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Author Topic: ACG's Custom Spells and Mages  (Read 344432 times)

DeckBuilder

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Re: ACG's Custom Spells and Mages
« Reply #15 on: October 13, 2013, 11:46:03 AM »
This shows outstanding creativity, ACG. Here's my feedback on the rest.

Dreamcatcher. Nice title and idea but I don't think it will see competitive play, even with Lotus. Problem is Sleep is psychic so situational, Idol of Pestilence hurts Sleep etc. Situational augmenting benefits are always suspect as they are "win more". If you have Sleep on so many enemies, you don't need the extra Channelling. It may be useful in some niche match-ups where both players use Sleep effects. Also, what is the Dreamcatcher? Why is it flammable? Keeping to the card title, the Forcemaster really needs extra creature actions to time her attacks so I think this card will be very useful if it said "Zone Exclusive. Unique. You control all opponent's creatures with Sleep markers instead of that opponent". I appreciate Nightmare below is "in the same set" but +X Channelling is a bit vanilla in comparison.

Phase Barrier. I'm having trouble visualising what this Burnproof Acid Immune Force barrier is. Preventing damage out-of-turn during Damage and Effects step breaks the structure of the game (not even enchantments can do this). I also think you could create something more unique than a simple physical Force Wall by making it an Illusion. "Phantasmal Veil: Illusion Wall. Mind 1. Cost 4. No Access. No LOS. Extendable. Incorporeal. 1 Life. Once per round, before a friendly Action phase, Phantasmal Veil may lose its No Access and No LOS traits until the end of that round. Flip its Ready marker to Used to indicate this use." This retains your one-way accessibility concept whilst retaining the game adherence (so far) that walls apply to all players (here you only control when you open the wall to everyone).

I have considered a hard counter enchantment: "Counter Spell, Arcane 1, cost 2+X, reveal to counter attack spell or incantation of printed cost X targeting only this object". I also considered the hypothetical Endow keyword: "Pay 2 mana once before Damage and Effects to gain either 1 extra die or +2 on the effect die for that attack". Or alternatively the Stalwart keyword: "Pay 2 mana once before Avoid Attacks to gain either +2 armour or +2 on your defence roll for that attack". These are all uses of mana as temporary buffs or as a straight counter (with a 2 mana premium). The problem with phase barrier's mechanic is that it pumps life upon seeing an opponent's dice roll. There's currently no window for this, even enchantments can only be triggered between attack steps, not during. I also suspect the designers do not want to turn the game into an economic efficiency-based Eurogame where mana is the bidding currency for temporary benefits.

Green Slime. Nice idea of a self-replicating weenie! I think it's bit too weak a threat. For those stats, I'd add Flame +2 (traditionally use fire vs. Green Slime), Poison Attack (only affects living), Rot 11+ Devour (it turned you into Green Slime) and text: "Can only cast Green Slime spells. Cantrip while no other Green Slime is in its zone. Gain +1 attack for each adjacent zone with a friendly Green Slime. If Green Slime Devours a creature, it gains a Growth token" (Innate Life trumps Nonliving Finite Life). You differentiate it from Jelly (Jelly is acidic, Slime is more limited poison), encourage it to spread out across the arena and it can be vicious (6 dice Rot 7+ if victim is teleported into the centre of a 5 zone cross of 5 Slime). This may seem powerful but is so slow to set up and as Slow Full Action Attack, they are a specialist threat. This is why Jelly is so good as its utility is crippled by Slow Nonliving Full Action Attack.

Nightmare. Another really nice idea but I think this is too powerful as is. Firstly it needs Nonliving and all Incorporeal creatures so far have Upkeep +1. I also don't think it needs its "does not wake target" text. Attack on Sleeper is 3 dice critical with Sleep 7+ so has 50% chance of waking target (far more exciting). I'd add text "Mages suffer Daze instead of Sleep". Fast Flying makes it too much a creature assassin so I'd lose both, instead add text "when activated, pay 1 to teleport to any zone with a Sleep marker" as it interacts with any mage's Sleep effects. I like hybrid schools. I often feel mage books build themselves because spells are mainly in 1 school, like playing mono-colour in Magic, except you have to splash for essentials. However hybrid makes a card more expensive usually (Lord of Fire fits Warlock training perfectly). I always felt Bridge Trolls should have been just Nature 1 War 1 to be more played. So after nerfing the card above, I'd probably reduce it to Mind 1 Dark 1 (so costs Mind or Dark mages 3 points, rest 4 points).

