Legend of the 5 Rings Demos Saturday 8/23 2-5PM

TheEyes100 · Legend of the 5 Rings Demos Saturday 8/23 2-5PM

Right, so Seth and I have watched our playgroup shrink due to a few players moving away, and, this, along with our ever present desire to have a larger playgroup is going to be pushing us to start doing Legend of the Five Rings demos more frequently. Currently they've been on an occasional (whenever we have someone who is interested usually) basis, but I think we're going to start doing them weekly or bi-monthly.

If you haven't heard of the game before, have found the prospect of entering into a game that dates back to 1995 daunting, or even know a little of the fictional world of Rokugan and want to learn more before deciding if the game is for you you might want to visit www.l5r.com and have a look around. You should be able to glean the idea of the game, its history, and get an idea of what clan banner you might wish to represent if you decide to give the game a try.

To give you some idea of what to expect from the game as far as rules go... think a cross between MtG and A Game of Thrones. Now, this isn't to say it's like either game in the least, but it does share many of the same mechanics. At the same time there is not a single win condition, but four possible win conditions, which, when mixed with the 9 clans, makes for a hugely varied number of decks that you will see being played.

As far as the player base, there is a very good blend of new and experienced players. One thing the player base has in common is the intelligence level... the CCG requires you to think a LOT, and thus tends to attract a bunch of people who can do so. In general the base tends to be older, enthusiastic about the game, loud as hell, and more interested in having a good time and playing the game as opposed to being asses who only care about winning.

Now, before you go running out and spending money or think this is a huge money game to get into, here's a couple of things to keep in mind:

1) Don't buy before you demo. Seth and I have a few thousand cards we don't use between us and will you help out by getting you started with many of the cards you'll need. This isn't to say you shouldn't support Jerod in the least, because you should. I sell singles online and still get all of my product from him as opposed to online where I could get it cheaper and increase my profit margin. You'll have to buy cards, there's no way around it, just remember that extra bit you're paying goes to support the place we all play.

2) Choose a clan you think appeals to you before you buy. This more than anything keeps costs very low

3) Unlike other CCGs (*cough*MtG*cough*) where individual cards can hit values in excess of $100 for a single copy, the most expensive cards during this arc go for about $20 (and there's a whole 3 of those cards), about 25 or so go for the $10-$15 range, about 100 or so cards are in the $2-$10 range, and 99% of the cards can be had for under $1... and most decks are made up largely of those cheap cards.

4) The free cards you'll receive will not just be garbage... we give out cards you'll both want to play with and need as well.

5) When you do play in pre-release tournaments, koteis, and storyline tournaments the prize support is EXCELLENT and not given in cash. For instance, at the Kotei (a regional tournament) Seth and I went to in Nebraska this spring the prizes for best in clan was a box of product, some promos, and a Samurai Sword... yeah, the real deal, with the clan mon engraved on the blade. I think first place took home a handful of promos, 2-3 boxes of product, and a sword with Nebraska Kotei 2008 winner engraved into the blade.

When you do decide you want to demo the game, just post here and let us know. We'll be happy to set up a time to sit down with you one on one, or two on one, and explain the game to you.

Finally, as for the freebies... it's really going to depend on what clan you choose to play and how soon you demo. If you choose a clan that's already being played as a primary clan by Seth or I (Crab and Lion) you're not going to get a ton of cards as we use them ourselves. Likewise, if you're the third person who demos and is interested in Unicorn Clan, then you're not going to come out of the demo with as many cards. Suffice it to say though, that everyone who demos and is interested in playing will be getting a fairly decent number of cards they need to begin building decks and playing.

Oh, one final thing... if you decide the game is not for you after a while and/or decide straight off the demo that you don't want to pick up the game and give it a try, please please please return all cards given to you so someone else who does want to play the game can get the benefit from them.

So, like I said, if you're interested respond to this post and we'll set up a day for you to demo the game with one or both of us.

TheEyes100

Ah, this might be helpful as well when selecting a clan. Here's a fe current lists:

Local players and the clans they do play

Seth: Crab Beefy Smash w/ Mobility and Dragon Ring Honor

Shawn: Lion Halls Midgame Tactician, Lion Halls Paragon Defensive Honor, and Scorpion DVD Slow Bleed

Chris: Phoenix (guessing defensive honor based on post)

Harrison: Crane (looking like dueling/honor).

New Players (will add names to these as I learn them better (too many files, not enough memory)

Out of Town Players (forgive me if I miss a person/forget a name or two... I'll correct this)

Andy (Waterloo) - Phoenix

(Waterloo) - Unicorn

Eric: (Cedar Falls.... Waterloo... whatever) - Mantis

(Dubuque) - Crab and Phoenix Yojimbo Control

(Dubuque) - ???

PlaguedOne

Technically I'm from Cedar Falls, which is way better than Waterloo. Razz

TheEyes100

Fixed

TheEyes100

Began sorting through things tonight and settled on setting up a demo deck for each of the clans to give new players a feel for what they are like. When I finish with them I'll probably talk to Jerod about keeping them in the store so as our player base grows we can have them available any time for demos. The demo decks are 20/20 and have a single stronghold included. I've tried to make sure to get a blend of about:

1 stronghold
10 - 11 personalities
7-8 holdings
1 region
1 event

3-4 attachments of some kind
1-2 rings
15 actions trying to get a limited/open, battle, reaction and terrain in each deck

Right so here's what they're like so far:
Shadowlands: Goblins and Onis... go figure.
Lion: Standard tactician movement with Shuggie and follower support
Unicorn: Standard cavalry with Three Man, Shiotome, and Horsebows
Crane: Dueling!!!
Dragon: Defensive Ring-type honor
Crab: Beefy Smash with Tetsubos
Phoenix: Ya know, spells and stuff, honor probably
Scorpion: Dishonor, yo.
Spider: Military
Mantis: Fun with arrows type thing

With the exception of Shadowlands I made sure there were no Rares/Uniques in any of the decks so no one deck should be super powerful. Shadowlands I had to include a couple of Uniques to even give em a chance to not be stomped... Omoni and Pokku Exp included.

When I get them completed and in the store I'll include as many rule books as I have access to and will refill those as I get more.

If you do a demo with someone do not give these cards to people. I want to be able to keep these same decks in the store so I don't have to build a new demo deck every time someone picks up a clan. Seth and I have tons of cards and will be able to supply people with a good chunk once they decide they like the game, want to give it a go, and settle on a clan.

TheEyes100

Seth and I will be in the store to play this saturday from around 2-5. Anyone interested stop by and chat us up for a demo.