Cactus Game Design Message Boards

Babel is better overall imo. It's more versatile, it only effects your opponent, and you can get it back from discard with something like well reopened.

Obviously it depends on what else is in the deck, but in general, I think I'd lean Babel. It's a bit more vulnerable, since several anti-city (and even take a city) cards have been printed in the last year, and it may not win you certain matchups like Coliseum can, but it has flexibility, there are more tutors for OT forts, and it only hits your opponent instead of both of you.

It also may depend on the meta. If a lot of two- to three-color decks are very strong (prophets/babs, flood survivors, etc.) then Babel (as a fort) doesn't gain as much value. Coliseum, if your deck is already built around it, still finds value. If Throne is still king, though, then Babel becomes valuable for preventing their splashy offense and defense (as long as Caleb doesn't steal it).

I suppose it might be too early to tell, but for me it's pretty tough to pick one over the other right now. Babel can be a double-edged sword if the opponent can turn it against you (Caleb, Seized by Babylon), but has a greater potential to impact the game. Coliseum, on the other hand, is very good at what it does (trumping chumps and thwarting Scattered and Bel's Banquet) without you having to worry about it being a liability. Both have the potential to do very little (low brigade count for certain decks or certain decks not running a lot of protect and CBN), but Babel does have that Site side for late game or in case it seems like the opponent doesn't use a lot of brigades or small characters, and Coliseum will always be a benefit if your deck is built around it.

I'll probably experiment and see which turns out better. It seems if your ultimate goal is to stop chump blocks while providing no risk, Coliseum is the choice. But, if you're looking for maybe more use overall (as most card choices should be based around), then Babel is king if you can deal with it yourself.

Or, perhaps the solution is to play both...

I would argue that Coliseum is more explosive than Babel while Babel is certainly more consistent and flexible.

Coliseum.