Aliens/Predator VS TCG

Started by Corporal Hicks, Mar 18, 2015, 09:26:58 AM

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Aliens/Predator VS TCG (Read 19,953 times)

Corporal Hicks

Corporal Hicks

So Mr Domino posted this on Facebook on the AXP page:



Can't say I'm too familiar with the VS system but I'm quite happy to see Aliens/Predator return to TCG! Because I need more things to throw money at.  :P

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vs._System

Machiko Naguchi

Machiko Naguchi

#1
Yeah I am not familiar with the VS system other than knowing the name, but this looks intriguing. Though if you buy a big box of cards for that much and you only get a little bit of AvP cards then I am not sure if I will be getting it. Guess we will have to wait and see. At least it is exciting times in the past year with all of the card games, video games, books, comics and movie stuff coming out!  ;D

RakaiThwei

RakaiThwei

#2
Does this mean... I can hunt Superheroes now?!  ;D

Nightmare Asylum

Nightmare Asylum

#3
Didn't even know this game still existed. Way back in my elementary school days I used to play the Marvel/DC game a bit with a friend. Wouldn't have any clue how to play anymore, though. :P

Corporal Hicks

Corporal Hicks

#4
I was just speaking to Jason Brenner from Upper Deck and chances of getting an AvP set are "extremely high". No release date though.

Machiko Naguchi

Machiko Naguchi

#5
That would be neat if it was an entire set for AvP as opposed to just some random cards from within the larger main set.

Corporal Hicks

Corporal Hicks

#6
I think that's what it'll be.

RakaiThwei

RakaiThwei

#7
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Mar 27, 2015, 02:35:13 PM
I was just speaking to Jason Brenner from Upper Deck and chances of getting an AvP set are "extremely high". No release date though.

There's lot of AvP variations out there.. Are we talking about the original AvP comic, the movie, or the Fire and Stone reboot which they will be basing their cards off of? I'm hoping it's the first two ideas I mentioned.

Mr. Domino

Mr. Domino

#8
Ok, everybody, sorry I haven't been around - here's the skinny on the VS game. Apologies for over-explanations, trying to make this as user-friendly as possible.

VS System was a Collectible Card Game (or Trading Card Game, Customizable Card Game, or any number of other variations that all mean the same thing), i.e. a game where two people would build decks (usually of a fixed size, in this case with a minimum of 50 cards) out of a large available card pool which was distributed semi-randomly through booster packs containing variable numbers of cards of different "rarities" - thus the collectible aspect, as players attempting to build competitive-level decks, or complete sets of cards, would have to buy many more cards than they actually needed in the hopes of tracking down specific "rare" cards.

The game originally consisted of sets based on the Marvel Comics and DC Comics media licenses, featuring characters, locations, events, and scenarios applicable to those licensing agreements, although late in it's development cycle, a single expansion set containing cards from the Hellboy comic book property was produced. Although the game never veered away from comic book-based properties, the mechanics of the game were designed in such a way that they weren't tied overtly to a specific style of combat or storytelling - i.e. they could have produced sets based on just about any property where people fought in some way, and the mechanics would have supported it - the flavor in the game was provided by the card art and by the abilities on cards, rather than inherently being a part of the mechanics. For instance, Two-Face (a villain from the Batman comic books produced by DC Comics) might have an ability that, when activated, instructs the player to "Flip a coin. If you win the flip, KO target stunned character." This represents the character's tendency to rely on the flip of a coin to make his decisions.

VS System was originally produced from April 2004 to January 2009, after which Upper Deck ceased production of new sets due to declining popularity. Though the game retained a small and very vocal fanbase, it was plagued from inception with problems relating to Upper Deck's desire to cater specifically to players who played competitively and spent large amounts of money on the game. This resulted in a high profit margin per capita, but low overall casual interest in the game, which resulted in a consistently shrinking playerbase which eventually reached unsustainable levels, leading to the cancellation of new product.

Now we switch gears for a moment, to give some background on why VS is coming back - in 2008, Fantasy Flight Games began producing a new variant on the CCG model, which had been declining in popularity for years at this point. They called this model "Living Card Games", and the way in which players play the games is near-identical to a traditional CCG. There are still large pools of available cards from which players build decks of a certain size, and use those cards to play competitively (or, in one very interesting instance, cooperatively) against each other (or against the game, in the instance previously mentioned). The difference between the two formats lies in their respective distribution models - Living Card Games are produced in a Core Set, followed by a series of expansion packs of varying sizes. Each core set contains an identical set of cards, as does each expansion pack, thereby eliminating the random, or "blind buy", aspect of booster pack-purchasing in CCGs. Every player who has purchased the core set and all available expansions has the same cards available to him/her for the purposes of deck-building, thus (in theory) putting all players on an even playing field.

