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Messages - Kharhaz

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1
General Discussion / Re: Pillar of Righteous Flame - Discussion
« on: November 21, 2019, 07:46:02 AM »
Pillar has two things going for it.
A) It is an epic card, which is a trait that does have some weight as to the math that goes into it
B) It is a skill card

Mage Wars has two aspects to it, the building component and the gameplay component.

From a spellbook building component? Yes it is an easy choice for holy mages and 9 out of 10 times a solid choice for everyone else, even at 6 spellbook points for the three dark mages, as an ace up your sleeve, tempo zone lockdown card.

Like a few other spells, the potency of Pillar is something that is determined by external factors, most importantly the timing, and cannot be the solo determiner of it's costs. The same argument of "imbalance" could be made for all the timing/skill cards like reverse attack, eye for an eye, mind control, and divine intervention.

Knabbmaster has a great breakdown of comparing the cost of attack spells and pillar (plus teleport/push costs) which is a very good light to look at it in a spellbook building perspective, but doesn't translate perfectly either into a gameplay aspect. He is 100% right that it can be a very big, EPIC, tempo card that can go along way and, more important than anything, is readily available to all mages regardless of training. Epic spells that are not powerful is just bad design. Mediocre Epic spells do not make for fun gameplay. I, personally, would not call it "OP" by any means.

For the push/wave argument, may I introduce you to [mwcard=MWSTX2FFW01]Wall of Earth[/mwcard] for the low, low cost of 5 mana.

And I am still trying to wrap my head around a situation where 4 skeletal sentries and 3 skeletal knights have not already won the game, that's ~27 dice a round; not to mention [mwcard=DNI05]Unholy Resurgence[/mwcard] means some of that skeletal army may survive. Regardless, you are using an extreme example, which shows the potency of two skill cards at work might I add. Should force wave be epic and cost ~9-12 because it CAN be such a huge swing? 

Also keep in mind a few things about pillar that I see a few people get confused on:

It is a ranged attack, not a zone attack: Defenses, like [mwcard=MW1E17]Force Orb[/mwcard] or [mwcard=MW1E07]Cobra Reflexes[/mwcard], and Intercept can force the Pillar to miss a creature.

Creatures summoned into the zone do not get attacked by the pillar as they are not "entering the zone" as stated in the FAQ:
"Entering a Zone A creature only “enters” a zone if it moves there using a move action, or is Pushed or Teleported.  Being Summoned or otherwise put into play in that zone does not count as “entering” the zone.  Thus, traps and spells like Mangler Caltrops are not triggered when a creature is Summoned. "

and last but definitely the least important, and has never come up in a game of MW ever, Pillar cannot target a creature that is currently invisible.

If anything, more, epic/mage only, spells need to use Pillar as the bar.

2
Rules Discussion / Re: Damage to Swarm Creature between attacks
« on: June 08, 2019, 08:10:53 PM »

Well, redirect is a defence and so takes place in step 4, before the additional attacks step. This would cause damage and reduce the overall number of attacks by the swarm.

Eye for an Eye would also deal damage to the swarm before the additional attacks step. But I am unsure whether it is direct damage (and thus would deal full damage to the swarm) or counts as an attack (and thus would only deal a maximum of 1 damage).

Eye for an eye is not an attack. You do not do any other step; the attacker just receives the same damage and effect that the defender took.

3
Spells / Re: The Embalmed
« on: April 12, 2019, 03:44:15 PM »
I thought I posted a reply; weird


The copying happens in Step 2 of casting a spell. When the additional cost is paid, the embalmed spell becomes a copy of the creature selected.

So when you Eternal Servant the mummy bobcat, it will reanimate that bobcat and not the embalmed.

On summon effects happen the creature spell resolves and so they happen after step 4, which is why a mummy messenger's effect still happens.

Also the creatures school get's copied over. So a mummy messenger is holy. If that mummy messenger is destroyed, the creature does not change back to the embalmed. It would still count as a holy creature for triggering Gloranna's holy water sprinkler effect for example.

4
Spells / Re: The Embalmed
« on: April 12, 2019, 12:17:09 AM »
So during playtesting my favorite creature to embalm was the Affliction Demon.

Since it is nonliving the weak tokens fall off and he is primed at 5 dice out of the gate.

5
General Discussion / Re: Gen Con Academy pre releases
« on: January 10, 2019, 09:21:46 AM »

Objects on the board are no longer spells.

This

Object (Game Term)
Enchantments, equipment, creatures, and conjurations are spells which become objects in the game, remaining in play after they are cast. The mage is also considered an object. Incantation and attack spells do not become objects.

6
Rules Discussion / Re: Dragon's Breath target options
« on: January 09, 2019, 12:16:27 PM »
Can Dragon's Breath make 90 degree turn? I thought that one zone away would follow same rules as push's 'away'.

Yes it can.

X | Y | D
A | B | C

If the mage is casting it at a creature in zone X, for example, then all of the conditions are true for the second attack to hit a creature in zone Y.