I always wished the Forcemaster had this level 1 Mind creature: "Mind Worm: pest, psychic quick action melee attack 0 dice no damage unavoidable Taint 4+". This has your same idea of feeding on Sleeping victims without waking them while also potentially useful against other living creatures including mages,

Shadow. Yet another clever idea, using the Guard marker as a Banish 1 round (an Invisible guard cannot guard) to pump a Fast Elusive strike. It's like the "every other turn" more powerful attack of monster strikers in D&D 4E. I've only a few minor quibbles. It needs Nonliving, all Incorporeal creatures so far have Upkeep +1, the D&D Shadow sapped strength so Weak 9+ makes sense, Devour as D&D Shadows permanently killed victims and Light +2 extra vulnerability. I would consider the extra text "when Shadow devours a living creature, you may pay mana = 9 minus the creature level devoured to summon another Shadow in its zone from your spellbook". This creates the "devour to multiply" mechanic in line with our D&D expectations. Shadow is a Spirit cousin of Gray Wraith, just more of a pouncing assassin.

Spatial Disjunction. Lovely idea, all smoke and mirrors, no damage, befitting an arcane trickster. However, it is far too powerful. No need to create a Blink keyword, just replace with Push (lower cost to 2+4 magebind 2). Explaining why Blink teleport 2 is too powerful is another subject altogether. Make it a random direction like Repulse. Call it a "Circle of Repulsion" or similar instead. I really love the flavour text!

Haunted. I like all the concepts behind it, the creature paying for that murder by being harassed by spirits with haste. Obviously it needs Spirit support (like Shadow, Nightmare etc). It can be used with friendly creatures to create a walking spawnpoint like the Tome (except a cantrip crucially) and Warlock can collect both it (cantrip) and another curse via curseweaving. No quibbles here, just needs Spirit support, perhaps for any future Witch.

Murkh's Belt. I've long advocated a similar upkeep enchantments mechanic to encourage the Warlord to use Commands, not persistent enchantments. This is a far better idea than my over-powerful Epic conjuration. I think you overpriced it, 6 cost and War 2 would be fine for an in-zone only effect. The Warlord needs all the help he can get.

Rally. Yet another improvement on a mechanic I proposed (mine was an Epic enchantment like Divine Intervention to teleport any creature to Warlord's side, adding a Guard marker on it). I like how LOS is not needed as this encourages Warlord to use earth walls. This is really powerful so must be a full action, not a QC. It's so powerful that I would add "No more than 1 creature from each zone" so as to encourage prior territory gain. Also, as an Epic spell, I would call it something more grandiose like "Summon the Horde!" Nice spell if nerfed slightly!

Magic Bottle. Nice idea (as always). However, creating this quick cast summon mechanic may "let the genie out of the bottle" so to speak. I am not comfortable with this as it could make future creatures with coming into play effects too powerful if summoned via a quick action. However, you are spending a quick action preparing it (or Battle Forge) so it is a combo prep for action burst mechanic, like Enchantment Transfusion. So maybe it would do the game good to have more combo enablers. Out of all your ideas, this has the greatest possibility for abuse. I'm comfortable with potions not using up an item slot (the "only one" rule prevents abuse). I'm not so comfortable that dissolving it after it has 3 mana can trigger its summon. I would nerf the text to "You may bind any non-Epic creature from a trained School to the Magic Bottle. When Magic Bottle has at least 3 mana on it, you may destroy it as a quick action to summon the bound creature in your zone." This means Dissolve effects (Orchid) can still destroy the Bottle without letting out the creature otherwise there is an unstoppable inevitability of it just like with Enchantment Transfusion and current "move to counter targeting" FAQ rule. I limited it to trained School creatures so that Air Wizard can have classic Whirling Spirit, Beastmaster can bind a Grizzly into it etc. This is the one card here that could be a great combo enabler but needs thorough testing and by limiting the quick action to in-school creatures, we are retaining the mage's theme and limiting possible future abuse.

Anyway, you asked for feedback. I hope you don't mind the minor criticisms as I've been mostly highly positive, and it's only one person's opinion. What's important is you impress the design team with your undoubted creativity and ability to translate fantasy tropes into game mechanics. I hope they take you on as a Playtester as you've got a flair for (a) great mechanics innovation and (b) theme, including flavour text. A perfect combination, ACG!
« Last Edit: October 13, 2013, 06:58:49 PM by DeckBuilder »
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Re: ACG's Custom Spells and Mages
« Reply #16 on: October 13, 2013, 12:39:10 PM »
You've just recently added a new one whilst I was typing the above!

