There's been quite a bit of talk about converting Vtes into a Living Card Game (LCG). For those who doesn't know what this is, a LCG is basically a kind of card game where all the packs that you buy are not random - and that the decks/packs that are released periodically has a fixed set of cards in them. It's like buying most wargame miniatures - you know exactly what you get when you buy the pack. You can think of it as buying constructed starters.
I myself is not too keen on Vtes becoming a LCG.
The business aspect of it aside, that is a consideration that only White Wolf can make, we can only speculate. In theory, a good CCG should always sell more than LCG - since people are going to buy more just to get the right number of cards that they need. LCG, in a way, deters people from buying multiple copies - it's not that we don't need the cards, psychologically it just doesn't help if I'm told that I'll need to buy 2-3 copies of the SAME THING just to get SOME of the cards that I need in numbers. This is compounded by the fact that the prices of rares and other valuables will be quite contained within the prices of the packs in the short to medium run.
But that's that, and there are ways to circumvent that.
I'm more concerned about the culture of Vtes and a LCG will limit or even destroy.
One of the beauty of Vtes is the ability to use any card at any number to create a deck of your choice. LCGs, in the short to medium run, lacks this ability, and in a way will reward rich players who are willing or able to buy many copies of the SAME THING to get power cards to make a deck more efficient or competitive. No one will ever build a Thrown Gate deck if a pack of Brujah LCG deck comes with only 4 copies. Very few can ever build a Soul Gem deck either if you need to buy 10 decks of Samedi just to have enough Possession. The vast possibility of Vtes deck building will be severely limited by a LCG format.
The other LCGs in the market mostly deal with a much more simplified game play mechanics. The number of cards already available in Vtes, and the superior options and styles that afford so many of the players, and therefore is a key element in attracting players in Vtes will be gone in a LCG format, at least it is very unlikely that a LCG can continue to serve the existing player base very well in the short run. How many decks are they going to release, and how fast?
Imagine Vtes with only starters and no boosters. That's the nearest thing to LCG that we have at the moment. Well, you'll have lots of decks with the same concept, same cards, same vampires, and same play style. I think LCG is for like, small groups of friends to play at home or gatherings instead of for large competitive environment like Vtes communities.
Aquarian Age practice a semi-LCG format ever since their conception like 10 years ago. They released fixed boosters (or very small expansion) every month or so in addition to their standard CCG expansion sets, with like maybe, 6-12 cards in a set. These players can collect a full legion of them by buying a couple of packs. The downside of this is the mess it'll create due to the lack of proper play-testing (but who cares when the art is so darn good) and the constant influx of new mechanics and cards. On the other hand, it spice up the interest like, every month.
So, LCG for Vtes, perhaps as a stand-alone introductory set, like what Aquarian Age did with their Southern Cross expansion (an expansion for new players only, the cards are simplified, mechanics are simplified, and not compatible with the main set), may be a good direction to look at.
For it to replace the current format. I for one, wouldn't like it.
For hey, it's for Caine to say, who am I to complain?
But one thing's for sure. Vtes players should never support a "Living" Card Game. Drain it dry!
(o.o)
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