This model has proven to be very popular with a large portion of hobbyist gamers, but have yet to reach the casual markets in any appreciable capacity. Naturally, producing games via this model is a less expensive prospect at the consumer level, as any expansions only need to be bought once, and it is also cheaper at the manufacturer level, due to less cards needing to be designed (CCGs typically fill 65-70%, if not more, of any given set of cards with "junk cards" that are designed to never see competitive play), and smaller print runs being needed (CCGs have notoriously high minimum print runs before the distribution method becomes profitable, as opposed to fixed sets of cards).

So far, only one company besides Fantasy Flight has attempted to produce a game utilizing this distribution model, AEG with their revival of the Doomtown CCG they produced in the 1990s. However, at last year's GenCon expo, as AEG was debuting their new Doomtown: Reloaded (which they refer to as an "Expandable Card Game, or ECG), Upper Deck put up a large banner announcing the "VS System LCG" to an unsuspecting public, and had a number of sealed sets for sale containing original VS System cards (from the very first expansion), reprinted with a new card back that stated "VS System Living Card Game", as opposed to the old card back which simply said "VS System".

Now, anyone with even a passing business acumen may be able to predict the following events: Sometime between the first and second days of the convention, Fantasy Flight contacted Upper Deck to inform them of something that approximately every single gamer familiar with Fantasy Flight's products already knew: Living Card Game and the LCG logo are registered trademarks of Fantasy Flight Games. Duh. So Upper Deck placed some large pieces of black tape over the "Living Card Game" text on their banner, and continued to sell the "prototype" sets they had made up with the "Living Card Game" text on the card backs.

No further word was heard out of Upper Deck about the VS System revival until the GAMA trade show, at which the picture in the OP was taken. We know that it is unlikely any new VS product will feature characters or situations from DC Comics properties, as the rights to the publication of card games featuring those assets currently lies with Cryptozoic Entertainment. Thus, Upper Deck seems to have turned to the 20th Century Fox licenses they acquired in a deal to produce "Trading Cards, Trading Card Games, Stickers, and Sticker Books" in October of 2013.

As for me, I'm cautiously optimistic about A/P being folded into the VS System milieu. The game mechanics are, as stated above, robust enough to handle most any property involving groups of individuals in combat, however, this announcement does effectively dash any hopes I had of finding a way to resurrect Precedence Entertainment's defunct Aliens/Predator CCG, a game that was designed from the ground up to effectively capture the elements that made the films unique, and which I have loved for many years.

Corporal Hicks

Corporal Hicks

#9
Good read, thanks Domino! Shame to hear about its effect on your hopes for the old Battleground System (I remember talking to you about that) but on the flipside, I'm pretty excited to see AvP return to a TCG/LCG landscape.


http://icv2.com/articles/news/view/32227/vs-system-will-add-firefly-predator-alien-more

QuoteThe VS. System release calendar will be run in seasons, Brenner said. "Season One will be Gen Con to Gen Con starting with Marvel, and there will be three releases a year. The next expansion will be in January, followed by April. These will all be Marvel releases."

But then the licenses will start to diversify. "The VS. System will be more than just Marvel, more than just comics," Brenner said, sharing that beginning at Gen Con 2016, Season Two will concentrate around Alien and Predator releases, with more to follow.  "Count on Firefly. Count on The Crow. Count on any of our licenses that we feel work for VS. Quite frankly VS. System should be a lot of things; it's tailor-made for it. Right now I have a three year plan in place."

So looks like we'll see this next year. Possibly the last half of the year. If each season has 2 expansions in it and maintains that release schedule we'll see Aliens and Predator come to the VS System August next year.

Mr. Domino

Mr. Domino

#10
So, I got a chance to play the new version of the game for the first time Friday night, and I have a lot of positive things to say about it. The rules changes definitely make it a different game than what we used to know as VS, but there's enough shared elements that it still feels similar - more importantly, it feels like a much more accessible game than the old one used to be, and I'd argue (although it's early to say this), that it's perhaps even a better game.

The new system of having a main character as opposed to an endurance total is a hugely positive change, and will work really well for Humans and Predators in the A/P sets. Not 100% sure how MCs will be handled on the Alien end (I guess maybe one for each movie, Kane's son, the Queen, the Dragon, and the Newborn...), but I'm optimistic that they'll make it good, given the design quality of this release.

