Crown of the Emperor
- Publisher
- Faultline Studios
- Released
- 10-01-2003
- In print
- No
- Sets
- 1
- Cards
- 350
Crown of the Emperor is a fantasy CCG from the late-1990s wave of smaller publishers, positioned around a political-intrigue throne-contest premise rather than the typical direct-damage fantasy combat.
The game
Released in 1998, Crown of the Emperor CCG is a multiplayer duel where each player represents a Noble House contending for the imperial throne. Mechanics emphasise Alliance and Betrayal cards that let players form temporary pacts and break them for strategic gain, modelling the political tone of the setting.
The context
The late-1990s saw several politically-themed CCGs trying to capture the multiplayer negotiation gameplay that was harder to find in standard 1v1 combat duels. Crown of the Emperor sat alongside contemporaries like Guardians, On the Edge and Legend of the Five Rings as a game where the tabletalk mattered.
The collector angle
Only a base set and small expansion shipped. The Noble House character rares are the primary pulls for collectors completing late-90s CCG archives. Because the print run was modest and distribution thin, sealed product is a rare find, and the game is more often encountered as broken-lot commons than as a complete collectible product.
Rarity breakdown
4 rarity tiers across 350 cards in this game.