Making my own Card Game

Right, so I'm making my own card game. I don't have a name for it yet but I worked almost everything out. I'm using a few other games as inspiration, so don't be surprised if you see similarities between this and other games.

Backstory:
Gods, seeking to find the strongest Commanders in the universe to choose the man who will become known as the Supreme Commander and lead the armies of the heavens against the forces of evil, have summoned armies from different worlds and time lines to battle for the title of Supreme Commander and the great riches that the title comes with. Only the strongest Commander will survive. Gather your armies and prepare for war!


The Basics:
I - Each player starts with a hand of five cards.
II - Each player draws one card each turn, except for the first turn of the game.
III - Characters of Lv. 4 or Lower can be played for free.
IV - Characters of Lv. 5 or Higher cost one battlefield card per a Lv. over 4.
V - Battlefields are tapped to show they are used to pay for higher Lv. Characters.
VI - The effects of Battlefield cards can't be used while the Battlefield is tapped.
VII - You tap a Character card to show it attacked.
VIII - Tapped Character cards can't be attacked by other Characters.
IX - Trap cards remain face down on the field until activated, then they are sent to the discard pile once used.
X - Trap cards must remain face down on the field for one whole turn before being activated.
XI - Booster cards must be placed under the Character card they're attached to so that the card's name is showing.
XII - If a card's effect goes against the rules, always follow what the card says instead of what the rules say.
XIII - The Commander card is not shuffled into the deck, it starts on the field.

Turn Order:
Draw Phase > Play Phase1 > Battle Phase > Play Phase2 > Effect and End Phase

The Phases:
Draw Phase - On this phase you must draw one card as well as untap any tapped cards you have.
Play Phases 1 and 2 - During these phases you may play Character, Battlefield and Booster cards and set any Trap Cards.
Battle Phase - This is the only phase your characters can attack.
Effect and End Phase - During this phase you may activate the Effects of your character cards. This is the last phase of each turn, after this phase your turn is over.

The Card Types:

--Commander Cards--
This card represents you on the battle field. They have no attack value and their health varies depending on the Commander type and Faction. Each Commander has it's own three special abilities. You cannot put cards in a deck that doesn't match the same faction as your Commander. Boosters cannot be used on Commanders. Each commander has a different amount of Power Counters it starts with, you must spend one Power Counter to activate a Commander's special ability.

Guardian - These Commanders specialize in keeping their army alive with their abilities.
Warrior - These Commanders specialize in boosting their army's power with their abilities.
Magus - These Commanders specialize in dealing damage to enemies with their abilities.

--Character Cards--
These cards represent your army and come in three types-

Soldier - This card type is generally weak compared to the others, the lv. of a Soldier never gets higher than 4. You may have an unlimited amount of Soldiers on the field at any one time.

Hero - This card type is the second strongest and can range anywhere from lv. 1 to lv. 10. You may only have five Heroes on the field at any one time.

Giant Monsters - This card type is the strongest card available. They are always lv. X, each Giant Monster costs 10 battlefields to play. Due to their immense strength and raw power, a Booster card cannot be used on a Giant Monster. You may only have one Giant Monster card one the field at any one time.


--Booster Cards--
These cards have ongoing effects that strengthen the Character card it's attached to or gives the Character card a special ability.


--Trap Cards--
On a battlefield, one must always be careful. No one knows if there are any traps laid for your army. Trap Cards are cards that can royally be a pain in the butt to your enemy. Their effects are instant and one time use. They can do everything from destroying enemy Characters to forcing your opponent to discard cards from their hand or deck and even to destroy your opponent's Power Counters.


--Battlefield Cards--
These cards represent the Battlefields the war is being fought on. Each battlefield can be tapped to play Character Cards. Besides being the method of pulling out your army, battlefields also have ongoing effects that can do anything from boosting the power of your army to negating the use of certain card types. Their effects are 'deactivated' when the Battlefield card is tapped.


Requirements to Play:
I - A deck of at least 30 cards, not including a Commander card.
II - 1 Commander Card
III - Dice and Counters

Role the dice to decide who starts the game. Each player starts by drawing five cards from their deck. The player who starts the game does not draw on their first turn. A player may choose to shuffle their hand back into their deck once per a game, when they redraw they draw four cards instead of five. Each player then takes turns until the game is over. The winner is the player who managed to kill their opponent's Commander.


