Star Wars Trading Card Game
Attack of the Clones
My first reaction to this product had nothing to do with the game proper, or with the movie. It was a preoccupation with a specific problem: Does WotC know what it is doing? Which could be paraphrased, "Does this game have a future?"
I have been a longtime player of SWCCG (released by Decipher). Because Decipher planned for the future poorly, the more than $600 I spent on the game is mostly worthless. (The fact that WotC is now releasing this new version of a SW card game doesn’t help any either). Decipher failed to plan for the future, and because of that there are a LOT of Star Wars fans who have been badly burned. Fans who just happen to be the primary audience for this game. Now the Stacking mechanic is a good one, and one that demonstrates that they can avoid the ludicrous pitfalls of the Decipher CCG, which would allow Anakin Skywalker to fight Darth Vader. But can it grow beyond the movies entirely? Now that’s the trick, isn’t it…
In order for this TCG to succeed, it is crucial that WotC take immediate, concrete and clear steps to reassure the potential SW: TCG community that they are serious about this product, and intend to support it for the life of the WotC company, just as they do Magic. WotC should probably make absolutely certain that they have rights to all Star Wars story IP material in order to ensure consistent development beyond the movies. A first and welcome step would be some kind of full expansion dedicated to a concept, group, or conflict that was alluded to in the movies, but not widely presented. A kind of "potential permutation" of the events of the movies, with backstory, interesting characters, and so forth. Something like this would prove that WotC could "grow" this TCG beyond the movies, and provide evidence of consistent development that will extend well beyond the next few years. A perceived inability to go beyond the movies will destroy this game before it even gets off the ground.
This is especially important in light of the increasingly apparent weakness of Lucas' material. The visuals are certainly stunning (the best in the showbiz, really), but compelling stories and characters are the heart of Star Wars. Not stunning visuals (though they certainly help with a CCG).
THE CARDS
Of the many CCGs I have played, the card layout design for SW: TCG is easily my favorite (Lo5R ranks second). This is chiefly because of the "smooth borders" (my term) created around the card. Rather than feeling like a picture framed inside a box, inside another box; the whole card is used, to the very edges. The layout feels "roomier" and bigger than any CCG I have seen. One card that evokes similar feeling is the Executor from SWCCG.
Light side and Dark side cards look virtually identical. Aside from the specifics of the card itself, a blue lightsaber icon versus a red lightsaber icon in the upper right corner distinguishes the two main types of card. There is a third type, neutral cards, which can be included in any type of deck.
There are three main degrees of rarity (excluding foils), and the rarity of any given card is indicated in the lower right corner. Commons display a small circle, Uncommons a diamond, and Rares display a star. There are two types of boosters. The type I received contained 11 cards. Each contains 7 Commons: 3 Uncommons: 1 rare. Apparently, there is also a bonus foil rare every 5 packs or so.
One troubling fact I have noticed already (!) is that foil cards (which are usually rares) have a kind of warp to them. I have seen this on ALL of my foils, and NONE of the non-foils. The warping is minor, but definitely noticeable. One doesn't need to be very devious to realize how this can be exploited.
THE GAME
I played two five hour sessions with a friend who had never played a CCG before. We started with the introductory rules, then moved to the next “level” of rules (30 points). Then we threw 4 booster packs into the starter set, and built our own decks, playing full rules. The learning curve for the various rule sets is pretty smooth and easy. I asked my friend how easy it was to learn, how intuitive it was, and so forth, and he said he had no problems learning the game and he liked it (we are both college students, though).
There are three kinds of resources in SW: TCG -build points, determined by Light side player d6 die roll for both (specific modifiers apply) -Force, generates 4 each turn for each player -cards, drawn from the deck, which works the same for both, but usually a different total number of cards is drawn by each person, because of variations in setup phase.
There are three arenas (places of battle). -Space -Ground -Character There are three corresponding types of units, with the same names.
In addition to the three unit card types, there are Battle cards and Mission cards. Battle cards cost Force to use, and mission cards cost build points, as do all types of units, for all arenas.
The game starts (setup) by deploying 30 points of units before the game starts.
IS IT FUN?
The game is pretty fun (and bear in mind we were learning as we went). My first impression was that plays a lot like a board game. The layout of the "game-field" and reliance on dice immediately evoke that impression, especially when you play on the mat provided in the starter box.
It has some annoying quirks though. Generating and deploying units is dependent on the roll of a d6. When you get a string of ones and twos for even a few turns, that can finish the game right there. In situations like that, Battle Cards and few lucky rolls make all the difference. Which is not necessarily bad.
One interesting thought that occurred is that this may really be a move towards a "customizable board game". That phrase really captures what it feels like to play.
Battle is resolved arena by arena, with higher speed units attacking first. If the slower units survive, they are then permitted to attack. Power shows how many dice you use to attack. On a four or greater, that die dealt one damage. Some cards critical hit for varying bonus damage when a six is rolled. When damage equals health, the card goes to the discard pile. Attacks may not be split among multiple opponents.
Victory is achieved at the end of any turn when you have units occupying two of the three arenas, if the opponent does not occupy either.
