I'm hype as fuck for this. Clan packs are a way better idea than deluxe boxes for this game and all those cards are fuckin rad.
I wish Phoenix wasn't incredibly popular around me already. I wanna play the fuck outta that stronghold.
Phoenix is the second worst represented clan around here (poor Unicorns, we'll ride strong someday!).. So.. yeah. I expect to see some more fire chickens show up.
And it is incredible how smart this model is. It leaves the Deluxes and Story deluxes open for campaigns and story events, while providing enough cards to flesh out the core. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if THESE were the cards the core was balanced with, not the Imperial cycle.
I do wonder what the release schedule is going to look like for them. Will the next "cycle" just be clan packs, or will they be sporadically-released as needed? Also I wonder how the new role works. Possibly keying off whatever element the main role is?
And I guess this does leave the door open for the first true Deluxe to be Mantis-themed.
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
Yeah, this totally opens the potential for there to be "clan packs" that are in no way the main 7, especially if they establish having a stronhold in each pack. Shadowlands, Spider, and mantis could all get a decent starting card pool out of these.
And for all intents and purposes, this is a deluxe.
Yeah, this totally opens the potential for there to be "clan packs" that are in no way the main 7, especially if they establish having a stronhold in each pack. Shadowlands, Spider, and mantis could all get a decent starting card pool out of these.
And for all intents and purposes, this is a deluxe.
As far as production is concerned it's closer to a regular pack than a deluxe.
I could see something like a role that has the element of whatever faction you're playing has, has both the Keeper and Seeker traits, but has you at -3 starting honor and influence for deck-building.
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
My initial guess is that the role will allow you to splash in the dynasty deck somehow.
Went 1-2 in my second Way of the Rings event. Lost a mirror match to someone with a Kotei mat. Then lost to Scorpion, which seems to just be a bad match up for me, because getting my Prodigy poisoned or dishonored breaks my engine.
While racing light mechs, your Urbanmech comes in second place, but only because it ran out of ammo.
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AegeriTiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered Userregular
+1 province strength, cannot be a stronghold province. Unknown element. Battles at that province use Glory instead of military or political skill when resolving.
PMAvers on
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AegeriTiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered Userregular
+1 province strength, cannot be a stronghold province. Unknown element. Battles at that province use Glory instead of military or political skill when resolving.
So how does that work? Provinces are random so how do you know to replace it?
+1 province strength, cannot be a stronghold province. Unknown element. Battles at that province use Glory instead of military or political skill when resolving.
So how does that work? Provinces are random so how do you know to replace it?
+1 province strength, cannot be a stronghold province. Unknown element. Battles at that province use Glory instead of military or political skill when resolving.
Wow.
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AegeriTiny wee bacteriumsPlateau of LengRegistered Userregular
+1 province strength, cannot be a stronghold province. Unknown element. Battles at that province use Glory instead of military or political skill when resolving.
So how does that work? Provinces are random so how do you know to replace it?
Provinces aren't random.
Wait. I could have chosen what provinces go where this ENTIRE time?
+1 province strength, cannot be a stronghold province. Unknown element. Battles at that province use Glory instead of military or political skill when resolving.
So how does that work? Provinces are random so how do you know to replace it?
Provinces aren't random.
Wait. I could have chosen what provinces go where this ENTIRE time?
This changes so much.
To be fair the only one that matters is the stronghold. The only thing you get from choosing your regular province arrangement is mindgames... and more than likely you're only hurting yourself.
tzeentchlingDoctor of RocksOaklandRegistered Userregular
That said, yes, you can choose where the 4 non-stronghold provinces go to start, and you can look at your provinces once they're on the board. This may adjust your choice in buying from a given province, as perhaps you want to leave a tasty target on a Shameful Display, for instance.
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
Also given that the rules are very explicit RE: the dynasty phase reveal (first player first, left to right in order, THEN gain fate), I expect them to introduce cards that care about when they are revealed and there may be a need to know what province is where.
This is actually why I want to see a clarification on whether or not the dynasty deck mulligan lets you shift around where the cards are placed.
ChaosHatHop, hop, hop, HA!Trick of the lightRegistered Userregular
So, I've been out of the game for a while due to the holidays! Where do people stand on the state of the game right now? I'll admit, I felt kind of shitty about where the game was headed post cycle 1, especially as a crane player.
