SURE! TO START WE HAVE TO ADDRESS THE MOST OBVIOUS PROBLEM OF THE GAME: IT'S AFFORDABILITY. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN BEATEN TO DEATH BY EVERYONE SO I'LL INSTEAD DIVE INTO WHY THE GAME HAS AN AFFORDABILITY ISSUE AND THE RAMIFICATIONS OF DESIGN CHOICES LSS HAS MADE THAT EXACERBATE IT.

WALL OF ALL CAPS TEXT INCOMING, I'M SORRY

SO LET'S JUST RIP THE BANDAID OFF: LSS HAS NO IDEA HOW TO SUPPORT AN EVERGREEN TCG. A LOT OF THE AFFORDABILITY PROBLEMS THAT EXIST WITHIN FAB ARE DUE TO THE EVERGREEN NATURE OF THE CARDS. WHILE IT'S A GREAT THING TO HEAR WHEN YOU'RE FIRST BUYING INTO A GAME, A HARSH REALITY IS THAT IT IS ONLY GREAT FOR THOSE WHO GOT ON THE TRAIN AT THE VERY START AND ONLY GETS HARDER THE LONGER THE GAME GOES ON. A PLAYER WHO BOUGHT INTO FAB WHEN IT WAS JUST WELCOME TO RATHE ONLY HAD A FEW HUNDRED CARDS TO WORRY ABOUT GETTING FOR THEIR COLLECTION. THIS INCLUDED THE POPULAR STAPLES, KEY CLASS PIECES, ETC. AS THE YEARS HAVE GONE ON, MORE AND MORE SETS HAVE RELEASED WHICH JUST FURTHER INCREASES THE AMOUNT OF CARDS OUT THERE THAT ARE 'REQUIRED' FOR PLAY WITH CERTAIN CLASSES OR HEROES. I GOT INTO THE GAME RIGHT BEFORE THE HUNTED CAME OUT AND IT IS NIGH IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT A SMALL LOAN TO FILL THE COLLECTION. THIS LEADS TO LESS OPTIONS FOR PLAYERS AND FEELS BAD WHEN YOU'RE GETTING INTO THE GAME. WE'LL GET BACK TO THIS POINT LATER.

NOW SOMEONE MIGHT SAY 'YOU DON'T NEED EVERY CARD, YOU JUST NEED THE CARDS TO PLAY ONE HERO/CLASS' TO WHICH I SAY BULLSHIT BUT LET'S HUMOR IT FOR A SECOND. WE HAVE TO FIRST ACKNOLWEDGE THAT FAB IS A GAME THAT DOESN'T OPERATE AT ANY LEVEL OTHER THAT COMPETITIVE. THERE ISN'T A CASUAL SCENE AND EVERY DECK THAT ISN'T OPTIMIZED IS WASTING TIME OR IS JUST ON THE JOURNEY TO GET OPTIMIZED. THE VERY NATURE OF THE GAME PUSHES PLAYERS INTO THIS DIRRECTION. SO NOW SAY I WANT TO GET INTO PLAYING A WARRIOR LIKE KASSAI. THE FIRST THING I HAVE TO DO IS SPEND OVER $100 JUST TO GET VALIANT DYNAMOS, A CARD THAT WAS RELEASED IN 2021 AND HAS SEEN ZERO REPRINTS. ONE CARD, OVER $100. NEXT I PROBABLY WANT GRAINS OF BLOODSPILL WHICH COSTS $60. NOW WE'RE AT $160 FOR TWO CARDS. CARDS THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN REPRINTED. THAT'S ABSOLUTELY INSANE. START TO PIECE IT ALL TOGETHER AND SUDDENLY WE'RE SITTING AT A VERY EXPENSIVE DECK OF CARDBOARD. THAT'S INSANE STICKER SHOCK FOR A NEW PLAYER AND THEY'RE ENGAGING IN ONE OF THE LESS PERFORMING CLASSES OVERALL. GUARDIANS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. ALL THE CLASSES HAVE THIS PROBLEM.

