Duel! The Summoner’s Summit is a Genius Invokation TCG event featured in the 3.7 version of Genshin Impact. The four-part story event featured players going around the four continents tracking down card back thieves while discovering the history and creation of the Trading Card Game (TCG).
The Story
The opening did not fail to disappoint as I traveled to Mondstadt to begin the first round of regional tournaments, meeting several old faces and new ones in the process.
However, as the story went on in different regions and I worked with Charlotte and Kirara to solve the mystery of the card back thieves, I began to get disillusioned by the storyline. It almost appeared that each region followed the format of having my Traveller meet with the competitors and discuss the thieves, only to realize that the card backs were long gone. To make things worse, despite mentions of the creators of TCG in Mondstadt, no further mention was made of them in other regions.
Upon reaching the conclusion and realizing that the card back thieves were common treasure hoarders, it caused even more frustration within me. It felt like a lot of wasted time playing the event and while other events prior in Genshin always had a meaning and point to them, this one felt meaningless to the overall storyline. That was until the final part of the quest where in Kirara mentions delivering a special package to a special person.
This turned out to be one of the creators of the original game of Genius Invokation TCG, Garvipidam. Without spoiling too much of the cutscene that ensued, Garvipadam would proceed to tell the players all about the origins of Genius Invokation TCG and how it was a game that was created between friends and to build new friendships and strengthen old ones. The result of the story left me sobbing profusely, as it was a very emotional and heart breaking story. It was then that I realized the whole storyline of the stolen card backs was simply a filter, leading up to an even grander storyline and an explosive finish.
To say the least, I was sobbing for at least five minutes following the storyline and had to take a moment to compose myself. It was a great end to the event and what had original been seen as a fail in my opinion was turned into an amazing moment of storyline. It is without a doubt in my opinion one of the greatest stories to have ever been shown by Hoyoverse and completely worth playing till the end.
Side Quests
Besides the promise of an amazing storyline, players also received a chance to experience the event and all that TCG had to offer through side events. To name a few:
- Tour of Wonders: An activity where players got a chance to see the sights of the four cities while competing in a race with their wind gliders.
- Zero Hour Invokation: Players challenged familiar faces from each of the four continents with pre-built decks based on the characters the players selected.
- Evermotion Mechanical Painting: Invoker: A puzzle game in which players had to fit several pieces in a mechanical array to complete paintings of TCG cards.
- Heart of The Dice: A combat based activity where players defeat enemies to earn points with the help of elemental dices.
Event Rewards
Amongst the prizes offered for this event is the four-star bow Ibis Piercer, an attack percentage based bow which can be used on characters in Genshin who are known for the damage per second (DPS) role in a party, Tighnari and Ganyu to name a few. Besides this, other rewards include a Crown of Insight, as well as character and weapon ascension materials.
The Verdict: 7/10
Overall, the idea of a TCG event was both exciting and something different from the usual Genshin offerings. As a player who is heavily involved in TCG and loves both the mechanics and gameplay it offers, it was definitely a dream come true and treat to experience.
Besides the incredible storyline, there is something for everyone in this patch, whether you’re a player focused in battle and action, a puzzle gamer or just someone who loves Genius Invokation TCG.
