Haven Trainee

Running a sealed event for beginners [Sealed]

Over the holidays, I ran a private sealed event with five other players, each of whom had somewhere between zero and five prior games of Altered under their belt. All of them have experience with light/medium eurogames, but Altered is their first trading card game. As refreshingly simple as Altered’s core mechanics are, I knew deckbuilding would be a step up in complexity, so I did my best to prepare so that the event would run as smoothly as possible. ...

2024-12-24
Loki

My rating system for uniques

Score Summary Description 1 Very weak Severely understatted with abilities that will rarely be realized. 2 Weak Slightly understatted with abilities that usually won’t compensate. No stronger than an average common. 3 Solid On-rate stats, or understatted but its ability often compensates. Also includes cards with high ceilings but excessive requirements. Distinctly stronger than an average common, but no stronger than an average rare. 4 Strong Above-rate stats, or having abilities that push it well above-rate when its conditions are met. Distinctly stronger than an average rare. 5 Very strong Well above-rate stats and/or having abilities that can sometimes result in a large swing. A card that is a 5 but not a 6 is held back either by not offering more than just stats, or by having a slightly awkward cost or requirement. 6 Exceptional Will reliably swing a game in its favor. These often feature rare abilities (e.g. removal, ramp, card advantage), repeatable triggers, or heavy synergy with a certain hero’s gameplan. 7 Incredible Can singlehandedly win games when it is played. Some possess universally strong and grossly undercosted disruption effects. Others abuse a combination of generated abilities or an interaction with another card or hero. Each rating assumes the unique is put in the deck that best supports it. I consider how it will perform on average in that deck, not necessarily the best-case scenario. ...

2024-09-04
Open the Gates

My Altered sales pitch

When I’m introducing someone to Altered, I try to get as quickly as possible to the heart of what made Altered so compelling to me in the first place. I’ve settled on three main aspects of the game that I can cover in just a sentence or two each (though I have more to say in case someone is interested). This post is an attempt to flesh out my “Altered sales pitch”, so to speak. It’s intended as a script, not the pitch itself, but it might also be worth reading for someone who’s considering getting into Altered themselves. ...

2024-09-02