I think I could almost get back into Magic The Gathering or things like 40k if I could find ways to make them More Swingy. Optimal play for both of these usually involves controlling the randomness of outcomes but for someone who doesn't want to have to play optimally with decks and lists from the internet, that just leads to me feeling like I've lost before I've started playing most of the time. I want variants of 40k or Hearthstone or whatever where the top tier best decklists still lose to random bullshit every handful of matches. More insane Hail Mary payoffs etc please. I want to have fun playing, not spending hours preparing to be the best.
@ash
Shaking up victory conditions. 40k/WHF x Battle Royale/Hunger games.
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@ash this is why for the last 20 years or so I've only played booster and sealed drafts when I've played at all.
I'm still at a disadvantage because I don't know the current meta, but at least I know my opponents haven't used their meta-knowledge to make it impossible for me to win.
In the early years of Magic I think there was a bit more swinginess due to a smaller, more idiosyncratic card pool, but those days are long gone.
A couple of people have suggested drafting MTG for this, and I also like Commander/EDH as a solutions. Does anyone have any ideas for games like 40k/WHF etc?