Happy Friday! This week we’re taking a deeper dive into the boys from Artificery. Come find out how the former Star Wars Destiny group came back together for Star Wars Unlimited!

Artificery

Tell us about your yourselves! What are your hobbies outside of card games?

Tacster: I’m Nick, aka Tacster. My main hobbies outside of TCGs are board games and video games. Being a recent dad, I have not had as much time to do any of these as I used to. Currently I am really into the Arkham Horror LCG, and have been doing a rolling campaign with friends for the last year or so.

The Gandork: I’m Nick, or The Gandork from the various social medias. I’m getting old, I’m married with two kids. Got two dogs, two cats. Outside of card games my life is usually dominated by my kids, but I do try to find time for video games, painting minis, board games, crocheting, catching up on TV shows. Oh also I’m an avid bourbon collector – over 50+ bottles in my collection at the moment. Yeah, basically I have too many hobbies.

XeroHour: I’m Garrett, and I like the Dune 2 popcorn bucket

Yeti: I’m Sean, and I like XeroHour’s Dune 2 popcorn bucket and Reylo “Art”.

KyloSpren: I’m Wyatt, I like board games, and Star Wars Destiny was my first TCG, so I guess I like Star Wars TCGs. Nerdy extrovert, I also like popcorn, buckets, Garrett, and Dune 2 if not in that order.

How did y’all come together as a group?

Tacster: Artificery was started by Sean (Yeti) running online tournaments for Star Wars Destiny. We mostly bonded via discord and would say we first fully came together at the first PAX Unplugged in 2017 where we all met up, played games, and ate cheesesteak.

Outside of card games we grew heavily into playing board games together (and some video games). By the end of Destiny, our tournament travels became more about hanging out and playing board games than the actual tournament.

The Gandork: I met all of these guys during Destiny – though I wasn’t really part of the team then. Just a good chunk of the Artificery team was based in the PNW and I’m in Idaho so I’d see them at every big-ish event in the region. Artificery was always down to board game in the tournament after hours and I also loved board gaming – same with the other Boise Boys – so we just kinda gravitated together. During the waning Destiny days and the start of the ARH, I hijacked the channel for streaming Destiny stuff. Then now with SWU starting – it was just kind-of a natural fit at this point. We thought about rebranding – but the Artificery stuff was already set up and at least was somewhat known from the Destiny stuff.

KyloSpren: I was late to the Destiny scene, and met Yeti and Agent of Zion around set 6 when I started going to my first ever tournaments. I recognized them from online and was more nervous than I should have been to meet other nerds who liked Star Wars TCGs. I had started a podcast called the Dice of Failure with two buddies, and Yeti graciously let us borrow steaming equipment when our podcast was given a press pass for worlds 2019. Kept meeting up and hanging out with everyone at events and now I talk with these guys every day on discord.

What is each of your prior background/experiences in the TCG world?

Tacster: Star Wars Destiny was the first time I really played a TCG competitively. I never got into Magic. I dabbled with friends in collage and high school in the World of Warcraft TCG and the already dead decipher Lord of the Rings TCG. Otherwise I spent more time playing digital card games, the most notably being Hearthstone and Legends of Runeterra. I am still a big fan of Legends of Runeterra, and loved the PvE aspects they added to the game too.

The Gandork: Being older-ish, I literally started playing Magic back in the early 90s when I was 8. I had a nerdy uncle that is only like 5-6 years older than me that I looked up to for all my nerd-dom and he got me into it. So began a lifetime love affair with card games. When Star Wars CCG came out, I loved Star Wars too, so I traded all my Magic stuff for Star Wars CCG (I try not to think about the money). Played that and Young Jedi until it basically died – then picked up the Decipher Lord of the Rings TCG. Played that until it died. Then picked up the World of Warcraft TCG. Played that until it died. Then picked up Star Wars Destiny. Played that until it died (I might be cursed). And now we’re here.  I dabbled in a bunch of other TCGs during that time frame, but those were my main games.

XeroHour: I was big into Destiny when that was around, otherwise I used to play a lot of MtG and Pokemon when it first came out.

KyloSpren: This is my second TCG and first one without dice. I’ve played all the big ones at some point or another but never taken them seriously.

What was the main draw for each of you to Star Wars Unlimited as a game?

Tacster: Star Wars for sure. There is a reason I have not played other games competitively, the theme really does it for me. I dragged my feet on this one a little bit after it was announced but really got into how fun this game is pretty quickly after getting to try some games.

The Gandork: Star Wars first and foremost – I LOVE card games, but my love for Star Wars is even deeper.

XeroHour: Well I’m a huge Star Wars fan so I’m always looking to have fun with a game. Admittedly, I was weary to jump into a new TCG, but after playing it, I was sold.

