FFG Store Championships!

This year Tramp’s is proud to present Store Championship events for many FFG games!

Store Championships are a ground-level officially sanctioned event designed to provide opportunities to players looking to move on to Region or National level events.

Each event will involve a special prize kit packed with interesting and unique components not available elsewhere.  The grand prize, however, is a first round “bye” pass at ANY Regional event for the appropriate game that you may choose to attend.

Keep your eyes open as details become available for the following:

A Game of Thrones LCG

Imperial Assault

Star Wars Armada

X-Wing Miniatures

A Feast of Cards

Greetings, all!

In this article I sang the praises of A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, though I also mentioned that it was a game at the end of its life; a new edition was coming, one that would prove incompatible with the previous version.

Well, that time has come!

A Game of Thrones: the Card Game Second Edition is here, and the title is still kind of awkward (Would you like to play a game of A Game of Thrones- say it out loud, it sounds silly).  That said, I have to say that the game play has only been improved by the new and different mechanics!

As a pretty good tutorial for the game can be found here, I don’t feel the need to tell you how to play the game (even better- come ask me to teach you 🙂 ), so instead I’ll give my impression of what’s new and what’s different and what’s great (or not).

First up, the cards themselves:
I find myself very pleased with the new templates, layouts, and choices.  The introduction of two new factions in the game necessitated some reconsideration of the colors of the various houses, and the guys at FFG also took the time to completely redesign the card faces,  I think for the better.  Here are some side-by-side examples; first edition on the left, 2nd edition on the right.

So, here we are not only demonstrating the difference in the faces of two Plot cards, but also how the potency of cards in the game has shifted.  And I gotta be honest- I think I actually prefer the 1st ed style of plot a little better.  I like the fact that the art window is bigger.  That said, I do like the updated look of the gold, initiative, and claim values, and how they’ve neatened up the When Revealed trigger in bold to make it more consistent with other cards in the game.  Also note that we’ve gone from you and an opponent searching your whole decks, to just you searching your top 10 cards.

I love the update to Event cards!  When I taught new players card recognition it was always that you recognized plots by process of elimination- it wasn’t a Plot, Character, Attachment, or Location.  Yeah, they had this raven border, but that didn’t help as much as one might expect.  Now we’ve actually got a little banner that says “Event” under the cost.  But, apart from having a new and distinctive appearance, there are other glaring revisions to Events: they have faction alignments, and a gold cost space (that space is always there, even if it is 0, an occurrence that is MUCH more rare now)!  Of those two, alignment is the biggest shift.  Any card that refers to “in-house” can now include Events, and that opens up a whole new world of deck-building and strategy!

So, the gold cost is about the only thing on a Character card that stayed in the same place.  Name and faction crest has moved, challenge icons have moved… and they all look different stylistically.  That’s really a take-it-or-leave it issue, as far as I’m concerned, but also note the shift in cost that we see here.  From 3 to 6 is a big jump, and you’ll see similar jumps in big-name characters- and while set-up gold has increased from 5 to 8, the disposable gold over the course of an average round really hasn’t increased much.  It takes planning and timing to get 6+ cost characters out these days.

So, what did I notice first and foremost about Attachments?  The title moved from the top of the card to the bottom.  Why?  So that you can slide the Attachment under the card it’s being stuck onto so that it covers the art, but not the text or title.  It’s brilliant!  Attachments can get so awkward to track, and this makes it a bit simpler.

I, uh… I don’t really have much new to say here.  It’s and old Location, and a new Location.  Things have moved around… but that’s the biggest shift.  Done.  Moving on.

Actual Mechanics Changes:
Okay, so we’ve seen the changes in the cards, but what about in the basic rules of the game?  Well, you can learn those changes in the above tutorial, or by downloading the rules documents here.  But this is a review, so what do I think of these changes?

I like ’em.  I like the removal of the draw cap, and the introduction of the Reserve limit.  I think that does a great job at making drawing a whole bunch of cards both rewarding and dangerous.

