I've ordered this game and I can't wait to get it. So when I *do* get it, well.. I have a question. There are 3 people in my group (myself, S and N)
I've played a lot of card games and will be able to use almost any character (I think. I'm going to playtest it a bit before using it with the group though just so I get the flow of the game)
S - Can handle games pretty easily. Plays Fluxx with my occasionally. Not that familiar with CCG type card games.
N - Very good with card games of a more traditional type (Scopa, Phase 10, Skip-bo etc). Might have a little bit of trouble 'getting it' at first.
So what would be a good set up for the first group game? I mean like, an easy villian, easy location and characters that would work well together?
Thanks for your help!
- (A) Godlike Tempus (yeah, a Forgotten Realms reference).
If N is OK with being a support character, I recommend giving him Legacy. Give the Wraith to S (or possibly switch those two) and take Tachyon for yourself. Fight Baron Blade in Insula Primalis.
(If you got Vengeance as well, consider using Knyfe in place of any hero just listed. Ra is also a good substitute.)
I always say that YOU should play Legacy. He isn't the most exciting to actually play, but he makes the other heroes more awesome. If you're trying to sell the game to them, that's the way I'd go.
Ask them before the game what sort of role they'd like. Hitting things a lot? Ra. Playing lots of cards and building up for the big hit later? Tachyon. Getting cool stuff and messing with the Villain? Wraith. Bit of everything, plus some healing? Tempest. Killing yourself for the good of the team? Fanatic. Etc. Avoid AZ, Nightmist, Argent Adept, and other complicated heroes unless you're sure they'll get them. I'd also be disinclined to give them Visionary until they have a vague idea of what the decks are like.
Learn the rules so you know them well before you start. Maybe have Spiff's FAQ handy? Don't slow the game down if there's a rules thing you can't figure out, make some kind of sensible ruling and look it up after the game.
i second Baron Blade in Insula Primalis. It's a great "easy mode", although it's totally possible to lose (I've done that more times than I'll admit). Tell them it's a training game to get everybody used to how things work - that way they won't feel so bad if they lose, and won't feel like the game's too easy if they win.
If you win (and you most likely will), I recommend Grand Warlord Voss next. He's much harder than Blade but he isn't complicated.
And have fun! That's the most important thing. Also, welcome to the forum! You'll be addicted before you know it. ;)
I just want to agree with what Silver leaf said. Legacy is a good choice if you want the first game to go well, however if you want to play someone else, do it. Play a few different decks when you playtest so you have an idea for yourself who you like and why. And Blade in Insula primalis is a great first game. Also if someone like a a tanky guy who beats on guys like a drum, try Haka
When I was teaching/hosting SotM at a local Con last year, I drew play mats on Manila Folders for the players to help them keep track of things. There were places for (looking left to right, bottom to top, basically just the play area as described in the rules) the deck, trash, the hero card, the "hand" and the "in play" area. The "Hand" area was the height of a card, and occupied the bottom of the mat.
I'd recommend having the players play open-handed, since it's a coop game, and third (or so) Baron Blade in Insular Primalis.
Also agree on Blade in Insula Primalis. Suggest that you play as Legacy to support the other two (plus show them how the Nemesis bonus works), and maybe give the other players options between Ra (burn all the things - also combos really well with Legacy and in Insula Primalis), Wraith (can do lots of different things mainly using equipment - good for damage and can mess with the villain deck a bit), Tempest (can do a lot of things spread mainly between ongoings and one-shots), maybe Tachyon (lots of plinky damage, plays many cards, builds up to a big thwack on something later on once she has a load of stuff in her trash). I would also suggest that Haka isn't hugely complicated - he has a few little mechanics to keep an eye on if you get hold of certain cards, but is perfectly playable as a "I punch that thing. I punch it some more" if that's all you can end up doing ;).
Blade is generally easy but is capable of causing you severe problems under certain circumstances (mainly involving Devious Disruption, though Backlash Fields can be a pain in the arse as well). It's quite possible you'll just totally destroy him, though (Legacy and Ra in Insula Primalis, as I mentioned above, is a great combo...loads of damage everywhere and if Ra gets out Flesh of the Sun God, laugh if the volcano ever enters play from the environment :D), which is nice :).
If that proves easy, maybe either Voss (lots of damage but pretty straightforward) or Dawn (various effects that can mess with you, difficult but in a different way to Voss, who tends to win by simply beating the snot out of everyone). Omnitron is supposed to be pretty easy but he does have a few very horrible cards that can suddenly pop out and mess you up.
Environment-wise, assuming you'll only have the base set - Megalopolis has many ways to mess with you by stopping you from doing stuff, so I wouldn't recommend it for a few games until everyone's got the hang of the way turns work and thus all the things you're normally allowed to do on your turn (because Megalopolis can stop you from being able to do those things). Atlantis can be nasty, as it has quite a lot of damaging cards and one which lets the villain play more cards, but sometimes the damaging cards work in your favour which can be useful. Finally, Mars can be similarly nasty as it can potentially buff the villain damage and also break your stuff, as well as a few cards which deal damage to stuff. It also has a game-ending card (as in, if a certain thing happens, instant game over) but that's not normally too much of an issue to deal with.
For intro games, I usually let the people I'm playing with choose the environment. We then play Insula Primalis, because when given the choice between a city, the ocean, Mars, or dinosaurs everyone always votes for dinosaurs.
I just played a "first game" with 2 new players. Baron Blade in Insula Primalis, versus Ra (new player), Wraith (new player) and Legacy (me).
We got destroyed. Blade kept throwing out the worst possible cards at the worst possible times, T-Rexes and so on kept eating us, etc etc. Eventually we managed to stabilize things and start hitting Blade, but by that point Legacy was almost dead and the other two below 15 HP. We had to end the game early, but it was not looking good for the heroes!
So just as a warning that an "easy" setup can be hard, if the wrong cards come out at the wrong times =)
What our group always recommends is for the first couple games stick to the core set because it gives the simplest depiction of how to play. But don’t mistake to mean it will be easy. Dawn for instance ia still a brutal fight.
Yeah, I've never had good luck with Dawn in a core-only game with the sole exception of the one time I tried out the "Catfight" story award. That game went pretty smoothly, even if I feel like I don't have a good grip on Visionary yet.
Did a Newbie game recently, We did Baron Insula with Wraith, Chrono, Nightmist, Fanatic and Visionary, and of course stomped him.
Then we followed with Ennead in Megalopolis, non advanced and got crushed. We started with the 3 card combo from an Ankh, and Megalopolis was throwing down fiercely.
One of them bought the entire set from the web store right there, and if we can find time we're going to play tactics before the Kickstarter is done.
@MigrantP, you'll be surprised how well the heroes can hang on at low HP! Once you start doing damage, it often doesn't take long to finish off the villain.
Yeah, that's true. We didn't stop because we thought we would lose for sure -- the other players had prior commitments and had to leave. I think we had a chance =)
I think the advice that I would give to anyone intriducing players to the game (any game) is to give your friends a potted summary of each character (This is Legacy, he buffs and punches, This is Ra, he is all about fast damage, this is Absolute Zero dont play him ;) ) and then let people play them. Dont go into a game saying "youve got card X play that now, then the next player can play card Y then XYZ will happen and we win." Nothing irritates me more than someone else playing my game for me, even with the best of intentions. A good chunk of the fun is finding those combos and stuff out for yourselves during the course of play.