Kingswood Games - The Warlord CCG Interview
The Covenant Cast
Woodrow and Josh, the founders of Kingswood Games, are relaunching the AEG classic card game, Warlord, into the modern era. It's an incredible story of two longtime fans bringing back something that they clearly love, with serious echoes of FFG's Android: Netrunner relaunch. Catch our interview to hear the full story. Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kingswoodgames/warlord-saga-of-the-storm
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Andrew Navaro - The Reality of Independent Publishing
The Covenant Cast
We're back after seven months with one of our favorite creators in the tabletop gaming industry, Andrew Navaro (former Fantasy Flight Games Head of Studio, founder of Earthborne Games), for a deeper look at independent publishing through the lens of someone who has been on both sides of the equation. Recorded in the midst of the second highly successful Earthborne Rangers crowdfunding campaign, Andrew expounds upon the challenges faced since the launch of the game, the influence of distribution on production, and the importance of holding to your vision.
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221: Introducing the Alpha Clash TCG ft. Ridge (Founder)
The Covenant Cast
We've been following Alpha Clash since 2022, and have consistently been impressed with the drive and output of the people behind it. Join us for a conversation with Ridge Kiley, founder of Rising Empire Studios and creator of the Alpha Clash TCG, as we learn more about the game, Cirque de Soleil, collegiate wrestling, and the ambitious plans ahead.
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220: Andrew Parks - Stories from The Nightmare Before Christmas TCG
The Covenant Cast
A remarkable moment - a random comment on our Nighmare Before Christmas TCG stream turns into a conversation and relationship with its designer, Andrew Parks, who then blows us away with fascinating stories from the early days of tabletop (Z-Man, Ed Beard Jr., Iron Crown Enterprises, NECA, Wizkids, and more). Every conversation brings more context to this industry, how we got here, and where we're going - we hope you'll join us for a listen.
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219: Getting Into Magic: The Gathering
The Covenant Cast
Zach has been taken in by the upcoming Lord of the Rings "Universes Beyond" set of Magic: The Gathering. So much so that he's now learning everything about what to buy, where to buy it, and where to play it. Join us for a conversation about how it has been going, and what things are like for a brand new player - even one quite experienced with TCGs.
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218: The Retail Incentive
The Covenant Cast
Conversations around expandable games and the LGS continue to swirl online, especially amid things like Magic's continued embrace of direct sales, Flesh and Blood's presence (or non-presence) at retail, and Sorcery's "one set a year, play how you want" approach. Join us as we attempt to cut through it all and get down to the basics of how incentives for publishers, distributors, and retailers continue to alter the simple act of getting products to players.
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217: Event Theory Into Practice - FuseFest 2023
The Covenant Cast
We recently hosted our first big event since COVID shut everything down (technically our biggest to date!). As those of you following for the past few years are certainly aware, we've been fascinated by the competitive v casual paradigm, especially as it relates to local events and our plan for Covenant Tulsa 3.0. We finally got a chance to test a lot of those theories during FuseFest, and in this episode we let you know exactly what we found!
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216: The End of an Era
The Covenant Cast
As 2022 wraps up, in many ways it signals the end of the "pandemic" era of thinking, both professionally and personally. Join us for a recap of 2022 in the context of the past few years, and a look ahead to a world that is once again full of possibility.
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215: Questioning Culture - Are You Casual or Competitive?
The Covenant Cast
These two words seem to haunt the tabletop gaming landscape, and after many decades of exposure there still is not broad agreement as to what they mean. Behind these terms is a more accurate understanding of what each of us is looking for in the hobby, knowledge that has the potential to fundamentally improve everything about the gaming space, so join us as we take however much time is needed to get to the bottom of it.
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214: KeyForge Gets It Right
The Covenant Cast
A lesson to publishers, and to every human being who communicates - Ghost Galaxy's "Dis In Formats" article is everything we could have hoped for as concern over new Organized Play formats spread throughout the online community. Even if you've never heard of KeyForge, join us for a breakdown of this illuminating story.
info_outlineWe 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.