Meet the Community #2 : Gavken

I wasn’t looking for another TCG when I quit magic, but last year just after GenCon in August I spotted Eric W Martin’s article on Board Game Geek about Altered TCG. I was curious enough to search up MainDeck Dan’s video about the top 5 TCGs he played at GenCon and looked at the explanation of the game and some images of the cards as well as an interview with Intox which really intrigued me about the game. I joined the Altered Discord server and interacted heavily to find out more about the game.

The things that really drew me to the game were:

• The artwork: I’m not a big fan of anime TCGs or Disney. Many recent games (One Piece, Flesh and Blood) had artwork in that direction which really turned me off. Frankly the new Star Wars TCG artwork is dreadful whilst the artwork in Altered is gorgeous.
• The idea of a non-combat trading card game: The majority of the TCGs that can out after Magic the Gathering were all clones with creatures fighting each other in a one versus one combat. Altered is doing something very different that all other trading card games.
• The whole idea of Uniques: My last card game was Keyforge and the idea of Unique decks had a lot of appeal to me. However, a lot of the decks could be similar enough as to not be that different. The idea of having cards only you have and can play in your deck is fascinating to me.
• The mechanics: The idea of having a second, open hand (the reserve) is pretty cool. It means that you can have a hand discard mechanic (Sabotage) without so much of the feel bad that you get from it in Magic. Here you at least get to play your card once, which can be really frustrating in Magic with hand discard and counterspells.
• The fact that the game promotes positivity and inclusiveness: Altered doesn’t just have the odd token black or disabled character, it is built from the ground up to have the characters being from any race and having been through the wars during their life, meaning that they are all relatable to. Nothing is better for building a community than ensuring that everyone feels welcome.
• A new business model for a TCG: I’m a business graduate and other than the LCG model, the TCG model has not changed much since Magic was first introduced in 1993. For a TCG game to thrive in this crowded market, it not only needs to live from the initial card sales but needs to have other methods of income to be able to ensure that it is well promoted in game stores.
• The story: I’m a roleplayer and the story of Altered is intriguing. It’s not just a stock fantasy setting with elves and dwarves and the like. There’s so much to explore and Yoshi has done such a great job with the background.

I’m on Discord and I like to help out new people coming in with questions and try and ask that others in the community keep their interactions respectful and helpful where possible. Thankfully because of the nature of the game that’s pretty easy. I also help mod the UK Discord community.

I participated in the first Altered Tournament on ExAltered (courtesy of the absolute hero Nuclehon) run by the excellent Dashington. I played Pierre in the first round who beat me. I’m thankful that I was knocked out by the eventual winner however as our games were relatively close.

Finally, I have my own website (Bravos Bastion) where I write strategy and opinion articles for Altered.

I am working on my own solo mode and a system for evaluating cards once the new set has been revealed.

Err Bravos. Sorry, you need more than that? Isn’t it obvious that they are the best? Okay maybe those that don’t know the game will need to see why Bravos is the best.

Basically, Altered TCG is a race game, and the faster pair of Hero and Companion will win the game. Bravos are the sprinters of the factions, and we get off to a great head start. It’s up to the other factions to catch us up, and if they don’t have what is needed, then they will lose. We’re the faction to go big, go fast, go hard. Ymzir need to have the answers, Muna need to get their plants to hang around long enough, Lyra need to stay lucky, Axiom needs to set up their machines and Ordis need to get their combo pieces in the right order.

Tons of things!

• Seeing the release of the full set with the Kickstarter and opening my boxes and hopefully finding a golden booster.
• The full set being on ExAltered and doing deck brewing.
• Looking at all the Uniques I’ve opened and seeing how they best fit into decks.
• Learning more about the Lore of Altered and the world of Asgartha.
• I’m an armchair game designer and I like looking forward to all the game design space that the designers are going to open up. I’m Bravos and I always like to look forward to things in the distance.
• Seeing the first major tournament next year
• Seeing who the lost factions, what happened to them and how they will interact within the game.
• Finding out more about how tournaments will affect the lore (that was an awesome idea in Legend of the 5 Rings and really can bring more engagement)
• Interacting with the Altered card trading market to find the pieces that I need for to make the most awesome and fun deck.
• Loki finally admitting that Bravos is the best faction! (Okay well maybe I’ll get nine out ten)

My site is Bravos Bastion... Bravos.gavken.net

Twitter: @Gavken

Discord: Gavken#9476