It’s Your Fault Smash Up Review

Smash Up! is, by now a well established card game with a plethora of expansions. It’s Your Fault! is the 9th Smash Up set. It contains 5 new factions, 10 new bases, a rulebook, VP tokens and 5 dividers.

Combined with all previous sets, there are 42 factions and 84 bases, which make 861 possible pairs of factions. The It's Your Fault! expansion was the result of a fan vote - all four factions in this box were the top of thousands of nominations, and then survived a bracket vote to make it into the expansion. Perhaps this is why the factions are so seemingly… random!

Let's start with the Superheroes - this way I can play my favourite Smash Up! related game - spot the homage! My favourite in this pack is, of course 'Justice Friends' (sorry, D.C!) The superhero faction is a solid one, with a deck focussed on minions and abilities for your minions. This makes for a strong choice for attacking players.

Next we have the Ancient Greeks. As a fan of mythology, I enjoy the art and content of these cards - each god has an action card which is fun, although this makes for a very action-heavy hand that we generally don't choose to use.

Now onto my favourite faction - dragons! This deck is a powerhouse of strong minions and devastating actions, my favourites of which can be used just as a base scores, stealing victory from your opponent when they least expect it. There are also a number of cards which reduce your opponent's victory points - an integral and game-winning strategy.

The last two factions - sharks and tornados (dubbed the shark delivery system) are easily the most ridiculous. Sharks in string vests aside, this is a destructive and unpredictable faction which seeks to destroy your enemies! I imagine this is why my wife always chooses them…

Lastly, the tornados. As a sort of 'add on' faction, we've found they don't really work as a standalone faction and weaken a hand even when paired with a strong team. The main aims of the tornado faction are to, as tornados to, move your minions around. If this is a strategy you want, then it's perfect! However, it lacks in powerful minions and useful actions.

Final Thoughts

This expansion It's Your Fault, is a fun addition to the game and works well with existing sets. While the dragons and sharks have been a mainstay in our regular games, the other factions haven't proven popular.