I like that some cards now have a little banner below their faction icon- this means that card is Loyal.  Only non-Loyal cards can ever conceivably make their way into another faction’s deck, and only through the use of an Agenda.

I like that Attachments (by and large) now bounce back to your hand if their attached card leaves play.

I like that the game is now much more clear on what can interrupt what and when.

This was a great game before (again, see the above linked article), and it seems like an even better game now.  And now is a GREAT time to get into it, as the core starter is the ONLY product so far for the game- though, if you’re going to get into it, I would strongly suggest getting two starts if you can.  The fact that they only give you one of each of your core characters is a little disappointing.

But I am super happy that this new game is out, I love it to bits, and I will play it at virtually any opportunity!  I am very much looking forward to adding some Chapter Packs to my collection, improving my decks, and making more.

This game has returned to its very important place in my hobby life; welcome back.

Why I like Force of Will Better than Magic: The Gathering

Now, there’s a clickbait title.  I also recognize that it’s one that’s liable to get me lynched, but I figure if I’m going to do product review blogs, I should try to offend at least some people.

So, with that explained, let’s begin:

   

VS.

If you haven’t heard of Force of Will, I don’t particularly blame you.  It’s a Japanese game, and it’s been available in North American markets for less than two years.  Most of the advertising seems to have been done through distributors rather than directly to customers.

If you haven’t heard of Magic: the Gathering, I have no idea what you’re doing reading this blog or anything online with the word “game” in it.  Magic is ubiquitous and inescapable.  Walk into any card/board game store on a Friday night, and you will likely see people playing.

That being the case, I will spare you the redundancy of explaining what Magic is like.  If you happen to have somehow avoided all knowledge of this game, a quick google search will give you all the information you ever wanted.  And maybe some that you didn’t.

Force of Will, however, likely deserves an explanation.

To be honest, the games share many points of similarity- so much so that I frankly wonder how Force of Will is avoiding legal action on the part of Wizards of the Coast.

In Force of Will, two players engage in battle; using magical energy of five different elements, they cast spells, summon warriors, and create modifications to the field or said warriors, with the end goal of damaging their opponent sufficiently to reduce their life points to 0.  Sound familiar?  Yeah.

Maybe the five elements are different?  Nope.  Darkness, Fire, Light, Water, Wind.  Wind is green because Japanese culture associates green and living forests with wind (see Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for another good example of this), but otherwise the colors are exactly what you’d expect them to be.

The card types will also largely be familiar to you.  You’d got Resonators, who have Attack and Defense scores and are sent out to damage your opponent (Creatures), Spell: Chant cards that can only be cast on your turn (Sorceries), Spell: Chant-Instant cards than can be cast whenever (Instants), Additions that are generally added to a Resonator or just onto the field (Enchantments), but then we get into territory that differentiates Force of Will from Magic.

Spell: Chant-Standby cards are spells that you pay for (either with 2 of any color, or their printed cost), but then they go into play face down, wait around for a specific condition, and then trigger without additional cost.  I have no experience with Yu-Gi-Oh!, but I’m told it’s similar to that game’s Trap cards- I think it’s adds an interesting dimension of strategy to the game.

More significant, perhaps, are the Ruler cards.  Every Force of Will deck has one, in fact every deck NEEDS one.  Here’s an example:

You can’t read her text too clearly, but if you click on her, you’ll see a larger image.  It’s cool, I’ll wait.

Okay, so there’s some text on there that probably doesn’t make a lot of sense- I’ll get there.  What’s important is the every Force of Will deck has one of these, and there are many to choose from.  They often have some abilities, but there is one thing not written on the cards that they do, and it’s their most important function: calling Magic Stones.

Okay, so note that I haven’t said anything about an equivalent to basic land yet- well, those are the Magic Stones, but unlike Magic they don’t sit in your main deck.  Instead, they occupy their own secondary deck, the aptly named Magic Stone deck.  The primary way, often the only way, that you get Magic Stones out of their deck and into play is through your Ruler.