The Factions (So Far):

-The Steamlords-
Coming from an alternate Victorian Era Earth, the Steamlords bring a steampunk theme to the battlefield. Using their knowledge of science and forbidden, ancient, magic, they wish to show that one does need the greatest technology to win a war, it is the power of one's courage that can win the day.

-Yggdrasil Alliance-
From the Jungle world of Yggdrasil, the Kats, feline-human hybrids, and their elven allies have banded together in this new strange world where all worlds and time lines seems to merge. Forsaking technology, they proof that the power of nature can be a powerful enough force to deal with on it's on. With the ancient elven magic, and the Kats' knowledge of close combat, this faction is one that should be faced with caution as they can prove to be very...sneaky.

-United Earth Democracy-
Formed in the year 2326, the UED has advance technology, stolen alien gadgets, and human cunning on their side. They can adapt to any situation and with their advance military force, codename Armored Wing, they can prove to take on any threat. Commanders going up against a UED army should expect a heavy militant response and battlefields layered with traps and explosives. The UED Commanders prove to be some of the toughest to fight.

-Hellspawn-
Form the volcanic world of Hellos V, the demon like race known as the Hellspawn arrive. Brutal and armed with a combination of both technology and dark magices, the very mention of the Hellspawn has sent fear deep into the souls of many commanders. They rely on tactics that can scare their enemies, burn Battlefields and mercilessly kill their opponents. If you want to have a brutal faction with now regard to it's own safety, this is your army.


SUGGESTIONS:

Suggestions, as to what you think should be changed and any factions you might like to see implemented into the game is highly welcomed. I'm still working on example cards, so sorry for not having any available at the moment. Any and all HELPFUL comments are welcomed and I thank you all ahead of time.

I'll sign up to test. But I will only if you plan to make it more deep / complex than L5R.

Well, it's going to be kinda like a mix of cardgame with miniature wargame. So it's main focus is strategy.

NOTE: I'm using templates I found on Google with pictures I found on Photobucket for the time being. I don't have time to draw and design the cards from scratch at the moment.

Example Commander-Magus:


The Commander Magus has the lowest health but the highest power of the Commander Types. This card shows the general style of The Hellspawn. Dealing 'AoE' damage while preventing the enemy from attacking and taking control of the enemy's cards.

Example Character-Soldier:


Introducing the basic cannon fodder card. These poor recruits rarely see more than a turn.

Example Booster:


As you can see from the Booster card, the Steamlords prefer to avoid as much damage as possible by using their 'primitive' technology.

Example Trap:


The Yggdrasil Union enjoys forcing an enemy to skip whole phase, leaving the opponent open for attack. Trap Cards are the only cards that can be 'activated' during your opponent's turn.

Example Battlefield:


As you can see, Battlefields are the only Factionless cards. They also prove to be beneficial. ^_^ This is to force the player to choose between keeping an awesome effect or playing a character card.


Blank:


I'd love to see what you guys can come up with.


RULE UPDATE:

You may only play 5 cards, of any type, during each turn.

Card Name: "More Ammunition than GOD!"
Type: Booster
Effect: Increases attack power.

>.>; I gave ya the blank so ya can make the card yourself. How much attack are we talking here as the weakest would be 5 and the strongest would be 20 on characters cards, 30 if they're giant monsters.

Balance question: If cards of levels 1-3 all have the same cost, why ever play a level 1 card? Rarity?

This is the Minister of Awesome, with a public service announcement:

Hi. I know, in this day and age, it can be hard to come up with entirely original ideas. That's why it's okay to "borrow" concepts from time to time. But when someone can actually itemize what you're copying and what you're copying from, you have to face the fact that you have a problem.

*The More You Know*

Taken from MTG:
-Tapping
-Lands (Artifact Lands in this case, to be specific)
-Booster cards (which are just Equipment and Enchantment combined into one category)

Taken from HeroQuest:
-The backstory
-More powerful units are unique hero characters (although there are a lot of sources, this one just seems the most likely), the most powerful are giant monsters.

