Cactus Game Design Message Boards

Who is the better EC?

I like Neb better, and Survivor should've beaten ASA.

Nebby - The versatility of getting out ANY other Crimson character or enhancement out of your deck when you need it is so threatening that people don't even bother attacking.
ASA - The threat of losing your fortress or artifact CBN is also intimidating enough to prevent rescue attempts.  This threat is less in the early game (when the forts aren't out) and lessens with each use (as there are less cards in danger)
Point - Nebby

This isn't really a fair point to Neb. Neb has the ability to get any Crimson character or enhancement, but unless he pulls Nerg with Swift Horses already on him or Banquet (which kills him after only one block), that's just opening up initiative, and with so many CBN good enhancements these days, opening up initiative is not something he can usually afford. Meanwhile, ASA with Horses on him offers two CBN battlewinners (Forgotten History and Death of Unrighteous) compared to Neb's one, plus ASA's actually ability. At the best, this is a point for each, but Neb does not have any clear victory here, in my opinion.

Nebby is naturally in a Babylonian defense.
ASA is naturally in an Assyrian defense.
Point - Nebby

Babylonians' dominance over Assyrians in T1 is minimal, especially since magicians are more easily splashed into an Assyrian defense. Assyrians' dominance over Babylonians in T2 is massive. Point ASA, easily.

Nebby is better cause you don't need to waste extra card spaces splashing Magicians in when Babylonians have two that can use the Babylonian enhancements. Also ASA will always give your opponent inish so how exactly is he better?

Tribute+disruption makes the strongest EC in the game.

ASA can pick apart any defense or offense which depends on fortresses, artifacts, and sites. When he has 2kH he is amazing.

No King Bel was better than nerg and neb is way better than both.

Wow, Nebby can seacrch for drawing, chump blocks, characters, and a plethora territory assault cards. ASA can just attack the territory.

Nebby = Speed, Auto blocks, and Destruction
ASA = just Destruction

Unless you're not a big T2 man... 

pfft ill just enjoy using neb to get archers of kedar and steal your asa use him against you then kill him via a banquet etc or something else equally dispicable. hence nebby is far better. end of discussion.

Before DI, Nebby was the best EC in the game. The only other character that came close was Uzzah. Yet no one used him. After ROA2, he's top 10. Not number one.

ASA for life.

pfft ill just enjoy using neb to get archers of kedar and steal your asa use him against you then kill him via a banquet etc or something else equally dispicable. hence nebby is far better. end of discussion.

That requires at least three cards total just to use ASA's ability while blocking with Neb, with an additional card to discard him, which you'll almost never get initiative for. You'll either have to rely on your opponent killing his own ASA, otherwise, Archers of Kedar is an easily negatable character. Have to have all that in place just to do what ASA can do with one other character in play doesn't really factor into this argument at all. Plus, you're assuming your opponent isn't using WoP, which is making a comeback lately, especially in T2. I can band to Neb using Archers of Kedar just as easily as you can band to ASA with Archers of Kedar. There's not really an argument here I don't think.

Not necessarily, yes he can hit some powerful forts and arts but realistically, most of the offenses and even defenses that you go up against can handle getting nuked by ASA, I'm not denying that he can be super helpful but most decks already have DoN and a lot have some way to deal with forts or sites. 

And ASA taking out TGT (his top target in T1) isn't a huge deal, since Nebby goes into a single colored defense that isn't too concerned with TGT problems.   

ASA is fun and helpful but it's easier for Neb to get a block.

The difference is that ASA does things no other character can do without jumping through a lot of hoops. The only way Neb can do that is if he has Swift Horses on him and Nerg hasn't been drawn yet AND you have an enhancement worth playing on your one-time-out-of-nowhere CBN enhancement and then again with Banquet. Neb has two options of things that are spectacular, and really, Nerg can do his thing on his own, so Neb is only necessary for the surprise factor there. Otherwise, all the drawing, discarding, etc. is all stuff other characters can do, and it just opens Neb up for initiative. Neb effectively becomes a in every single play he uses aside from Nerg + Swift Horses and Banquet.

Also, mono defenses still have a big problem with TGT, even in T2.

Neb gets blocks (one auto block, and if Bles Banq is in hand you can grab dream or horses) ASA needs two other cards to get an auto blcok.

There is more to the game than auto-blocks. I'm not even arguing that Neb isn't slightly better in T1. In T2 he's much, much better, which is factored into my vote.