With this being Christmas week both Gateway Games and Gaming DNA’s armories were cancelled. We were too knackered on Tuesday to make the 3 hour round trip to Card Merchant Hamilton’s armory meaning a week with no armories. I think this is only the second time in the 21 weeks since we took up FAB that has happened.
Also being Christmas there’s not been much news. The only thing really has been the video showing us what you get for taking part in the Compendium Of Rathe World Premier in London. Looks great but I can’t afford to fly to London for it :(
Considering that my normal weekly update just doesn’t fit and I’ll be going on a more rambling path.
First up I hope that you had a good Christmas break and got to spend time with loved ones or whatever your tradition is for this time of year. Christmas isn’t something that we take very seriously. Sure we’ll have a couple of presents and a nice meal but it’s a low key affair in my family.
Before I do head off on my ramble I have found time to release my second Armory Guide To Aotearoa post. Gaming DNA in Hamilton is the store to get the treatment this time.
Looking back over the last 20 odd weeks that we’ve been playing FAB it’s been a winding journey with a few fun surprises along the way.
FAB Is Expensive
Starting out thinking that we’d have a game that we could play for practically free as we were given blitz decks at the Auckland Card Show. That illusion was quickly shattered but I still don’t think the game is as expensive as people say.
There’s this persistent comment that a competitive deck will cost you $1,000 and that’s USD not NZD. Sure if you want a ProTour level deck then they are going to be in that range. But to play at your local armory you don’t need anything like that level of deck. When Armory Deck Rhinar came out I played it straight out of the box at our local armory. I ended the night with 1 win and 2 losses and in those 2 losses my opponents were down to 1 and 4 life so they were close games.
Do I think you’ll be winning an armory with the basic deck? No but you can have fun playing it and you’ll be competitive in most games. The initial upgrades can be made for not much money or even donations from fellow players. Then you can build-up the deck over time.
It’s All About Community
I started playing FAB because it was a fun game but also so that my daughter and I had a hobby that we could do together. However the thing that’s really made this grow from a fun thing for us to do 1 evening a week is the community.
At our first armory people were very welcoming and suddenly we had a pile of cards being given to us. Sure they were nearly all bulk but the generosity was really appreciated as we had only just started the game and had no cards really.
Clearly I’ve put myself out there more that most people with this Substack/podcast/youtube channel or what ever this is. However early on when I posted about how much the game was costing we were donated deck boxes, sleeves, play mats, dice, counters, etc… It’s not just cards to help upgrade decks that people were willing to help out with.
We didn’t just get lucky with the Gateway Games/Tauranga crowd either. I remember turning up to a Blitz Skirmish at Card Merchant Hamilton with 2 Ira decks ready to play. Only to find out that Ira was LL in Blitz and we couldn’t use those decks. The people gathered around to give my daughter a deck and modify mine quickly so that we could still take part.
Then there’s the community organised events. Sure FAB is the premier organised competitive TCG however we’re learning that the community organised events are as much if not more fun. We had a great time at the Rotorua Christmas Party and we’re looking forward to the C*lling Taihape (which is in Rangataua this year, 50kms from Taihape).
On the welcoming side of things, I’ve found the playing community to be diverse. Sure it’s ~90% male however on other metrics I’d say it is diverse. I do love how C*lling Taihape is giving extra Kin Oath cards “for players identifying as a woman or part of the LGBTQIA+ community.“
Also at the Rotorua Christmas Party 5 out of the 20 players were female. Clearly not only is LSS looking to grow the inclusivity (with it’s Creator Grants this year) but the community (at least here in NZ) wants to be inclusive.
Is the community perfect? No there will always be personalities that rub each other up the wrong way. These though are tiny minority and this is a community that I’m proud to be part of.
What’s Coming Up?
We will be back to playing cards this coming week so normal service should resume for my weekly update.
