I was wondering if a new cycle would be coming out on top of having the Saga expansion: The Hobbit coming out in August? Or would it be, Saga expansion(s) first, new cycle after.

Also, I believe they mentioned that the Hobbit expansion would be separated in two releases…Is this correct? My wish is that they would follow up with a Lord of the Rings book expansion set. Hopefully that is where they would be heading especially if they are doing it with The Hobbit.

truth is we dont know yet…..there is indeed two saga hobbit boxes, 1 in august, i cant remember if we have a date for no.2

im hoping we shall get a shire cycle that will use the hobbit packs as a jumping off point

rich

At this point, we have no news of a cycle in the foreseeable future. Given that FFG has announced cycles about 6 months in advance in the past, I think its safe to say that we won't see a new cycle in the current calendar year. After that, who knows. But, no cycle to go along with the saga pack. Perhaps they will return to cycles afterwards, but I am skeptical of that.

Bohemond said:

you are really skeptical of cycles returning? bit of a poor record for their system if they do dont you think? i have seen the saga pack as more of an addition to the standard system rather than a whole shift in how we recieve our packs….but then again i dont have any previous experience with ffg so dont really know how long they stick at these things

but yes, some news for the future would be nice……………perhaps a silly question, but has anyone actually tried sending ffg a message asking for a heads up? or is that too wishful thinking?

I would love FFG to dump the cycles and switch completely to big box expansions.. with luck we will not have any more cycles in this or any LCG

booored said:

I know there have been several discussions about this point, and several people are interested, but I really would rather have the AP cycles continue (maybe they all don't have to be 60 cards, or $15 for that matter).

John85 said:

likewise……regular, and perhaps more importantly routine, packs release is what i want.

completely happy with the system now….its not too much and its not too little…..its just right

ok this is what i want to know….when we are talking about 'big box' or deluxe packs or whatever, are we talking of packs the same size of khazad, say every 4 months?

if so doesnt this mean we get far less cards every year considering we were supposed to get these packs twice a year anyways, each with 6 AD packs? therefore we just loose out…..or perhaps im missing the point

richsabre said:

I want to be wrong, and will gleefully apologize if/when a new cycle is announced. But the shift in distribution methods fills me with dread. It's just not the type of move a company makes if the current method is working.

Bohemond said:

or, it could just be that they want to release cool products to tie into all of The Hobbit movie hype…that seems to be the most likely explanation, not that they are changing their method which portends doom.

AGoT has been around for years (really, a decade, but not as an LCG) and they have monthly expansion packs interrupted on occasion with deluxe sets that focus on one of the Great Houses. to my knowledge, there have not been two in a row or anything matching the "saga" expansion experience but i really do think it's simply FFG's attempt to cash in on the movie. for heaven's sake, there are at least THREE new LOTR/Hobbit card games coming out (not even counting other kinds of games!) in the next couple of months; they would be foolish to not attempt to capitalize on the movie.

with that said, i'll be the first to say you were right if there is a shift in distribution officially announced.

Dain Ironfoot said:

But that's my point. AGoT has been around for years. The title suddenly has a ton of mainstream appeal thanks to a highly successful TV show. Yes, they have had big box releases, but the game has never gone dark on monthly packs for a 5-6 month period (and that is probably the minimum time we are looking at for the LotR LCG).

I don't think the saga expansion is simply a cash in, because it isn't a stand alone product. You aren't going to get people to just walk by and pick up the box based on name recognition when it requires them to also figure out they need a core set. That just makes no sense as a marketing plan. if they wanted to do a cash in that would need the saga packs to be a new core; a playable stand alone product.

We know from their statements about CoC that the shift to only doing big boxes every few months is their new strategy for the less successful LCG product lines. I can't see why they would make this shift if the chapter packs for LotR LCG were working. And, until we get some evidence of another cycle I don't see any reasons we should assume that one is in the pipe.

Bohemond said:

firstly, i see it as extremely smart marketing: in order to play the hobbit, you have to buy the core set. maybe it would be better as a stand alone, or maybe it'll be a more encouraging reason to buy the core set. in other words, it may work, or it may piss people off. either way, i can't see the hobbit expansion, given that it is coming out around the same time as the movie, as anything but a marketing tie-in.

secondly, the CoC article point blank states that that model (every 4 months) is *only* for CoC and no other LCG. so, there is no reason, at this point, to assume that FFG was lying/being misleading with that statement. also, the shift for CoC didn't happen for years and years. i find it hard to believe an "obscure" IP like CoC is doing the same as the powerhouse that is LOTR.

thirdly, the FAQ's news article mentions "future design space and growth of the game" so, they clearly are planning on the future. additionally, they said they've been working on the FAQ for months…not something you'd do if the game is dying.

and I think 5-6 months might be accurate but is rightly labeled as pure speculation (as is everything i'm stating). if the hobbit part 1 comes out this month and the final box set comes out september or october, there is no reason to suspect we wouldn't be getting something additional in november or by the holidays…which is not 5-6 months away. i'd be shocked if the next cycle wasn't largely developed. the most recent hobbit article talks about how the author of the article was the lead designer for the hobbit expansion which could lead one to assume other cycles/expansions have a different lead designer that could have been working at the same time.

