Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Reminder: SWTCG is not Yu-Gi-Oh (IDC RAW)

When the IDC developed this set, it is clear that they turned off many, if not all, of the safeties in card development. Where as most ideas I have had are the same as what the IDC has implemented in this set, there are many other ideas active in this set that I think are a bad idea.First, and foremost, is an apparent move towards the Yu-Gi-Oh philosophy of no holds barred. While much of the set retains a good sturdy semblance of decorum, several cards show a total disregard towards safety. As I pointed out in another post, the Gunships of old are no longer playable because the safeties were turned off on two of the new Gunships, one which shouldn't have even been a Gunship. Next, I understand how the last two major limited subtypes the IDC worked on (Wookiees and Ewoks) didn't fare so well, but with Gladiators, it seems a little heavy. First and foremost is the inclusion of Double Strike. Multiple Attacks are Going to Kill the MetaDouble Strike is a HUGE ability. This ability not only doubles your unit's power, but it allows you to apply its power to two different units. Every card you have put this on, seems to have completely disregarded the cost/value ratio (though there's only 2 units I'm concerned with at the moment). It's like you take a card like Droid Tri-Fighter and just tack on Double Strike without consideration of the ability's 1 stat point cost, or the fact that it doubles the power and flexibility of that power. So Droid Tri-Fighter would now be 5 build, 50 speed, 8 power, 4 health, Critical Hit 1, and split the damage between two units. When instead, the use of Double Strike should look like this if added to Droid Tri-Fighter: 5 build, 50 speed, 2 power, 4 health, Critical Hit 1, Double Strike, or: 5 build, 50 speed, 3 power, 3 health, Critical Hit 1, Double Strike. I could deal with how it was applied to the Starfighter and to Mace Windu's Lightsaber, but now we have a Gunship and 1 all too scary Gladiator with it. Let's look at the Gladiator in a Gladiator theme deck:Flalios: 6 build, 30 speed, 5 power, 5 health, Critical Hit 2, Fury 2, Double Strike, Parry 1, When the roll for build points is made, remove 2 damage from one of your Gladiators (Likely Flalios).So every time Flalios strikes, he strikes with up to 14 power and Critical Hit 2 x2 for a total possible damage of 18 and an almost guaranteed damage of 11, all for just 6 build. Double Strike doubles the effectiveness of every Equipment, Mission, Location, and Battle card that grants an ability except Accuracy. Yes, he's slow, yes, he's a target, but with an intercepting unit in the arena and the remove 2 damage ability, you'll be using him for a while. This guy is a tank buster. Heck, he's a bunker buster. He can destroy even the most fortified Jedi in a single round. Apply Enraged Charge to him and his attack now looks like: 30 power and Critical Hit 8 x2. That's a total potential damage of 46 between 2 units for 6 build and 2 Force! That's an average damage of 15.5 for each of the two units! (And will pretty much always get a hit unless fate is conspiring against you.) Add to this the fact that power has a greater benefit to the DS than to LS. General Grievous (E). Just for having 4 Equipment, he has 30 power that he can split between 5 different units, and it doesn't cost him a thing! Yes he's a target, but since when can DS not defend a Character? Now, let's add 4 very cheap E-11 Carbines: 13 build, 40 speed, 70 power, 6 health. Thats 14 power against each unit he attacks. If the unit he's attacking has no armor, shields, or prevention, that's an average of 7 damage per unit, 5 times a round, all for just 13 build. Once again add to it that power has a greater benefit to the DS than the LS.More Bad CardsNow, I think you all were meaning to test the bounds of these cards with my advice to "try to break it and see what happens". Sorry, but that advice applied only to Equipment, because you were having a hard time finding its boundaries. Double Strike is not that hard to know what it's boundaries are. It's doubling your unit's power and making its attacks flexible. As for the rest, I'm not sure what boundaries you were trying to test.Now much of the stuff that people say is overpowered I defend, because those cards help bring back old units and even units that have never been used. But there are still more units in this set that are far too powerful. jury is out on Darth Sidious (J). I think it's a tad on the noobish sode, but we'll see if it makes DS units too powerful. Derelict Battleground gives way too much boost to Separatists. I might have held my tongue at +3 power, but +4 is definitely overboard.Starfighter Modifications. You all were doing so good with Equipment and making it compete well with pilots, boosting pilots. I was commending it. Instead of completely smashing this card with its massive bonuses, I think you should have worked towards making the existing vehicle packages less expensive. Besides that, this card is dangerous and gives too much boost to an already inflated LS Space arena. Tyranus's Fury. Again, this card is 1 step too far. I would have held my words had it done 3 damage instead of 4, or else cost 6 Force instead of 4. In fact, its existence makes Force Lightning obsolete, which I don't like, because that's a good card. Artillery Cannon is far too powerful. It was designed after Planetary Ion Cannon, but it goes beyond it. Again, power is more effective for DS, so there was no reason to go beyond it. A Call for a Public Embargo There are some really great cards in this set. But I think you have produced the exact reverse of what all previous sets have done. The cards that suck are the ones that are too powerful. A mistake I've always found to be made by noobs, not experienced card designers. Thankfully, most of the cards are good.Regardless of whether the IDC bans them or not, here is a list of cards I recommend get ignored (That is, that they should not be used, simply on principle, based on damage to the meta and to past cards):
Artillery Cannon
Derelict Battleground
Enraged Charge
Flalios (A)
General Grievous (E)
Assault Gunship
Republic Gunship Squadron
Starfighter Modifications
Tyranus's Fury
We'll see how Mace Windu's Lightsaber (A) turns out.Still a Good SetNow, just because I recommend a public embargo on those cards, doesn't mean the rest of the set is somehow noobish mistakes as well. Their not. In fact, there are a lot of masterful ideas in this set that I look forward to testing out. But these cards are going to dominate the meta and some make older cards forever obsolete that shouldn't be made obsolete.

by Corjay

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have adjusted my thinking regarding The Coming Storm since I originally posted this, and the only two cards I find ridiculously powerful are Flalios (A) and General Grievous (E). The rest I just see as powerful cards that the less mechanically-inclined, so-to-speak, post in dreamcard contests, or in other words: noobish. The Gunship issue, while the cards causing it are noobish, my major issue is that it squashed my hopes of being able to play the classic Forward Command Center/Republic Attack Gunship combo.

Unknown said...

ya the new sets should make the old ones playadble, send me a new draft and I will update the post

Anonymous said...

Just take the part regarding The Coming Storm out.

Anonymous said...

Corjay has also recanted his statement on the embargo in general. He still feels that Flalios (A) and General Greivous (E) are broken, though.

Anonymous said...

Correction. I feel that Grievous is broken and the it's likely, but not certain, that Flalios might be broken. Flalios may simply be vital to the success of the Gladiator deck without completely dominating the meta.

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