Unstable Shapeshifter | Deranged Shapeshifter

[Conchobear]

I'm sure others have said this but this is a really great idea. It gets the opponent thinking and it doesn't seem THAT over powered as there is tons of ways to counter it. The cost may need to be higher to avoid Fractal abuse because if the opponent plays something like a Dragon then if you have 6 or so on the field you get at least 60 damage. Since you can also change the creature by playing Dragons of your own or any high power creature it seems like it's a bit too powerful but the need to play a creature with health is a nice drawback. Still a really good idea and I hope to see it in the game after possible necessary changes. ^_^

[TheManuz]

Very cool photo manipulation do you have a deviantart account or anything?

No, i don't have any deviantart account, but i usually do pixel art (this is my page on PixelJoint) (http://www.pixeljoint.com/p/12629.htm) and sometimes i play around with Photoshop.

Anyways I'm sure lawsuit threats from Wizards of the Coast are really something we don't need to worry about for something like this.  This would be a Zanz decision, I'd just leave it.

Sure, i think it's quite safe.

I'm sure others have said this but this is a really great idea. It gets the opponent thinking and it doesn't seem THAT over powered as there is tons of ways to counter it. The cost may need to be higher to avoid Fractal abuse because if the opponent plays something like a Dragon then if you have 6 or so on the field you get at least 60 damage. Since you can also change the creature by playing Dragons of your own or any high power creature it seems like it's a bit too powerful but the need to play a creature with health is a nice drawback. Still a really good idea and I hope to see it in the game after possible necessary changes. ^_^

Thanks! I really appreciate your feedback! You're right about the fractal, but remember that when you play a new Unstable Shapeshifter, the old ones on the playfield become 0|0, so you always need another creature in your hand to play after Shapeshifters.
Probably the cost should be raised anyway, but this card has so many counter that i'm not sure about that. I'd like to test it to see the possibilities!!! 

[TheManuz]

Yay! My first card reaching the forge!

[OldTrees]

Please correct me if I am wrong.
It copies
Current Attack
Current HP
Full Attack
Full HP
Element
Active Ability
Passive Abilities

It keeps
Statuses
The Copying passive ability

Unknown
Name/Base Identity (see question below)

Mitosis will generate Shapeshifter daughters correct?

I think a creature without summoning sickness dies when it hits 0hp.

[Xenocidius]

Please correct me if I am wrong.
It copies
Current Attack
Current HP
Full Attack
Full HP
Element
Active Ability
Passive Abilities

It keeps
Statuses
The Copying passive ability

Unknown
Name/Base Identity (see question below)

Mitosis will generate Shapeshifter daughters correct?

I think a creature without summoning sickness dies when it hits 0hp.

It will die at the end of the turn it is played unless the player plays another creature after it on that same turn.

Mitosis will actually generate daughters of the creature it has currently shapeshifted into (compare to Mutation). It will look exactly like the normal creature but with the Copying passive ability.

That's how it should work in-game, anyway.

[TheManuz]

Please correct me if I am wrong.
It copies
Current Attack
Current HP
Full Attack
Full HP
Element
Active Ability
Passive Abilities

It keeps
Statuses
The Copying passive ability

Unknown
Name/Base Identity (see question below)

Mitosis will generate Shapeshifter daughters correct?

I think a creature without summoning sickness dies when it hits 0hp.

Mh.... i haven't thought about summoning sickness, but thinking again, i guess that's how the game handles it.
This makes Shapeshifter a little more fragile than i thought, but doesn't change things too much.

Anyway, it could also be a 0|1, but it will die anyway if someone plays a lightning bolt!
Unless the passive skill Mimic handles the 0 HP letting the creature survive until the end of turn.
Maybe this is the way to handle this.

[Xenocidius]

To my knowledge no 0 HP creature will die when played; for the game doesn't handle death events at that time. And what makes you think it doesn't have summoning sickness? That only applies to active, triggered abilities.

[OldTrees]

Please correct me if I am wrong.

I think a creature without summoning sickness dies when it hits 0hp.

It will die at the end of the turn it is played unless the player plays another creature after it on that same turn.

I was talking about something more subtle than that.

Coding Question
Play Unstable Shapeshifter [US stats: 0|0]
Play Photon [US stats: 1|1]
End Turn
Play Deranged Shapeshifter [US stats: 0|0]
Does Unstable Shapeshifter now die since it has its hp reduced to 0? Or will it survive until the end of the turn?

[Xenocidius]

As I said, deaths aren't checked for simply when a card is played. They happen under any of the following conditions:

• A damaging spell is targeted at the creature in question
• A damaging skill is targeted at the creature in question
• A damaging AoE spell that affects the creature's side is used
• At the end of the turn

So yes, it will survive until the end of the turn (unless you for some reason damage it).

[OldTrees]

As I said, deaths aren't checked for simply when a card is played. They happen under any of the following conditions:

• A damaging spell is targeted at the creature in question
• A damaging skill is targeted at the creature in question
• A damaging AoE spell that affects the creature's side is used
• At the end of the turn

So yes, it will survive until the end of the turn (unless you for some reason damage it).

So as long as the copying skill is not counted as damaging (despite it lowering the hp) then there are no problems?

Off Topic: Does this mean that skills that give -X|-Y to target creature might not kill the creature until the end of the turn?

[Xenocidius]

The thing to realize is that it doesn't give -x|-y to the creature. Rather, it sets the attack and HP of the creature to the appropriate numbers. For example:

Here's Lightning in action:

creature.defense -= 5 //Sets creature HP relative to -5
*Check for deaths*

Now here's the copy effect in action:

creature.defense = newcreature.defense

Of course, if Zanz coded it so that it checked for deaths after that skill was activated, then that would be completely different.

[OldTrees]

Thanks for the lesson Xeno. 

Now to discuss balance. I apologize for missing this gem previously and I understand that the Armory is not a place for major changes. I am being descriptive not persuasive.

Casting Cost: 3 |2 + 1 card
1 more card required but the cost of the second card is used to pay for the second card so it is not included. It has a casting cost of about half that of Parallel Universe | Twin Universe. However the copying rarely stick. A smart prepared opponent will change your shapeshifter on their turn. This can occur in three ways. First they might play Chimera, Spark or sacrifice a Shapeshifter. Any of these three cards would effectively remove all shapeshifters however they are not all that common. Second they might play a fragile enough creature so they can use damage CC to destroy your shapeshifter. Usually this will only destroy 1 shapeshifter per CC. Third they might just play a weaker creature as their last creature. This third measure would simply require you to play an expensive creature every turn. The vulnerability or maintenance is a cost to consider that might or might not pay for the lower cost relative to PU | TU.

Side note: Shapeshifter can use a skill the turn the creature with the skill is played. This should be obvious but it still is important to single out IMO.