Welcome, new player. By purchasing a starter at your local game store you've undoubtedly begun your magical journey into a land of magical samurai and shugenja, Oni, Goblins, and other strange creatures.
You're likely eager to dive right in and win your first kotei, take part in the community and learn the sekrit tech that the l5r masters are holding.
BUT NOT SO FAST!
If you're looking to enjoy yourself at this game there are a few rules you need to know first.
1. You're new, don't expect a lot of victories.
It's a sad fact that very few l5r players routinely carry decks that are tuned to play against new players. Most of the time you'll be facing peoples prospective tournament deck and it will feel like you're getting tossed around by a 800 pound gorilla. This is a complex card game with many confusing interactions and cards and you'll find yourself blindsided an awful lot until you familiarize yourself with what cards are out there and how they interact. Stick with it, it can be worth it. That said, if you're new to the game and your l5r scene has convinced you to go to a kotei, don't be easily frustrated. You'll likely get some wins, but dont enter the kotei expecting to make the cut if you've been at the game for all of a month before hand. Go to meet new people, make some trades for cards that are rare outside of your environment, and see just how varied the environment can be deck and playstylewise.
2. Either avoid the forums or be aware of the sad reality of internet free speech.
If you go to any given forum, you're likely to be inundated with a vast array of complaining whining and doomsaying about the game. This is normal. We are by and large a geeky fanbase and geeky fanbases are NEVER happy. Each new card is a slap in the face, each business decision is crapping on the fans and despite the fact that AEG does more for their playerbase than any other game company in the world, from free cards to deals in their store to massive multiplayer games that affect the story, it's just not enough for a geeky fanbase. Do not let yourself become discouraged by this, the game IS actually fun despite what these people are saying.
3. Be open to other clans.
The first step to being good at the game is to know your enemy. L5R is a game that seems to encourage clan loyalty, and that is good. There are however 10 factions, and all factions will not be equal at all times of the game, especially with 4 victory conditions and a new set every 3 to 4 months. Knowing your opponents is power in this game, knowing what each deck is capable of and what actions and events stick a spoke in the wheels of their strategy will win you games. The best way to learn that is to play the deck. This might sound expensive, but you can actually do it rather cheaply by simply asking to switch decks for a few games with your playgroup so that you can see how their deck works, and what occurs to give you trouble in the game while you play it. It has the added benefit of letting you get some playtime in with cards you may not have access to yet as a new player. This also exposes you to other decks and playstyles that you might be able to fall back to and play should the environment switch in such a manner that your faction is on the weaker end of the spectrum during a period where there are tournaments you want to attend.
4. Beware the keyword trap.
L5R is a game with keywords, some have rulebook effects, some are just there to trigger off of cards in your fate deck, and some are just there to make the personality cooler. Kaiu mcboogerpants the generic samurai is not as cool as Kaiu Mcboogerpants the Siege Master. That said, you should be using the best personalities available to your faction, in clan or out regardless of keyword in almost every situation. A personality with a powerful action, but lacking a keyword you use in your deck is still a useable personality. Many new players simply throw all the personalities with Keyword X into a deck and all the fate cards triggering off of Keyword X into a deck and expect it to work. The game is more complex than that and you'll be setting yourself up for a frustrating time if you expect success while doing that.
5. Be aware of which strategies and victory conditions are more difficult.
There is a fairly large difficulty gap between learning to play vanilla military and learning to play enlightenment. By and large Enlightenment and Dishonor are tougher victory conditions to play, requiring more rare cards and a higher familiarity with the rules and card interactions than honor and military. This might seem unfair at first, but remember, dishonoring an opponent out and putting 5 rings into play by text end the game immediately. Military is a turn by turn battle where you have to destroy 4 provinces, and your opponent will almost never go from 3 or 4 provinces to 0 in one attack phase, Honor also gives your opponent 1 full turn to try to beat you before the game ends. Enlightenment and dishonor are a higher ring to grab and the rewards for making a deck that works are that once you hit your stride, the game ends. As a new player attempting these two victory conditions is setting the game to hard or nightmare difficulty, to use a video game analogy, and you should go into it realizing this.
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I think point number 3 is one of the most important things that will make you a better player. And who knows you may find something else you like. Also the insight of beating your own deck lets you know what other people are thinking when they are playing you.
ReplyDeleteI still remember starting out with the game and playing enlightenment in the middle of lotus. Oh too learn sooooo much at one time. Very good experiences.