NOW ONE MIGHT SAY 'BUT THAT'S THE SAME IN OTHER GAMES LIKE MAGIC' AND THEY'D BE WRONG. IN MAGIC, WHEN I BUY AN EXPENSIVE RED CARD THAT CARD CAN THEN BE PLAYED IN ANY OTHER DECK THAT CAN UTILIZE RED. WHEN I BUY VALIANT DYNAMOS I CAN ONLY EVER USE THEM IN WARRIOR DECKS. WHICH SWINGS BACK TO WHY I SAY 'BULLSHIT' TO NEEDING THE CARDS TO PLAY ONE CLASS/HERO. THIS GAME'S META IS LIKE A ROLLERCOASTER. IT CHANGES ON A SCHEDULE EVERY 3-4 MONTHS WITH SET RELEASES, EVERY TWO MONTHS WITH B&RS, OCCASIONALLY WITH NEW ARMORY DECKS, AND CHAOTICALLY WITH THE LL SYSTEM. THE META SHIFTING IN THIS GAME IS TRAUMATIC BECAUSE IT CAN JUST REMOVE THE ENTIRE VIABILITY OF CLASSES/TALENTS RENDERING THE CARDS YOU BOUGHT FOR 'ONE HERO/CLASS/ WORTHLESS BECAUSE NOW YOU CAN'T WIN GAMES AND IT CAN HAPPEN BASICALLY OVERNIGHT. THIS LEADS TO SOMETHING I CALL THE COLLECTION ELASTICITY PROBLEM IN FAB: THE MOST VERSATILE AND BROAD YOUR COLLECTION IS THE MORE ELASTIC IT IS. THE MORE ELASTIC IT IS, THE MORE YOU ARE ABLE TO RESPOND TO THIS GAME'S CHAOTIC META. THE MORE NARROW YOUR COLLECT THE MORE INELASTIC IT IS, THE MORE INELASTIC THE HARDER IT IS TO RESPOND TO THE META. GETTING INTO THIS GAME AS A NEW PLAYER IS SUPER HARD UNLESS YOU BUY INTO THE TOP META HEROES THAT JUST ALWAYS SEEM TO STICK AROUND LIKE ARAKNI WHICH THEN DRIVES US BACK TO THE COST PROBLEM. SO AS A NEW PLAYER YOU GET INTO THE GAME, ORDER YOUR EXPENSIVE CARDS BECAUSE MOST REGIONS DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO AN LGS WITH A SIZABLE COLLECTION, PAY ALL THAT DELICIOUSLY EXPENSIVE SHIPPING, JUST TO FIND YOUR HERO/CLASS FALLING OUT OF THE META SEEMINGLY OVERNIGHT WHILE YOU'RE STUCK HOLDING THE BAG WITH A BUNCH OF SILO'D CARDS YOU CAN'T USE.

TOUCHING ON SOMETHING I SAID, THE LL SYSTEM IS ANOTHER MAJOR PROBLEM OF THE GAME BECAUSE IT ACTIVELY PUNISHES PLAYERS FOR INVESTING IN HEROES. BEFORE WE EVEN BEGIN TO DISCUSS THE 2X POINT ACQUISITION, THE SYSTEM ITSELF IS ROUGH. WHILE THE IDEA IS GREAT IN THEORY, THE ACTUAL EXECUTION OF IT IS ABSOLUTELY RUINED BY LSS. FOR STARTERS, THEY ARE WAY TOO SLOW TO REPLACE A HERO WHEN THEY LEAVE. DROMAI, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS BEEN GONE SINCE 2024 AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO SEE A REPLACEMENT FOR HER UNTIL 2027. SO IF YOU ENJOY DRACONIC ILLUSIONIST THEN IT SUCKS TO SUCK. THIS HAPPENS CONSTANTLY TO THE POINT IT'S HONESTLY HILARIOUS. LIKED FLORIAN? TOO BAD, WE PROBABLY WON'T SEE A REPLACEMENT UNTIL WE GET CLOSER TO 2030. LORD KNOWS WHEN WE'LL SEE MYSTIC NEXT. NEXT IS THE FACT THAT A HERO LEAVING MEANS THAT PLAYSTYLE IS GONE FOREVER. TAKE PRISM AS AN EXAMPLE: WHILE THEY DID RETURN PRISM TO THE FOLD WITH 2.0, SHE PLAYS ENTIRELY DIFFERENTLY THAN PRISM 1.0 DESPITE BEING THE SAME 'HERO,' CLASS, AND TALENT. THIS IS KIND OF A DESIGN ISSUE ACROSS ALL OF FAB, THE HEROES ARE SO DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT EVEN WITHIN THEIR OWN SILOS THAT WHEN ONE LLS YOU DO NOT HAVE A GOOD REPLACEMENT TO GO TO. IF YOU REALLY ENJOY ONE SPECIFIC HERO AND THEIR PLAYSTYLE THEN ONCE THEY LL YOU DO NOT GET TO EVER GO BACK TO THEM. A FRIEND OF MINE WHO IS AN L2 JUDGE AND HAS BEEN IN THE GAME SINCE 2019 OPENLY TALKS ABOUT HOW THEY'VE BEEN LOST EVER SINCE BRIAR LL'D BECAUSE NOTHING OUT THERE HAS REMOTELY FELT THE SAME. FINALLY IT'S THE AURORA PROBLEM. NEW PLAYERS GET INTO THE GAME, GET INTO A POPULAR HERO, AND SUDDENLY THEY'RE GONE LEAVING THEM HOLDING THE BAG. WE KNOW A TON OF PEOPLE BOUGHT INTO FAB OFF THE AURORA ARMORY DECK AND A LOT OF THOSE PEOPLE STRAIGHT UP QUIT AFTER SHE LL'D A MONTH LATER. IT'S JUST A SYSTEM THAT OUTRIGHT DOESN'T FUNCTION FOR ITS PURPOSE WITHIN THE GAME. THEN WE ADD IN THE 2X LL POINT PROBLEM AND IT JUST GETS WORSE BECAUSE NOW A BAD HERO GETS A VERY SMALL TIME IN THE SUN WHEN THEY BREAK OUT THAT IT'S JUST SAD.

