Please Fill the Gaps In For Me: a LOTR History from ROTK block to now

[jdizzy001]

You can't play a game of cards with someone who refuses to use anything beyond set 10 especially when your using everything (1-19).  That is why we have the WDT format (11-19)!  Yea!  Seriously though, I would love to play more games using the latter sets but there are few of us who use them.

[MR. Lurtzy]

I feel honored to be in the presence of such a master interpreter.

[jdizzy001]

I would like to play more games with players using only sets 11-19.

[simplegarak]

The game pretty much hit the "reset" button for set 11 by creating new powerful combinations and largely ostracizing the former playing base. Heije explained it pretty well, but a few other problems were the removal of foil subsets and overproduction of cards for sets 11-13 which drove down the values (a lot of those boxes are ~$10 from reputable stores).

Most of the people in our area got out when Decipher hit the reset button with Shadows.  Between the change of cultures and the power escalation the game just died here, and got much worse as the sets went on.

The reset COULD have been done better (I posted ideas on how) but like they tended to, Decipher half-a'd it and so it ended up pleasing nobody.  Yes money was a concern and with the movies wrapping up (and the Hobbit no where in sight thanks to the scuffle between Jackson & Newline), I think part of the company knew the game was going to die (insert "self-fulfilling prophecy").  I still get angry at reflections being set 9 instead of 10 (whereas if it and Mt Doom had traded numbers, there would have been a glorious synergy to it all).  Reflections wasn't bad, giving new players an easier way to get into the game and releasing some neat new cards that didn't quite fit in any other sets (SOME of the alternate ring-bearers I do like), however you could tell playtesting went out the window as Mt Doom had some of the most horrible and overpowered cards ever.

In another trick to try and slow the game's death, Decipher introduced card rotation.  What made everyone so mad was that rotation was announced after several weeks where officials had sworn up and down that the game would never use that.  Had the company been honest up front and even designed the later sets to better take advantage of rotation, things would have been better.

i loved sets 11-19.  however, i hate the hunter keyword.  Movie block is the way to go, unless you're looking to power game.  nevertheless, most people collect sets 1-19.  there is a definant power creep starting in set 7 which grows exponentially until you hit set 19.  Set 19 was good but more of a farewell to the gamers than a good solid set.  you should look at the WDT format if you're curious about the latter sets. (wink, wink, plug, plug.)

In my dream rules, it's sets 1-10 & 19 that are allowed.

The hunter keyword remains the only one I really, REALLY hated.

[legolas3333]

In my dream rules, it's sets 1-10 & 19 that are allowed.

so play a sort of limited austrian format

[simplegarak]

so play a sort of limited austrian format

Possibly, I've been away awhile so I'm still catching up on all the updates and formats and changes that have happened in the interim.

[legolas3333]

http://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php/topic,2330.0.html

[simplegarak]

http://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php/topic,2330.0.html

Thanks.

Hmmm... on that post:

     --> one site of your deck may consist of one of the following: Cards from set 1-10 OR 7-19

Does he mean "one SIDE of your deck"?  Because otherwise it's very confusing.

(though part of me is sad because Knights were always one of my favorite themes and the big D didn't really sync them until shadows on)

[MR. Lurtzy]

http://lotrtcgwiki.com/forums/index.php/topic,2330.0.html

Does he mean "one SIDE of your deck"?  Because otherwise it's very confusing.

Yes, that's how it works.

[Waldron_man]

Newbie here, new to the forums, and newly back to this game after missing out on keywords like "hunter".

I'm no newbie to gaming, however, and I've seen this before:  Escalation of playing piece power, banning of certain "broken" characters, retirement of sets from tournament play, and evolution/replacement of entire factions.  What game was that?  Wizkids' Mechwarrior Dark Age.  Eventually, this game flatlined, expansions were canceled, and tournament support (AKA prize support) dried up just when I was getting interested again.  When other WK games suffered as well, the company was eventually bought out by Topps.  To some degree, WK suffered from (or got on the wrong side of) the secondary market.

All along, players complained about these directions that the company was taking, and accused them of money-grabbing, but now I see that it may be unavoidable:  Can a collectible game really stay popular and financially viable indefinitely?  Probably not without somehow alienating the original fan base; those vocal inhabitants of message boards like these.   

Sort of off-topic of LotR history, yet at the same time back on-topic of the gaming industry.

[simplegarak]

Newbie here, new to the forums, and newly back to this game after missing out on keywords like "hunter".

I'm no newbie to gaming, however, and I've seen this before:  Escalation of playing piece power, banning of certain "broken" characters, retirement of sets from tournament play, and evolution/replacement of entire factions.  What game was that?  Wizkids' Mechwarrior Dark Age.  Eventually, this game flatlined, expansions were canceled, and tournament support (AKA prize support) dried up just when I was getting interested again.  When other WK games suffered as well, the company was eventually bought out by Topps.  To some degree, WK suffered from (or got on the wrong side of) the secondary market.

All along, players complained about these directions that the company was taking, and accused them of money-grabbing, but now I see that it may be unavoidable:  Can a collectible game really stay popular and financially viable indefinitely?  Probably not without somehow alienating the original fan base; those vocal inhabitants of message boards like these.   

Sort of off-topic of LotR history, yet at the same time back on-topic of the gaming industry.

I dunno... Magic is still going strong.

It's one of those things that will always be tricky.  If a game goes long enough, rotation will be inevitable I think, unless they build into the system itself a sort of rotation (as Privateer Press seems to have with Monsterpocalyse).  You think the companies would learn that you don't need to do increasingly powerful cards, just something that's different.  Compare King & Siege with Mt Doom for example.

[Waldron_man]

Good points.  Once they start down the road of "power-creep", it's hard to turn around.

An alternative to black-box costing formulas were the structured "constructions tables" published by FASA for their Battletech and Star Trek games.  These lead to the less-than-satisfying tradeoffs: "if you want that extra machine gun, you have to eliminate .5 tons of armor."

As for me, I'm only back into a game with randomized-packaging as a business model because it is no longer necessary to pay full retail.  Keeping up with Decipher and WK in their prime was discouraging.  This has no doubt been hashed out before, too.

Off-topic again, sorry.  I will diminish, and go into the West.  And then go buy a few more ROS starters for just $5.50 each.

[MR. Lurtzy]

Off-topic again, sorry.  I will diminish, and go into the West.  And then go buy a few more ROS starters for just $5.50 each.

:O Where?

[simplegarak]

Off-topic again, sorry.  I will diminish, and go into the West.  And then go buy a few more ROS starters for just $5.50 each.

Yes, I too need some Rise of Saruman starters.
:O Where?

[Mythdracon]

PLEASE TELL US! So we can give you free cards in exchange. Teehee.