ARC Playtest Round 4 : a summary

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ngoeminne
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ARC Playtest Round 4 : a summary

Post by ngoeminne » Fri Nov 04, 2016 16:54

Hi folks,

Last Tuesday we had another playtest round. Since we had the nice 'uneasy alliance' proof prints (2 decks), we decided to do a mirror game. Uneasy Alliance vs Uneasy Alliance, and it was great fun. But as seems to be a constant, I keep losing each and every single play test. I'm very very tempted to add an errata to the ARC rules: 'The rule's author can change the rules at any time, even during play' :-)

First of all, the game's speed went up. We're getting to know the cards, the rules, and the interactions. It went fast, the game's lasted about 8 to 12 mins. I have a feeling it also has something to do with not having the Gaian love for live deck competing (it is defensive and slows things down). Anyhow, it was way more fun than before.

Secondly, I again must stress the draw and resource mechanics. They are absolutely refreshing. You have to have your wits about it as soon as the game starts and your up. No more autopilot like in the MTG, 'untap', 'draw', 'play land'. It's 'you' who sets the draw speed and the resource ramp time.

Since we introduced the ARC city level advantages without competing for it, things became clearer, smoother, faster, ... so that's definitely a good thing. The level thresholds are still a matter of investigation. I think they were put a little to high, so I reduced them a bit:

First advantage is kept at level 3 (you'll need two small-medium creatures, or one big one)
Second advantage is set at level 5 (three medium creatures, or two medium/large ones)
Third advantage is set at level 7 or higher

The 'Uneasy Alliance' deck doesn't need much more tweaking, here and there a small adjustment to the values or some minor rephrasing, but it is close to being final. Actually, I would say it is final.

Looking forward to finalize the Gaian deck as well.

Kind regards,
Nico
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