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admanbunionize your workplaceSeattle, WARegistered Userregular
So, I've been out of the game for a while due to the holidays! Where do people stand on the state of the game right now? I'll admit, I felt kind of shitty about where the game was headed post cycle 1, especially as a crane player.
My community pretty much lost all its momentum once the first cycle was out and all the release/post-release event stuff was over. I'm hoping the seasonal event stuff will kick things off again.
I liked a lot of the cards released during the cycle but didn't really feel way better about the game at the end than I did at the beginning. That said, I thought the game was really good at release so that's not a condemnation.
ChaosHatHop, hop, hop, HA!Trick of the lightRegistered Userregular
I think timing it so the last major wave of stuff happened in December was a bad idea. I also thought the game was really well balanced out of the core, unicorn aside, and felt the first cycle really didn't help that. This might have been amplified as a crane player, it really seemed like we didn't get very much of interest. The last pack was just...bad.
It sounds like stores are starting to get info in the mail about ordering the the new event kits.
Would be nice if they would have posted this info on their website... Hopefully tomorrow?
Sounds like there's two kits. One for a "Battle for the Stronghold" event, and then the quarterly kits. The quarterly kits are supposed to support three months by doing either a large standard event per month or a month-long league.
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tzeentchlingDoctor of RocksOaklandRegistered Userregular
I do think Crane got the shortest end of the stick in the Imperial Cycle, nothing aside from their 5-cost character was stunning and Air doesn't have fantastic provinces compared to, say, Void or Fire, so their Seeker role is meh.
Phoenix probably did the best in terms of giving them powerful options throughout the cycle and improving their card pool. Scorpion got powerful tools and a new playstyle (Dropbears, basically a focus on powerful Conflict characters, especially those with Covert), Lion got some interesting honor options and a few more good cheap bodies (plus another very good "discard-the-favor" character in Ikoma Ujiaki), and Crab took their stickiness to new levels with Iron Mine (on top of Rebuild) and an excellent holding in Karada District. Unicorn improved a lot with some very powerful cards (Talisman is bonkers good and very splashable, especially along with Gaijin Customs) and the Imperial cards seem to have helped them quite a bit. Dragon really didn't get too much great this cycle (aside from High Kick and Agasha Sumiko), but they were already very good, and the new Fire province they can run makes their lineup one of the best in the game (plus Crab splash for Pathfinder Blade is really good).
Still, the game hasn't really fundamentally changed. Certain clans are just better at breaking provinces, some better with Mil or Pol, and some are more focused on dishonor. Honor victories are slightly more likely with Way of the Chrysanthemum, but if your opponent knows what you're doing it's very hard to win that way. Really, the game has more options now, but nothing fundamental has changed.
That said, I also still feel that the pressure people have to declare clan loyalty is a double-edged sword. The community aspect of it can be great, and it can keep people around - but at the same time, it can be stifling and can drive people away from the game. When a clan is weak for a cycle, or if people just don't like the focus or playstyle of a clan, but its players feel like they have to suffer through it because they associate themselves in the game with that clan - that's not good for anyone. Sometimes you just want to be unyielding in defense, or frustrate all your opponents plans with counters and dishonor, or to be super aggressive with lots of dudes - but if you tie yourself to one clan, you tie yourself to a playstyle with little variance. Maybe this worked better in the old L5R CCG, but in the world of LCGs it seems harder. (Of course, this is coming from a tournament Netrunner player who bounces between factions often, even if I have favored ones, so take with as many grains of rice as are necessary).
Yeah I think sticking to only playing one clan is bad. Having a main one is good, but I definitely suggest people play with all clans as different play styles and themes are a good thing to experiment with and keep the game fresh.
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ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
Frankly, the clan loyalty system is also at odds with how the game is sold. Even if you're someone that is genuinely content sticking with #YourFaction, you buy a shitload of cards you're never, ever going to use in the process.
My biggest thing was part of what you just said: I bought another $100 or whatever in product post release, but I felt like it barely made an impact on what my games felt like. As a Dragon player my deck didn't change much, and even though the specific cards in the decks I was facing changed a bit, I honestly didn't remember the names of the Phoenix cards before anyway, so it still felt like I was playing the same match forever.
