I'm one of those guys. I kept my Imperial Assembly subscription running just in case I would need a good promo. I purchased three copies of Prayers and Blessings for twenty dollars a pop back in the day. I would get ninja friends for Gencon promos and if all I got from a Kotei was a new power card I was happy.

Obviously all of this, on top of chasing normal rares left a bad taste in my mouth (which is why I was clamoring for an L5R LCG for the past couple of years)

Luckily all that is gone now, I'm familiar with the way FFG runs events and the promos for prizes and participation are just alternate art of cards you can get in the regular box

I'm very grateful for that

AEG actually finally came to their senses killed killed chase promos with Ivory Edition, but as someone who mostly played honour with the occasional bit of dis honour never shelling out for another pricey rare is more than enough reason for me to celebrate.

I'm one of those guys. I kept my Imperial Assembly subscription running just in case I would need a good promo. I purchased three copies of Prayers and Blessings for twenty dollars a pop back in the day. I would get ninja friends for Gencon promos and if all I got from a Kotei was a new power card I was happy.

Obviously all of this, on top of chasing normal rares left a bad taste in my mouth (which is why I was clamoring for an L5R LCG for the past couple of years)

Luckily all that is gone now, I'm familiar with the way FFG runs events and the promos for prizes and participation are just alternate art of cards you can get in the regular box

I'm very grateful for that

Sorry, but promos gone with the wind a year ago or so.... On the other hand kotei and summer packs was at ebay for fair enough prices.

Yeah it's a real mess and an ugly trend. Too bad it's a large trend in the video game industry now.

May they die in a fire.

I'm glad that I will never again have to say to a new player, "you can play that, but it's the most expensive deck build"

I'm glad that I will never again have to say to a new player, "you can play that, but it's the most expensive deck build"

That's not entirely true. If the distribution model isn't full player per core set, which at least some of the other games have been(40K) than some decks might require 3x core sets plus cards from an expansion to function while other builds might just be double core set.

I'm glad that I will never again have to say to a new player, "you can play that, but it's the most expensive deck build"

That's not entirely true. If the distribution model isn't full player per core set, which at least some of the other games have been(40K) than some decks might require 3x core sets plus cards from an expansion to function while other builds might just be double core set.

To buy three core sets is still better then hunting for promos you know are out there but you just cannot get your hand on. So, I gladly buy three core sets, instead of having ever again to hunt for a a promo.

I'm glad that I will never again have to say to a new player, "you can play that, but it's the most expensive deck build"

That's not entirely true. If the distribution model isn't full player per core set, which at least some of the other games have been(40K) than some decks might require 3x core sets plus cards from an expansion to function while other builds might just be double core set.

To buy three core sets is still better then hunting for promos you know are out there but you just cannot get your hand on. So, I gladly buy three core sets, instead of having ever again to hunt for a a promo.

Yeah and with three core sets you can play any deck, of any faction, for arc after arc.

Den of Iniquity was my exodus from the CCG, despite a long-held love for its gameplay and the overall setting. I didn't even play Dishonor, but the fact that you could not play it decently without this promo made it clear to me that it was time to give these "Living Card Games" I'd heard so much about a try.

Lets say I want to build Scorpion Ninja+Dishonor deck. Right? Right. Well every good deck requires holdings.

Playset of "Brilliant Cascade Inn"? $20 a copy.

Jade Pearl Inn? $3-6 a copy.

Forgotten Legacy? $5-7 a copy.

Exquisite Silk Works? $10 a copy.

Slanderer? $5 a copy.

House of the Red Lotus? $1 for a playset.

The Ivory Dojo? $1 a copy.

Total: $180 (Shipping and handling not included)

And THAT is not even covering Personalities/Sensei/Followers/Strategies/Spells/Items/Stronghold/Celestials/Events.

See this is why a lot of TCG and CCG die down despite the passion of its fanbase. Its not that people don't care about it. Its that the real deal-breaker is always the resource cards whether it be L5R's Holdings or MTG's Lands. They eat a large hole in your pocket in terms of money.

Only those with well-paying jobs or those who saved up money can afford top tier decks. This is why I am hopefully for L5R to become an LCG as paying $80 for two core sets should guarntee me all the cards I would need. $80 being close to the same price as one randomized booster box/tin.