KyloSpren: Honestly, I was reluctant on unlimited having been burned with Destiny. But I really wanted to keep up with friends and was willing to give it a try. Now about to complete my playset and looking forward to the next weekly event, so safe to say I’ve got the bug again. As much as modern Star Wars isn’t scratching the itch for me, it was my favorite as a kid, and I’m still a sucker for anything quality with Luke and lightsabers.

What’s one card design from another card game you have played that you would enjoy seeing in Star Wars Unlimited?

Tacster: I would love if there was some kind of PvE mode at some point. First time I saw this was in the World of Warcraft TCG and I really enjoyed playing through those raids. Digital card games have going much bigger into the PvE side. I like the idea of giving people an option to play solo, or cooperatively as a group.

The Gandork: Going back to my World of Warcraft TCG days, it had a similar resource system as Unlimited – you would put any card from your hand facedown as a resource. BUT they had other card types that could do stuff from your resources – Quests would go face up and have a one time action you could use to gain a benefit and then flip them face down, Locations would go face up and have ongoing or repeated abilities you could use. So I would like to see something like that in SWU where you can make the resource space a little more interesting.

XeroHour: I’ll get hate for this, but I’m a mill player at heart. So I’d love to see some legitimate mill tactics show up at some point in SWU.

KyloSpren: Hear me out, what if we added custom dice? But in all seriousness, I played a lot of Runeterra, and loved the spell mana system. I think the ability to bank a couple unspent energy towards a future event would do a ton to help smooth out early turns and let players experiment with higher cost curves.

 What is one thing you hope to see from FFG attached to the Competitive structure (ie. prizing, formats, etc)?

Tacster: I would really like to see some enhanced functionality on the website to support the competitive structure and also as a data platform to help with meta analysis. Prizing wise, I am torn. I get anxious of a more toxic environment the bigger cash/prize pool gets. I also prefer a more graded distribution of prizes rather than being extremely top heavy. I would also really like to see draft as a competitive format at some point in time.

The Gandork: I want draft to be adopted as a competitive format. They seem to be relegating all sealed formats to strictly casual and that makes me said. I think draft is one of the purest forms of skill expression in card games and I love drafting.

XeroHour: I think for me, it’s real money tournaments. I’m hesitant to want that because I know it brings out the real competitive drive, but it feels integral to competing with the big games out there in the space these days.

KyloSpren: Better prize support and soon. I loved the playmats, custom tokens, and other great prizing from Destiny, and I think the early Unlimited showing with mostly Mace cards is lackluster, and doesn’t really entice high level performance.

 How much travel do each of you plan on doing for competitive play in Star Wars Unlimited?

Tacster: I am hoping we have multiple planetary qualifiers within driving distance of me. If we had one in Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, and the Twin Cities that would be pretty great. Ideally one of the higher tier tournaments at once of those cities as well. I don’t think that I will be able to do as many destination/convention trips as I did during destiny.

The Gandork: I see myself traveling to regional events and a few big events every year. I’m not missing worlds.

XeroHour: Travel is harder these days as the result of being a parent, but I’m hoping to make it out to big stuff that’s within a few hours of me. Probably even further for very large events like Nationals or Worlds.

KyloSpren: As much as I can, and my wife will let me.

 What is your goal for long-term content for Star Wars Unlimited? Just a weekly podcast? Anything else we can look forward to?

Tacster: Currently, it has mostly been alternating weekly podcast and gameplay stream. My long term goals are getting an ideal setup to record some local games and edit and share those as well as doing some more webcam games with each other and other content creators (collab opportunity???). Also hoping to get some FFG interviews in.

The Gandork: I think to some extent it’s just going to be “do what we want to do, when we want to do it.” And hopefully people find that interesting to watch. I didn’t really want to turn content-creation into a job (I have too many hobbies as it is), but I do like to make contact and interact with the community. Overall more of the same to some extent – hopefully some great tournament report recaps as we start getting more events to go to.

XeroHour: I’d love to keep up weekly shows and game streams as well as interviews with players who rank high at events.

What is your favorite thing about making content for SWU so far?

Tacster: I do enjoy just playing games with friends. I also like just talking about SWU which makes podcasts fun to do as well.

The Gandork: I just love talking about and playing the game. To some extent, it’s doing what I’d do anyways put into content.

XeroHour: Really just talking about the game. It’s so much fun to talk strategy and deck ideas.

KyloSpren: Being able to talk shop with friends again.

 What are your goals in Star Wars Unlimited as a player?

Tacster: I am hoping to experience all modes of play at casual and competitive levels and help grow the community. I am quite interested in the competitive side, but will likely be limited on how much I can engage with that.