Is the new target in an adjacent zone?
Is the new target 1 zone farther away?
Are both the targets within range of the spell?

7
Rules Discussion / Re: Is Gate to Hell a Zone Attack?
« on: January 05, 2019, 10:18:38 PM »
My understanding of Gate to Hell from previous discussions (years ago) was that the Gate had to have a line of sight to each creature being attacked, since that is part of declaring an attack.

Was that interpretation changed when GtH went from range = 2 zones to Arena-wide?

It was.

The FAQ states that it is a special attack that does not require LoS

8
Rules Discussion / Re: Is Gate to Hell a Zone Attack?
« on: January 05, 2019, 10:00:52 PM »
Hooray! Another Swarm loophole.  The way Gate is written is that it is an un-targeted attack against all creatures. Therefore it hits all creatures, but I would say that the way the Swarm trait is written (RAW) it only does a maximum of one damage to them. I would love to be wrong about this.

Technically, there is no RAW for Swarms in Arena, so I guess it's up to Arena players to agree on rules for Academy for each of the new keywords and traits (e.g. Frost, Defrost, Swarm, Potion equipment, Breeches equipment).

First, the Academy rules are RAW for Arena. No need to spread misinformation.


Secondly, Gate to Hell, as Puddin pointed out, is an attack that is untyped. It has no symbol to determine the type of attack that it is (ranged, melee, or zone) so creatures with the swarm trait will recieve 1 damage as the G2H is not a zone attack.
I'm fine with your Gate to Hell interpretation, but I don't agree with your point about Academy rules as RAW for Arena. I agree with iNano on this point.

Do you have an official source as reference for your statement? This would help clarify several areas that currently are left to players to decide relative to differences in the rules. For example, if what you say is true, then the Pest trait in the 4th edition rulebook of Arena should be changed to the Academy version and included in the Codex and Rules Supplement.

I understand the position that AW has about Academy cards being compatible with Arena but to me this is different from saying all Academy rules are RAW for Arena. If that were the case, then we would need to remove the Planning Phase from Arena games to reflect Academy RAW.

A more concise integration of the product lines from a rules/supplement/card effects point of view would help all players and play testers.


Core Academy rules cleary states that the cards can be used for Arena. That would also include the text of the cards and their abilities.


You can make an argument that Academy pest is a different ability than Arena pest and Academy cards with Pest use the Academy version of pest, but you can't say that traits don't carry over; they cleary do infact.

9
Rules Discussion / Re: Is Gate to Hell a Zone Attack?
« on: January 04, 2019, 06:30:44 PM »
Hooray! Another Swarm loophole.  The way Gate is written is that it is an un-targeted attack against all creatures. Therefore it hits all creatures, but I would say that the way the Swarm trait is written (RAW) it only does a maximum of one damage to them. I would love to be wrong about this.

Technically, there is no RAW for Swarms in Arena, so I guess it's up to Arena players to agree on rules for Academy for each of the new keywords and traits (e.g. Frost, Defrost, Swarm, Potion equipment, Breeches equipment).

First, the Academy rules are RAW for Arena. No need to spread misinformation.


Secondly, Gate to Hell, as Puddin pointed out, is an attack that is untyped. It has no symbol to determine the type of attack that it is (ranged, melee, or zone) so creatures with the swarm trait will recieve 1 damage as the G2H is not a zone attack.



10
Rules Discussion / Re: Dragon's Breath target options
« on: December 23, 2018, 10:05:28 AM »
My bad DaveW, I was focused on the LoS blocking bit at the end.


Apologies for resurrecting the thread, but the previous discussion may be helpful in considering my follow-up:

Assume that the caster of Dragon's Breath is in the near center (B2), and that there is a valid target in D2, and another in D3 (i.e. both D2 and D3 are in LoS and have a creature or conjuration in each). Also assume that there is a wall between D2 and D3.

May Dragon's Breath make its attack against the target in D2, and then bypass the wall between D2 and D3 to attack the target in D3? (RAW it seems so... the second target is one zone farther away... but you would think that the wall might "get in the way" of the breath.)

Does it matter what the wall's characteristics (blocks LoS, passage attacks, blocks passage) are in this particular case? I would not think so... which again makes me wonder about how the breath would bypass a steel wall to get behind it and attack the second target.... (It feels like another magical Tsunami effect, flowing over the wall, which still makes no sense to me.)

In your example, D2 and D3 are both legal targets from B3, so the LoS block between D2 and D3 doesn't matter.

Chain Lighting is similar, but the wording on CL is that the source changes, so LoS is drawn from the creature just damaged by CL, not the mage. Dragon's Breath states that it functions like a sweeping attack, and the source doesn't change, so it is always the mage.

If it helps the flame blast is a huge fire blast that hits two zones and not a fire spell that bounces from target to target, that's the idea they were going for.

For clarification, Tsunami gets around walls by never having to target a zone after the first one, the effect just happens and resolves.



