Maatatahay (Compound Eye Fox Studio/Taiwan Boardgame Design) / Essen 2023

About Maatatahay, from BoardGameGeek:

In a parallel universe, a cryptic world called “Maatatahay” contains mysterious crystals that provide powerful energy for the living creatures there. However, after experiencing the beauty of the crystal power, the creatures also became fierce and warlike. To continue mining and using this mysterious force, different species formed tribes, divided, and occupied the land. Among dozens of tribes, the two most representative but also most incompatible ones - Wazu and Balan - once again triggered a war for a newly discovered land. Now, lead your tribe, arrange and assign warriors to fight, and win this war! ← Overview → Maatatahay is a two-player-only strategy game, playing up to 12 rounds on a 5x5 suedette game map. You and your opponent play as the leaders of Balan and Wazu, sending your fearless warriors to the field to fight for the glory. Surrounding your opponent's warriors to defeat them while allocating your valuable unit in a safe spot is the key to victory. You can also collect crystal powers to enhance your warrior's strength or visit the Shrines to seize more strategy opportunities. When the endgame condition is met, the player with the most victory points from their surviving warriors, Spirit Crystals, and relics bonus wins! ←What's special→ Pick one from three + the weak one's choice: Every turn, the active player chooses a pair of warriors from the tile stream. However, the player with lower strength(fangs around the neck) in that pair decides whether to join the battlefield first or later. Arrow support + the sequence: Place your warriors in formation, and gain energy from the environment or your allies with a corresponding arrow to increase their survivability. But remember, only the warrior who enters the battlefield earlier can grant energy to the latter one, for they've immersed in the land and let the power of crystal go through their body. Get “Surrounded” + collective attack, sole defense: A warrior is “surrounded” when there are no vacancies around orthogonally. In this situation, the surrounded warrior has to face the collective strength of the opponents on its own. And more(various shrine setup and scoring, randomness from the deck, Hot stamping + Suedette game map, …etc.) In sum, this is a highly strategic and in-depth thoughts game. Enjoy it! -description from the publisher