[ORFF]

I used to play this game as a lad. I had lots of fun with it. I would like to bust out my old 1E cards and make some decks to play VS each other. What advice do you have? I have all of the 1st set (premier?), I have all of Alternate universe and maybe Q. I have 1 booster box worth of first contact. I have a tiny bit of DS9. I have the whole set minus UR of trouble with tribbles. I have the whole set minus like 2 of rules of acquisition.

I want to make balanced 1E decks with what I have. What decks should I make? How many missions, dilemmas, characters, ships, interrupts, etc are a good rule of thumb to use? How do I know if I have enough of an affiliation to make a deck? What rules of thumb for deckbuilding etc?

I used to love this game and I'm excited to bust it out again. I am not interested in virtual cards.

Thanks! ❖

[bosskamiura]

Hello There!
If you're a new player or revisiting the game, might I suggest the Online League and The Dojo's Discord Channel?

We're at about 150 players currently from all around the world and The Discord/The Online League is full of returning and/or new players just like yourself. We got a bunch of guys who can walk you through either first & second editions, or Tribbles and specifically Lackey.

...and if you aren't interested in playing yet - atleast come say hi and make some new chums. We talk about everything and can answer any questions you may have especially when the message boards around here seem lifeless and cold!



*Use this link here to sign up!
*Use this link here to log into your account once signed up!
*Don't forget to download the mobile app!

[SudenKapala]

Hello, Orff!



... So, welcome.

Nowadays most players use Virtual cards (which are certainly recommended for Organized / competitive play)... but me and my play group do not.

So, you're certainly not alone!

Using the vintage Decipher-produced cards ("Traditional" card pool) is still possible, especially when you have a nice group that does not wish to employ the broken or open-ended parts of the state that Decipher -- however well-meaning they were -- left the game in.
Many people here are volunteers who work on the Virtual cards and the current game state, so be sure -- like me -- to at least appreciate their hard work and their success in perpetuating the game in an orderly fashion!

As for you questions -- what works for me (to start with, without side decks, to get back into it):
30 seed cards; of which at least 18 dilemmas.
6 missions (seed for free; do not count towards the max of 30 seed cards).
Anywhere between 30 draw cards (of which 5 ships and some 20 personnel) and 45 draw cards (of which some 28 personnel and 7 ships). (Game ends when both players run out of cards.)

All the rest -- seeds to speed up game, side decks, etc. -- can come later.

If you want to use the current rules -- there's a great interactive rulebook available on the site.
If you want to play by the old rules, I can help out with that (and there's already a thread about that, somewhere).

Aside from all that, please feel free to tell us something more about yourself and your game experiences / preferences, in this topic; or about your other ("non-nerd"?) hobbies, here.

And here is a "STCCG 101" article to get you started with some FAQs.

But -- perhaps you knew all that already. Well, in any case, have a good time here; and I hope to chat with you more.

Personally, I'd also be interested in your opinions on these nice topics (none of my making): your favourite most-1E-like card (and why) and top 5 cards; and any "nerdy" non-card items you own.

And for some quick laughs, go here (and multiply).

[ORFF]

Discord joined.
Thank you.

I still welcome answers to my forum post if anyone feels inclined...

[SudenKapala]

Was my answer not long or detailed enough? What else -- specifically -- can I help you with?

Great when you also remain active on the forum. It's a good place, too. Just let me know what other questions you have.

Ah yes -- personnel versus affiliation.
You can use the Online Basic (or Premium) Deck Builder to analyze your personnel. It's a bit quircky, but it'll be quite intuitive if you've some Computer Skill. And once you get used to it, it's AWESOME! It adds up all the skills and traits of your personnel. If you enter them, per affiliation, in potential deck stashes, you can see which skills you have in abundance and which you miss. For missing skills, look e.g. at Non-Aligned .

[SudenKapala]

And regarding deck contents -- I named ships en personnel numbers. Add as much equipment as you need to round out your skills; you'll want to have between 4 and 6 of the important 'personnel types' (OFFICER, MEDICAL, SCIENCE, ENGINEER, SECURITY); and some skills like Diplomacy and Astrophysics are always handy (but there are more; depending on opponent's dilemmas).
The rest of your deck can be "verbs" like , in any ratio; but remeber that only and do not generally cost you a 'normal card play'.

