Satellite | Satellite

[skyironsword]

NAME: Satellite ELEMENT: Gravity COST: 12 TYPE: Permanent ATK|HP: TEXT: Arena: Pillars and pendulums will activate every other turn	NAME: Satellite ELEMENT: Gravity COST: 10 TYPE: Permanent ATK|HP: TEXT: Arena: Pillars and pendulums will activate every other turn

ART: IDEA: skyironsword NOTES: Affects protected pillars (similar to sundial working on immortals), but not mark cards. Pendulums will not switch while delayed/frozen/stopped/whatever. Arena: Destroy this card if another Arena card comes into play on either side SERIES: Arena

[OdinVanguard]

You will need to make sure the "effective cycle time" is not a multiple of two (every-other turn is actually exactly two). Otherwise, you will make pendulums worthless and this becomes a hard counter to many duo strategies.

This is because a pendulum will be on a given color every other turn. If you knock out activation on every other turn, then one of its two quanta types will never get produced.

[skyironsword]

The pendulum will literally stop working. Which means that it will stop switching elements.

Edit: Added to notes.

[furballdn]

The pendulum will literally stop working. Which means that it will stop switching elements.

Edit: Added to notes.

Not good design. Previous testing showed that cards like this shut down pendulum duos too quickly and harshly.

[skyironsword]

Stop switching elements, as in for the turn they are delayed. I think you misunderstood me, it will work like this: (assuming life mark and aether pendulum)

Generates aether
Fails to generate aether due to Satellite
Generates life

It will simply not switch elements when affected by Satellite, then will switch the turn after.

[OdinVanguard]

Stop switching elements, as in for the turn they are delayed. I think you misunderstood me, it will work like this: (assuming life mark and aether pendulum)

Generates aether
Fails to generate aether due to Satellite
Generates life

It will simply not switch elements when affected by Satellite, then will switch the turn after.

Hmmm I see where you are going.
This will still be a pretty significant impairment of pendulums... But at least it won't make them 100% impotent.
...Metagame wise, I would wager that this card would trigger a major boost in the number of decks that rely on Immolate, nova, and quanta generating creatures.
So basically, Mono's and Rainbow rushers.
Duos (and monos for elements that lack non-pillar production) will get shafted.

That aside, this card is going to be funky to balance.
On the one hand, it severly cripples quanta production. Making it a very strong effect that deserves a high cost.
On the other hand, if you give this card a high cost it will not be seen till late-mid game. This is a problem since quanta denial is most effective early on.
Lastly, this card will hit very hard since that element has no means of quanta production outside of pillars and pendulums... Why would anyone want to shoot themselves in the foot like that?

[artimies7]

For balance, might this only last a few turns? Kind of a generated field-of-effect.

[skyironsword]

I made it because first, it fits, and second, you would need a duo for it to be any use.

Unless you enjoy shooting yourself in the foot

[Laxadarap]

I agree that this does not work very well in a gravity deck.  And a duo will generally require pendulums right? Wouldn't this just backfire even harder?  I would agree that it would only see use in Nova and immolation decks, but 12 gravity is quite hard to get, so I'm honestly not sure.  Secondly, because this is so expensive, it seems that it would be better late game, which is when Gravity starts to build momentum, and it also makes it not as useful in a rainbow/cremation rush.  I don't see this getting a lot of use at all.

[skyironsword]

Pendulums will be slowed down just as much as pillars. They will still generate both their elements; read the above posts.

And this might not be one of the most popular cards, but the same could be said for Blue Crawler. Not many uses, but there's definitely some.

[Laxadarap]

I read the notes, the point is that it will be slower than a mono because a mono has a mark to save it.  In a pendulum deck, the off element will generate 1 quanta per pend every 4 turns, which is horribly slow, while in the same 4 turns, the on element will generate 5.  5-1 quanta will severly imbalance the duo, and you cannot build with this in mind, or your quanta will be off as well, and your build will be suboptimal.  In a mono, in those 4 turns you would have 6 quanta, and more importantly would not be hampered at all.  I highly argue against nerfing duos, trios and the sort, and buffing rainbows/immorushes. 

[skyironsword]

This basically quadruples the mark's power. If you had ten pendulums, it would be 14-10 (I think? My math might be off) and the difference would be almost unnoticeable.

Unless you only have one pendulum in your entire deck. Which is a little strange.