I do have some excuses for not having posted, not least of which being the preparation for and arrival of my 2nd little girl. That and it's my blog and I can do it whenever the hell I want!
LCG : Living Card Game : Rather than random "booster packs" as seen in Collectable Card games, the card pool is increased via fixed, regular packs or box sets.
FFG : Fantasy Flight Games : An American company set up to leech money from my wallet and jeopardize my children's aspirations to higher education.
Anyway onto the meat of this post, namely how awesome I think LCG's are. In the mid 90's I would go to the gaming shop upstairs from the entrance of the Liverpool palace -anyone remember that? it was a great place to get cards and miniatures and RPG's as well as Virgin (yes, Virgin did gaming stuff then!) and of course Quiggins (a pity I didn't know the owner of Quiggins was a bigoted racist cunt at the time) - and spend some of my hard mooched (I was 14) money on Magic the gathering cards. It was a great little game and I enjoyed it along with all the Warhammer I could afford (not much).
Fast forward to now and the LCG model pioneered by Fantasy Flight Games is the new noise in card games. I like it. I like it because I know what I'm getting. I like it because even if I decide to go ahead and collect everything for a given system it is a) still cheaper overall than trying to get everything for the current iteration of a CCG format card game and b) I know exactly how many purchases (and how much) I need to spend, and I like it because the gameplay, for my money, is more tactical, more interesting, and makes excellent use of the themes (caveat: I have not played the Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones LCG's and so cannot comment on them).
First up (and my favourite) is the Call of Cthulhu LCG based on the works of one Mr Howard Phillips. Despite holding some rather iffy opinions, some of which might chime in common with Mr. Quiggins the simple facts are that in the main, the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft rocks balls. The game itself does a really good job of making the most of the theme and the game s pretty strategic when it gets down to it. Sure, you can crank out the big nasties (especially in a Shub-Niggurath deck) but the game equally rewards a more considered approach and taking on the mantle of Miskatonic University or one of the other human factions is just as fun.
Negatives:
> If you don't like, or get the Cthulhu mythos then some of it may fall flat and you will be left relying on the mechanics (which are fine) of the game for enjoyment.
> The game mechanics work very well and help evoke the setting, but there is no denying that it's probably the most complex LCG to learn (and certainly requires a lot more effort to understand than Magic: The Gathering). he timing structure in particular can be pretty complex. Granted, FFG have published a detailed step by step FAQ for the timing but even so....
> It's one of the older LCG's (I think only Game of Thrones is older). This is nothing against the game itself-far from it (as I say it;s my favourite) but for the collector or gamer who wants it all, there is a potentially daunting card pool out there. This is only a problem if you want to get everything but it may be worth bearing in mind.
Positives:
> It makes fantastic use of the setting and each faction really does feel like it has a unique play style and flavour.
> Factor in the above point with the fact that each faction has severable viable strategies and moreover 2 faction decks are workable and you can imagine that there is a wealth of deck building strategies. This game rewards planning and strategy.
> Playable out of the box - drop the money on the Core set (somewhere around 25 quid) and even if you never buy another card, this will serve you for a long time - you can certainly get your money's worth.
Negatives:
> It can be easy to work yourself into an untenable position very quickly in this game. This is in part due to how the unique way system works and requires you to balance resources, defence and hand management which is actually something of a positive
in the long term, but in the short term, if you don't like/aren't willing to learn the game on it's own terms and accept that you will get things wrong along the way then you may get frustrated.
> Only 6 distinct factions. Granted it was unlikely all the races of the Warhammer world would get their own faction in game, if only for game balance reasons, but many people have been put off, simply because their favourite race is only playable via neutral cards.
> The nagging feeling that somewhere down the line Games Workshop is getting money from you if you buy into this game!
Joking aside, GW make many (including myself) feel incredible ambivalence at best. and it could be a factor in your purchase.
Positives:
> Does a great job of putting you right into an epic struggle between nations in the Warhammer setting and has a big "playing for all the marbles" feel.
