Is ALTERED going to CHANGE the TCG Industry?

We had the pleasure of talking to Eric Dieulangard from Equinox, who, in 2024, are publishing possibly one of the most revolutionary TCGs in years! There's a lot to cover, so huge thanks to Eric for sitting down for an hour to explain the ins and outs.
Listen in as Eric explains who Equinox is, some of the basics of how Altered gameplay works, and then the revolutionary ideas that will influence how you collect, buy, trade, and build decks with these cards!
For more details on the rules of Altered, stay tuned for our Ultimate How to Play Altered TCG video, coming in the future!
Altered TCG will be coming to Kickstarter in February of 2024. Follow their socials here:
linktr.ee/alteredtcg
0:00 Introduction
1:15 What is Equinox?
5:05 Altered Gameplay Basics
20:30 Altered's Revolutionary Ideas - QR Codes & The App
44:50 Altered's Revolutionary Ideas - Unique Cards & Rarity
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[@quickestturtlez5362]

Also feel like it would make way more sense to put QRs on the back. Wouldnt impact content creators and it also makes the card look much better..

[@raysandrarexxia941]

That's prone to people scanning the top card of your deck as they walk by.

[@quickestturtlez5362]

@@raysandrarexxia941 sleeves + you would have already scanned the card. Unless you pull cards and then set them facedown unsleeved on tables like a maniac.

[@Zarfin]

yeah the qr code on the front is really annoying visually and distracts from the artwork. first thing i noticed and couldn't get past

[@UrbanAstray]

The only reason I wanted to comment on this video was the intrusive QR code on the front. They seriously need to move it to the back.

[@kezkoal]

If they put the qr in the back you cant play without sleeves, because you could know what card it is by its back

[@sergioperez2771]

This is by far the most ambitious entry into the TCG genre I have ever seen. I’ll definitely be watching to see how this plays out.

[@Peeweez0]

Didn't know there was this interview - it really gives me a lot of confidence know Eric and team have so much knowledge of the TCG space and market. I was afraid they only had boardgame background which is a completely different beast than TCGs!

[@ashtonphoenyx]

I've been working on a card game with similar tech to this. Though they're still very different. The way Altered seems to implement the QR tech seems pretty interesting on paper. I hope they find success with their project! This game makes me very excited for the future of TCG's!

[@cetonis2767]

Pretty ambitious! The two things that come to mind - (1) None of this matters if the game isn't fun / has interesting decisions, isn't an rng fiesta etc. Based on their board game success I'm not reallllly worried about that, but a video detailing how the game plays would be super welcome :) (2) Will there be an auction option? I can imagine a lot of people getting an offer and trying to figure out is this the right price etc. Vibes of trying to hash out how much to sell weird stuff for in Path of Exile -.-''

[@MaindeckGames]

Excellent points - as soon as I can cover some gameplay, I will - we may get another channel to cover it at Essen, but I'll try to have something up following the next Roadshow stop I can get to. I will 100% have an Ultimate How to Play video for the game soon. My personal experience in two games was that the game was both very fun and had a lot of interesting decisions to make. The auction option is a great question - I'll make sure the devs see that, if they haven't read this comment already!

[@ericdieulangard2621]

The answer about the auction thing (aka bidding) is YES, but maybe not at release. We think it's a really cool way for people to judge the value of their unique card, by simply asking the market what it thinks about them ? Would you like it too ? More feedbacks, the better 🙏

[@bluharlequin]

I played it at Gen Con. FWIW, walking away from that show, it’s the game I most wished I was playing again. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

[@cetonis2767]

@@ericdieulangard2621 yeah I think it'd be a net positive, could benefit from some anti-snipe measures (i.e. end time is random within a 1h window) and maybe other QoL if possible though. Alternately, a "similar uniques" w/sales history search could help too. Really it's less about the auction format and more about making it easy to price things confidently

[@brodiewan]

Wow. This is crazy. Thanks for the video. Im definitely gonna try this out.

[@MaindeckGames]

We were floored! I'll be there with you!

[@ArcticAppleKoolAid]

Really excited for the concept on this!

[@digitalgenesis4126]

I don’t know if it’s been said but FFG used the same action system with Star Wars Destiny which was released 7 years ago. They also had a resource system where you started with 2 outside resources. Just a heads up for anybody who hasn’t heard of it. Looking forward to this TCG!

[@garyduclos3272]

Cool gameplay and design concept ! Let s go Altered !

[@RedZoneRogue]

VERY interested in this game ever since they contacted me about meeting up at GenCon. Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend this year (with no small degree of FOMO) but I still do plan on covering Altered so some degree. It's really a fascinating concept and I'm keen to really dive into it. Excellent interview gentlemen

[@MaindeckGames]

I was wondering why I didn't see you on the list. Shame you couldn't make it but hopefully you'll be able to hit up one of their roadshow locations later this year!

[@lorcanatwins]

The game and art look very intriguing! Excited to learn more about it!

[@Blacklotus73]

Cant wait to see some gameplay breakdown.

[@boeboe000]

Wow, you nailed the accent on Eric's last name. Excellent way to start off the video!

