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Bubble-T
Dec 26, 2004

You know, I've got a funny feeling I've seen this all before.
Stelas are you sure you shuffled Monsieur Voltaire's deck after adding all the wounds? This is the laziest I've seen him.

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Fat Samurai
Feb 16, 2011

To go quickly is foolish. To go slowly is prudent. Not to go; that is wisdom.

rchandra posted:

This doesn't seem right. If you have cards in hand, you can spend turns discarding them (since you said they were all wounds, that would even be one at a time as Slow Recovery).

Not that it looks like people want _that_ many turns, but sometimes that sort of thing is nice in solo on crystal mines.

Hmmm.. true. I've never considered wounds other than dead weight (usually don't play Torvak or Arythea), and don't play co-op, so a hand full of wounds equals declaring end of round. You learn something new every day!

OTOH, no one has requested a third turn, so I think we're good there. With Volkare running through his deck and recruiting units, I'd rather not give away more turns than needed.

Bubble-T posted:

Stelas are you sure you shuffled Monsieur Voltaire's deck after adding all the wounds? This is the laziest I've seen him.

I'd hate to play against lazy Volkare. You'd probably run out of cards before he gets close to the city.

Tekopo
Oct 24, 2008

When you see it, you'll shit yourself.


Alright, let's burn that monastery!

Stelas
Sep 6, 2010

Bubble-T posted:

Stelas are you sure you shuffled Monsieur Voltaire's deck after adding all the wounds? This is the laziest I've seen him.

True randomness allows clumps, is all I'm saying. But yeah, the Vassal module will do that for me, I've actually checked by skimming the next few cards.

Alternatively: man, dude's in prison. What do you want from him?

Krang finds some monks: 5 Armor, 5 Attack (Poison), 4 Fame. They're so dead.

Tekopo
Oct 24, 2008

When you see it, you'll shit yourself.


Guess I'll use a white mana die to cast Swiftness (powered) with the Mana Overload to kill them dead.

Stelas
Sep 6, 2010

Krang levels and picks up a command token. He has a choice of artifacts on his board.

Volkare draws... a wound, and rolls Gold. Nothing happens.

By CO, Arythea calls End of Round. If it turns out people don't want this it's retconnable, because the only thing Arythea can do with a hand full of wounds is Slow Rest them one at a time.

Wolfhawk's Turn


Arythea (Fat Samurai) - 2 hand, 0 deck, End of Round called.
Wolfhawk (Bubble-T) - 4 hand, 0 deck.
Tovak (Gutter Owl) - 4 hand, 0 deck.
Krang (Tekopo) - 5 hand, 0 deck.
Volkare - 33 deck. 4 city, 5 keep, 8 dragons, 8 orcs.
Unit Offer | Fame/Reputation Track

Stelas fucked around with this message at 08:10 on Oct 24, 2014

Tekopo
Oct 24, 2008

When you see it, you'll shit yourself.


Get Banner of Protection

Stelas
Sep 6, 2010

Hands are updated.

Bubble-T
Dec 26, 2004

You know, I've got a funny feeling I've seen this all before.
Power March from the source and head down the 4-move path of the Maze. Desperately hoping I don't encounter a shadow.

Bubble-T fucked around with this message at 08:21 on Oct 24, 2014

Tekopo
Oct 24, 2008

When you see it, you'll shit yourself.


Gonna pre-plan my turn, just use a green mana die to cast Concentrate (powered) to use Stamina (powered) + 2 and Swiftness (unpowered) to move to the Healing Glade.

Also assign the Banner of Protection to the monks.

Tekopo fucked around with this message at 09:54 on Oct 24, 2014

Stelas
Sep 6, 2010

Wolfhawk's Turn

Friends!


Arythea (Fat Samurai) - 2 hand, 0 deck, End of Round called.
Wolfhawk (Bubble-T) - 3 hand, 0 deck.
Tovak (Gutter Owl) - 4 hand, 0 deck.
Krang (Tekopo) - 5 hand, 0 deck.
Volkare - 33 deck. 4 city, 5 keep, 8 dragons, 8 orcs.
Unit Offer | Fame/Reputation Track

Bubble-T
Dec 26, 2004

You know, I've got a funny feeling I've seen this all before.
Phew.

I Curse the Hydra, weakening it's defenses, then blow my Horn of Wrath in it's general direction for 5 siege damage. I learn Tremor and end my turn.

Next turn play my remaining cards sideways for 3 move to hop across the walls and end on the plains.

