I'll be honest. I'm here solely because of the theme and the original game.
The new game doesn't look bad by any means, but the gameplay previews haven't impressed me enough that I would be picking it up if it wasn't L5R.

I never played the CCG, but have played the RPG and loved the setting immensely.  I had a few friends that played the CCG, but never got into it because by the time I found out about it, it was halfway through its lifespan and just seemed too difficult and expensive to try and get into at that point.  I am super excited for this game, even more so for the mechanics.  I love the player driven aspect of Fate choice and Honor decisions.  It seems like two decks that are identical can deliver vastly different play experiences based on player decisions, and that is brilliant.  It seems like it will be the LCG equivalent of chess, with strategy, tactics and alot of back and forth all driven by player choice.  I can't wait!

I never played the old CCG. I got interested in the game at right about the time that they announced the CCG would end and be replaced by an LCG. Because the setting really interested me, I made a mental note to look back into the game once they announced more about the LCG product. I will freely admit that I am 90% into this game because of the setting, not the gameplay. I really love the fact that, at least in the CCG, people would go to tournaments try to fight for THEIR clan, instead of just playing whatever the new hotness at the time was (although I'm sure some people did that too). I've also played games like Magic, but its competitive scene always felt heartless to me because people at local tournaments and FNMs wouldn't play what they liked in the world or story, but whatever netdecks were the "best" at the time. If FFG can manage to get at least a sizable portion of the playerbase to play for their CLAN, and not be fairweather fans and switch according to what is dominant, then I will be very happy with this game.
That being said, what I have seen thus far about the gameplay does look very good to me. I get annoyed sometimes at how other games will spiral out of control due to board state, and how oftentimes holding out past a certain point is useless because you simply cannot recover. I love that the LCG has a board state that can fluctuate more, and make fighting a losing battle not be pointless because you can potentially get a comeback. I also like that there is more to the game than just military conflicts. Sure, I'll probably play mostly military-focused decks, but I appreciate that they give other fans what they want instead of JUST trying to appeal to what I like. All of this together makes me really excited to pick up my first Core Set, build a deck, and go fight for the wisdom of the Dragon Clan.

I played only a few games of Old5r and lamented that such a nice piece of IP was wasted on a game with such weak mechanics. I also have strong negative feelings about the CCG model and how the old story completely jumped the shark, both of which contributed to me not investing in the game.
The new game appears to have addressed virtually all my issues. So, yes, I'm very excited for the release!

Super excited. Feels like this game was made with me in mind. Knew nothing about L5R before, but have gotten into all sorts of relevant info and lore I've been able to get my hands on.

Well, from what I have seen so far from this game it looks like many issues the old CCG had got addressed and people played that with all the flaws for a long time. I hope FFG play tested this game thoroughly, since I hope to have fun with it for a long time!

Hello, I'm wondering what the general feeling is so far from people who did not play the old L5R. I'm curious because I'm not a veteran of the game, and the gameplay previews we've seen so far don't seem like anything special to me. It seems like longtime L5R fans are pretty enthusiastic though, and I wonder how much of that is because of familiarity with theme and the original game.
I'm interested in jumping in to L5R and investing into the LCG longterm, but I guess I'm hesitant because of what happened with the Star Wars LCG. People who are fans of Star Wars were very enthusiastic about the game for obvious reasons. I know I was. But the actual gameplay was really not very good. Sure, some people really love that game, and that's great. But there's no question that it underachieved. I guess my point is: if the theme of that game was unpopular and obscure, instead of Star Wars, it would likely have been a total flop. The theme is the only thing saving it, in my opinion. Is there a similar situation happening for L5R?

Hi all
Not starting a flame war at all, just a healthy comparison.
http://www.thatsnomoon.info/blog/x-wing-vs-armada-a-star-wars-miniatures-staredown

http://homeofthecraneclan.com
 
We had some hosting problems this last month, but the websites is back up and running for everyone interested! Come check it out!

Based on your description I'm inclined to recommend the Crab and not just because of my rather obvious bias.
 
The one thing that gives me pause is your preference for "death before dishonor" since the Crab are very pragmatic in our war against the Shadowlands. We employ many behaviors the rest of Rokugan considers unseemly because they are effective and to not use them would be a dereliction of duty. The primary examples I can think of include our preference for clubs, axes, and hammers over katana, our use of siege weapons, our tendency to bring weapons into areas where doing so would be an insult, and the experiments the Kuni perform to increase their knowledge of anatomy.
 
If you're willing to consider defunct versions of the game I'd highly recommend looking at Crab Berserkers during Emperor Edition. They had a brutal simplicity that I always enjoyed.

Yeah, philosophically, you sound like you might like the Shiba of the Phoenix Clan... but their decks were often something of a train wreck of moving parts, and the Phoenix were either absent or mind-bogglingly (and incomprehensibly) arrogant for large chunks of the story... when they showed up at all.
 
Crab or Lion would be my suggestion- with the caveat that every clan has its darker aspects. Dig too deep with any of them and you'll find plenty of ugliness.

There 's a bit for Lion, Unicorn, and Dragon, but I'd say most of what you describe points towards the Crab Clan.

