Living Card Games From FFG Catch-All

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I know we have quite a few players of the LCGs from Fantasy Flight Games. If you're not familiar, a "Living Card Game" is a collectible card game from Fantasy Flight games. Instead of the traditional model of buying starter decks and supplementing the starter decks with booster packs, a player buys the core game and then FFG will release monthly expansion packs that give players a complete "play set" of all the cards in the expansion pack. It's a much more affordable model since there are no "blocks" that get phased out. Expansion packs are $15 and usually the core set is around $30. For competitive players, they'll usually want 2 core sets but it's still pretty reasonable when compared to other CCGs.

The current games that are out are: Star Wars, A Game of Thrones, the Lord of the Rings, Netrunner, Call of Cthulhu, and Warhammer Fantasy. If you're not interested in playing with real cards, there is a system called "OCTGN" (http://www.octgn.net/) that allows players to play the game for free and is fully supported by FFG. The only downside to the online play is that they require expansions to be out for six months before being added to the online game.

I was thinking maybe we could get a little community going here of players either online or if we're in the same area in person. i know i'm not theo nly one who plays.

Wow, I would really like to be able to play some of these online. I never had the right group for them in person. Specifically I'd like to play the GoT one.

I've been playing a lot of Android: Netrunner with Demyx, but I'm not really interested in the other LCGs. Coming from the old CCG version of Netrunner I'm really liking the new distribution model and I think it gives a much bigger emphasis on exploring the options in deckbuilding than the old model did.

I really love Netrunner! The opposing game play is so well done and the cyberpunk flavor between the different factions is really nice. I have a group I play with at work during lunch breaks. I also have Octgn setup for Netrunner all the way up to the latest expansion. My name on there is RiverRatMatt but I haven't actually played a game yet.

I learned how to play Android: Netrunner this weekend, and I'm pretty excited about it! I love to have decks built and ready to play when I get to PAX East, but the first expansion What Lies Ahead already seems to be sold out everywhere and won't be available again until they reprint and sell the entire block as a whole in May.

I'm glad to find out about OCTGN, and will definitely try playing around with that later this week.

psoplayer wrote:

I learned how to play Android: Netrunner this weekend, and I'm pretty excited about it! I love to have decks built and ready to play when I get to PAX East, but the first expansion What Lies Ahead already seems to be sold out everywhere and won't be available again until they reprint and sell the entire block as a whole in May.

I'm glad to find out about OCTGN, and will definitely try playing around with that later this week.

What Lies Ahead is pretty good for Corp but I don't think you'll do that bad without it. The Cyber Exodus expansion just came out and it is NICE! And the new Shaper Runner "Chaos Theory" (aka the Wunderkind) lets you build a lean & mean 40 card deck. The Trace Amount expansion is a must buy. Liberated Account is incredible in an Anarch deck and the new Jinteki identity prevents runners from running on remotes until they've used a click running on a central server.

Just checked and CoolStuffInc has Cyber Exodus & Trace Amount in stock for $9.99 each.

I'm pretty sure the guys I was learning from had all the stuff. I had occasion to play Liberated Account several times and it is indeed incredible. I also played a round against the new Jinteki ident and it's a real show stopper for any early game aggression. I was about to get a feel for a slimmer deck with the new Shaper but we ran out of time, so that remains to be seen. Given that I really want all of it, and we're already halfway through, I'll probably try to borrow a few that I'm interested in for PAX while I wait for the collected Genesis box to come out in a few more months.

Hoping to pick up Cyber Exodus next weekend at the FLGS, assuming they still have copies. The new identity looks fun.

psoplayer wrote:

reprint and sell the entire block as a whole in May. :(

Whered did you hear this from? I don't recall seeing an official announcement about a boxed version of Genesis Cycle.