[@mickaeljaeger1498]

These madlads did it. Selling cardboard at the price of... cardboard. That's really clever to sell digital licence to use card ( which can be subject to speculation, as physical cards in other tcg) and cheap cardboard. I can't wait to see gameplay :)

[@nyghost9991]

I was geeked when I saw this at Gen Con and Glad your covering it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@thekarifur]

Very excited for this game!!

[@randall46213]

This looks dope af, I excited to try it out!

[@Grimmlocked]

excited for this game!

[@TheSyv]

Altered TCG!!!!! LET'S GOOOOO!

[@NateElm-iz7xo]

This is very intriguing and I'm excited to see how it plays, if by chance they'll release some gameplay videos :). Also I agree with having the QR code on the back of the cards, which I feel would be more favorable to live streamers and even to those who like to crack their packs in the LGS where they just purchased the product :). Always going to be risks when innovating, but definitely ways to reduce those risks and not hinder the card's aesthetic.

[@SpaceDad87]

Having not seen the gameplay yet, this looks like a really exciting new concept to the TCG market

[@friendlyfripptit2228]

this is what I thought lorcana would be, I'm very interested!

[@AeroEng42]

This game sounds awesome! Definitely looking forward to seeing the Kickstarter launch. One big question I had regarding the Marketplace is how payments work? They said they will use cash, not digital currencies, so will their digital environment be linked with payment apps like Venmo, Paypal, Zelle, etc.? Also, Kickstarter launching in 2/2024 seems so far away. How long will the Kickstarter run, and do they have an idea of how long between Kickstarter launch and getting physical cards on the table?

[@MaindeckGames]

I can't answer the payment question - great question to toss in their discord, but my assumption is they'll have secure payment linking with a variety of options. The timeline we were given is KS in February, with delivery in July, and full game release in August. It's an ambitious timeline, but considering the game is built around quickly printing and delivering cards, it's probably a good test of the system.

[@devinhood9806]

absolutely love the art! That QR code on the other hand really brings down the aesthetic and degrades the art style. Would love to see another approach there!

[@MaindeckGames]

The QR code on the front is optimized for scanning cards quickly, doing deck checks in tournaments, and scanning opponents' different language cards so you can read the card in your own (useful with Unique cards in the game). Most people say that once they start playing the game, they don't even notice the QR code on the card anymore, and some people use it as a spot to place dice/markers in gameplay. That said, Equinox has since said that while they've been unable to get a "pretty" QR code to scan as consistently as this one, moving into the future they'll continue to look at options in future sets to address it as the tech develops!

[@anexcuseforgaming4056]

This sounds so awesome! Could definitely appeal to the cozy theme gamer. Yes it’s competitive but it’s inviting! The idea with the QR code and the market place is very intriguing. Definitely will be looking into collecting and playing this game! Away to hide QR codes would be to have removable stickers placed on them during production. Being a removable sticker this shouldn’t hurt the card when peeling them off. Obviously this would have to go under lots of testing. Some board games like Gloomhaven offer removable stickers to add to your map so you can remove the stickers, save them, and not damage the map. The other hurdle would be production cost by adding the removable sticker element. Also the market might turn into players just wanting to hunt down cards that still have their sticker on them…which would defeat the purpose of the QR code…

[@Pokephantom]

Digital ownership of a card is an interesting field with that pnp system. Will be curious to see how that pans out with local shipping/printing. Hope to see more gameplay before the kickstarter.

[@MaindeckGames]

You definitely will! If there isn't gameplay posted from Essen, I'll do my best to get footage done at the next roadshow or if I can find another way. Hopefully the wait isn't too long for that.

[@FleshCloud-ey5ro]

Any sort of "digital ownership" is a scam. Always has been and always will be. Everyone laughs at NFTs for a good reason.

[@Pokephantom]

@@FleshCloud-ey5ro Yeah? How does owning the card digitally amount to a scam? From how I understood the video it was just being able to request the card to be printed on demand. edit: I see how it is kinda skirting around a secondary market and putting more into their own pocket. Is that what you mean?

[@FleshCloud-ey5ro]

@@Pokephantom No. I'm saying digitally owning something means you don't own it. And any one telling you you do and charging you for it is a scam.

[@Pokephantom]

@@FleshCloud-ey5ro ...But you do physically own the card. Sorry I'm just not understanding what you're going for.

[@denisberthod2121]

It seems to that it is focused on the constructed format. How about limited formats as sealed or draft? The one faction building rule seems to go against it. Will there be some rules to allow a certain number of foreign cards in a limited deck?

[@rafaelgomez680]

I really hope this comment doesn't get buried, but I LITERALLY give a arm and a leg if we got a online mode where we can play our REGISTERED cards we own. Similar to how you can only play cards registered to you in tournaments, you can only play registered cards online. Thing about TCG is thst they are not so much fun when you cant play with anybody. LGS are sometimes slow to support new TCGs, and I can see where it may be hard to find live people to play with. This way, you can still play your decks that you own, even if you cant find anybody in person to play with.

[@MaindeckGames]

Agreed, it's an obvious extension of the system once they can build out a physical game. You might have to wait a bit, but I'm positive if Altered can see success in the market, that would be in the pipeline to follow!

