MArcomage

Here is the preview of new cards that will be added in the upcoming update.

Why so few? :P There are also other good concepts like, Wind dragon, Hasty groundworks, Gem mine etc.


Runic? A new keyword?

Hydra: I'd like if it was Aqua too (and a bit more expensive of course).



EDIT: Oh now I've seen it! What's Xanatos roulette about? I don't understand it.

No Incoming army? :(

There will be quite many balance changes, so that's why I'm keeping the new cards at low count.

I originally picked 21 cards and Wind dragon and Gem mine was among them, so probably next time ;-)

Ooh, Petrify could be interesting. Might have to play with that a bit. Mirror elemental as well. Shifting mass also has interesting potential in the right deck.

Definitely eager to see the balance changes and what else is receiving the Runic keyword.

I believe Xanatos roulette will be a quite annoying card since it gives players the advantage to kill themself to prevent your enemy from gaining special awards (eg. Titan, dragon). Of course only when you draw it and this card let you loose.

Aw, cmon guys - the Xanatos roulette was a very delayed April fool's joke ;-) It won't be implemented. For those who don't know the context: explanation

Looks interesting. I wish I knew what their rarities were though.

dindon wrote:
Looks interesting. I wish I knew what their rarities were though.

?? The rarities can be seen "as always" by a coloured rectangular around the cards pictures... so hydra is happily rare ;-)
Nice cards btw...
still got no idea what "runic" is... and what two total cards with this keyword are good for ;-)
Let's wait :-D

Of course, how obvious >.>

If Hydra is a rare, then it seems like a pretty weak one. After playing it 6 times, you'll have done 100 damage. At that point, it's as good as orc regiment, except for having taken 6 turns instead of 1. From that point on, you can keep playing it for 30 damage a pop. But, if you're willing to spend 70 recruits for 130 damage, maybe you would have been better off taking Dragon Squadron (or this new Bahamut?) instead.

Unless you draw the first one in spot 1 or 8, your math is off by 5. Playing it 6 times will deal 5+10+15+20+25+30 = 105 damage (always playing at an "edge" to replace the newly vacated spot as well as a slot not yet touched by Hydra) and 35 thereafter (7 in hand, always playing adjacent to the newly vacated slot).

oooooooo
ooooooHo = 5
oooooHoH = 10
ooooHoHH = 15
oooHoHHH = 20
ooHoHHHH = 25
oHoHHHHH = 30
HoHHHHHH = 35

Not that it changes your reasoning much, but it does allow for some gains toward achievements and awards, particularly Collector and playing N Rares. Also, if you start out with a Dragon egg on hand, you'll be multiplying your gem gains for some of those turns.

It may also be worth considering that, unlike other cards that deal more damage over subsequent plays, this one allows you to play something else in between without reduced efficacy. Also, since there isn't a high entry fee to start it going, your opponent has very little time to head you off via discard effect. The only sure counters I can think of are Fairy Dragon, Witcher, and Evolution. Maybe Elemental storm if positions favor it.

I think your analysis is overly optimistic. Did you try working it out for positions 3/6 and 4/5? As far as I can tell, with one of the inner positions, you end up with something like this:

Hand ..... Damage ... recruits ... damage_total
____h___ ... 5 ........ 10 ........... 5
___h_h__ ... 10 ....... 20 ........... 15
__h_hh__ ... 15 ....... 30 ........... 30
_h_hhh__ ... 20 ....... 40 ........... 50
h_hhhh__ ... 25 ....... 50 ........... 75
h_hhh_h_ ... 25 ....... 60 ............ 100
h_hhhh_h ... 30 ....... 70 ........... 130
... 30

Or, if you want a sustained 35 at the end, you end up having to do something like:

Hand ..... Damage ... recruits ... damage_total
____h___ ... 5 ........ 10 ........... 5
___h_h__ ... 10 ....... 20 ........... 15
___hh_h_ ... 15 ....... 30 ........... 30
___hhh_h ... 20 ....... 40 ........... 50
___hhhh_ ... 20 ....... 50 ........... 70
___hhh_h ... 20 ....... 60 ........... 90
___hh_hh ... 20 ....... 70 ........... 110
___h_hhh ... 20 ....... 80 ........... 130
__h_hhhh ... 25 ....... 90 ........... 155
_h_hhhhh ... 30 ....... 100 ........... 185
h_hhhhhh ... 35 ....... 110 ........... 220
... 35

Hmmm... seems, I have read it wrong... I thought also the played Hydra would be "replaced"... like "summoning" hyrda... on the other hand: How to "kill" such a hydra?? Orc Regiment can be survived... other dragons also only strike once... (okay, spectral or dragon squadron should do enough damage ;-)...

