Anyone else really want the 6-week model to continue?

By Daigotsu Steve, in Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game

Because I most certainly do.

Feels a lot like the best of both worlds to me. We get regular releases to mix things up, but for me the wait between them builds excitement rather than boredom. Having never properly played one of these games before I can imagine there being one seriously tedious lead time when you buy your pack, see nothing for your clan then go about your business for another month or so.

I can see why people weren’t happy with the speed with which the first cycle followed the Core(although I’m personally quite happy about it), but how do we feel about the general model? I for one certainly hopes that it can be the new normal to have say, 1 cycle in 6 weeks, then a 6 month gap then a cycle in 6 weeks. Feels good man. And a longer lead time in between sets would be a necessary evil I imagine to make sure that the quality stays consistent in terms of design and balance, and also those awesome stories the packs ocme with!

Now granted, that may be more than can be realistically handled but speaking purely as a consumer, the 6 week frame feels like a great hybrid of the LCG model and the TCG one.

Thoughts?

How would you feel if they decided to release cycle 2 in a matter of weeks rather than months?

I don't mind the 6 week cycles but I think most would like a few months break before it.

This will allow some game meta to develop with current cycles and for you to get use to your deck and use it for a few tournaments before you start dismantling it again.

I think 2 months break is a good estimate as it will allow shops to run a few tournaments locally within that two months before a new cycle is released on the third month.

Financially speaking, this allows consumers to save for the next cycle and for the manufacturer, to allow them to have their quarterly targets met.

EDIT: Five months break might also be plausible to make sure the cards are polished and well tested before it releases to the market but then again this might be considered too long for most not to mention the profit needed by FFG to continue running the business.

Edited by Yogo Rye X

While I really like the 6 week cycle because 7 clans for 2 decks you are really only getting 1 or 2 cards a deck per pack and once 2e go back to normal release that is going to feel really slow if you obly play 1 or 2 clans.

But there are a lot of people who can't commit to The expense and I want somewhere in between maybe 2 packs a cycle a month or 3 in 2 month's ti allow peiple ti allow for the money and to keep a constant flow of cards. Even looking after the first cycle the decks only have about 25 cards in total roughly to change about in decks so the card pool still does feel low. The other issue is development time because FFG needs to look at the gae after a cycle and see what can be don to faq/errata current cards or look at clans with issues and underperforming cards / lack of proper options

I don’t mind as long as they stick to the “original” release plan. I mean, supposedly, launch was in October and then it was a pack once a month for six months (meaning we’re getting now what we should get in April) and then the deluxe, some resting time and start again.

So as long as they don’t release the next cycle before June-July next year, I’m ok with it.

Edited by Tabris2k

I like the concept, I would just change the packages into one box. I like the CCG feeling of the meta changing dramatically in one shot, it avoids delays (like the fact that my shop is still waiting for pack 2 and 3) and makes it simpler for new players to jump in.

Nope.

I like the six packs in six weeks. But it's absolutely gorging on junk food and then waiting for the drawback to hit you later. Having a six month gap would be ****ing horrible. One of the big advantages of the LCG model is that you get gradual improvements to decks, with the occasional burst when a power card is released or everything comes together. It can be frustrating if a faction doesn't get much for a while, but that's a design/distribution issue (i.e. not giving factions enough 'cool toys' or properly developing themes)- and it's sure as **** not going to get better with a six month gap.

Another issue is that ultimately, cycles still probably only add around 12 cards per faction. This *isn't* a CCG where you get 300+ card sets. There simply isn't that much room in a single cycle to completely flesh out new themes. Which means that there's a good chance that your faction doesn't change drastically from a single cycle. You want clan loyalty and your faction got screwed in a cycle, or is underpowered? Great, enjoy losing/playing the exact same deck/not playing the game at all for the next six months.

And in terms of history, six month gaps have greatly damaged LCGs in the past. Both Star Wars and Conquest had major delays between cycles. It did *not* help those game. It helped kill interest in the games and is the kind of thing that is going to get people to look elsewhere. Making that the actual release schedule seems insane to me.

The only real benefit I can see to this is the idea of clan loyalty still being strong in the community which doesn't mesh well with the LCG model, and that it would be one way to at least try and deal with it. But I don't think it would even be particularly successful at that, and the rest of the cons outweigh the benefits. I think clan loyalty is something FFG probably needs to 'solve', but there's other ways to do it.

Yeah, while I appreciate the initial burst in some regards, I am looking forward to returning to the original distribution model. I’d much rather one pack a month than waiting 6 months with nothing.

If there is a months gap and then you release like now, why not just single box in a single date? This "wait a week for some extra cards" sucks.

One once a month, eventual deluxes aside, is ok. More is not. As far as I'm concerned, this is a one time deal. It better be because Arkham Horror LCG takes priority to me.

I would much rather have them just release big boxes if they wanted to go to this type of release schedule. It's would greatly reduce the amount of product you have to hunt down and the FLGSs need to keep in stock. If they are willing to bend the LCG model to do 6 packs in 6 weeks then I don't see why they couldn't just go to a big box update every 3 or 4 months.

That said I really enjoy that we are getting so much fiction right now between the website and the card packs.

4 hours ago, Daigotsu Steve said:

Because I most certainly do.

...

How would you feel if they decided to release cycle 2 in a matter of weeks rather than months?

Short answer: Yes

Long answer: Yes, I would like to have a quicker (shorter) release date, so long as the cards are fully playtested and balanced.

