Deathjester26 said:

I could not agree more. I go here every day but I have no experiance in playing over the last few weeks. I played one game last week with my new Standart Lannister deck and then I have my new Stark deck which I could not even try. So I havent really played with the Carion Bird at all.

I also tried to play couple games over Skype in the past, but that requiers a lot of time and peace I wasnt able to find in last few weeks.

OK, so Wed night, Complord, Travis & I finally tried out the core set. I think on about 5 different occasions that night, Jesse proclaimed "god, this game was fun". I concur/will even say 'is fun". Obviously, it's taken a hit here in Madison - due I'd say to a lot of different personal situations amongst us, as well as all the changes - though I think the delay of the Core set was the biggest problem.

That said, viable causes for concern I note with the game/Core set:

There are way too many chapter pack cards that have abilities based on the Military Battle/Intrigue Gambit/Power Struggle plots. The lack of planning by FFG there is frankly appalling/bordering on unforgiveable.

Secondly, for me at least. way, way too much ability text on these cards. If the idea is to make the game more appealing to the casual gamer/board gamer - I see this a real potential stumbling block. The core is great in many ways in that it brings back the 'feel' of the Westeros era - however, the amount of reading/understanding a new or returning player has to do/comprehend is ridiculous. Overdone. For a supposedly 'casual' game, why do I want to have to read the fine print on all these different cards? It really prolongs the phases/rounds/game. In that respect, I'm still not sure FFG has found the niche/knows exactly how they are targetting the game. In that vein, frankly - I'm not a fan of the in house specific keywords at all ( stalwart, infamy, vigilant, etc, etc). In many ways the game has lost its 'simplistic elegance'/complexity.

FYI: I, the noted Targ hater, played the Targ core set deck in joust vs Complord, and although I lost, thought Nate/FFG did a very good job with Targ deck of melding mechanics together with viable characters - well done.

So, any newer players - the game is really great/fun. Some of the complaints are simply generated by older players who miss certain things about the game/ have ideas they believe would make the game better.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. I'll probably always pick up 1 chapeter pack/check in, even though the Madison meta is virtually dead (though we are talking about trying to get together more). It's a great game with a great community - even though some of the vets are leaving, I think/hope that the new players will retain/uphold the community

LordofBrewtown said:

If that comes to pass, keep me in the loop. Madison is not that far when I have the time, really.

Moneylender said:

What stumps me about Berto and how some metas apparently dried up is that FFG's organized play was a non-factor for all of last year except for regionals and GenCon --I remember one a promo card in 2008 for a supported FFG event. Unless playing in the regionals or having a chance at GenCon was a big part of the game's appeal (and for some I suppose it was), nothing in a practical sense really changed for people when FFG announced that standard would not be part of OP. Cards were and still are coming out that were designed for 5KE, so building for standard was not undermined at all (the chapter packs fit Standard better than LCG!). Oh well.

Same conversation, different day?

aGoT was all but gone in my area - 2 in Seattle, 2 or 3 in Portland (including the guy starting this thread - Binder FTW!). I think the LCG model has directly led to new players. I don't think we will get a ton tomorrow for the league, but hopefully can start flaming some interest.

I do agree that it wasn't done very seamlessly (like LoB said, lots of cards that mean nothing w/o the plots). But, part of that seems to be necessity. The company probably decided they had to make the move early rather than later to keep the game alive. The first (black bordered) CP's were one or two of the 5KE expansions I think I heard. Hopefully there can be more continuity from now on.

Remember, I probably have the most to complain about...a certain Ghost of HH didn't get her time to shine! But, the mechanics are still there, and the game still attracts my sort of gamers. ~Except LoB...that guy is a jerk.

Some good words on all sides.

i hope to see names and faces that are still familiar and that will become familiar. [cue cheesy Oscar moment music now]

i loved meeting the people that went with the names at GenCon and i miss that fact that i cannot relate as much as before. i also miss my prepubescent singing voice but that is not coming back either.

i mainly just want a meta again. Playing with Myers is like putting tape on your cat's paws...fun for a while but it wears as fast as his mom.

i want the game to be good. i want AGOT to survive. i want a strong community. i want to turn the corner and find a positive and welcoming community. i want...i want...i want.

i mainly just want a coherent and transparent direction to the game that attracts new players and excites the LCG community. This is the best game with the best community. Play and do your best to make it so.

aloha,

binder

Come up and play with the "big boys" Binder!

