Strongly second this.
That's definitely the way it's intended, per conversations with the >G folks.
Why is it better to see it in order? Disregarding promo characters, which aren't technically part of the expansions anyway, I can't think of anything that happens in Rook City that is important for someone cracking open Shattered Timelines for the first time.
The Time Cataclysm...? ;)
Really? Nothing at all? Not Chrono-Ranger's first appearance or anything?
In terms of game play, yeah you're right, nothing from one set builds on the previous sets. But the point was made about story, and that builds beautifully.
Sorry, missed that the point was about story. Although, even story-wise, the effect is small. You're talking about Chrono-Ranger's first appearance as art on a card that had nothing to do with him. Not a deal-breaker, IMO.
I think the story was a much bigger issue if you were following it from the beginning. If so, you then had tons of discussion in the forums about who was who, what happened, etc. It actually might be better story-wise, to be caught up so you can follow along from now on.
If story/characters/flavor is something you are heavily influenced by, you'll benefit from getting the sets in chronological order. If you are someone who just loves playing the game, you probably won't care as much about chronological order.
Just like everything else on this game, it depends on why you like it. 
I don't think Iron Legacy has quite the impact if you play him straight away as if you'd played lots of games w/ Legacy as a good guy first. Similar issue with O-X.
That wouldn't necessarily sway me, mind you, from recommending someone get Shattered Timelines instead of Rook City, but for if you're planning to get everything eventually but you can't afford it all at once, yeah, I'd say get them in release order.
I recommend you go into Gencon planning to buy the EE
then demo try lots of different heroes ... then buy the expansions that those heroes (you like) are in ... I can almost guarantee that you will at the end of it say to yourself... going to have to get that other expansion(s) when i can
I really like the heroes in IR so i'm going to recommend it
I really like the two mini-expansion heroes Unity and the scholar so i recommend those too
I'm with lynkfox, but because my favorite expansion is actually rook city. That, and Unity is awesome sauce!
To anyone attending any convention with the intent of buying SotM from us, I'd recommend coming by our booth the first day and demoing the game and, if you enjoy it, picking up Enhanced Edition right away. Although we are always adjusting the number of games we send to a show with the intent that we won't run out until the end of the last day, we seem to be running out quite a bit earlier at a number of shows this year (and at Gen Con last year, we ran out half way through Friday! - not that I expect that to happen again).
With good reason. Everyone I've introduced the game to loves it! I'm sure pretty much everyone else has had similar experiences.
That, coupled with the fact that more people are learning about the game every day makes me think you still have a good shot at running out of copies early again at Gen Con.
I will be there as well demoing in the mornings every day :D I am going to see about still cosplaying as Miss Information since my materinty pants match her suit, I have a blue shirt just need a tan/beige jacket. I love the game and I am hoping to do some of the Story Challenges since I know they get some extra SP points as well!
Um … the sentinels points from the Story Challenges aren't the same thing as the Sentinels Points you can get by playing games in the booth. Big difference. First is just for fun. Second can get you promo cards, etc.
How do we claim Sentinels Points? I bought all my Sentinels items new and have the reciepts to prove it. That's the Enhanced Edition, all three main expansions, all six mini-expansions, plus the oversized villain cards. I'd love to be able to replace some of my proxy promos with the real deal.
Generally, Sentinels Points are given out as a bonus when you buy the games at a convention. Since you can usually get Sentinels Points faster by playing with people who haven't played before, it's an incentive for people to bring in new players.
…Why do people who don't live near conventions always get punished for it? This is why I hate promotionals which are actually used as game materials… (Stuff like official artwork and such that isn't required for a complete game is a much better path, because then people who don't get the promos can still get a complete set).
That goes double for us overseas fans. As far as I'm aware, October will be the first time the >G guys will have been to the UK so unless I'd travelled to the US (or Australia!) there's no way I could buy games from them at conventions.
I buy games for my RPG club, with club money, and so can't justify spending $40 just on shipping for Kickstarter purchases.
We have everything except the promos - how are we supposed to get those? It's understandable, but frustrating. I know, you can print your own promos (and I have) but I'd love the opportunity to purchase or earn the real thing.
Yeah, proxies just aren't as good as the real thing… Granted, it's not quite as bad in Sentinels, since the promos don't get shuffled into the rest of the deck, but even so, I think promos should never be something functional as part of the game because of this.