This is why I love formats like Kami and Big Deck. It is more gracious on the wallet.

Lets say I want to build Scorpion Ninja+Dishonor deck. Right? Right. Well every good deck requires holdings.

Playset of "Brilliant Cascade Inn"? $20 a copy.

Jade Pearl Inn? $3-6 a copy.

Forgotten Legacy? $5-7 a copy.

Exquisite Silk Works? $10 a copy.

Slanderer? $5 a copy.

House of the Red Lotus? $1 for a playset.

The Ivory Dojo? $1 a copy.

Total: $180 (Shipping and handling not included)

And THAT is not even covering Personalities/Sensei/Followers/Strategies/Spells/Items/Stronghold/Celestials/Events.

See this is why a lot of TCG and CCG die down despite the passion of its fanbase. Its not that people don't care about it. Its that the real deal-breaker is always the resource cards whether it be L5R's Holdings or MTG's Lands. They eat a large hole in your pocket in terms of money.

Only those with well-paying jobs or those who saved up money can afford top tier decks. This is why I am hopefully for L5R to become an LCG as paying $80 for two core sets should guarntee me all the cards I would need. $80 being close to the same price as one randomized booster box/tin.

This is why I love formats like Kami and Big Deck. It is more gracious on the wallet.

If you're playing Twenty Festivals, then Jade Pearl Inn, Exquisite Silk Works, and Ivory Dojo aren't legal. You get a Brilliant Cascade Inn in your Scorpion starter deck as well, so you're misrepresenting the cost of doing business.

Mind you, I'm not saying that an LCG is worse than a CCG (I think they're equally costly at different times).

The agonizing lessons of Wyrmbone Katana, Den of Iniquity, and Channeling the Fallen were, in fact, learned by AEG.

But too late.

Chase promos and rare but high demand strategies were the main things that got me out of my hobby. I hated feeling like I had to drop down $100-$150 in singles for a competitive deck, after $100-$150 worth of the core set and expansion, depending on how deep into the arc we were.

I'm honestly fine spending $300 on a game I love. I'm just much more likely to put $15-30 up ten times in a year than $150 two times, especially when you add to this that the first example gives me a playset and the second one gives me a deck.

Lets say I want to build Scorpion Ninja+Dishonor deck. Right? Right. Well every good deck requires holdings.

Playset of "Brilliant Cascade Inn"? $20 a copy.

Jade Pearl Inn? $3-6 a copy.

Forgotten Legacy? $5-7 a copy.

Exquisite Silk Works? $10 a copy.

Slanderer? $5 a copy.

House of the Red Lotus? $1 for a playset.

The Ivory Dojo? $1 a copy.

Total: $180 (Shipping and handling not included)

And THAT is not even covering Personalities/Sensei/Followers/Strategies/Spells/Items/Stronghold/Celestials/Events.

See this is why a lot of TCG and CCG die down despite the passion of its fanbase. Its not that people don't care about it. Its that the real deal-breaker is always the resource cards whether it be L5R's Holdings or MTG's Lands. They eat a large hole in your pocket in terms of money.

Only those with well-paying jobs or those who saved up money can afford top tier decks. This is why I am hopefully for L5R to become an LCG as paying $80 for two core sets should guarntee me all the cards I would need. $80 being close to the same price as one randomized booster box/tin.

This is why I love formats like Kami and Big Deck. It is more gracious on the wallet.

If you're playing Twenty Festivals, then Jade Pearl Inn, Exquisite Silk Works, and Ivory Dojo aren't legal. You get a Brilliant Cascade Inn in your Scorpion starter deck as well, so you're misrepresenting the cost of doing business.

Mind you, I'm not saying that an LCG is worse than a CCG (I think they're equally costly at different times).

I am not misrepresenting it. I never play Strict. Arc or Extended is where I'm at. Its more entertaining as far I am concerned than Strict.

WTF are you talking about? Twenty Festivals is an Arc format.

WTF are you talking about? Twenty Festivals is an Arc format.

