Tag Archives: Metagame

Homebrew: Elrond and Vilya

Posted on June 16, 2023 by Beorn

Onward, with my hair-brained quest to rebalance some of the most egregiously over-powered cards. As previously mentioned, these changes are intended for limited formats like Bear Draft, where over-powered cards have an even greater impact on game balance. The expectation … Continue reading →

Posted in Archetypes, Combo, Community, Custom Cards, Draft, Game Variant, Power, Series, Theme | Tagged Bear Draft, Community, Dwarrowdelf, Elrond, Fantasy Flight Games, Game Balance, Living Card Games, Lord of the Rings LCG, Metagame, Overpowered Cards, RingsDB, Strategy, The One Deck, Vilya | 1 Comment

Homebrew: Hidden Courage

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Beorn

This is a continuation in a series of custom cards to rebalance the card pool for draft and other limited formats. If Steward of Gondor is at the top of the list of early cards in need of a redesign, … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Con of the Rings, Custom Cards, Events, Game Variant, Homebrew Cards, Series | Tagged Bear Draft, Community, Con of the Rings, Con of the Rings 2023, Deck Building, Fantasy Flight Games, Fast Hitch, Fun, Game Balance, Homebrew Cards, John Howe, Limited Formats, Living Card Games, Lord of the Rings LCG, Metagame, Miruvor, Readying, Spirit, Strategy, Tolkien, Unexpected Courage | Leave a comment

Homebrew: Forgotten Lore

Posted on January 30, 2023 by Beorn

Limited formats like the Bear Draft present a particular challenge to designing a balanced metagame. The card counts are skewed significantly by the overall size of pool and constraints on deck size. Common cards have only 3 copies in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Con of the Rings, Custom Cards, Draft, Events, Game Variant, Homebrew Cards, Live Play, Lure of Middle Earth, Multiplayer, Play Style, RingsDB, Series | Tagged Bear Draft, Blessing of Nimrodel, Community, Deck Building, Dunedain Guardian, Fantasy Flight Games, Gatekeeper, Homebrew Cards, Living Card Games, Lord of the Rings LCG, Lore, Lore is less popular in draft, Metagame, The Lord of the Rings LCG, Tolkien, Woodman's Axe | 1 Comment

Homebrew: Seal of the Steward

Posted on December 11, 2022 by Beorn

Card game balance is a delicate thing, especially when a game is first released. If the cards in a Core Set are too weak, quests will be too difficult and players will be bored with a lack of options. On … Continue reading →

Posted in A Long-extended Party, Community, Custom Cards, Draft, Events, Game Variant, Legacy of Feanor, Lure of Middle Earth, Series | Tagged Bear Draft, Fantasy Flight Games, Game Balance, Homebrew Cards, Living Card Games, Lord of the Rings LCG, Metagame, Power Level, Resource Acceleration, Steward of Gondor, Tolkien | 3 Comments

Homebrew: Rescuing the Outcasts

Posted on November 5, 2022 by Beorn

Designing the first cycle of an LCG is a most difficult task. The strategies and themes established in the Core Set need to be supported while simultaneously introducing new factions and expanding the identity of the spheres and traits. Because … Continue reading →

Posted in A Long-extended Party, Archetypes, Community, Custom Cards, Game Variant, Series, Theme, Tribal, Uncategorized | Tagged Community, Dead Cards, Fantasy Flight Games, Fun, Homebrew Cards, Horseback Archer, Living Card Games, Longbeard Map-Maker, Lord of the Rings LCG, Metagame, Minas Tirith Lampwright, Ravenhill Scout, Rivendell Scout, Silverlode Archer, Strategy, The Lord of the Rings LCG, Veteran of Nanduihirion, West Road Traveller | 3 Comments

Metagame: Balance of Power

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Beorn

Reading history, it’s easy to assume that the current state of things is inevitable. In fact, history is littered with random, unexpected turns of events. The same can be said for this game. Over a decade after its release, it … Continue reading →

Posted in A Long-extended Party, Community, Metagame, Multiplayer, Play Style, Series, Solo | Tagged Balance, Card Pool, Community, Deck Building, Design Space, Elrond, Elrond's Counsel, Fantasy Flight Games, Feedback Loops, Imladris Stargazer, Living Card Games, Lord of the Rings LCG, Master of the Forge, Metagame, OP, Over-powered Cards, Power Creep, Power Curve, Sleeping Sentry, Spirit Glorfindel, Strategy, Sudden Pitfall, The Lord of the Rings LCG, Tolkien, Under-powered Cards, Vilya, Warden of Healing | 4 Comments

Metagame: The Core of the Problem

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Beorn

The announcement of the repacked Core Set was greeted by the community with much fanfare. The excitement is understandable, especially when some players thought that the hiatus of official content amounted to a death sentence. Caleb has confirmed that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Archetypes, Community, Metagame, Mono-Sphere, New Players, Play Style, Series, Solo, Theme, Tribal, Two Handed | Tagged Balance, Core Set, Deckbuilding, Fantasy Flight Games, Fellowship, Full Play Set, Introduction, Learn to Play, Living Card Games, Metagame, Mono-Sphere, New Players, Out of the Box Experience, Player Cards, Revised Core Set, The Lord of the Rings LCG, Theme, Tolkien, Tribal Decks, Unique Cards | 6 Comments

Key Concepts: Learning How to Lose

Posted on March 6, 2021 by Beorn

At times like these it can be tempting for a bear to hole up in his cave and hibernate. While waiting for my turn to receive the vaccine I’ve had to find alternative venues in which to enjoy board and … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Key Concepts, Multiplayer, New Players, Play Style, Series, Solo | Tagged Aggro, Bad Luck, Combat, Deckbuilding, Difficulty, Digital vs Physical, Easy Mode, Fantasy Flight Games, Key Concepts, Learning, Living Card Games, Lords of Waterdeep, Losing, Luck, Metagame, Mulligan, Nightmare Mode, Player Side Quests, Questing, Setup, Standard Mode, Starting Threat, Steam, Strategy, The Lord of the Rings LCG, The One Ring, Through the Ages, Tolkien, Treachery Cancelation, Turtle, Video Games | 1 Comment

Metagame: A Few, Key, Words

Posted on January 6, 2019 by Beorn

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to teach The Lord of the Rings LCG to a fair number of players. In the spectrum of design complexity, this game sits firmly on the opposite end from “beer and pretzels” or … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Metagame, New Players, Series | Tagged ACG, Card Templating, Cognitive Load, Complexity, Difficulty, Fantasy Flight Games, Hemmingway, Keywords, Language, Living Card Games, Lord of the Rings ACG, Lord of the Rings Adventure Card Game, Metagame, pedagogy, Readability, Simplicity, The Lord of the Rings LCG, Tolkien, Wall of Text | 4 Comments

Guest Author: Making Every Card Count

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Beorn

Editor’s Note: This article is brought to you by a guest writer named Ulrik. I’d like to thank him for contributing this article about suggested changes to balance the early card pool. Imagine this: when deck building for your upcoming … Continue reading →