Combined with having gone to the PAX Unplugged tournament and really feeling just how brutally fucking long this game is, especially in a tournament format, and my enthusiasm is a bit dampened. Which is funny, because I've barely used my sweet Grand Kotei mat and all the fancy stuff I got.
Darkewolfe on
What is this I don't even.
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ChaosHatHop, hop, hop, HA!Trick of the lightRegistered Userregular
I do think the clan loyalty is a quite a bit responsible for my lowered interest in the game, but it's nothing that the modern incarnation of the game did. I mean, had I come into the game fresh that concept wouldn't have phased me. Sure I preferred playing black or blue in magic but had no problems playing something new and fun in other colors. Same with netrunner, I was always shaper or nbn but could dabble freely.
Instead it's the damn discord which is the best and most active part of the community ironically. You declare for one clan and can't read the chat of the others. If I want to talk Phoenix or dragon to mess around with that clan, I have to leave all my Crane friends. That's dumb. The game itself doesn't punish clan hopping unless you're hatamoto.
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AthenorBattle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered Userregular
According to our Asmodee NA rep, this is a "pilot" for how they are looking to do OP for their other games going forward - larger kits that support multiple events, with add-on packs to support more players.
My biggest thing was part of what you just said: I bought another $100 or whatever in product post release, but I felt like it barely made an impact on what my games felt like. As a Dragon player my deck didn't change much, and even though the specific cards in the decks I was facing changed a bit, I honestly didn't remember the names of the Phoenix cards before anyway, so it still felt like I was playing the same match forever.
Combined with having gone to the PAX Unplugged tournament and really feeling just how brutally fucking long this game is, especially in a tournament format, and my enthusiasm is a bit dampened. Which is funny, because I've barely used my sweet Grand Kotei mat and all the fancy stuff I got.
Yeah, but if you only play one clan you really didn't buy $100 worth of product. You paid $100 and bought maybe $15 worth of cards, factoring in neutral cards and conflict splashes. That's possibly why it feels like it made so little impact.
Though yeah, the length of the game is an issue. I had thought that with more practice people would speed up in their play, but that doesn't necessarily seem to be happening.
Instead it's the damn discord which is the best and most active part of the community ironically. You declare for one clan and can't read the chat of the others. If I want to talk Phoenix or dragon to mess around with that clan, I have to leave all my Crane friends. That's dumb. The game itself doesn't punish clan hopping unless you're hatamoto.
This is one reason I'm not on Discord (aside from not needing another forum to browse at work). I play decks from at least 3 clans right now, probably a fourth soon, and I don't want to have to commit to only one faction just to chat with people.
Posts
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
When Unicorn?!
Oh wow, a 6-cost character.
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That naturally resurrects characters.
I'm strongly leaning towards Phoenix as my second clan. This.. this is helping things.
That scorpion, though, might be a splash.
I wish Phoenix wasn't incredibly popular around me already. I wanna play the fuck outta that stronghold.
Phoenix is the second worst represented clan around here (poor Unicorns, we'll ride strong someday!).. So.. yeah. I expect to see some more fire chickens show up.
And it is incredible how smart this model is. It leaves the Deluxes and Story deluxes open for campaigns and story events, while providing enough cards to flesh out the core. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if THESE were the cards the core was balanced with, not the Imperial cycle.
Kind of interesting that the leaker had pretty good info about the cards they were getting, but was completely wrong about it being a deluxe.
And I guess this does leave the door open for the first true Deluxe to be Mantis-themed.
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And for all intents and purposes, this is a deluxe.
As far as production is concerned it's closer to a regular pack than a deluxe.
So Phoenix wizards is staying my comp deck for a while.
Edit: Also I don't understand how a new Role is going to work.
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That Scorpion Wizard though is pretty damn good. I'm really excited about this.
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So how does that work? Provinces are random so how do you know to replace it?
Provinces aren't random.
Wow.
Wait. I could have chosen what provinces go where this ENTIRE time?
This changes so much.
To be fair the only one that matters is the stronghold. The only thing you get from choosing your regular province arrangement is mindgames... and more than likely you're only hurting yourself.