If cards have a , consider stocking that download in your deck, if it's halfway useful -- because it plays for free and at any time (but, if possible, must enter play at the location of the ). Later those downloaded cards will come from a side deck (Q\'s tent) but for now, they can come from your draw deck.

[MidnightLich]

I know you said you're not interested in virtual cards, but if there's any willingness to bend that, I highly recommend using the four starters from Coming of Age. They are simple, fun, and well balanced against each other, and give you both that old familiar flavor and a taste of the modern game. There are some virtual only cards in the decks, but a lot of them are reprints of old school physical cards you could swap out. And as a player with a lot of early 1E, you'll have lots of cards you can use to tweak and adjust the decks to your liking.

You can check out Coming of Age on this page, where there are also links to all of the starter decks.

So if your objection to virtual cards isn't immutable, please give these decks a try. It'll give you a taste of both how the game used to be played, how it's played now, and a feel for the amount of investment required to use virtual cards.

-crp

[ORFF]

Thanks all so far! I posted the thing asking for responses before I saw the second response, so thank you

[Iron Prime]

Welcome aboard!

I know you said you're not interested in virtual cards, but if there's any willingness to bend that,

I highly recommend using the four starters from Coming of Age.

They are simple, fun, and well balanced against each other, and give you both that old familiar flavor and a taste of the modern game. There are some virtual only cards in the decks, but a lot of them are reprints of old school physical cards you could swap out. And as a player with a lot of early 1E, you'll have lots of cards you can use to tweak and adjust the decks to your liking.

You can check out Coming of Age on this page, where there are also links to all of the starter decks.

So if your objection to virtual cards isn't immutable, please give these decks a try. It'll give you a taste of both how the game used to be played, how it's played now, and a feel for the amount of investment required to use virtual cards.

-crp

This. These are mostly "legacy cards" and a ton of fun.

[Se7enofMine]

Welcome to the madness

There are a ton of good people and a ton of amazing resources so take a gander around.

Dont be shy to ask questions either

Enjoy!!

[ORFF]

Wow! This has been such an extremely welcoming community so far!

[Discovery rox]

i think orff should explain if hes interested in building decks to play with his friends.

or if hes interested in building decks to take to tournaments.

or if hes interested in building decks and playing online.

[SudenKapala]

I think Orrf has enough info for the moment to think about that... He knows (see above) that for competitive play (tourneys) it might be best to use Virtual cards; he stated he (well, I somehow assumed they're a "he" -- we all seem to do that, although it would be great if more women would join) likes to use his own Traditional (physical, Decipher-made) cards exclusively; and since he wants to use his collection of physical cards, Online play might be out of the equation fot now. (But he could always decide to build his own Traditional decks and put them in the online play program -- Lackey -- and play digital-Traditional matches with e.g. myself, since I'm of a mind to do that... one day. When I've time to delve into Lackey.)
In any case, I think it's great that there are more collectors out there who do understand the virtue if Virtuals, but whose Paramount interest is their own, hard-earned, beloved stack of Traditionals. I want to thank Orrf for joining us in that regard.

So I thought -- let Orrf digest all this info, and see if it appeals to him... but why not ask him? It feels a bit weird for me, talking to you (Rox) about him...
But once I start -- or take over -- a gimmick...
And on the practical side -- at this point, I myself wasn't willing to put Orrf on the spot about his choices, yet. Let them first build decks and play! And have fun.

I hope Orrf is okay with this monologue about him in third person...

[ORFF]

I'm a he.
I would like to make some decks to play with fam and friends, then online, and eventually tournaments in the future.

For the foreseeable future I want decks to play at home. If that goes well I could try online. I also currently play a lot of Star Wars Destiny.

[Spectre9]

Hit me up on Discord to play with Lackey online.

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=9888

It can be tricky at first but is easy to use after just a couple of games.