There’s a lot that makes Invasion TCG different from other games! If you’ve already played Invasion TGC, you’ll know that the little differences add up to a fun, fast-paced, and balanced game.
If you haven't played yet, why not watch this gameplay video?
In today’s blog post, Dave takes a closer look at some of the key ways Invasion TCG is different from other games and why the differences matter.
No Rotation to Cycle Out Cards
In the main format of most trading card games, a system of rotation is used to try and keep tournament play fresh. In short, when new sets of cards get printed and released, older cards are no longer legal for play in events.
This means players are forced to keep buying new cards so they can keep playing in events. When games release three, four, or even more sets every year, it's no surprise that some players find it all gets too expensive to keep up with.
To help make sure Invasion TCG is a game that's accessible to all, we're going to release two small sets of cards each year, and there won't be a rotation. Old cards won't rotate out when news ones are release.
Ban List Promise
A non-rotating game poses some design challenges when it comes to balancing the power level of new cards against older ones, but it's a challenge we're going to embrace.
If we make a design mistake and need to ban a card from competitive play - which we'll only do in extreme circumstances - we have to make sure we make that up to the players and collectors who are a part of our community.
Anyone who owns a card that ever becomes banned will be able to return it to us and swap it for any other card in the game's history. That's a promise I'm happy to make in writing.
We have a specialist playtesting team working behind the scenes who help us keep the game balanced and fair and so we hope we'll never need to ban a card from being played.
No Resource Screw or Flooding
Unlike lots of other trading card games, Invasion TCG has no system of energy or mana that needs to be used to play cards. You're allowed to play any two cards on your turn and any two Spell cards on your opponent's turn.
This system means that you're able to play powerful Creature, Spell, and Battlefield cards right from the very start of the game. You don't need to wait around until you've built up enough energy or mana!
As a player for longer than I want to remember, I've won and lost my fair share of games when someone hasn't been able to actually play the game because they haven't got the right energy or mana, or they're only getting energy or mana and no cards to cast with it.
For me, that's not an enjoyable gameplay experience, so I wanted to try something different with Invasion TCG. It's also different from a deck building perspective because you don't have to worry about trying to fit in enough energy or mana generators.