[@ashtonphoenyx]

One of the old Yugioh games did this. I believe it was Reshef of Destruction

[@GTheepicguy]

I was just thinking the other day that it would be cool to play a card game where you “battle” your opponent for territory - and then you guys posted this! Funny how that works out. Game seems very fun, I will keep an eye on it. The digital ownership idea seems very cool… I would kill to be able to just print another copy of an expensive staple I own for other games, instead of having to swap between decks or buy additional copies

[@aaroncutbirth2192]

This is quite interesting

[@Bronson-_-]

Interesting concept. So question, the industry standard for printing Trading Cards in mass requires printing plates from the manufacturer like Carta Mundi, how can you have unique QR codes on printing plates, that does not seem possible? If you dont use plates, these cards would have to be printed with a less efficient method which increase costs drastically and reduces print quality. Another thing, you would have to create approx 4M separate unique QR codes for a set of 20K boxes let's say, how are you going to transport those 4M unique codes to the printer for their specific cards? I don't see this project as scalable due to the QR limitations and question the actual functionality of this when launched. Best of luck though in the project.

[@MaindeckGames]

The company has been working closely with Cartamundi on the project to ensure scalable digital printing processes. You can read a little here about Cartamundi's digital printing capabilities: cartamundi.com/en/offset-printing-best-bet/ I agree, I would be concerned about scaling if it weren't coming from a team experienced with high volume sales in tabletop gaming already, and with the connections they have. However, it seems the team is preparing everything to meet the demands of a TCG. If you want to ask any questions to the team directly, feel free to join their discord here: discord.com/invite/dvrS33RgbW

[@Bronson-_-]

@MaindeckGames Great reply, appreciate the info, did not know they digitally printed with ink and toner at carta mundi. It does hint in the article to being more costly but seems like it's plausible. I'm still not sold on this project but that does answer the biggest concern. What do you like about this project and do you personally believe in it?

[@MaindeckGames]

That's a great question. Outside of simply being interested in seeing the TCG industry evolve - and this project has the most potential to do that of any TCG project I've seen in a while - assuming it works, this game provides the most *robust* business model of any TCG on the market, while simultaneously offering what many will view as very consumer-friendly innovations. Because they own their own secondary market platform, they not only get to profit from primary market sales, but they get that small % fee (they say it will be competitive with other popular platforms for selling cards) every time a card is sold. No other TCG has the ability to continue generating revenue like that after a sealed product is sold, which bodes well for its longevity - again, assuming it pans out. Some of the consumer-friendly innovations are tied directly to that - the ability to easily BST cards in your collection (if you don't want a card anymore, it's only a few clicks and its done, no shipping), replacing damaged cards, uniting the global playerbase under a single marketplace - I think all of those are huge for players and consumers. And I personally am excited about the unique cards in the game, which I think will keep gameplay surprising and interesting. To me, Keyforge - which had unique decks that you purchased individually - was exciting for about a week, and then it just became rolling on a gacha game for a good deck. It feels to me like this can have the best of both worlds - a thrill in chasing or seeing new Uniques, but still plenty of game and hobby to engage in outside of that in deckbuilding and theory. The one thing I can't convey in this video is how solid the gameplay is, but I was ready to call SWU my favorite game of Gen Con until I played Altered. The two both are excellent games using a number of similar systems, so if you've gotten to see or try SWU, and you enjoyed aspects like how it handled resources and the action system, you'll find similar things to enjoy here. Stacking the innovations on top of a solid game with, IMO, stellar art direction - and from an established team in the tabletop gaming space - it sounds to me like a recipe for success, and one I'm willing to go to bat for. Happy to answer more, but I hope you found that satisfying!

[@Bronson-_-]

@MaindeckGames Dude really appreciate the writeup and info, really happy to hear that the gameplay is great. Overall that's the biggest thing I think people should be analyzing when buying games, I'm interested in seeing how it plays. Thanks for the time and discussion. Cheers!

[@gabrielnewman3275]

If you only have 1 qrcode of a certain rare. Can you still print a playset of them and play it in a tournament?

[@MaindeckGames]

If you have only scanned 1 of a card in your collection, you can only register 1 of it in a tournament. That's why Print on Demand can't kill the value of cards in the game - you'll still need to digitally own 3 copies of a card to play it in events. But casual-only players would be able to own just 1 of everything and play any deck they want without limits through print on demand.

[@Geekmatters1]

The app looks quite interesting. But when you mentionned the QR code, i tought “What an AWESOME idea”… i tought you were coming out with the idea that you can scan a card, access database of that particular card and have the rules of that card explained (database that could be updated frequently when major changes are made). It could include errata, particular rules of the card, if the card is banned etc. So just use your camera and bam you have all the info you needed for the card in question. Hope you will include that because it is extremely bothersome to search for a rule in the middlenof a game, to find a rule and not being sure it is an officiail rule etc. Please consider it ^^

[@MaindeckGames]

Great idea! The app will have databases including card lore, including factual historical information about characters that are rooted in world history. I didn't get a confirmation on game rule information like you mention here, but that wouldn't surprise me - it would be an easy extension!

