Assuming there's a timeskip, if the Spider still exist from the outset (rather than being obliterated offscreen), a storyline bone ought to be thrown to their playerbase to compensate for the fact that the narrative is stepping right over their time in the spotlight.

Their unearned and highly contentious time in the spotlight? Relatively soon on the heels of the end of Celestial also being all about them and how everyone else had to tolerate their existence?

Does this mean I get to lobby for "it's all about the Phoenix Clan and everyone else has to react to their unstoppable plot-ramrodded actions for an entire arc"?

To say nothing of the Mantis playerbase, who got kicked in the teeth, and now stand to miss out on the promised "everyone* will think you rock!' payoff for that.

I think moving away from "this arc will focus primarily on the _____ Clan" is a wise choice if it's the route they go.

* Except me.

Yeah, cut/reboot a storyline and upset lot of people at the start!

No matter what they do a fair number of people will be upset at the start. The question will be if the influx of brand new players who join will be greater than the number of upset players who do not return depending on the choices made.

New players won't care if it will be reboot or not.

New players will care plenty -- and not be new players for long -- if a brand-new game requires more reading and study then university exams.

A fresh start is the only sensible choice. Cut those apron strings and all the cruft and complications of the setting, story and timeline in recent times can be moved past.

That's akin to claim that no one would care much for L5R when it got released, because of its long and complex background story, going back to the world's creation when the Kami fell.

20 years of success said otherwise - you don't need to know ALL the lore to enjoy a game. And the same will hold true if things are kept as they are.

I've always been partial to the Crab. I had a lot of fun playing Yasuki Dishonor and really hope it comes back in some form.

Berserkers were always nice too, especially in Emperor. It was awesome to have at least 7 printed force on all your guys.

That's akin to claim that no one would care much for L5R when it got released, because of its long and complex background story, going back to the world's creation when the Kami fell.

20 years of success said otherwise - you don't need to know ALL the lore to enjoy a game. And the same will hold true if things are kept as they are.

From what I understood the L5R backstory was fairly barebones at release in '95 and was mostly backfilled starting with the release of the RPG in '97.

This is different than restarting the storyline from where AEG left it off in 2015. This would be closer to having a plot heavy serial TV series canceled a few episodes into a season and then having it brought back 2 years later. You can't just continue things from where they left off 2 years ago. You need to bring both new and returning lapsed viewers up to speed or create a new starting point from which you can backfill the missing story despite what active "fans" think.

* Except me.

Yes, yes. We know.

Honestly, if you started massively respecting the Mantis, I would be very concerned about your well being.

That's akin to claim that no one would care much for L5R when it got released, because of its long and complex background story, going back to the world's creation when the Kami fell.

20 years of success said otherwise - you don't need to know ALL the lore to enjoy a game. And the same will hold true if things are kept as they are.

From what I understood the L5R backstory was fairly barebones at release in '95 and was mostly backfilled starting with the release of the RPG in '97.

This is different than restarting the storyline from where AEG left it off in 2015. This would be closer to having a plot heavy serial TV series canceled a few episodes into a season and then having it brought back 2 years later. You can't just continue things from where they left off 2 years ago. You need to bring both new and returning lapsed viewers up to speed or create a new starting point from which you can backfill the missing story despite what active "fans" think.

I think I mentioned this before, but I can counter that line of thought with two words:

Star Wars.

I think I mentioned this before, but I can counter that line of thought with two words:

Star Wars.

And I'll counter with Disney's decision to make the post episode 6 expanded universe non-canon and that episode 7 is exactly the type of new starting point I was talking about.

I think I mentioned this before, but I can counter that line of thought with two words:

Star Wars.

And I'll counter with Disney's decision to make the post episode 6 expanded universe non-canon and that episode 7 is exactly the type of new starting point I was talking about.

I think Bayushi Karyudo meant exactly that. There is no need to "backfill" or anything: you can just do a small infodump focused on the essentials, and be done with it. Just like in SW 7. You can carter to old fans with cameos and callbacks if you really want, it won't make much difference for the new players.

"And then there was a Test of Enlightenment. But those were silly times, so we'd best forget about that. As it turns out, Crane Clan Samurai are filled with a nougat-y Enlightenment center, and if you kill one you become Enlightened. Who knew?"

I think Bayushi Karyudo meant exactly that. There is no need to "backfill" or anything: you can just do a small infodump focused on the essentials, and be done with it. Just like in SW 7. You can carter to old fans with cameos and callbacks if you really want, it won't make much difference for the new players.

The thought of L5R following Star Wars into the abyss makes my heart weep.

Personally I like to think of the hiatus as being similar to the break Dr. Who took during the 90s. The franchise had become kind of stagnant so fans needed a chance to start missing it and be ready to fall in love with it again.

