Which Living Card Game is best for you?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
- #marvelchampions #arkhamhorror #lordoftherings
Lord of the Rings - Overview: 1:43
Arkham Horror - Overview: 4:33
Marvel Champions - Overview: 6:46
Lord of the Rings - Pros and Cons: 8:46
Arkham Horror - Pros and Cons: 14:16
Marvel Champions - Pros and Cons: 19:06
There are many living card games developed by Fantasy Flight Games, however gamers are often confused with which one they would like the most and which one is the best.
In this video I help you decide by giving a brief overview of how each game works and also list the pros and cons of each game.
A heads up for anyone who is thinking about getting into arkham horror, they have fixed the issue with the release cycle. Where it used to be a deluxe box then 6 mythos packs per campaign it now is a lot simpler. There are two products per campaign an investgator expansion and a campaign expansion. Investgator expansion includes all the new player cards and the campaign expansion includes a new campaign. You can play one without the other so you can now really choose what you feel like you need more of. They have also started re-releasing all the old expansions in this new format.
Yeah it’s a shame I didn’t do my video a little later as this would fixed a problem with both games. Having to buy (and find) all the extra little packs is a pain, this method is so much better
I think what I appreciate the most about these games is that they all have solo modes of play. I dont know anyone who would play any of these with me haha. I hope most of the expansions for each of these can be played solo. I do have the lord of the rights starter set but I feel it’s difficult to learn. I will be trying out AH and MC soon.
Lord of the Rings isn’t too hard to learn, AH is probably the hardest and I’d say MC is the easiest. That’s what I do with these games play them all solo mostly. I think the gameplay and mechanics aren’t hard to teach it’s the deck building aspect for people is really hard to get people into. It requires a lot of experience and card knowledge to build one the only way I would ever do it is pre build them for players or get players find deck lists online for characters they want.
It can be a lonely world for gaming geeks. I don’t even buy games without a solo mode anymore. I look at these products as video game substitutes. I spend all day staring at a computer, it’s nice to get away from that and have something tactile.
I had the exact same experience w/ Arkham Horror: I loved the (revised) core set game, but it felt kinda short. I was recommended by a friend to get an expansion, so I saved a bunch (they are expensive!), and did, and boy that was a whole 'nother experience!! A M A Z I N G!
The game completely changed for me, I look at it differently now. I'm completely in loved w/ it xD
100% recommend!
Try the base game, and if you like the ambience, the style, then go for any expansion, you won't regret it (well, you will if you look at your CC's statement :P)
Nowadays, campaigns come in a single "deluxe"/"premium" box that you can get instead of individual scenarios, which in my opinion is much better because you get a nice campaign booklet and stuff. And I think the cost is the same. Also, investigators come in this same expansion format, on a different, smaller, box, which again, I think it is more interesting than getting them individually.
It’s hard to get people into Arkham horror isn’t it? The core set can feel lacklustre and it needs an expansion.
I’m so happy you can buy the whole campaigns in one box. It’s so much better than the Mythos packs! Or better yet get the return to box sets and keep it all organised :)
The fact that player and scenario cards are not mixed in the same pack (except for campaign boxes) for Marvel Champions is a plus for me. I feel perfectly fine skipping most hero packs and only going for the big boxes. Its got great value for money with 2 hero decks and 5 villians. Unlike LOTR, the Standard difficulty of MC is easy enough to beat (well, except GMW) without having to constantly expand your card pool.
I agree. While MC lacks the campaign and story elements of LOTR and AH it’s core set and packs overall have better value and offer instant fun gameplay.
I love LOTR but even with plenty of content it’s still a challenge and deck building can be tricky
I know its out of print, but android netrunner is fantastic and deserves an honorable mention
It has been revived, sort of, by fans.
Very good video, I’m going to try them in Tabletop Simulator before investing in which one I like the most
Good idea, even if you just get the core set for one it’s a good starting point and you can decide if you want to invest further.
Thanks for the video Joe (followed you here from BGG post). I found it really useful.
I’ve never played an LCG and wanted to get one of these three but the money sink is a big worry. Any general advice for a newbie starting out? Especially around the revised sets that would be easier/cheaper to buy?
The themes are killing me! I’m instantly drawn to Arkham but this would mean solo. My son is 10 so maybe Marvel? Then again, I’m actually reading LOTR again after 20 years in prep for the new series and love playing War of the Ring.
Decisions, decisions 🤣
Thanks for watching, I understand there’s a lot of choice and they are all quite similar so I can be tricky when your starting out.