One major weakness I discovered is that by making a deck that attempts to control only two of the three fields, your deck will function VASTLY more effectively in those fields, and exert essentially overwhelming dominance against a deck that plays all three. Yes, you relinquish any claim to one field, moving the opponent only one arena away from victory, but the opponent is then saddled with bunch of useless cards in his deck, and faces two arenas for which you are very well prepared and completely focused. Unless you get extremely unlucky, or build your deck very badly, you will crush your opponent in those two arenas, guaranteeing victory. This seems like a very bad game design decision to me.
The designers attempt to foil (heh) this kind of deck-building by providing one bonus building point per turn. The problem is that it isn't too hard to score second or third turn kills using this strategy, which means that extra 2 or 3 points is meaningless. They also REQUIRE 12 cards of each of the three types type be included (forcing 36 card of a pre-chosen type on the player, which is certain to be unwelcome).
When coercive restrictions this artificial are put on the deck-builder, that is a very bad sign. It speaks to a fundamental weakness in the design. This attempt will fail for several reasons. 1) You cannot force people to pay Build Points to deploy things they don’t want. 2) There is no limit to deck size 3) There is no limit to hand size (and the unwanted units would be discarded anyway)
This is different from the 4-card rule. Without something like that, all decks would be basically 5 cards or less, totals proportioned by need. This rule says you need 12 of this category of card, 12 of that category, and twelve of another category. In addition to the fact that the 4-card rule is in effect. Hey, why don’t you just build my deck for me?
For a detailed analysis, see The Two-Arena Deck at the end of this review. The effectiveness of this design was demonstrated over five or six games, of which I lost only one.
It seems likely that all competitive decks will be built to fight in only 2 of 3 arenas. In these situations, the likely result will be two decks that attempt serious battle in only one arena, while immediately conceding dominance of one arena to each. Statistically, in only one of three "randomly encountered" decks built by this strategy will battle in more than one arena (but what a game that will be, huh?).
In some ways that is interesting, but overall, it doesn't seem very smart. The experienced players will rip off the newbies’ heads, and the experienced players will play strange games against each other.
MULTIPLAYER
Multi-player for this game looks like a SERIOUS problem. You could play multi-player SWCCG (Decipher), by going with two each dark side and light side. It was funky, and some strange things could happen sometimes, but it worked. The fundamental game design for SWTCG is built for only two players, and it is hard to see how it can be changed in any way to accommodate 3, or 4, or more players. This is not good.
CONCLUSION
This game is clearly geared toward new players, and bringing in as large an audience as possible. Initially, it seems like a really fun game (and it is). However, there appear to be some glaringly bad design decisions, and the "board gamey"-ness of the basic game mechanics may alienate some. Finally, the complete absence of any multi-player modes beyond a simple one-on-one hurts the flexibility of this game, and limits its potential appeal.
This game definitely gets 5/5 for presentation and production quality, thanks to the card layout/design especially, in spite of the problems with warping foil cards (which will hopefully be corrected quickly). The game design is a big question mark though. There are a lot of questions and problems. It gets a four for this.
THE TWO ARENA DECK
The underlying premise: Create considerable card advantage and synergy bonuses for active units by building your deck to battle and achieve victory exclusively in two arenas, completely neglecting the third.
Assume for the examples that follow that the areas of focus are Space and Ground (not character), Dark side deck.
Creating the card advantage is simple. Let’s say your opponent builds 20 of his deck to each arena. Let’s say you build your deck to 25/25/12 (the minimum necessary for the third arena). You have gained a net 10-card advantage in the two areas of your focus. The cost: you forfeit one arena, and if your opponent takes either one of the other arenas, he wins. Doesn’t seem worth it, does it?
Its not that simple. Cards are only one of the necessary resources. All cards have a build cost that must be paid as well. This fact effectively balances the game because both players will always have roughly the same total BPs. In order to gain control of any arena, the opponent MUST pay build points to deploy a character there. Additionally, if his hand is very character heavy, he may end up being forced to pay far more in overbuilding that arena than he would need, or he may be forced or tricked into doing so by you (more on that later). So now he has paid for that arena in card advantage, and in build points. Still doesn’t seem worth it does it?
There’s more. The opening round is frequently very important. In addition to creating a net “general” loss of building points, if he builds heavily into an arena you are ignoring, he has weakened his ability to fight you off in the opening round. By diverting his resources into a non-contested arena, he may have committed suicide. What became clear after several games is that the initial 30 Build Points is as much as you will get for roughly the next SIX TO EIGHT turns. That opening round is absolutely critical. By diverting resources then, you can tremendously impact the rest of the game. Still not satisfied, eh?
