Tyler Owen

Say hello to Feignshade Trickster! Currently the only Mercenary that can activate his ability as a Riposte during your opponent's turn. As long as you have 1 Sigil available, he can avoid damage from an attack by playing dead.

New art! - Getting discarded doesn't mean the end for all Mercenaries. Give them a second chance! And since the discard pile is shared by both players, it makes it especially fun to give new life to a Mercenary that you previously defeated.

I could have sworn that we had already shared the artwork for Treeclimb Ranger, but after checking our various socials apparently we have not! Those of you who have been joining us for our regular playtests will already be familiar, but for everyone else, here he is in all his acorn-tossing glory.

So excited to share the artwork for Sudden Betrayal today. This card allows you to "steal" one of your opponent's Mercenaries. The conditions are pretty specific and it costs your entire turn, but it can be an absolute game changer if played in a key moment. The art for this turned out so good!

Double-Edged Sword makes your Mercenaries stronger, but also more vulnerable. Use it carefully!

Start off your week with another new piece of Sylvan Tactics artwork! Play Flash Flood to get rid of those troublesome Battlefield cards. And since you're prepared for the destruction, you might even come out on top.

New Art Reveal! Earthtunnel Warrior has become a notorious Mercenary among playtesters. There's a reasonable chance that he might require a balance adjustment in the future, but for now he's just too fun! Interesting strategies appear when you can threaten your opponent with a "teleporting" unit.

Solving “Feels Bad” Moments in Tabletop Game Design — Random Seed Games Every tabletop designer eventually runs into the same devious problem. Not an overpowered card. Not a dominant strategy. It is the “feels bad” moment. A “feels bad” moment is any situation where a pl...

I wrote up some thoughts on some recent design balance changes that were made to solve a few "feels bad" moments in Sylvan Tactics. randomseedgames.com/blog/2025/11...

New Art Monday! "Tame the Lands" is the answer to your opponent's pesky Battlefield cards. Either remove one from the game or draw a card for each Battlefield your opponent controls.

🦎 Sylvan Tactics - New Art Monday: Meet the Marsh Traveler & Skittish Firetail... now using the new Recruitment Zone so both players can reliably grab a 1-drop Mercenary early. Faster starts, fairer games, and more time to enjoy these adorable little critters!

Rope hook is another fan-favorite equipment in Sylvan Tactics. Don't want to put yourself in danger to attack someone? Bring them to you instead! You just have to ask yourself if the expense is worth it. 2 Sigils is one of the highest ability costs in the whole game.

Here's your new card art for the week: Thundertooth Guardian. Another Apex Predator. If you can afford the hit to your King's Morale, you can play this big angry bear for only 4 Sigils instead of 6. Allowing you just enough to sneak in a single move and attack in the same turn.

Since I missed last week, I figured we should probably reveal 2 cards today. Advantageous Terrain and Fiery Forge are two of our latest Battlefield cards with final artwork! These are also using our new card layout designed with Dextrous.

A simple, yet effective weapon - the Piercing Lance. Line up your opponents and skewer them!

Another Monday, another new art piece to share. I have never lived in an area that had pikas. I wish I did though, because they are so darned cute! This little forager can be pretty handy for pumping up grouped units on your back line.

This card has been a favorite of almost every player who encounters it during playtests. Border Trenches enable some really interesting flanking strategies. And of course the borderless art for our Battlefield cards look awesome as always.

Another Monday, another card art reveal. The Heavy Battle Axe might be simple, but it's very effective. Put the hurt on your opponent with this +3 Strength buff to one of your Mercenaries.

Hey! It's been a hot minute since we shared a preview of a new Mercenary card. Say hello to Shadowtail Tracker. This agile trickster is tough to catch thanks to her ability "Cunning" which allows her to reposition after an attack.

Join us at GenCon’s First Exposure Playtest Hall on Thursday and Friday (10am–noon & 8pm–10pm) to try Sylvan Tactics for yourself. Stop by our table to get a free mini poster featuring several characters from the game. To celebrate this milestone, today we are sharing new art for the King and Queen!

New card reveal!... Timing is everything. Strategic Retreat lets you pull your forces back at the perfect moment, nullifying enemy attacks and setting up your counterplay. Would you use this as a defensive maneuver or a sneaky repositioning tactic?

Bringing Sylvan Tactics to GenCon: Our First Exposure Playtest Hall Debut — Random Seed Games After months of design, playtesting, art direction, and mentorship, we're excited to finally bring Sylvan Tactics to GenCon 2025 as part of the First Exposure Playtest Hall (FEPH)! If you're attendi...

Coming to GenCon? Sylvan Tactics will be at the First Exposure Playtest Hall! randomseedgames.com/blog/2025/7/...

Be there at the following times for a chance to play:
Thursday July 31st, 10am–12pm
Thursday July 31st, 8pm–10pm
Friday August 1st, 10am–12pm
Friday August 1st, 8pm–10pm

This week’s reveal is all about Riposte Equipment. Hidden Trap punishes enemy movement with a surprise wound, while Martyr’s Reliquary turns fallen allies into sudden power. Play them during your opponent’s turn for maximum impact. #SylvanTactics

New card announcement today! This has got to be one of our favorite cards so far. Not just because of the amazing art either. Frightening Battlecry provides a ton of utility in the form of modifying your opponent's positioning. Strike fear into their hearts and push back their advances!

Our card template file has been fixed! Which means we can start sharing card reveals again. Today we have two new Battlefield cards to share to make up for a couple of weeks without new cards. What do you think of Hard Freeze and Regional Dominance?

Personally, I don't need much more than the thematic backdrop and maybe a few sentences that set the stage in the rulebook.

🔥💨 New Card Reveal: Smoke Them Out

Forced from the shadows, driven into the light. This powerful Action lets you dislodge enemy Mercenaries and Pawns from the safety of Black spaces.

Play it right, and you’ll scatter enemy lines or punish them with a 1 Strength hit if they have nowhere to run.

Card Reveal Monday - With the Field Hospital Battlefield card active, your units can get healed up as long as they are on their home turf. Great for establishing a defensive strategy.

🛡️ New Mercenary Reveal! 🛡️
Meet Ironhide Defender, our armored Armadillo Mercenary who refuses to back down!

With the Tough ability, Ironhide Defender gains a +4 Strength boost when attacked, making it a formidable force on the battlefield.

We have an official logo for Sylvan Tactics! Read more about the design in our blog post: randomseedgames.com/blog/2025/5/21/logo-reveal-the-look-of-sylvan-tactics

This week we are sharing the new Sigil card design. The "blank" side represents your inactive Sigils which you will flip over one per turn to awaken your Sigils. Once they are flipped over to the full green Sigil symbol they can be used as a resource to pay for any other card in your hand.