Hi, everyone!
With this announcement, we are revealing a brand new version of the Chrono Core Comprehensive Rules, How to Play, and Quickstart Guide documents. Along with these come some pretty significant changes to the core rules of Chrono Core. We want to provide you all with some context on why these changes are being made, and how we plan to move forward with the release of set 1 and into the future.
Why the changes?
Chrono Core has existed as a concept for over 5 years now, with many versions and iterations being trialed. The version of the game that launched on Kickstarter was primarily written by Ryan, and with the design of set 1 and its cards in mind. Since then, Chrono Core’s development team has doubled in size, and added brand new expertise to assist with both rules and gameplay design.
As development has moved ahead on set 2 and looks towards the future, we have learned some of the early design philosophies have created significant roadblocks to designing new cards. Many rules that had been appropriate for the design space utilized in our first product release are now inhibiting our goals for future deck archetypes. Simply put, the rules didn’t let us design enough cool stuff.
So a decision had to be made: Do we limit our design space for future sets, working within the boundaries of the current ruleset, or do we make a set of changes that give us the opportunity to make better sets in the future, while consequently needing to make some pretty widespread changes to cards that have already been printed? Since you are reading this message, we clearly chose the latter of these options.
Why now?
Much of the team (including myself as a rules designer) only came aboard the project towards the end of the Kickstarter. Additionally, everyone on this project is working other jobs or projects, typically working full-time positions while also trying to get as much done on Chrono Core as possible. This has resulted in some slow progress towards changes and development, and means we haven’t been able to make progress as quickly as we would have liked.
What is changing?
Several substantial rules changes are being implemented in tandem with the release of War of the Nine Realms. These changes seek to provide a more consistent and clear gameplay experience, while also giving you more ways to interact with your opponent.
Firstly, we are updating the wording used to describe different kinds of effects and timing windows. The word “trigger” is now being used exclusively to refer to triggered abilities that occur as a result of an event. Abilities that function as traditional activated abilities are now referred to as “activated abilities” to make play as intuitive and familiar as possible.
Additionally, triggered abilities may now be mandatory or optional depending on their wording (e.g., shields like Aegis will give you the option to trigger their prevention effect every time you take damage; however, they may be declined each time until you decide to use them).
This does mean that a select few cards that used the word “trigger” will be errata’d at release to say “activate.” Mechanically, however, they remain the same—it’s only our terminology that has changed.
Secondly, many keywords have had their rules text changed slightly. In most cases, this does not change the way the ability was intended to work, but should help improve clarity and understanding. This change means that a significant number of cards will be printed with incorrect reminder text. Only the reminder text on these cards is incorrect; the abilities on the cards all remain the same.
A full list of erratas and cards that have had their rules text changed (which is thankfully only a small handful) will be released soon. We also hope to announce some corrected cards in the future (more news will come on this later).
Thirdly, we have made some changes to the order actions can be taken during attacks. [On Attack:] and [Counter Attack:] abilities are now activated in the same attack step (called the “engagement step”), and the order of some processes have changed. Attack sequences should still feel pretty similar; however, we expect this change to give us a lot of freedom when it comes to cool effects in upcoming sets.
Finally, the big one. Currently, when a card is played or an ability activated, it simply resolves, or a counter ability is used. We are now introducing a stack-like system to the game that we call the flux! Instead of resolving immediately, cards and abilities will be “in flux,” and each player will have the opportunity to activate abilities in response. If you have played other games that use a variation of the stack (such as MTG, Flesh and Blood, or Riftbound), you will be instantly familiar with how this plays out. If you haven’t, we plan to release some more information about the flux soon.
The flux is the change we are most excited about, as it gives everyone more opportunities to respond to what their opponents are doing, and creates more dynamic games. We plan to utilise the flux significantly more going forward, and feedback from our current playtesters has been very positive.
There are a few other small changes, and we encourage everyone to look through the new How to Play document—even veteran pilots!
Looking to the future.
If you have made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read through this wall. We understand these changes are a lot and represent some growing pains for Chrono Core as a new game. We believe that these changes will create a better and more enjoyable game, though, and we look forward to bringing you the best possible product and experiences that we can.
We have some exciting news in the pipeline that we will be able to share soon, and we can’t wait for everyone to receive their product in the coming months. Thank you all for your continued support!
– The Chrono Core Crew