Hi.

This must have come up several times already but also there’s so much content now so maybe it’s okay to ask?

(I had all for Lord of the rings lcg but sold it since it was too bloated for me. After some years I have now bought the core again together with first 3 full cycles of expansions and the 8 saga expansions and I’m gonna stop there. )

I know the way is to get a core set and maybe even 2 but where to go from there in order to avoid bloat and still get a good experience?

Could one just go Delux expansions or do you miss too much not buying the smaller chapter or asylum or what they are called packs? I’m not a completionist I just want to play a good horror game solo and get caught up in the story and game mechanics.

Appreciate any guidance here 😊

Each deluxe expansion contains the first 2 scenarios of a 8 part campaign, 5-6 new investigators and many player cards. Ideally I would get them in release order but that may be difficult as they go out of stock quickly and it can take months waiting for reprints. So If you want to play through a complete campaign buy whichever is available. OR if you just want more player cards then any scenario pack or deluxe expansion will give you additional cards to build decks with, even if you save the story for later (until you have the complete campaign)

Stand alone scenarios are one-off adventures not tied to any campaign but they include no player cards to build decks with.

The "Return to" boxes are for people who have played a campaign a bunch and want to mix it up with some tweeks and fixes.

edit: All of Dunwich is actually in stock right now (amazing) besides the deluxe. Maybe you can find that elsewhere.

You only need one core set. The game is perfectly playable and enjoyable with a single core.

The game is very story driven, with the consequences of your choices and actions carrying over from one scenario to the next. Each cycle begins with a deluxe box and continues with six scenario packs. Each scenario pack being the next chapter in the story. I feel you get so much more fulfilment out of the game playing through a full story arc.

There are stand alone scenario decks which are truly self contained, needing no other packs to support them. These are the way to go if you don't want to invest in a full cycle.

My advice - get a core set and a stand alone scenario or two. If you decide you want to invest in a full cycle, wait for Innsmouth to begin in a couple of months so you know you'll be able to get the scenario packs as they release each month. This will spread your cost out and guarantee availability of a full set, in preference to trying to complete an existing cycle with full investment in one go and probably having to track down out of print scenarios at bloated prices.

While a second core is not required I am certainly glad I bought a second. I would be lost with only a single copy of many of those cards. But its maybe something you can put off if you dont want to spend the money right now.

I woul recommend not jumping into cycles as they are rolled out. Instead, I suggest you pick a cycle, and research the lore behind the campaign. Does it interest you? Also ask yourself what makes this campaign unique. Each campaign has a significant feel about it. The Path to Carcosa's narative interacts with the players like no other, while The Forgotten Age's supply system and exploration mechanic gives that particular campaign an expeditious experience.

If you're only planning on playing solo, you could get away with only one copy of the core set. By the time you hit three or four players though all using the same card pool, two core sets is basically required. Still, a second core set gives you additional deckbuilding options. Consider it if you've got the money to spare, but I wouldn't do it right away otherwise. Buying a second core set becomes less and less vital the more expansions you pick up, however, because those extra core player cards become less crucial for deckbuilding.

Play through the core campaign once or twice and decide if you like the game or not before going into any additional deluxe expansions. But if you decide you enjoy the game, where to go from there is pretty much up to you, depending on what you want out of the game.

If you're looking for theme and story more than anything else, the Carcosa and Dream-Eaters cycles are by far the best options. The latter is probably easier to get a hold of right now, but just be warned that the difficulty is probably higher, and you'll be working with a more limited card pool if you jump right into that one first. The Forgotten Age is good if you want some interesting side mechanics and a branching narrative with multiple endings, but it has a few low points. Dunwich Legacy and The Circle Undone are both still good as well, but the narrative options don't really seem to matter as much. Both campaigns also have a few dud scenarios as well. Dunwich is a good starting point though, as it was the first full campaign. It very much feels like an expanded version of what they were doing in the core set.

If you just want more investigators to experiment with, you could always just pick up all the deluxe expansions and only grab the scenario packs for whatever campaigns interest you the most. You'll get a lot more variety this way as well, but I wouldn't recommend this unless you plan on eventually grabbing almost everything. Because while toying around with new investigators is certainly fun, you'd be missing out on the more difficult scenarios from the later ends of each cycle to really test your skills against.

I have played the LotR LCG, and can actually compare the two directly, so I will say this. Buying a full cycle in AHLCG is much more important than it was for LotR, because the game follows the campaign format much more strictly. Sure, you could theoretically just play any scenario as a standalone, but AHLCG has a much greater focus on narrative and theme than LotR:LCG. You're encouraged to start each campaign with a new investigator, with no experience, and gradually build up your deck over the course of a campaign with powerful new cards. But ultimately, you're still playing the same character all the way through. Unlike LotR, where there is no experience system, and you're encouraged to build a new deck to fit the situation with each scenario. (I mean you could try running a cycle with the same deck in LotR, but it wasn't always the best idea)