EDIT: n/m

I'm fine with 3 cores. It's been that way forever. They've gotten better about it with each release in that there is less waste...

Simple question for those with more experience in FFGs draft system: If I bought just one core, what are the chances of filling out the box by drafting? (Many times of course.)

Unbelievably zero. You'll spend far more on draft packs than you would just buying another core set or two.

Now, it's much more conceivable that if you own two core sets, that you could complete a 3x set of particular key cards that you want. I only ever had 2 first edition core sets, but through Drafting I picked up a third Enemy Informer, You've Killed The Wrong Dwarf, Flame Kissed, and Forever Burning.

But, also bear in mind it will be probably at least a year from now before they release a draft set for 2nd edition--they've said the current block of 1E draft cards is going to remain in print until 2E has more cards to draw on. I'm thinking at least one chapter pack cycle, and I mentioned in another thread, my money is that they'll wait until they're ready to spoil cards from the 1st deluxe and 2nd Chapter pack cycle.

Thanks. I agree there will be a significant delay, but the thought crossed my mind.

Hey, here is an idea; Make two different cores! Split the houses evenly and create some incentive to actually buy both if you really, really want to be 'competitive'. That way you could get enough cards to play your desired faction from one single core.

That would be great for the playe..... oh...

Hey, here is an idea; Make two different cores! Split the houses evenly and create some incentive to actually buy both if you really, really want to be 'competitive'. That way you could get enough cards to play your desired faction from one single core.

That would be great for the playe..... oh...

Then everyone would complain that they have to buy two different cores in order to have a "complete" game. In other words, it wouldn't fix the "problem".

Pretty sure he was being sarcastic.

Pretty sure he was being sarcastic.

You know how I am though. Everyone knows sarcasm doesn't translate online, so you have to assume everything said online should be read as though it were dead serious.

Hey, here is an idea; Make two different cores! Split the houses evenly and create some incentive to actually buy both if you really, really want to be 'competitive'. That way you could get enough cards to play your desired faction from one single core.

That would be great for the playe..... oh...

Then everyone would complain that they have to buy two different cores in order to have a "complete" game. In other words, it wouldn't fix the "problem".

Well, it's 2 boxes for a complete experience down from 3, seems like a win to me.

So, the manual revealed yesterday told us exactly what is on the core:

So, the manual revealed yesterday told us exactly what is on the core:

x 28 Plot cards

x 20 Stark cards

x 20 Lannister cards

x 20 Baratheon cards

x 20 Greyjoy cards

x 20 Targaryen cards

x 20 Martell cards

x 20 Tyrell cards

x 20 Night’s Watch cards

x 31 Neutral cards

x 1 Fealty Agenda card

x 8 Faction/Agenda cards

x 6 Melee title cards

If we consider what has already been previewed, looks like 1x of everything.

Not quite.

-There are 19 unique cards for each faction (given what has already been previewed), which means one of them for each faction is x2.

-There are 26 unique plots, so two of them are x2.

-The learn to play guide tells us the breakdown of Neutrals, which includes 4x Roseroad, 4x Kingsroad (as economy, that gives you a full playset out of core, and enough to build 4 decks from 3 cores - can't complain at all!), and 2x of a number of other cards, presumably 'staples' you won't mind having 2 playsets of for making multiple decks.

This is the best way to do it imo. They have made a playable out of the box experience with one core and minimized waste with three.

Bravo FFG.

This is the best way to do it imo. They have made a playable out of the box experience with one core and minimized waste with three.

Bravo FFG.

Yep, looks even more maximum efficiency and less waste that 40k LCG core set

Interesting. If each faction has just one duplicate card, I wonder if it's safe to assume that it will the marquee 7-cost character for that faction.

I don't remember but if I were designing it is make it some cheap reducer like a Sea or Fiefdoms, whatever the equivalent is.

Ah, that would make sense. I thought they might double up on the big name because of the focus on duplicates and building up characters, but a cheap utility card could work.

So with those numbers, in order to build a legal deck out of one core set, you need to use pretty much every neutral card, every card from your faction, a banner and every non-loyal card from the banner faction. Fealty is not a playable agenda out of the base set. Please somebody show me I'm wrong.

So with those numbers, in order to build a legal deck out of one core set, you need to use pretty much every neutral card, every card from your faction, a banner and every non-loyal card from the banner faction. Fealty is not a playable agenda out of the base set. Please somebody show me I'm wrong.

Numbers don't lie. With only 20 pieces of cardboard per faction, how could it be otherwise? Fealty is a card for future design space, for when the card pool is deeper. You need a minimum of 3 Core Sets to run Fealty. (or, one core set and six or seven chapter packs that won't be out for most of a year.)

One Core Set is not the complete game. It is arguably a design requirement that it should feel palpably incomplete out of the box, that players should hunger for more customizability and, not to put too fine a point on it, to buy more product.

Frankly with eight factions to juggle, and the need for Faction Cards and Melee Cards and Plot cards taking up space, I'm nothing short of amazed that they pulled it off as well as they did.

Could someone enlighten me as to what the Fealty Agenda is/does?

Agenda:

You cannot include more than 15 neutral cards in your deck.

Action: Kneel your faction card to reduce the cost of the next loyal card you marshal or play this phase by 1.

Fealty shoehorns you into playing a very "pure" deck and gives you a small economy boost for it. It's good if you're not planning on using another agenda anyway as if you have too many neutral characters you won't have enough "loyal" chracters for the economy bonus to do anything anyway.

So with those numbers, in order to build a legal deck out of one core set, you need to use pretty much every neutral card, every card from your faction, a banner and every non-loyal card from the banner faction. Fealty is not a playable agenda out of the base set. Please somebody show me I'm wrong.

Numbers don't lie. With only 20 pieces of cardboard per faction, how could it be otherwise? Fealty is a card for future design space, for when the card pool is deeper. You need a minimum of 3 Core Sets to run Fealty. (or, one core set and six or seven chapter packs that won't be out for most of a year.)

One Core Set is not the complete game. It is arguably a design requirement that it should feel palpably incomplete out of the box, that players should hunger for more customizability and, not to put too fine a point on it, to buy more product.

Frankly with eight factions to juggle, and the need for Faction Cards and Melee Cards and Plot cards taking up space, I'm nothing short of amazed that they pulled it off as well as they did.

I guess I'm just old school and like to be able to play a game right out of the box. Which means at least 2 playable (not necessarily good) decks and every card able to be used.

I guess I'm just old school and like to be able to play a game right out of the box. Which means at least 2 playable (not necessarily good) decks and every card able to be used.

That is exactly what you are getting. The Learn to Play book describes how to create 4 decks, usable at the same time, that allow you to play joust or meele using almost all the core cards (maybe all, I did not count. The rules state that the decks do not meet tournament rules but that they are usable for casual play.

So yes, you have 'at least 2 playable (not necessarily good) decks and every card able to be used'.

That's not what he meant, I guess. When I realised that I can't build at least two regular decks out of one core box I wasn't very happy with that, too.

We have four players in our group. Three wanted to buy a core set for themselves, I'm sharing mine with the fourth who didn't want to buy his own. Now we can't play regular games because I won't be able to build two complete regular decks with my core set. Playing the Basic game with the four starter decks is an option for one or two games, but I can't and won't expect from my coplayers to wait with deckbuilding until the chapter packs start rolling in, and I want to be able to build decks. Accepting card sharing from the other players' core sets is also not an option, because I don't want to rid them of any deckbuilding options. So I did the only thing I could, order a second core box for myself.

I would have preferred to be able to get two regular decks out of one core box, but you can't have everything, I guess.