Where does Netrunner sit in terms of popularity and success?

To me, it looks like it's about 1/10th to 1/20th the size of Magic.

But Magic is enormous. On any given weekend, there are GPs, SCGIQs, PPTQs, regional PTQs, and local cash tournaments.

Magic has advantages in terms of being able to grow a player base.

  1. A secondary market. Brick and mortar stores make money from Magic by hosting drafts and selling singles. That is much harder to do with an LCG model. Therefore, for a lot of stores, supporting Netrunner is only as high a priority as the sales of core, deluxes and data packs. (Consider that next time you wanna save some $$$ by buying on amazon or through dropbox)

  2. 20+ years of product. That means that there are multiple formats and ways to play. So, if you don't like Standard, you play Modern. Too much Eldrazi in Modern? You play EDH. EDH too random? Draft. Etc etc etc. While you would think this would fracture the player base, it actually expands the overall audience because there's something for somebody.

  3. The DCI- a quasi-independent body that is the de facto standard for running a sanctioned tournament. They are responsible for training judges, reporting tournament results back to WotC,

  4. MtGO. As bad as it is, it is notheless a way to play sanctioned tournament Magic online.

  5. Easier learning curve. Man, this game is murder. Magic, you buy a T1 deck, and you'll get wins if you've been playing for any length of time. It's just much less skill-testing overall.

  6. Twitch streaming basically 24/7. Not at the level of Shitstone, but still pretty good, if you can tolerate MtGO.

If FFG ever decides it wants to compete in the same market as WotC (and I am not saying they necessarily should), then here is what it needs to do:

Build a sanctioning body that covers its major LCGs. They should create an increasing supply of rare and shiny/fullart/foreign language promos to create an artificial secondary market. These cards should be straight-up given to brick-and-mortar stores as rewards for carrying product and holding tournaments. They should also be put at random in draft packs to create more incentive to draft. The advantage you get from owning these shinies? NONE. But, they look cool and people pay through the nose for pimped out shit. They then need to find 2 or 3 core secondary market partners that gets dibs on a GP-like tournament series. Lastly, they will need a Pro(motional)Tour equivalent- a big, exciting bullshit festival where they sell people on Twitch to the game and build up the names of "pro" Netrunner players.

Seriously though, the long-term longevity of the game will be determined by how well Stone and co. can explore the design space of the game, build excitement, and take the narrative in interesting directions. One thing I think they should explore is creating alternative identity cards for the same person, so they can have recurring heroes. Just as there are 6 or 7 versions of Jace in MTG, there could be more versions of Noise or Kit. It gives players a narrative anchor to latch to and become emotionally involved.

I think the game is great. The LCG model is better than the random booster model except for lottery addicts (which is apparently a lot of people). The only thing that can't be fixed is the learning curve- that has to be handled at the community level, with old players helping new players learn the game and become competitive.

I think Netrunner will be around 3 years from now, but only with careful design and proper investment will it be around in 10.

/r/Netrunner Thread