Stelas
Sep 6, 2010

Bubble-T posted:

Next turn play my remaining cards sideways for 3 move to hop across the walls and end on the plains.

End of Round has currently been called!

Stelas
Sep 6, 2010

By CO, Tovak gets some Guardian Golems.

By CO, Krang gets across to the healing glade and heals a wound out of discard. I'm going to assume he also uses Temporal Portal to draw an extra card next turn because I can find nothing to suggest it doesn't work cross-rounds.

End of Round has been called - Volkare does not get a turn.

That said, I'm going to allow the group a moment to check if they want to postpone End of Round briefly to allow Wolfhawk that final move. It would make Volkare draw one more card, but wouldn't really change anything else.

Here's the map as it stands, for planning purposes:



The round wrap-up will be posted once decided.

Tekopo
Oct 24, 2008

When you see it, you'll shit yourself.


I can make an extra turn useful, either by getting rid of another wound or (more usefully) going to the mine with my portal and getting a crystal + TWO extra cards next round.

Bubble-T
Dec 26, 2004

You know, I've got a funny feeling I've seen this all before.

Stelas posted:

End of Round has currently been called!

Oh whoops I missed that. Might have gone for an artifact instead, no matter.

I'm ok with another turn if Tekopo wants it though, obviously. I don't have a good handle on the correct pace to set in Volkare's Return yet.

The Shame Boy
Jan 27, 2014

Dead weight, just like this post.



With the way Volkare is acting right now, anything is better than his pace though.

Tekopo
Oct 24, 2008

When you see it, you'll shit yourself.


Bubble-T posted:

Oh whoops I missed that. Might have gone for an artifact instead, no matter.

I'm ok with another turn if Tekopo wants it though, obviously. I don't have a good handle on the correct pace to set in Volkare's Return yet.
I'm not desperate for a turn, but it would be useful. We'll wait until the other two have their say.

Bubble-T
Dec 26, 2004

You know, I've got a funny feeling I've seen this all before.

Tekopo posted:

I'm not desperate for a turn, but it would be useful. We'll wait until the other two have their say.

I just want to get a headstart on moving out of my dead-end corner. Stupid walls. Your additional turn is a lot stronger than mine I think!

How about if Gutter Owl and Fat Samurai both want to end right now, we do that. Otherwise let's take another turn.

Tekopo
Oct 24, 2008

When you see it, you'll shit yourself.


Sounds good. As I said, getting 2 extra cards (I can power the portal with the gold token from the glade) instead of just 1 AND a green crystal would set me up nicely for next turn, I just don't have the experience with Volkare to say if it would be worth it or not.

Bubble-T
Dec 26, 2004

You know, I've got a funny feeling I've seen this all before.
By the way Stelas did you roll a die for my Horn of Greed use? I sometimes forget that the basic activation can give you a wound.

Fat Samurai
Feb 16, 2011

To go quickly is foolish. To go slowly is prudent. Not to go; that is wisdom.
I don't have any problem with giving another turn if you cold get some use out of it.

Stelas
Sep 6, 2010

Bubble-T posted:

By the way Stelas did you roll a die for my Horn of Greed use? I sometimes forget that the basic activation can give you a wound.

Yeah, you were fine.

gutterdaughter
Oct 21, 2010

keep yr head up, problem girl
Sure. I'll be forced to call on my own turn, though.

Tekopo
Oct 24, 2008

When you see it, you'll shit yourself.


Okay, then I'll pre-plan for using the gold mana token from the glade to play Temporal Portal (powered) to move to the crystal mine and get +2 cards at the start of next round.

Stelas
Sep 6, 2010

Volkare draws... a Wound. And rolls Blue. Nothing happens.

Krang temporal portals to the mine and picks up a crystal and +2 next turn.

Wolfhawk slithers into a fortified position.

Aaaand the round ends.

Bubble-T
Dec 26, 2004

You know, I've got a funny feeling I've seen this all before.
That's our Volkare :allears:

Stelas
Sep 6, 2010

ROUND 1 END

The sun sets on the first day. The search for the city is still underway.



Movement History

Arythea - 19 cards in deck, 2 wounds




New Cards: Swift Bolt
New Skills: Polarization
New Units: Savage Monks

The start of a solid ranged build. Arythea would prefer Fire Bolt, perhaps, but I've never really done badly by picking white with her, if only because it means she can bring Expose and Swiftness along for good measure. Polarization is up there for 'best skill in the game', completely obliterating any scarcity in the mana source.