The easiest answer is get 2 (or 3) 😅
AH and LOTR are really great, you will probably be playing them solo but if your already a Tolkien fan you will love LOTR but even if your just a little interested in cosmic horror AH will open up this big world to you.
That being said though your best bet might be MC. Not just because of the fun theme, it’s a touch easier to learn and deck build and you can play with your son but the core set gives you great value out of the box.
With AH and LOTR you might feel underwhelmed after you play. Yeah there isn’t a story or a narrative running through MC but it’s simple to get into, plus the extra content isn’t essential and if you enjoy it you can just pick heroes you want to buy in the future.
Then maybe just wait for the revised core sets of the other two. By then you will have some LCG experience under your belt and it will help you when learning the other ones.
Hope that helps 😃
At first I own Arkham, last year I own Marvel champions, this year I bought off someone Lotr LCG collection.
Personally I like AH>LOTR>MC
Arkham LCG campaign system is one of the best campaign game I ever played, often when I play the campaign game, it always "if you lose, you need to do everything all over again" Arkham LCG let the story continue even if you lose the scenario and could go on to the next one, also the level up card upgrade system is very cool. Only not good thing about Arkham is Chaos bag, I mean I like it but someone might don't like them because it is too random (It is Arkham after all).
Lotr don't have Chaos bag, but the encounter card and shadow effect are very punishing in this game, some card could just straight up kill you. Enemies always activate before you unlike MC you activate before enemies. But Lotr theme in some quests are quite interesting, there are tons of variety places from Lotr world that not in the movies. Each scenario is one shot but the story are connect within each cycle.
MC, for me is the least favorite one, it is a good game but a bit too much streamline from LOTR. Also the story not really suck me in, it is pretty much hero fight the bad guys. Because they streamline a lot, so the game are not very brain burning, also the you cycle the deck you built quite a lot compare to other 2 games. The hero specific cards are very cool.
Agree with you on many points here.
I love how in AH the story continues even if you do badly, it makes you stick to the choices you’ve made and see the outcome which I love. I’m not a huge fan of the chaos bag I prefer to put my tokens on an app instead, sometimes they can clump together and it isn’t truly random.
Lotr is a great game, I love the theme and the universe it’s based on. However I find it can be brutal and you need a good amount of content before you can make a decent deck to survive the rounds.
MC is a little quicker and lacks the depth and complexities of the 2 but I enjoy it for what it is. Fast boss battle style gameplay :)
The games don't have to be a money sink but it is hard to resist the urge to buy everything, at least for me. I've amassed a sizable LotR collection over the last year or so and have explored about 30% of the player cards and 40% of the scenarios. I'd suggest waiting for the product cycle to mature a bit for both AH and LotR as it should be cheaper to buy into than doing it piecemeal. Your collection can bulk up quickly so I'd suggest playing through as much as you enjoy before moving onto more. I'd guess, but don't know, that competitive play drives some of the mania behind getting all the cards. Have fun with what you choose.
Do a bit of research at visionofthepalantir.com and hallofbeorn.wordpress.com. Arkham Chronicle, ua-cam.com/video/Z3reIVPh5bo/v-deo.html, seems like a good AH channel. Sorry, I'm not that familiar with AH or Marvel but maybe others can help you out.
I'm very biased because I own Lord of the rings, and only play Champions occationally with friends. But I like Lotr more because it feels like it has deeper strategy and your choices have greater weight. You often stumble upon situations where it feels like every course of action will end up in disaster and you have to sift through a haystack of options to find the single one that will let the party carry on a bit further. about the strategy depth, maybe it just feels that way because I've played it more though. :)
I was a little iffy with Lotr and AH as I couldn’t get into them. The sheer amount of content and the fact you need a lot of it to really enjoy the game put me off. I do enjoy Lotr a lot. I like how each scenario is a unique challenge but if I was a new player and wanted to get into living card games, Lotr would be tricky because you need to drop a lot of money into it to get enough out of it. With AH it’s similar but you just need the one cycle and with the new revised sets coming out it’s going to be more accessible. I think if you got hold of (or someone gave you 😅) a good chunk of MC content you would enjoy it, like a big box campaign set maybe :)
Haha you might have actually hit the nail on its head here. I own the core set along with two expansions and several extra standalone scenarios and I haven’t paid a dime. I’s all gifts on birthdays and chrismas. xD
I think your critique is very reasonable. :)
Thank you, hope you get more into Champions and/or Arkham :)
Theme wise Marvel Champions is the least appealing to me. I'm not into Marvel or Comics at all, I know who Spider-Man is, or Iron Man... but that's about it. But gameplay wise it's, in my opinion, the best game. It plays quick, is highly modular, deck construction is possible but less essential than with AH or LotR (maybe a con for others) and even if you are not into the hero shenanigans like me, it's still a lot of fun to play Captain Marvel... and I have no clue who she is 😂. But the biggest plus is the ease of getting into the whole LCG thing. No need of buying several copies of the base game, no confusion about where to start or what to buy. Just buy the base game and there is enough replayability for months. Then grab any Hero Pack or Scenario Pack you want and add it to the game. Big box expansions are nice and add a lot of content to the game, but are not a necessary part for any further expansions or packs. All in all: Great game.
