The Covenant Cast

A simple act - replaying a card or two from your discard pile - has been the bane of countless metagames. Does such a seemingly innocent mechanic really cause problems? Should designers stay away from the idea of recursion entirely? Join us as we catch up with the King of Recursion, Lukas Litzsinger (Netrunner, Star Wars: Destiny), now working for Wizards of the Coast and keen to discuss the past,...

Should cards ever be limited to "1 per deck", especially as a balancing mechanic? Can strong cards exist if they are drawn less often? Can the variance of rare cards be fun for all players? Join us for a phenomenal conversation with MJ Newman (Arkham Horror LCG, Marvel Champions) about the merits of "limit 1" in card games.

Get ready for our most ambitious podcast series to date! Expanding on the principles of our "How to Ruin a Game" series, we've identified seven common design mechanics that are particularly troublesome to game balance, and are interviewing an esteemed designer about each! You'll hear from MJ Newman, Lukas Litzsinger, Justin Gary, Isaac Vega, Nick Conley, and Alex Davy as they each take a Power Sev...

Recorded the evening before FAB 2.0 was officially announced, Legend Story Studios' founder James White shares a number of perspectives that provide context to that announcement, as well as the long-term future of the Flesh and Blood TCG - including set construction, release plans, bans, metagames, Blitz, Living Legend, competitive play, Classic Battles, and lore.

We're testing a new type of episode, where we look back at the past three months "inside" Covenant and share how things are going  - including developments that typically stay behind the scenes.

We dive into the pursuit of card games as sport - with training, rewards, and perfection as the goal - and what publishers and players gain (or lose) by promoting this approach. *Disclaimer - this episode was recorded before the Magic Pro Tour announcement, the lack of which we reference.

Erik Oloffson, known best for his role as a founding member of Grinding Gear Games (Path of Exile), joins us to discuss his newest creation - the Sorcery TCG, now the largest TCG Kickstarter to date (over $1m).

We've asked a lot of questions about various release models over the years, and one common wedge was the trading or collectible card game - especially as the LCG model removed rarity, investment, and trading from the equation. With the TCG boom currently upon us, and games like Star Wars: Destiny and Flesh and Blood getting us back in the saddle, we've dedicated this episode to a fresh discussion...

With SolForge Fusion as the next entry into the genre, the unique game model is top of mind yet again. We discuss the pros and cons realized by KeyForge, new developments brought by SolForge Fusion, and how much potential is yet to be discovered.

We're so happy to be able to share this interview with Justin Gary, CEO of Stone Blade Entertainment, about the recently announced and funded "hybrid deck game" - SolForge Fusion. We're adding it to our curated selection of titles, and this kind of conversation with Justin is a big reason for that. Join us as we dig into Justin's vision for SolForge Fusion, how it evolved from the SolForge digital...

Product life cycles are almost perfectly represented in the rise and fall of the many expandable games we've seen over the past three decades. How an expandable game overcomes the standard "expandable" life cycle is a critical question for any publisher, and we use the Flesh and Blood TCG as a real world example of how Legend Story is attempting to answer the question.

We take wild guesses at what 2022 might bring, both for Covenant (the store build begins!) and the tabletop industry. What will happen with trading card games, living card games, unique deck games, and even in our ignorance, miniatures and board games?

Join us for the last episode of the year, wherein we take a look back at 2021 and trace the big moments through notable podcast episodes. A little too perfect that this year began with "What is the point of collectibility" and ended with " Blockchains and NFTs". It's been a weird one.

We share our research about blockchain technology, explain how these systems work (hopefully), scope the NFT trends in tabletop (as well as more generally), and do our best to remain objective and open in the face of a movement that has historically had difficulty convincing others that it creates real value.

It feels familiar doesn't it? An influx of new TCGs hitting the market after a collectible boom, with significant financial success and often without the previously expected focus on rules, organized play, long-term distribution, and market position. This time, nostalgia for that first TCG boom - and the Big Three (Magic, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh) that arose from it - seems to be a driving factor. Join u...

Getting back into a collectible game - for us, that's the Flesh and Blood TCG - brings you back into the inevitable tension between players and investors. The former is annoyed by rising prices and product scarcity created by hoarded, unplayed products, while the latter is annoyed by players who don't understand how without investors, a game will not be financially sustainable (and will, then, die...

Having attended a few big events recently, and having hosted one of our own, we run down the punch list of what needs to happen if you want to host a truly incredible tabletop gaming event.

We've recently launched the capability to fulfill UK orders domestically via Royal Mail - at least on a select number of products. Join us for a conversation about the process, the complications, and the future.

Having recently implemented a small but long-in-the-works change to our subscription system, we were reminded yet again that innovation is often more unseen grind than startling revelation. Join us for a bit of self-reflection that explains exactly what that means.

While we were attending the biggest Flesh and Blood event to date, The Calling in Las Vegas, Fantasy Flight dropped some very significant KeyForge news. Get our full rundown of both, and how those events impact their respective games.

After much deliberation and assessment of the landscape and costs, we've canceled our plans to attend Gen Con this year. But the curiosity only grows stronger - what exactly is Gen Con 2021 going to be like in this environment? And can smaller publishers take advantage?

At the root of some of the hesitancy to jump into a game like Earthborne Rangers or a genre like RPGs (roleplaying games) is a simple question: if you can't win a game, why is it worth playing? And at a certain point, is it even a game? We've seen it pop up a lot lately, so put on your philosophy hats and join us for a deep dive into the point of, well, everything.

Earthborne Rangers has officially launched on Kickstarter, and it is a fascinating change of pace for the platform - certainly when it comes to tabletop games. We hope you'll join us for an equally fascinating (to us, at least!) conversation about vision, systems, and disruption, with Earthborne as the centerpiece.

A beautiful new customizable, cooperative card game launched by the former head of Fantasy Flight Games, Andrew Navaro, is undeniably going to get our attention. Join us for a conversation about Earthborne Rangers, the first from Earthborne Studios, which will hit Kickstarter on July 27. Follow the project: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/earthbornegames/earthborne-rangers

In a follow up to the previous episode about "old school" organized play, we reflect on another "old school" concept - traveling significant distances to play tabletop games. Between Gen Con and various Flesh and Blood events, it's a joy to rediscover what we so often took for granted - and what we're fortunate enough to do.