Cactus Game Design Message Boards

I know, I know, Brown doesn't really need help, but I just really think that Amalekites should be Brown. The Amalekite's Slave is Brown for very likely that reason. And besides, Brown doesn't have any NT themes, which means no help from Golgotha. The biggest problem is the lack of specific Amalekites mentioned in the Bible. I've only found two thus far.

King Agag

3/4 Brown EC, WC
-Amalekite, X=Number of characters in all set-aside areas when ability activates-
Negate good Fortresses. One good king decreases 0/X per turn. When result is */0 or less, that King is converted to a brown evil character with abilities (*/*) at face value and is placed in holder's territory. Discard Agag after battle if Samuel is in play.
I Samuel 15:8

Amalekite Army

8/9 Brown EC, WC
-Amalekite, Unique-
Once per game, if no Genesis or Exodus Heroes are in battle, you may discard all human heroes in battle. Opponent may discard one of his good fortresses instead. Cannot be interrupted.
Exodus 17:11-13

Amalekites of the Negev

5/6 Brown EC, WC
-Amalekite, Generic-
If neither Joshua nor Caleb is in play, you may discard an occupied Site from your territory to repel all human heroes. No enhancements may be played this battle unless opponent discards a good Dominant from hand or territory.
Numbers 13:29

The Oppressive Amalekites
-Amalekite, Unique-
6/4 Brown EC, WC
This character is protected from discard abilities while no good Judge is in play. Cannot be negated.
Judges 10:12

Amalekite Slave Master
-Amalekite-
3/5 Brown EC
When using this character to block, remove all captured Evil Characters in your territory from the game.
I Samuel 30:13

Amalekite Cattle
-Amalekite-
0/0 Multi EC
Interrupt all protect abilities, and place this card in your Opponent's Land of Bondage to convert an OT Human in battle to a Brown Evil Character. Cannot be Prevented.
1 Samuel 15:15

Hill Country

Red/Gold Site
If Moses is not in play, at any time during a rescue attempt at this Site, you may add a Canaanite or Amalekite from your territory to battle. Remove this card from the game following a successful rescue at this Site.
Numbers 14:44-45

Foolish Attack

0/0 Brown EE
If used by an Amalekite, Holder may give all Heroes in battle access to selected Site. That Site's ability cannot be negated for the remainder of the game.
Numbers 14:44-45

Alliance

2/3 Multi EE, TC
Place on an Evil King: King gains the ability, "May band with an Amalekite."
Judges 3:13

Destroying Crops

0/0 Brown EE, TC
Place in a territory: Each time your Amalekite blocks, you may discard a good Enhancement or a single-color Site from that territory. If you cannot, discard a card at random from that player's hand. Discard this card if a good Judge is in play.
Judges 6:3

Saul's Disobedience

0/3 Brown EE
If your evil Amalekite loses in battle without being discarded, protect all Lost Souls from rescue, and this enhancement may remain on that evil character until discarded or converted.
I Samuel 15:8

So whadda ya think?

What I don't like (and I think I have expressed this before, maybe even to your own ideas) is the prospect of a defense designed to be super duper powerful but then crumble to one or two particular themes - in this case, Judges and Angels. Amalekite Army, Amalekites of the Negev, and Amalekite Cattle do next to nothing against angels (except for Negev, which will only hurt yourself most of the time against the 50/50 angels), and The Oppressive Amalekites and Destroying Crops become totally worthless if a jugde is even in play. I don't like that kind of a system. It is way too luck-based.

Sure, going "If X is not in play, do a little extra something" can be very fun and strategic every once in a while, but when a single theme (or even a single hero) can totally shut down multiple cards in another theme, that's imbalanced. For an example, on The Oppressive Amalekites, instead of saying "This character is protected from discard abilities while no good Judge is in play. Cannot be negated," I would much rather see "This character is protected from discard abilities. If a good Judge is not in play, cannot be negated," or "This character is protected from discard abilities. Opponent may reveal an enhancement with a Judges reference from hand instead. Cannot be negated," or something like that, so the card doesn't necessarily completely lose its power if your opponent just happens to be using a certain card or theme.

Anyway, there's my two cents.

Souls must be human PERIOD! Cattle ftl

This allows cards to be kept in check and not to become OP

There are so many other ways to do this. Why do we need to throw luck into the mix just to balance stuff?

I have some love hate on these. I love the uniqueness of the ideas but many of these are OP'd. Like 7 instablocks in a 56 card deck with negv and unlimited free blocks with Saul's dis.

Quote from: TheHobbit13 on July 26, 2010, 07:57:21 PM

This allows cards to be kept in check and not to become OP

There are so many other ways to do this. Why do we need to throw luck into the mix just to balance stuff?

That isn't luck really, it makes the card become more of a meta choice.

I like them.  THey have some interesting balance to t hem.

Quote from: TheHobbit13 on July 26, 2010, 10:48:45 PM

That isn't luck really, it makes the card become more of a meta choice.

In total honesty, I'm not sure exactly what that means. But if this isn't an amazing example of luck, I'm not sure what is. I mean, you have an X% chance to be paired up with someone using judges or angels in a tournament and a 100-X% chance not to. If you happen to never get paired up with an angel-user or a judge-user, you will have a much better chance of placing in the tournament. If you do have to face a jugde/angel deck, half your defense is toast, and you will probably lose a game or two. The judge/angel deck might be exactly as well built and well-played as the other deck you could have played the same round, and yet you are far more likely to lose to the judge/angel deck than to the other. How is there not luck there?

Basically a meta is what types of strategies/cards people are playiing (usually used in the context of a region). If you notice a lot of amalikites up there than it is easier to counter them.  This works well because those strategies to counter them are not top tier so it is not like people are always going to play them.  Essentially it is almost better that these cards have a draw back,  because you are potentially forcing top tier players to counter them, which makes them play a sub par strategy or adding extra characters. You can even do this without decking the character.

I see what you are saying but not all these amalakite cards are weak against judges and or angels.  only some of them so you still have some options if you play with a deck like this and run into one of those decks.  I tend to like these types of caveats if they have historical and /or scriptural basis in them.  I think it adds to the realism.