That’s one of the best things about MC even if the marvel theme isn’t your thing, the core set has great value and the expansion packs are cheap and you can pick and chose who you want.
I think deck building in LOTR is the hardest as you need a big card pool and powerful decks as the scenarios can be brutal.
AH isn’t too bad you just need an initial cycle to get you started but it’s still tricky to deck build. I think with MC the 15 hero cards really help too because that’s a big chunk of your deck pre-built before you start and allows you to work around it. Hope you get many expansions for it! 😅
@@manaburngaming7968 Well, that's becoming problem... I live in Germany and at first FFG said that there will be no German version of the game (due to next to non existent comic fan scene in Germany as they thought). So I bought the English version as many other Germans did. The game is very easy to understand so having the English version is not an issue at all. But now FFG noticed that there is a market for the game in Germany and so they released German version and I noticed retailers are selling off their English stuff for MC only restocking the German packs. The anyway expensive import packs now become rare and even more expensive. Just for an example: The Hero Packs of Dr. Strange and Captain America are about 25€ / $29 each on Amazon 🤪
(Of course, you can still find them cheaper in smaller stores but it shows where things are going...)
Wow that sucks, shipping around the whole lately has been all messed up. I used to get the new content pretty early but no I don’t know where to pre-order from because everything is delayed.
Hope you can find the packs you need!
This video is very informative, and in my case perfect timing. I purchased AH LCG when it first came out and I lost interest in it, partly because of the card pack system. However, with the AH LCG revised core set and the campaign boxes I became interested again and have been buying the campaigns as they come out. I was considering LOTR as a second system and didn't really have much interest (or knowledge) of Marvel Champions. However, after watching many videos, including your excellent comparison, I'm looking more towards Marvel Champions for a second system. It looks like a lower cost of entry. To me the play style and theme is different enough from AH LCG to make it more of a different experience. Also the sessions can be faster and I understand it generally plays well true solo. Thanks
No problem! Hope enjoy marvel champions, it’s always been my favourite!
I honestly believe they split cycles into packs so the price doesn't seem as shocking. 1 whole expansion cycle costs almost 200 bucks. Absolutely absurd price for a bunch of cards. If they released the expansions as a complete full package, the actual price tag would shock many people.
Every once in a while when I want to pick up a new board game, I start to fantasize about Arkham Horror LCG or the LOTR one. Then I go searching the web for packs, to find some out of stock here, maybe I can find something there, bla bla bla.
I always end up going ''yea this is just dumb, I'm about to spend 200 bucks for 1 full expansion and what exactly am I buying, cards?''
And to the people who are gonna say ''well you don't have to buy everything at once, you know?''
That wouldn't be buying everything at once, It would be 1 whole expansion. What do you want me to do, buy 1 pack and then play that for half an hour and that's it? 20 bucks for half an hour of gameplay, imagine that, that's some pricey shit right there. Even if I decide to spend the 200 bucks, that's 1 freaking expansion. For some board games you can get every single expansion for 200 bucks and those aren't just a bunch of cards. This is one expensive hobby if it means I will be spending almost 1000 bucks to buy the other 5 expansions, not including standalone scenarios.
These individual expansion packs cost more than some of the most expensive board games, which come packed to the brim. Meanwhile here you're paying 200 bucks for cards.
Absolute shame how they decided to do this. Hell even 100 bucks for a whole expansion seems like a lot of money, but I'm sure many people would then actually consider getting into this game.
I fully agree and always state about how much of a money sink AH and LOTR can be.
Despite how much I love those games and think they are some of the best card games out there, I understand that the expansions can be an issue.