As a newcomer to the game, I'm looking for a clan to "join" that I can really learn about and love. I'm wondering about the story arc of the Mantis clan because it's a clan I want to like...but the story arc on l5r.com is a bit of a turn of for me. The story arc there makes Mantis sound like childish whiners. They feel disrespected, their champion is nicknamed "sour disposition" because people don't openly acknowledge his clan as the best, and he won't ever rest until all Rokugan acknowledge Mantis as equals, which to him means that Mantis "stands above" the rest. So is Mantis championed by a self-centered ego maniac? According to l5r.com, Mantis profess not to care what others think about them, but they are in fact deeply bothered by other clans possibly looking own on them. Sounds like vain childish behavior to me.

I'm trying to put a cool spin on these story elements because I want to like Mantis, but I'm struggling a bit. How do you Mantis players interpret the story? Thanks. (and sorry if I've offended anyone's honor, I'm just simply trying to understand what I may be missing here)

As a newcomer to the game, I'm looking for a clan to "join" that I can really learn about and love. I'm wondering about the story arc of the Mantis clan because it's a clan I want to like...but the story arc on l5r.com is a bit of a turn of for me. The story arc there makes Mantis sound like childish whiners. They feel disrespected, their champion is nicknamed "sour disposition" because people don't openly acknowledge his clan as the best, and he won't ever rest until all Rokugan acknowledge Mantis as equals, which to him means that Mantis "stands above" the rest. So is Mantis championed by a self-centered ego maniac? According to l5r.com, Mantis profess not to care what others think about them, but they are in fact deeply bothered by other clans possibly looking own on them. Sounds like vain childish behavior to me.

I'm trying to put a cool spin on these story elements because I want to like Mantis, but I'm struggling a bit. How do you Mantis players interpret the story? Thanks. (and sorry if I've offended anyone's honor, I'm just simply trying to understand what I may be missing here)

My own interpretation is Crab. In most Lion decks, there is a good deal of setup necessary. Crab us much more straightforward most of the time.

Oh boy, you are totally looking for the Lion Clan.

Thanks. You may have noticed how I toned down the question a bit here. Point in case, my ability to offend people and the suckiness of my tact.

Lion and Crab
 
 
 
Scorpion and some jerk Dragon decks.
 
 
 
Crab and Unicorn
 
 
 
Unicorn
 
 
 
All of the Clans at some point over the last twenty years.
 
 
 
Crane

One of the many sins of Story Teams past.
 
 
This is my response to your post over at the Kobune Port.

As one of the harshest critics of the Mantis as portrayed...
 
For good and for ill, the Mantis are sorta the Ric Flair of Rokugan: "If you don't like it, learn to love it." While far too much of their portrayal was from the angle of the Yoritomo family, the Yoritomo-led Mantis are very much of the "no one would dare, huh? Let me take a whack at it" persuasion. They're all about audacity in a culture where most people are about conformity. The fact that the Moshi, Tsuruchi, and Kitsune all have a different approach and worldview is often unfortunately swept under the rug, and if the Mantis had ever really been shown to draw strength from their internal diversity, I suspect a lot of us would like them more, because each of the four families of the Mantis has something cool and unique to offer.
 
Note, however, that your initial impression is one I personally hold, which is why I'm very much NOT a fan.

1) Yes. 2) Only in the court of public opinion.
3) You should try for Ivory Edition, as it is the most new-player friendly edition I have played, but as long as you play by one set of rules any combination of decks should be fine.

If this is true, the passionate players of the community will have an opportunity to band together and give the game the support it deserves. I'm still waiting to see though.

I sold my copy (1core + 2 expansions) due to what i think there is no future of this game, but after that i feel so regret and at last I buy 2set back！
 
This is a great game , hope FFG or anyone who involved can listen : DON'T LET THIS GAME END ！
 
For some one who may interest in this game, buy it now, you won't be regret！
 
WHDW had changed to be a causal game , yes ,  and this is why I love this game , without complicate rules, not much to setup , takes few mins to start ,
reasonable game time , decent price for what you got , great art work , different battlefield in every game , high quality , especially the disk ,
I was worried about will it be damage after the flipping during the game,  although they are cardboard, but still very hard and not easy to be damaged.
The game give you a great combat feel, free , fast , deadly and tactical .
More than above , you can build your army for every wars , offering 4-10 totally different races(4 in Core set, 3 / expansion ) of your choice without spending too much . 
 
I can't believe such a great game could be end like this ！  I think the bright future will finally come. Have Faith Comrade !

Yeah, I've been so impressed by the elegance of the rules. The ability to have so much customization, asymmetrical play, the quick setup and playtime of a board game combined with the open style play of a miniatures war game, and the absolutely huge potential for players to customize the game to fit their own needs is truly impressive. 
 
I'm determined to help wake up this community. I've put a post over on BGG about wanting to create some youtube content. Perhaps before FFG throws us a bone we need to do our part and help them out more. 

Here's another fellow who wants this game to continue. Please FFG, give us more expansions to buy, more armies, campaigns, etc.
 
Just adding my voice so FFG knows there are still people out there who love this game and hope it continues.