Let's Talk FFGs LCGs

The LCGs have had a long run to be sure, with some having been retired. Some have a shit ton of content ( Star Wars, Netrunner ) . I do wonder if they sell as well as they used to; over time they can suck up a lot of time and dollars.

They are still putting out Star Wars LCG content, so I don't think Destiny has replaced it; and the early supply issues of Destiny seem to have subsided .

JoelCFC25 wrote:

Mr. White wrote: Netrunner - Hasn't the format changed? Do I recall a campaign or something? Cards cycling out? A new base game?

The standard format is unchanged. There is only 1 other officially-supported alternative, the fairly new Cache Refresh format . Both competitive play and Cache Refresh must adhere to the deckbuilding limitations of the NAPD Most Wanted List, which assigns additional influence to certain high-powered cards in an attempt to nerf them somewhat, or limit their prevalence.

The last big box (Terminal Directive) was a self-contained campaign that contained a mix of campaign-only cards and 57 cards that are legal for standard and competitive play in the regular format.

Rotation is scheduled to hit when the first pack of the next cycle becomes available. Neither a name nor a date is presently known for this cycle, and only 1 datapack remains of the current Red Sand cycle. The first 2 cycles (Genesis and Spin) rotate out at that point. Big boxes will never rotate out.

A new base game has only ever been wild-eyed speculation and rumor, I don't think there is any hard evidence that this will ever be a thing.

Once again Fantasy Flight Games manages to make simply purchasing a game too complicated to make it worth the time to pursue.

I play the base game with my son. Presumably I can buy any of the add-on sets and just play?

JoelCFC25 wrote: The last big box (Terminal Directive) was a self-contained campaign that contained a mix of campaign-only cards and 57 cards that are legal for standard and competitive play in the regular format.

What does 'campaign' mean for an lcg?

Sagrilarus wrote: Presumably I can buy any of the add-on sets and just play?

Of course. Rotation (and the MWL, for that matter) is only a concern for the competitive-minded--though it will probably impact availability (I assume they'll just stop reprinting things that rotate out). For the kitchen table scene, it won't mean diddly.

What does 'campaign' mean for an lcg?

I misspoke before, Terminal Directive is not entirely self-contained--it does require ownership of 1 Core Set to play. Though I don't own it, I gather it plays out a bit like a "choose-your-own adventure" in the sense that there are mini-packs of campaign cards that do/don't get opened based on choices and results along the way. It sounds like a bit of a one-off--though I don't have links on hand, it didn't sound like it had much replayability. So kind of like the Risk: Legacy thing? I think there are some campaign cards you affix stickers to, but I could be mistaken.

Mr. White wrote: Netrunner - Hasn't the format changed? Do I recall a campaign or something? Cards cycling out? A new base game?

Rotation will take place once the first datapack of the next cycle comes out. So in two months or so the game will change quite a bit. The first two cycles go out and I hope a lot of people get into the game because it's great right now.

The only issue is that L5R is bound to take players from it. The last head designer of Netrunner, Damon Stone, was pretty bad when it came to balance and until he was replaced by the new designer, Boggs, there were two of three cards that were clearly over the curve. Boggs banned or nerfed them the moment he took into office but many players got burnt and stopped playing as much.

Legend of the Five Rings - Do we have any idea how close the skews to the original game?

So far the talk on the street is that it's a vitamin-ized Game of Thrones.

Mr. White wrote:

JoelCFC25 wrote: The last big box (Terminal Directive) was a self-contained campaign that contained a mix of campaign-only cards and 57 cards that are legal for standard and competitive play in the regular format.

What does 'campaign' mean for an lcg?

Basically you have a board that starts blank and after you play a game you get special bonuses to put on it. You might open packs with new cards in them, gain different abilities and so on. Between games you can rebuild your decks as you choose so it's actually a fairly easy way to play and deckbuild at the same time.

