Just heard about the game and it seemed right up my alley (played Magic, Pokemon, and mostly Raw Deal before), so I JUST bought the LCG base set and am looking forward to trying it out. Is it essential to buy all the booster packs? Are there other 'core' sets? What would you recommend?

Are cards from the CCG being reprinted as part of the LCG? Or is the LCG all new cards?

So confusing. Is there a resource somewhere with answers for a newbie like me?

Also I'm hoping there is a community to play with in Toronto.

Encubed said:

Welcome! This is a great game, you won't regret your decision.

Now for your questions:

- The Core Set and the big Deluxe expansions contain quite a number of reprints from CCG days. The monthly Chapter Packs are all new cards. Look in the "Products" section of this site so see what's available. The Wikipedia article on the game has a pretty good overview, too.

- I'd recommend finding some friends to play with, get familiar with the game, see which Houses (factions) and mechanics you like, and then decide which expansions/Chapter Packs to buy. There's no need to break the bank right away. Unless of course you want to play competitively as soon as possible, then you should get as much stuff as you can afford. Note that the Chapter Pack Cycles King's Landing and Defenders of the North will shortly be re-released in the 20 cards x3 format, whereas they've been sold in a 10 cards x1/10 cards x3 format so far, so you might want to refrain from getting those for the moment, if you can wait at all.

- Most people will recommend you to get a second copy of the Core Set before getting anything else, and that's sound advice. You can't go wrong with the big Deluxe expansions either. If you get Princes of the Sun (for Martell) or Kings of the Sea (Greyjoy), make sure it's the Revised Edition.

- Check out cardgamedb.com, it has the best deck builder currently available, and there's some articles geared towards noobs there, too. Other good resources can be found at agotcards.org, agot.dbler.com and http://info.wsisiz.edu.pl/~szczesnj/index.php

- There's quite a few Canadian posters on these boards. I don't know if any of them are from Toronto, but I guess you'll find out. You might wanna check out the Metagame forum or the Organized Play forum.

HTH.