‘The Cataclysm Expansion for Talisman Revised 4th Edition’ - Fantasy Board Game Review

The Bottled Imp - Episode 072
Arrrrgggghhh! The end of Talisman is neigh! Well, not quite. A devastating cataclysm has destroyed the known realms of Talisman. In amongst this destruction, hope still survives. The Bottled Imp takes a detailed look at the ‘Talisman Revised 4th Edition’ expansion 'The Cataclysm' published by Fantasy Flight.
Hundreds of years have passed since the land was devastated but the forces of nature. Many perished, but some survived and vowed to defy destiny and save the world. They broke through the Portal of Power and battled across the Plain of Peril. They slew the Werewolf and endured the flames of Valley of Fire, guarded by the fabled Talisman.
Upon reaching the peek of the world, these brave heroes fell to the temptation of power and greed the Crown of Command offers. They fought and battled each other, only to be stopped by a powerful Wizard striding forth from a portal. With a single spell, he banished the last remaining interloper and claimed the crown for himself.
With his new gained power restored, he drove back the forces of heaven and hell, calmed the trembling earth and patched the cracked sky. The world had survived, albeit broken.
The land had changed. The fires of the Inner Region had cooled forever. The Wizard returned the Crown back to its pedestal for new adventures to claim, and vanished through the portal leaving the denizens of the land to fend for themselves once more.
‘The Cataclysm’ offers Talisman lovers a new expansion like no other! One of the main differences is the main base game board it replaced by a new one. Yes, the destruction can be seen across the land; familiar places such as the Tavern and the City are shadows of their former self. Once proud shopkeepers have to wander the land looking for business. Trinkets, objects and magical objects have been lost in the sands of time waiting for lucky adventures to discover where they’ve been buried. But this may prove difficult as the terrain keeps ever shifting.
On top of the new board, this expansion has many components! In the box is 40 Denizen Cards, 25 Remnant Cards, 4 Alternative Cards, 47 Adventure Cards, 10 Spell Cards, 6 Warlock Cards, 6 Talisman Cards, 24 Purchase Cards, 10 Terrain Cards, 5 Character Cards and 5 Plastic Character Figures (unpainted).
The five new themed heroes to add to your game are: Scavenger, Barbarian, Black Knight, Arcane Scion and Mutant. Each has their own Special Abilities to help them traverse the land of Talisman. Which one will you want to be?
Please note: You will need ‘Talisman Revised 4th Edition’ from Fantasy Flight Games to play ‘The Cataclysm Expansion’. It is compatible with all existing Talisman expansions.
If you haven't done so already check out our ‘Talisman 4th Revised Edition’ base game review here.... • Talisman: Revised 4th ...
Also take a look at our first expansion pack review of 'The Reaper'...
• The Reaper: Talisman E...
And have a look at our second expansion review of ‘The Blood Moon’
tinyurl.com/qflhh4a
Check out our third expansion review of ‘The Dungeon’
• ‘The Dungeon Expansion...
Fancy new weapons, armour or even a pet? Check out the Imp review of our forth expansion review ‘The City’
• ‘The City Expansion fo...
Fancy a hike into ‘The Highland’? You’ll need to watch The Bottled Imp review before you go:
• ‘The Highland Expansio...
If you go down to ‘The Woodland’ today… you may see The Bottled Imp review!
• ‘The Woodland Expansio...
The cold winds blows and the landscape is frozen as ‘The Forstmarch’ seizes it’s victims.
• ‘The Frostmarch Expans...
Fancy a dip in ‘The Sacred Pool’? You’d better check out review first…
• ‘The Sacred Pool Expan...
The end of Talisman is neigh! Well, almost. ‘The Harbinger’ thinks so…
• ‘The Harbinger Expansi...
Can you survive the fierce onslaught of the Draconic Dragon Lords?
• ‘The Dragon Expansion ...
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The Bottled Imp
Exploring the Realms of Fantasy.
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Presented by Ken Boyter
www.kenboyter.co.uk
Produced by Julian Newman Turner
www.luciddreampictures.com
/ luciddreampictures
Music by Greg Breden
www.gregbreden.magix.net/website
Artwork by Richard Nairn
www.theartfuldoodler.co.uk

[@braddimond3368]

been waiting for you to review this. great job as always!!

