And as with the above, the changes continue to flow.
The following was shared with the community today:
WizKids has been busy with the rules updates, and these all seem to be having an impact. This one will change how Rally has been used, among many other things, since Rally can no longer target just-used sidekicks. That makes it still good, but far more situational than it was.
This also makes it easier to deck yourself if you become too overzealous with various churn options and will also have an impact on the order of operations used for the Professor X global in the Uncanny set.
FAQ Updates
WizKids also offered the second update to the FAQ in just a few weeks. It answers just two questions - one regarding Teamwork and the other about an interaction between two cards from Uncanny.
For the first, Teamwork has been confirmed to act the way that we all probably hoped that it did rather than the way that we feared it did. This action only cares about unique characters that are fielded, so four Black Widows doesn't mean that they all get +3/+3.
The second informs us that Storm: Weather Witch's global doesn't impact the Imprisoned basic action because the word "target" isn't used on Imprisoned. This is good to know and is a preemptive step, but I can't imagine that this has been frequently asked anywhere yet - except perhaps for the WizKids Open!
Taking Shape
In general, it's very heartening to see the clarity and tweaks that we've been wondering about for some time start to appear.
The updates are definitely helping to make the game a much more cohesive whole than what we've seen so far. I'd still like to see more questions that are actually frequently asked make it into the FAQ, but the frequency of updates does seem to be increasing as well.
And we have a whole lot of character to talk about, too! More of that is coming this week both in article form as well as the podcast. As this game continues to evolve, keep it here and let's do the evolution.
these rule changes make me sad. They seem unnecessary and make the game more complicated. A lot of dice are impacted negatively and become less fun to play. Here is some of the list: Rally, Captain America - American Hero, Gearing Up, Hulk - Annihihlater, Green Goblin - Norman Osborn, Ghost Rider - Brimstone Biker. Most of these (and more from Uncanny) didn't deserve this nerf.
ReplyDeleteIm also really surprised about this too. Im almost certain this rule was in early stages of the game's design because it is the "spent pile" in Quarriors by the same designers. I imagine they took it out to streamline the rules and increase the freedom of dice interactions. To which I approve this decision. Im really wondering why they felt they needed to throw it back in.
If this is in response to rally then make more cards that are anti sidekicks. I personally don't have a problem with it especially as a shared basic action die. I have a bigger issue with beast 666 walls than sidekicks.
Brimstone Biker didn't get any less fun for me - you can still buy a die, field Brimstone and move that right to prep. Purchased dice are immediately in used. It's funny that you mention Captain America: American Hero because the spirit of the used pile ruling is right there on the card - the fact that you can't roll the die used to field Cap. I agree that Annihilator got weaker, (and that he is also a really fun Hulk to play) but with the Prof X global he got a lot stronger so maybe it's even. I honestly can't see how this hurts Norman Osborne in the slightest - maybe I'm missing something.
DeleteThe ruling on spent dice actually makes it a somewhat good thing to have a bunch of dice in your used pile. This was not the case previously. It's also more strategic that the easier it is to manage your bag draws, the harder it is to manage and get value out of your used pile. And vice versa. In addition, I like how your dice bag has a "life" and you can't just go nuts cycling through with Gambits and Gearing ups like you used to. If you want to cycle longer, buy more dice! I like the fact that different play styles are being supported rather than such a one-track meta like we had before. These changes, along with cards like uncommon Cerebro have created a perfectly viable and consistent Gobby counter to the point that he's no longer the auto-build he once was. Or maybe I'm just wishfully thinking here.
Nevertheless, in addition to Rally!, I suspect the main reason they wanted to clarify the used pile was they realized the Pyro: Uncontrollable was truly out of control and the Prof. X global needed to be clarified.
I strongly disagree with the concept of responding to a broken (previously) card like Rally! with another equally broken card. That is exactly how power creep occurs, and I am glad that we're not really seeing it so early on the Dicemasters lifecycle.
Dave - totally agree on Teamwork - glad to see it put to right.
On NOGG, oh yeah - I guess it's a tad more difficult to pay for something, field NOGG then immediately roll the 2 SKs you just paid. Oh well. The global is my fave part of that card and that still works as advertised.
DeleteJust to Clarify:
ReplyDeleteBrimstone Biker now can't bring back actions used that turn such as power bolt.
When NOGG is drawn with an empty used pile. He basically has no field ability.
I was excited to use Angel - Air Transport but im a lot less now
Also I wasn't hinting to power creep as a solution, rather designing cards that target strategy to keep things balanced. As an example, Doctor Doom - Reed's Rival as a significant tool against Sidekicks now with Prof X global has a good place in a meta but not inherently creating its own archetype.
I reserve judgement on pyro until seen him played, but he does seem to need a fair bit of set up and luck to pull off big. So overall Im quite disappointed by this change to come out so early in the game's infancy that nerfs a lot of cool interactions and makes the game more complex.