In case you missed it, last week PlayFusion revealed that the upcoming release (Wave 3) is going to be title Lightseekers Kindred.
This was quietly revealed on the Lightseekers social media accounts by simply revealing the new logo seen below.
While new character images have been leaking out at conventions and on social media, there hasn't really been much big news until today.
Today they officially announced that we'll be getting a new round of pre-constructed decks for Wave 3. I fully expect these decks to be similar to the Starter Decks we saw with the launch of Lightseekers in 2017, but I think these decks will have a new focus.
Now that the game has a player base, I think these pre-constructed decks could be considered “Advanced Starters”.
We didn't get a lot of details about these packs today, but they promised more details on Thursday.
Until then though, let's take a closer look at what we do see…
Deck Names
As with the first round, there will be six new packs to choose from (one for each Order).
Each of these packs has also been given an alliterative title or rather subtitle. They include:
- Insectoid Infestation (Nature)
- Beastly Brawl (Storm)
- Undead Uprising (Dread)
- Elemental Engagement (Mountain)
- Robotic Rumble (Tech)
- Chimchu Conflict (Astral)
Card Count
Although a little difficult to read, it appears that each of these packs will contain 48 cards.
This is an interesting number considering what we've gotten so far from the Lightseekers brand.
The original Starter Packs boasted 45 cards. This included the standard 36 card deck and one booster pack of 9 cards.
Obviously we'll still be getting a 36 card deck, but does this mean that we'll get a 12 card booster pack as well? Is a 12 card booster going to be the standard going forward?
Some folks have hypothesized that this count could include a Tribute Card alongside an 11 card booster pack (which would still be an increase from the current 10 card pack in Mythical), but I think that's unlikely. Tribute Cards were also included in the Wave 1 Starter Packs, but they were not included in the overall card count. So I feel it would be cheap to do so here.
Alternatively, these packs could just contain 48 predetermined cards from the Order giving you plenty of customization options straight out of the box as you whittle your way down to 36 cards.
At this point, my vote go towards the 12 card booster pack.
“Tribes”
The third element that I would like to point out in this image is another occurrence of the mysterious little icons that first appeared on the left side of some Mythical cards.
Up to this point we've been told that this has something to do with a future game mechanic and we'll find out more soon (i.e. Wave 3).
As the Kindred name would also seem to indicate, I believe that these are some sort of tribal symbols that will encourage us to group cards in a new way, new families if you will. We've always been concerned with which Element a card belongs to, but now we have another classification to keep an eye on.
Diversity
The final note I'd like to make concerns the last line on the front of the package. It reads: “Featuring the best of Awakening, Mythical, and Kindred”.
With this in mind, it's definitely safe to say that these packs will be great for beginners. It will be a quick way to give them a little taste of all three sets that have been released.
I'm also hopeful that with this mix of cards it will open some eyes to card combinations that you might not have otherwise considered.
Final Thoughts
One notable omission from these box shots is the mention of exclusive cards. I know this was a sort spot for some in Wave 1, but I also think that's what made the original Starter Packs hold their value.
Needless to say, I am absolutely thrilled to see what Lightseekers Kindred is all about. We're still about two months away from the release (August 7, 2018), but I know we'll be getting a lot of information between now and then.
Next information dump is on Thursday. Bring it on!