The component quality is definitely lower than I'd like - the cards are of the same stock used in Legendary, but I had even more issues this time around with cards having some edgewear right out of the box, and the included tokens are definitely on the chintzy side. But, that's just the trade-off, I suppose, for getting a 400-card set for $50, whereas most of the other LCG core sets are ~220-250 cards for $40.

Corporal Hicks

Corporal Hicks

#11
Glad to hear your impressions are good. I'm tempted to pick up the Marvel set so I have a handle on how it works but I'm trying to behave with my cash. Will keep eagerly watching for the AvP set though.


Tiny little nugget from one of the Alien Day announcements: http://alienanthology.tumblr.com/post/143237003584/celebrate-alien-day-with-upper-deck-alien#notes

QuoteLater this year, Upper Deck will expand its already popular VS System 2PCG (2 Player Card Game) with never before seen Alien content. These 200 cards of Original Art will feature characters from the first Alien film and will work with all previously released Vs System 2PCG products.


Corporal Hicks

Corporal Hicks

#12
Not much but it looks like we're now moving towards this. Yesterday the official VS Facebook page posted this with the caption "No one can hear you scream."-



https://www.facebook.com/VsSystem2PCG/photos/a.782119235229276.1073741828.762608663847000/981501125291085/?type=3&theater

Also notice the card tag as ALN. Not the best card to preview with but a nice start. Looking forward to seeing more of it.


Some updates from the last few days:

http://upperdeckblog.com/2016/07/vs-system-2pcg-the-alien-battles-oh-the-humanity/

QuoteFor the first time ever Vs System® 2PCG™ breaks its super hero mold and does what it was originally designed to do by introducing a new universe. The Alien™ universe.

The Alien™ Battles adds two new teams to Vs System® 2PCG™: The Company and the Xenomorphs. Each one of these teams features one of the two new Power Symbols: Humanity and Alien.

These new Power Symbols work just like the original four: Energy, Intellect, Skill, Might. New locations featuring the original four Power Symbols are included in this new set, however they still count as being the same basic location as their earlier counterparts. Players decks can include up to four copies of a specific Basic Location (for example, one that makes Might), and all copies must have the same name.

We hope you enjoyed today's preview. Tune in next time for some serious firepower.

Vs System® 2PCG™: The Alien™ Battles releases this August. Contact your local gaming store to order your copy today.





http://upperdeckblog.com/2016/07/vs-system-2pcg-the-alien-battles-we-got-nukes-we-got-knives-sharp-sticks/

QuoteWhen compared side by side, Xenomorphs are better at fighting than humans. They are faster, usually bigger, and come standard with metal teeth and acid blood. The one constant that have allowed the Humans to stay competitive in a battle is their equipment. Vs System®: The Alien™ Battles introduces a new card type: Equipment.

http://upperdeckblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2016-upper-deck-vs-system-2pcg-alien-battles-preview-company-equipment-m41a-pulse-rifle.jpg

Players can play Equipment during their Recruit Step by paying its cost and putting it onto a face-up character on their side. It doesn't matter if the character is Main or Supporting, ready or exhausted.

The Equipment gives the character new powers and will stay with it until that character gets stunned or leaves play. At that point, the Equipment gets KO'd. A character can have only one Equipment at a time. If a new one is played on a character, any older Equipment on it gets KO'd.

If an Equipment has a Team Symbol, players may only play it if they have a face-up character of that team on their side. However, players can play it on ANY character on their side. Equipment works similarly to Plot Twists in this respect.

Well, not any character. Some characters have the Creature keyword which means they can't have equipment. A Xenomorph running around with a Pulse Rifle seems like overkill.

http://upperdeckblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2016-upper-deck-vs-system-2pcg-alien-battles-preview-xenomorph-supporting-character-ferocious.jpg

We hope you enjoyed today's preview. Tune in next time for a swarm welcome.

Vs System® 2PCG™: The Alien™ Battles releases this August. Contact your local gaming store to order your copy today.

I'll front page this shortly.




And the box.

UTron

UTron

#13
Never heard of this CCG, though I've played Magic for many years now. Wonder what similarities there are between the two. But, it's has Aliens so I may try it anyway.  ;D

Corporal Hicks

Corporal Hicks

#14
I think it's more of an LCG than a CCG. The 2PCG is just a copyright spin on it, I think.

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