Sometimes we see a few images larger and we see the Hollywood makeup and seams on the otherwise perfect depiction". Riley Hutchins, for ComicBook.com, highlighted the Archenemy format where "three players team up to take down an overwhelmingly powerful final boss". Hutchins wrote, "in the new Archenemy: Nicol Bolas, you and your friends will be thrown into an intense battle, in which one will take the role of the evil beast, and the rest will act as the Gatewatch (Nissa, Gideon, and Chandra). [...] After playing the new Archenemy extensively with a full playgroup, it is easily one of the most frustrating yet satisfying experiences in magic. It has the true feeling of terror when Nicol Bolas slaughters your entire and had us out of seats cheering and screaming when the villain was finally slain (4 games later). One thing that really stood out is the synergy of the team working together. [...] The trio is forced to work together, with all decks complementing each other, and it being impossible to take down Nicol Bolas alone. Overall Archenemy: Nicol Bolas is a lot of fun to play, especially if you dive head first into the story". Kyle Chapman, reviewing the Hour of Devastation set for Ars Technica, wrote, "The gleaming city has become a besieged, panicked landscape, with some classic dark Egyptian tropes taking centre stage—the river turning to blood, a plague of locusts, the marauding living dead. There’s also clever references to Amonkhet, with ruined versions of buildings seen on old cards turning up in the art for new cards. [...] Magic’s story continues to be surprisingly decent for a card game, and many of the cards depict key beats [...] and there’s long-form stories that Wizards publish online for those who want more background. [...] HOU features good, solid Magic gameplay, with a few twists to make it stand out. There’s a concerted effort to produce something for most types of player; sleek and efficient for the highly competitive, big and stompy for the hedonist, clever and weird for the experimental, flavourful for the lore nerd. [...] From a creative standpoint, it seems the designers are listening to feedback about their recurring protagonists being too prominent, but sticking to their guns about worlds being connected to a larger narrative". References Ancient Egypt in fiction Magic: The Gathering blocks Magic: The Gathering sets