I got to demo the Star Wars LCG at my LGS today. I played 3 games in total (2 light side and 1 Dark Side) against another new player. Neither one of us really had all the rules down while playing the game but so far in these 3 games I was very discouraged by the lack of Star Wars feel to the game. Comparing it to the other LCG I have played which are LOTR and AGOT, this game failed to capture the epicness of the Star Wars that I have come to love over the last 20+ years.

When I play LOTR or AGOT, I get a unique and intriquing experience that makes me feel like I am a part of these epic books. Characters like Gandalf, Frodo, Jon Snow, Daenerys and Tyrion Lannister bring the games to life. In Star Wars LCG, I felt very disconnected from the characters, in both games where I played the light side the coolest unit that I drew was an A-Wing. No Luke, or Leia not even C-3PO. As for the single play of the Dark Side, I was able to put out Vader on the first turn but even he couldn't keep the game interesting.

Game played felt rushed and messy. I never felt like I had options to do anything and the cards in my hand didn't keep me in the game in the least bit. In fairness I know that the demo decks were rebuilt by one of the guys from the store. So I can blame him more for my crappy hands than the demo itself.

The guys that run my LGS, said it took them about 8 games before they got hooked. So I planned on giving this game the benefit of the doubt and will give it another 10 tries at the least. I'm not ready to accept that FFG messed up a Star Wars game after their impressive track record with games like LOTR and AGOT.

Totally disagree, my first impressions were positive. SW LCG is great imo, and much much more tactical than other LCGs I've played.

Sprenger said:

Well, it's very good that you're giving it a chance! Personally I'm seeing a lot of potential for tactics and combos in the cards out there, and getting iconic characters will be easier if you put two objective sets in the deck that has them. Post back to us when you've tried it those ten times and tell us your impressions

Don't get me wrong. I want this game to be as great as the other LCGs. I hope that today's games were just the result of poor deck building for the demo. Instead of just leaving them broken up into the 4 different decks, they put the "best" sets from each of the 2 main factions along with the Han Solo and Boba Fett sets together. I really like to play a pure Rebel deck hopefully next time I will get the chance to try them out.

Some of the things I found messy, which is probably just the lack of rule knowledge, was the Balance of Force. Specifically counting total force, when a player gets to activiate the force bonus (increasing the DS dial or doing a damage to a DS objective) and the Refresh step seems backwards in IMO.

Sprenger said:

Oh dear, yeah, then I get you didnt have much of a good experience. Putting all three factions in there is pure madness right now. My tip; Rebuild the decks to include just the "pure" factions and one of the neutral sets (a total of eight objectives) or if you have access to a second core build a deck with one pure faction with 10-12 objectives and double up on your favourites!

The Smugglers & scum really seems impossible to include in a good way right now, the sets we were given are basically promos for their theme and feel.

This game will take some getting used to. As long as you remember that the force balance is counted among non exhausted characters at the end of each turn, and the balance shifts to the side with the most force committed that isnt exhausted it'll work out. The effect of the force doesnt appear until the start of your own turn, so you have to "hold" the force throughout your opponents turn to reap the benefits

Have fun with your games!

Sprenger said:

Yeah, that sounds like a horrible idea. Definitely reserve judgment for the game until after you've gotten a chance to play with the suggested learn-to-play decks.

I really like it! I am stoked for when this game gets into my grubby little hands (which, hopefully for me, will be after Christmas). I like how the gameplay works and how deckbuilding works as well. I have had mixed feelings that it's only set during the original trilogy, but I've gotten over them.

The Jedi vs Sith demo decks that were run at GenCon had lots of flavor, and I even got to use Yoda to suckerpunch a Rancor that had been messing me up for turns. This is a very subtle game, and as for getting the characters you want, it's important to not hold onto cards too long. This is a 12 turn game where you could draw up to 6 cards per turn. You are expected to burn through your deck… you'll find that Luke sooner or later.

I don't know why I've got this idea, but I've spent the past two months or so thinking you played the game, as Light Side say, with a combination of Rebels and Jedi, or Rebels and Scoundrels, or Jedi and Scoundrels, you know? Like Cthulhu, mixing two factions from the same side.

Not sure why…

spalanzani said:

I think this is viable, with some thought put into it. Likely you'll want a 50/50 mix to minimize the risk that you get stuck without resources of one of the types, or perhaps even a 70/30 mix in the favor of the faction that you dont use the affiliation card for.

However, each of the factions have a good internal theme and synergy as far as I can see. So my thought is that mix decks will be more viable once the game has grown a bit and that single faction decks are the most efficient with just the core set(s)

AshesFall said:

That, or you could do this: 4 Rebel Alliance objective sets, 4 for the Jedi, and 2 Neutral. That wouldn't be bad either.

spalanzani said:

Check out the spoilers. The light side should be able to do this fairly easily.