/ThePhantomMenace Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.]]
77	** Lucca, Combat Mechanic is named after (and even somewhat resembles) the character of the same name from ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger''.
78	** The Hellmouth (appearance of text is delayed): [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer "From beneath you, it devours."]]
79	** Cowmmando: [[VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends "You can't milk those!"]]
80	* {{Stripperiffic}}: Many members of the Cult of Verore, most notably its leaders Aleta, Rita and Candit.
81	* TheVirus: The Virus of Avarrach, obviously. [[PlayingWithATrope Played With]], as the Virus is [[NanoMachines cybernetic in nature]], thus giving infected organisms the ability to replace lost body parts with mechanical ones. The in-game universe's people call the Sleepers of Avarrach '[[MeaningfulName Zomborgs]]'.
82	* WeHaveReserves: Usually averted; while you CAN play your deck like this if you've built it appropriately, the morale mechanic punishes you for taking needless losses.
83	* WrenchWench: Aleta, Immortal Tinkerer and Lucca, Combat Mechanic.

Context VideoGame / InfinityWars