> Is full of character and each race plays both uniquely, but also in a manner that is consistent with the lore. This is important as it could have been a case of one but not the other. They are all satisfying choices and the card pool has reached a point where there are several viable strategies for each.
> There is a card called Troll Vomit. This is a positive consideration in anyone's book!
> Relatively simple rules, combined with a fantastic set of mechanics. You are constantly evaluating the play field and having to choose between acquiring resources, improving your ability to draw, and maintaining defence across all zones while still having the ability to mount a credible offense against the opponents kingdom. It all makes for compelling play.
Android: Netrunner is directly based on the Netrunner CCG designed by Richard Garfield (he of Magic the Gathering fame) back in the mid 90's. I borrows heavily from this previous iteration and many of the core tropes are carried over from the original. The details of the setting may have changed to be more in line with the "Android" universe but the basics remain the same. What we are looking at is an asymmetrical game in which one player is the runner, a desperate but talented hacker striving to snag some classified data or information from a global mega corporation.
The other is the corporation in question and is willing to use any and all of it's considerable resources to keep it's secrets safe.
Negatives:
> Some aspects of the rules can take a little getting used to and despite having played a number of games, myself and my regular opponent have still gotten things wrong from time to time. This in no way diminished our enjoyment however.
> The asymmetrical nature of the game may not be to everyone's taste and it can take a bit of getting used to if you are more familiar with games that have each player start on a level playing field.
> As a fairly new game the cardpool is fairly shallow right now (so far just the core set and the first 3 datapacks from the first cycle). In all fairness this is not an issue as the game is perfectly playable without anything else beyond the core set, and the expansions will be coming thick and fst for the forseeable. As such this is only an issue (and a minor one at that) for those players who play intensively and are eager to get deck building asap.
Positives:
> The game mechanics are great in and of themselves and serve the setting very well - you really do feel like a hotshot runner - loaded with talent but one step from disaster or the all powerful megacorp, ruthless and with near unlimited resources, but monolithic and constantly stung by this upstart little hacker!
> A great LCG to get into at this point - it is new enough that collecting everything is a and staying on top of th release schedule is a realistic prospect even for the casual player who happens to get bitten by the completionist bug, but at the same time there are just enough packs out that even the most fervent gamer who falls in love with the game and has to start deck building can open up the card pool.
> The above point (still relatively new, but with stuff out) means that it is currently very popular, so it's the LCG you are most likely to get a game of should you turn up at your local gaming store looking for a pick up game.
Another big license for the boys from FFG!
This obviously has a lot going for it just based on the Star Wars name, but nder the hood so to speak, there is a lot to be impressed with. While not going as far as Netrunner, it can be seen as almost asymmetrical in the sense that the Dark side can play a very different game to the light side. The Death Star dial effectively imposes a time limit on the game (i.e., if the Light side doesn't meet it's victory conditions within 12 turns or else manage to slow the dial then the Dark side wins) and so this encourages a certain amount of aggressive/decisive play by the light side player. It also looks like a genuine attempt to add something new to deck building thanks to the way in which decks are constructed in "pods", with fixed cards being compulsory picks tid to certain objective cards.
Negative:
> So far it's just the core set - the first cycle and even the deluxe expansion have been announced but so far none are available just yet. Hardly a problem as the game is more than playable with the core set, but it might be a while before you can really get to deck building and that might be an issue for some people at the present time.
> You may not like the way in which this game handles deck building. Personally I'm intrigued and feel it might add a lot of tactical considerations when putting a deck together, but I think this choice may well prove to be a marmite decision by FFG.
Positives:
> Obviously has a strong brand behind it and a company that knows what it is doing, so it should do very well and ensure a well supported product with a good pool of opponents in most areas.
> The strong contrast between the two sides and the good variety of factions in each allow for plenty of possible deck building opportunities onve those first couple of cycles and the big box expansion hit.
If you are interested in getting into an LCG then the very best thing to do is check out a tutorial video for the game in question on the FFG website, and then see if anyone in your area is playing and look into getting a couple of games under your belt. If it's for you, then welcome to LCG gaming!
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