Why is this necessary? I don't understand this at all.

Granted it's a long way off yet, but it means that I will buy cards that will be forcibly redundant if I want to play seriously?

Way to waste my money.

Some of the issues that people cite in the LCGs that have 8+ cycles of monthly packs are as follows:

1. It's hard to get new players into the game because they feel they need to buy 4+ years worth of cards just to start. (Just think how much some people hate the perceived buy-in price of 3x Core Sets....)

2. Mechanics that are not evenly represented across cycles (and a lot of them aren't in the other LCGs) end up creating a lopsided play experience based on when people entered the game. People who joined in Year 3 do not feel they are on an even playing field with people who joined at the beginning.

3. It may seem to be a paradox, but when the card pool becomes too large, deck innovation starts to slow down. With so many pieces of the puzzle, analysis-paralysis sets in and people start net-decking and tweaking rather than coming up with original deck ideas.

4. Power creep starts to get out of hand because each cycle has to be bigger and better than anything anyone has seen before, largely in an attempt to combat #1 - therefore contributing to #2 and #3.

So in the end, rotation is primarily a way to make sure there is always a "jumping-on" point for new players, and a periodic shake-up for old players that is meant to help make sure the environment doesn't stagnate.

If you're only play casually with friends then it doesn't affect you at all - cards rotated out will always remain compatible. If you're a competitive player, you should care about the long term stability and balance of the game, which only rotation can bring.

If you feel that your money has been wasted, I'd recommend investing no further in the game.

I feel it's more a WHAT IF option, when the cardgame attracks so many players FFG can spend more time on it. So far all FFG games have been good but if the next LCG is the next hype they'll have to awnser demand and it's a way to continue to keep the game interesting, much interesting because older proven decks will not be the start of any player.

Why is this necessary? I don't understand this at all.

Granted it's a long way off yet, but it means that I will buy cards that will be forcibly redundant if I want to play seriously?

Way to waste my money.

Its an understandable reaction, but I think personally that the proposed lifespan of the cards is very reasonable, and that its a very courteous move for a games company to give a heads up on this limited lifespan BEFORE those cards come on sale.

Also, I'm broadly in agreement with ktom's points here, and think this is overall a very positive thing for the game.

If we look at AGOT, many new players (including myself) were put off the tournament scene by the prohibitive cost of acquiring a full 1ed set. With rotation, it becomes far more affordable for new blood to be attracted to the game.

I am in favour of rotation, and I applaud FFG for being up front about this.

If you're not going to buy into the game, that'd be a shame. If you've already bought the core sets and are feeling cheated, thats doubly a shame. I suppose the only way to have avoided this would have been if FFG had made the announcement even earlier, before the core set release.