Sure, with the Hobbit on gemp it could be simpler, or maybe not.... because each time the cards will be changed, the programmer needs to change the cards. There will be only few accurate updates.
You may be right, but still won't take 2 years...
You started the
Hobbit Draft Game thread here on October 22, 2014 (I joined you on Novemeber 8). And the Clouds Burst was released in August 29, 2016. But during those
22 months, not only the extension cards were created, but also many cards of the Shadow packs, Main deck and sites were changed in the Basic Set (Balin was str 5, Bolg and Azog were str 10, spiders had web conditions,
![[Dwarven]](https://lotrtcgdb.com/forums/Smileys/classic/dwarven.png "Dwarven")
followers had different aid costs, The Eagles Are Coming...). Finally, the basic set was released around March 19, 2015.
Then the Extension set took 17 months actually.Talking about Extension sets, there were some ideas that you considered interesting but were left behind while developing, which might be incorporated (or not) in this new Extension:
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Allies played to the Dead pile: Thrór, Girion, Old Took...
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Cards that mimick sites: Lobelia for site 1, some Shadow condition, an item for Thorin to work on other sites, perhaps a "Musical Elf" for site 3...
Tell me if you want to consider including them in the new Extension.
...
![[Sauron]](https://lotrtcgdb.com/forums/Smileys/classic/sauron.png "Sauron")
Sauron Swarm Shadow:-
Orc Ambusher and Orc Sentinel: Yes, those are very dark. There are other pictures you might consider: when the Company runs towards Beorn's House (and the wargriders chase them), later when Azog's wargriders wait outside and Bolg irrupts, or even when Azog calls Bolg to replace him in the hunt. Only the latter occurs at
Dol Guldur.
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Dark Sorcery: The new version is more powerful replaying conditions,
but is also much more fragile. The previous version acted before the FP player could use maneuver actions, but Ancestral Knowledge can hit this before it does anything. If it wasn't unique, that'd be less perilous. Anyway, if changed to non-unique, multiple copies won't stack because only has a special ability.
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Hidden: Ok for the strength bonus only after playtesting.
About the wording, I wonder if cards like
Strange-looking Men can transfer a condition with the "Plays on" wording. That'd be perhaps the only gameplay difference between "Plays on" and "Bearer must be". But here has no importance at all.
...
Ok why not for a Shadow Thranduil, as "Elvenking" ? Maybe the Mirkwood Shadow can be a corrupt Shadow at 15 cards and the Stone Giants at 10 cards?
Interesting idea. The Giants have less time in film and book than Mirkwood Elves, so makes sense. I like the idea, but must be done the right way because the Giants have problems having 15 cards, which logically won't improve inertially if reduced to 10. So before a detailed analysis of the Mirkwood Elves, I'll be analyzing the Stone Giants shadow.
![[Moria]](https://lotrtcgdb.com/forums/Smileys/classic/moria.png "Moria")
Stone Giants Shadow:The culture has 2 key problems (at least I found those): 1) indirect and complicated replay, and 2) a critical lack of card room. Either with 10 or 15 cards, those problems must be solved (much more importantly with only 10).
1.- Indirect and complicated replay: Being a Draft Game, minions have few copies and then require strong replaying methods. Other cultures play directly from deck or discard pile (Danger Wrapped in Shadows, Better Than Nothing, Troll Campfire...), but these Giants can't be played from discard; only can be played from deck by Fimbul, and then be reshuffled by Stone Returns to Earth (to be subsequently played by Fimbul, if not drawn). That messy combo relies on an event (a card that won't stay for later use). Better Than Nothing is too an event, but doesn't force you to play/discard Fimbul, or wait until you draw the minion again.
With 5 cards less, we need to cut some support resources. I like Stone Return to Earth's concept of shuffling minions back, but must be now as a built-in skill (in each Giant): "
Regroup: Shuffle this minion from play into your draw deck." (2 lines) That provides the Shadow player a powerful choice: you can choose to keep a Giant on the board for stopping power, or shuffle it to play later. In the book/film the Company stops at the Front Porch due to the Giants, so that stopping power can have a strong flavor.
The skill can have requirements or costs added (if you don't like it being free), but must be short like "remove a doubt", "discard 2 cards from hand" or "Shuffle an unexhausted Giant" to keep it in 2 lines. By removing the event, there are 3 cards left in the pack: exactly the number that Sauron or Gollum have (the other 10 card packs). It's
that important.
2.- Critical lack of card room: 2 sentences in the Giants use 2 lines each ("At a mountain site" and "This minion may not"). That leaves 3 lines only for the minion's main skill. But currently those are complex archery skills that use 4+ lines. 8 total lines! So we need to reduce the length of all those texts. Moreover if we are going to add a built-in mechanism to shuffle them back (2 lines more).
The first sentence can be reduced to 1 line: "Discard this minion if not at a mountain" (Balrog-wise), obviously with a lower fixed cost (then their dependance on
Watchful Orc will be a bit higher). The same with the second sentence: "Cannot be assigned to skirmishes" (by removing the subject, leaving the predicate only; anyway the previous sentence refers to "this minion"). Still, the archery skills use 4 lines. So to include the Regroup skill (and free the slots used by events), we must free another line. But how?
The archery skills have complicated random discarding mechanisms. I like those mechanisms, but are too long for these Giants to hold. Perhaps may be moved to the Boulder Rock possession, and have these Giants with shorter archery skills (3-lines or less). Maybe they can work with "wound this and another minion" or "exert this minion and discard a Shadow condition".
Here are 2 prototypes. They use all 7 card lines (like most Decipher versions of Saruman). Both have very low cost, because will require
Watchful Orc in most sites before 7. And often Fimbul too...
![[4]](https://lotrtcgdb.com/forums/Smileys/classic/4.png "4")
Granit Giant Minion • Giant
Strength 12
Vitality 4 Site 4
Discard this minion if not at a mountain.
Cannot be assigned to skirmishes.
Archery: Wound this and another minion to make the minion archery total +1 (limit +3).
Regroup: Shuffle this minion from play into your draw deck.
Vitality 4, but limit +3 only. Needs other minions in play, like Orcs or other Giants. Since it wounds itself (and another guy), the need of making "the fellowship archery total + anything" is removed.
![[5]](https://lotrtcgdb.com/forums/Smileys/classic/5.png "5")
Lavastone Giant Minion • Giant
Strength 16
Vitality 4 Site 4
Discard this minion if not at a mountain.
Cannot be assigned to skirmishes.
Archery: Exert this minion and discard a Shadow condition to make the minion archery total +2 (limit +4).
Regroup: Shuffle this minion from play into your draw deck.
Vitality 4. Can exert 3 times, but only 2 are useful; the remaining vitality can be used by Granit Giant. Adds 2 to the archery per use, since replaying conditions is much harder (and are easier to discard than minions).
Then the Boulder Rock can discard cards at random/bottom-of-deck, perhaps to heal bearer and/or replay conditions. Or to shuffle Moria or Gundabad cards from discard into the deck (those are the fuel of the Giants). Even can be 2x and 2x of different possessions (and each Giant 3x): Boulder Rock and Overhanging Rock. One healing bearer, the other shuffling back cards of those cultures; one discarding from hand, the other from deck....
Hope this helps. This used all my brain power, so didn't work yet in the Mirkwood Elves (lead by the proud and merciless Elvenking) pack. That will have to wait a bit more.
Topic: Next Updates for the Hobbit Draft Game (Read 271175 times)
