Tackling the World of Warcraft TCG

If you didn’t know, I work on CCGs and I write about Magic: The Gathering on StarCityGames.

Upper Deck Entertainment, the makers of VS System have a new CCG, er, TCG coming out (Collectable Card Game is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast, and don’tyouforgetit) based on World of Warcraft called, coincidentally enough, World of Warcraft TCG.

Here are my first impressions based on what the site has so far. This is written as I read the previews of each type of card, beginning with Hero and ending with Allies (which were previewed today).

My problems begin soon after I read the Hero preview:

– Previewing should have begun with Heroes (which they did, good job) and should then be followed up by Resource System (which they fail to do). The problem is you see these cards, but without a resource system to back up their power level, they don’t make any sort of visual or ‘awe-inspiring potential gameplay effect’ respect. This is bad.

Now, here’s a hero from the game. This represents you in the game:

Now, you can read about what his exact abilities and icons mean right here.

My issues with characters:

– Flips are lame. Why? Because if you flip Tazo to use his flip ability, he can’t flip back over. Now I realize this is a balance issue, but wouldn’t it be interesting to have this ability rechargable/useable each turn? This just feels weird.

I’m guessing there’s a card or three that flips characters back over. If there aren’t, I’ll be greatly disappointed. Particularly with classes that can “morph” into something (like Druids who morph into Bears to kick ass).

Next: Ability cards

Here’s the example they provide via this article:

My only beef with this card is the symbol in the top right. This denotes the class which may use the card.

This is an interesting problem for those who have to design around an existing game and their class/power tree structure. i.e., classifications of certain races and abilities need to be shown in card form. To do this you simply begin to break up abilities into different factions. This faction gets this ability, this faction gets another.

What this does not provide, however, is variety in gameplay. This is the sort of deckbuilding-by-numbers that drives players insane.

In Magic, for example, their modular colors system lets you play with whatever card you like, should you have the resources to play it. In WOW TCG, if you ain’t a Rogue, you’re never going to play this card. Ever.

This is a limitation that can be designed around, but still, that deckbuilding-by-numbers thing gets me.

Next: Armor

Here’s what a piece of armor looks like:

Ah yes, let’s see what’s going on with Armor other than what they tell you in the article.

– I hate, hate, hate “Chest (1)”. You know why? Because of this quote from the article:

“The far right of the type line is reserved for cards that take up slots or are unique. Deathdealer Breastplate has the words “Chest (1).” This means it counts as a Chest armor and that you can have only one of that card type at a time. If at any point your hero has more than one Chest armor, you must put all but one of them into your graveyard.“

Here’s an idea guys, how about letting common sense play a role here. A hero can only have one piece of chest armor on (makes sense…), and if they try to put two on at the same time, then they both cancel each other out (makes sense).

Do I need a number to tell me this? Is this really so complex when it comes to Rings (2) and Trinkets (2) that you need to be told Chest (1)?

Thank you for your condescension.

– And another thing. Icon madness. Is it me or is it a bit much? What if they add more WoW classes later? Is the list just going to get longer/smaller?

Next: Weapons

Here’s what Weapons look like. Read about them here.

Hello icon madness! Welcome back.

But that’s not the best part. Let’s indulge this little nugget:

“All the way to the right on the type line are the words “Melee (1).” This means that Flame Wrath is a Melee weapon and that you can only have one Melee weapon in play at a time. However, you can have both a Melee weapon and a Ranged weapon at the same time.”

Why does the card need to tell me how many Melee weapons I can have in play at the same time? Why not simply put that in the rules themselves? That would make this weird “yes you can have them, but not really, well, one of them, but you can’t have another weapon unless it’s a special kind of weapon…”

I love confusion. Really. What’s worse? They actually show you how to elequently display a use limitation right in the byline. To wit:

“On the type line we see that Flame Wrath is Two-Handed, which means you can’t have it and an Off-Hand equipment (such as a Shield) in play at the same time. If you do, one of them has to go to your graveyard.”

See? How hard is that?

Common sense, people. It’s the new black.

Next: Quests

Gasp! Oh my God, they finally discussed the resource system! It’s amazing…that they got around to it!

And it’s like…it’s like VS had irresponsible sex with Magic!

Suddenly you have a resource row of face down cards (ala VS)  and you get to tap—er, I mean exhaust a card to use its resources (ala Magic). VS has a similar system, except you only get resource ‘points’ at a certain time, and can’t use them just willy-nilly. The rest of the cards are ‘free’ if you control X resources. Part of the fun in Magic is that you can use resources whenever, and cards aren’t just ‘free’, so I guess the UDE guys want that same sort of freedom. Can’t blame them.

Apparently cards put face-down into the resource row are never to return and are never to be played. If there was one thing I dug about VS System it was the ability to surprise your opponent by flipping over something ridiculous in your resource row. Not so with the WOW TCG.

Quests are played face-up on your resource row and can be activated at any time (unless they say otherwise) and are then flipped over, never to be seen again. For example:

Overall I like the idea of Quests and like how they interact with the game design. Again, check out the article for the reasons they designed them this way.

This is my favorite aspect of the WOW TCG to date.

Next: Allies

Allies are ‘creatures’ that are you in your group (called a Party) and can attack/defend and have their own magical abilities. Which is all fine and good. Read all about them here.

Here is an example of an Ally, and highlights something that drives me absolutely batshit insane about UDE:

Currently the only problem I see with this card is that with multiple party members it’s going to be painful to keep up with life totals for each and every character. Say what you want about the VS/Magic damage dealing/healing mechanics, but they are great for ease of gameplay.

No, the thing that bugs me about this card is that they don’t explain what “protector” is. Sure they expound on it in the article, but again, just like in VS, the UDE guys seem strangely adverse to reminder text.

To wit:

“Dwarves in your party have protector (When you or a friendly character is attacked, you may exhaust this character. If you do, it becomes the defender until the end of combat)”

I know it makes the text box cramped. This is the trade-off. Either design around it or get comfortable with smaller text. I really don’t understand why this is so difficult. VS is riddled with this sort of newbie-unfriendly design. I hope this isn’t a trend in the WoW TCG as well.

Current Conclusions

Now, let’s take some things into account:

1. I have not scoured the WOW TCG site reading every interview/post there. I read the previews and that’s about it.

2. I have not played the game. Important distinction.

I believe right now that it looks to be an interesting game that gets incredibly complex after 3–4 ally characters hit the field. Keeping track of four life totals, including your own, including weapons and armor seems a bit scary. But I have faith.

And that is all for today. Thanks for your time.

 Give me your eyes
I need sunshine