The Gandork: I really hope to be judging big events. That’s my goal. No idea what that looks like yet from the judge program though. In the mean time, I’ll try to judge and play in regional events.

XeroHour: To be the world champion! But really, just to have a good time and be the kind of player that people like playing against.

What is one specific archetype or playstyle that defines each of you in card games?

Tacster: I am very much a reactive playstyle person, which leads me towards control archetypes. I also enjoy a less aggressive midrange style. So far I have most enjoyed playing Chirrut and Iden.

The Gandork: I’ll always be an aggro player at heart – calculating damage, figuring out lines to get there, playing around what an opponent can do to stop you, playing to my outs. I love being proactive instead of reactive in games.

XeroHour: Definitely mill for me. Sorry everyone.

KyloSpren: I love specing for and winning the mirror match. Didn’t know why, but that’s where I thrive.

In an ideal world, how often do you see yourself playing draft or sealed vs constructed games?

Tacster: In an ideal world I would probably like to do draft 1 night a week, Twin Suns late night like after draft / constructed to wind down, and constructed probably 1-2 nights. I don’t really have much interest in sealed outside of pre-release.

The Gandork: Ideally I’d be drafting every week. We’ll see if product holds up. I’d much rather draft at like a weekly OP night when a big group gets together, then play constructed as just pick up games during the week. Twin Suns isn’t a format that appeals to me really – Commander never did either. I enjoy figuring out the constructed metagame and deck building towards that too much. Don’t really like politic-type games either. That said, I might throw together a cheap Twin Suns deck to have on hand just in case.

XeroHour: Draft has been a massive hit in my area. Our current plan is to alternate each week between draft and constructed. I have a feeling Twin Suns will pick up once Set 2 comes out and there’s more options.

KyloSpren: I will draft and do sealed for as long as my local has product and an appetite for it. My first ever event was a draft in Destiny, and I think it’s the best way to get in new players.

 What are you most excited about for SWU?

Tacster: Currently I am most excited about expanding the card pool, getting more sets and having more options and characters to play around with.

The Gandork: At this point, more sets! And competitive play!

XeroHour: Having a thriving community.

 If there’s one thing you would say FFG has absolutely nailed regarding Star Wars Unlimited, what would you give them credit for?

Tacster: The feel and flow of the game and playing it is just simply fun. Its simple and complex at the same time. They really nailed easy to learn hard to master which I know was one of the design goals.

The Gandork: The core ruleset is absolutely nailed. They’ve given themselves an amazingly strong foundation that they can easily work in many different directions. A lot of design space.

XeroHour: I’ll give them two here. 1. The game basics are just so easy to learn and that’s a huge thing since the entry barrier is difficult for a lot of people. 2. The hype in the lead up to launch was excellent.

 If there’s one thing you would say FFG has really missed the mark on regarding Star Wars Unlimited, what would you say it was?

Tacster: I would say the competitive side of organized play has been the least transparent and has me the most anxious right now. The tournament software and website are also not anywhere close to the level I was hoping that would be by launch. I don’t really have concerns with the game itself or design though.

The Gandork: I think it’s obvious Organized Play has been fumbling a bit out of the gate. They need to figure that out. On the positive side though, it’s great that in a couple of instances they’ve acknowledged their mistakes and changed them. There’s still a few updated tournament documentation needs and the tournament software ecosystem with the website is far from functional.

XeroHour: I think the mat and sleeve rule rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Thankfully, they listened to the community and pretty quickly changed course on that.

 What has been your favorite community experience in Star Wars Unlimited thus far?

Tacster: My favorite experience has been getting the Wisconsin community discord up and running (with Loopee from L8Night gaming) and seeing it grow. We are over 200 members now! This game feels huge and seeing so many people locally and having an active local discord feels great.

The Gandork: In my case, I was invited to the community celebration event in Minneapolis and it’d be hard to say anything topped that. Sadly, my other team partners weren’t also extended an invite, but maybe next time!

XeroHour: Just getting out to the game store and playing. My local community has been great to see and it’s still growing.

 Any last thoughts you’d like to share?

Tacster: I would like to shout out to my fallen comrades Chris “Agent of Zion” and Zach “FlaccidBaron”, both who passed in the last year too young. Zion especially was the heart of our entire team. I would not be here playing this game today if I hadn’t met these wonderful guys.

The Gandork: ECL is overrated, 30 HP bases are underrated.

XeroHour: I like the dune 2 popcorn bucket

Yeti: I was totally here the whole time

KyloSpren: I’m happy to say that my reservations about the game were wrong, and to be so excited for more Unlimited games. I’ll see you on the table.

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Be sure to check out Artificery on YouTube! They upload a bi-weekly podcast and occasionally do webcam livestreams of gameplay!