2026 has been an excellent year for indie games so far, leaving major studios like Ubisoft and Capcom in the dust when it comes to being beaten out by smaller releases. Before the release of massive games like the Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag remake, there are more than a few spiritual successors on the horizon to look forward to in the meantime.
With roguelikes continuing to be one of the most explosively popular genres of the year, thanks to releases like Slay The Spire 2, Mewgenics, and the full release of Hades 2 for consoles, there’s still plenty of room for a new indie game to take advantage of the trend’s popularity while combining a few unexpected, but equally satisfying genres.
Deckbuilding And Pirates Are A Unique Combination
A Match Made In Heaven
Created by a solo developer, Cursed Tails is a “naval roguelite deckbuilder” that’s just released its first trailer on YouTube and Steam. This indie game sees you battling across the seven seas with magical cards that unleash powerful effects, all while rescuing fox spirits to add to your ship’s crew.
Offering 9 distinct decks to collect and utilize that can be mixed and matched with each other two at a time, the abilities don’t just stop at simple canon volleys or precise shots. As seen in the trailer, wackier effects like can have you parrying shots from other ships or using a pillar of water to escape danger.
One of the cards shown in the trailer is also a clear reference to Magic: The Gathering‘s ‘Black Lotus’, which is infamous for being one of the most expensive cards ever made.
With Cursed Tails shares clear inspirations from card games like Magic: The Gathering with its card-based combat, but it’s not slacking on the naval side either. Like Black Flag or Sea of Thieves, you can take a break from your naval conquest to search for buried treasure and other power-ups on uncharted islands, suggesting that the upcoming indie game will have plenty to offer for fans of either genre.
One Of The Most Creative Roguelikes We’ve Seen Yet
Definitely One To Keep An Eye Out For
While Cursed Tails is far from the first time we’ve seen MTG crossover with Assassin’s Creed, it’s certainly one of the more unique indie projects we’ve seen in a while, thanks to its combination of creative gameplay mechanics that make its development well worth keeping an eye on in the future.
Although some of the animation and visuals for Cursed Tails can be a little rough around the edges at times in the reveal trailer, the fact that there’s no release date yet offers plenty of time to refine the overall gameplay experience, helping Cursed Tails stand out from both the best roguelike games that have been dominating the market and other seafaring games like Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag.
- Release Date
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August 5, 1993
- Created by
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Richard Garfield
- Video Game(s)
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Magic: The Gathering, Magic the Gathering Commander, Magic: The Gathering – Battlegrounds, Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers, Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012, Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013, Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers 2014, Magic: The Gathering Arena
- Character(s)
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Jace Beleren, Chandra Nalaar, Liliana Vess, Garruk Wildspeaker, Nissa Revane, Ajani Goldmane, Nicol Bolas, Teferi, Gideon Jura, Sorin Markov, Ral Zarek
