On February 15, 2015 the new TCG, Force of Will (FOW), released in America. We were brought two sets, The Castle of Heaven and the Two Towers and The Crimson’s Moon Fairy Tale. FOW is an independent company that began their release of the game in Europe and Japan. They’re still expanding the capability and ruling of the game, but from the buying rates and success stories FOW seems to be off to a good start. What is it that makes a trading card game “good” or “successful” to the eyes of the gaming community? Well first let’s define the components that generally make a trading card game successful. Five big components most consumers will look at to make that decision for themselves are; the cost of entering the game, the art and material put into the cards, the competitive capability of the game, the handling of big prizes and tournaments, and how easy the game is to understand. I’m not saying all players look into all these areas, but most do even if they lean toward one components more than the other.
An average FOW deck varies from about 80$ to 350$. This allows different players of different budget types to play and enjoy the game. On top of that, unlike most games, buying full booster boxes is financially beneficial in this game. Depending on your local vendor boxes run from 100$ to 120$. I’ve even seen them as low as 85$! The boxes contain 36, 15 card packs with a chance of a God pack or alternate art card. A God pack is a pack that contains all foil cards instead of its normal common/uncommon/rare to SR ratio. The pull ratio for each box usually exceeds to the cost of the box gaining you profit with almost every purchase.
The art used in FOW could land almost anywhere within its large and pleasantly diverse spectrum. You’ll find cards with components of anime, 3 dimensional figures, realism, fairy tales and much more. The standard size cards have a textured backing that’s bordered and contains the game logo in its center.
FOW has a lot of different strategic techniques that most players will recognize from other games although used differently for this one. The game uses a fair and unique mana base system to cast/play cards, along with having a balanced scale for the power of cards distributed based on their costs. The game also attempted to eliminate any big luck factors, such as a trigger system that can benefit or hinder players randomly. Using and keeping in mind, costs, power creep, and luck FOW seems to be competitively fair.
We’ve haven’t commenced official constructive play in America, but if it’s anything like it’s been in Japan and Europe than I’m sure we’re in store for a lot of fun!
The game is still expanding, checking, and changing the rules of cards and mechanics to better the player’s experience. From the slight changes in mechanic conditions and card errata’s the game is simple to learn, but hard to master.
The only thing left is for you to go and play! Join the five forces in the fight for power!