i know all of us that take the time to post on the boards are really the hard core of the hard core fans of this game. at the same time, the endless speculation of the future of the game is really fruitless. at the end of the day, they are either changing the distribution method, or they are not. the game as only been out for a year, so one change in the release system is no reason to run for the hills in alarm (not that you are…but many are). it's cool to see them do something different. testing the waters, so to speak.

either way, i suspect info will come out at GenCon (i hope!) that will give us a peek at the future of this game we all love so much!

ps: "And, until we get some evidence of another cycle I don't see any reasons we should assume that one is in the pipe." -- i hate to go all "formal logic" here, but absence of evidence is not akin to evidence of absence…you cannot assume anything here.

well whatever it is i hope we dont have long to find out…i see we had no preview monday, but when it does come i assume it will be to announc shadow and flames release. the week after that probably another hobbit spoiler, the week after that surely must give us some idea right?

In light of recent events… Shouldn't the Hobbit expansion now be split into three boxes?

/wolf

GhostWolf69 said:

yes i had a thread on that….i think it got buried…the general idea was it wouldnt as ffg wasnt actually following the movies, just releasing the packs at the same time

it will interesting though to see just how far ffg go to bow down to Jackson peer pressure

rich

Personally I would like to see bigger expansions to be their primary releases (The Hobbit, LoTR). Get those releases out of their system, because we all know everyone wants this. Who wouldn't want the Hobbit and LoTR expansions to tell the full story. In between have intermittent releases such as cycles that elaborate on the Tolkien world and or the appendices. I figure this product will have a shelf life like everything. Get to the main theme and story line as soon as you can. I say this because I want everything…NOW!!! I'm guilty…

I think there's a very simple reason as to why nothing has been announced yet: Gen Con. Most big gaming companies save big announcements for Gen Con where they will make as big a splash as possible and get the hard core gaming community on board in a big way. My guess is that FFG is planning a new cycle, and a good one, and they're saving the news for a big reveal.

I really don't think there's any worries for the future of this game. They just released a new FAQ which took a lot of work, they've got the Smaug battle pack for Gen Con, and they've announced some sort of public play program (probably not competitive, just a game night format). That kind of ground work costs time and money which means that FFG is not giving up on the game.

i should hope theyre not giving up on it! if they can manage to pull off GoT and warhammer and what not….pretty much children of tolkien himself, then i would hope the staff at ffg think twice before giving up on the greatest work of fiction ever produced….fiction which they themselves have permission to tap into. would be a huge waste of everyone's time, not to mention die hard tolkien fans….

needless rant over…..but seriously i think style is correct, they do have something in the works…though that still doesnt stop me being concerned until we et news of it

rich

Style75 said:

Style75 said:

I've been thinking that they're waiting for GenCon too (did they have a big announcement there last year?), Style75, thanks for mentioning that. Is it this weekend or next? I haven't heard about the "Smaug battle pack" can someone expand on this? I presume a PoD like MaO, and probably just quest cards and encounter deck.

Good call in regards to GEN CON. I'm thinking the same. A big announcement of either the second part of The Hobbit expansion or perhaps the next cycle. I don't forsee cycles going away. As most of you had mentioned, it works for GoT and Warhammer…why wouldn't it work for Tolkiens work.

Ooohhh…I just thought of something, perhaps the BIG announcement would be the re-workings of the Star Wars TCG. Which personally I'm waiting with baited breath.

John85 said:

Is call Battle in the Lake-city or something. Should be 1 more cool quest POD and i hope with difficulty 9 or some.

Glaurung said:

more likely battle in lake -town…though i cant remember the exact name myself

I think they are just doing it the way they want to with this game. Both CoC, aGoT and W:I are LCG's but with slightly different ways to release cards. All have "monthly" AP's of cause, but other than that they don't have the same way of releasing expansions or big box sets. W:I for instant, they have 3 big boxes and 6 cycles. AGoT have 8 big boxes and 8 cycles. CoC have 3 big boxes (incl. the new one to be released) and 7 cycles. So the fact that FFG now releases two big boxes for LotR doesn't mean or say squat. So ALL speculations regarding what FFG has in store for this game is just that. Speculations with a capital S. No one knows what FFG has in store for this game. And until anything else is stated by FFG there's no reason whatsoever to believe that they won't continue with the AP's as we know them. Sprinkling expansions whenever they want to or as it fits in.

BUT, until FFG do give us something to relate to, this thread is a nice way to just just some of the time waiting

mr.thomasschmidt said:

man do i wish they'd give us something already

richsabre said:

Yeah. I bet the designers are sitting one big room with a huge monitor, reading this thread; all with a big wicket grinn on their faces and on sitting with his finger an inch from the post button. Just waiting, waiting, waiting, enjoying the torture they are putting us through. "Should I push the button?" "Naah, wait a week or so" Bwahahahaha