Weekly Newsletter Update #6
This week we are revealing the full suite of Earl player cards available in Ortus Regni. Each and every player has an identical set of these cards from which to make their decks before a game of Ortus Regni begins.
This set consists of 15 cards: 5 Property cards, 5 Face cards, and 5 Political cards. Each player also has a Palace card, which begins play on the table in their Earldom.
Each card has a unique function in the game, and together they complete the full sweep of gameplay in Ortus Regni. The synergies between this finite set of cards is the heart of Ortus Regni.
The Earl deck that you build will rely on the interplay of these abilities as they emerge in game. The entire structure of the Ortus Regni was designed around these 15 cards in order to create a satisfyingly whole and complete card game.
Your own deck designs can play with these synergies in many ways. The strength of a deck, though, depends on what other players bring to the table. Some decks styles are typically strong and predicable—such as a Lord deck with strong Political defense—but a cleverly designed counter deck can crush even these designs.
The full set includes:
- Property Cards – Castle, Land, Market Town, Church, and the Cathedral.
- Face Cards – Prince, Vassal, Champion, Monk, and the Mercenary.
- Political Cards – Treachery, Intrigue, Allies, Banquet, and the Banner.
Every full Earl Card Set contains 6 of each of these 15 unique cards. No single card is absolutely necessary to win a game of Ortus Regni! For example, a player can choose to include all 6 of a specific card, or none of that card. From this set of cards players design an Earl deck (a gameplay deck) of 24 cards.
Who are your opponents, how do they typically play? How many other Earls are there in the game? Are you going to play for speed and strength? Are you going to wait for an opportune moment to use political suasion to win the game? Perhaps you might try to simply outlive your opponents, or maybe you will try to conspire with the Viking horde to vanquish your rivals?
Anticipating your opponents’ strategies when building your deck can lead to victory. However, events on the table sometimes take an unexpected turn. Fate may give you a lucky break or foil your early plans. Ortus Regni can be rich in strategic depth but the gameplay is also fast-paced, with moments of vulnerability (or opportunity!) arising from beginning to end. A game can end decisively very quickly, while a more epic struggle can play out over forty-five minutes, or longer. And then it is time to make a brand new deck, and win again. :)Thanks again for following our pre-launch!
– Jon Sudbury & Team Ortus