Simulacrum. I fear this was a rush job. It is far too powerful. There is no drawback to Mind Tokens really, just an extra spell you can cast. So let's put some limitations on this Simulacrum. I'd word this different. "He may cast any quick action spells. Each time he casts a spell, you lose life equal to the spell level cast." He has no channelling and no upkeep. For that cost 8, I'd make him Mind 1 Dark 1 (especially as not Unique) and 9 life (like a cat). But I'd also add "Regenerate 2: During upkeep, if Simulacrum has damage, mage loses 1 life". Here the shortening of your life theme (far worse than damage) is being emphasised. Multiple simulacrums (of this nerfed variant) give you a cheap half-decent body (compared to other familiars) with spell casting flexibility - but at a price! The restriction on no full actions removes creature casting and powerful attack and incantations. Obviously he is not a mage so any Equipment he casts will be range 2 on a mage.

I appreciate this deviates a bit from your concept (flavour text reminiscent of that great film The Prestige) but by adding this soul-leeching side to it (hence Dark), I think it adds more than it takes away. Currently, this card is just too amazingly good.

I can't get over how innovative and clever your mechanics are. And the flavour text demonstrating the concept so well. Wow.

« Last Edit: October 13, 2013, 07:21:10 PM by DeckBuilder »
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Re: ACG's Custom Spells and Mages
« Reply #17 on: October 13, 2013, 07:53:33 PM »
Wow, that's a lot of feedback. Thanks for such detailed comments!

I don't have time to respond to all of that immediately, so I'll just focus on Simulacrum and Spatial Disjunction for now. Here is a modified Simulacrum incorporating some of your suggestions:



I kept the upkeep/channeling because it was a mechanic that I wanted to implement (one of the inspirations for the Simulacrum). The regenerate/life drain is a good idea, but I made the life drain always trigger so that it was more of a drawback. I am still debating whether to make it part dark. Also, note that the type is now "homunculus," because that seems more fitting.

Regarding Spatial Disjunction, I want to keep the teleport effect. What if instead I just nerf Blink? For instance:

Blink X - This creature is randomly teleported X many times. Each time it is teleported, roll the D12 to determine a direction at random. If there is an adjacent zone in that direction into which the creature may legally teleport, it teleports to that zone. If not, the Blink fails and any remaining teleports from this blink are cancelled.

This is more in line with how blink works in many roguelikes anyway. And, it also lets me do this:



Will respond to other comments when I have more time. Thanks again for all the comments!

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Re: ACG's Custom Spells and Mages
« Reply #18 on: October 13, 2013, 08:32:31 PM »
Telportitis made me laugh! Very useful curse! Blink as a random direction also solves the Spatial Disjunction issue as well, makes it less powerful than Push. Blink 2 may return to where you started or move it diagonally etc. It's the Chaos Sorceror all over again! Like.

Simulacrum is definitely neater without Mind tokens. Homunculus is definitely the right creature type, because it is a Living Construct! Why Psychic Immunity? It's not Poison Immune as it's got blood. Surely it has got a mind? It has its dreams, poor thing... My only reservation is "any spell". Ability to cast a future combo of full action incantations (above level 2) seems potentially abusable. Still, the life -1 transference as well as 3 mana transference makes it steep price to pay.

I'm going to challenge you to create 2 cards to cleverly leverage the Ape's underused traits: Rage and Climbing.

I am thinking of a Resilient or Incorporeal creature with Rage that Taunts its victim. As for Climbing, I am thinking of a Teleport to any zone bordered by a wall when using full action Climb. But I'm sure you will come up with better ideas with proper flavour to fit mechanics. That's the part I have trouble with. I lack the imagination to fit clever mechanics into a recognisable entity, a talent you have.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2013, 08:39:03 PM by DeckBuilder »
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Re: ACG's Custom Spells and Mages
« Reply #19 on: October 13, 2013, 11:28:13 PM »
Okay, I like challenges!

Here's a card to make Climbing more useful:


It's a useful place for a nature mage to turtle while building up strength. I wasn't really sure how to price it.

(Edit: cleared up some issues with the card)

Next, here's a card to make Rage a more interesting mechanic, and also buff existing creatures with Rage.


It can be used on a normal grunt, but on a creature that has rage it is especially useful as you can stockpile rage counters for multi-attack rampages. I don't know if it is too powerful; I suppose that is what playtesting is for. Certainly counterstrikers and damage barrier aficionados need to be careful. Note that Rage only affects the first attack per round, so the extra attack(s) have only the normal amount of dice.

(Edit: altered effect of card to make it more interesting/thematic)

Finally, I updated Shadow. Your suggestion of Light vulnerability makes a lot of sense; I also buffed its attack a little by adding piercing. I don't want to add a weak effect, mostly to avoid overlap with the Wraith. I also changed the image so the shadow is harder to see. It doesn't need text specifying nonliving, because the incorporeal trait includes the nonliving trait by default. It isn't really intended to mimic D&D shadows in particular, so I don't feel too bad about leaving out certain details.