Of course, there’s more. A tightly focused and synergistic deck operates far more effectively in the arenas of its choice. How? Focus – take for example the card “Pilots Dodge”. Pay two Force, prevent up to 2 damage to a Space or Ground unit. This card will protect both of the important unit types in this deck. It won’t protect a Character, but that’s irrelevant, you have already abandoned that arena. It’s efficient and unwasteful. Furthermore, you will have more of that card (or whatever card is useful in the arenas of choice), because you will not have any Mission or Battle cards used to protect the arena you are ignoring. All of your non-unit cards will be directed at only the two arenas chosen, making you more effective in those arenas, and wasting no cards on a lost cause. Synergy – the example deck above focuses on Space and Ground. By securing control of one of these arenas (which is very likely), units in that arena can then attack the other arena. How? Bombard and Ion Cannon. With Bombard, a space unit (for example, a Trade Federation War Freighter) can apply attack dice to the Ground battle. With Ion Cannon, a ground unit (for example, a Commerce Guild Droid Platoon) can apply attack dice to Space. Once control of one of the two arenas is gained (very likely considering almost all of your cards, force points, and build points are being dedicated to only two arenas), units in that region can help gain control of the other arena.
It still may not seem worth it (though synergy and focus are a lot more powerful than most people realize). That’s fine, because there is more. One of the problems pre-supposed here is the 12 “dead cards”, which prevent you from accumulating an even larger card advantage. The card advantage can be increased further by cards like Coruscant Freighter AA-9 (Draw 3, discard 2 cards from your hand). This is supposed to be a little bit of a tough decision, but of course it isn’t at all. Chuck the unwanted card type and net yourself one additional card, for a total of three cards you can use in exchange for two worthless ones. Because this requires units with special abilities (which tend to be targeted), this isn’t really that good, though it does certainly help. But that’s fine, because of course, there is more.
Thus far we have proceeded from the assumption that all of the 12 cards they force you to include are used toilet paper in a card sleeve. Which they aren’t.
Before an opponent has seen your deck work, he won’t know what you are doing or why you are deploying specific cards. Since those damn twelve cards are in your deck, you may as well do something useful with them if you can, besides cycle them out for something worthwhile. Of course, that means you have to deploy them, and pay a build cost. That doesn’t mean they have to expensive cards (but of course, they should be good cards). In fact, they should always be as cheap but powerful as possible.
For example, San Hill. Deploying him during set-up, he is build cost two, tap and you get 2 build points that turn, your opponent get 1 BP. So he creates a 1 BP advantage on the first turn (impossible to prevent). He also a character in your Character arena. With his low cost and your dedication to two other arenas, you absolutely should have units in all three arenas on the opening round. This means you get another 1 to your build points. He cost you a total of two build points, and by tapping him and just leaving him to die in the character arena, he earned you back those two points. And it increased your card advantage. Why? When you played that card the opening round, you immediately drew another one. You basically just dropped you deck size by 1 card. There is a minor cost…the two “compensation” points are not allocated immediately, but the advantage is that they can be allocated without your opponent knowing what you spent them on, and they immediately come into play opening round, if you choose.
And your opponent has to kill San Hill ASAP; he is generating 2 BP per round for you, and after a few rounds he will regret having left it there. If he does, that’s just gravy for you. The longer he lives, the worse things get for your opponent (but he won’t live long, trust me).
This is true for Wat Tambor as well (When the roll for build points is made, if Wat is in the Character arena, the Light side gets -1 build point this turn). He costs you 4…true, but he “earns back” 1 by reducing your opponent’s build on the opening round, effectively costing three…and he can attack. He has a decent chance of surviving one round (if not killing some chump on the other side), and earning you another one. Wat is expensive, but he is really good at provoking a strong response from the opposing side, potentially setting up a big opening advantage.
Another good one. The apparently worthless Infantry Battle Droid, B1 series. (Build cost 2, When this unit is discarded from the Character arena, draw a card). He is cheap, and goes further toward widening your card advantage, especially since you are putting him there expecting him to die. And of course, each round he lives, he gives you 1 BP, forcing your opponent to give you more cards early (this is just piling it on at this point). Because their abilities are automatic, one or two of these guys plus Wat is really irritating, fairly cheap, and effective.
Overall this has two advantages. 1) First, it forces him to deploy something to that arena, for bonus Build points and in order avoid losing the game VERY quickly due to your control of arenas. 2) It is likely that with a special ability card, he will expect you to protect it (and normally you would), and may build even more heavily in anticipation of that. In which case he already lost the game because he is weak in the two areas you are strong.
Making your “dead-12” work for you can be tough, but, as these examples show, definitely not impossible. Please note, the absolute best time to deploy the “dead-12” is during the set up phase because you immediately draw another card, which is obviously not true later. This allows you to rapidly and cheaply cycle through them, if necessary.
Essentially, a well built and played two-arena deck kills the opponent before the game really gets started. It generates a large early game advantage, uses that advantage to establish total dominance in one arena, is locked in a struggle for a second arena, and abandons the third. It then uses synergy and focus to dominate the second arena, and the game ends.
Some Suggested Cards
These cards fall into 3 main categories: -Deck manipulation -BP manipulation -Arena Synergistic cards
Commerce Guild Droid Platoon C-3PO (A) Coruscant Freighter AA-9 (A) Departure Time Infantry Battle Droid, B1 Series Jedi Patrol Nute Gunray (A) Plot the Secession Reek Shu Mai (A) Trade Federation War Freighter Wat Tambor (A) Trade Federation C-9979 Watto (A) Wedding of Destiny
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