This last Friday, I participated in SVO’s first event of the 2024 season: the SVO Mini. Minis are inherently less competitive than SVO’s Opens; there are fewer rounds, no cash prizes, and decks can be switched between rounds. This ends up making Minis pretty casual, but still a higher level of play than the ranked ladder can consistently provide.
The metagame at this stage of Renascent Chronicles is interesting. Buff Dragon is the deck to beat, but Castelle Forest, Magachiyo Forest, and Transmute Shadow are also putting up numbers. There’s nothing I would consider Tier 0 at the moment, and the difference between tiers isn’t as aggressive I’ve seen in past metas.
A solid strategy for an event like this is to build two of the decks mentioned above, use the ladder and some private matches to get a feel for your matchups, and come ready to get that 5-0 and the sweet Luna pillow that comes with it.
Full Disclosure: I’m not paid by Cygames or anyone else to write this (though I someday would like to be). I might get some packs thanks to the SVO’s neat community support program, but that’s just a fun incentive to make stuff.
About a month ago, Zhiff posted a Youtube video about the SVO, Shadowverse’s official tournament series. It convinced me to give the competitive side of the game a shot.
Two events later, I’m hooked and signed up for the next one.
That said, it can be a bit tricky to figure out what you need to do to join in the fun. What is the SVO? What’s the difference between the SVO Cup and SVO Minis? Do I need to have all the cards to play the events? This guide should be able to answer those questions and more.
What is the SVO?
Image: Cygames
SVO, or Shadowverse Open, is the game’s official tournament series. SVO events are free to enter and play in, with nice prizes for both participating and doing well. Broadly speaking, there are two main types of event: Monthly Cups and Minis.
SVO Monthly Cup
Monthly Cups are the open competitive tournaments that run from January to September. They’re separated into two regions: West and SEAO. Both regions play for in-game rewards and cash prizes, and the very best get invites to play in the Contender’s Cup later in the year. Monthly Cup events are Rotation format with Conquest rules. I’ll get into what that means here.
SVO Mini
Minis are shorter, more casual Rotation format events. Unlike Monthly Cups, they’re not separated by region; you can play against people from all over the world! You can switch decks between rounds, and prizes are awarded for playing every round and by raffle. Those who win all of their rounds get some extra in-game prizes and a chance to win another special winner’s raffle. What can you win? I’ll cover that further in.
What Do I Need to Play SVO Events?
Shadowverse Account and Decks
Seems obvious, right? To play the game, you need to have a Shadowverse account. If you’re completely new and don’t have one, I’m more than happy to direct you.
To play in the Monthly Cups, you have to register three Rotation decks from different classes. Sadly, you can’t play Bloodcraft/Bloodcraft/something else like I occasionally want to. Rounds are Conquest format, Best of 3. Before the match begins, you can look at your opponent’s decks and ban whichever one you want to deal with the least. They’ll do the same to you. To win the round, you have to win with both remaining decks; a win on Deck One means your remaining games are played with Deck Two.
If you’re newer or don’t have three Rotation decks, you’re in luck! Signing up gives you access to the event’s tournament page, where you can build anything that’s legal in Rotation to register. You don’t have to own the cards! Just note that you can’t test the decks in normal games if you don’t actually have the cards.
Minis are a bit looser; they only need two Rotation decks, and you don’t get to see or ban any decks before the match. The one I played last week didn’t use Tournament Mode, either, so you have to have the cards to build what you want to play.
Battlefy
Shadowverse tournaments are organized via Battlefy, so you’ll need to make an account if you want to enter and compete. Best practice is to have your Battlefy account name match your Shadowverse name. This helps tournament organizers help you in case of issues. Sometimes, that match can’t happen (I’m Neotilde because Neo~ was taken), but it helps to get it close.
Discord
Announcements, support, and general good vibes are handled in the SVO Discord, so you’ll need to get set up on Discord to get in. Again, best practice is to match your name in the server with your name in the game.
What Are the Prizes?
