Now that we're coming up on the 2nd deluxe expansion, has anyone experimented with block play?

Card pool is probably not deep enough to do this as anything other than a fun experiment -- not that there's a competitive environment anyway -- but I'm curious what the game looks like if one were to restrict oneself to the core set + Khazad-dum + Dwarrowdelf (leaving out the mirkwood cycle) for the Khazad-dum and Dwarrowdelf scenarios.

I mean, other than lots more dwarf decks.

Back when I was a big CCG player, I really enjoyed limited formats like this, but LCG's don't seem to lend themselves to this kind of shifting environment.

BD Flory said:

The trouble is that these dwarf decks would be crippled by the absence of Dain (from Return to Mirkwood).

whats block play?

I think the idea is:

- playing Mirkwood quests with only core set cards + Shadows of Mirkwood AP cards

- playing Dwarrowdelf quests with only core set cards + KD box cards + Dwarrowdelf cycle AP cards

- playing the new cycle with only core set cards + HON box cards + cards from the new APs and so on

jjeagle said:

i see, thanks. in that case, no i havnt. i find it rather restrictive, especially when trying to build a theme deck

rich

@jjeagle: Exactly so. Although we've already done Mirkwood that way by default. :)

And Dain could use some time on the bench. Part of the point of this kind of format is that staple cards get excluded, forcing players to find new solutions.

Of course, the main obstacle to this idea is that most games that have "block" formats have much deeper card pools. It isn't really possible, for example, to exclude the core set -- even if you build in a hero exception -- because the card pool would be so small.

Likewise, because of the small card pool, it's probably less practical to play adventure packs as they release than it is to play a block after all 6 AP's are out and you have at least some options. From what I'm hearing, I wouldn't want to attempt the new quests in HoN with only core + HoN. :)

I think that a LCG could be designed to work like this. However I don't think that the lord of the rings LCG would work well in this format.

The cards are designed around all the cards being avaliable.

Before most of my playgroup sold off our collections, we toyed with the idea of playing without any cards from the core set.  But we were too burnt out to ever try.