If we already have an ability "Devour", why would we want an ability called "Devourer" that does something completely different?
I think it's also important to understand that game developers make mistakes all the time. Although in most cases we should use current Elements cards as examples of the right way of doing things, we shouldn't follow it blindly. I personally think that "Devourer" was not the best choice of words because it can be confused with the ability "Devour". It's not the end of the world of course, but choosing a more unique name would have been better. And it most certainly does not mean that because Elements has done something like that once, it suddenly becomes "good game design".
But still I think there is a subtle difference between Evolve/Evolution and Devour/Devourer. If I understand correctly, the word "evolve" points directly to evolution, whereas Devourer can mean pretty much anything. That doesn't make Devour/Devourer a great choice of course, but the fact that it's a bit vague, makes it suck less. If we have a card in the game with an ability called "Evolve" and uses
to pay for it, we should seriously considered including that
somewhere when evolution theme is used.
I just find it weird that we have card called "Mutation" that is
, card with the ability "Evolve" that costs
, and now you suggest a card called "Evolution" that is
. Isn't that mixing themes, mechanics and quanta a bit too much?
The idea that randomness should be exclusive to Entropy is wrong (see Dusk Mantle and Fog Shield).
Please read my post again and you will see that what I said goes way beyond "Entropy is randomness". It's the mutation part that is the main problem. Here are the
cards that use similar mechanics:
How many
cards use similar mechanics? Zero.
I think it's pretty clear that the reason Fallen Elf uses
to pay for that mutation, is not because mutation fits
. If it did,
would have Mutation card, not
. The reason is because Fallen Elf had to use off-element quanta to pay for its ability so that it wouldn't be too OP. Like I said before, that
is there just as "fuel" or "food" to pay for the mutation that comes from
.
You suggest that it should entail all parts of Evolution, and yet you are also the one who argued that there is no need for Elements to be that scientifically accurate.
What I
actually said was that it doesn't have to have all the parts but it must include the
main idea. Lets take Rustler as an example.
Photosynthesis is a more complex process than the version Rustler uses, but the
main idea is still there, so it works just fine. I am repeating myself here, but I'll say it again. The card you have now only does mass mutation. There is no real evolution mechanics involved. The main thing of evolution is species adapting to their environment, and you didn't include that part.
How would you make it encompass the other parts of real evolution as well?
I posted one suggestion already. Here:
As for the mechanics.. I think the idea would be much cooler if the creatures would adapt to their situation, because evolution is not really about random things happening, it's about natural selection and survival of the fittest. Here's how I would do it:
EXAMPLE 1:
Your opponent bolts down one creature. All other creatures would gain +1 HP.
EXAMPLE 2:
Your opponent plays a Shield. All your creatures would gain +1 Attack.
EXAMPLE 3:
Your opponent plays Dimensional Shield, all your creatures would gain Momentum.
EXAMPLE 4:
Otyugh eats your creature. All other creatures would become poisonous (cause poisoning in ingested)
Just like Photosynthesis in Elements, this does not describe the evolution process 100% accurately, but it has the main point, which is creatures adapting to their environments. Best part is of course that because mutation is not mentioned at all, and is not part of the mechanics, the card could easily be put in
. It's of course not perfect and I'm not saying this is the only way to do it, but I think it fits the theme of evolution much better.
If you decide to keep the card idea as it is and as a
mass mutation card, that is of course your privilege. Although I personally think that the interesting theme of evolution would be wasted if you did.
Lets do one final experiment. I will now remake the card idea as an
card and we can compare the two.
BEFORE
| AFTER
|
If you look at these two cards, which one makes more sense?