Community Spotlight: AndYetItMoves and Jking7
Hello everyone!
The KARDS community is filled with players of diverse backgrounds with varied viewpoints. Many of its members create contributions that enrich the community, providing, for example, entertainment or guidance to other community members. Through the relaunch of the KARDS Contributor Program, we aim to provide added support to contributors, as well as to highlight the various contributions of KCP members to the KARDS community.
This month, the community spotlight shines on two members of the KARDS community: AndYetItMoves and Jking7.
[h2]AndYetItMoves[/h2]
[h3]Background[/h3]
Community guide AndYetItMoves (AYIM) started playing KARDS in February 2020. AYIM was originally drawn to KARDS through a love of card games, having played many digital board games and strategy games before, with KARDS being his first CCG. AYIM enjoys helping new players which is reflected in his community contributions.
AYIM says that some of his favorite aspects of the game are the different unit types and the frontline mechanic. When asked about his favorite card, he says that it used to be the 2e RIMa, before its recent nerf. Now, his favorite card is the PETLYAKOV PE-2FT, nicknamed the IQ-test plane in the Chinese community for its ability to stop deployment effects from triggering. AYIM’s favorite meta deck is the popular USA/Germany Frontline deck, but in casual games he plays his own inventions. “Ger/Pol CA anyone?”
[h3]Contributions[/h3]
AYIM’s most notable contributions are his New Player’s Guide to KARDS (KARDS新手手册) and, from that, the Selected Builds for New Players (新手成型卡组选讲). These extensive guides provide a framework for new players who are getting to grips with the game, guiding them in the first steps and giving advice on various aspects of playing KARDS. AYIM keeps the guides regularly updated with consideration of balance updates and new content. Starting as a project to help answer the frequently asked questions of new KARDS players, this guide has grown significantly over time, with AYIM describing that it is now: “twice the length of my Bachelor thesis!”
AYIM also collaborates with streamer Mina to provide commentary and analysis of official KARDS tournaments as they are re-streamed to the Chinese player base on the Bilibili platform.
To access AYIM’s new player guides, join the Chinese KARDS community’s QQ group with the following QR code:
[h3]New Player Advice[/h3]
When asked about advice he would give to new KARDS players, AYIM suggests to “take it slowly, and have fun before everything else.” Many players in the KARDS community have played for years, having completed their collections a long time ago. Their mindset may not align with that of a new player, which may be frustrating for some. AYIM suggests that new players take their time, figure out their main interests and which playstyles they like, build up a collection of standard and limited wildcards and, most importantly, figure out if KARDS is the right game for them. Having fun should always come first!
[h2]Jking7[/h2]
[h3]Background[/h3]
Jking7 (Jking) has become a household name in KARDS, as the two-time KARDS World Champion, with a consistent and exceptional tournament track record, as well as regular appearances on the screens of KARDS community members. Jking started playing KARDS in May 2019, but it didn’t become one of his most regular games until March 2020.
As a history buff that had sunk countless hours into Hearthstone, KARDS quickly captured Jking’s attention and kept his interest with both its artistic design and some game design choices. Of particular interest were the frontline mechanic, operation cost, and mechanically different unit types, which he says “added a level of thought to the game and deckbuilding that was missing from the other CCG’s I’d tried.”
His favorite card of all time was one of the previous iterations of Night Witches that would perpetually create a copy of the card and put it into your deck, allowing for unique Soviet fatigue decks. His current favorite card is Commonwealth - a card that on its own is quite weak and requires a certain type of deck built around it that creates a dynamic where you and your opponent must balance several elements to try and wrest victory from the hands of each other. His favorite decks in general are control decks with no proactive win condition, best represented currently in KARDS by Soviet control or Germany/Italy control decks.
Having been a member of the KARDS community for a long time, Jking has seen the community develop and grow throughout the years. He expresses that he’s always loved how connected the community feels, and that KARDS developers engage with and listen to community feedback.
[h3]Contributions[/h3]
Jking has created live broadcasts on his Twitch channel, but the main content Jking focuses on creating these days are videos on his YouTube channel. These include top-level gameplay, sharing his thoughts on different cards and patches, tournament analysis and guides, which he hopes to do more of in the future. He also makes the occasional content just for fun - such as trying out viewer submitted decks, or playing KARDS blindfolded.
With his extensive tournament knowledge and experience, Jking created his own new competitive KARDS format, which he hosted and cast last year, called the King’s Cup tournament.
Jking has also cast several official KARDS tournaments, providing his expert analysis of the gameplay of some of the top tournament players in KARDS.
Jking releases at least one new video per week. His ability to create and release new content can fluctuate, but he is never far from the screens of KARDS community members: “if you don't see anything new from me on my channel you can definitely expect to see me on a cast or in a tournament”.
https://youtu.be/jsXop8yABpE
https://youtu.be/Pa0S-eock5k
[h3]New Player Advice[/h3]
Jking recommends that new players try and immerse themselves in the community. This can be through talking in stream chats, making friends in the official KARDS Discord, or by watching videos - all of these will help get new players into the game. New players can use these resources to improve their gameplay, get advice on how to build their collection, find fun decks to play or players to play against. As Jking says, “Everyone enjoys KARDS differently but everyone will enjoy it more if they have people to share those experiences with.”
We hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know these contributors better and encourage you to check out their content! Make sure you stay tuned for next month, where we bring you another community spotlight featuring different KARDS contributors. Join us on the official KARDS Discord server and let us know if there’s anything you’d like to see us cover in these articles in the future!