Cactus Game Design Message Boards

It’s not overwhelming in my opinion. Some of these terms have already been around but are just being clarified and/or streamlined.

Banish was actually introduced with the last set, and means the same thing as remove from the game but more succinct.

As far as I can tell, take means the same thing but may be getting some different applications than it has historically. It should be pretty simple though. There are two parts; where you are taking a card from and where it goes. If it doesn’t specify a location to take from (like opponent’s hand) then it defaults for the targets to be in play. This is the same as most other abilities defaulting to in play. However, when you take a card it defaults to go to your hand, which is logical IMO but might not be the first guess since most other abilities default to in play as just mentioned. Some cards may specify another location though like, “ take and place in territory”.

Unity is new, and I think that it is important for the game to continue development and introduce new ideas. I think that sometimes ideas are introduced to expand the game (thinking introduction of territory class) and sometimes to balance the game, which is what I think Unity is supposed to accomplish. As far as new players understanding this, there will always be a learning curve to gaming, and especially gaming at different levels. New players should start with the starter decks and build their knowledge from there. I don’t think that has changed.

Cities (since they are new) are really Fortresses and Sites combined on a single card. You put them in play as one or the other, just like a dual alignment character.

Search is another big one that has been discussed. I think it is a good decision to take it away as an ability.  Even before the changes, there are multiple abilities that have an implied search functionality. To me, that can be more confusing (if search is also an ability) than to have other abilities by themselves (take, exchange) which require a search functionality when the target is not in play or set aside. You are still searching either way, but you can do so through a variety of abilities.

Legacy Rares. I haven’t heard much about this beyond that they will exist. I think it will be cool for both play purposes and collection purposes. I think they will help in bringing more clarity to older cards where the wording is different than it should be today. I like that it paves the way for the potential of set rotation. I have no idea if that will happen, but I think it would only help the game progress more. I do hope that there is great care to how this is done, but I think that most changes have been approached very cautiously and that the topic of set rotation would definitely be treated the same.

I am sure others will have thoughts as well, but I hope this is helpful.

Thanks!