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For years, the world of Norrath has fascinated the computer game aficionado. On a daily basis thousands of players log into the epic worlds of adventure pioneered by EverQuest and EverQuest II, exploring ancient ruins, forbidden castles, and planes of existence outside of the boundaries of Norrath. Players of these two games are more than familiar with names like Fippy Darkpaw, Firona Vie, and Lucan D’Lere.

Legends of Norrath continues to expand on the classes represented in the cards.

Yet for players so much of the EverQuest story goes unseen and unheard, and that is where Sony Online Entertainment’s Denver studio comes into play. In a fairly ambitious stroke of insight, Sony Online Entertainment acquired Worlds Apart Productions in August 2006 and have used the studio to create the first card game associated with the world of EverQuest and EverQuest II. Titled Legends of Norrath, the digital trading card game has been an extraordinarily successful venture for the company. Not only has it drawn different types of players into the two worlds, but it has also given developers the opportunity to use every portion of the Norrathian lore. Originally released in September 2007, Legends of Norrath recently released it third expansion set, Legends of Norrath: Inquisitor, marking the second set to be released in the six and a half months since the game’s debut.

Being a fan of the first two sets released by SOE, it fell on my shoulders to check out the latest expansion in the quickly growing game, and I immediately set to work on constructing a few decks using the new Inquisitor cards and weighing just how much the game had improved with the release of the latest expansion. If you’re interested in the first two sets and how the game works in general, make sure to read my previous reviews. But if you’ve read the previous reports, continue on!

As had been the case in the Forsworn expansion set, the Inquisitor collection of Legends of Norrath cards included a number of additional features that help to flesh out the EverQuest universe inherent in the card game. Although many of the Norrathian classes were represented in the first two sets, several archetypes still needed to be enhanced. While the Forsworn expansion introduced cards focused around Paladins, Necromancers, Druids, and archery-based Scouts, Inquisitor introduces cards based on four new classes: the Monk, Bard, Enchanters and Inquisitors.

For the most part, these cards continue to show high quality design decisions from the SOE Denver crew. From the statistic enhancing cards like the Fighter’s Ring of the Bastion to the ability for other archetypes aside from the Mage to finally have their own units, the game continues to grow in diversity and complexity. Although there are still several “flavor of the month” decks circulating the tournament scene – like the Scout’s Short Sword of Ykesha combination – there are still numerous strategies that have yet to be uncovered by the hardcore meta-gamers.

Most of the card art in Inquisitor is stunning.

Along with the four classes that are finally being represented in card form, two races have also been added to the mix. Fans of the Halflings and the Trolls will finally be able to create decks around their favored races, and both races pack some incredibly powerful abilities along with them. For instance, whenever a Troll avatar wins a combat against an opponent, he can heal one of his units. Halfling and Troll units, mainly split into Shadow and Light configurations, are also available to the crafty deck artist.

One of the more interesting additions to this particular expansion is the new ability for players to augment their own and other players’ ability to gain Shadow or Light faction points. Although faction based decks have been available since the release of the original set, there are many players who don’t put much weight into the actual building of these particular card combos. However, this will certainly change with the appearance of particular cards – especially those in the Halfling unit template – that will adjust a player’s faction if he tries to attempt a quest where the faction adjusting unit is placed. It’s an interesting maneuver and will surely frustrate many deck builders that haven’t put enough time into their faction based decks.

For those players that have been wondering when a full-fledged tournament program was going to appear for Legends of Norrath, you don’t need to wait any longer. Between the Forsworn and Inquisitor expansion sets, SOE began their Championship Qualifier Tournament series, which features a free trip to GenCon as the first place prize for any winner of the series. Once there, players will vie for $100,000 worth of cash and prizes to be given away at the event!

With the introduction of the tournament series, it’s no small wonder that the game continues to remain an incredibly popular distraction for many EQ, EQ2, and stand-alone players. Yet there are a few aspects of the game that continue to worry me, chief among them being the growing discrepancy between the extremely powerful artwork seen on many cards and the lackluster artistic efforts that are displayed on others. While cards like Mind Blast and Iksar Abductor are incredibly gorgeous, some cards (like the Razorfang Gloves) just don’t hold up to the same scrutiny.

Next time you'll need to watch out for the Iksar Abductor!

Finally, there’s always the constant worry of power inflation ruining the card game. Although not enough time has passed to really determine whether inflation will bother Legends of Norrath, there still remains a bit of worry in my heart for the future of the game. So many other card games have succumbed to power inflation – Decipher’s Star Wars CCG and even Magic: The Gathering –  that it’s hard not to have a bit of worry.

That said, the Legends of Norrath card game continues to be one of my favorite distractions available to me outside of my favorite MMOG. Whenever I have a spare moment I love to tweak my decks, trying to make them as viable in tournament play as possible. Each and every set allows me to make a new “theme deck”, and Inquisitor was no exception.  Although no new multiplayer functions were added to the game (like the raid that were added in the last expansion), SOE continues to deliver content that’s free for every SOE member.

When it comes to digital card games, it’s incredibly hard to compete with SOE’s Legends of Norrath. Once again, the company has shown that they’re dedicated to this particular product, and I hope that the devotion continues long into the future. 

(4 / 5 Hammers)

Ten Ton Recommendation:

LoN: Inquisitor is a solid addition to the Legends of Norrath experience and is a must have for any LoN fan!

What are your thoughts on SOE's Legends of Norrath series? Does this game influence your thoughts on EQ or EQ2? Let us know on the forums!