I think as long as the content's good people will be interested. Having an extensive background might not appeal to the general public, but if you just look at 'people likely to play card games' I think you'll find they like being able to immerse themselves in the lore. And they have Kaze no Shiro and the L5R wiki to let them do that.

More important, however, is the need for a large and active player community. One of the things that really hurt the old game was that the player base shrunk considerably between Emperor and Ivory. We went from an environment where it wasn't uncommon to get 90+ people at a tournament to one where you were lucky if you got 50. People aren't going to be willing to invest money in a product if they aren't going to be able to make use of it.

But that's the beauty of LCGs! people all buy the product because it's cheap!


And then they don't show up to Tournaments/Game Nights, because they feel no pressing need to put their minimal investment to use.

But that's the beauty of LCGs! people all buy the product because it's cheap!

And then they don't show up to Tournaments/Game Nights, because they feel no pressing need to put their minimal investment to use.

I'd agree. I plan on trying out a bunch of different clans since I'll actually have the ability to do so rather than focusing on my native clan because of money concerns. Don't worry, I'm still sticking to my clan but I don't mind spying on the tactics of the lesser clans.

The deck that got me into the game was the 1999 World Championship finals between a Brotherhood Enlightenment vs. Brotherhood Military.

I bought a Phoenix Pearl Edition starter and a Brotherhood of Shinsei Pearl Edition Starter.

While Brotherhood was my first clan, I was still exploring the lore of the game. I began exploring the stories of the game. The first story I found that I had a connection to was "Private Lessons". Kakita Toshimoko was an absolute bad @$$! Had I never found the story named "Son of Storms", I would have ended up a Crane player. The story of Yoritomo just resonated with me and I was forever hooked on the Mantis.

When Mantis went on hiatus at the start of Gold Edition, I dabbled in many other clans including the Crab, the Lion, the Dragon and the Crane.

But that's the beauty of LCGs! people all buy the product because it's cheap!

And then they don't show up to Tournaments/Game Nights, because they feel no pressing need to put their minimal investment to use.

I'd agree. I plan on trying out a bunch of different clans since I'll actually have the ability to do so rather than focusing on my native clan because of money concerns. Don't worry, I'm still sticking to my clan but I don't mind spying on the tactics of the lesser clans.

Yeah, and that feeling that every Spider clan player you'll meet will have nearly same 1:1 deck becasue he use same method - just picked up best cards from 200 cards box. People play all factions in LCG because sticking to one become boring like hell, especially if all other players around use same cards (without any alternatives). At least in the first 1 year of the game.

But that's the beauty of LCGs! people all buy the product because it's cheap!

And then they don't show up to Tournaments/Game Nights, because they feel no pressing need to put their minimal investment to use.

I'd agree. I plan on trying out a bunch of different clans since I'll actually have the ability to do so rather than focusing on my native clan because of money concerns. Don't worry, I'm still sticking to my clan but I don't mind spying on the tactics of the lesser clans.

Yeah, and that feeling that every Spider clan player you'll meet will have nearly same 1:1 deck becasue he use same method - just picked up best cards from 200 cards box. People play all factions in LCG because sticking to one become boring like hell, especially if all other players around use same cards (without any alternatives). At least in the first 1 year of the game.

I was fine at certain points playing a single clan. The main reason was trying out the different families and family mechanics in a clan to see how they pan out or how fun they are. I do hope that they continue that idea so that every clan deck can potentially be drastically different or unique without constantly relying on "alliance" stuff.

Crane and Scorpion.

But I would LOVE to see the Ratlings/Nezumi again.

CRAB CLAN FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#1 is, and will always be, Scorpion!
DVD Dishonor was super-fun, and KW Political Military was too (although I wish City of Lies had been legal in Samurai as it would have supported the deck a lil better.)

Dragon are a very close #2

I love me some dueling and dislike me the Crane. Monks have their fun moments too, although it seems like Dragon were never able to find their feet from Samurai onward (unfortunately for me, since that's when I started).

Early (Black Silk Castle early) Spider is another one. (Katsu + Ring of Fire + BSC + Muketsu = hilarity, and the Ring was super-easy to fish back then with Demented Craftsman + Katashi).

Guilty pleasure clans? Crane, Lion, and Big Oni.
I wanted to like Battle Maidens as an Honor/Military switch, but it just never really worked well and when it did, Lion just did it better. That said, all the other clans have their interesting moments here and there but are otherwise pretty ignorable IMO.

Clan I played the most in the CCG: Unicorn. It started as a tactical decision. Cavalry is powerful, and movement tricks are really great for tacking provinces. Plus Unicorn offers a good strong economy. Then I fell in love with the history of the clan.

But the first clan I fell in love with was the Phoenix, ad that was through the first edition of the RPG. Ironically I also despised the Unicorn from this time, since until the 3rd Edition of the RPG they had to be on a horse for any of their techniques to be any good.

Close third, in the RPG only, is Dragon. Go Magical Beasties Northern Clan Alliance!