I liked the initial 6 packs in 6 weeks. I think the game needed it. It feels like the second half of the core set. I think the Imperial Cycle added in usefulness for the Imperial Favor and made both Honor and Dishonor strategies viable. The depth of the game has increased.

Beyond the Imperial Cycle, I'm happy with one pack a month and a Deluxe box twice a year. I think the game has been set up.

Yeah as a ccg player it feels like the six in six really made a complete core. Of course I’d love quicker dynasty pack releases but once a month from now on is ok. But if they wanted to, say, do three in three every three months that would split the difference and move the meta along faster.

6 packs in 6 weeks is like an incredible dark chocolate fudge care from Cheesecake Factory. Its the greatest treat you could ever have, it fills you completely and is the most generous thing a person could ask for.... but its also one of those treats that I have once in a LONG while, because if I had it the next day I would overload.

It gave us an actual card pool, but its not something I want to do every single time. We can go back to monthly after this.

Definitely not. To me, this was the worst option. I'm stuck in limbo waiting for all the due cards to come out before it's worth spending time deck building. I keep my Scorpion deck up together for events but that's it. The constant change kills my desire to build anything because it'll be obsolete in days.

I agree that the cycle needed to be sped up, but stretching it out over 6 weeks is 5 weeks too long. Gimme the cards and let me build.

This is my first exposure to the LCG model but I do enjoy the packs coming out as quickly as they are because each pack only gives each clan 1-2 new cards and it helps bring in some new ways to get a deck built (I like options). I think FFG needs to release expansions that have more cards in them per clan than just 1-2. The LCG is good because you get a playset of the cards but if they released packs with more cards per clan you can have a changing meta but not as drastic as a CCG.

Only time will tell what FFG plans to do.

38 minutes ago, InquisitorM said:

Definitely not. To me, this was the worst option. I'm stuck in limbo waiting for all the due cards to come out before it's worth spending time deck building. I keep my Scorpion deck up together for events but that's it. The constant change kills my desire to build anything because it'll be obsolete in days.

I agree that the cycle needed to be sped up, but stretching it out over 6 weeks is 5 weeks too long. Gimme the cards and let me build.

Oh I feel this man, ever other week I'm always jumping through hoops making these decks with the new cards for my meet up days.

If 2-3 packs worth of cards wasn't spoiled online this would have been exciting, but now I am in a holding pattern for a lot of my decks.

Former CCG player here. This is my first LCG. I think the 6 packs in 6 weeks was a great way to build excitement and get the card pool to a bigger level right off. For the long haul I'm looking forward to monthly or so packs. That is the right level of meta change for me. Keeping monthly updates going, while small, will hopefully make it feel continuous and not always drastic in change to me. Personally, I think they should have waited a little longer to start up the Imperial Cycle to get more mileage out of the 1-3 Box Core play. If FFG plans to do more quick turn around cycles I think there needs to be breathing room in between. Maybe 3 months? Too long and interest is lost. Too soon and the game changes too quickly and becomes too expensive in my opinion.

I've barely had time to read the new cards, so no :P

As others have said - I appreciate the larger influx of cards, but if they wanted to repeat a burst release schedule they might as well just do a deluxe box every quarter and no smaller dynasty packs.

The good thing about the 6 in 6 weeks release was the quicker influx of cards, but this was not without a downside. Receiving new cards each week meant playing 1-2 games with them before the next pack was released. Due to work schedules I had 0 games one week... Then I'm STILL waiting for the next set so I can actually build the deck I was excited to build through this entire cycle... I feel I would rather simply have all the cards at once rather than this 6x6 IF they are going to do a burst release again.

I don't know if people would like a deluxe box every quarter. LCG don't release as many cards at a time as a CCG, and there is no rarity scale - you get all of the cards. For a CCG releasing quarterly works because most people won't have all of the rares right away so there is still a lot of acquiring new cards, and adapting decks for all levels of investment and skill. With an LCG there are fewer cards being released, and you get them all at once. After a few weeks meeting up things are going to start to look the same.

While the monthly release may not include a super awesome new card for your faction that doesn't mean it doesn't change the landscape as another clan's new card still effects your match up in the game, and thus your game experience. I think for LCG the more constant smaller changes of monthly dynasty with occasional deluxe boxes is the best model to continue with.

Whatever happens in the future, still looking forward to a minimum of one lore per week.

..Or 2 lores considering there is a story every week from the packs.

A pack a week would drive me away from the game. Issues with Imperial aside, we needed more cards in the environment to be able to have the game hit it's stride. Continuing this pace beyond the initial plans would make things far too hectic, expensive, and would likely only increase volatile swings in clan strength.

Yeah, I'm assuming the lore is going to taper off to at most every other week like they originally announced. We've been spoiled on lore the last few weeks.

Lore every other week would be great, but that is not what we really saw the first couple of months. I would say it was 1 lore a month that was split up into every other week.

44 minutes ago, Zesu Shadaban said:

Yeah, I'm assuming the lore is going to taper off to at most every other week like they originally announced. We've been spoiled on lore the last few weeks.

I would like 6 in 6 every 4 months and box every 6. That would be about 470 new cards a year. That's a perfect amount right?

I like the 6 in 6 to get started, as it does seem to help complete the core set, but beyond that, I think it would be too much. A pack every month is perfect, with a deluxe helping fill the rest of the year up, maybe 3 months after the last pack of the cycle.