« Last Edit: October 14, 2013, 07:43:01 AM by ACG »

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Re: ACG's Custom Spells and Mages
« Reply #20 on: October 14, 2013, 06:07:51 PM »
Some new ideas:






Also, an update of Murkh's Belt (just a price change, and some flavor text modification)



Regarding Green Slime (@DeckBuilder):

I suppose it is kind of weak. I was thinking that the difficulty of eliminating them might make up for their stats, but Slow/Full Attack may be more of a disadvantage than I anticipated. Your proposal for the modified cantrip trait does seem more elegant. Flame +2 and Rot seem like more good ideas. I will think more about the revision.
« Last Edit: October 14, 2013, 06:17:35 PM by ACG »

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Re: ACG's Custom Spells and Mages
« Reply #21 on: October 14, 2013, 07:38:39 PM »
Climbing. You have a really nice idea combining Climbing and Trees here. But the card is horribly over-costed. Here is my counter-idea, completely inspired by your idea of Climbing Trees.

"Tree Sanctuary". Cost 9. Tree Plant Conjuration. Nature 1 Arcane 1. Armour 1 Life 8. Living. Flame +2. Hydro Immunity. Regeneration 2. Epic. Zone Exclusive. Your creatures with Climbing gain Flying while in a zone with a controlled Tree. As a full action, your mage may pay 3 mana to Teleport from this Tree to any other controlled Tree or vice versa.

Yes, a mage with Eagleclaw Boots can Fly (destroy the Tree if you can't Dissolve the Boots or Push him out the zone, it's not unbreakable). Slam loses Flying and Restrain obviously prevents Flying. Tree Walk is the classic Dryad magic, hopefully not too broken as a full action. There must be other creatures with Climbing (e.g. Poison Ivy, a slow climbing poisonous vine creature). Anyway, I think your idea of linking Climbing and Tree is very nice.

Rage. I like your Berserker Frenzy but after nerfing Battle Fury, I think multiple attacks rampage (no limit) is far too open to abuse. Any new attack still qualifies for Rage bonus (like with Battle Fury). As well as Bear Strength, Vampirism etc. The more elegantly simpler text that is less open to abuse would be "Gain Rage +1, Bloodthirsty +0 and Counterstrike. Treat friendly non-mage creatures as an enemy." Rage + Counterstrike is a huge combo, especially with Growth around, so leveraging the fantasy trope of Barabarian Berserker attacking its own allies makes sense. Perhaps make it cheaper 2+3 due to this drawback.

Shadow. Yes this is great. A sneaky assassin, not very powerful but very flavoursome and also different to the Wraith. I also like the darker image but how about just a black square? (Post-ironic humour.)


I was wondering about some of your really good flavour text. Is that how you come up with ideas? Sometimes, like with the Simulacrum or Spatial Disjunction, the flavour text seems the germ for the idea. If this is the case, then here is a flavour text famous saying to inspire you: "You are what you eat".
« Last Edit: October 15, 2013, 03:30:21 AM by DeckBuilder »
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Re: ACG's Custom Spells and Mages
« Reply #22 on: October 15, 2013, 03:43:47 AM »
Murkh's Belt. Just realised that this does not work with hidden enchantments as how do we know if it is non-War? It needs "revealed" in the text which then takes away its potency. To compensate, I would add "non-War enchantments cost 2 more mana to reveal in its zone." My only reservation is mana denial is not very Warlord.
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Re: ACG's Custom Spells and Mages
« Reply #23 on: October 15, 2013, 06:22:35 AM »
Quote
Rage. I like your Berserker Frenzy but after nerfing Battle Fury, I think multiple attacks rampage (no limit) is far too open to abuse. Any new attack still qualifies for Rage bonus (like with Battle Fury). As well as Bear Strength, Vampirism etc. The more elegantly simpler text that is less open to abuse would be "Gain Rage +1, Bloodthirsty +0 and Counterstrike. Treat friendly non-mage creatures as an enemy." Rage + Counterstrike is a huge combo, especially with Growth around, so leveraging the fantasy trope of Barabarian Berserker attacking its own allies makes sense. Perhaps make it cheaper 2+3 due to this drawback.

Okay. Given that Battle fury was errata'd, maybe that sort of effect should be avoided without some sort of counterbalancing penalty (I was thinking maybe taking additional non-enraging damage for each additional strike, but actually there may be a better way). Your proposed fix sounds like a different sort of spell altogether (something that might be used as a quasi-curse); maybe call it "bloodrage" or "confusion". Here is a counter-proposal for a change: limit the number of additional strikes to 1 but allow the player to boost the strength of the second strike. Also, new attacks do not qualify for the rage bonus, because rage gives melee +X, which only applies to the first attack made each round.



I like your Tree Sanctuary idea. Flying is probably a better idea than invisible; it is certainly easier to price.

