More than two strategies?

Though really a game doesn't need it... When I last checked this game during... oh... set one, I'd noticed there were really only two ways to win. Lots of dark and life gain, stalling your opponent and killing them in challenges, or go super fast on world travel.

I mean its awesome that any game is actually able to even HAVE two victory conditions that work these days! But do they work? Does it balance well (these two different strategies)? Are there more than one way to accomplish those two strategies?

Cost of entry

Is there a high incidence of rare cards in this game to get a deck? I mean... how awefully horrible do other decks slaughter people if they don't have the rare cards? How tough ARE rare cards to get?

Prize support

How is tournament organization? I recall there being 'hearts' on the backs of the set 1 KH packs that one would redeem for stuff... that still going on?

New cards

Are the new cards on the average significant' better than the older cards?

Characters

I've noticed that there is a Riku with 6 attack, no magic and like 7 hearts, and a Sora with less hearts but one magic... both level 2... is this balanced? Would anyone play that Sora for that one additional magic, over that Riku? Are there 'Sora' Only cards that are SOOO much better such as to warrant the play of Sora over Riku?

vermillian said:

More than two strategies? - I'd say the two win conditions have balanced nicely. In set one, World Racer was dominant; so much so that if you played an aggro deck, you usually got laughed at. Set 2 is when Aggro shined; Riku got the Soul Eater attack card that allowed you to deal 2HP a challenge, along with Stopra and Destiny Islands for Draw Power and speed and suddenly the tide was turning, you saw more decks that went aggro or a combination of Aggro and WR. With Set 3, it is honestly tough to call what the meta will warrant...it seems Aggro/Control is the choice of many, while WR could potentially come out on top if built right...the Balance or Jack of all Trades deck that can WR and Aggro is always a bit of an enigma and it seems that it would be incredibly difficult to handle both playing with and against...so Set 3 is a mystery as of right now.

Cost of entry - This game seems to be one of the few where a deck that doesn't pack a whole lot of SRs can win; at least that used to be the case before Set 3. Now you've got powerhouse Super Rares like Sephiroth, Cloud, Ultima Weapon, and The King that could definitely turn the tide of the game in many situations. On the bright side though, it's not really all that hard to get SR cards you need. There's usually somebody on the forums willing to trade ya one for the right price. So as of right now, in terms of deck construction, it's a pretty even playing field.

Prize support - Tournament Organization is kind of non-existant at the moment as official Organized Play hasn't been set up yet. I understand it's in the works and until then FFG usually holds a special Tournament every other month or so. As for the Heart Points, there was a redemption for them that will last till the end of the year (The sheet you send in has dissapeared however...) But new packs of Set 3 are devoid of HP so I believe the HP were replaced with the point system on the new forums.

New cards - The simple answer to this is Yes. The "Power Creep" is slightly evident...as someone playing a deck of all Set 3 cards could EASILY slaughter a deck using only Set 1 Cards.

Characters - There's a decent variety in Player Cards now with the introduction of Dark/Players. While the Dark/Players aren't very good they do add variety though. Riku is the dominant player of choice if your running Aggro as he can use the mandatory Soul Eater and more attack power on average...while Sora is good for WR as he usually has more HP, a lower level for going first, and that 1 Magic that can come in handy more than you think it would.

vermillian said:

Good questions Vermillian!

There are more and more strategies to win all the time and with set 3 there are new ways to play too! Actually, the best thing about Kingdom Hearts (imo) is the relative ease of play together with a surprising amount of depth. The other best thing about KH is the game's balance, I really don't think there are any ban-worthy cards (ok - this is pre my rant about parasite cage needing some sort of errata or published rule list). I also love the different ways to play, different rulesets makes all of your cards playable in different formats - see Neverland, Halloween Town, etc. each of these formats have different strategies to win as well

Cost is better than average for a card game. Granted a lot of this is because of the Kingdom Hearts 'limit 1' on most powerful cards, and a playset of 3 instead of 4 which seems to be the relative norm for most other card games I play.

Prize support is pretty sweet to tell you the truth. At least when compared to the number of players that are attending these events (which I am hoping will be more and more in the future).

Power creep is arguable. Honest, there are new strategies that eveolve from new cards - I need to playtest more to let you know if they are actually more powerful - i.e. consistent victories. Basically though this game enforces decks with variety yet themed variety and even though the new cards are'nt more powerful they can force other players to find answers that are in the new sets, answers that aren't more powerful but useful at defending against other, again not powerful but new cards.

Some character cards are more or less obsolete in regular play. But they are all fun in Neverland format! Note, I recently have started using lvl 1 Sora from the base set... Normally it is made obsolete by the lvl 1 promo sora who only has one less heart point and one more attack point. Usually the attack point is worth it. However! Come the new set the lvl 1 Sora with one less attack point is fine granted I run another card that makes attack points useless So what is old and obsolete is new, each and every card is balanced statwise, just that depending on the meta and how you build your deck a certain stat is more useful/viable under different circumstances. Stats being going first, life, attack, magic.

- dut

vermillian said:

I do not think so. I think there is a nice distribution to the point that you can build a decent deck with just commons and uncommons (one of the reasons I advocate a special format of no rares or promos. In the end, rare cards do help your deck operate better (such as the rare keyblade attack cards and some of the friends) but I think you can still have a nice deck with 0 rares. Of course, the SRUs are terribly tough to obtain on the flipside but I do not consider them absolutely vital.

vermillian said:

Tournaments are in existence. They are basically at a grassroots movement approach, but I would love to see regionals and larger KH TCG only tournaments develop. Heart points can be redeemed for previous promo cards.

vermillian said:

It depends, some are, others are equal, others are worse. It's a nice mix.

vermillian said:

1. I'd say the strategies are balanced. With Riku, Soul Eater can conquer as an aggro. Also, the new Sephiroth card basically gives a bigger boost to aggros. But the WRs have Cloud which can easily clear off a world with a little extra support.

2. It is easily possible to win without SRUs. If you know your cards inside out and have a special strategy, you can win. Luck play a role too, but as long as your cards support themselves, it'll work. However, King, Sephiroth, Ultima and many other SRUs can help a LOT!

3. There is a redemption for the points but the form is gone and set 3 has no HP. But many of the Promos are worth it! Not really any official tournies right now.

4. The cards do get more powerful as the sets go on.

5. All players can be better or worse depending on your strategy. Though many's eyes are caught on the not yet released Sora Lv 2 Promo that only Roxas_Lawliet, WaytotheDawn, Togashi, and I have.