Tovak - 19 cards in deck, 2 wounds




New Cards: Shield Bash
New Skills: Mana Overload
New Units: Guardian Golems

A rough first turn for Tovak, but ending with Shield Bash and the Guardian Golems is a good result. Mana Overload is shockingly good - arguably the strongest co-op skill in terms of what it does for other players, providing a +4 to any of the major stats that flows through into Ranged or Siege Attack. (Wolfhawk has stronger, but only for herself.)

Wolfhawk - 19 cards in deck, 0 wounds




New Cards: Horn of Wrath, Fire Bolt, Tremor
New Skills: Curse (Krang)

Horn of Wrath is the undisputed king of the artifact deck. Siege 5, no questions asked, no mana requirements, oh no you might take a wound. If that weren't enough you can blow it up for Siege 10 while only risking 1-2 wounds on average. It and Fire Bolt make for a very strong ranged deck, and Tremor doesn't hurt. Curse is kinda rear end, but then so are most of Wolfhawk's skills.

Krang - 18 cards in deck, 1 wound




New Cards: Temporal Portal, Banner of Protection
New Skills: Battle Frenzy
New Units: Red Cape Monks

I love Temporal Portal. It's a portable keep in terms of the hand size bonus, and a free source of awkward terrain movement when you don't want to blow Move 5 or Move 10 in getting through a forest at night. Banner of Protection beefs up the Red Cape Monks into ice/fire resistance, allowing them to completely tank anything up to a selection of city units without batting an eye. Even the strongest of city units or dragons is only going to give them a single wound.

Battle Frenzy is one of Krang's more useful skills, I think. +2 attack, +4 if you want to pop it, and it's recoverable if you rest up those wounds. Sure, sounds good.

Volkare - 32 cards in deck



Blue: 4 (+1 Spell)
Green: 4 (+1 Spell)
Red: 4 (+1 Spell)
White: 4 (+1 Spell)
Wounds: 12
Troops: 33 deck. 4 city, 5 keep, 8 dragons, 8 orcs.

A third of his wounds gone and he only nabbed one token. Jeez.

Bubble-T
Dec 26, 2004

You know, I've got a funny feeling I've seen this all before.

Stelas posted:

Curse is kinda rear end, but then so are most of Wolfhawk's skills.

Ain't that the truth. As long as I don't have to pick between Know Your Prey and Call of the Pack at the same time I'll be happy.

Perhaps refreshing breeze would have been better but I do like to mix and match when I can still get the action card I want. That "no fortified enemies in siege/ranged" restriction on Curse is just killer though :(

Stelas
Sep 6, 2010

ROUND 2 START

The offer is updated.

Please pick tactics in the following order: Arythea, Tovak, Krang, Wolfhawk, Volkare.


Arythea (Fat Samurai) - 5 hand, 14 deck.
Wolfhawk (Bubble-T) - 5 hand, 14 deck.
Tovak (Gutter Owl) - 5 hand, 14 deck.
Krang (Tekopo) - 7 hand, 11 deck.
Volkare - 32 deck. 4 city, 5 keep, 8 dragons, 8 orcs.
Unit Offer | Fame/Reputation Track

Stelas fucked around with this message at 04:57 on Oct 25, 2014

Stelas
Sep 6, 2010

Bubble-T posted:

Perhaps refreshing breeze would have been better

This is kiiiind of my feeling, but then that's just my playstyle: generally, I tend to prioritize crystals where I can. Crystals with heal attached are even better.

Also, lest we forget, Wolfhawk has a single skill that gives her a potential 9 Move / 9 Attack / 9 Block. Basically, everything is redeemed instantly if you can draw her co-op skill.

Bubble-T
Dec 26, 2004

You know, I've got a funny feeling I've seen this all before.
I think I'm ok with just about any tactic, I'll be moving to the monastery and buying something before I burn it down.



Stelas posted:

This is kiiiind of my feeling, but then that's just my playstyle: generally, I tend to prioritize crystals where I can. Crystals with heal attached are even better.

Also, lest we forget, Wolfhawk has a single skill that gives her a potential 9 Move / 9 Attack / 9 Block. Basically, everything is redeemed instantly if you can draw her co-op skill.

I don't tend to take that many wounds so I probably undervalue the heal effect.

Stelas
Sep 6, 2010

I'm definitely not saying it's The One True Way or anything, but the way I tend to look at it is that if I have enough healing to hand I can basically use it as a substitute for Block. Doesn't always work, especially with Elusive creatures, but it's a possibility.

