Review: World of Warcraft Trading Card Game

So I’ve constructed two different 60-card decks, two 40-card decks, and have played the game about 25 times. I think I’m ready to tell you what I think about the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game.

A bit of background

As with many others who are playing or might be interested in the WoWTCG, I used to play Magic: The Gathering. I played it solidly for about 1-2 years in the mid 90s, and I thought it was one of the best games I had ever played. There is something um… magical about being able to interpret a game however you might like through deck construction. And the amount of potential strategies to discover was nearly infinite. I missed that.

Considering that I also recently played the World of Warcraft MMORPG solidly for 1 year (all of 2005), I was ready for more Warcraft. I’ve been gaming on computers since 1983 and I consider World of Warcraft to be the finest experience I’ve yet had. Although I quit nearly a year ago, I still occasionally miss the world, the art, and the fantastic locations.

You might say that I was primed to like the WoWTCG. It allows me to return to the world, but without the tremendous expenditure of time. Although the obvious tradeoff is a tremendous expenditure of money. More on that later.

What is the game like?

In a nutshell, the World of Warcraft TCG is a combination of:

Magic: The Gathering – It has the most in common with Magic, and rightfully so. Magic is a solid game and carries with it some of the finest mechanics found in trading card games.

The Harry Potter TCG – What you say? It’s true. The Harry Potter TCG introduced the idea of a Hero card and also the idea of Quests as Quidditch Matches. This game was unfortunately overlooked as a kids game even though it had pretty solid mechanics.

Runebound – Again, what? I think so. Runebound uses Heroes and Equipment in much the same way that it is used in the WoWTCG. You can essentially “purchase” equipment and use it in battle. The use of equipment gives your Hero added attack and defense bonuses.

How is it different from Magic?

It’s been a long time since I’ve played Magic and I’m sure a lot has changed. Therefore, I can’t be comprehensive here. I’ll just list a few obvious differences…

Resources vs. Lands – In the WoWTCG, any card can be used as a resource. In my opinion, this is the best innovation I’ve seen in a recent TCG. I’m not sure if it’s new or not, but it’s new to me. And it’s such a simple idea. In Magic, you have to tap Lands for mana. It was very important to have enough land available in your deck. But the problem was that Land had virtually no other function.

In the WoWTCG, there are special cards called Quests that can be played face-up as resources. While in play, these cards can be exhausted (tapped) for resources (mana). At almost any time, a player can opt to “complete a quest” in order to gain rewards (often the drawing of a card). Once the quest is complete, that card is turned face-down and can continue to be used as a resource.

If no quests are available in your hand, you can simply play any card face-down as a resource. Fantastic! This wonderful rule unlocks more potential deck building options as it unshackles the deck from containing a large number of relatively “useless” cards. It also allows the player to more adequately adapt to changing gameplay by allowing them to use otherwise useless cards as useful resources.

The Hero – In Magic, the goal was to kill the other player. In the WoWTCG, the goal is to kill the other player’s Hero. The Hero can deploy allies (creatures) just like in Magic, but now the player can also equip their Hero with weapons and armor in order to attempt direct attacks.

Heroes also have a once-per-game unique ability known as the Flip ability. You can pay to activate the ability and then flip your double-sided Hero card. It’s a neat idea that differentiates the Heroes and adds flavor to your deck. Occasionally, this flip maneuver can be the game winning move.

What are the quirks?

There are a couple of things that have become apparent to me as I’ve played this game. Some are good, some are neutral, and some are of the “wait and see” variety. Here is a breakdown in no specific order:

Game Length – My first few games were lengthy affairs. A couple of them lasted more than 1 hour. I chalked this up to learning the game and playing with evenly matched starter decks. Even so, I was worried that every game would be a marathon… I was wrong.

Now I think just the opposite! Most of the games I play now are over in 6 to 8 turns, which I feel is extremely short. The practical result of such short games is that the player only gets to see a very small percentage of their 60-card deck. This means that the game may have a very strong luck component as the outcome might often be determined by the opening 7-card draw.

