My brother and I are looking to get into the CoC LCG - for casual (though competitive) play, between the two of us only.

(I'm a long-time Lovecraft fan and a past CCG fan... and this CoC LCG looks to be the thing to scratch my itch )

I was planning on buying the Starter Core Set (of course) and then possibly picking up a few other things (an Asylum Pack or two... the Ancient Horror and At the Mountain of Madness ones stood out as stand-alones, not in a story arc grouping) to compliment it. However, in scanning the boards it's sounding like people definitely find it beneficial to buy multiple copies of the Starter Core Set to make solid decks (or even to make single-faction decks a possibility).

Thing is, I don't want to drop a TON of cash on the game... but I do want to get enough to get a real feal of how the game plays and have some fun for a good while before adding more purchases.

So what would you suggest for a solid start?

- Two Starter Core Sets?

- Two Starter Core Sets + 2 Asylum Packs (suggestions on which appreciated)?

- Three Core Sets? (yikes now we're possibly getting too pricey )

- Other?

Again, I'm not doing this for tournament play... but I want some flexibility, etc... (and being able to play single-faction decks would be nice in addition to mixing).

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

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P.S. Other than "At the Mountain of Madness", none of the other Asylum Packs suggest (at first glance) what Lovecraft source they draw on. Are they all pretty much just focusing on new stories, drawing on creatures from all Lovecraft sources and existing + new characters? ...or are some more focused on specific works? ...just curious, as there might be certain packs I'm drawn to based on content (and I'm not seeing them described in any great detail anywhere).

Mostly depends on how much you want to spend.

IMHO:

For casual play maybe two of each would be enough to complete two competitive decks one against the other...

But if you are interested only collect it, with one copy of each (better two for the Core: remember that only includes one copy of the cards, while the AP includes 10 cards with a single copy and 10 cards with three copies), you would be able to pick a pair of playful decks.

Enjoy it!

well as said above, some of the starter set cards are good, so to optimise that you would need 2 core sets,

BUT i wouldnt do that i would get 1 core set and 2-3 ap packs, you will then have a lot of cards to play around with, and if you feel you need 1 or 2 more from the core set, then buy them seperatly from on here or fleabay

In this day and age, when options are the modern currency of what makes a great game, without three of each card, you will certainly survive and hopefully live a long wonderful life, but you're playing a neutered version of the game. Some might argue that the game has been dumbed down since the classic days. Maybe. Offering a game of one card per deck when three is the rule is the LCG biggest flaw.

Well, the more I think of it... I'm pretty sure I don't want to buy 3 Core Sets... even if it's handy. 2 Would be my limit for now.

So I guess the question can be refined to: What would you suggest...

- 1 Core Set + some number of diff APs

- 2 Core Sets (good enough start, can put off APs for a bit)

- 2 Core Sets + some number of diff APs (most-pricey option I'd consider, but if it's essential I'd have to consider it)

Note: I certainly see purchasing more APs, etc in the future... I just want a very solid, fun start to enjoy with my brother for a while BEFORE expanding.

If you want to feel the game, I will say a Core Set for each player is a good thing. So in your case 2 Core Set is a good choice ; you could build decks with cards in 2 copies and have enough cards to discover how each faction is working. Then you can wait (in 2 or 3 month) for the expansion The Secret of Arkham : in one box you will find 100 cards (50 cards each in 2 copies) and some new stories cards and could improve your pool of cards. For The asylum, you can buy sometimes one or two to add some news cards.

you could indeed as there are two of you buy 2 core sets and leave of buyinf ap packs for a while, to me that would be a bit boring, as you know whats in each and will depend on what factions you both want to play.

i.e if you both want the same faction then you will still only have 1 card each.

personally as we both play, me and my better half, we went the one core set and as many ap packs as you want, more variety, and as i said you can always pick up singles