Learn more about The Elder Scrolls Online’s upcoming deck-building card game and ensure you have the stronger hand this June.
The launch of High Isle, ESO’s latest Chapter, arrives June 6 on PC/Mac and June 21 on PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Accompanying its release will be Tales of Tribute, a brand-new, in-game card game that you can play whenever you need a break from closing Daedric portals or slaying dragons.
Tales of Tribute is quick and easy to pick up but takes time to master. To ensure you get off to a fast start when the new Chapter launches, here are 10 things you need to know about this new way to play—let’s dive right in!
You Can Unlock Eight Decks in High Isle
You can acquire eight patron decks in Tales of Tribute, and each is themed around an organization or individual in the world of Tamriel that helps define a playstyle.
The first four are:
- Loremaster Celarus
- Delmene Hlaalu
- Duke of Crows
- St. Pelin
You unlock these four immediately upon completing the tutorial, and you can unlock four additional decks by completing quests and unlocking achievements related to Tales of Tribute as well as coming across them in drops while participating in High Isle’s overworld content—look out for them!
Each Player Selects Two Patrons to Start
Before the beginning of the match, both you and your opponent will each select two patron decks to bring to the match, each containing 20 cards. These 80 cards, along with 20 neutral cards, are shuffled into the Tavern. The Tavern is a pool of five cards that you and your opponent acquire cards from throughout the game.
Patrons Are Potent—But Costly
Each deck is also accompanied by a patron of the same name, and when they’re activated by you or your opponent, they provide special boons. You can choose to activate one each turn, but some card effects or combos may allow you to interact with an additional patron.
Be aware, earning the favor of a patron often requires the trade of another material including Power, Coin, or even your cards themselves.
How you win is up to you!
Two Ways to Win
In Tales of Tribute, there is more than one path to victory. In fact, there are two!
The first method of defeating your opponent is to collect 40 or more Prestige. Prestige is earned via card or patron abilities or by converting Power at the end of your turn.
Beyond scoring 40 or more Prestige, you must also maintain that lead through your opponent’s next turn. If your opponent can score higher than you in their following turn, then you must attempt to gain an even larger lead. This process will continue until one player cannot gain a lead over the other during their turn or either one of you hits 80 total.
The second path to victory involves gaining the favor of all four patrons by the end of your turn. If you do, regardless of accumulated Prestige, you automatically win.
Agents Stick Around
Agents are a special type of card. Unlike most cards, which go to the cooldown pile at the end of your turn, agents remain in play. At that point, you can remove agents by one of two methods:
- After collecting Power, you can select your opponent’s agent and use the Power to attack and remove the agent. Each agent has an allotted amount of health, and you need enough Power to match their health to knock out (KO) them. Some agents have the ability to taunt you. Cards with taunt prevent you from converting Power to Prestige, and must be destroyed before you can strike at other agents. You can readily identify agents with taunt—their health is in a shield icon.
- Some cards (and a patron) can KO an agent. If you purchase one of these cards, you can select one of the active agents in your opponent’s hand to remove them from play.
You Have Only 90 Seconds Per Turn
In Tales of Tribute, time is a luxury when playing ranked or casual matches via the Activity Finder. You and your opponent are provided 90 seconds per turn to analyze the situation and take whatever actions required. Neither you nor your opponent are required to use the entire 90 seconds, and you may choose to end your turn early. But be warned: Once those 90 seconds have passed, your turn automatically concludes. (But don’t worry about those friendly matches or bouts against NPCs—you can take your time there!)
Each Deck Has a Unique Playstyle
Every deck in Tales of Tribute has been designed with unique gameplay to match its lore. For example, the St. Pelin deck, themed around High Rock’s Order of St. Pelin, are all about defensive agent cards and Power. Therefore, St. Pelin cards tend to be focused on the acquisition of Power and slow down your opponent's ability to convert Power into Prestige—Stendarr's grace in action.
Contracts Are One-Time Cards
Most cards you acquire from the Tavern move into your cooldown pile upon purchase (and eventually, your draw pile), but this isn’t always the case. Several cards are designated as contracts, and you’ll know these cards by their unique styling and their tooltip information.
Contracts provide a one-time ability or agent that instantly takes effect on the table. Be careful when choosing which contracts to acquire, since after you have used them, they’re gone for the rest of that match!
Combo Cards for Extra Boons
You can’t access all card abilities just by playing them from your hand. Some cards require combos to activate bonus effects that can quickly turn the tide in your favor.
You can trigger these combos by first playing a combo card to activate its primary effect and then playing another card from that same patron to trigger its secondary ability.
Example: You could play the Loremaster Celarus card “Ceporah’s Insight” and benefit from its primary effect of replacing two cards from the Tavern and tossing three cards from the top of your deck. Then when playing any other Loremaster Celarus cards that turn, the Ceporah’s Insight would activate its secondary effect and provide 3 Prestige.
Combo cards can also have tertiary effects that you can access by repeating the process a second time.
Set up a combo using cards from the same patron to gain bonus effects
Power Is a Versatile Resource
Power is one of the most important resources in Tales of Tribute. You can gain it through various means, including card effects and combos, as well as patron abilities.
You can use Power aggressively to remove agents from your opponent’s board, or Power can be transferred 1:1 into Prestige. Use it wisely.
We hope these notes give you a better idea of what to expect from Tales of Tribute and help you dominate your opponents once High Isle arrives in June. We’ll be sharing more tips and tricks on how to play Tales of Tribute between now and launch, so keep an eye on elderscrollsonline.com for more! If you can’t wait to start playing the new tavern card game sweeping Tamriel, then hop onto the PTS where Tales of Tribute as well as High Isle Chapter content is available to play right now!
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The Elder Scrolls Online: High Isle Chapter arrives for PC/Mac and Stadia* on June 6*, and for Xbox and PlayStation consoles June 21. Pre-purchase High Isle now to receive unique bonus rewards at launch and get immediate access to the Palefrost Elk mount.
*Available only in limited Territories