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The new Elder Scrolls Online card game Tales of Tribute is unlike most online card games on the market. It's not oriented around combat, nor do players have pre-built decks. The goal of Tales of Tribute is to outsmart your opponent while building a unique strategy from a shared set of cards.
It takes a little bit of getting used to, thanks in part to most Elder Scrolls Online players being unfamiliar with the concept of deckbuilding card games. It doesn't take long to get into the swing of things with Tales of Tribute, just be prepared to lose some games as you figure out how to build reliable strategies.
Tales of Tribute: A New Deckbuilding ESO Card Game
Tales of Tribute doesn't let players attack each other directly with summoned monsters or spells. Instead, each player plays the game almost entirely independently of one another. There is a shared deck from which cards in the "Tavern" are drawn. Cards in the Tavern can be bought with Gold by either player, which are then added to their cards. When each player's personal deck runs out, their cooldown pile is reshuffled back in, allowing each player to expand their deck and their playstyle as the game goes on.
Though new cards and Patrons can be earned through other in-game activities like quests and treasure maps, they aren't excluded from the shared deck. If you unlock a card for a Patron and that Patron is part of your next game, your opponent has just as much a chance to draw it as you do. Because of this, to get good at Tales of Tribute you have to learn how to improvise and change your strategy on the fly. Say, for example, there's a card in the Tavern that you think your opponent wants – if you can get rid of it, they might be forced to change their plan, giving you an advantage.
Resources: Gold, Favor, and Power
There are three major resources in Tales of Tribute: Gold, Favor, and Power. Each of these three resources governs different aspects of the new ESO card game. Gold is used to purchase new cards from the Tavern and pay for certain Patron abilities. Favor can be built in a variety of ways, and reaching 40 Favor is a win condition. Power is used to defeat enemy Agents and is converted to Favor at the end of the turn.
There are two win conditions: getting to 40 Favor and triggering the endgame phase, or having Favored status with all four Patrons. Having 40 Favor is not enough to win the game - you have to maintain a Favor lead for an entire turn. If your enemy gets above 40, the endgame phase continues. However, if you are Favored by all four Patrons at any point in the game (whose requirements are detailed when hovering over their portrait), you instantly win without going to the endgame phase.
Instead of Decks, Tales of Tribute Has Patrons
There are eight Patrons in Tales of Tribute, four of which are given to players after completing the intro quest for the new ESO card game (the other four can be unlocked later on). Long-time players might recognize certain Patrons, like Red Eagle of the Reach or the Duke of Crows from the Clockwork City DLC.
Each Patron comes with a set of cards with a particular theme, for example, Delmene Hlaalul is all about gold and acquisition, while the Psijic Loremaster Celarus is more concerned with setting up combos ahead of time and playing the information game.
Tales of Tribute Patrons: The Basics
At the beginning of the game, each player selects two Patrons from those they have unlocked. Each Patron has a unique ability that, when used, tips the scales your way. These abilities range from killing Agents directly, to giving bonuses for long-term Favored status, to simply increasing Power at the cost of Gold for a turn.
In addition to garnering Favor as a resource, becoming Favored with all four (not including the Treasury) is also a victory condition. You can garner the favor of a Patron (aka use their ability) once each turn, though some cards do increase this limit. If either player has Favored status with all four selected Patrons at any point, they instantly win. This can come out of nowhere, so be sure to regularly check your opponent's Favored status either by hovering over each Patron or by looking at the arrow that surrounds each portrait – it points towards their Favored player.
Basic Tales of Tribute Tips
Tales of Tribute is quite unlike any other card game out there, certainly quite unlike card games in other RPGs and Fantasy games. It requires on-the-spot thinking as well as the ability to plan out a grander strategy, and the shared deck system prevents one player from being wildly more powerful than another.
There's a really good sense of balance in Tales of Tribute, but knowing some basic tips can help you come out on top more often than not, even when playing with completely unfamiliar cards and Patrons. And as always, practice makes perfect - don't beat yourself up for losing matches, learn from your losses to keep getting better!
Choose Two Colors, and Use The Treasury To Hone A Build
Tales of Tribute is a deckbuilding game, one where you and your opponent have the same choices of cards. There are four Patrons in each game that provide shared cards, each associated with a unique color. To build decks with high combo potential, try to stick to a maximum of two colors/Patrons. Towards the end of the game you may have no choice but to delve into a third color, but fewer colors in your deck means more interactions between cards.
When Using Unfamiliar Patrons, Aim For Familiar Ones Instead
Sometimes your opponent may have unlocked a Patron that you are unfamiliar with. If you find yourself being dealt cards you don't know how to use effectively, do the safe thing and don't use them. Use the Treasury to weed them out from your deck, and try to go for familiar Patrons instead. Your opponent will likely focus on their unique Patron, giving you plenty of space to build a deck using cards you know.
Maximize Your Combos (And Use Agents To Trigger Them)
Combos are everything in Tales of Tribute. The fate of a game can be decided with one good combo, and more often than not late-game Tales of Tribute matches devolve into minutes-long combos to one-up each other. Pay careful attention to the wording on your cards, and be sure to play them in such an order as to get the most Combos as possible. For example, a card that goes up to Combo 3 should be played after a card that only goes to Combo 2, as it will trigger both Combo abilities one after the other. Keep in mind, too, that Agent abilities can be used to add to the combo counter for its associated color, which can make the difference between reaching the highest-level Combo and not.
Pay Attention To Your Opponent To Anticipate Their Strategy
Though Tales of Tribute feels mostly like a single-player experience, it's anything but. You should pay attention to your opponent's moves to get a better understanding of their strategy so that you can counter it and form one of your own. If you can tell a player is going deep into one color, you can get a good idea of what combos they can pull off and remove cards from the Tavern accordingly. To help in this endeavor, players can mouse over almost everything on their opponent's side of the field except their hand to see what cards have been played and what their overall deck looks like.
The Elder Scrolls Online: High Isle is available for PC, and will be available for Playstation and Xbox systems on June 21, 2022