Gameplay problems – we’re talking fundamental design and general game direction, nothing too specific – are caused by four main things: high levels of chance, virtually no interaction, very limited strategies, and a swathe of negative play experiences. What follows is exactly why this game is bad. You can stop reading now, if you’d like: what follows is me seeking closure from this fucking game by giving a detailed, in depth analysis (slash rant) of everything that is wrong with it. In either case, that was that – I was out.Īnd there’s your story. Besides, it was a nice way to say farewell. I could have got a fair bit for it on eBay, but I just couldn’t be bothered. I didn’t have the energy to juggle three games, so that was that: bye-bye Vanguard!Īnything I was holding onto to trade was given away at locals some five or six playmats and a bunch of promos and cards I didn’t care about in total. I wanted to play it, and when I tried it I liked it. In the end, Fantasy Flight Games delivered the killing blow: Legend of the Five Rings, their new LCG, released. Friends dropping out, the scene at the LGS collapsing, Bushiroad doing something so heinous that I couldn’t possibly justify it anymore, something. By then I was looking for a reason to quit. The only thing that really stirred me was my drummed up hype for Prismatic Divas, and the vain hope that it would explode Bermuda Triangle wide open (it didn’t). I held on, still spending money all the while, but half-heartedly. It’s impressive that my interest survived even slightly intact from that quadruple whammy, but such is the power of friendship and being-kinda-good-at-something playing at locals was fun and gratifying, albeit in the cheap sorta way you get when it’s because you’re winning easily. And that opened my eyes to what a good game could be. And finally, I picked up Android: Netrunner. I had heard the criticisms of Bushiroad’s organised play and tournament structure, and how the game wasn’t really fit for anything more than casual play, but this was the wakeup call to make me know it. I attended the regional qualifiers near Birmingham I got up early travelled for 2 hours and played 2 whole games before being knocked out. Blessing of Divas was one of the worst sets Bushiroad has ever printed, leaving me angry and disappointed. V-Mundi’s discovery and analysis of grade 1 rush – which they determined to be mathematically optimal – made me realise just how fundamentally flawed the games mechanics are. It wasn’t any one thing but rather the combination of four, each hitting me from a different direction. And all the while, I was loving it.Įnthusiasm began waning in the summer of ’16. And I was still only playing casually with friends! It took a while (early 2016!) until I started playing at locals regularly, and that sunk me in even deeper.
#Cardfight vanguard video game 2017 full#
Singles then started, initially at £2 or £3 a card, but it wasn’t long before I was buying full playsets of £15 cards. Then two of Dazzling Divas, followed by four of Divas Duet. I started slowly, buying a box of the Bermuda Triangle booster set Banquet of Divas to get me started. Vanguard just happened to be in the right place at the right time – if it wasn’t that, it would have been something else. I collected Pokémon cards, I got into Yu-Gi-Oh! when it first came out, I dabbled with Magic: the Gathering when I was 13, I tried Hearthstone a bit but mostly watched videos, and so on and so forth. (In retrospect, picking up a children’s card game as soon as I entered the real, adult world probably says a lot about me, but whatever – I was enjoying myself.) Eventually they convinced me to play a game with one of their decks (a game which I won), and I distinctly remember that my exact words after that were: “oh, fuck you guys.” I was hooked already. I flatly said no, as I didn’t want to get suckered into a moneysink hobby. I turned up at my friend’s place for our RPG night to find them grouped around the table playing a card game – Vanguard – and suggested I give it a shot.
I started playing in the summer of 2014, after graduating from uni. Taking a step back, it’s so easy to see it for what it is.īut I think some context and my history with the game is important before I dive into that.
The problems are present top to bottom, from core mechanics, through Bushiroad’s handling all the way to the player community.
It wasn’t the easiest decision to make as it had been a big part of my life over the past 3 or so years – I met new people, travelled a bit, spent way too much money and had a ton of fun – but it was a necessary one for my time, my wallet and my fucking sanity.īecause Vanguard is not a good game. I suggested I would last year, but it took me until November to call it an end. I quit playing Cardfight!! Vanguard this year.