XenoShyft: Dreadmire

A cooperative deckbuilder where you recruit troops and defend your base against waves of alien horrors.

Designer: Michael Shinall
Published by: Cool Mini Or Not

You survived the Hive, and now Genesis VII wants a word. XenoShyft: Dreadmire drops you onto a lush marsh planet whose ecosystem has plenty of horrors of its own, with eight new troop types, twenty item types and more than forty new enemies. It is a cooperative deckbuilder with a base-defence twist: you build up a deck of troops and items between waves, then use them to hold the line when the enemies come at you in deadly combat. It works as a standalone game or mixed with the Onslaught set. You manage resources, share the load with your team and hope the next wave is not the one that breaks you. One to four players, around an hour.

Build a deck of troops and items between wavesEight new troop types and over forty enemiesStandalone or combined with Onslaught

Who it's for

You and a friend or two enjoy cooperative deckbuilders and want a grim sci-fi base defence where resource choices actually hurt.

Not for you if…

You want a gentle co-op, or you dislike dark horror themes. This is a tough, relentless survival game.

Vibe's take

Tense and desperate, like holding a barricade with a handful of grunts. Between waves you build and agonise, and during them you hope your choices were the right ones.