Welcome to Mystling Academy! Mystling Academy is a standalone game in the world of Dragon Eclipse, by Awaken Realms. It is a player vs player solo or two player with the focus on battling tamed Mystlings. This first set includes Peare (a fire mystling) and Arboro (earth mystling).
Players can play 1vs1 against each other, so select a mystling to play solo against. In the 2 player game, each player is using their mystling, a special power card, and a deck of ability cards in order to try and do damage equal to the opponents health. In the solo game, you can either win by doing damage equal to the enemies health, or by taming the mystling through a series of three steps.
On a players turn, they will activate one of the cards in their display and optionally use power markers to manipulate themselves around the map, as well as attack your opponent. Power markers are acquired through the use of cards, as well as playing cards in different slots. As cards are played, the slide to the right, increasing the value of power markers that it will award when playing the card.
Dragon Eclipse is still on my shelf, awaiting painting and playing, but my understanding of Mystling Academy is that it is designed to get players into the combat aspect of Dragon Eclipse and learning parts of the game at a cheaper entry point. Each set provides two additional unique mystlings, that can be incorporated into the larger Dragon Eclipse game. Currently, there are the fire and earth mystlings, but the expectation is that there will be a mystling from each element, and the game is designed to account for the future mystlings.
Currently, the game is only available on Board Game Arena as a pre-release to the physical game launch. It was provided as the December 1st offering in the Winter of Games 2025 Board Game Arena activity. The retail release is roughly expected in 2026 from my understanding.
If you’re unfamiliar, a couple times a year, Board Game Arena, will create an activity in which they release a new game each day and you can earn badges and awards for stopping into the website and opening the next ‘gift’ to see what the newest game is. The longer your opening streak, the more awards.
Mystling Academy has a tutorial for it on Board Game Arena, done by Scribal. The tutorial provides a good step by step process through the game, and a good overall understanding of how to play. It also points out where the game is set up for additional content from the beginning, as well as the differences between the two mystlings. The tutorial is played in the solo mode, showing you the gameplay, as well as the card based action selection for the solo opponent and the taming activity as a secondary win condition in the solo mode.
Not exactly sure how much I would play this one on its own, or if I’d be inspired to purchase the physical retail edition. It does get me excited to keep painting and then playing my copy of Dragon Eclipse. In larger games like Dragon Eclipse, I am more interested in the story and the exploration of the game, than the combat. Whereas this standalone variant is entirely combat based.
This kind of product plays not only toward new players, but the competitions in the hobby that have already sunk hundreds of dollars into a larger game, by making the new mystling characters compatible with the bigger game. Many will argue that it’s ‘just’ a cash grab, which isn’t necessarily wrong, but it’s a business, their goal is not only to make great games, but also make money so they can continue to make great games. It’s smart business practices and I won’t begrudge a business attempting to be successful.
I also like the idea of creating a more cost friendly way to get people interested in the bigger product, or allowing them to sample at a reasonable investment.
Overall, I’m rating this a 6/10 for me. It’s probably not a game I’d go back to on BGA, but does inspire my to get my Dragon Eclipse game closer to the table.
If you’re a player that likes tactical grid combat though, this might be a better fit for you!
Tutorial by Scribal
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