[@Geekmatters1]

@@MaindeckGames easy and extremely useful. Having a trustful source of information one click away would be a first I think and a selling point, more than having lore text etc. But so far it is great news

[@user-nm5sb3gf6r]

Hi, thanks for the explanations! A question: If I wanted to take multiple products in a single order, do you know what I should do? Because it makes me select only 1 item at a time with the relative shipping. I would like to get both the master pack and the expert pack, is it normal that I can't buy them at the same time? how can i select the starter after i buy it?Thanks so much for the replies, great! ;D

[@MaindeckGames]

After you choose your pledge level to back, you'll get to add Add Ons. The Add Ons are where you will find all the other starters, booster boxes, and accessories. You should be able to get EXACTLY what you need through that!

[@sambordon9009]

Would be a good idea if you could print them on demand whithout the QR-code.

[@SkywalkFPV]

That is going to be expensive to buy ownership of unique (meta) cards from players, they can push a market high if there is no ceiling.. And the last step of printing one card and getting it shipped might also come at a pretty steep price.. Also the security is indeed questionable mostly trusting there server side and possible market manipulation.. Anyway usually gameplay like the balance and powercreep comes before logistics, to get hype going - but I notice aftermarket pricing being the incentive rather than gameplay so far.. (Just like all nft games, the focus is not about the game)

[@ribiggs]

One thing I'm not super clear on is whether or not you can use one QR code/digital copy for multiple copies in a deck for competitive play. Like, let's say I have a unique that I think is insanely good. Can I use three copies of that same card for my 3 uniques in my deck or does each card have to have a different QR code in your digital collection?

[@MaindeckGames]

You must have a distinct digital copy of each card in your deck. So for any particular Unique card, it's only possible to play 1 copy of it in your deck because only one code exists in the world. Using Print on Demand for it would just be to use it in multiple decks, replacing a lost/destroyed copy, or to get a copy of a Unique after you buy one on the app marketplace. For Commons and Rares, the same idea applies, except you ARE able to get more digital copies - but that means you can't use 3x copies of a common/rare card in a tournament deck unless you've scanned or otherwise acquired (bought on the app) 3 distinct codes for that card.

[@ribiggs]

@@MaindeckGames Thank you so much! I've been trying to find an answer to that for a bit now. The game seems super fun and I hope I get to play some tournaments.

[@kevindorn2508]

I love card combat systems. I just hate the money sink factor and therefore avoid all those that wanna make me spend money on "packs" ect to get "legendaries".

[@nuagenoir416]

Hello, thanks for the interview. It's very cool. I have a question : how will they do the balance ? With that system of unic cards, maybe some will be totally degenerated and will break the meta. Especially with decks which can look for some cards in the decks. Thanks a lot !

[@MaindeckGames]

The unique cards are generated using a algorithm with defined bounds - only certain elements on a card may change, and only within certain values. So I think it will be designed to not have any particular card be *too* powerful, but we'll have to see how they adapt as they go! One of the great benefits of this system is that, rather than banning cards, they can change cards within the card database, and players can print off "errata" versions of cards to use instead!

[@WarpedByTheNHK]

​@@MaindeckGamesThe Developer did mention the possibility of building your deck around your unique card though, which sort of suggests that some of them will be very powerful. Also, while they might be willing to errata some cards, I highly doubt they would errata a unique card worth thousands of dollars. It still definitely feels like whales will have a significant competitive edge and I really don't like that idea. Everything he talked about before the unique cards was really amazing, but the unique cards definitely sour me on the game a bit.

[@UrbanAstray]

So if I understood this correctly, the digital versions comes from scanning the physical cards. And when you scan the QR code, this specific card will be registered to you and you alone. So basically, you own the rights to get this card reprinted. And the you can sell the rights over to someone else by selling them the digital card, is this correct? Isn't this how NFT's work? Btw. will there be foil cards or other exclusive looking ones for us who like to collect?

[@MonkeyMihawk]

Since it's digital property, it naturally looks like NFTs, but Equinox doesn't use blockchain technology. Instead, it employs the same technology as a digital collection in a video game, so it can not be considered as NFTs. There are 'foilers' cards in the digital boosters that you can link to cards in your collection (depending on the rarity of the foiler and the card in your collection). Once a foiler is linked to a card, you can choose to print it in foil when you reprint it! :)

[@itheruler2157]

Very interesting game. Can't wait to see more. Will it be possible to play it as multiplayer with more than 2 persons?

[@MaindeckGames]

Yes, they have stated Multiplayer rules will be coming as well!

[@Iceykitsune]

Any plans on letting you use your scanned physical cards to play online?

[@user-cw9wh3zp6o]

Is there any prospect for the ability to play this game online? If so, is there an approximate ETA?

[@kartgal]

I will only consider this game after it’s been successful for 2 years. I just need to see it work first before I’m convinced

[@PootWindbreaker]

Poor PlayFusion!! They had gorgeous cards that you could scan, to then earn those same cards in their online game app. Play in both digital and physical with the same cards! Both their games (Lightseekers and Warhammer Age of Sigmar Champions) were pretty good games imho. I guess they were too ahead of their time. Then we have this. With ugly af QR codes taking up a cool 5-10% of the card (Playfusion's were just notched around the edge of the card and you didn't notice it at all). And the entire purpose is to just own them digitally, to then get them printed out from a factory at a later time...oh but wait you both still have the card? But only the newer copy can be used competitively? I'm sure there will be no misunderstandings and the organizers are not just going to shrug their shoulders at the entire prospect. This is awful. I will not be buying this product at all, the way it is described in this video.