The guys who were teaching the game to me casually mentioned it would be a thing. There's no sign of it on Amazon or Cool Stuff, but Potomac Dist has a pre-order listing. The cynic in me assumes that they're keeping the more obvious distributors quiet on the subject to avoid discouraging newcomers like me from going all out and purchasing all the currently available (slightly more expensive) individual packs. I also assume complete collections printed at the end of a cycle are the norm for Fantasy Flight's LCGs, and we would simply know better if we had been following Game of Thrones. etc?

psoplayer wrote:

The guys who were teaching the game to me casually mentioned it would be a thing. There's no sign of it on Amazon or Cool Stuff, but Potomac Dist has a pre-order listing. The cynic in me assumes that they're keeping the more obvious distributors quiet on the subject to avoid discouraging newcomers like me from going all out and purchasing all the currently available (slightly more expensive) individual packs. I also assume complete collections printed at the end of a cycle are the norm for Fantasy Flight's LCGs, and we would simply know better if we had been following Game of Thrones. etc?

It's never been done before for any of the other games. Often times at the end of a block they will have a deluxe expansion, but it is just a big collection of new cards, not a collected group of the block itself.

Also, actually looking at that link it looks like it has nothing to do with FFG packing the expansions together. Just a convenient way the distributor is bundling the 6 disparate packs into one listing. As evidenced by the MSRP being $14.95, aka the price of a single data pack.

shoptroll wrote:

Hoping to pick up Cyber Exodus next weekend at the FLGS, assuming they still have copies. The new identity looks fun.

If the worry is about availability, a lot of places currently have it in stock. Including Amazon and CCG Armory.

The theme of Netrunner never grabbed me. I do own the core of Lord of the Rings and one expansion. I have more expansions on my wishlist, as well as the Star Wars LCG. I haven't looked into any of the others though.

maverickz wrote:
shoptroll wrote:

Hoping to pick up Cyber Exodus next weekend at the FLGS, assuming they still have copies. The new identity looks fun.

If the worry is about availability, a lot of places currently have it in stock. Including Amazon and CCG Armory.

I seem to be picking up the last copy of the packs at the FLGS every time I go to grab one about 2 weeks after release. Nice to know there's a backup option.

shoptroll wrote:
maverickz wrote:
shoptroll wrote:

Hoping to pick up Cyber Exodus next weekend at the FLGS, assuming they still have copies. The new identity looks fun.

If the worry is about availability, a lot of places currently have it in stock. Including Amazon and CCG Armory.

I seem to be picking up the last copy of the packs at the FLGS every time I go to grab one about 2 weeks after release. Nice to know there's a backup option.

I've been getting into Netrunner here at work, as several buddies play it. All I have to say about the new data pack is: I LOVE Pop-Up Window. It looks like such a useless card, but it more than pays for itself.

Netrunner is quickly becoming one of my favorite games. I'm digging Star Wars a lot as well, but it is still a bit fiddly and not fully clicking with me yet

Sweet! Love this thread already.

The only FFG LCG I play is Game of Thrones, though I own Netrunner. (Haven't managed to get it out yet - not much time for 2 player games).

The main problem I have with the LCG model is that it really requires people to take equal individual responsibility for their own deckbuilding and card purchasing in order to have balance. I run a game group with my friends and take care of all the games and rules for them, so if I whip out the GoT LCG, I have to have 4 relatively balanced decks ready to go. As it is, I have about 11, from a couple of copies of the base set plus all the major house expansions. However, if I was to keep up with all the releases, I'd have to be constantly modifying ALL my decks to make sure they're all fun to play against each other, which is a pain. I know what's supposed to happen is we're all supposed to take care of our own decks and pit them against each other, but that's just not how my group works.

Still, I have found that the cards offered in the major expansions do offer enough variety to keep the game interesting without having to go into the chapter packs. I kind of like that model of LCG - base game, major expansions once in a while for people who want a bit more flavor, constant chapter packs for competitive folks who play all the time.

OCTGN is a good system, but for games like Game of Thrones where there are TONS of cards to choose from, deckbuilding can be a bit daunting. I'd suggest looking at some of the decks suggested on cardgameDB.com, which is a great resource for all these games, and building from there.

