Playing SWPM Online Game Rules Advice for Deck/Fleet Building



Collectible card games are a delicate balance of fun and frustration. Part of the fun of collectible card games is the collecting: searching for the right piece to fill out your team/deck/squad, or seeing your opponent’s jaw drop when you play that ultra rare unit. Collectible games are also frustrating for the same reason; it costs hard-earned cash to buy pack after pack or to win the ebay bid-war. Rare pieces are powerful, but hard to obtain, and so a well-designed collectible game keeps a delicate balance between playability and collectibility.

The delicate balance goes right out the window when you play collectible games in an environment like VASSAL, with all the pieces in any amount available to everyone. It might be fun to play the dream team every once and a while, but not for the person who is trying to play their real-life strategy, built on real-life limitations. Players won’t be impressed by your multiple copies of the card they only gave out at GamerCon ’04, because you didn’t earn them, you didn’t suffer the frustration to get them, you’re just reaping the fun of having them.

And at the end of the day there is nothing wrong with that, so long as your opponent is okay with it too. But with that in mind, when you build your deck/fleet to play this game remember the delicate balance.

With that in mind, here are a few recommendations for building realistic deck/fleets. 1) Build your deck/fleet with a majority (70% or more) of units you actually own. This allows for a realistic distribution, but gives leeway for the player who just can't find those rare pieces. 2) No more than one copy of a uniquely named unit, such as Anakin Skywalker's Jedi Interceptor.

Wheather you follow these recommendations or not, remember to inform your opponent whether or not you're using a "dream team."  Back