[@raysandrarexxia941]

I'm always worried about QR codes and card games, just look at Keyforge's launch with people stealing whole decks. I would rather just own cards physically because it's much easier to steal a QR code than a physical card. They are NOT equivalent!

[@anophi]

❤‍🔥

[@gorganiangranola]

I want to see gameplay more than anything else, it sounds promising but there's no way to know. The economics of this are difficult to grasp yet, hopefully people are able to parse out how this can be expected to play out. All commons have different QRs? Does this end up as a wasted resource? Sure this enables slight cosmetic peaks but if they're important in some decks do I want to order bulk I don't know I'll need for the next decks? Do we buy less product and trade more? How will price spikes play out, probably mostly for uniques, but will cards just hardcore bottleneck with this dynamic? What's the expectation here? Optimism is not something that helps you navigate the 2ndary market in TCGs I've found, it can be quite unapproachable in fact. The print on demand sounds dope but what will be the price of such an ambitious system? What dynamics with 2ndary arise when people can order a limited digital good and momentarily control the physical floodgate? What's the latency on cards moving? How attainable will cards be, we obviously think print to demand is on the plate as a solution to TCG players' struggles but what's the cost for such a service if it's as specific as choosing which cards to print foil? The theme and setup are indeed refreshing, the resources they seem to have to streamline the game seem promising! But such an ambitious system is hardly discernible from any other shady kickstarter to me. Besides, we remember how innovative Artifact ought to be and how that ended up. Not swaying either side here by much just feeling there's more substantial information needed to be convincing.

[@MaindeckGames]

I think you are totally right that there's both a lot of information that we would like to have, and just in general a lot of adapting that consumers will have to do to the new model. So the crystal ball for Altered is very cloudy - but if anything, I think that's a testament to how innovative the ideas are. For me, what keeps this out of "shady KS" territory is the fact that this is a well established and successful team behind the game. Libellud produced some of the most popular board games of the last decade, and the team has engaged a variety of bigger names in various industries to make this come together, including software developers and pro MTG players. I would be totally skeptical if this were a "1st created 0 backed" scenario, but the team has ample resources, critical connections, and successful leaders already. In fact, during the Gen Con meetings, we got to see a bit of the app in action - it's well past the idea stage and into the reality stage. The KS, IIRC, is more to help raise awareness than a KS to actually make the project happen. I think everyone should approach everything with a healthy degree of skepticism, but I'm optimistic about what the team is doing here, and just as curious as you to see how well they can pull it off and how consumers adapt if it takes off!

[@gorganiangranola]

@@MaindeckGames Thanks for taking the care to read and answer! I do agree and my interest is exactly because of who does this. You're convinced after dipping into it and they seem to have the resources to kickstart such an ambitious project, there's certainly reasons for confidence. But I don't necessarily want to mistake that interest being piqued for a reason for optimism because in the TCG landscape I don't trust a lot of signs. I do not trust Ravensburger with Lorcana too much and I don't trust FFG with SWU too much even if I'm kinda excited for both. Neither do I hold One Piece in too high esteem just because three sets on the back of a great franchise work well, their track record with another rather great game in Digimon is not too smooth. And the who does what is kind of a fluke besides kickstarting confidence imo. And I really am branded by the Artifact example, Valve and Garfield doing something in that space was such a sure bet to be incredibly successful and enjoyable, until it wasn't? LSS were a nobody and skepticism prevails for so so long until the sheer quality convinces and captivates more and more people. This project has a couple good reasons to watch out for it but I won't hold my breath. Especially the innovations are difficult to grasp imo and there would be no shame in needing to adjust things about it. For now we can just wait and see

[@gmeaki02]

Not all Uniques will be equally strong, so competitions could become very pay-to-win. It's similar to Keyforge in that regard.

[@MaindeckGames]

This is definitely true - and the team recognizes that for sure. But because Uniques are only a small portion of your deck - and based on how the game works mechanically, I would guess it's unlikely that having 3 slightly stronger cards will afford you a tournament-defining advantage. It seems reasonable to think that players who don't absolutely splurge on their uniques will still have a perfectly reasonable shot, and individual player skill/meta calls when deck building will likely play a bigger role just like any other TCG.

[@gregbartle5956]

Not all MtG mythics are made equal either. However, some are game changers and are very expensive. Tournaments still get spicy regardless of this observed P2W aspect

[@Vectrex-pi5ib]

Sounds like this will be a nightmare to play with cards being so different and yet looking so similar and having the same name, just the factions and rarities changing. In comparison: In Magic: The Gathering, If I see a Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, I know how to react. In this game, that card might not deal 2 damage for each card I draw, but instead perhaps 3 damage instead. Or it might have 6 toughness instead of 5, making me flounder my plan to damage to destroy it. Sitting across the board, it seems that in Altered it will be really hard to asses the boardstate of my opponent.

[@MaindeckGames]

For some people, that might be a turn-off, where others may find it refreshing. Not every game will be for everyone!