11
Rules Discussion / Re: Dragon's Breath target options
« on: December 22, 2018, 12:06:10 PM »
You have to check LoS when you check range, when making an attack or casting a spell. If you do not have LoS then that target is not a legal target of the attack / spell

I thought it was "You have to check LoS when you TARGET something for an attack or spell casting."

i.e. Calculating range does not require a LoS, but targeting an object does.

That is the nuisance we have been using in our games.

Any and everytime you count range, LoS is also checked.

From page 17 of the Core rules:

LINE OF SIGHT

In order to cast a spell or make a ranged attack
against a target, you must have a clear “line of sight”
(called “LoS” for short). Normally, a creature has LoS
to the entire game board, even into zones that are
out of range. But, some walls block LoS. You cannot
cast a spell or make a ranged attack through a wall
that blocks LoS.

When you count range to your target, you must also
check if you have clear line of sight (LoS). Draw an
imaginary straight line from the center of the attacker’s
or caster’s zone to the center of the target’s zone. LoS
is blocked if the line crosses through a zone border
that has a wall on it with the blocks LoS trait. Walls do
not normally block LoS if the line crosses diagonally
through the corner of a wall border, as long as at least
one side of that corner does not block LoS. When
drawing LoS to a wall, draw it to the center of the
zone border.




12
Rules Discussion / Re: Dragon's Breath target options
« on: December 22, 2018, 11:13:11 AM »
Apologies for resurrecting the thread, but the previous discussion may be helpful in considering my follow-up:

Assume that the caster of Dragon's Breath is in the near center (B2), and that there is a valid target in D2, and another in D3 (i.e. both D2 and D3 are in LoS and have a creature or conjuration in each). Also assume that there is a wall between D2 and D3.

May Dragon's Breath make its attack against the target in D2, and then bypass the wall between D2 and D3 to attack the target in D3? (RAW it seems so... the second target is one zone farther away... but you would think that the wall might "get in the way" of the breath.)

Does it matter what the wall's characteristics (blocks LoS, passage attacks, blocks passage) are in this particular case? I would not think so... which again makes me wonder about how the breath would bypass a steel wall to get behind it and attack the second target....

When you go through the process:

Is it in an adjacent zone?
is it exactly 1 zone further away?
are both targets (first and second) in range?


You have to check LoS when you check range, when making an attack or casting a spell. If you do not have LoS then that target is not a legal target of the attack / spell




13
Spells / Re: A little love for the Swamp
« on: December 13, 2018, 04:52:11 PM »
Sorry DaveW for not addressing that concern. Basically it's a question of when do you check for the slow trait ending the creature's action. I don't think it's made it into the supplement, but the decision is at the end of the move action. That way if something gains slow mid move it still affects them, as opposed to checking when they begin their move action.

Another option would be a constant check, but that doesn't feel right for cases in which it is removed mid move. For example, you start your move action, and your opponent reveals Enfeeble. Well, now you're slowed. You then reveal Cheetah Speed. That cancels it out and you're not slowed. By the time you end your movement, should you have lost your quick action due to being Slowed for just a microsecond? No. That would defeat the entire point of the counterplay.

So, bringing that in to the situation of leaving the Swamp, you lose the slow trait before ending your movement. Thus it doesn't negatively affect you.


I don't disagree with logic, but the wording of takes leads me to think that the slow "effect" is present when you TAKE that action, regardless of whether or not the condition remains at the end of the move action, and at any time during that action.

In your example, you have the opportunity to reveal the speed before the slow resolved. Split second slowing is nothing new. You can Enchantment Transfusion an enfeeble for a "microsecond" slow.

I always understood it as the difference between takes and action vs took an action. Mid-move is taking an action whereas if it said took a move action then it would only check at the end of the action.



14
Spells / Re: A little love for the Swamp
« on: December 13, 2018, 09:24:34 AM »
Perfect explanation from iNano78.

Except that my confusion is on what happens when a creature leaves the swamp... not enters it.

EDIT: To make it more clear... my question revolves around the "loss" of Slow upon exiting the Swamp. The Creature then is considered "normal" (i.e. no longer slowed)... so could it then take a second move or attack, etc. in the new zone?

From the slow condition:

"If this creature takes a move action, its
Action Phase immediately ends. It does not get to take a quick action
after moving."

So if you take a move action while you have the slow condition, that action ends immediatley after the move action.

15
Rules Discussion / Re: force pull through Mind's eye
« on: November 28, 2018, 07:46:18 PM »
Slightly more frivolously, it could be construed that "her" is a very unclear term in that it could be referring to any "her" in the arena.

Since pronouns replace nouns in context, and since the only "her" mentioned in the context of the Force Pull ability, this "her" must be the Forcemaster. It cannot be a reference to any other creature... even another female FM.

While I cannot say with 100% certainty, pronouns such as his, her, himself, and son on, mean "controlling mage".

So force pull is designed to force a target, "to the controlling mage" and life link places that damage on the "controlling mage".

O how I miss the good old days where we thought that Warlords sweeping themselves was the strangest rule issue....

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