My life with L5R started back in 1995 with Imperial Edition. Like many shops at the time, our local shop played Magic, trying other CCGs as they came out, but always going back to Magic. We had tried many, many games and as a kid of only 14, I didn’t have much money to spend on these games. That is why when our shop owner, Steve Horvath (future Brand Manager for L5R under Wizards of the Coast), decided to try the newest CCG, Legend of the Five Rings, I decided to draw the line and not invest in it. Sure, I learned how to play, but only played with other people’s decks.
This went on for a few months, but you see at that time I went to my local shop 7 days a week to play cards, and with most everyone else playing L5R, it was tough to stay out. So one day when I showed up, I had $10 burning a hole in my pocket, so I bought a Phoenix starter. I found I really enjoyed the mechanics of the game, and that playing other people’s decks was not as fun as building and playing your own. Before long I had a deck for every clan.
But L5R was still my secondary game. My first game was Highlander. I played that competitively for several years, winning many tournaments including the National Championships. Soon though I got disillusioned with Highlander and sold off all of my cards shortly before the game tanked.
Having not played Magic in years and always keeping up with L5R (still playing once a week most weeks), I decided to go to L5R as my primary game. This was around Gold Edition, and for the past 6 years I had only played Unicorn. I decided to play whatever clan I had the most fun with.
Fast forward to the end of Lotus Edition, I had won 5 Koteis, 1 World Championship, and numerous storyline tournaments. I had been a playtester for about a year and a half and AEG was cycling out the current PDT, looking for a new one. I decided to apply and was accepted, joining the PDT in July 2006. My first set was Khan’s Defiance, where we were charged with the insurmountable task of creating a set that would sell in the high powered environment of LE but not ruin the lower powered environment of Samurai. It was not an easy task, but we did a pretty good job. This was the start of Samurai Edition, which was the revival L5R.
Roughly a year later Brent Keith, Lead Designer at the time, decided he was ready to move onto new projects with AEG and I was offered the position as Lead Designer. I gladly accepted, taking over as Lead Designer in August of 2007.
L5R has been my true CCG love for years now. I love the mechanics as well as the people, both those involved in production of the game and the players. L5R has the best community of any game out there, I truly believe this. It is this community, combined with the great mechanics and an in-depth, rich story that has made L5R the anomaly it is, surviving the CCG market for 15 years when most others fail.
And that is how I got to where I am today. Just a kid who reluctantly bought a Phoenix starter ever so long ago.