[@thebottledimp]

Nice one Brad. Hope it was worth the wait!

[@samuelspencer4938]

Some one needs to make a 10 hour loop of that imp laugh...

[@thebottledimp]

Lol, don't tempt us!

[@Locustnism]

So looking forward to this review! Excellent !

[@thebottledimp]

+Zewen Zhang Did we live up to your expectations? Hope so!

[@AwesomeDudes]

That review has just sealed it for me, I need to get this!

[@johnnyalias9596]

Just grabbed it today! Anybody got advice on storing all these cards? I dont like seperating each set out after every game, but in the main box there's only so much space for adventure deck.

[@thebottledimp]

Cool! I know e-Raptor do Talsiman storage or you could ask Basically Wooden to create on as they are expanding their games storage. I'd check them both out.

[@spidervenom14]

Excellent review, thank you very much!

[@thebottledimp]

+spidervenom14 Thanks Spider. Glad you liked it. Keep watching and spread the word of Imp!

[@zerdos2]

Hey bottled imp, are you guys going to review the print on demand expansions for talisman? (The deep realms and The Nether Realm Expansion)

[@thebottledimp]

+zerdos2 Hey Zerdos, yes! Not sure when but yes!

[@lucasstruna3962]

I wish I had those places where you can play board games with people in like a big club but I have never seen one

[@birdistheword.2055]

Hey Ken,when playing the cataclysm do you mix the vanilla adventure cards WITH the cataclysm adventure cards???

[@thebottledimp]

Hi Norman, yes you shuffle the 47 Cataclysm Adventure Cards in with any other Adventure Cards you have (base and other expansions). What we tend to do is to shuffle the Cataclysm Adventure Cards and then put them on top of the other Adventure Cards as we like to get to play with the new ones first to see what they're like. Same with the new Spell Cards.

[@birdistheword.2055]

Thanks Ken,will also take ur advice and put cataclysm on top of the deck.CHEERS.

[@Ayanami0001]

Where did you find that great looking wooden bowl?

[@thebottledimp]

I found it in one of my local charity shops. Then, a few weeks later found another smaller one there too! Got lucky. They're nice aren't they?

[@lucasstruna3962]

man the black knight looks cool

[@simonlabarca6838]

I got Talisman and me and my friends love it, it's simple, fun, everyone can play it if they know some basic english (yeah, my primary language is spanish). I'm from Chile, and i have watched all your reviews, it helps a lot to decide what expansions to buy, so thanks! Yesterday i heard the sad news that Talisman will be discontinued after february next year, so think i should pick up Cataclysm fast as i can :(

[@thebottledimp]

Thanks for watching our Talisman reviews. Glad you love what we do too! Yes, Talisman is a good, simple fun game as you say! We love it. Yeah, I think the game titles that will be affected by FFG and GW spilt will go up in price too. So I'd grab any Talisman expanions while you still can.

[@happytime2781]

My mate offered me to buy back from him Talisman ( he was moved away form UK and don't wanna carry it) so I got Base, Dragons, Higlands, Reaper and Frostmarch for £100. It was obviously bargain main board is a bit used but others f.e almost don't used. It's in polish only so I can't rather play with every1 (but imo its still possible for eng speakers after explainga a bit). Other language version are cheapear. Being in Warsaw i buy new Forest and City expansions. Still i play digital version as with my board mates we have like 60 games plus. I need to found Talisman Group now I think... ;) well will add Munchkin for it as it hillarious :) On the end even if I don't play board version in time it will only get on value after FF stops supporting it.

[@drasgum]

Otro chileno por acá jaja

[@shamal2351]

hi, if i put a tarrain card on a space, and then an event tell me to put this tarrain on my space what should I do?

[@thebottledimp]

+Shlomi Hamal If a space already has one on it, remove that one, put it back in the Terrain Deck and place the new one in the space.

[@IonDhont]

Hi Ken. First off, thank you for your great reviews of Talisman. I discovered your reviews last week and got so excited about the game I went and bought it this weekend. This game is awesome! My question, though, is what expansions you would suggest for me to buy (in a month or so ;) )? Which ones would you recommend for a newbie like me, or just as your personal top 3?