Thankfully though, I am beginning to see a lengthening of games as my own decks mature. Game length obviously also hinges on which classes are dueling. Two decks focusing heavily on healing and survivability should be able to last a while. Most of my decks aim for card control or direct damage.

Equipment vs. Allies – As mentioned above, the player has the option to outfit their Hero with weapons and armor. But frankly, I’m torn as to the ultimate utility of this. I have yet to play a game where equipment is the deciding factor in victory. Almost always, it is the allies who deal the most significant damage. Maybe I’m just not seeing the right decks, but I’ve found that even a Rogue deck can win games by removing all equipment and just focusing on Allies.

Card Rarity (The Bad News) – From what I’ve seen and read, it is very difficult to complete a full card set. To get into the game and feel really comfortable constructing a competetive 60-card deck, it will require an investment.

You’ll need to purchase at least a couple of starter decks and a number of boosters. I’d go with no less than 10 boosters. And even then, you’ll most likely need to trade with friends to fill in your gaps. At this point, you certainly won’t have anything close to a full set, but you will be able to construct one or two decks that have a shot at winning.

I’ve personally purchased 4 starters and about 60 boosters and I’m probably missing 50 cards from the set. Thankfully I really don’t care about completing the set. I just want enough cards to feel satisfied with my decks.

Card Rarity (The Good News) – Like Magic, it is possible to create a well-performing deck from nothing but common and uncommon cards! In fact, as far as I have seen, some of the best cards in the game are common and uncommon cards. Some examples:

Voss Treebender
Parvink
Apprentice Teep
Polymorph
Mana Agate
Dispel Magic
Shadow Word: Pain
Kulan Earthguard
Frost Shock

and many more!

The rare and epic cards do not automatically make a deck more powerful. Therefore, it may be possible to get into the game relatively cheaply by purchasing a common/uncommon set on eBay.

Hand Management – Card advantage takes a central role in the WoW TCG. The cards in the player’s hand tend to disappear at a frightening pace. By turn 4, many players will have nothing left in their hand. This is why many of the Quest rewards involve drawing cards.

Because of this quirk of the game, the most powerful deck I’ve seen so far was one in which the player was able to continuously draw new cards. It seemed like every card he played gave him the ability to draw 1 or 2 new cards. Against a deck like this, any other deck would most likely falter.

Conversely, my deck featuring Omedus the Punisher focuses on making my opponent discard continuously. This is also a powerful technique that essentially binds the hands of my opponent… not allowing them to do anything of real value.

With the current card set, these two deck types will most likely reign supreme.

Rules – There’s no doubt about it, Upper Deck had a great team designing this game. They were as meticulous as they could be in “getting it right” and planning for the future. There are a few symbols and keywords printed on the cards that do not currently have functions within the game. But the word is that future expansions will make use of them. Pretty cool.

The official rules that come with the starter set should be considered more like a brief overview of the game. Unfortunately, they are not comprehensive. Discussion on the official Upper Deck forums has revealed the need for enormous amounts of clarification. I wouldn’t be surprised if Upper Deck released a new, revised edition of the official rules. In fact, I really hope they do!

Conclusion

The WoWTCG is perfect for the former MTG player who wants to re-experience that type of game at the ground floor. There’s no denying that it’s always nice to get into something when it’s brand new. I have no desire to play Magic because there would be an insane amount of “catching up” and learning new rules. But a new game? Sure, I’ll try that.

Apparently everyone failed to predict how popular this game would be. It has only been released for about 2 weeks and it is currently sold out almost everywhere. Obtaining cards at a reasonable price is nearly impossible at this time. Re-prints are to follow shortly.

And the WoW TCG has certainly succeeded in providing me with the flavor of the World of Warcraft that I have been missing. It lets me re-experience the game without actually logging on. And just like the MMORPG, the art on the cards is fantastic and top quality.

Overall, I would recommend this game to former Magic players and those who have always wanted to try a trading card game (TCG) or collectible card game (CCG). You’ll spend more money than you would with a traditional board game, but you will also get the opportunity to customize the game to your particular desires.