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Review: Star Wars Galaxies TCG
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Star Wars Galaxies: Champions of the Force is a trading card game based around the Star Wars Galaxies MMO. Current and former Star Wars Galaxies subscribers can play the game for free, and newcomers can try out the game as part of a free trial for Star Wars Galaxies.
You can get more information, and download the game, here.
Star Wars Galaxies: Champions of the Force is a lot like the Everquest 2 TCG, but set in the Star Wars universe, and with some interesting new avatars, abilities, and tactics.
There are four different deck types - two Dark Side ones - Imperial, and Sith, and two Light Side ones - Rebel, and Jedi. Each type has different strengths and abilities that lend themselves to different play styles - Jedi are very resillient, Rebels have a good range of units, and the Sith have a very sacrificial way of playing, with many of their abilities being a balance of damaging themselves or their units, in order to deal more damage to the enemy.
The initial release of the game comes with a tutorial scenario, and two story scenarios, one Rebel, and one Imperial. As a starting gift, free trial players, and players who are former Star Wars Galaxies subscribers, are given a choice of an Imperial, Sith, Rebel, or Jedi starter deck. This deck allows you to play one of the scenarios. You also get the choice of either an Imperial or Rebel flight suit, which you can redeem in the Star Wars Galaxies MMO for an outfit for your character.
There are a number of loot cards randomly inserted into booster packs, including buffs, decorative items, clothing, special vendor models, and other goodies - you can get a full list on The SWG Site.
If you are a current SWG subscriber, you will get five booster packs a month, each with 15 cards inside, that you can use to build your deck. The free booster packs are no trade, so you may end up with a lot of duplicate cards, but it's still pretty cool for a freebie. You can of course buy booster packs, and additional starter decks, with real life money if you wish.
Unlike the Legends of Norrath game, booster packs are not a normal drop inside Star Wars Galaxies. There are special cards that can be obtained as a drop, but these are given as special events during limited time periods inside Star Wars Galaxies. They also aren't typical 'drops' - just something you have a chance to be given. This is to give non combat professions a chance to obtain the cards - for example, an entertainer could be given the card for buffing another player, and a trader could get one for crafting an item.
Completing the scenarios awards you with special cards for use in the game. The scenarios cover a broad difficulty range. The Rebel scenario can easily be completed with either Light Side Starter Deck. The Imperial Scenario's were much harder, however. I had access to a large collection of cards when I tried them, but decided to try to stick with the Starter Deck to get the 'new player experience'. The third and the fifth Imperial scenarios are very hard for a Sith player using a limited selection of cards - they can be done, but I found that luck in the first couple of rounds is required.
That's not to say that the decks are unbalanced - once you have a few cards, and have built your own deck, the Sith cards start to come into their own.
Players of SWG will appreciate the units, equipment, and abilities found in the game, as well as the scenarios - one scenario has you facing off against CY-M, for example, and equipment cards include E-11 Carbines and Personal Shield Generators. Abilities such as Meditate, Shien and Vaapad stance also make an appearance, as well as the obligatory Lightsaber Block tactic.
In many respects, the game feels like a re-skinned Legends of Norrath, and some of the more serious card game players we have spoken to have commented that the range of abilities is not as broad as you see in the Everquest 2 game. That said, Champions of The Force is just the first instalment of the Star Wars Galaxies game, the Everquest 2 Trading Card Game has already had several expansions adding new scenarios and cards, so comparing the two is a little unfair.
I was quite impressed with the cards that were chosen for the first release, I think they fit well with the Star Wars Galaxies universe - they reference skills, talents, and characters from the game, and they feel 'right'. I'd rather see that than have lots of extra cards that have nothing to do with Star Wars, or the MMO, that were put in just to add a few cool game mechanics.
The Star Wars Galaxies TCG has support for guilds, and a number of Star Wars Galaxies guilds have a presence on there. There are also a lot of server centric guilds springing up, such as 'Wanderhomies' and the 'Eclipse Card Alliance'.
The game seems decently busy, with lots of active trades, and plenty of people chatting in lobbies every time I have looked. The standard of play in the multiplayer side of things is quite broad, with a smattering of casual players, and also some people that are very good at the game, as many experienced players have came over from the other SOE trading card games to try their hand at the Star Wars Galaxies game.
All in all, I recommend the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game - it's free to try out, and even people who have not previously tried the Star Wars Galaxies game can enjoy it - the different deck builds all have different feels, and as such you can get a lot of mileage out of the game if you take the time to build a deck for each side. Novice players should find that the Jedi starter deck and scenarios are a nice, gentle introduction to the game, and they can then read up on the other deck builds and choose one that suits their play style.
The community is mostly very friendly, so the leap to casual games is not too daunting. Tournament play requires the purchase of a tournament pass, but is well worth it once you have gained some confidence.
I'm looking forward to seeing the next scenarios for the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game. Champions of the Force was a great start, but there is a lot of lore for them to draw on, and I can't wait to see where they go next, and what kind of raids they will introduce for players to test their skills against.
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