Cactus Game Design Message Boards

If Pale green was the only evil brigade that had horses, noone would not use Pale green, even if it was just to splash in the combos.

There was a long period of time--from Kings up until FoOF--when Pale Green was the only brigade with horses. Although some people played PG, most did not. (Brown was, for example, the defense used by T2 champions.) It wasn't until the advent of a non-negatable instant defensive PG battle winner (Forgotten History, I'm looking at you) that the horses became a prominent feature in T2, and this switch took place relatively quickly.

Personally, I am not crazy about the fact that each of the WC cultures were given their own version horses. IMO it takes away from the uniqueness of the brigades. I realize that once Forgotten History was released, however, the genii was out of the bottle, and there was very little recourse to try and rebalance the relative strengths of the brigades. And, hey, if everyone has a horse-class enhancement, you may as well toss in an archer also.

"The Same Thing" has existed since the first set of Redemption:...It is helpful for new players to have some familiarity with certain types of cards that are common across a handful of cultures...There will be some overlap in brigades - ESPECIALLY among themes that share a common trait...

This whole response from Bryon is awesome.  Agree or disagree with his conclusions, but that is a GREAT explanation of his perspective, and gives GREAT insight into the thinking that goes behind decisions regarding cards to make.  Thanks for sharing this Bryon.

That persian idea is great, but I might choose "Set aside" the hero rather than negate its ability, since set-aside is the primary function of Persians. 

Persian Archer
Type: Evil Char. • Brigade: Brown • Ability: 3 / 5 • Class: Warrior • Special Ability: May band to any Persian Evil Character. May discard any Hero in a territory but then discard Persian Archer at end of battle. • Identifiers: Generic OT Male Human, Persia, Fought Earthly Battle • Verse: Jeremiah 50:9

Persian Chariots and Horses
Type: Evil Enh. • Brigade: Brown • Ability: 2 / 2 • Class: Weapon • Special Ability: Interrupt the battle and draw two cards. If used by a Persian, may play an Enhancement. • Identifiers: None • Verse: Isaiah 21:7

Great research!  Well done! 

I might add "May discard a hero or Babylonian in a territory..." to add a little extra unique feature to the archer, but still, it fits. 
But due to the complaints on this thread it is highly unlikely that we will see archers or horses for a while.    Also, Persians don't have many Warrior class evil characters yet, so horses would be kinda pointless.

Great research!  Well done! 
Also, Persians don't have many Warrior class evil characters yet, so horses would be kinda pointless.

But they will once Darius, Xerxes, and Cyrus are made, right?   

Stamp, you are about to make Sean very upset!  

Persian Archer
Type: Evil Char. • Brigade: Brown • Ability: 3 / 5 • Class: Warrior • Special Ability: May band to a warrior class Persian. May set aside any Hero in a territory for one turn. • Identifiers: Generic OT Male Human, Persia, Fought Earthly Battle • Verse: Jeremiah 50:9

Persian Chariots and Horses
Type: Evil Enh. • Brigade: Brown • Ability: 2 / 2 • Class: Weapon • Special Ability: If opponent controls a Hero with decreased toughness you may interrupt the battle and play a single color brown Enhancement. • Identifiers: None • Verse: Isaiah 21:7

Fixed to satisfy my hopes for such cards.

It's to distract enough that he can't focus on the fantasy baseball draft.

Don't worry, I'll just make the proper adjustments to your team when the time is right.  

I like Seans ideas a lot, and I think doing variants of familiar cards is a much better route than cut and paste duplicates in new brigades.

One small change to archer... maybe make him say X turns, where X = the number of good brigades opponent has in play? Isn't that another small theme in brown?

Hmm, true, but it'd definately add some punch to the archer. Besides, wouldn't a one turn set aside return on their next upkeep phase, making it pretty much useless?

If thats the case, X + 1, so its a minimum of two turns.

Quote from: Professoralstad on February 12, 2010, 02:49:53 PM

Quote from: Bryon on February 12, 2010, 02:08:06 PM

Great research!  Well done! 
Also, Persians don't have many Warrior class evil characters yet, so horses would be kinda pointless.

But they will once Darius, Xerxes, and Cyrus are made, right?   

Someday.  But not this year.

Well, I really hope that the King Cyrus card is a national promo a la AoCP...NOT Split Altar.

And in my opinion he should be a hero.  When I read Isaiah 45, I see:

"Thus says the LORD to His anointed, to Cyrus,..."

and

"...For Jacob My servant’s sake, and Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name;..."

and

"...I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways; he shall build My city and let My exiles go free, not for price nor reward,” says the LORD of hosts."

I would like the last scripture to be the reference on a King Cyrus card.

I'm thinking King Cyrus is at least red and purple...maybe adding white...big numbers...warrior class... some type of CBN or CBI special ability.  In fact, the possible special abilities for King Cyrus are so numerous.  Relating to prophets he could discard all Babylonians, say, if a prophet is in play.  Relating to Z's Temple there are endless possibilities, such as activating Z's Temple, recurring any temple, or how about this - search deck and discard for all temple artifacts and place face down in art pile.  Pretty bold, eh?!?!

Ah, true. I had forgotten about that. I still think X turns would be fun.

Quote from: Bryon on February 12, 2010, 02:52:14 PM

Quote from: Professoralstad on February 12, 2010, 02:49:53 PM

Quote from: Bryon on February 12, 2010, 02:08:06 PM

Great research!  Well done! 
Also, Persians don't have many Warrior class evil characters yet, so horses would be kinda pointless.

But they will once Darius, Xerxes, and Cyrus are made, right?   

Someday.  But not this year.

Well, I really hope that the King Cyrus card is a national promo a la AoCP...NOT Split Altar.

And in my opinion he should be a hero.  When I read Isaiah 45, I see:

"Thus says the LORD to His anointed, to Cyrus,..."

and

"...For Jacob My servant’s sake, and Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name;..."

and

"...I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways; he shall build My city and let My exiles go free, not for price nor reward,” says the LORD of hosts."

I would like the last scripture to be the reference on a King Cyrus card.

I'm thinking King Cyrus is at least red and purple...maybe adding white...big numbers...warrior class... some type of CBN or CBI special ability.  In fact, the possible special abilities for King Cyrus are so numerous.  Relating to prophets he could discard all Babylonians, say, if a prophet is in play.  Relating to Z's Temple there are endless possibilities, such as activating Z's Temple, recurring any temple, or how about this - search deck and discard for all temple artifacts and place face down in art pile.  Pretty bold, eh?!?!

how about a "If a persian EC is in your territory, this character is an EC. if not, he is a hero." type thing. that way it's versitile and adds some fun. Red/Purple and Brown.

I was curious about this.  It seems every brigade now has a 1/1 hero or 1/1 evil character, which are of course great for getting initiative.  Silver is missing one, but I understand it being angels, and you can get a 1/1 with Angel with the Secret Name if they are the only Angel out anyway.

But Gold heroes do not have a 1/1?  Why not?  Seems to put gold at a disadvantage in this particular category.

Thanks for helping me understand this.

Well, the gold brigade does have many lower numbers.