Your Ruler may be rested (tapped) once per turn to put the top card of your Magic Stone deck into play.  Now, if you’re playing a simple deck with only one color, then the fact that you’re blindly taking the top card doesn’t mean much, but like Magic has dual-lands that can produce two different colors of mana, there are Special Magic Stones that can generate two different Will Attributes.  There are also True Magic Stones with special abilities, but these are extremely rare.

Rulers may have other abilities, such as Faria here’s ability to give you 200 life at the cost of two Light Will (if those numbers seem high, there’s a reason for that.  Another trend in Japanese games seems to be to have unnecessarily high numbers.  In the case of Force of Will, every attack/defense/life number can be safely divided by 100.).  This introduces an aspect of strategy that I find interesting: balancing your desire for more Magic Stones against the desire to play your Ruler’s abilities, especially if they require resting the Ruler.

The majority of Rulers (but not all) also have a cost listed as J-Activate.  The J is short for Judgement, and paying that cost results in you flipping the card over to the other side:

You’ll notice the shift in abilities, but also the addition of an ATK and DEF scores, enabling her to engage in combat; to attack, to block, but also to be attacked.

These elements make your Ruler as important a choice as practically the rest of your deck combined, and a well timed J-Activation can be the difference between victory and defeat.

By now you might be thinking, “But Chris, this article would have been better named ‘How Force of Will is Like Magic, but also Different.'”  And you’d be right.  But as I said, it was partly clickbait, but also because I needed to explain these differences before I would explain my reasons.

The Magic Stones are a big part of it, honestly.  One of the things that came to bug me about Magic was that the Mana you need to play the cards in your deck come from cards that are also in your deck.  Putting the Magic Stones in a separate deck, and working a mechanic for fetching them into the basic game rules creates what I think is a much more balanced play environment.  Yes, you can still get starved for the Will Attribute (color) you’re really looking for, or flooded with one you aren’t, but it’s much less likely- and next to impossible in a mono color deck.

Maybe some players prefer that gamble, that no matter how good you or your deck are, there’s always that chance that your land will be clumped by your shuffle, and you’re doomed.  Cool.  I don’t.

I also do really like the Rulers, I think they’re a fun addition to the general mechanic, and allow for even more variety and personalization in deck construction.

Lastly, Force of Will has a very open turn sequence.  In Magic (basically speaking) you have your Main Phase where you play cards, your Battle Phase where you can attack, a second Main Phase, and then you’re done.

In Force of Will, the Main Phase encompasses battle as well.  You can play a Resonator, attack, then play another, attack again, then call a stone, attack again- on and on in whatever combination you like (as long as you have resources to use, of course).  It is probably the least restrictive card game I’ve ever played in terms of when you can play what card, or activate an ability.

All in all, these elements create a play experience that I just find more enjoyable.  I have constructed three Force of Will decks in relatively short order, and I have inspiration for at least three more.  I know that doesn’t sound like much compared to hard core cardgamers, but it’s actually quite a lot for me.  I went a long time before I made even a second Game of Thrones deck.

And, to top it off, now is an excellent time to look at starting the game.  A new set of Force of Will drops September 25th, the equivalent of a new Block in Magic, and it has already whipped up a fury of interest an excitement in the community.

And, to plug local events as well, anyone interested in checking out the game can hop by the store (Tramp’s, this blog’s host) on a Wednesday evening and check it out- we have weekly tournaments.

That’s all for now from Chris.  Happy gaming!

A Game of Cards

Chances are that if you’re reading this, the phrase “Game of Thrones” holds some meaning for you, even if only as “that show I don’t watch that some other people like.”

Well, whatever the story/show may be to you, it is also a card game.

But more than just a card game, I would say that it is one of the best card games I’ve ever played.  I’m not sure I’d say it’s #1, but it is definitely in the top 3.