For what it's worth, the new system and direction of the game has had a positive result in my area. Where people would not play before there is now interest. Where other people would never touch a card game again, there are purchases.

I'm an 'old-timer'. Not like a pro who spent a lot of time on the forums (because I mostly stuck to locals and didn't travel), but one who could fairly consistently place first or second in our locals when I played (I stopped about when Throne of Blades came out). I don't know what I missed with ITE, WE, and VED, but I like the game how it's going now, and aside from design complaints (what is with those actions that require specific plots that there are basically none of?!), it's a pretty good game.

For all the people saying the game is dying, I have to say, I don't feel it. Frankly, community boards might need their heroes, but when some disappear, I'm sure others will take their place. My only complaint about the community is the negativity about problems that *will* disappear (the limited LCG cardpool, the design problems with this cycle of chapter packs, etc.).

I'm still around, just been busy. Had a freelance writing gig that occupied my free time for the last few months but I'm looking to play.

I'll be at the source tonight in about an hour or so.

Just an old ugly face popping in for a sec. Haven't been on the boards for a while, but I got a text the other day from Feast for H asking if I was still playing. Figured I'd say "hey". I'm still on my little walkabout, but wanted to see how things were going. I've actually been playing quite a bit of Ingenious. Maybe when spring hits I'll pop back in.

Peace homies,

The Braz

Bounder said:

Glad to see you again, Bounder. Mad Axe aka Ser Robb has been trying to get people playing at the Source again. He's started a thread in the meta-section, so try to communicate with him there.

Bounder and Braz! Huzzah!

Whats up in this thread guys?

Holas. How goes it, Nick?

I hope I'm not too late...

When I saw this thread I registered just to post here. I was away from the game for a while, and when I checked FFG now I barely recognize its layout. I was lost. I dont know where to find things and I still dont know where to access the design journals, or if there are still any. I was half expecting the forums to stay the same since it always used a different set of forums than the rest of the FFG stuff back in the day.

I say "back in the day" but really thats only been half a year or so.

I am not a regular on the forums, and I only play casually (there is no meta at all in my area; it never had) with family. But when I have questions I go onto the forums to ask, and I always lurked to see what people talk about. I can't say I am as affected as most people from the old days, but even for me, this complete change in such short time is shocking; it makes me feel sad and miss the way things were.

I guess for me the LCG release format is of benefit. I need not hunt for cards I like anymore on eBay. But I always loved the game 1on1. Dont know what it is like right now because I didnt buy the Core Set. I waited for it and it never came out, some time later I just forgot.

Still glad to see ktom here. If there is a name I recognize, ktom is 1. Helped me a lot back then (thank you!) and I used his website for clarifications all the time.

I want to ask the old timers this:

What are those changes you mentioned?

I found out reading just now that the old CCG blocks are cut from official support. But what else besides the new forums and that? What is the "LCG" format you guys are calling? Isnt LCG just the new release style? Is AGOT a multiplayer game now? Even in tournaments? How do they deal with kingmakers style of play in a tourney?

Is it true that Martell and GJ have insufficient card pools now? How can they just kill 2 factions off like that? I love those!

xenoss said:

Thanks for the vote of confidence. The website wasn't actually mine, though. zoood! did all the work. He wanted to make a rules compendium site and decided to name it after me since apparently my big mouth was filling in a lot of the content.

xenoss said:

Well, yes and no. The "LCG format" restricts the card pool to just those cards that have been released in Chapter Packs and the Core Set. So everything released in the new style. The game itself plays the same, but that card pool is pretty limited - especially if you were a toolbox player. And it's not just quantity. Many old timers find the plot selection very limiting, particularly in Joust (1-on-1 play) because many of the plots from the Core Set are geared toward multiplayer. The card pool also tends to feel incomplete from various trait and support points of view. For example, there are a number cards that key of plot traits, King/Queen characters and Kingdom locations, but with 5KE off-limits in LCG play, these cards are unreliable at best. So it's not so much that there were too many changes as it was changes that were too big and seen as implemented before the card pool could support them. It ended up being a significant change in the "extended competitive community" feel of the game. At the local level, things are pretty much the same. But if part of the game's identity to you was that connection to a national or international scene (regardless of whether you ever played outside of your locale or not), that feeling pretty well dried up with the changes in organized play.

xenoss said:

TO's are given the option to have tournaments in Joust (1-on-1) or Melee (multiplayer). They don't deal with kingmaking; it's essentially an accepted part of the format. In tournaments, you get points for your placement in the game, which is determined by least power needed to win condition. So theoretically, your own performance in the entire event over multiple games is better served by getting as close to your own win condition as possible. So the only real way kingmaking has been addressed is by making it matter (potentially a lot) whether you are 2, 3 or 4 at a table.