This is actually why I want to see a clarification on whether or not the dynasty deck mulligan lets you shift around where the cards are placed.
https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/12/21/updating-the-rules-of-war/
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Fiveringsdb.com
My community pretty much lost all its momentum once the first cycle was out and all the release/post-release event stuff was over. I'm hoping the seasonal event stuff will kick things off again.
I liked a lot of the cards released during the cycle but didn't really feel way better about the game at the end than I did at the beginning. That said, I thought the game was really good at release so that's not a condemnation.
Would be nice if they would have posted this info on their website... Hopefully tomorrow?
Sounds like there's two kits. One for a "Battle for the Stronghold" event, and then the quarterly kits. The quarterly kits are supposed to support three months by doing either a large standard event per month or a month-long league.
COME FORTH, AMATERASU! - Switch Friend Code SW-5465-2458-5696 - Twitch
Phoenix probably did the best in terms of giving them powerful options throughout the cycle and improving their card pool. Scorpion got powerful tools and a new playstyle (Dropbears, basically a focus on powerful Conflict characters, especially those with Covert), Lion got some interesting honor options and a few more good cheap bodies (plus another very good "discard-the-favor" character in Ikoma Ujiaki), and Crab took their stickiness to new levels with Iron Mine (on top of Rebuild) and an excellent holding in Karada District. Unicorn improved a lot with some very powerful cards (Talisman is bonkers good and very splashable, especially along with Gaijin Customs) and the Imperial cards seem to have helped them quite a bit. Dragon really didn't get too much great this cycle (aside from High Kick and Agasha Sumiko), but they were already very good, and the new Fire province they can run makes their lineup one of the best in the game (plus Crab splash for Pathfinder Blade is really good).
Still, the game hasn't really fundamentally changed. Certain clans are just better at breaking provinces, some better with Mil or Pol, and some are more focused on dishonor. Honor victories are slightly more likely with Way of the Chrysanthemum, but if your opponent knows what you're doing it's very hard to win that way. Really, the game has more options now, but nothing fundamental has changed.
That said, I also still feel that the pressure people have to declare clan loyalty is a double-edged sword. The community aspect of it can be great, and it can keep people around - but at the same time, it can be stifling and can drive people away from the game. When a clan is weak for a cycle, or if people just don't like the focus or playstyle of a clan, but its players feel like they have to suffer through it because they associate themselves in the game with that clan - that's not good for anyone. Sometimes you just want to be unyielding in defense, or frustrate all your opponents plans with counters and dishonor, or to be super aggressive with lots of dudes - but if you tie yourself to one clan, you tie yourself to a playstyle with little variance. Maybe this worked better in the old L5R CCG, but in the world of LCGs it seems harder. (Of course, this is coming from a tournament Netrunner player who bounces between factions often, even if I have favored ones, so take with as many grains of rice as are necessary).
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
Combined with having gone to the PAX Unplugged tournament and really feeling just how brutally fucking long this game is, especially in a tournament format, and my enthusiasm is a bit dampened. Which is funny, because I've barely used my sweet Grand Kotei mat and all the fancy stuff I got.
Instead it's the damn discord which is the best and most active part of the community ironically. You declare for one clan and can't read the chat of the others. If I want to talk Phoenix or dragon to mess around with that clan, I have to leave all my Crane friends. That's dumb. The game itself doesn't punish clan hopping unless you're hatamoto.
Anyways. Organized play!
https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/1/10/way-of-the-samurai/
https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/op/l5r-lcg/stronghold/
https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/1/10/your-store-is-your-stronghold/
According to our Asmodee NA rep, this is a "pilot" for how they are looking to do OP for their other games going forward - larger kits that support multiple events, with add-on packs to support more players.
Yeah, but if you only play one clan you really didn't buy $100 worth of product. You paid $100 and bought maybe $15 worth of cards, factoring in neutral cards and conflict splashes. That's possibly why it feels like it made so little impact.
Though yeah, the length of the game is an issue. I had thought that with more practice people would speed up in their play, but that doesn't necessarily seem to be happening.
This is one reason I'm not on Discord (aside from not needing another forum to browse at work). I play decks from at least 3 clans right now, probably a fourth soon, and I don't want to have to commit to only one faction just to chat with people.