[@ericdieulangard2621]

Hi there, this is supposedly only true for the unique cards, because you have to check it to know what it does if you have never played against. For common and rare, we believe you get used to the difference very quickly. The common are black bordered and the rare borderless. But that's a very valid concern we have had too during development. Good question 😊

[@jaspergonzalez6492]

Hello, I am wondering if i am the "owner" of a card, when you go to print out multiple copies from there warehouse, can I use all the copies that where printed in my deck for tournments?? or Do I have to have multiple copies of the same card with different QR codes?

[@MaindeckGames]

Let's say you open the Rare Athena and you want to play it! You'll scan the card when you open it, and now you digitally own that 1 copy of Rare Athena. You can use Print on Demand to print 3 copies of it, if you want. When you go register your deck in a tournament, though, if you only own 1 copy digitally, you won't be able to register more than 1 copy, so your deck would mismatch if you put all 3 in. However, you can remedy this quickly - go to the marketplace, and purchase 2 more digital Rare Athenas and put them in your digital decklist. Even though THOSE Rare Athena had different QR codes than the ones you printed, it's OK: Only the names & rarity matter for commons and rares, so you can now register the correct deck and play the 3 Rare Athena you printed. Hopefully that example makes sense - it's made to be convenient for the player, while still preserving the same elements you'd see in ANY TCG (using packs or singles to build your decks).

[@jaspergonzalez6492]

@@MaindeckGames Thank you very much I believe I understand now. So likewise if I get 3 digital copies of a card without having a physical copy, I can then have any of the of those printed on demand 3 times since I own the digital copy correct? They don't have to all have separate QR codes since I own 3 digitally I can simply pick one.

[@MaindeckGames]

Right, that's the idea! You'll need to own 3 different copies *digitally*, but any prints of the three will do physically.

[@jaspergonzalez6492]

@@MaindeckGames awesome I fully understand now. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions.

[@MaindeckGames]

Absolutely! That's what I'm here for - thanks for taking the time to ask!

[@dumpsterfiremtg8886]

The print on demand feature would likely drastically diminish the amount of sealed product they expect to sell new. It will be interesting how they can navigate that. They are counting on profiting from printing on demand as a big part of the business. And they will have to make new/sealed product VERY enticing to keep the demand for new cards up. The ceiling on how it could work seems pretty great, but man the floor if things go wrong could be disastrous.

[@MaindeckGames]

I believe the hope is that the drive for Uniques (as well as having a large amount of rares) will keep sealed boxes an enticing chase. Every box having several 1/1 cards means the EV for any individual box is completely unknown, so just buying the digital singles and then printing the cards isn't necessarily an obviously better deal at all! It will certainly be interesting to watch them navigate!

[@Shottylicious]

I'm a bit late to the matter, for that I'm sorry. However, I find myself asking the question: As a physical board game player, who will play this game physically and casual. What prevents me from buying IRL cards, selling the digital one as I don't care about digital ownership and still use the physical cards in my casual plays? Now meaning that a unique card is not very unique anymore since the digital ownership is with someone else but the physical card I bought still belongs to me... For tournaments I would understand you would need the digital ownership perhaps, but no one cares for the casual game I play with friends. But in this way I could potentially create a cashflow that allows me to buy more physical product, keep it and sell the digital part that I do not care about...

[@MaindeckGames]

Nothing would prevent that! It's absolutely an option to enable casual play like that!

[@Lustmord66]

In the video the dev seems to have only mentioned they are going to do Roadshow in US, Canada and Europe….how come they aren’t doing a roadshow here in Australia and in some Asia….I feel Au is a big fan of TCG as well…it would be great if they can come down here to and even in Asia…giving the game a wider and bigger exposure

[@MaindeckGames]

I hope they can! I assume they are making decisions based on resources and timing - but I do know they are working with Australian distribution already.

[@quickestturtlez5362]

Will this be distributed exclusively through Asmodee?

[@ericdieulangard2621]

Hi there, yes it will be for Europe and US

[@MrThorwolf]

Is there any prospect for online play of this game? If so, is there an ETA?

[@MaindeckGames]

We haven't heard anything about that. I think they want to focus on the physical game first!

[@MrThorwolf]

I am sure it depends largely on the longer term prosperity generated by the physical game!

[@skyscapegamingllc8154]

Altered promotes the Digital Flesh and Blood promotes the Physical

[@KostikSaint]

I have a feeling this will be a collector's mostly game with a small player base. But I hope im wrong.

[@fabledacademy]

Why didn't they put the QR Codes on the back of the card? Would look better and people could stream openings. Which if people are not streaming openings, than that will be a real bummer for creators but also for the marketing of the company.

[@MaindeckGames]

QR codes need to be on the front for a bunch of reasons: the game is global in 5+ languages and has literally unique cards, and you may need to scan someone's card to read it in your language because you've never seen it before. When you play in a major event, the judges may need to deck check you and that is done via scanning into the app (which checks ownership as well). And putting it on the front signals to new players to scan the cards right away rather than hiding it on the back. Streaming is still possible, it can be done either with an overlay to block the code or a slight delay on the stream to scan the cards in first. I'll be using an overlay.

