I started doing a review of FiF cards suitable for all mages... but then got sidetracked as there's so much to say about this card alone. I think it's clearly a good card, but there's more to say than that
It's an incredibly helpful 'why not' card...
This is the sort of thing you can stick on your mage because you have a couple of extra mana. It might be a nullify or a block, which deters teleportation and attack spells. But instead it's something which can sit there until that one turn: the one you're teleported into a spiked pit surrounded by iron golems or whatever.
but it also enables and works well with specific strategies
- It works against the meta where people feel they must layer on expensive armour from the beginning in case of attacks, leaving more mana for other stuff at the start
- It seriously strengthens creatures with flying, defences or both. Most of all the flying/dodging familiars - you can wait until someone's used knockdown, an unavoidable attack spell, perfect strike on something with reach, or simply got lucky with an archer, and then turn the odds in your favour. Far more efficient than block, which is OK on fliers, but tends to be a bad deal on things with other defences.
- It's just silly efficient with enchantment ring (which I think is pretty fantastic anyway)
It also interacts interestingly with Defend. After revealing Brace Yourself on a guard, you can set them back to guard again.
I also think both Defend and Brace Yourself could be surprisingly aggressive cards. Say my Sir Corazin wants to lead some Knights of Westlock on the attack but is a bit worried about that defending grizzly, who will get a counterstrike and then a full attack. This can lead to long stand-offs with neither willing to make the first move: not what you want if they have a stronger economy. But with Brace Yourself, I can protect my swordsman when he acts as vanguard - and with Defend, I can immediately place him back on the defence, making the grizzly think twice about attacking. Better yet, if I manage to dodge the attacks made against him, I don't even have to reveal it!
Any other possibilities with these cards that people have discovered?
