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The Tattered Notebook: How Legends of Norrath influenced EverQuest II
Earlier this week, we reported on a change in the Legends of Norrath. Gold members have received free LoN packs each month, and they would stack up so that even if you didn't log in during a certain month, you'd still receive the pack. Going forward, you have to log in each month or you won't get the pack for that month. It might seem like a small change, but there are a surprising number of players who participate not necessarily for the game cards but for a chance at one of the rarer loot cards. Over the years, Legends of Norrath has actually had several loot cards that created some controversy, and one could argue that LoN helped ease EverQuest II's transition to the Marketplace and even to free-to-play. Let's look at some of the more notable loot cards in this week's Tattered Notebook.
The Daily Grind: What do you think of table-top games?
There exists a very close relationship between MMOs and table-top games.Yesterday saw the launch of Ethernauts, the fifth expansion to EverQuest-related collectible trading card game Legends of Norrath. LoN is digital, but gameplay-wise, it's totally a table-top game. World of Warcraft has an entirely material trading card game. Warhammer Online is of course based on the Warhammer miniatures game, and WoW is getting a miniatures game of its own. And of course, the RPG genre originated on the table-top with Dungeons & Dragons.We're wondering: how much crossover is there between digital and table-top games? How many of our readers play them? Tell us! What do you think of table-top games?
Legends of Norrath launches fifth expansion: Ethernauts
Today marks the release of the fifth expansion to the Legends of Norrath digital trading card game -- Ethernauts. More than 280 cards join the existing arsenal, including four avatar cards, two new unit races, and 20 loot cards. They all play into a story that sets the stage for EverQuest II's upcoming The Shadow Odyssey expansion. In fact, there are even some scenarios based on never-before-seen TSO content. In an attempt to give would-be newbies an incentive to buy in, SOE has also introduced the Legendary Starter Pack at the price of $19.99. If you're a vet, though, you can pick up Ethernauts booster packs for $2.99 each. Current EverQuest or EQ2 subscribers will get a free starter deck, 'cause, y'know -- you're not hooked on Norrath enough already, right? Oh, and there are a bunch of special events all weekend celebrating the launch. Well met, fellow Norrathian! Make sure to check out all of our coverage of the next EverQuest II expansion, The Shadow Odyssey as well as Seeds of Destruction, the next expansion to EverQuest! %Gallery-17086%
Legends of Norrath Ethernauts card preview: Temperence
Our third and final Legends of Norrath preview card for the Ethernauts set is on display this morning. Ethernauts releases this Thursday, so this card brings our preview series for LoN Expansion 6. We've previously talked about several other 'card counter' mechanic offerings, including the personal attack card Vicious Assault and the pet buff Geotic Rune. Today, finally, we have a defensive card using the card counter mechanic; a quick flip of the wrist to get you out of a tight spot.This past week we also took a look at some of the loot cards coming with this set. Those and all three of our preview cards are in our gallery for the set, below. Check them out, and get ready for the Legends of Norrath expansion's launch the day after tomorrow. Read on below the cut for a closer look at Temperence.%Gallery-32446%
Legends of Norrath Ethernauts card preview: Geotic Rune
Last week we began our latest preview series for the upcoming expansion to the TCG Legends of Norrath: Ethernauts. Vicious Assault, last week's card, introduced the 'card counter' mechanic that is taking a bow in this newest expansion. This week's preview card, Geotic Rune, utilizes that same mechanic to provide an all-new level of power to a very traditional Mage deck build.Another early-to-midgame card, Geotic Rune will increase the power level of all those 'pet decks' out there. It sounds in general like pet fans will be getting a few treats in Ethernauts, a topic touched on in this week's designer analysis. SOE-Denver's Evan Lorentz joins us once again to discuss how Geotic Rune fits into the new expansion to Legends of Norrath, and where you might end up using it in your decks. Read on below the cut for full details.
Legends of Norrath Ethernauts card preview: Vicious Assault
We announced the upcoming expansion to Legends of Norrath just a little less than two weeks ago. Already the release date for the new card set is approaching, and for the next few weeks we'll be offering up a preview-card-a-week to familiarize you with the expansion's new game elements. The art for the new set meets the standard set by previous expansions, and this time around we'll be trying to include comments from card designers along with the actual art itself.Today we're previewing 'Vicious Assault', an early-to-midgame ability that starts an avatar-on-avatar combat. SOE Denver's Evan Lorentz walks us through the card and its use; despite the ability itself being fairly straightforward, the new set offers up some different takes on tried-and-true LoN strategies.Read on below the cut for the full card art and Lorentz's take.
Legends of Norrath's next expansion, Ethernauts, incoming
The folks at Sony Online Entertainment passed us word that a brand-new expansion to their fantasy-themed TCG Legends of Norrath is coming very soon. Called simply Ethernauts, it will be the fifth expansion to the game since the game launched at the end of summer last year. It follows close on the heels of the Oathbreaker expansion, which came out in June of this year. While there are a lot of similarities with past expansions (280 new cards, 20 new loot cards, etc.) Ethernauts looks to be adding a few new bits of flavour to the pot. Most intriguing is its deep tie-in to the upcoming Shadow Odyssey expansion to EverQuest 2. That connection was hinted at in our interview with LoN developers Kyle Heuer and Tom Lischke in June of this year. Players will take on the roles of ancient heroes, fighting against the darkness of The Void in the far distant past of Norrath. New gameplay elements will also be introduced, with all-new options for starter decks and deck building. We have the full release formatted below the cut, if you're interested. Look to this space in the near future for our typical art previews and promo art from the new expansion. %Gallery-17086%