Quote
Sometimes, like with the Simulacrum or Spatial Disjunction, the flavour text seems the germ for the idea. If this is the case, then here is a flavour text famous saying to inspire you: "You are what you eat".

I don't know if I would say that my ideas come from flavor text; generally they come more from figuring out how to implement interesting combinations of mechanics (e.g. spellbinding creatures = Magic bottle) or figuring out how to implement a fun effect from a different game (e.g. Borgnjor's Revivification = Reanimate Flesh). But here is an idea inspired by that flavor text:



Regarding Murkh's Belt: Currently, enchantments with the Upkeep +X trait are not paid for until they are revealed anyway, so I think it is a moot point. While an enchantment is unrevealed, it has no characteristics, and once it is revealed, you know what it is anyway.

And I agree that mana denial is not really warlord-esque, but he needs something he can use against enchantment heavy builds, given his lack of arcane skills.

Some more responses:

Quote
Dreamcatcher. Nice title and idea but I don't think it will see competitive play, even with Lotus. Problem is Sleep is psychic so situational, Idol of Pestilence hurts Sleep etc. Situational augmenting benefits are always suspect as they are "win more". If you have Sleep on so many enemies, you don't need the extra Channelling. It may be useful in some niche match-ups where both players use Sleep effects. Also, what is the Dreamcatcher? Why is it flammable? Keeping to the card title, the Forcemaster really needs extra creature actions to time her attacks so I think this card will be very useful if it said "Zone Exclusive. Unique. You control all opponent's creatures with Sleep markers instead of that opponent". I appreciate Nightmare below is "in the same set" but +X Channelling is a bit vanilla in comparison.

The ability to control creatures with a sleep marker is another think I have considered, but I think that may be the basis for yet another spell. As you imply, it is hard to keep creatures asleep. So what if this card also made it harder to awaken creatures, such as placing a damage threshold or requiring a d12 roll? You'd still have to make them fall asleep, but they would be less likely to get up.

Quote
Phase Barrier. I'm having trouble visualising what this Burnproof Acid Immune Force barrier is. Preventing damage out-of-turn during Damage and Effects step breaks the structure of the game (not even enchantments can do this). I also think you could create something more unique than a simple physical Force Wall by making it an Illusion. "Phantasmal Veil: Illusion Wall. Mind 1. Cost 4. No Access. No LOS. Extendable. Incorporeal. 1 Life. Once per round, before a friendly Action phase, Phantasmal Veil may lose its No Access and No LOS traits until the end of that round. Flip its Ready marker to Used to indicate this use." This retains your one-way accessibility concept whilst retaining the game adherence (so far) that walls apply to all players (here you only control when you open the wall to everyone).

Thematically, this is a wall of mental force (like forcefield). When attacked, the caster must concentrate to prevent the wall from disintegrating. The caster can phase out the wall to allow a friendly creature to fire through it. Nice idea with the illusion wall, although I'm not sure why it would block access. It does give me an idea for an enchantment that lets you create a secret passage through a wall, though. I will think about possible modifications to this ability to put it more in line with how other timing mechanics work while preserving the flavor.

Quote
Nightmare. Another really nice idea but I think this is too powerful as is. Firstly it needs Nonliving and all Incorporeal creatures so far have Upkeep +1. I also don't think it needs its "does not wake target" text. Attack on Sleeper is 3 dice critical with Sleep 7+ so has 50% chance of waking target (far more exciting). I'd add text "Mages suffer Daze instead of Sleep". Fast Flying makes it too much a creature assassin so I'd lose both, instead add text "when activated, pay 1 to teleport to any zone with a Sleep marker" as it interacts with any mage's Sleep effects. I like hybrid schools. I often feel mage books build themselves because spells are mainly in 1 school, like playing mono-colour in Magic, except you have to splash for essentials. However hybrid makes a card more expensive usually (Lord of Fire fits Warlock training perfectly). I always felt Bridge Trolls should have been just Nature 1 War 1 to be more played. So after nerfing the card above, I'd probably reduce it to Mind 1 Dark 1 (so costs Mind or Dark mages 3 points, rest 4 points).

Good point about the chance of target falling back to sleep; that simplifies  things. Upkeep is probably a good idea too. Fast is unnecessary; the teleport to zone with sleep marker is a better implementation. Flying was intended to aid with survival, but I suppose incorporeal is already pretty good for that.

Quote
Haunted. I like all the concepts behind it, the creature paying for that murder by being harassed by spirits with haste. Obviously it needs Spirit support (like Shadow, Nightmare etc). It can be used with friendly creatures to create a walking spawnpoint like the Tome (except a cantrip crucially) and Warlock can collect both it (cantrip) and another curse via curseweaving. No quibbles here, just needs Spirit support, perhaps for any future Witch.