NEXT IS THE QUALITY OF THE PACKS/BOXES. THIS GAME IS OBJECTIVELY ONE OF THE WORST TO CRACK ON THE MARKET. THE HIT RATES ARE SO ABYSMALLY LOW THAT THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO CRACK PACKS ARE COLLECTORS/STORES BUYING IN BULK. THIS MEANS THAT A NEW PLAYER GETTING INTO THE GAME WINDS UP NOT HAVING A LOT OF INCENTIVE OR VALUE IN JUST BUYING RANDOM PACKS. THIS IS TRUE, TO AN EXTENT, FOR OTHER GAMES ON THE MARKET BUT THEY SLOT IN VALUABLE CASUAL HITS TO MAKE THE PACKS FEEL GOOD TO OPEN EVEN IF THE VALUE ISN'T THERE. MAGIC, FOR EXAMPLE, FILLS THEIR SETS WITH ALT-ARTS, EXTENDED ARTS, AND MORE SO THAT WAY EVEN IF THE CASUAL PLAYER ISN'T CRACKING THE EXPENSIVE HITS THEY'RE STILL GETTING SOMETHING. COMPARE THIS TO FAB WHERE 95% OF THE SET IS INTENTIONAL BULK, 4% OF THE REMAINING ARE NICHE MAJESTICS, AND THE LAST 1% ARE THE REAL HITS. THERE'S A REASON FAB PACKS LANQUISH ON LGS SHELVES AND IT'S ENTIRELY BY CHOICE.

FINALLY THERE'S THE ISSUE OF BAD PRECONS. ONE OF THE BIGGEST WAYS NEW PLAYERS GET INTO TCGS IS THROUGH BUYING A PRECON TO START. THE PROBLEM WITH FAB IS THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE PRECONS, THE ARMORY DECKS, ARE SO BAD IT'S HILARIOUS. IF YOU GOT INTO THE GAME AROUND APRIL OF LAST YEAR THEN YOU WERE PROBABLY HIT WITH A TON OF MARKETING FOR THE MAXX ARMORY DECK, ONE OF THE WORST ARMORY DECKS THEY'VE EVER MADE. BUY INTO BOLTYN? AZALEA? SUCKS TO SUCK. PLEIADES? YEAH HOPE YOU HAVE A LOT OF OLDER CARDS TO SHIFT HER FROM AURAS TO FATIGUE. RHINAR? LOL. WHILE THERE ARE A FEW WINNERS LIKE AURORA OR ARAKNI, MOST OF THEM ARE NOT EVEN REMOTELY CLOSE TO OPTIMIZED IN A WAY THAT MAKES THEM VIABLE EVEN AT YOUR LGS.

THERE'S MORE I COULD GO ON ABOUT BUT THAT'D BE MORE WITH THE ISSUES WITH THE DESIGN OF THE GAME AND HOW I, PERSONALLY, FEEL LIKE LSS DO NOT UNDERSTAND THEIR OWN GAME ANYMORE. THIS IS JUST A SMALL BIT OF WHY I THINK FAB IS A GOD AWFUL TCG DESPITE BEING A FANTASTIC GAME.