Introduction

I'm not going to lie, I haven't been playing long, and I'm addicted to Stargate already. I think the game has the potential to be huge, but I also fear it has the potential to fizzle. What will make the difference? The development of a solid upper echelon of players that play the game with creativity and continue to develop the strategy and theory of the game, as well as another group that understands the talent and skills of this upper group but also helps reach out to developing players in an effort to grow the game. But what does this have to do with playtesting? Simple, the only way to really develop a game is for players to push limits, try new things, and really think about how the game works, in an effort to develop some of what I hope will one day be called Stargate Theory. Before you keep reading, I want to say that this is not an article of finished ideas, it is an article that attempts to lay out some concepts and ideas for advanced players to take, play with, and see what they can make happen.

To some this idea of theory no doubt seems silly. This is a fun game where even an out of the box deck can compete on some level, what does it need theory for? Name a successful TCG. I will be willing to bet that the game has a high level group of players that is extremely competitive. Games need these players. It adds to the lore of the game and gives others something to strive towards. Games need deckbuilding articles, deck archetypes that go beyond “These four characters, this win condition, and/or this main component,” and people to understand the game on a level beyond the topical so they can teach these skills to incoming players. The game is just starting, so the lack of these types of players/writers is understandable, but it cannot become the norm.

Rather than waiting around, I am going to offer a humble attempt at sketching out some idea that I hope some guilds or playtest groups will test out, modify, and add to. The free exchange of information and ideas will only strengthen the game in this early phase. Now the obvious question here is, if I have these ideas, why not test them myself? Simple, I don't have the time or the resources to do these ideas justice. Furthermore, to fully succeed in playtesting and development, you need a group to bounce ideas off each other, test, and modify and I lack a playtest group or clan to do this with because I'm too lazy to create one and haven't been approached about joining and existing group.

Without further delay, here is the first of three ideas that I hope players will look into, be struck by, and implement/test. I am sure not all of these ideas are feasible at the moment (or ever) but I think they offer the next logical progression in the theory and way of thinking about the game. For the most part, these ideas are general methods of play or strategies for approaching a deck. Where I have specific ideas, I have included them.

Please leave feedback and let me know what you think. If I'm way off base, let me know. If these ideas already exist, by all means tell me. I watch a lot more than I play, because I'm curious what is out there right now, and I have yet to see these approaches, but if they exist, I would love to know.

Avenue 1: Resource Conversion

All CCG/TCG's have resources and often the key to building a consistently powerful deck is to develop an engine that can convert resources into more powerful resources for a huge gain. In SGO, there are five fundamental resources:

Glyphs

The most visible resources, Glyphs add to your team member's effectiveness while also increasing your power and moving you closer to victory.

Card Advantage

Hand Size, Desired Cards, Knowledge of Mission coming up/desirable missions, etc.

Energy

The amount of energy each turn, finding ways to have more energy or get more for your energy.

Turns

Each turn can be seen as a resource since it allows you to build up your other resources

On Board Resources

These include support characters, gear, adversaries, and any other on board resources that accrue over time.

What does this have to do with deckbuilding? Most players play the game in a fairly straightforward way: Focus on acquiring Glyphs throughout the entire game and drop support characters/gear where possible. These players tend to see the game as a matter of goal 1: acquire a glyph, goal 2: build up side. A deck that develops itself and its resources in ways that other decks do not has the potential to be extremely powerful.

The most obvious place to start this strategy is by focusing less on winning glyphs early and more on building up a solid board position that can then be used to acquire glyphs in bunches later in the game (while your opponent is still trying to fight for them one at a time). Remember, by delaying your development my not increasing your turn power rate, you slow your opponent. If you intentionally do not win missions your first 2-4 turns, your opponents 4 cost adversary is fairly worthless, meanwhile, you can use your characters to suck out some of his better cards and possibly even bait him into building up a hand that is disbalanced (either full of lots of low cost obstacles, or high cost adversaries). Meanwhile, you are playing out a series of low cost resources that will help you later. These include cheap (3 or less) support character and a full compliment of gear. I feel far too many players under valuate how strong using the first turn (or better yet two!) To drop a Naquadah Reactor and increase your power each turn for the rest of the game. When you have build up a side that has significantly more support characters, power per turn, and gear, you can then attempt to win multiple glyphs in a turn (preferably by arranging them ahead of time with some of the fantastic search cards that are available).

General Deck Strategy

Spend a few turns dropping low cost resources to help you win later in the game. This includes Naq Reactors which help increase your power level, rings (more on these later), and low cost support characters/gear. On defense, play business as usual contesting as many glyphs as possible. After a few turns of this, you should have significantly more on board resources (and hopefully power per turn from the reactors). Wait for a mission that should be a solid win (or arrange a series of them) and attempt to win them by focusing on your team characters. As your opponent finally gets to play out his spells to stop you (but is still at only 3 energy) you will be able to (hopefully) get him to expend all of his resources on the first glyph. Then take advantage of your energy-less opponent by using your superior number of support characters to win a few more glyphs. If necessary, use the rings to bring back a character to win a final tenuous glyph. If executed correctly, 3-4 glyphs can be netted a turn. If you selected an experience win, this COULD be enough. A simpler strategy would be to then attempt to repeat again with a significantly higher energy (perhaps you at 10 and your opponent at 7), this time using a massive readying tool to get two full uses out of your SGC characters.

Deck Building Concept

For team members, their skills trump any abilities they get from the posession of glyphs since the majority of the game will be played without glyphs on them. Try to select the best combo of skills as cost, sacrificing activated abilities where a better skill/cost member is available. A standard defensive build should work, and the deck should include lots of the efficient gear pieces (especially Naq Reactors) and many low cost support characters. Few support characters above a 3 cost should be included and no 5's should be a part of this deck.

That is the first of what I hope will be a three part series on ideas for deckbuilding. Please let me know what you think. In the next article, I will offer some general concepts for a single strategy focused deck that I think could become a staple of gameplay with a minimal amount of work. Until next time, keep playing, keep innovating, and I look forward to seeing you on our travels through the game.