What opinion do you have about the cost of the card? It is a powerful spawnpoint, but it is also hard to reveal. Wasn't sure how to price it. Should it be cheaper?

Quote
Magic Bottle. Nice idea (as always). However, creating this quick cast summon mechanic may "let the genie out of the bottle" so to speak. I am not comfortable with this as it could make future creatures with coming into play effects too powerful if summoned via a quick action. However, you are spending a quick action preparing it (or Battle Forge) so it is a combo prep for action burst mechanic, like Enchantment Transfusion. So maybe it would do the game good to have more combo enablers. Out of all your ideas, this has the greatest possibility for abuse. I'm comfortable with potions not using up an item slot (the "only one" rule prevents abuse). I'm not so comfortable that dissolving it after it has 3 mana can trigger its summon. I would nerf the text to "You may bind any non-Epic creature from a trained School to the Magic Bottle. When Magic Bottle has at least 3 mana on it, you may destroy it as a quick action to summon the bound creature in your zone." This means Dissolve effects (Orchid) can still destroy the Bottle without letting out the creature otherwise there is an unstoppable inevitability of it just like with Enchantment Transfusion and current "move to counter targeting" FAQ rule. I limited it to trained School creatures so that Air Wizard can have classic Whirling Spirit, Beastmaster can bind a Grizzly into it etc. This is the one card here that could be a great combo enabler but needs thorough testing and by limiting the quick action to in-school creatures, we are retaining the mage's theme and limiting possible future abuse.

You're probably right. I'll make sure the mage has to break the bottle. In school creatures only is an interesting idea, though I'm not sure how to justify it thematically. One idea I was playing around with was letting the mage throw the bottle to summon the creature in an adjacent zone. Thoughts?
« Last Edit: October 15, 2013, 11:40:13 AM by ACG »

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Re: ACG's Custom Spells and Mages
« Reply #24 on: October 15, 2013, 07:59:55 PM »
Illusionist. My favourite mage subclass! You've taken Magic's illusionary mask, morph mechanic and target illusion to reveal as your inspiration. Illusion Creatures is undoubtedly clever (but also perhaps a bit too complex). The problem is Reanimate uses face down cards too. Also some may not like the line of sight to an unknown creature (or bluff). As for Shroud, I think its "first time" rule is unnecessary and too easy to get round.

The problem with the illusionist in Mage Wars is the Wizard is meant to be a trickster as well as a specialist elementalist. Arcane has plenty of trickery like versatile Teleport and Transfusion (as well as magic control). Mind is a schizophrenic school of telepathy (psychic) and telekinesis (force). Arcane grants access to mythological creatures and aberrations while Mind grants access to extra-dimensional entities. Neither seems appropriate. So how do we create an illusionist?

The real trickery in the game is in the embedding and instant speed revealing of enchantments. I just love the pre-planned set-up. So here is a similar idea I had to your hidden creatures concept. She is essentially a trickster like your illusionist.



ENCHANTRESS. Spell Points 120. Armour 0. Life 32. Channelling 10. High Elf
Trained in all enchantments. Attack spells cost triple.

Startling Transformation. When you summon a living creature, pay 2 mana to search your spellbook for an enchantment or a living creature and attach it as a hidden enchantment. You may reveal an attached creature like any enchantment by paying any excess cost to its host cost, destroying the host and replacing it, transfering any damage, conditions and attachments on the host to it.

Loyal Followers. Your non-Legendary living creatures are Cantrips.

Basic Melee 3



Not having a school but rather being trained in all enchantments creates an extremely varied mage, like the wizard. She can be built in many ways. However, she does pay more for most spells, relying on her large enchantments toolbox but fewer other spells hence needs her Cantrip ability to reuse her double-cost creatures. Her main ability though is Startling Transformation. The guessing game over what that hidden card is and the possibilities from instant-speed revealing is intriguing. There is the tempo play with a free action buff or the surprise play of replacing it with a creature with many unexpected traits. Anyway, I mention her because we had both thought of the similar face-down idea.
« Last Edit: October 15, 2013, 09:39:04 PM by DeckBuilder »
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Re: ACG's Custom Spells and Mages
« Reply #25 on: October 15, 2013, 10:11:01 PM »
I like the enchantress a lot. Her transformation is a lot more elegantly worded than my illusion creatures ability, though with a different flavor. Being trained in no school but rather in a type of spell is certainly a change from the norm, though one that makes a lot of sense (and lends itself best to the enchantment spell type, thematically. I have previously considered an "artificer" mage that specializes in equipment). I will see if I can simplify the illusionist; I have an idea for a second ability to replace shroud that should fit her trickery theme more.