It often surprises people who are encountering this game just how long its been around.  It was not based specifically on the HBO series; the game is older than that by several years.  A Game of Thrones started as a CCG all the way back in 2002, and in face won the Origins Award for best Trading Card Game in that year.  For the next five years, the game was marketed very much like any other CCG, with starter decks themed around Great Houses, and boosters containing a mix of cards.

2007 saw a change to all of that, though, as the game underwent a radical shift in marketing, becoming the second of Fantasy Flight Games’ LCG Titles.  LCG is a format developed by FFG, standing for Living Card Game.  An LCG is similar to a CCG in that it features an ever-expanding pool of available cards from which to construct a custom deck, but differs sharply in how those cards are acquired.

Instead of buying packs of randomized cards, hoping to chance into cards that are useful to you, or that you desire, LCG cards are sold in fixed boxes.  Each of these Chapter Packs for AGoT contains a full playset (3 in the case of this game) of 20 new cards, and are released on a monthly basis.  This makes keeping up with game expansion a matter of less than $20 a month.

The LCG format has basically ruined CCGs for me.  The thought of rare-hunting, buying pack after pack, or looking online for specific cards at inflated costs now makes me shudder.  I understand that this aspect of CCGs is a source of appeal for certain players, who would look down on the LCG format.  That’s fine; it takes all kinds to make a world; but I am certainly not one of them.

While the LCG style certainly helps to keep me in the game, what excited me from the beginning were two factors: how well the game translated the themes and mood of the story, and the general originality of gameplay.

One of the things that makes A Game of Thrones different an unique is the inclusion of a side-deck called the plot deck.  Your main deck for the game contains all the things you’d expect to find in a card game about this series: recognizable character, places, and things, all with their relevant game statistics.  The plot deck, meanwhile, is a stack of seven cards that can make or break the game.

Each round of play, you will choose one of your plot cards to be your revealed plot.

 

This plot gives you some important information: your base income for the round (how many points you have available to bring other cards into play- not unlike mana in Magic), your initiative (because which player goes first may well change from round to round), and your claim (how bad it is for your opponent when you successfully attack them).  The plot card will then often finish off with an ability that will benefit you in some way during the round.

This first aspect, income, is one of the things I love so much about this game.  Unlike many other games, where your resource for playing cards from your deck are; in themselves; cards that you must play from your deck, the more-or-less guaranteed income from your plot deck helps to plan out the cost of your cards, and how likely you are to get to play them.

Now, I also mentioned the moods and themes of the source material.  If you’re not a fan of the Song of Ice & Fire, this will be less interesting to you, but I think those who are will appreciate it like I do.  The first and simplest thing I can say to display this aspect of the game is this: the aggressor wins ties.

The game favors action, and proactive game play over reactive game play- though there are certainly ways to play a reactive deck.  In many ways, this game is brutal and unforgiving, as is the world of the story, and that helps to keep game play exciting.

The game also largely rewards faction purity, keeping all the cards in your deck aligned to one House.  You’ve got six to choose from: Baratheon, Greyjoy, Lannister, Martel, Stark, and Targaryen; each with their own play styles, strengths, and weaknesses.  Whatever style of deck you like to employ, you can find it in this game.

Now, after this glowing review, perhaps you might even be thinking- THIS IS FANTASTIC!  I WANT IT NOW! and you’re planning to run out and buy it.

That’s cool, but in all fairness, I feel I should warn you of something.  The game’s days are numbered, in a way.  GenCon Indy this year will see the release of the Second Edition of the card game, an edition that introduces enough changes to make it incompatible with what came before.

So why am I blowing the horn of a doomed game?  Several reasons:

1) I always want more people playing this game, and maybe this will reach new people.
2) I still have a fair bit of tournament support material, and I intend to continue running events for this edition, even after the new one comes out- throwback events.
3) Maybe, just maybe, if you get your appetite whetted, you’ll be more likely to pick up the new one- and see #1
4) The end of the edition also means an end-cap to the card pool.  The LCG then becomes a self-contained entity that can be shuffled and combined into many new and interesting decks- but the cards probably won’t be around for long, so get them while you can!