Cactus Game Design Message Boards

Hey every,

As you can see in this area I posted a while ago my tiers and plans for my young playgroup members.  I'm thinking about changing them up some.  As cards have come out and talk about set rotation has been spoken about a few times, I'm starting to think I need to rethink my tiers.  I'm happy with the way I've set up my tiers (I've modified it slightly than the post currently listed).  But I'm starting to really think about the older cards maybe being a little bit less "valuable" than I currently have them.  So here is what my tiers are listed as:

Tier 1 (cards that most people have way too many of):


All cards from Limited/Unlimited, Prophets, Apostles, Patriarchs, Faith of our Fathers & Rock of Ages.
Commons/Uncommons from Kings, Angel Wars & Priests.


Tier 2 ("easily acquired" cards):


Rares from Kings, Angel Wars & Priests.
Commons from Early Church, Persecuted Church, Cloud of Witnesses, Revelation of John, Fall of Man & Prophecies of Christ.
All non-ultra rares from Warriors
All cards from Women, G/H Starter Decks, I/J Starter Decks, TxP & Disciples.
All current rotation promos such as all Local, District & winners (on Cactus' tournament form) as well as all State, Regional & National promos given out all those tournaments.

Cards upgraded from the previous tier: Haman's Plot


Tier 3 ("harder to acquire" cards):


Ultra-rares from Warriors, Kings, Angel Wars & Priests.
Rares from Early Church, Persecuted Church, Cloud of Witnesses, Revelation of John, Fall of Man & Prophecies of Christ.
All A/B Starter deck (only), C/D Starter Decks, E/F Starter Decks, "non-rotation" promos.

Cards upgraded from the previous tier: 3 Liner LS, Chariot of Fire (WA), Crown of Thorns, My Lord and My God & Prosperity LS



So this comes to my question:  Should I lower cards in Tier 2 to Tier 1 (or basically free) then the same for Tier 3 to Tier 2?  If I don't lower ALL of the cards down a tier what should be the "division of the cards?" 

So for example in Tier 2 I have something like Ehud's Dagger in blue as it is a rare.  It would be extremely valuable for a beginner giving them a negate in blue.  But you aren't going to ever take that card if it is valued on the same tier as the new commons.  While a card like Magic Charms probably needs to be in the same tier as the new commons.

So should the cards be looked based on value, game play or both or something else?

I appreciate all input, I'm just trying to figure out what I can do to make sure my students/playgroup members are taken care of, but I want to be careful enough that I'm not hurting my limited funds by practically giving everything away.

Disciples Abraham's Descendants is currently paired with commons from EC and later.  Is that a card you would take over some commons from newer sets?  There is a better version for this card, but it being a rare it is a bit harder to acquire.  I'm trying to figure out if it is in a good "tier" or needs to be free.

Seems appropriately categorized.  I can still see usable cards from Disciples and TxP being paired in this general category.  Perhaps even a little higher, depending on how limited of stock of them you have.

Magic Charms is currently paired commons from EC and later.  Is that a card you would take over some commons from newer sets?

Same as above.  In a booster draft, it would be depend on what you are drafting.  For deck building it’s going to depend on if using magicians.  Definitely see value in that card, even more than TeC+ commons in some cases.

King of Tyrus (PS) is currenly paired with rares from EC and later.  There is another King of Tyrus in this category.  Would you always take the PoC version over the PS version?  If yes, would you take King of Tyrus (PS) over commons from the newer sets?

I would not always take PoC over PS.  I would take KoT(PS) over most commons from newer sets, again depending on what am trying to do.

I don’t know all of the ins and outs of how you distribute cards to the playgroup, stock on hand, etc which could all impact how I would handle it.  Hopefully this feedback helps though.

Thanks Kye, that is perfect feedback.

So that helped me cut my card pool in half.  So to maybe help clarify:  If you beat one of my level decks I would then allow you to pick 3-5 cards.  All commons from EC and later are included, so considering that would you take these cards?  Please give the cards one of 3 responses, and since alot of these cards go in a particular deck, just keep that in mind when you look at some:

Lower:  I would almost never take this over the other options
Fine:  I would take these for decks I'm building for the decks they would be included in
Higher:  I would actually take this card over most other options and probably needs to be "valued" more

Burial
Doubt (PS)
Crown of Thorns
Hezekiah's Signet Ring
Lampstand of the Sanctuary
The Darkness
Pharaoh's Throne Room
Nazareth
FBTN LS
Judah (TxP)
Nathan
Jael's Nail
Strong Angel (Wa/K)
Mary Magdalene
Eli's Sound Advice
Faith as a Mustard Seed
Sapphira
Failed Objective
Damsel with Spirit of Divination
Torment

I have a lot more, but I felt this was a pretty good cross section for what I'm looking to address.

I'm almost wondering if I should just create another "tier"  I have a lot of cards and want to give incentive for players to play and also purchase.  I'm just really struggling on putting a value on cards that are only useful if players don't have many cards at all.