[@thebottledimp]

Hi Ion, thanks for watching our Talisman reviews and glad you like and find them helpful. Yeah, Talisman is a lot of fun! I'd say The Highland and The Dungeon are good 'big' expansions as they add corner boards to the base game therefore you can explore these regions pretty much like the base game. The City and The Woodland 'big' expansions are the other corner boards that add other elements that are not in the base game as so are a little more complex. As for the 'mini' expansions, The Reaper and Blood Moon are simple ones as they add more characters plus The Reaper adds Death who stalks characters around the board which is a lot of fun. Blood Moon adds more characters plus adds the Werewolf who stalks players like Death does. So, I'd go for The Highland or The Dungeon for a 'big' expansion, or for a 'mini' one, The Reaper or Blood Moon. We've done reviews of nearly all of the Talisman expansions so have a look and see what's right for you!

[@IonDhont]

Great, thanks for your response. I already saw your review of The Reaper, your voicing of Death was great :). I'll have a look at the other expansions you mentioned then to decide. Cheers!

[@thebottledimp]

+Ion Dhont My pleasure. Glad it was of help. Lol, thanks! Cool. Let me know how you get on, which ever one you decide.

[@birdistheword.2055]

Great review as always will pick this up soon.Toad!! toad !!!toad!!!!

[@thebottledimp]

+Norman Bailes Yeah, was turned into the toad 3 times first time I played this expansion! Glad you liked the review. Let us know how you get on.

[@sammymorini9748]

where did you get that bowl that holds the gold and tokens?

[@thebottledimp]

+Sammy Morini I was lucky. I found it in a local charity shop. They normally have stuff like that and that one suited Talisman perfectly!

[@sammymorini9748]

The Bottled Imp aww man, yea you were lucky haha, cause it looks awesome!!! :P

[@thebottledimp]

+Sammy Morini Thanks Sammy!

[@Wolf-xb8bo]

hey, I realized the church doesn't heal, and the graveyard doesn't give fate back. Does the old ruling still apply even if it doesn't say it on the board? Technically a graveyard is still a graveyard no matter if the world is doomed or not haha. I guess when I play I'll still keep the same ruling for the graveyard, and church plus new ruling.

[@thebottledimp]

+Dangnas Wolf Yeah, the strict ruling is that those spaces don't work in the same way as before. But of course you can house rule it.

[@HumeanPiano]

awesome review imp!

[@thebottledimp]

+whitepiano23 Thanks whitepiano. Glad you liked it. Spread the word of the Imp!

[@michaelwslod98]

nice review wonder what the next one will be

[@thebottledimp]

Thanks. Yes, be interesing to see what they do next. Maybe another corner expansion. I would think it would tie into the theme of the cataclysm now.

[@JemyM]

I presume the last two are Firelands and Deep Realms. Looking forward to hear what you have to say about those. :)

[@thebottledimp]

+JemyM Yes, Firelands and Deep Realms. And The Nether Realm! Three! Three Talisman reviews!

[@andrea981]

Maybe, nether and deep realms can be reviewed together, since they are quite small expansions :D

[@thebottledimp]

That sounds like a good idea Andrea, thanks.

[@JemyM]

The Deep Realms is one of my favorite expansions. Its so simple and yet add so much. I think the wordings in the rules could have been a bit more streamlined but once I got into it I love it. It may even be used to lock away some of those über stuff in the City decks. I would love a similar construct for the other side of the board. Nether Realms however for me primarily looks like an alternate ending. I have yet to use it.

[@Kain5th]

Can you use the Remnant or Denizen cards with the Original Talisman board?

[@bafbegagglestick6241]

+Doug E You could I suppose, if you decide to ignore the text on the city/caste/etc and treat them as if they said "draw a denizen, then encounter a denizen on this space" like the new ones do. The Remnants would take a little more work, although I suppose you could just decide on what spaces to have them starting on, or use them as quest rewards or something... The new board really is a lot better IMO though.

[@thebottledimp]

+Hidemyname Wright Yes, those decks are only activated with the new board but you could do what Hidemyname suggests.