xenoss said:

Well, you actually can build viable GJ and Martell decks with just LCG format cards. They have some good cards and strong effects. However, since GJ and Martell did not get Core Decks, what they are missing in LCG is in-House basic resources and big name, recognizable characters. The former can leave them having to pay 2-gold for some other House's 0-cost limited gold locations (and other than the Seas, no reducers whatsoever) while the latter takes a bunch of the fun out of it for Ned players who like to have those names from the books. So it's probably not so much that GJ and Martell have been "killed" as factions, but they are harder to build and less satisfying to play for many people.

Has anyone heard or seen Tzumain lately? I send him an email a week ago with scanned card images from the refugess of wars cp. But i haven´t received any reaction lately, so i wonder if the email adress is no longer valid or if he´s busy in any other way. Heck, maybe his spam filter just swallowed my email.

I have heard nothing either, and that makes Kennon a sad panda.

When you guys refer to "Standard" or when you say you play "Standard", that means ITE and 5K blocks only? And is the blackbordered "A Clash of Arms" expansions a part of your Standard format? I am really serious about those questions.

I have not read any interesting subject on this boards for a long time now. I check it almost every day, but I do not see much that catches my attention or makes me want to get invlolved. This subject is kinda different and it is a good and interesting reading. On this new forum not much is going on compared to the old forums. I guess it is because "old, familiar" faces do not post on here as much as they used to. Sometimes it is annoying to see the same questions flooding this forum again and again, or basic problems that you can find answers for in the AGOT's manual. I admire those, who have patience to answer them all the time (thanks ktom and others).

'standard' equals ITE (with HoTh and HoTa) 5 kings, Clash of arms, Core set, and all CPs released since CS.

Part of the lack of interesting things to read is certainly because of not as many of the prolific posters actively in the game. I think another part is a serious usibility issue with the website. I mean this forum is godaweful. Sure it useable, but it lacks ease of use, intuitive interface/architecture that, well nearly every other forum devoted to any sbject I've been into.

Another part of that is we haven't had a lot to talk about. We speculate a bit about a chapter pack or cycle noobies ask rules questions, but there are no big developments happening in the game that has been spoiled for us, no new cards or mechanics for us to try and break or abuse, or complain about being broken or easily abused.

This doesn't even begin to mention that in this economy a lot of us have a LOT of real world concerns taking up time we would otherwise be sifting through cards or posting here... or both. I know that I used to make decks about every three days and tear them apart and make new decks, to tear apart and then combine ideas from the previous decks. I'm working two jobs, getting a divorce, have moved, and am trying to get my life back in order while traveling for work an increased amount. I just don't have the time to devote to the game and the board that I used to. When it is a choice between the two I'll choose playing the game over talking about the game.

All that said I am looking forward to the last Raven's CP and anxiously awaiting King's Landing.

dormouse said:

What I don't like is that a new CP's cycle is coming and FFG has not solved Greyjoy and Martell issues. I guess we will get those two new agendas combining houses, that Nate mentioned time ago. But I wish they solved that a different way. Just my few cents..

Max Wax said:

You know... I've actually built a couple really fun and strong Martell (summer) and Greyjoy (winter) decks for LCG. And no, they're not like 50% neutrals or anything like that. So its not really a mass lack of support for either of these houses... Its just more like some of the really great main characters and the small percentage of house specific gold/influence locations that are missing.

All I'd need to see in a future CP for them are some of the mains (Red Viper, Sand Snakes, Arianne Martell, Asha, Balon, Euron, Dagmar, etc); and maybe a set of 'fiefdom' cards or 0 cost +1 G cards.

Plus standard is just more interesting to talk about - it is a deeper, richer, more complete gaming experience.

its hard to talk about LCG maeningfully because there just isn't a lot of depth there yet - and won't be until the summer when the King's Landing stuff has really cycled in.

And its been a few months now and i am just not happy with these new boards.

Yes - lots more bells and whisltes - 90% of which are fo no use to me. But teh basic point of a message board - to be able to get there, read and psot quickly is just frustarting. Navigating mutlple pages to get here, constantly having to log in again and again, and the whole efefct is cumbersome. I'll stick aorund, but teh older baords were much easier to access adn use - and in the end, much more fun. Isn't that the point of web sites like this?