Interruption | Distraction

[StudioSeraphim]

NAME: Interruption ELEMENT: Time COST: 4 TYPE: Spell TEXT: All effects of the target permanent/stack no longer apply, until the start of your next turn.	NAME: Distraction ELEMENT: Time COST: 6 TYPE: Spell TEXT: All effects of the target permanent/stack no longer apply, until the start of your next turn.

ART: EmeraldTiger IDEA: StudioSeraphim NOTES: My first suggestion for a card, and one that I think is pretty well-balanced and versatile. By negating the effects of a permanent/permanent stack for the duration of your current turn and your opponent's next one, the card basically gives you one turn of 'get-out-of-jail-free', allowing you to bypass the Shield that was adversely affecting your creatures, the Weapon that was shaving off your HP a little fast for your liking, or the pillars that were feeding your opponent fatal amounts of quanta. The upped version increases the cost of the card, but removes the type limitation, allowing you to play it at the expense of any six quanta. I know this card's effect was suggested already, in attachment to the Thunderbird creature (I saw that immediately after suggesting this Interruption - D'oh) but I think the effect would be more balanced as a spell. Thoughts?

[OldTrees]

Don't forget to Read this before posting you card idea. (http://elementscommunity.org/forum/index.php/topic,5039.0.html)
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[StudioSeraphim]

Alright, all sorted! Let the feedback commence lol.

[Kuroaitou]

CURATOR COMMENT
-Remove the  icon from the upped card's COST table (Don't use that icon please. ^^; - the table should match the card image symbol for symbol, and that icon is for the forums only, as it's not found on any of the cards or in-game)
-*Please tribute EmeraldTiger on the bottom left corner of the card art like so:




*Notice the bottom left corner of the picture, 'Art by EmeraldTiger'. If you're using Planplan's card image generator, that small box should be there for you to edit with EmeraldTiger's name if possible.


First off - Welcome to the Forums and the Card Ideas & Art (or CIA) board StudioSeraphim! I'm the local Card Curator, so feel free to ask me any questions when making card ideas, okay?

In regards to your card concept - I like it, but I don't think that when you upgrade it, it should automatically become an Other card. Certain cards (See Flying Weapon (http://elementswiki.co.cc/cards-air/flying-weapon-animate-weapon/) for example) can retain its element but cost generic quanta when upgraded. In this case, your upped card can still be a Time card that costs generic quanta when upped, thus making it more useful in rainbows that don't require specific quanta.

That said, this is quite a brutal card if you manage to chain it on a lovely stack of towers/pillars - given enough quanta, I could see this being even more potent than Earthquake or Quicksand, but of course, since the effect only lasts a turn, it's more of a soft form of permanent control compared to Explosion or Steal (which is a nice thing for Time to have, nonetheless). I would honestly reduce the cost slightly to make it more accessible for all Time and non-Time users alike (for both the non-upgraded and upped forms of the card), but that's just a suggestion.

Oh, and very interesting art indeed.

[StudioSeraphim]

Glad you liked the idea! Thanks for the feedack, I've made the requested revisions. I originally wanted Distraction to remain a Time-elemental card, but wasn't aware that it could do so and still retain a generic quanta cost.

Any word on balancing the card? Is it overpowered, underpowered, or baby bear's porridge?

[Memorystick]

First thing's first- the table says the upped version is "Other", while the card background suggests it's "Time"- it looks to me like you changed the card to Time, but didn't change the table (especially considering kuro's comment)
As for the price... Deflagration is 2|1 for 1 destroyed permanent, Steal is 4|3 for 1 destroyed permanent and 1 generated permanent, and Earthquake is 3|2 for up to 3 destroyed pillars. Now we need to know... what's the average stack size that this would be used on? I can see it being used on weapons and shields a lot, but it can also provide a huge advantage by stopping a large stack of pillars from producing quanta. Assuming the average number of pillars in a stack is 6 (estimate from chat), that would place the cost at 6|5 or 6|4 (based off Earthquake)... but since it'll also be used on non-stackable permanents (like shields), and that it only lasts one turn, I think that shaving 2 off the cost would suffice... giving 4|3 or 4|2... and since 3 generic quanta is equivalent to 1 elemental quanta, the upped would be 6-9 quanta (with 6 being more reasonable), giving 4 | 6 generic... which you have! Nice work with balancing it, I'd love to see this in the game (especially with how few PC options we have currently...)

[StudioSeraphim]

Thanks very much!

I'll be honest, I didn't do any of those calculations when I priced the cards - I just tried to balance the effectiveness of the possible epic combos with the relative ineffectiveness of a poor choice of target. Nice to know my gut feeling comes up on par with the carefully considered approach!

Yeah, I didn't edit the table, I was in a bit of a rush last time I updated the card. I'll sort it now.

EDIT: Updated!