[@fabledacademy]

@@MaindeckGames while all things make sense in the environment set up for the game now, I feel like there could be a better way to handle the QR code on the front. The player could simply checkin their deck digitally and make the list available to watch for all judges and players he is facing in the tournament. That way the opponent can view the card in the app just by checking the decklist in his language. Judges when doing a deckcheck can also just slide the card out of the sleeve and scan the QR code on the back instead of the front. That might not be possible due to to timings, but I can think of even a solution for that: just have the digital ownership in the app handed in before the event so no need to check while the event is running? To me everything else looks very promising and I am curious to see the game come out and try it myself.

[@manwithnoname9580]

I think this has a solid groundwork concept. But this iteration has glaring issues on the tech side of things.

[@anakinsmith4770]

Are we talking all tcg because yugioh, vanguard, digimon all came after and in terms of competitive yugioh is far ahead of pokemon. pokemons main draw is collect-ability you see whats happening recently with pokemon since there changing towards competitive.

[@timothyterrenal5909]

What's the point of buying boxes if physical cards have no value? Also, I feel this game forces you to register all your cards to their marketplace or else they might be stolen if someone scans them. that is an absolute nightmare for someone like me who bases cases worth of my favorite tcgs when they come out.

[@MaindeckGames]

Yes, in this game, you will want to scan your packs as you open them. I've seen the app work and it scans extremely fast - fan out the cards and sweep over to scan. Hopefully it's not too much of a burden! The reason for buying boxes is to get the cards initially - the physical objects can be ordered, but only if you already own the card in your account, and you still need to own 3 copies of a card in your account to use 3 copies in a tournament. In that way, it's exactly like opening packs for any other TCG - if you want to play 3 copies of a good rare, you have to either open them or buy them on the marketplace. Once you digitally own those cards, then you can order 100 copies if you want to have different decks ready to play, if you lose your deck, to give to new players so they can play with them casually (but they can't use them in a tournament until they get the digital ownership as well), etc. Additionally, Uniques will be a huge draw for opening boxes. You will be the sole owner of any Uniques you open, so opening packs is the only way to find new ones. And if you like foiling your deck, Foilers will be in packs as well that you can apply to cards you own to be able to print Foil versions of them.

[@Fenir91]

Trying to look up anything for Altered brings up nothing but Magic the gathering alter arts 😂

[@MaindeckGames]

It'll take a little bit, the game is still months away from Kickstarter!

[@Fireballof3]

Digital ownership of cards doesn't remove the need to have the physical cards on hand for players or stores - the person sitting across from you at a tournament needs to see the cards you're playing. Paying $1 (likely more) per card to print AFTER buying the digital token (and then waiting for delivery from the printer) doesn't make sense to me...

[@MaindeckGames]

Well, when you buy the boosters, you get the cards immediately. They are still physical cards! But let's say you are talking specifically about singles: If you buy a card for another TCG from TCGPlayer, for example, you still have to pay for shipping and wait for delivery. So really there's little difference in that realm between Altered and other TCGs - other than the fact that, in Altered, if you lose your entire physical collection due to disaster or theft, or if you decide you want to use the same card from your collection in multiple decks, you can just order everything you need for a nominal fee. You state "$1 (likely more) per card", but that's not what the company has been saying. They are shooting for $1 per card at the most, with the price decreasing as the order increases. Whether they can land it there has yet to be seen, but your speculation is just as speculative as mine in this case :) In addition to the above, this system makes selling cards easier than ever, so singles availability would be enhanced both by more people doing it, and by uniting the global marketplace into a single app. Even if you have to pay to print cards you buy digitally, with sellers being empowered to increase the supply, I imagine it more or less evens out on what you potentially would have paid (and then waited for just the same) to buy from a game without the digital ownership aspect. Everyone is going to have their own take on things, but I'm excited to see how it pans out. There are definite positives to the system if they can make it work.

[@Thorrk_THT]

Cool idea but QR code in the front makes me want to vomit, it's so ugly. Just put it at the back, also it fixes the issue of people scanning your cards as you open them, since it's much easier to hide the back than the front.

[@MaindeckGames]

I believe they want the game to be accessible for players without requiring sleeves as well, and putting unique QR codes on the back of every card would require opaque sleeves at all times. I can say from experience playing that, at least for me, I didn't even notice the QR codes on the cards once the game started.

[@-Conn-]

I've been waiting for a concept like this to materialize for so long. That said, it is an absolute shame that it isn't using the blockchain. Everyone is an "NFT BAD" monkey these days because they associate them with scams and lost fortunes tied to jpegs. Now brands have to avoid it like the plague when in reality, Altered is a picture-perfect example of the use case that NFT's entire design was intended to solve. Finally, a card game tied to digital assets that actually lets you buy/sell/trade the assets... and it ISN'T using the blockchain? I don't blame Equinox at all, but damn, what a missed opportunity.

[@Binzob]

There isn't a single benefit to using the blockchain here though.

[@-Conn-]

​@@Binzob Except for it's design offering exceptional security and preservation, not to mention the tools for flexibility it offers to the owners of the assets. As it stands, literally all of that has to be trusted in the hands of the Altered developers to do as good of a job as they can to replicate what several block chain technologies already do exceptionally well. Everyone forgot what the point of the blockchain was because it's been morphed into a wanna-be stock exchange for whales and scammers.