[@brabak849]

Hi I am looking for the expansions in Czech version. There is no one in any store. So please if you some way find about something in Czech version I will buy it 😃 Thank you 😃

[@MageMinionsOP]

So, you're the only person I really know to ask about this topic and I have a few questions if you don't mind answering. First. What do you use to paint your figures. acrylic or oil based paints etc. I paint and build models and I use oil paints, are those something that you think would work? Second, a more gameplay related mechanic. once a card that you can encounter is placed on the board, will it always be considered an adventure card? Example. you have a harbinger card enemy that someone failed to kill and you draw an adventure card that destroys all adventure cards in the region. Will this destroy all cards, harbinger, dungeon, highland, etc.? My friends and I ran into this and decided to only destroy the "adventure" main deck cards as we were unsure. I can imagine this could be a house rule, but I'm curious on your opinion. Third, is it ok for an event to remain on the board? This happens very rarely, but logically I figured it would be removed since it would be an instant effect that failed to encounter. This really only happens when you hit a space and draw 2 events, the first teleports you and the second never gets encountered. We decided to leave it, which is probably correct, but I'm curious on your opinion. Fourth. I have a number of expansions and I'm trying to decide on what to get next. Cataclysm has my interest the most as it looks to have the most gameplay experience, but what would you suggest. I own the main set of course, dungeon, harbinger, blood moon, reaper, sacred pool, frostmarch, fire lands and nether realms. Also, the place I was going to buy from has highlands for only $30 when I thought it was a $50 expansion. Is there less gameplay with Highlands or is it just cheap and old or something? Just curious. I'm interested in Highlands, Dragon and Cataclysm. Perhaps city because I haven't explored it much, only the only version a little and I know nothing of the woodlands, if thats actually what it's called. Oh and then the deep realm, but nether realm was mildly disappointing, but we haven't played it very much, or rather, couldn't actually defeat anything in it before we had to stop playing haha. Thanks for helping! I love watching your reviews as it can help get an idea of what sets look interesting.

[@thebottledimp]

Hi Zandre, thanks for watching and loving our shows and for you comments. First up, I use Citadel paints and The Army Painter paints. Citadel are better quaility but more expensive. The Army Painter are good and are cheaper. Seceondly, yes, if an instruction says to remove/distory/burn Adventure Cards it also means the other expansion cards. But you have to read the instruction carfeully as it will say what Region this happens in. On the main board there are 3 Regions. The Inner, Middle and Outer. Any expansion is another Region, such as The Dungeon. So it it says 'in this Region' then it is only refering to the Region that the player who drew the card is in. So if they are indeed in The Dungeon, then it would only be face-up on the Dungeon board Dungeon Cards that would be distroyed. If it says 'in all regions' then it is the main Adventure Cards plus any other expanion cards. Thridly, for Events, the general rule is they are resolved first as they have a number 1 in the bottom right corner (each card is resolved in number order starting with 1). If there are two Event cards drawn then they are resolved in the order they were drawn. Most Event Cards are resovled then discarded straight away. Some may last for more than one turn with their effect still occuring until something happens to stop it or it says 'for the next 3 rounds' for example. In that case then the Event Card is placed on the space that the player is on as a reminder and counts as a face-up Adventure Card. Again, watch out for the wording about which Region the Event affects. Some may only affect the Region that the player who drew it is in. While others may affect all Regions (so would affect players in expanion boards too). Which expansion next? It would all depend what you feel like! Not sure why the Highland would be cheaper than The Dungeon as I would say they are very simular in play. They are both corner boards, with their own 'Adventure Deck', big boss on the end space that if you defeat they will give you a treaure card. The next comlicated are The Woodland and The City with The Dragon being the most complex and toughest to play against. It's brutal! The Cataclysm is a reset of the main board. My hunch would be either The Woodland or The City as both offer somethin different to Talisman. We've done reviews of all the ones I've mentioned so chec them out and you'll get a better feel for them. I hope that helps! Spread the word of The Bottled Imp!

[@MageMinionsOP]

+The Bottled Imp thanks for the info, the card effects can often come up with very peculiar moments. I'll have to watch your videos on the city and woodlands because I haven't seen much of those, although I have heard good things about the city. thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!