It's actually quite fun, I think it's a good way to play the game even if it's somewhat flawed. And the expansion itself is great, I recommend it.

Funny thing is I just watched this podcast about the lcg format:



It's long but they adress some valid points: lcgs get a critical mass than they die out, you can either do a rotation or a new edition to prevent or circumvent this. Atm though I learned to stay clear from the LCG format. I'd rather buy a magic display and draft with friends at this point

Rotation will always be needed to keep a card game healthy, just like bans are. Large card pools are inherently problematic and pose a challenge when it comes to attracting new players. Rotation, ideally coupled with a Legacy format, are just needed to keep games alive.

Erik Twice wrote: Rotation will always be needed to keep a card game healthy, just like bans are. Large card pools are inherently problematic and pose a challenge when it comes to attracting new players. Rotation, ideally coupled with a Legacy format, are just needed to keep games alive.

But are the LCGs really getting that much organized play? I only see them on a handful of game store calendars for OP events.

Not in my experience. The OP kits from FFG have gotten considerably worse since they started them as a cost cutting measure, creating even less incentive for getting away from the kitchen table.

Add to that three of their games are now defunct, and you have a recipe for the growing distrust of how FFG handles these things. I'm no longer willing to even investigate a new lcg to see if they are any good.

They are an irrelevant gaming item to me now. If I want that style of game, I'll just go play Magic.

Msample wrote: But are the LCGs really getting that much organized play? I only see them on a handful of game store calendars for OP events.

I've been able to attend a Netrunner tournament two or three times a month since I started playing and they have organized regional, national, European and World-level tournaments. Given the goal of organized play is to keep the game alive and let players play it, I think that's pretty solid.

Of course, the communities for games that are not Netrunner are much smaller and, hence, have less support. Still, the other games still have kits and regular tournaments so you can play those games around here.

Colorcrayons wrote: They are an irrelevant gaming item to me now. If I want that style of game, I'll just go play Magic.

i can understand that in an availability and opportunity to play sense, but does Magic have any sort of setting or game world? Nothing about what I see on the cards has ever excited me.

Pokemon, I get the idea and the decks have creatures and items and trainers, etc...I can feel the world.

Magic seems to be just generic fantasy. The allure of Netrunner is also the cyberpunk world. Joel posted a link to www.cache-refresh.info/ . Maybe that's the way to play?

Mr. White wrote:

Colorcrayons wrote: They are an irrelevant gaming item to me now. If I want that style of game, I'll just go play Magic.

i can understand that in an availability and opportunity to play sense, but does Magic have any sort of setting or game world? Nothing about what I see on the cards has ever excited me.

Pokemon, I get the idea and the decks have creatures and items and trainers, etc...I can feel the world.

Magic seems to be just generic fantasy. The allure of Netrunner is also the cyberpunk world. Joel posted a link to www.cache-refresh.info/ . Maybe that's the way to play?

I think the license is the key to the LCGs - ain't nobody gonna buy a Terrinoth LCG.

To clarify though, I'm not knocking Magic's setting (or lack of)...I love TITAN and it has a setting only in the loosest sense of the word.

But I do sort of feel drawn to Netrunner's setting, but not Magic's

Mr. White wrote:

Colorcrayons wrote: They are an irrelevant gaming item to me now. If I want that style of game, I'll just go play Magic.

i can understand that in an availability and opportunity to play sense, but does Magic have any sort of setting or game world? Nothing about what I see on the cards has ever excited me.

Pokemon, I get the idea and the decks have creatures and items and trainers, etc...I can feel the world.

Magic seems to be just generic fantasy. The allure of Netrunner is also the cyberpunk world. Joel posted a link to www.cache-refresh.info/ . Maybe that's the way to play?

I haven't played Magic in nearly 20 years, but from what I have noticed, Magic now has several game worlds, and they re-visit them from time to time. There is a gothic horror setting, a science-fiction setting, a japanese fantasy setting, etc.