Hello Seekers! It is I, your Headmaster, long-time soul-searcher (Long-time because I have yet to find one, but I’m no quitter. It just sucks that they’re really good hiders). Many of you have experienced, and even participated in, the Digital Game we crafted for Clan Wars. However, what you may not know are the intricacies unfolding behind the scenes the past few months. Rest assured, there have been countless heated debates over Zoom and voice calls. Rod (VMux), Dan, Chris, and I have engaged in discussions on what would work and what wouldn’t. Rod, in particular, had shown remarkable patience as he navigated the ever-changing landscape of the game’s development. Despite the challenges, we managed to deliver a fully-playable game that not only won the Hackathon but also garnered interest in the Theta network. Fast forward a bit… Rod reached a point where he felt like he was taking two steps forward and three steps backward with each iteration of the game. It became evident that to achieve a truly exceptional game, we needed to pause and reassess our approach. Most prominent digital card games on the market have surface-level strategy, rely on after-market sales to acquire a competitive deck, and are focused on investors but actual gamers. We realized that we were jumping ahead by attempting to create a digital game that was in our heads before perfecting the mechanics, game logic, and play styles. We needed to finalize the physical game first where we could rapidly iterate on the mechanics, get feedback from real card gamers, and make sure the strategy is not filled with unforeseen exploits. Not only would this streamline our digital workflow afterward, but it would also offer several other advantages, which I’ll address in this letter…

1. The Benefits of Going Physical First: By creating a physical game, we are tapping into a market of gamers who eagerly invest in card games and board games annually. This serves as an excellent entry point to introduce them to our digital platform. Clan Wars becomes the gateway to our Theta ecosystem, enticing players to explore further. Moreover, Clan Wars serves as the first major experience from the world of Montavera that we’re bringing to our community. Every aspect of the game, from its characters to its lore, contributes to the rich tapestry of Montavera’s universe. And as many of you may not know, we are in the process of writing a complete RPG Campaign book that will further expand on Montavera’s lore and mystic philosophy. This game brings us full circle, back to our roots. Clan Wars is not just a game; it’s a journey that will bring people to Theta, elevate the Mystic Gurus brand, and immerse players in a depth of lore and adventure unlike anything that’s out there right now. 

    
2. Finalizing game mechanics The last version of the digital game had players select a clan which gave you access to a starting Boss specifically of that clan. After some playtesting with seasoned gamers, it turns out having players pick their own starting Boss from anyone they chose was a much more enticing way to carve out your own unique opening strategy. To solve for the potential imbalances of this new mechanic we now introduced “Hand Size” to each Boss card. The default amount of cards to draw each turn was up to 7, but now this number will be dictated by the currently active Boss. This little tweak was embraced by everyone and we can’t believe we didn’t have it before. Turns out there are many small things we couldn’t quite put our finger on until we had the cards in hand and ran through several games with some clever people chasing down the win! It’s hard to put into words how satisfying it is to watch players grumble, cheer, and bang their fists each game. This has been a crucial step to locking-in gameplay mechanics.

    
   

Our Plan Currently, we have an Instagram account with around 500-600 followers, a Discord server with under 100 members, and a real-life community of about 25 players who engage with Clan Wars weekly. #HumbleBeginnings Our aim is to organically grow these numbers to prepare for an Alpha launch of the game to help fund further development of the Digital Game. This marks the beginning of Montavera’s influence on Theta, drawing in new users and expanding adoption within the gaming community. Of course, to achieve our goals, we need a passionate and dedicated player base. We need individuals excited to compete and experience the thrill of Clan Wars digitally. And to cultivate such a community, we must deliver a game that surpasses all expectations. Hence, the need to perfect the physical game now. We continue to build out Clan Wars to create experiences for people where they laugh with their friends and loved ones and enjoy making them a bit salty with the final roll of the dice. 

To make the card collecting more enticing we also printed some holographic chase cards for players to hunt down:

In the mean time we are road-mapping how to not only make one of the best upcoming card games, but also one of the best digital card games on the market. We plan to update the digital version of the game with the new mechanics and card logic to create a tutorial experience that any players can use to learn the game. Very excited to get more people in on the action!

Yours Truly, The Headmaster