I currently play L5R, D&D, and MTG (selling online mainly now) and I played Dune, Doomtown, SWCCG and Spycraft (underrated game).  I will buy the Star Wars LCG when it comes out.  I've played LOTR games (video and card) and love the universe.  I think Lovecraft was a freakin' genius.  Game of Thrones is a great story and enjoy the shows (books are better).  My interest has only pecked with FFG games over the years as I see them hanging from the walls at game/hobby/comic shops.  I am ready to take the dive, despite my wife's dismay (she don't dig the geek thang unless it's zombies she can kill).  What would be the best starter LCG?

Really depends what you're after. If you're after co-op then it's Lord of the rings. A great game that allows you to play solo as well, or play with up to 3 others to try and beat the quest scenario. the other 3 LCG's are pvp, Game of Thrones is probably the most involved of those games really immersing you into the political theme of the books and very machiavellian. Call of Cthulhu is a good game for 2 players, takes a little getting into but is again bang on the Lovecraft themes. I can't really comment on Warhammer as I've not played or heard much about it other than the general concensus that seems to be that it's finally got a decent card pool.

spirit said:

Thanks very much for the comments.  I am very excited about these games.

Voxslain said:

As Spirit said.A couple of things should be probably added: if you want to play 3 or 4 player games with LotR, you need two core sets, which can be a little expensive. But it's a great game to solo or play with another person. A Game of Thrones gives its best when played in 3 or 4 players, so basically:

a) if you're searching for a coop, then go with LotR (Star Wars could be coop as well, but since they said they had to bring it back to the designer table, it could be that something changes)

b) if you want a player vs player game and there are just you and one of your pals to play, go with Call of Cthulhu

c) if you want an great multiplayer experience, go with A Game of Thrones.

Haven't played Warhammer: Invasion yet, so I cannot say anything at this regard

Well...As far as Warhammer: Invasion is concerned...play this game if you enjoy the high fantasy setting of elves, goblins, orcs, deamons, knights,...etc. The game mechanics for W:I are outstanding. They are simple to understand and allow for a huge range of flexibility in how you build and play your deck. You will need to refer to the most current FAQ though as the wording on some of the cards can be a bit convoluted and not easily understood on occasion. W:I is really a great deckbuilders and resource managment players game. Also, you can destroy your opponent with dragons and deamons.

Warhammer Invasion is my favorite by far although Call of Cthulhu is a close runner up. A Game of Thrones I find is a ton of fun 4 player, but I didn't care for it as much as the others in a 2 player match up.

 AGoT and CoC are my favourites. That doesn't mean I don't like W:I. Still not sure I love the punishment LotR gives me (only have 3 APs; drawback of following too many games!).

I rate Warhammer:Invasion as the most beginner-friendly, and also the closest to MtG etc. All the LCGs have a few unique extra rules of course, and the game board with three deployment zones makes things slightly more complicated. But it's still very easy for a newbie. It captures the WH flavour nicely, but had a long run of imbalance. But with only a few complete cycles and the first deluxe expansion I have built nice and balanced decks of various kinds so I can quickly get started playing with people who don't have their own cards.

CoC might the next one up in complexity, and I think variety too. I find it extremely easy to build many different decks with my 3+ cycles and 1 deluxe expansion. The Lovecraftian flavour is strong in this one, and you are very free to combine factions due to the unique resource mechanism. Most cards are new characters, but a few characters have variants (Cthulhu got a version I prefer over the core set one, for instance).

AGoT is nice for 2+ players. The game changes slightly with more, but I won't knock it as a duel game. Here I also feel there is great variety in cards, but it's both got the complexity of both W:I and CoC, and a few must-have cards which are in low supply out of the box. There have fortunately been a few extras in some packs, though. You're more strongly faction-limited since you get only one faction and neutral cards for regular cost. A great little feature is that main characters get variants in later packs. This means you could have multiple decks from the same faction with completely different flavour.

LotR is *the* co-op game. Solo it seems like it'll haunt your nightmares. The first cycle adds essential cards which make the various quests easier, and you could spend a lot of time building decks for co-op play. The other games have it relatively easy getting started first time: Pick this and that many of each category of card, ensure there are theoretically enough resources to play any within not too much card draw, go. LotR could be seen as one game of co-op deck-building followed by a game of actually using the decks. Some quests simply seem impossible solo (that is, playing with one deck and 3 heroes). It has a very different feel to it from the pure duelling LCGs, and they've done alright capturing the flavour too. The health of some enemies is ridiculous, and it'll really take all your heroes and allies to beat them.

LotR seems less like a game you play with random people than other co-op games, but it's nice with a regular group. If you want duelling games, I recommend W:I, then CoC, then AGoT in that order, unless you really prefer one setting over the other. W:I and CoC has all that fantastic magic flying about. AGoT is more intrigue or plain combat (three ways of "attacking", rather than just combat).

I would suggest Call of Cthulhu (for the theme, mechanics and the extensive card pool that you can acquire in time, although I believe 2x Core Sets are a must).

Alternatively I would suggest Android Netrunner (interesting theme and mechanics, it just came out so it has a really small card pool but it will be easier to get all the cards fast, and again 2x Core Sets are advised).

Have fun!

I picked up LOTR for the solo experience. It's easy to learn and challenging. It was a good return to fantasy gaming for me. I can see this being my go-to.

If you haven't tried it yet, I'd also recommend Elder Sign for good solo play. It's not a living card game by definitiion, but the mechanics are similar and it was the gateway game for me.

The OP did so ages ago… BUT

CoC: Interesting game play and deck building, but not straight from the core… needs that plus expansion pack. Tournament scene non-existent.
AGoT: As above, but has a tournament scene and seems to have more support. Perhaps fairer game play and perhaps more strategy.
Warhammer: As first, but better core set than others. tournament scene non existent.
Android: Great core set. Unknown player tournament scene but seems good for now.
LotR: Good core set, interesting game. Deck building is a nightmare… you have to build a deck before you know what scenario you're doing. Interesting for a second game LCG pick up but not my first choice. Tournament scene non-existent, but game plays more engaging and fair, due to cooperative nature, than CoC or some others.
Star Wars: Not entirely sure…. deck building seems great, game play OK. Tournamnet , not sure… game play seems a bit … jarred?… sometime (ups and downs easy?)….

I recommend Android: Netrunner for two reasons:

1) I love it so you should too.  

2) It's relatively new so the cost of entry to get caught up on the expansions is much lower than other LCGs.