The Covenant Cast

On a fateful Monday, BradW shared an ad for Rush of Ikorr, the TCG from Upper Deck, coming to their ePack platform. What's the ePack platform, you ask? An abomination. It's not what tabletop is, and it misses the point completely. Digital integration? We don't want it, and it's ruining the hobby. Join us for a direct message to publishers thinking this is the future—it isn't.

• 40:30 Main Topic

Our current crowdfunding and tcg-heavy tabletop gaming era necessitates a question: is there nobility in removing overtly FOMO-creating elements from your campaigns and product design, or are you just losing sales?

• 00:00:00 Intro
• 00:04:42 Sorcery TCG News
• 00:07:23 Warlord TCG News
• 00:07:44 Alpha Clash TCG News
• 00:08:03 Arkham Horror The Card Game & Marvel Champions News
• 00:21:42 FAB TCG News
• 00:22:04 Covenant News
• 00:23:24 Main Topic: FOMO

A few weeks ago, the Earthborne team came to our office to share a vertical slice of their new game, Earthborne Trailblazer, with us, our team, and three fans of Rangers. Now, with the launch of the Earthborne Trailblazer Kickstarter, we are excited to share our thoughts with the world!

Earthborne Trailblazer Kickstarter: cov.link/earthborne-trailblazer

• 00:50:49 Main Topic: Earthborne Trailblazer First Impressions

Traditional distribution serves a critical function for tabletop gaming, but for many publishers it is often a hindrance to success—that's why we launched Covenant Fulfilled earlier this year. With the platform receiving a number of updates this week, including the addition of Earthborne Games, we're diving into exactly how our approach to distribution was a necessary improvement for indie publishers.

• 27:51 Steven Rafts the Valley
• 41:07 Main Topic: Why Distribution Had to Change

All last week we stared at the beautiful Earthborne Trailblazer board, created by Evan Simonet and inspired by Jaro Hess's "The Land of Make Believe". This week we wake up to a fresh controversy involving long time Magic: The Gathering artist Dan Frazier. There is clearly a line somewhere between the kind of artistic inspiration that both grounds and elevates a project and sticking so close to your reference that whatever you create lacks soul. Join us as we dive into the murky but refreshing waters of references, inspiration, and the act of creation in a post-modern world.

Fresh off of their Earthborne Trailblazer announcement, Andrew Navaro joins us to answer your questions and ours!

In the early days of crowdfunding, we were very hesitant to consider games that used the platform. Crowdfunding was seen as a negative. Somewhere along the way we entered an era where crowdfunding every game, or even every set, is seen as the standard. We wonder aloud how we got here and what the future holds.

• 00:07:15 Preview Pack 2026 Update
• 00:08:53 Sorcery TCG News
• 00:09:55 "What is Fulfilled?"
• 00:15:46 Covenant News
• 00:21:59 Earthborne Games News
• 00:26:18 Main Topic: The End of Crowdfunding

In this episode, we revisit the topic of LCG viability. Are there ways, tested or untested, that an LCG can prosper as a long-running game and also on the balance sheet of the local game store? After a week of reflection and so many good comments across the internet, there may indeed be some light at the end of the tunnel. We'll try to find it with you.

• 00:03:39 Announcing the Preview Pack 2026
• 00:11:25 Gudnak News
• 00:16:39 Arkham Horror: The Card Game News
• 00:17:01 Flesh and Blood TCG News
• 00:19:18 Covenant News
• 00:22:00 "Are you interested in Onward by Skytear Games?"
• 00:23:10 Main Topic: How the LCG Succeeds

Gudnak has pulled off the pipe dream of LCG fans everywhere by creating a functional limited experience. Hubworld announced that every set will be also be a draftable cube. Arkham Horror continues to tweak how it's products are delivered. None of these games are taking a similar path, but we have to wonder, will any of these paths finally create an offering that is as appealing to the game store as it is to the players?

• 00:00:00 Intro
• 00:03:46 Arkham Horror: The Card Game News
• 00:10:45 Alpha Clash TCG News
• 00:15:16 Sorcery TCG News
• 00:17:27 "I Can't Stand It!" Steven Opens Up About Tutors
• 00:29:54 Question: "How Does Sorcery Not Get Stale With a Yearly Release?"
• 00:34:16 Back to Sorcery TCG News
• 00:36:57 Covenant News
• 00:45:44 Main Topic: There is No "LCG Model"

Sorcery TCG has announced its Cornerstone events emphasizing Creativity, Mastery, and Wonder. Alpha Clash has gone international, announcing an even more open tournament scene in locations from Vegas to Dubai to the Philippines. FAB continues to deliver ever more on it's promise of high-level face-to-face competition. With all of this swirling in the wind, we ask ourselves, what does the perfect organized play experience look like?

• 00:03:09 Covenant News
• 00:12:56 Earthborne Games, Hubworld: Aidalon News
• 00:24:35 Arkham Horror: The Card Game News
• 00:26:48 Sorcery TCG News
• 00:35:01 Alpha Clash TCG
• 00:45:52 Main Topic: What Makes the Perfect Organized Play Experience?