Card Game Nomenclature

[Hutton1670 51]

I am new to card games, in particular LCGs and CCGs. There are some terms bandied about that I have never encountered before and I bet I am not the only one. So I am hoping that a few of you folks more in the know will help some of us out.

 

My first question is this...What does it mean when someone refers to "Meta"? I seen that term is used a lot in conjunction with competitive play.

 

Thanks!

Edited October 10, 2014 by Inquisitor6

[cgrater 34]

"Meta" refers to the play environment - ie what decks other people in your play area are using and what cards they are running.

 

Tournament Meta - what decks/cards/combos get played in tournaments

Local Meta - what decks/cards/combos show up in your FLGS/Game Nights/etc

 

One of the reasons this gets discussed is because some cards are better or worse depending on the metagame they are being used in.  Example: if everyone you play against uses first-planet snowball strategies, Exterminatus is less potent.

[Gundog8324 440]

"Meta" refers to the play environment - ie what decks other people in your play area are using and what cards they are running.

 

Tournament Meta - what decks/cards/combos get played in tournaments

Local Meta - what decks/cards/combos show up in your FLGS/Game Nights/etc

 

One of the reasons this gets discussed is because some cards are better or worse depending on the metagame they are being used in.  Example: if everyone you play against uses first-planet snowball strategies, Exterminatus is less potent.

Also side note this is a very popular term in miniatures game as well, and it is often thought of in "Rock-Paper-Scissors" terms (in more balanced games, "Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock" terms) and while people claim to build "balanced" decks/lists they usually will have at least some slant towards one of the more common builds/strategies