World of Warcraft as a TCG?

There's something about a video game that "takes souls," as some girlfriends would undoubtedly say, that has been converted into a Trading card game that simply doesn't sit right with me. The fact that Upper Deck Entertainment (UDE) is the company behind the conversion of video game to trading card game just makes that bad taste in the back of my mouth all the more sour.

We are talking, of course, about the massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG), now Trading Card Game, World of Warcraft or WoW as it is abbreviated.
Released on October 26, 2006, the card game is set in the world of Azeroth, the continent the online game takes place in. The premise, (or lack there of,) is that you take on the role of a "Hero," which is meant to simulate your personal character in the game.
This "Hero" is more of a hero-ette really, unable to attack on its own without the aid of weapons, which you have to pay for in order to put into play. Once your "Hero" has its weapon, you then must continuously pay to use said weapon.

The "Heroes" powers are limited, in that it can use its effect only once a game, and without a weapon or armor card, it becomes rather useless. You can include Ally cards in your deck as well, which represent the members of your "party" from in-game. However, these allies usually become lambs to the slaughter, dying within the first turn or two of being put into play.

Players take turns playing any card face down from their hand as a resource, sound familiar Spoils community or to you VS players out there? You also spend time playing "Quest" cards, which do very little when it comes to actually playing. The game has been described by some as "Easy," some going so far as to say "It's Magic with less decisions, and much less skill." I agree with these last few statements, along with a couple of more observations. The game, in its essence, is a bad version of Magic with extra rules. It's as if Magic made a world of Warcraft set, and then had children come up with a new mechanic for the game called a "Quest".

To spice things up, UDE has released a product called Onyxia's Lair Raid deck. This deck is comprised of a set of cards that cannot be used in actual tournaments, with a regular retail price of nearly $30. That's $30 of your hard earned money going towards a deck of cards that aren't even legal for tournament play! What in this world or another like Azeroth, were these people thinking? If I buy any cards, any at all, I want to use them in competitive play!

But the cards that are legal aren't cheap either! Some cards, including the Leroy Jenkins card and special "prize" cards that can be redeemed for virtual attire and items, (not very good items, mind you,) can go from $35-$100 dollars respectively. The art is at times great, and at times too goofy to be put in a deck no matter what the card actually does.

Game play is boring, with games often lasting well over the 40 minute time limit, with no splitting allowed. No ties are allowed, in any circumstance either. The game is, in every way, sub par to various other games in the "Pro-Player Circuit," as I call the money tournament scene, but of course, UDE tries.

The World of Warcraft tournament breakdown is horrible at worst, offering mediocre prizes at best. According to UDE's official World of Warcraft tournament website, UDE offers Hobby League tournament kits for Hobby Shops to purchase. That's right game stores of America, you must buy them. These kits come with a promotional play mat, offered for Top 8 Regional winners as well which lowers the value of actually placing at a Regional, promotional pens, and a promotional foil already existing within the game.

The next step in this ladder-to-nowhere are the Regional events. On January 13, 2007 the first Regional events began nationwide. In Virginia, the player count was a scarce 50 some odd, with the fifth place finisher coming home with a measly four booster packs. First place got around ten packs, with top four receiving invitations to Nationals. They must pay their way to Nationals, finding their own way there, where many other pro card games will pay your way. After all that is what makes for a great competitive environment, the best of the best no matter your financial situation.

As of printing date, UDE has not released the prizes for Nationals, or if there will be a World Championships. This does not inspire confidence in their tournament abilities.

Let's add all the expenses up real quick, shall we? After all if you're a serious gamer you need to weigh the costs of the game your getting into, and with World of Warcraft you may be disappointed. Aside from the cost of your deck and all the rare and valuable cards you'll need to stand a chance in a Regional even here are a few more things you'll be paying for.

Say about a two-three hour drive to get to the state capital, costing, say, $25 in gas, plus the entrance fee of $20 as initial fee's. Then, another $10 for food, minus the amount that could have been made had a player not taken off of work that day, and all the various other wonderful things that could have been done in the nine hours that was spent in order to play.
So far, we're out about $60 and a whole day of living. All for a measly four packs. Plus National expenses, assuming there is one, because UDE is still unsure even though they have already handed out invites!

This game is overall a mess! The game play is basic, the art work is random, and the support from UDE is far from acceptable. If you as a player are expected to harbor such expense and invest so much into a game like World of Warcraft then the least they should give back is some decent prized support and cover your expense for the invite to a National event. But unfortunately the World of Warcraft TCG lacks almost everything needed for a good pro circuit card game. If you in the market for a simple TCG and have no desire to participate in tournaments then you may find World of Warcraft to be enjoyable. For the rest of us, I would avoid this one.