FFG: L5R – A New Rotation Approaches
Fantasy Flight Games is updating the usable card pool for Legend of the Five Rings: LCG with the introduction of a new Rotation Schedule.
It had to happen eventually and FFG is letting it be known early – The Legend of the Five Rings card pool is going to get trimmed up…eventually. The game still has a Cycle or so left before the card pool shrinks so you’ve still got lots of time to play with your favorite decks. Here’s what FFG had to say.
Rotation is a term used to describe the systematic retirement of older cards from a game’s card pool as newer cards are added.
Not only is rotation utterly thematically consistent with Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game, but it is a significant component of any competitive Living Card Game® (LCG).
The Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game card pool will continue to grow and mature until the fifth cycle of Dynasty Packs. As soon as the first Dynasty Pack from the game’s fifth cycle is released, the first two cycles of Dynasty Packs will rotate out of the Organized Play environment.
This means that the game’s fully matured card pool will include the cards from three to four cycles of Dynasty Packs. It will also include all core products and a set number of Premium Expansions.
- Core products include the game’s Core Set and the most recent Clan Pack for each clan.
- Premium Expansions will be introduced into the Organized Play environment upon their release and will remain until specifically designated for rotation. (When Premium Expansions are rotated out, notice will be given to the players in advance.)
Players should expect no more than one Rotation Event per year—so you won’t have to keep checking the status of your favorite Premium Expansion.
Advertisement
Essentially, this pruning of cards from the card pool is an effort to keep the game fresh and moving forward with new ideas. CCG do this regularly and competitive LCGs are in a similar boat. We saw a similiar rotation cycle with Android: Netrunner when FFG was helming the development of that license. But there is a key difference with L5R and that is the rotation is shorter.
Now, to reiterate, you can expect no more than one rotation a year. In LCG terms, that’s a pretty long time! That should give players lots of time to play with their different decks and themes. And it should also allow some room for the designers to experiment with new ideas and keywords. This will ensure the meta game stays fresh and leaves room for expansion.
L5R is in a really unique position as one of the few LCGs out there that changes over time – and not just with new cards but with the setting, too. It’s one continuous story with drama and history that builds upon itself much like the dynasty of the Jade Empire. If any game should be allowed to have a thinning of the card pool type event regularly, it’s L5R.
If you’d like to read more about the Rotation Schedule and the why behind the choice, you can read the full article from FFG HERE.
Change is the only constant.