[@Binzob]

@@-Conn- the thing is if Altered go under the game's gonna die anyways, and operating it themselves it's fair to say they will make a profit off the market frees + on demand printing. which makes it less likely they go under.

[@-Conn-]

@@Binzob Well they could still do the on-demand printing while utilizing the block-chain to handle proof of digital ownership, but I totally understand the benefit of the market fees. To be clear, I don't judge them at all for going this route, from a tactical standpoint it makes sense. Blockchains and NFTs are too much of a hot-button issue and would have turned everyone off. I'm moreso just frustrated by the situation. As soon as I learned about NFTs I dreamed for a game exactly like this to exist, it's the perfect platform to utilize it. Either way, Altered seems really cool and I will likely be playing it regardless. I'm rooting for them.

[@kartgal]

The unique cards are a no for me. I don’t think that learning about a brand new card I’ve never heard about in the middle of a match when I’m already feeling a bit pressured sounds remotely fun.

[@Binzob]

You don't really need to learn about it, just adapt to it as it happens. There's a lack draw power in the game as it stands, so if you play a best of 3, your opponent is only likely to see a unique once over those 3 duels. And my understanding is that while the card itself is 1 of 1, the abilities and game mechanics they use will still be common enough that you understand what they do and how best to play around it.

[@HisNameIsTater]

Trading cards are often used as an investment among collectors. What happens if their servers go offline and the company no longer exists? All the value in your cards is destroyed.

[@MaindeckGames]

Just like any other TCG, you still have all the cards. What's the difference here?

[@gregbartle5956]

​@@MaindeckGames the issue i see - and maybe its not seeing the forest through the trees - is in this scenario of a total nuclear shutdown, some of these cards could have been printed hundreds or thousands of times. So now the true measure of the cards worth, digital ownership, is completely gone and the obliterated by a now flooded physical only market. Do I see this as something that will happen? Absolutely not. Is this a worse case scenario? Yes. Could Wizards decide they want to start mass printing the reserve list tomorrow? All signs point to greed. Sorry for the last bit of rambling just hoping to give the naysayers a bit of perspective.

[@Binzob]

Yeah pretty much would be the case. Though I'd hope what they'd do instead is just cease development, while keeping the servers up. As I'd expect the marketplace + print on demand to be able to pay for the costs of servers and stuff.

[@xbot02]

A game from France huh? Interesting.

[@angryGTS]

Not the first game from France. Another fun TCG from France with top-notch quality is Rise TCG.

[@HitcH55]

TLDR: No, it won't

[@MaindeckGames]

Thanks for the comment - we'll have to see! There are a lot of potential positives to this digital system and if they are able to build a lot of hype for the game early next year, it might get a lot of people looking. For example, no other game publisher actually makes money from secondary market sales, where Altered will. That alone is an enticing aspect for any other TCG publisher to consider.

[@JVluluorban]

The QR code on the front is a massive put off... Also why put it on the cards that are not uniques ? Also there is some big ecological questions here. As for example, the person that had the card and sold it, and it get reprinted. Where does the original card go ? In the trash ? Pretty wasteful. Also , this will make bulk even worse then other games , at least bulk in other games can still be used as it doesnt have unique owner but here the QR code prevents that. Moving bulk will be a massive hassle

[@MaindeckGames]

Thanks for your thoughts. I agree there are ecological problems to tackle! I had already asked some questions about the possibility of things like recycling programs. The ecological impact is something that I believe Equinox wants to look at in the long term. As far as why all cards have QR codes, because you need to register ownership of all cards, not just unique ones, so you can register your deck for a tournament. I have heard a lot of people say they don't like the QR code on the front - no idea if the team is going to come up with any solutions for that. I can say that when playing the game, I didn't think about it twice, but definitely YMMV. Bulk commons are just as usable in Altered as any other game. You don't register individual unique printings of cards, just the card itself. As long as you have the max number of any common registered digitally, you can grab any copies of that card to use from your cards, my cards, or the bulk bin at the shop. There isn't a drastic difference at all between this and other TCGs that I can discern.

[@JVluluorban]

@@MaindeckGames correct me if I'm wrong, the bulk cards have a unique code per card "name" but not for every single card? So the card "Common Mc Common" will have the same code on each printing of it but will differ from " Miss common " QR code ? If so then yeah that eliminates the bulk issue

[@MaindeckGames]

I'm not 100% clear on if they share the same QR code, but from what Equinox has said, you do not need to match 1:1 the card you scanned with the digital card you included in your decklist. I think there would be a few ways of achieving that, but that's the *result* they've described.

[@hexcrawler]

I’m gonna say this will flop. Why? The QR code problem.

[@MaindeckGames]

That's fair, but what exactly do you mean by the QR code problem?

[@dmikalova]

How is this revolutionary considering KeyForge started doing this in 2017? Even the proposal of rekindling discovery sounds like a copy of Richard Garfield talking about KeyForge.

[@Binzob]

Like kinda? But also KeyForce doesn't have deck building (from my understanding) so in that essence it's also completely different.

[@Rayquaza894]

No. No, its not

[@estelle4778]

"Inclusive" "kid game" "no blood" typically a woke game. Skip

[@hexcrawler]

Pokémon doesn’t have blood…