It was one of the reasons I took a little while after buying the core for AH I didn’t get into the game as much, I was put off buying so much content.
It’s hard because the game fully opens up with at least one full cycle but the price and time it takes to track them down is annoying.
The problem with only buying 1 or 2 packs aswell is that unless you have all of them you don’t get a full story.
For me I play Magic the gathering and it got to the point where I was spending as much as if not more than a full board game on 1 card so I’m not as bothered by it.
I think the new way is better having a campaign and investigator it’s a little better value and not as bad as tracking down smaller packs.
Well, for Arkham Horror, it was never 200 bucks for an expansion. FFG is now starting a new distribution method, where you can buy only one box for player cards (40€) or only one box for the campaign (60€), so in total you have around 100€ for a complete cycle. This is true for the newest cycle The Edge of the Earth, but they'll distribute also the old cycles like this (starting next year with the first expansion: The Dunwich Legacy). So, a complete cycle is now around 100€, while an "old" cycle costs around 120€ (deluxe box+6 mythos packs), and while I could agree it could seem "a lot" at first, it's not really so much money for the quality, replayability, story, game etc that you have.
@@bauuhc Well that sounds like good news. I could see myself biting the bullet and getting the base game plus first expansion.
@@fufu1405 There is also the new core set which has a lot more cards than the previous one, and you can play in 4 players right out the box
They have certainly improved the release model. If they release every expansion this way all the way up to the Innsmouth Conspiracy this is going to be great for new players.
Especially if you feel you don’t need the investigators yet and have plenty of player cards you can get the campaign first :)
I bought Lord of the Rings and expansions but it is not an easy game....took me ages to get back to playing it. Have not used the expansions so far !
Personally, AH is my all time favourite and in all it's forms .
Thanks.
Kind regards from the UK.
Lord of the Rings is fantastic but even I admit it’s extremely difficult, plus I’m finding some content for it hard to acquire.
Arkham Horror is very highly rated and worthy of its high praise, hope you find all the expansions you need :)
Arkham Horror. Clearly. Obviously. Done.
I have Marvel Champions and I love it but Im a big Tolkien fan so I'm thinking of buying the new core. Do you think it worth it? I'm afraid that maybe the gameplay is very similar to MC and will be too much money for a game that is not very different from Marvel champions
The core set is good it’s just the 3 scenarios you get feel a little underwhelming and the last mission is insanely hard.
If you could maybe buy the first Mirkwood cycle or even the black riders saga box set, which will give you the start of the Lotr story (leaving the shire, escaping the Nazgûl and going to Bree) you will enjoy it more.
You can make a pretty decent hobbit deck out of it, it’s hard to say because the gameplay is different than MC, it’s more tactical based, like a puzzler.
You will need to spend more money though that’s the problem, getting the core, a saga set or 2 and/or a full cycle will cost you, however if your a die hard Tolkien fan you will enjoy it.
Lotr lcg is great
A good alternative to Marvel Champions is Sentinels of the Multiverse by Greater than Games. Superhero decks are set, straightforward to play and very classic comic book feeling.
I’ve heard about this game for a while and never really looked into it. What I have heard though has been all positive and it’s from Greater than Games? They made one of my favourites; Spirit Island!
Marvel Champions is fairly superior
I love Star Wars: The Card Game. It’s a LCG, that is dead. But it’s Star Wars, so no one is ever truly dead.
It’s my top choice of these FF games.
What is that one called? I’m pretty sure there is another Star Wars LCG that is still going, not sure if it is Imperial Assault?
I just got a free copy of LOTR 1-2 player version. Looking forward to trying it. Is the newer version better or just different?
It’s a better version to get for sure! It contains extra copies of the cards (which helps with deck building) more tokens and threat trackers for 4 players. I believe the rules are updated and it also contains some campaign cards!
@@manaburngaming7968 Cool, thanks. I'll test drive this, maybe do some proxies and then decide if I get the new rev.
Some of the info given here is now slightly obsolete due to the release of the revised cores
Although the new core sets are a great idea, mostly due to the inserts. They contain almost exactly the same cards as the original core set. With the exception of a few higher level cards they don’t offer that much in change.
Although I do hear they are planing on releasing a complete dunwich campaign similar to how they have done with edge of the Earth!
