Xylotyl | Fanged Xylotyl

[smuglapse]

NAME: Xylotyl ELEMENT: Aether COST: 4 TYPE: Creature ATK|HP: 5|1 TEXT: : Inculcate Xylotyl is inserted randomly in your opponent's deck.	NAME: Fanged Xylotyl ELEMENT: Aether COST: 4 TYPE: Creature ATK|HP: 7|1 TEXT: : Inculcate Fanged Xylotyl is inserted randomly in your opponent's deck.

ART: smuglapse IDEA: smuglapse NOTES: When activating the skill the Xylotyl leaves the board as if it was rewound. COMPETITION: The MASH-UP (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,16215.0.html) CHANGES: 12/3/10: Added 'all your creatures lose 1 HP.'  Changed from first to second card in opponent's deck. 12/5/10: Changed from specific point in opponent's deck to random.  Removed all other conditions.

[kobisjeruk]

i see what you did there
mind gate combo lock huh?

[QuantumT]

I'm not really a favor of cards that allow total lockdowns, especially one's that only require 2 cards and have their own built in win condition.

[Kuroaitou]

For a moment there, I was frantically trying to look up what a 'Xylotyl' was, thinking it was some sort of advanced illness or bacteria that I never got the chance to learn about. Great name choice there smuglapse.

That said, Fire & Aether have plenty of synergies as is, but a denial strategy with the two elements feels very unorthodox, and contradictory to what Fractal and Twin Universe provide for Fire creatures...

[smuglapse]

I think this revision will prevent the complete lock while still allowing for mass generation.

[QuantumT]

That just means you have to put 2 out at the same time and the lock is still complete.

[smuglapse]

That just means you have to put 2 out at the same time and the lock is still complete.

2 out plus one has to have either an HP buff or immortality.  The lock is broken whenever you can't buff one of them.

[QuantumT]

That just means you have to put 2 out at the same time and the lock is still complete.

2 out plus one has to have either an HP buff or immortality.  The lock is broken whenever you can't buff one of them.

Nah it's all in the order you play the cards. You just use the ability before you play it each turn.

[smuglapse]

Scenario: you are playing an opponent with 60 Earth pillars.  You have 2 Mindgates already played and infinite .

Step 1: You play Xylotyl and end turn.  Opponent draws a pillar.
Step 2: You use Inculcate and end turn.  Opponent draws a pillar.
Step 3: You use all your Mindgates to produce 2 Xylotyls.  You play 1 Xylotyl and end turn.  Opponent draws a Xylotyl.
Step 4: You use Inculcate and then play 1 Xylotyl and end turn.  Opponent draws a pillar.
Step 5: You use Inculcate and then produce 2 Xylotyls from Mindgates and play 1 to field.  Opponent draws a Xylotyl.
Step 6: You use Inculcate and then produce 2 Xylotyls from Mindgates and play 1 to field.  Opponent draws a Xylotyl.

Ah.  Now you know why I am not good at chess.

Anyways, it seems the lock can be prevented if the effect (instead of causing damage to your creatures) immediately ended your turn.

Same Scenario.
Step 1: You play Xylotyl and end turn.  Opponent draws a pillar.
Step 2: You use Inculcate and your turn is over.  Opponent draws a pillar.
Step 3. You use all your Mindgates to produce 2 Xylotyls.  You play both and end turn.  Opponent draws a Xylotyl.
Step 4: You use Inculcate and your turn is over.  Opponent draws a pillar.
Step 5: You use all your Mindgates to produce 2 Xylotyls.  You play both and then use Inculcate from the previously-played Xylotyl and your turn is over.  Opponent draws a Xylotyl.
Step 6: You use all your Mindgates to produce 2 Xylotyls.  You play both and then use Inculcate from one of the previously-played Xylotyl and your turn is over.  Opponent draws a Xylotyl.

That doesn't work either.  So now same scenario with both penalties.
Step 1: You play Xylotyl and end turn.  Opponent draws a pillar.
Step 2: You use Inculcate and your turn is over.  Opponent draws a pillar.
Step 3: You use all your Mindgates to produce 2 Xylotyls.  You play 1 Xylotyl and end turn.  Opponent draws a Xylotyl.
Step 4: You use Inculcate and your turn is over.  Opponent draws a pillar.
Step 5: You use all your Mindgates to produce 2 Xylotyls.  You play 1 Xylotyl and end turn.  Opponent draws a Xylotyl.
Step 6: You use Inculcate and your turn is over.  Opponent draws a pillar.

So that will not cause a lock unless you also have a quinted Anubis or Aether Nymph.  Sound good?

[Ruduen]

The scenario that would need to happen with just second card:

Turn 1: Play Xyl. End turn.
Turn 2: Use Xyl's effect, play another Xyl. End turn. Opponent draws card on top. Top card becomes Xyl.
Turn 3: Use Xyl's effect. Your opponent's top two cards are now Xyl. Use mindgate. Play this new Xyl.

The status now involves you getting a new Xyl in your hand every turn via mindgate, and your opponent's top two cards stuck as Xyl as long as they cannot kill your Xyl. While any bit of creature control can stop this loop, it would be messy.

If the effect ended your turn, I believe the loop would be weaker, but could still occur:

Turn 1: Play Xyl (A). End turn.
Turn 2: Play second Xyl (B). Use original Xyl's (A) effect. Turn ends as a result. Opponent draws some card on top. Top card becomes Xyl (A).
Turn 3: Use mindgate, play this new Xyl (C). Use the original second Xyl's (B) effect. Turn ends with one new Xyl (C) on the field, and 2 Xyl (A and B) on your opponent's deck.

You'd need some good method of preventing Multiple Xyls. I'm not even sure what it would be like if you had both the end turn and damage clauses in, but right now, I still see a loop.

Even assuming you couldn't create a loop, the effect is still quite potent, seeing as you'd have a way of stuffing up an opponent's deck with a card they might not even use.

Need to go over more scenarios...

[smuglapse]

The latest change will make it considerably less consistent, but will prevent total lock down of the opponent.  It being in the same element as Quint and TU will keep it from being UP.

[QuantumT]

The latest change will make it considerably less consistent, but will prevent total lock down of the opponent.  It being in the same element as Quint and TU will keep it from being UP.

I'll agree with that. I don't really see anyway to abuse that. The only issue I can see is that as far as I can tell, the game fixes card order at the beginning of the game, and this would lead to changes in that order.