I'd be happy to play on OCTGN any time - I'll teach people Game of Thrones, or I'll learn another game.

Like this thread. Have Netrunner since October but haven't cracked open yet. Played OG Netrunner and expect the living model to ve a good fit.

Maclintok wrote:

Played OG Netrunner and expect the living model to ve a good fit.

As another OG NR player, there's a lot to like about the new game and distribution model. I don't think I could go back to the old game now.

As of a few days ago, the first big Netrunner expansion is announced with a few cards spoiled. I'm definitely excited to see some variation in the varied influence available to the new identities, and shapers are my favorite runners so I'm on board for more of that.

Netrunner finally clicked with me and I made my first constructed deck this weekend. I think it turned out pretty well, it was Chaos Theory that I later reworked and tried as a Kate deck. Next I want to try making an NBN, though I'm not sure they have enough toys to be viable yet.

I've been digging into the LotR LCG. That game is super difficult. The game being coop with a group allows for solitaire play which is great for those times that I want to get into a game but have no other willing participants. Even when it is stomping me into the ground, I am still having fun and trying to think of how my deck could change in subtle ways to succeed. Aside from being mechanically fun to play, the lore for the game actually comes through really strong as well. It surprised me just how well it tells a story as you're playing since it is really just a card game.

Where is the discussion for this game?

Demyx wrote:

Netrunner finally clicked with me and I made my first constructed deck this weekend. I think it turned out pretty well, it was Chaos Theory that I later reworked and tried as a Kate deck.

And I learned Bioroids aren't great unless you stack them

I'm a big fan of the Game of Thrones LCG. Playing two-player with just decks against each other is okay, but a full four-player game with the various Roles selected each round is where the game really shines. So many great tradeoffs to weigh when selecting which Role you take each round, not the least of which is who it prevents from attacking you, and who you get a bonus for attacking. I had a solid group playing this a couple of years ago, and we had some amazingly tense 4-player games.

The two things that turn me off are how long games can take to play (teaching makes it 10X worse), and how quickly FFG expanded the game with all the Chapter Packs. It's a nice idea, but there are dozens of Packs out now and it feels like an enormous money pit to get "up to date" with everything that's out there. I still have just the Core Set, and I know there are balance issues, but I would have no idea where to start with Chapter Packs. Not sure it's even worth it at this point, as I haven't played the game in over a year.

Demyx wrote:

tried as a Kate deck

Kate + Sneakdoor is my favorite so far. Just picked up Cyber Exodus over the weekend and finally can try out splashing a Femme Fatale for combos with Test Run.

NBN might initially seem geared to run a tag&bag strategy (give runner tags, then flatline them) but you're probably better off running fast advance powered by heavy tagging and Psychographics. Installs and scores agendas in a single turn, never giving them a chance to run at it.

psoplayer wrote:

NBN might initially seem geared to run a tag&bag strategy (give runner tags, then flatline them) but you're probably better off running fast advance powered by heavy tagging and Psychographics. Installs and scores agendas in a single turn, never giving them a chance to run at it.

I don't think there's enough fast advance in the game yet to make fast advancement a viable strategy. Unless I'm mistaken you have Kaguya and Biotic Labor which won't let you do that much for fast advancement. I have a feeling with the number of 3 difficulty agenda currently in the pool they're reluctant to add anything like Chicago Branch (Asset which gives 3 credit, 1 click -> 2 advancement tokens) or the other fast advancement events back into the game.

I think if you're playing NBN you're better trolling the runner's economy than outright damage. You'd obviously splash Weyland for Urban Renewal, but that'd be it for damage. Bury the runner in tags, disrupt their economy and work on advancing your agendas while the runner is too busy digging out of the tag heap. Slap them with the Urban Renewal and never let your credits dip below the cost of a second UR to induce paranoia as needed.

psoplayer wrote:

Kate + Sneakdoor is my favorite so far. Just picked up Cyber Exodus over the weekend and finally can try out splashing a Femme Fatale for combos with Test Run.