[@thebottledimp]

My pleasure Zandre. Yes, the cards can cause all sorts of havoc! That's the fun! Yes, both are excellent expansions. The Woodland changes the way the Fate Tokens are used and has an added element when explore this Region. The City has lots of cool stuff to buy to upgrade your character and you can go on Bounty Hunts to get gold too! Yes, check them out; they should prove useful. Good luck brave adventurer!

[@vinclash7763]

Do you like The 3rd Edition Ken?

[@newworld75]

Reprints are happening! Huzzahs!!! (Not every expansion, but most apparently)

[@MrRealyLP]

Great Review for a great Expansion :)

[@thebottledimp]

+MrRealyLP Thank you Mr Realy. Glad you found it of use.

[@kazikmajster5650]

The ruleset is interesting, however I fell in love with the magical theme of the original game, and discarding it all for an apocalyptic landscape is unappealing.

[@vinclash7763]

This is like the sequel of edition 4, right!? In one game? Like playing the aftermath, right!?

[@Saephaan]

Yeah, it’s like what happened after the harbringer brought the end of the world

[@vinclash7763]

@@Saephaan Ya it's a cool Expansion 😃👍

[@Bert0ld0]

Can you play this expansion after the Harbinger ends the main game?

[@thebottledimp]

Hi Bert, if you are playing with the Harbinger and it ends the game, that's it. Game over. Even if no one reaches the Crown of Command. If you don't play with the Harbinger expansion, you will play either the Alternative Ending Cards in The Cataclysm Expansion (or one of the other expansion Alternative Ending Cards if you have them) and play that ending. Or you can play the 'classic' ending of The Cataclysm main game.

[@Bert0ld0]

Ok! Thanks, so you've to decide whether to play the main board or this one from the beginning.

[@thebottledimp]

+Bert0ld0 Yes, you decide which main board to play from the start. All other expansions are compatible with both main boards.

[@vinclash7763]

No Argy Bargy! I love this game!

[@josephhaughey3111]

Thanks again for a great review, was waiting for this review. This is the last Expansion that I need to have all of the Talisman game at my disposal. This one looks awesome.

[@thebottledimp]

+Joseph Haughey Thank you Joseph and thanks for watching. Glad you liked the review. Yes, certainly shakes up the realms of Talisman! Let me know how you get on.

[@mel_from_hell]

Hello, I also red that this expansion accelerates the game? Do you support this claim? Could be more friendly for newcomers

[@thebottledimp]

Not sure it accelerates the game too much as there are lot of factors that can determine the length of a game. They're are other ways to speed both this expansion and the base game. For example each player starts with a Talisman and players can cash in their Trophy Enemy cards after 5 instead of 7 points. Not sure this expansion is more friendly newcomers either. I'd be inclined to start with the base game first as it's easier to learn.

[@mel_from_hell]

@@thebottledimp Thank you very much for your fast response. I consider myself a veteran player, just wanted to see if I can attract new people to it. I will have to buy it since it seems to be very cool and learn it then

[@thebottledimp]

My pleasure. Yes, if your an experienced player you'll be fine straight away I'm guessing. This expansion offers a different tone to the world of Talisman. A more down to earth and gritty tone that can be interesting to explore.

[@dylanbourassa4507]

Please do a review of the Firelands expansion!

[@thebottledimp]

Yes! That's next on the Talisman expansion list. Nearly reviewed all the expansions!

[@dylanbourassa4507]

The Bottled Imp thanks! :-D

[@thebottledimp]

My pleasure!

[@MageMinionsOP]

I can vouch that the firelands is pretty fun, but it can be very punishing if you run into the firelands cards repeatedly.

[@thebottledimp]

+zandre hiraga Yes, can get pretty intense.

[@tyomies6168]

Hah. This time you forgot to paint the miniatures to varying standards.

[@stalemateone8802]

Denizen is pronounced "den-i-zen", not "denz-i-an". Otherwise this is a fairly good review. Thumbs up.

[@lucasstruna3962]

I wish I had those places where you can play board games with people in like a big club but I have never seen one

[@lucasstruna3962]

I wish I had those places where you can play board games with people in like a big club but I have never seen one