@@manaburngaming7968 Yes, in case of AH LCG the new core now contains twice as many player cards compared to old core, plus a handful of extra cards from the Dunwich cycle, so is a much better entry point. And all the cycles are (eventually) getting a re-release in the new format, so no more Mythos packs. :)
They really needed to do that, I’m still stuck on t trying to find the last few packs for dream eaters. Much better release format than having to wait and get lucky to find packs. I hope they do this with the Lotr expansions too as I’m still missing quite a lot of those :0
@@manaburngaming7968 They are defnitely doing this with LotR, but they stated that they won't release EVERY cycle, but will pick and choose probably what are the fan favourites. I believe too that the LotR box will have more cards, and more copies of Gandalf to make better 4 player decks, or give a solo player more options. I am definitely rebuying into AH with the revised core, and continuing with the new campaign expansion. This is something these LCG's have needed for a long time!
@@jimsowter it’s a good step in the right direction. We can cross our fingers and hope they re-release all AH and LOTR content.
Some LOTR content is impossible for me to find still.
My problem is that I LOVE lcg. Sometimes I prefer to buy a new pack than a new board Game
They are addictive. I play Magic the gathering and it’s got to the stage where it costs less buy an LCG product or even a whole new board game over 1 single card
miss the warhammer living card games
I just wish FFG would stop intentionally designing bad cards for their LCGs. Great cards don't need trash cards to balance them out. It's not technically a LCG, but if you want a co-op card driven game with a good narrative, look into the Warfighter series from DVG. Lots of value in the main boxes and a billion expansions
Yeah they need to add good cards or reprint some essential cards from older sets. Personally I wish they’d put out xmen/fantastic four etc instead of some of the ones they’re using.
Will look into that one thank you!
@@manaburngaming7968 Hopefully Quicksilver opens up the Xmen line. Fantastic Four, please. It's all I want from Marvel Champs.
I just want them to give us a big box expansion just for the xmen. With some classic xmen like Jean Grey, Wolverine, Storm etc and then you can add some more in slowly and more villains.
I do want ghost rider and silver surfer though soon, so it can lead to bigger villains like Mephisto and Galactus!
Exactly what I needed. Thanks so much!
Subbed too
Thank you!!
Great explanations...super helpful. Want them all...lol
Thank you! Say goodbye to your wallet if you do ;)
This one is easy: Arkham Horror reigns supreme.
It does but I have a soft spot for the quick gameplay of Champions 😁
I agree : AH .
For those who want to start now with one of these 3 LCG's the only good one should be the new Lord of the Rings version. Arkham and Marvel have a lot of expansions and with the Lord of the Rings you can skip all the old content and just start with the core set that came out this month. Best of all is that the core set now also has a campaign mode added aside of the 3 scenario's.
This and the Arkham horror revised sets would be good. I think AH has some extra copies of key cards in which is great. I didn’t know LOTR had a campaign mode in it that’s awesome!
The Veil is the only one I have and need.
Don’t think I’ve heard of that one, is it a living card game?
interesting how the top 3 are all coop games, like you would imagine when not competing against another human and just playing against the "AI" and chance the game would get stale but nope
Even like Marvel Champions when you just pick and fight a villain, which can sound quite bland, offers some much replay value!
you don't want to buy two corsets?
No I really don’t. I don’t want to pay for a full box of something just to take out a small handful of cards from it. No matter how good certain cards are I just can’t justify it.
What about agot lcg
I own and have played GOT LCG a few times. I think it’s really good. Unfortunately due to me being mostly a solo player I haven’t had the chance to play it as much due it being PVP. I like the mechanics and artwork though they are fantastic!
the only answer is collecting all three
You are correct sir! Collect all 3 and buy everything for them!
Plz add Co-Op to the title.
How come?
@@manaburngaming7968 Because you only mentioned co-op LCGs in the vid, a large contingent on card game players dislike co-op. I was hoping you were going to touch on all the old competitive arkhams & such.
@@foyoGames I do stare at the start of the video that there are many other LCGs out there and I haven’t played every single one (for instance the game of thrones one is pretty good competitive) however I only focused on these 3 because they are my favourite and they are the most popular. Other LCGs like the call of Cthulhu are pretty much impossible to find in stock anywhere now. I would probably have to do a separate video for them
@@manaburngaming7968 I see where you're coming from, I'm just not much for co-ops, but am much for LCGs. eBay is full of dead lcgs, though I understand some people don't like buying used.
Marvel champions is currently destroying my wallet and life savings
And now the Xmen are coming
I am also a victim of living card games and no go to rehab meetings to try and get over my addiction. I was 1 week sober before they announced xmen 😂
All of them.