Considered Sneakdoor Beta for the deck, but didn't go with it. I believe I'm using my influence on something like Forged Activation Order, Emergency Shutdown, Account Siphon, Femme Fatale, Stimhack.

NBN might initially seem geared to run a tag&bag strategy (give runner tags, then flatline them) but you're probably better off running fast advance powered by heavy tagging and Psychographics. Installs and scores agendas in a single turn, never giving them a chance to run at it.

I agree, I was definitely going to try a fast advance deck, not a tag and bag, using influence to pull in Ice from other factions (to bolster NBN's mediocre ice) instead of blowing it all on double Scorched Earth. Breaking News makes great Archer fodder, for example.

Shop, with NBN you have Psychographics, Astroscript Pilot Program and SanSan City Grid to help with fast advance, and there's also Trick of Light you could potentially pull in for help. I think with all those cards you have a much better shot at getting your three point agendas out in one turn.

Demyx wrote:

Forged Activation Order, Emergency Shutdown

I don't think I can stress enough how evil that pair is.

Shop, with NBN you have Psychographics, Astroscript Pilot Program and SanSan City Grid to help with fast advance, and there's also Trick of Light you could potentially pull in for help. I think with all those cards you have a much better shot at getting your three point agendas out in one turn.

I plead ignorance in that case. We've only played NBN once so I don't associate fast advance with them, for some reason that seems more like something Weyland would be interested in.

Yeah, I was only looking at those cards / thinking about it since I want to build that deck

Forged Activation Orders / Emergency Shutdown are definitely awesome. If it isn't clear I like to harry the Corp a lot!

Boudreaux wrote:

I'm a big fan of the Game of Thrones LCG. Playing two-player with just decks against each other is okay, but a full four-player game with the various Roles selected each round is where the game really shines. So many great tradeoffs to weigh when selecting which Role you take each round, not the least of which is who it prevents from attacking you, and who you get a bonus for attacking. I had a solid group playing this a couple of years ago, and we had some amazingly tense 4-player games.

The two things that turn me off are how long games can take to play (teaching makes it 10X worse), and how quickly FFG expanded the game with all the Chapter Packs. It's a nice idea, but there are dozens of Packs out now and it feels like an enormous money pit to get "up to date" with everything that's out there. I still have just the Core Set, and I know there are balance issues, but I would have no idea where to start with Chapter Packs. Not sure it's even worth it at this point, as I haven't played the game in over a year.

My advice is to ignore the chapter packs and just pick up the house expansions. I basically play this like a board game now, where I bought two copies of the core set and one of each house expansion, built 11 relatively balanced decks, and stopped. Now when I bring it out to play there is enough variety to keep things interesting but I still don't have to keep buying chapter packs. IMO deck building using chapter packs only makes sense if you're just taking care of your own decks - if I'm trying to build balanced decks to play with when I invite my friends over, I just don't see how.

shoptroll wrote:
Shop, with NBN you have Psychographics, Astroscript Pilot Program and SanSan City Grid to help with fast advance, and there's also Trick of Light you could potentially pull in for help. I think with all those cards you have a much better shot at getting your three point agendas out in one turn.

I plead ignorance in that case. We've only played NBN once so I don't associate fast advance with them, for some reason that seems more like something Weyland would be interested in.

On the contrary, I don't think there are currently enough ways to "bag" in order to have a reliable NBN tag&bag deck. If you're only playing the core set there's probably not enough stuff to make fast advance work either, but once you have the Trace Amount data pack it probably becomes the ideal way to play NBN. It's not something I've gotten into myself, but my former roommate (Klax) has managed to polish up a pretty reliable NBN fast advance in the past couple of weeks. I'll try to convince him to share the deck here.

Got our second local Netrunner tournament tomorrow. Finished second in the last one with Kate and a base set HB identity deck. Keeping the corp ident the same, but changing up a lot and running a super lean Chaos Theory deck. We shall see how it goes.

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