Taken from Yu-Gi-Oh:
-Levels 1-4 are free, 5+ costs something
-Trap cards
-The play phases (minus the Standby phase)

Taken from some combination of Warhammer 40K, Warmachine, and possibly also MTG:
-The factions

Misc.
-The Commander mechanic is basically a combination of the basic Life mechanics from MTG with the Magi from Magi-Nation Duel, though that may not necessarily be intentional (MND wasn't that well known).

Now, it's fine if your stuff was a little derivative, pretty much everything is nowadays, but when nearly your entire game is taken from less than five sources, you might want to consider thinking of ways to innovate. Because believe me, nobody likes copycats, just ask Duel Master.

Well, I wanted to share with you guys because I was hopping you guys can aid me in perfecting the system. I'm planning on making it a card game available online through forums or a website. Basically you earn points on the forums and with those points you can buy packs of 10 cards each which I will randomly select.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcian Tobay Some recommendations to pick and choose as you like:

Ok, I'm reading.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcian Tobay Maker lower level cards "Weak but spammy". Think of it like sending a thousand Goombas versus sending out Bowser. For example, make a certain Level 1 card's ability "If you play this card, you may also play another card of the same name. This counts as one action."

Lv 1 - 4 creatures are free to play without paying, so they are already 'spammable'. However, I do like your idea and I plan on making use of it. It might be something common for the UED or Hellspawn Factions to have in their lower lv. creatures.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcian Tobay Clunky power vs. Steamlined weakness. Look at the power slots in City of Heroes. The first power is utter dreck, but you can use it in almost every situation. The final power is hands down better but very situational with a long recharge time.

You mean add a turn limit to certain powers?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcian Tobay Allow cards that only target characters of "Power level X or greater".

You mean lv. X or Greater. Power is used to determine how many times a Commander can use his or her ability.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcian Tobay Simple Example: "All cards below power level 3 may attack twice this turn.

Ah, seems like it'll be something a Battlefield Power may have, or maybe a spell that a Commander can cast. Oh! You just gave me an idea for a Commander-Warrior for the UED. Thanks.

There you go. Yeah, you need to plan the game as if every player had every card in the game. Why? Because you want them to, as that would mean they bought enough to get to that point. Switch the "greed for money" out for a greed for dedication and addiction, and we have what your free to play version will have.

But yes, if someone has enough copies of every card in the series, they should still be able to consider each and every card valuable. Buying more cards shouldn't obsolete others; it should add to them.

Good luck on your project!

I'm working on a demo-deck for each faction for anyone wishing to test play the game.


NEW FACTION:

Ultarian - An alien race that thinks themselves superior to all others. They use powoerful high-tech weaponry and were at war with the UED before they found themselves in this new merged world, caught in the rift that brought the UED forces. An army not meant to be in the war now seek a way home and the death of the Gods that brought them here.

If this is a product you are taking seriously... and wish to sell to the public... I really only have one suggestion to make: Find a selling point and concentrate on it. It can be anything so long as it's unique to the CCG market. Otherwise, there's not really anything here to keep people from spending their cash on something like Magic, Yugioh, or even Fightklub.

I'm struggling to come up with an example, since this isn't my project....
Okay, here's a thought. Everyone and their mother has a card game that specifically tells the person how many cards they should have in their hand per turn. How about something more dynamic or random to force player ingenuity? Maybe have each player roll a 6 sided dice to determine how many cards they can (key word, can) add to/have in their hand? This might put more strategy into the game and cancel out the element of the luck of the draw just a bit.

Okay, that's probably not the best example, lol. Still, it's something I haven't seen in a CCG and it's something that could interesting people who are looking for something that's a little different.

"Don't make "How attainable a card is" factor into any facet of card design under any circumstances. Ever. If you do, you're fundamentally designing a game wrong."

The entire point of having rarity in a card game is so that more powerful effects can be seen less often and be more sought after ( encourages players to buy more packs).

Otherwise people would have the COH equivalent of tier 1 nova attacks.

As summed up so far this concept sounds to me like magic the gathering with planeswalkers as your avatar. I'd try to add more resource management ala civilization or something to give it more strategy than 'drop as many soldiers as you can muster and swing!' .

Three types of player? Please elucidate. Is one of the types "Mr. Suitcase"?