Stelas
Sep 6, 2010

A Guide As To Why Wolfhawk Sucks
~or~
loving Use Units For Christ's Sake




Did a bit of solo Volkare. Despite the map utterly blessing me with everything I needed for a picture-perfect ranged build - seriously, absolutely loving everything: every bolt, Horn of Wrath, Expose, Snowstorm, Force of Nature, I'm only missing... Fireball? - I still nearly lost this and had to let the city be ravaged underneath me while I desperately rested up in order to get into a winning position. Because it doesn't matter for poo poo if you can snipe down half of Volkare's army in a single burst if the rest of them immediately turn around and hand you 10 wounds in a single go.

gutterdaughter
Oct 21, 2010

keep yr head up, problem girl

Stelas posted:

A Guide As To Why Wolfhawk Sucks
~or~
loving Use Units For Christ's Sake


I just pulled out Wolfhawks starting kit.

Of the ten skills available to her in any given game (splitting the difference between Wolf's Howl and Howl of the Pack, her competitive/cooperative skills), only three of the skills give any kind of poo poo about the presence or absence of Units.

  • Wolf's Howl/Howl of the Pack gives you a sideways card at a 4 (rather than a 1), +1 for each empty command token.
  • Dueling gives you an extra +1 fame if you beat the targeted enemy without using Units to attack/block/target/intercept it. (Note that you can still use units on other enemies in the fight.)
  • On Her Own gives you +1 influence, +3 if you don't hire a unit with it. (So for healing, monastery training, city abilities, and/or Learning.)

NONE of them actually give a good reason to run unitless. At best, Wolf's Howl gives you a consolation prize for being slow about hiring (considering that the +1 from the Howl is going to be weaker than whatever bonus a unit would likely give you). The other two still let you run as many units as you like, and just give you a bonus for not using/buying them right now.

tl;dr Don't loving skip out on units just because you're Wolfhawk. Wolfhawk works just fine with units. No wonder you're losing with her.

Stelas
Sep 6, 2010

Oh, yeah, I readily admit the title's a measure of hyperbole. Mostly I've been trying to see if a unitless run even really works because I like loving around with this stuff, and the answer is 'no no no stop that' even when you have the Most Ranged In The World. Volkare's army was designed pretty much expressly to make your biggest problem be losing to knockout.

I'm usually pretty big on going hard into a character's flavour whether it's beneficial or even particularly marked, so that's why I was using her for the attempt. It's definitely true that I end up with less units than I'd like most of the time, though, just because I can't be bothered to stop and fight orcs / maybe leave that monastery alone for once. All my games go to negative rep real fast and it's easily the bit I gently caress up most.

e: Also I guess the real problem with Wolfhawk is the rest of her skills. Refreshing Bath and Refreshing Breeze are okay, but Hawk Eyes is incredibly low-powered, On Her Own is pointless except in a very few circumstances, Taunt is kinda underwhelming and just about superceded by Curse, Deadly Aim is strictly worse than any of the other attack boosters... Fortunately, her cards can help a lot on that front. I've had plenty of times when I've really wanted Swiftness to be a little less restrictive in what it does. ("But I need to go 4, drat it!")

Stelas fucked around with this message at 04:05 on Oct 25, 2014

Bubble-T
Dec 26, 2004

You know, I've got a funny feeling I've seen this all before.
Yeah I'm probably hiring a pair of units asap this night because Wolfhawk's gimmick isn't really "have no units". I like playing her though, she's got a bit more mobility than other characters and the little bits of healing and combat bonuses she gets emphasise the situational "solve a puzzle" aspects of the game every turn.

Hawk Eyes just straight up sucks though, I have no idea why the night restriction is on it for starters.

edit: Also :lol: at buying no units but only taking one of her skills that cares about them. Duelling can actually be a nice skill if you get it first but it scales SO badly through the game, so I'm guessing you either drew it later on or in conjunction with one of her good skills.

Bubble-T fucked around with this message at 05:56 on Oct 25, 2014

Stelas
Sep 6, 2010

I got it at the same time as Wolf's Howl, so... yeah, real bad at that point.

I never said I was any good at MK. I just run it. :saddowns:

The Shame Boy
Jan 27, 2014

Dead weight, just like this post.



But according to your cheater scores, you're really good at MK :razz:

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Stelas
Sep 6, 2010

At this point I should really have named the thread 'Well, I've Been Playing That Wrong'.

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