As someone who has tried and failed several times to stick League of Legends, I know first hand how forbidding Summoner's Rift can seem, but that has recently changed thanks to Fault. Over the past week since its launch, I've played it as much as I could, and Dave Gaskin (FaultGame Director) is right: this CCG is one of the most accessible I've played in a while, and it will hook players.
Whether you're a longtime TCG fan like me, love League of Legends or only know the characters through Arcane, or are a complete newbie to League or card games, there's something absolutely amazing about Riftbound.
Even my fiancée was thrilled when I invited (read: bribed) her to play a few games with me, saying, “This is so much better than Magic [The Gathering]” I'm not sure I'd go that far yet, but Wizards of the Coast better be on the lookout: their lunch could soon be eaten.
Choose your fighter
Fault when it comes to gameplay, it's like a tasty collection of ideas.
Just like League of Legends and several popular TCG alternatives (namely Flesh and blood And Magic: Gathering “Commander” format) deck building begins with the selection of a Legend – a character from leagues extensive registry.
This legend decides which two of Riftbound's The varieties of runes you can use in your deck – these determine what cards you can include and are based on the character's personality, for example, Jinx is fueled by Rage and Chaos, and Victor is fueled by Reason and Order. Legend also has an ability that you can use throughout the game to improve your strategy: Jinx allows you to draw an extra card when your hand is empty (or nearly empty), so it pairs well with discard effects.
With this in mind, you build a 40-card deck (no more than three copies of each card) that includes at least one Champion unit that matches your legend. So they can be your chosen Champion, a card that's outside your deck that you can play as if it were in your hand (though unlike Magic: Gathering Commander, if this Champion is killed, they will remain in the trash, like all the other cards).
There are currently 16 pairs of Legend champions (some champions, like V, don't yet have a Legend to pair with), and while I've only been familiar with a few of them, I've already fallen in love with their designs—not just their excellent character designs, but the varied gameplay styles they provide.
Among these 16, I'm sure that most players will find a legend suitable for the game they want.
As Guskin explained to me in the conversation we had the day before Faultat launch: “I think we saw an opportunity to build this card game from the ground up so people could play the way they wanted.”
He talked about not only what they're creating, but also how they interact with the game in the moment, with more action-packed and more relaxed playstyles being perfectly acceptable: “We can design a system that supports a really robust 1v1 competitive format, as well as multiplayer where maybe someone isn't fighting the battlefield, there's no risk of game ending, and they can go out and grab a bite to eat and come back.”
Into the rift
How will you play if you have a deck?
Players compete to earn eight points by capturing or holding battlefields. These locations are determined at the start of the game (often with an element of randomness), and each offers some unique effect – such as buffing all units fighting there, or allowing the controller to draw bonus cards.
On each of their turns, players will summon units to send to the battlefield, cast spells that make their units stronger (or destroy enemies), and craft equipment that will provide some kind of permanent advantage if allowed to remain.
They do this using those Runes that I mentioned earlier.
What's good about Fault is that your Runes are not like Energy or Lands in some other CCGs, since they are mixed with all your other cards; instead, they have their own unique 12-card deck, and you can put two runes into play on each of your turns – meaning by turn six, all 12 can be in play.
I say “may be in play” because some powerful cards not only drain your resources (“targeting” them, if you're used to the lingo from other card games), but also ask you to recycle runes, meaning put them back at the bottom of the deck.
Another mix-up with the usual TCG formula, the eight point race has a special twist: the last point is special. It can only be earned by conquering all battlefields in a turn or holding a location (having a unit there at the start of your turn). Otherwise, when you score a point, you draw a card instead.
If you've ever played a TCG and felt the pain of using too many or too few resources, you'll understand why the Runes deck is an exciting twist on the usual formula that gives players much more tactical control.
As for why that last point should be special, Dave Gaskin explained to me: “It's a bit of a sudden death thing.
“So, we didn't have that rule in the beginning, but we did a lot of playtesting inside Riot and some outside, and you'd play it and it was really cool and fast-paced, and then all of a sudden someone would sneak in to get the ending point, and it was just a really frustrating end to the game.”
He added: “Winning should be that epic moment where one player shows they deserved it, and getting to that final point felt the opposite of what we wanted to build.
“So we came up with the idea of this kind of king of the hill. Either the player proves that he can choose a location and defend himself against all who challenge him, or he can demonstrate complete military superiority by conquering each battlefield.
We tested this and while it did make games last a little longer, no one cared that it lasted longer because the final moves were so exciting.”
The frustrating nature of the endings certainly reflects my experience with other score-based card games.
I was playing around Lorca for a while, but eventually fell because I felt too many games ended without enough leeway over the outcome – it's a fantastic game in many ways, but I remember a few matches where I could foresee my eventual defeat or victory several moves in advance, and if we both played perfectly, neither my opponent nor I could do anything to change the outcome.
WITH FaultAccording to the approach that Gaskin and I and other players have experienced, you can see some real intense matches where one player is on the verge of victory for a while – sometimes winning, sometimes snatching defeat – and this makes for exciting gameplay.
The new best CCG?
I love Fault as you can probably tell from my letter, I think it's knocking on the door to becoming the greatest TCG of all time – we'll have to see how it develops in future releases, but I have high hopes for now.
It has a low skill level, which makes it easy for people to learn even if they are new to it. League or TCG, but also a lot of tactical content to chew on if that's what you're looking for.
I've already signed up for a few Nexus Nights at local game stores and as I write this, I'm counting down the days until the next one so I can play more.
Unfortunately, the game is so popular that the supply of cards is running low, but replenishment and improved availability have been achieved. promised by Riot to arrive soon (“between now and the end of the year”).
When these additions arrive, be sure to pick up the Proving Grounds box set as soon as possible – it's essentially a board game that has everything for two to four players to play the game with some pretty strong pre-built decks that make for exciting matches. This is the best way to try Faultand once you play it, I'm sure you'll be as hooked as it was with me.
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