Monthly Cup
Image: svo.gg / Cygames
Playing all 7 rounds gets you 7 packs, whether or not you win. If you’re newer or don’t play many private matches, tournament rounds also count towards an achievement that gives you 100 rupies per person you play a private match with! The real draw, of course, is winning at least 6 of your 7 rounds, making Day 2, and having a chance at the cash prizes. Play well, get paid. Not bad at all for a completely free event, right?
Mini
Image: svo.gg / Cygames
Minis don’t have a cash prize, but give you both participation packs and a chance at some in-game or physical goodies! What are the physical prizes?
Image: SVO Discord / Cygames
Pins, physical versions of legendary cards, and maybe even a Luna pillow! People who go 5-0 get some extra in-game prizes and another chance at the physical goods. Full disclosure: a big part of my motivation to start playing in tournaments is my want for those sweet promo cards.
Community and Resources
Something I always worry about in competitive games is the state of the community. I’m happy to tell you that the SVO community is awesome. People chat in the Discord, give advice, and aren’t just focused on sweating out their rounds. It’s a good reminder that even though you’re competing with people, you’re also playing a game you enjoy. I’ve played like trash in the two events I’ve been in, but I’ve had fun and learned where I’d tilt in other games. Bad beats get counteracted by a bit of saltposting and a few dumb jokes. It’s great. I also highly recommend the r/Shadowverse Discord; it’s more populated and active outside of event time.
Resources
Below are some links to some helpful Shadowverse resources. This list isn’t exhaustive, as I’m not aware of every available resource and also don’t speak Japanese.
Told you I was working on it. This version of the Neocarcine is incomplete — I need to get ancestry feats figured out, and things are subject to change, especially if something is crazy unbalanced and I didn’t notice. If you have any ideas, especially for heritage/feat things, I’m all ears. Leave a comment here or drop a line at h_degroat {at} live {dot} com. Without further ado, here are the base mechanics and heritages.
(Fun fact: WordPress handles Markdown like a champ. Ask how I know)
I’m a big fan of roguelikes. As a genre, they usually have a simple but intriguing play loop that, combined with the randomness of runs and the dangling carrot of unlocks, leads to a lot of enjoyable play for a solid price. I’ve enjoyed games like Slay the Spire and Enter the Gungeon, and have been slowly grinding towards finishing The Binding of Isaac since last DLC hit. So, when Massive Monster and Devolver released Cult of the Lamb, I was hyped. A 16-hour completion later, I’ve got some thoughts.
Cult of the Lamb, at its core, is two games that affect each other. On one hand, it’s an action roguelike game with random rooms, enemies, and pickups. On the other, it’s a simple village simulator in the vein of Graveyard Keeper. It’s a weird tightrope to straddle. Sometimes, you’d like to be crusading against the Old Gods, but your cult is in need of food and cleaning. Sometimes, you’d like to perform rituals or build new structures for the cult, but a lack of resources drives you to get back to crusading to grab materials. There’s a stress in managing those two elements, and that becomes a bit more complex when the overworld map opens up, introducing you to new characters and side missions to take more of your already precious time.
The village simulation elements are simplistic, “sliders go up” gameplay. Feed your cultists, or watch them starve and lose faith. Keep them faithful through inspiration and church sermons, or they’ll dissent and leave. Keep the grounds clear of waste, or cultists can get sick and die. In the early stages of the game, it can be a tricky balancing act, but it becomes less tricky as you develop your cult, gain access to new buildings, and automate some of the resource gathering process. I’m proud to say that in my cult, LaDelphinus (named after an ability in Hyperdimension Neptunia that has remained inexplicably stuck in my head), the only unintentional cultist deaths were from old age.
