New Gamer article is very informative

this is pretty cool. instead of multiple versions of characters replacing each other, they actually stack! The cards' powers become cumulative as you play the next version.

 

That's pretty sweet! Does that mean stacking 2 Anakin cards would give him 120 Speed and 10 dice rolls to strike? 3 cards 180 speed and 15 rolls?

Do you have a subscription to Gamer? I can't wait to see it!

 

In what issue of Starwars Gamer? 8? Is that avaliable in stores?

 

I believe only powers combine, I asume speed and attack uses the best card

 

The game would be too unbalanced if speed and health stats stacked.

 

Yes... which Gamer issue is it? And is it already in stores?

 

I saw it at the comic shop today.
most of the article is about strategies.
It is very intriguing and makes the game sound more exciting. Deck construction will be an art.

 

Stacking unique characters, eh...? What was that? Sounded like a voice on the wind, shouting "Young Jedi with dice"...

Seriously though, I'm sure it's the best way to keep you from getting stuck with unusable multiples of mains, but it isn't exactly the newest, most original gameplay concept. DL, you say that deckbuilding will be "an art". What makes you say that? Are there any gameplay mechanics that make it less than desirable when building a deck to just say, "OK, 4 Obi-Wans, 4 Anakins, 4 Lukes..."? The ability to stack them makes it sound like the more, the merrier.

 

From the chat with RG last night:


VinaDelMar

Where does stacking cards come in and what purpose does it serve?

richard_garfield

Stacking cards came from the idea that characters should be bigger than a single card. I didn't like the idea of a rich character being reduced to a single card. So I constructed a system by which the character cards are stacked and thereby improve over the course of the game. For example you might have Luke - Moisture Farmer and Luke - Space Pilot and Luke - Jedi Master and these would all contribute in different ways. This way we can also have characters everyone recognizes available in all decks, while still having cool rare characters.

---------------------------------
Stacking looks to be one of the coolest parts of this game. It doesn't really compare to stacking in YJ, they are both different beasts. I would say that stacking in the TCG more resembles leveling your character in an RPG. So as you stack (level) your character he gets more powerful or different abilities (depending on how you bulit your deck).

For those that would like to see all the things discussed at last nights chat just hop over to The Rebel Base and go into the Q&A with RG section.

 

The game mechanics are not that impressive. It sounds like WOTC is having difficulty coming up with an original design. Stacking cards? What's wrong with making one card strong enough? Stacking indicates those with quantity will win, not strategic quality. And dice? What, some character now can roll 20 dice to see if he's any good? Come on people, a really good card game will have all its mechanics contained in the cards themselves. It's pretty rediculous to think your dice bag will be bigger than your deck.

-Rain

 

Rain,
You think these mechanics are not new because you're comparing this to other CCGs and assume that stacking is the same as in those games. It is nothing like YJ. The cards in themselves will be powerful and have abilities. But then when you stack another version on top, that card stack character now uses both abilities. Add another card, another ability. The card on top is used to determine other aspects that the bottom cards do not. Don't tell me that indicates the cards are not powerful enough in themselves, or else we would only have one version of Luke in SWCCG. Think about having a Luke Skywalker JK, a Master Luke, and a Son of Skywalker all in one pile. You get to use the ability to make an alien just deployed go back to the owners hand, *and* the LSJK and SOS abilities. Plus there is some addition to power or something for each card. It's like a character progressing in strength and experience throughout the game. While this is advantageous having two characters instead of just one stacked character will have it's pluses also.
In addition to this unique factor, the relationship between speed and power is awesome. Power is how many dice to roll, speed is who attacks first. So a starfighter would have less power and a higher speed, getting to strike first. A squadron could take down a SD before the SD even gets a shot. But if and when the SD gets to take a shot, it gets a much bigger shot, probably smoking a little starfighter to smithereens. Then there will be cards that will have more skill in hitting. For the sake of example (I don't know the actual cards in the set), Obi's ship would probably have a high speed and hit on 3,4,5 and 6, getting to strike early on and hitting more often. To me, this relationship between speed and power makes the battles very realistic.
Adding all these factors together is where deckbuilding besomes an art. If you want to know how stacking really works and more info, go read the transcript on SWTCG Rebel Base

 

Fair enough argument. But the dice concept still doesn't strike my interest enough to get involved. So, when stacking characters, when he's defeated are all cards lost or just the one on top?

 

They didn't really specify that but I got the feeling the whole stack would be gone. Maybe each card adds one health because to add up all the health would make it nearly impossible to hit.

 

I'm still leary about the whole thing. I read the article about the game design and I can still see loop holes. Granted this guy doesn't know everything but the thought of a Star Wars version of Magic makes me sick. Perhaps the true colors of the mechanics will reveal themselves soon enough, but regardless, my loyalty and interest remains with the classic SWCCG. That's quality!

 

well, just from what I read in the article, this really isn't anything like magic, unless you count tapping and counters. but those two things don't make up magic.

rain said

Come on people, a really good card game will have all its mechanics contained in the cards themselves.

see, that was my main complaint with the CCG.
So far, this game seems more contained, but granted, it is still brand new and hasn't yet had the chance to grow into the monster that CCG was.