The Uncountable Hoard

[DáinIronfoot]

Dire Menace
Event • Shadow
Play Smaug from your discard pile or hand. His twilight cost is -4 and he is strength -6 until the end of the turn.
Smaug left his lair in silent stealth, quietly soared into the air, and then floated heavy and slow in the dark like a monstrous crow...
H2 R 149

Iiiiinteresting. I think that works well enough for getting him cheaply, though I'd also prefer a card that plays him from hand or draw deck and doesn't have such a strength penalty. THEN we'd be talking.

• Withered Heath
Dragons are not roaming and cannot be discarded (except during the regroup phase).
H3 U 200

Good stuff.

[lem0nhead]

DI's right on the money.

[Thranduil]

This obviously has nothing to do with the adventure path, but while I was on the subject of Smaug, I found myself revisiting some old cards, and I came across a card I no longer liked:

•Uncountable Hoard
Artifact • Support Area
Shadow: Exert Smaug to Unlock this artifact.
Locked: Shadow: Unless Smaug is exhausted, exert a character to draw a card. The Free Peoples player may also use this ability.
H3 R 125

I was trying to represent the duality of treasure hunting, of the potential benefits but also the terrible risks. But I decided it was too weird and confusing and that I could make a better card. So after much thought I made a new version:

•Uncountable Hoard
Artifact • Support Area
When you play this artifact, add a token.
Shadow: Remove X tokens from here to add , where X is the current region number.
At the start of the regroup phase, spot Smaug to add a token here for each exhausted character.
H3 R 125

What do you guys think of each version?

Thranduil

[lem0nhead]

•Uncountable Hoard
Artifact • Support Area
Shadow: Exert Smaug to Unlock this artifact.
Locked: Shadow: Unless Smaug is exhausted, exert a character to draw a card. The Free Peoples player may also use this ability.
H3 R 125

•Uncountable Hoard
Artifact • Support Area
When you play this artifact, add a token.
Shadow: Remove X tokens from here to add , where X is the current region number.
At the start of the regroup phase, spot Smaug to add a token here for each exhausted character.
H3 R 125

What do you guys think of each version?

Well the first one is balanced but could just make the game crazy. I wouldnt actually veto it though. The second is ok but not really awesome enough to bother using for the effort it takes to keep it going. Its ok, again i wouldnt veto it.

Thranduil

[Thranduil]

Well the first one is balanced but could just make the game crazy. I wouldnt actually veto it though. The second is ok but not really awesome enough to bother using for the effort it takes to keep it going. Its ok, again i wouldnt veto it.

What do you think would make the second version more viable? Also bear in mind that Smaug each time he's played reinforces tokens and at least 1 card needs to remove tokens to work.

And also, which do you think better encapsulates the flavour of an immense treasure hoard?

Thranduil

[DáinIronfoot]

Well, first off, the Shadow ability of the first needs to spot Smaug to use, since as I recall, it is sometimes possible to unlock cards by other means in your sets. That all being said, it seems OP to me.

The second seems...eh, alright. Certainly a nice way to make Smaug cheaper. Make sure to add a "here" to the end of the first sentence. Maybe for the regroup part, add a token for either 1.) each wound on Smaug or 2.) his remaining vitality; can't recall how easily he can exhaust other characters rather than just kill them outright, so that's why I recommended the change...if he exhausts well then stick with what you've got.

Perhaps start it from scratch and have it slowly, very slowly, accumulate tokens--perhaps each time you play a artifact?--and then make Smaug's twilight cost -X, where X is the number of tokens here. So something like this:

•Uncountable Hoard
Artifact • Support Area
Each time you play a artifact or a Free Peoples artifact is discarded, add a token here.
Smaug's twilight cost is -X, where X is the number of tokens here.
Shadow: Remove 2 tokens from here to play Smaug from your discard pile.
H3 R 125

Not sure how balanced that is, but it is certainly much more interesting.