The combat in Cult of the Lamb is simple and familiar to anyone who has played other action roguelikes. You start with a random weapon and curse, and traverse randomized 2.5D dungeon rooms, eventually reaching a boss. Weapons and curses (the game’s magic system) look and feel great, and the variety of attacks available helps to keep things fresh over multiple runs. Dungeons end one of two ways; with a miniboss that can be indoctrinated into your cult when defeated, or with one of the Old Gods, the main antagonists of the game. Boss mechanics are fun and largely interesting, though some rely too much on spamming extra mobs to contend with. Dealing with waves of mobs instead of the boss was strangely reminiscent of bosses in the Destiny series, both in their aid making fights more difficult and in the irritation that comes with mobs feeling like extra HP for the (already kind of spongy) bosses.
Aesthetically, Cult of the Lamb might be my favorite release of the year. The game uses a fluffy exterior to help juxtapose the gruesomeness of the cults and the Old Gods. You’re playing a happy, fluffy sheep whose eyes glow red when sacrificing your (also-cutesy) cultists to The One Who Waits below. The cartoony aesthetic does a good job both hiding and emphasizing that every cult, yours included, is built on a foundation of violence and blind faith. I could see a version of this game that got more into the blood and guts, but this middle ground seems like a Goldilocks situation.
I’m glad I bought Cult of the Lamb. I’m always excited for a good new roguelike, and it definitely hits the spot in that regard. I binged it for the 16 hours I played; whenever the roguelike part was starting to lose me, the cult mechanics picked me back up. And whenever I got tired of keeping the cult satisfied, I made a bunch of food and ran off to crusade. The game is shorter than I expected, but free updates are already promised, so there should be something to come back to in the near future. You can continue the game after the credits roll, crusading and managing to your heart’s content, but aside from side quests and achievements, there currently isn’t too much more to go for. I’ve put Cult of the Lamb down for now, but I’ll be excited to pick it back up when a content update drops. The gameplay loops are really fun, and I’m interested to see where future content takes them.
Game: Cult of the Lamb
Developer: Massive Monster
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Tested on: PC (Steam)
Rating: Teen
Price: $25
Would Recommend
Pros: solid gameplay, switching from village sim to action roguelike helps keep things fresh, excellent aesthetic
Cons: gameplay is very simple, bosses can be reliant on mobs to be difficult, pretty short for a roguelike
Hunter: the Vigil is probably my favorite system in tabletop gaming. It’s definitely my favorite part of the Chronicles of Darkness series, the current name for the version of World of Darkness that I started with. The first edition (not to be confused with Old World of Darkness’ Hunter: the Reckoning) came out in 2008, and seems to have formed the bedrock of much of what Chronicles of Darkness would eventually become. The tiered play system, to the best of my memory, was first introduced in Hunter, and has since become an integral part of campaign design in every core rulebook. When poring over the pages of the recently-released playtest document for the second edition, I was interested in what changes they wanted to make to the system, and how they went about making them.
Some changes have been made. A couple of edits have happened in the non-blog pages to fit a little closer to what I currently want them to be. It’s wild to think I wanted to do weekly updates at one point; I’m nowhere near that interesting. Old projects that I like have been added to the Portfolio page, and the essay that was previously there has been removed, pending another significant update that should include all of the academic text that I’ve written and enjoyed.
As far as blog content, that probably won’t change too much. I’m largely writing to make sure I don’t forget how to, so any topic that interests me is still on the table. Until the new Shadowverse set drops, I’m not too interested in writing about it, but between the recent release of Onyx Path’s Hunter playtest and the myriad rulebooks I’m in the process of reading, RPGs will remain a pretty big deal to me. I’ve got some campaigns in the works, and I’m planning on adding a little extra (time permitting) with some graphics and handouts for the party. If I like how they turned out, you’ll see them here.
Other than that, not much happening, hence the slow update. I just had the idea at 3 am (aka Real Productivity Hours) to add a bit of content and actually do something with the Portfolio page. Thanks to a real unicorn of a problem — more people interested in running games than playing them — I won’t be able to get an idea of how Hunter 2e plays until next month. In the interim, I’ll be working on a post about how I think the new edition compares to the old, and how well it fits into the current Chronicles of Darkness. I’m aiming to touch on that sometime next week, after I’ve read through the book a second time.
