https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/9/21/represent-your-clan/

Not a ton of buzz for this?! They do not look that great compared to what is out there, particularly from the Polish artist C. O. who has a bunch of L5R art mats. His are Strongholds, which I prefer over Characters on playmats anyway. In general I avoid playmats that create too much distraction.

Bzzzzzzzzz

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Is that sufficient enough to hype these playmats?

Personal preferences of what's on our playmats aside I think we can all agree the clan champion art is top notch, and having this art potentially be used by players when not at l5r events will get the game some attention. I'm thinking about snagging a Yokuni mat to show off.

Surprised they dont have a generic one similar to this one from game of thrones, generic art plus helper spaces for your decks and provinces

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/fantasy-flight-supply/products/knights-realm-playmat/

8 minutes ago, comawhite said:

Surprised they dont have a generic one similar to this one from game of thrones, generic art plus helper spaces for your decks and provinces

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/fantasy-flight-supply/products/knights-realm-playmat/

That would be interesting. A two-player mat would be great as well.

Yes, Generic playmat with cards areas printed on it will be great!

There is an Etsy seller selling some beautiful L5R playmats that I'm interested in. These are a bit too cheesy for me.

I agree that they should print a generic playmat, it would really help newer players. (Including me!)

I will buy one of these when they get to the uk but a playmat with card areas would help calm my ocd...

4 hours ago, Tokhuah said:

Not a ton of buzz for this?! They do not look that great compared to what is out there, particularly from the Polish artist C. O. who has a bunch of L5R art mats. His are Strongholds, which I prefer over Characters on playmats anyway. In general I avoid playmats that create too much distraction.

Link please?

I am not sure what the rule is for posting links to competitors. Since I am too lazy to look I will provide you with Key words to Google that will top list the site. Search: Chris OStrowski playmats

They cost a bit more but are gorgeous. Since the mats are landscapes of mostly Strongholds and Holdings they will add flavor without a high level of distraction.

OT: @ Ishi Tonu... Your handle is so familiar... Are you an old guard player?

http://store.chrisostrowskiart.com/

Obviously Mr. Ostrowski is an official illustrator for FFG/L5R, because all his paintings are marked with "Fantasy Flight Games 2017".

I assume he is allowed to sell his paintings in this way.

It is very interesting to see future Holdings/Strongholds , especially for Mantis and Spider .....

PS: My favourite playmat is "The Fruitful Port" ....

Hold up. Let me check this site out............hmmm nice stuff.......wait what's this.......

KYUDEN SPIDER!!!!!!!!

"Honey! I'm gonna need a fresh pair of pants in here!"

Just so it's out there, he did art for the CCG, which is where the Spider art comes from.

Yes, a play mat with outlined areas for all of the cards. With that, the turn order in the corner along with the opportunities for action windows listed!

I think I'd like a "Way of …" playmat more. The art is clean and stark, but subtle and muted - they would be great to play on without being too busy. Doubly cool if they placed the shadows of where your provinces, decks, and stronghold go.

On 9/22/2017 at 0:40 PM, Tokhuah said:

Not a ton of buzz for this?! They do not look that great compared to what is out there, particularly from the Polish artist C. O. who has a bunch of L5R art mats. His are Strongholds, which I prefer over Characters on playmats anyway. In general I avoid playmats that create too much distraction.

It makes way more sense for my army to be mobilizing against a landscape rather than on top of a giant Shinjo Altansarnai.

10 hours ago, Duciris said:

I think I'd like a "Way of …" playmat more. The art is clean and stark, but subtle and muted - they would be great to play on without being too busy. Doubly cool if they placed the shadows of where your provinces, decks, and stronghold go.

Oooh! Definitely! Subtle, sumi-e strokes playmats. I would love those. They would be really appreciated by traditionalist and players more oriented towards feudal Japan. They would make a nice addition as they would thematic while not treading on the same target audience as the Champions' playmats.

11 hours ago, Duciris said:

I think I'd like a "Way of …" playmat more. The art is clean and stark, but subtle and muted - they would be great to play on without being too busy. Doubly cool if they placed the shadows of where your provinces, decks, and stronghold go.

I would love to see that, but I'm personally not a fan of setup indicators, as I like to mix and match playmats between the games I play, partly to advertise, and because I like lots of variety. YMMV

I'm not going to pick up one of the clan (Dragon) mats. I picked up 2 beautiful mats from the old CCG on etsy. What I really want are clan deck sleeves. I want the same pattern found on the backs of the dynasty and conflict decks, but with the clan mon instead of the rings. I'm just not sure if I want the mons in clan color, or in the same color the rings are on their respective decks. I'm thinking the color of the rings.

It would be great to see two versions of the clan mon sleeves, one with a light and one with a dark background to keep the Dynasty and Conflict decks in order.

Or even sleeves with the old card backs! (Not the "original" ones, of course, but the second, post Spirit War version):

3 hours ago, Tokhuah said:

It would be great to see two versions of the clan mon sleeves, one with a light and one with a dark background to keep the Dynasty and Conflict decks in order.

The smartest thing for them to do would be to sell the two types together - say 100 sleeve sets, with 50 of each kind. Logistically it may require a shift in how they make them, but it could be worth it.

Not being a card gamer but looking to jump into L5R, I need to ask a rookie question that I have been too afraid to ask.

What is a playmat for exactly? I know FLGS in my local area get them made up with custom art for Magic players but I am still not sure what they are exactly for.

Mats keep table jank off your cards.

2 hours ago, DarkHorse said:

Not being a card gamer but looking to jump into L5R, I need to ask a rookie question that I have been too afraid to ask.

What is a playmat for exactly? I know FLGS in my local area get them made up with custom art for Magic players but I am still not sure what they are exactly for.

Sleeves keep your cards clean. Mats keep your area organized, defined and clean. They also make it easier to pick cards up than off a table. Neither are necessary to play the game or play it well.

You grow accustomed to sleeving cards, "for protection!" but then begin to wonder if you'll end up playing the game often enough to warrant the extra cost. So you choose a game you like for under 25$ (Onirim) and don't sleeve it, just to see how long the cards last and what the wear and tear on them looks like. It's a vicious cycle.