Of course Hydra doesn't do the "big blow" of damage... but how can you kill such a beast... and the costs are quite affordable.

Personally, I'd make Hydra durable.
That way it is banishable, but also does more damage since the played card will stay on hand.

andi wrote:
Personally, I'd make Hydra durable.
That way it is banishable, but also does more damage since the played card will stay on hand.

But you can banish only one card at time, if you don't banish the first one you have to deal against 2 or 3 hydra on the second turn, no way you can banish all of them.
Probably fairy dragon will become very popular after this update

dindon wrote:

Hand ..... Damage ... recruits ... damage_total
____h___ ... 5 ........ 10 ........... 5
___h_h__ ... 10 ....... 20 ........... 15
___hh_h_ ... 15 ....... 30 ........... 30
___hhh_h ... 20 ....... 40 ........... 50
___hhhh_ ... 20 ....... 50 ........... 70
___hhh_h ... 20 ....... 60 ........... 90
___hh_hh ... 20 ....... 70 ........... 110
___h_hhh ... 20 ....... 80 ........... 130
__h_hhhh ... 25 ....... 90 ........... 155
_h_hhhhh ... 30 ....... 100 ........... 185
h_hhhhhh ... 35 ....... 110 ........... 220
... 35

How about this scheme?
____h___ ... 5 ........ 10 ........... 5
___h_h__ ... 10 ....... 20 ........... 15
___hh_h_ ... 15 ....... 30 ........... 30
___hhh_h ... 20 ....... 40 ........... 50
___hh_hh ... 20 ....... 50 ........... 70
___h_hhh ... 20 ....... 60 ........... 90
__h_hhhh ... 25 ....... 70 ........... 115
_h_hhhhh ... 30 ....... 80 ........... 145
h_hhhhhh ... 35 ....... 90 ........... 180
You don't need to play Hydra 8 on step 4 because it will take 2 additional turns to move "empty" position back. I think it's more effective.

DPsycho wrote:

It may also be worth considering that, unlike other cards that deal more damage over subsequent plays, this one allows you to play something else in between without reduced efficacy.

Yes, and as it is a Dragon it gives you some Dragon eggs which you can play or make use (gems X2) in the process :-)

Mojko wrote:
Aw, cmon guys - the Xanatos roulette was a very delayed April fool's joke ;-) It won't be implemented. For those who don't know the context: explanation

Right... we want some Easter eggs too :P

NG_Beholder wrote:
How about this scheme?
[...]

Sure, but you're still only getting 90 damage for your first 60 recruits, and you have to spend 100 recruits and 10 turns to do the damage that Dragon squadron can do with 70 recruits and 1 turn.

Anyways, if lots of people are willing to use a weak card, I'm not going to argue that it should be buffed. That's why I've never complained about, say, University. The only cards that really need balancing are cards that are overpowered and overused or underpowered and underused.

I don't think it's appropriate to compare it to University. Generally when people play University it's because they put it into their decks.

When people play a rare Dragon, it's occasionally because it's in the deck, maybe because it shares a keyword. Perhaps it was summoned via that shared keyword. But it's much more likely that someone will have any given rare Dragon because it was summoned via the Dragon keyword structure drawing and influencing the effect of Dragon egg. So we shouldn't be considering whether people should choose this card, but instead what people will do once it's drawn. Given the low entry fee, I believe a lot of people will gladly play it soon, if not immediately. Unlike Dragon squadron, it doesn't have the drawback of the player being unlikely to have the resources to deploy it.

Another consideration is that someone could make this the only Dragon in his deck, much like General's army might be part of a deck that lacks a Soldier card. Playing this twice will give you an egg, and that egg could then be played to draw a different Rare Dragon, potentially one that gives a better damage/cost (/time) ratio. Sure, you spent three turns and 15g,20r on it, but you also dealt some damage and potentially rid yourself of some cards that may have been a detriment in your hand.

Is it better than drawing Dragon squadron when you have 70 recruits? No. Is it better than drawing Dragon squadron when you have 40 recruits? Probably.