Here are updated versions of the phase barrier and slime. Phase barrier grows semi-exponentially in price to avoid abuse of multiples, though turtling in a corner is still possible (considering making it unique; interested in your thoughts on matter). Slime is slow, but once it corners you, you may have difficulty escaping.



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Re: ACG's Custom Spells and Mages
« Reply #26 on: October 15, 2013, 10:25:13 PM »
Blink Toad. It's a wizard control minion. Seems fun. Cripple 9+ for 1 spell point, 6 mana, defence 8+ and 5 life will be attractive for Gate builds.

Plague Moth. Nice idea to wordplay on "plague of moths" with the innovative multiple summons mechanic. Nobody will risk valuable poison enchantments on these fragile things. Moths are attracted to flame so give them the ability to Teleport to any burn counters for 1 mana (like Nightmare's Sleep) when activated as well as a full action 0 dice no damage unavoidable rot 12+ with +1 for each other Plague Moth in the zone. Teleport to burn free action helps its full action attack, and the action economy of multiple summons makes them tempting. Elusive?

The Black Contract. I am unsure about this. Alternate win conditions are nice. The high stakes game is appropriately Mephistophelean. But the "you can't win for X turns then I lose" just seems so brutal, this sledgehammer when other cards are delicate tools in comparison. I don't really like "the can't be destroyed" rule either. I think this may be better done as a Zone Exclusive Conjuration (around 11 cost, 2 armour, 8 life, Dark 3) which says "your mage is indestructible and cannot guard. If this conjuration is destroyed, your mage is destroyed instead." This would be the exact same concept, but it focuses the game on the preservation/destruction of the conjuration instead.

Berserker Frenzy. Melee +X applies to the first attack in each action. Battle Fury gives you another quick atack action so would apply both times. The wording here does not apply. However, I think it would be far more elegant to say "In declare attacks step, you may remove 1 Rage token to gain double-strike or sweeping". Bloodthirsty +1 at that cost (3 spell points for War or Nature, 7 mana). It's a spellpoints expensive enchantment so better be good.

Baby Mimic. Another nice idea. I think it's a bit too good with Channelling 2 and Regenerate 2! I think dropping both to 1 but it does not destroy itself to cast its Devoured creature would be nicer. It's rather good as it is now, I'd be loathed to destroy a Regen 2 creature like that!

« Last Edit: October 16, 2013, 01:41:07 AM by DeckBuilder »
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Re: ACG's Custom Spells and Mages
« Reply #27 on: October 15, 2013, 11:45:43 PM »
Green Slime. I really like it. It's so slow but left alone... Cripple is a nice condition, perfectly suited of course! Only minor quibble is just shorten text to "when it devours a corporeal creature".

Phase Barrier. Nice idea but is it not a safe haven (except flyers) for Forcemaster with 2 Barriers (6 upkeep) in the corner where he can always fire out? How about replacing Indestructible with Resilient, infinty symbol life and Upkeep = damage counters on Phase Barrier. Indestructible seems so black-and-white silver bullet.


I think Forcemaster would benefit from this "wall"...

Spatial Juxtaposition
Cost 5, quick, range 0-1, zone barrier, wall conjuration, Mind 1 Arcane 1
Extendable, Indestructible
The 2 zones bordering Spatial Juxtaposition are considered 1 zone for range and movement

This would create zones that are rectangles or L shaped for purposes of range and movement. The Wizard and the Forcemaster could literally landscape the arena by "deleting" the borders between squares with these walls. Note that Zone Exclusive and conjurations of same name may each occupy a different square in the larger zone. For the Forcemaster, this would give her creatures like Psylok and Thoughtspore better range and more board control with Pull/Push. For the Wizard, it allows guarding multiple Zone Exclusive conjurations with the same creature(s).
« Last Edit: October 16, 2013, 12:06:29 AM by DeckBuilder »
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Re: ACG's Custom Spells and Mages
« Reply #28 on: October 16, 2013, 08:47:02 AM »
Card Updates:







New Cards:



Quote
Plague Moth. Nice idea to wordplay on "plague of moths" with the innovative multiple summons mechanic. Nobody will risk valuable poison enchantments on these fragile things. Moths are attracted to flame so give them the ability to Teleport to any burn counters for 1 mana (like Nightmare's Sleep) when activated as well as a full action 0 dice no damage unavoidable rot 12+ with +1 for each other Plague Moth in the zone. Teleport to burn free action helps its full action attack, and the action economy of multiple summons makes them tempting. Elusive?

Counterproposal seen above to address issue of reluctance to bind spell. Spell was originally an exercise in how to spellbind an enchantment, so I think I want to keep it focused on enchantments, though your idea would work well for another moth spell. If there are a lot of these, might need to introduce "swarm" keyword (allowing player to summon additional copies of a cheap monster).