I could ask you the same thing. Twenty Festivals has three formats. Strict/Arc/Extended. If you got a problem with it Crane, go take it up with the Emperor.

http://www.l5r.com/card-and-tournament-legalities/

Twenty Festivals Strict (Twenty Festivals + Thunderous Acclaim, Evil Portents, Blackest Storm)

Twenty Festivals Arc (Twenty Festivals + Ivory Edition, The Coming Storm, A Line in the Sand, The New Order, Thunderous Acclaim, Evil Portents, The Blackest Storm)

Twenty Festivals Extended (Twenty Festivals + Coils of Madness, Gates of Chaos, Aftermath, Ivory Edition, The Coming Storm, A Line in the Sand, The New Order, Thunderous Acclaim, Evil Portents, The Blackest Storm)

WTF are you talking about? Twenty Festivals is an Arc format.

I could ask you the same thing. Twenty Festivals has three formats. Strict/Arc/Extended. If you got a problem with it Crane, go take it up with the Emperor.

http://www.l5r.com/card-and-tournament-legalities/

Twenty Festivals Strict (Twenty Festivals + Thunderous Acclaim, Evil Portents, Blackest Storm)

Twenty Festivals Arc (Twenty Festivals + Ivory Edition, The Coming Storm, A Line in the Sand, The New Order, Thunderous Acclaim, Evil Portents, The Blackest Storm)

Twenty Festivals Extended (Twenty Festivals + Coils of Madness, Gates of Chaos, Aftermath, Ivory Edition, The Coming Storm, A Line in the Sand, The New Order, Thunderous Acclaim, Evil Portents, The Blackest Storm)

Yeah. None of that stuff is legal in Twenty Festivals Arc. If the OP knew he was talking about Twenty Festivals Extended, he should have mentioned it before he opened his mouth.

Yeah. None of that stuff is legal in Twenty Festivals Arc. If the OP knew he was talking about Twenty Festivals Extended, he should have mentioned it before he opened his mouth.

Twenty Festivals Arc is just one of three standard constructed formats. Despite your claim, all of that is legal. After all, that link I provided comes from AEG itself. The people who ran the L5R CCG.

So dear Crane, you just lost this duel of debate; to a Mantis no less.

All I had to do was clarify my side of the argument and provide actual facts.

Yeah. None of that stuff is legal in Twenty Festivals Arc. If the OP knew he was talking about Twenty Festivals Extended, he should have mentioned it before he opened his mouth.

Twenty Festivals Arc is just one of three standard constructed formats. Despite your claim, all of that is legal. After all, that link I provided comes from AEG itself. The people who ran the L5R CCG.

So dear Crane, you just lost this duel of debate; to a Mantis no less.

All I had to do was clarify my side of the argument and provide actual facts.

1 - Arc is one of three formats, sure. It is also the one most people played. If you played extended, that is cool, however that is abnormal. These cards were not in the same legal Arc set. But even if we are going to look at it, some of those cards weren't out at the time the other cards were at their peak. Your list uses the Arc price of each card, even though they span different formats. I wanted to get into Extended but my friends enjoyed Arc a lot.

2 - You're a ****

I, for one, is extremely happy that it is moving to the LCG format because, like mentioned above, the chase rares and even regular rares drove me from the game. I tried to get into the game fully because I loved the story and read all the books but the CCG model just makes it too hard to keep up.

With LCGs, yea, your initial investment is a little high with usually 2-3 core sets but then it becomes pure maintenance with about $15 a month. Plus, that gets you access to make all kinds of decks at once over the 1, maybe 2 you could afford in the CCG environment.

Given my current game budget, I could either afford 1 CCG or the multitude of LCGs I now play.

Yeah chase rares goo they are gone and I hope they never come back.

Yeah chase rares goo they are gone and I hope they never come back.

LCG is effectively the nail in that coffin. At best, you have alt-art or other versions of the fixed cards of which everyone can easily acquire a regular playset.

Chase promos (Recruitment Officer, anyone) were the bread and butter of the singles market, but a horrible barrier-to-entry for a new player. On the other side of the coin, "alternate format" promos (foils, alt arts) did not have nearly the same draw -- a few folks on the L5R group on Facebook have claimed that with no "interesting"/powerful promos in the quarterly store kits, their local player base dried up. Certainly there was no real secondary market value for alt-arts, other than the scarce versions printed specifically for AEG employees in the Samurai arc.