Quote
The Black Contract. I am unsure about this. Alternate win conditions are nice. The high stakes game is appropriately Mephistophelean. But the "you can't win for X turns then I lose" just seems so brutal, this sledgehammer when other cards are delicate tools in comparison. I don't really like "the can't be destroyed" rule either. I think this may be better done as a Zone Exclusive Conjuration (around 11 cost, 2 armour, 8 life, Dark 3) which says "your mage is indestructible and cannot guard. If this conjuration is destroyed, your mage is destroyed instead." This would be the exact same concept, but it focuses the game on the preservation/destruction of the conjuration instead.

Funny, I had the exact same idea (though as a new spell, not a replacement). Thematically, the mage turns into a lich by sealing his soul in stone. It's basically a horcrux. See Lich's Soulstone above. I want to keep The Black Contract for its theme, but I don't see many alternatives to redesign it while preserving the flavor; what if it was harder to put into play (ex. required a few turns preparation)?

Quote
Berserker Frenzy. Melee +X applies to the first attack in each action. Battle Fury gives you another quick atack action so would apply both times. The wording here does not apply. However, I think it would be far more elegant to say "In declare attacks step, you may remove 1 Rage token to gain double-strike or sweeping". Bloodthirsty +1 at that cost (3 spell points for War or Nature, 7 mana). It's a spellpoints expensive enchantment so better be good.

Quote
Phase Barrier. Nice idea but is it not a safe haven (except flyers) for Forcemaster with 2 Barriers (6 upkeep) in the corner where he can always fire out? How about replacing Indestructible with Resilient, infinty symbol life and Upkeep = damage counters on Phase Barrier. Indestructible seems so black-and-white silver bullet.

Excellent suggestions. I gave Berserker Frenzy the option for triplestrike, so that it still benefits creatures with pre-existing rage issues more than those without; no sweeping, though (the berserker is intent on murdering its chosen target). You're right about the rules for Melee+1; I thought it was first time per round, not first time per attack. No need to give the Phase barrier infinite life; Indestructible operates in the same way (it can still be damaged, just not destroyed by the damage).

Quote
Baby Mimic. Another nice idea. I think it's a bit too good with Channelling 2 and Regenerate 2! I think dropping both to 1 but it does not destroy itself to cast its Devoured creature would be nicer. It's rather good as it is now, I'd be loathed to destroy a Regen 2 creature like that!

Made it less desirable to keep. I think 2 channeling is all right, since it is very limited in what it can cast. The self-destruction is really just a mechanically simple way to represent the Mimic shifting into a different form, so I can't really remove the part about it "destroying" itself.


Also note changes to Magic Bottle. It is more limited in what it can cast, but now you can throw it into an adjacent zone.

Edit: Just realized that Berserker Frenzy should specify melee attack. Will fix in future update.

Edit:

Quote
Spatial Juxtaposition
Cost 5, quick, range 0-1, zone barrier, wall conjuration, Mind 1 Arcane 1
Extendable, Indestructible
The 2 zones bordering Spatial Juxtaposition are considered 1 zone for range and movement

This would create zones that are rectangles or L shaped for purposes of range and movement. The Wizard and the Forcemaster could literally landscape the arena by "deleting" the borders between squares with these walls. Note that Zone Exclusive and conjurations of same name may each occupy a different square in the larger zone. For the Forcemaster, this would give her creatures like Psylok and Thoughtspore better range and more board control with Pull/Push. For the Wizard, it allows guarding multiple Zone Exclusive conjurations with the same creature(s).

Nice! Though I'm not sure what the thematic justification for it being a mind spell is; it sounds like a pure arcane spell to me. Juxtaposition sounds like two things occupying the same space, whereas this spell sounds more like a topological deformation of the arena; perhaps call it "Spatial Deformation?"

Also, thinking a bit more about the Enchantress, I wonder if having all of her non-legendary creatures be cantrips might be too powerful? I realize that they are expensive, but there are some creatures that are definitely prone to abuse, especially with her other power - consider for instance, a gorgon archer bound to a fox. Fox runs fast to a good place at the end of a round, turns into the archer and starts shooting next round. This is a total of 10 spellpoints, which is decent - but eliminating the archer does not end the threat, as the mage can just do the exact same thing again. Turning non-cantrip spells into cantrips seems risky from a spellbook balance perspective.
« Last Edit: October 16, 2013, 07:08:25 PM by ACG »

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Re: ACG's Custom Spells and Mages
« Reply #29 on: October 17, 2013, 06:39:01 AM »
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Keyword:
Torment: This creature suffers from imaginary injuries inflicted by the Illusory Tormentor. It gains -3 Life for each Torment marker, which are removed when the Tormentor is destroyed.