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Elements the Game => Level 1 - Crucible => Card Ideas and Art => Crucible Archive => Topic started by: PuppyChow on June 21, 2010, 09:04:11 pm

Title: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: PuppyChow on June 21, 2010, 09:04:11 pm

(http://i47.tinypic.com/n2l2xj.png)
(http://i45.tinypic.com/9kuzar.png)
NAME:
Dangerous Trickster
ELEMENT:
Darkness
COST:
5  :darkness
TYPE:
Creature
ATK|HP:
2|7
ABILITY:
Mimic: Dangerous Trickster comes into play as a look-alike of your lowest attack creature.
Assassinate  :darkness :darkness : Target creature gains -1/-2.
NAME:
Malicious Trickster
ELEMENT:
Darkness
COST:
5  :darkness
TYPE:
Creature
ATK|HP:
2|7
ABILITY:
Mimic: Malicious Trickster comes into play as a look-alike of your lowest attack creature.
Assassinate  :darkness :darkness : Target creature gains -2/-2.
ART:
Richard Pace - http://jade.epilogue.net/cgi/database/art/view.pl?id=36837
IDEA:
PuppyChow
NOTES:
EVERYTHING would look like your lowest attack creature. If you had a vampire out, it would look like a vampire on the field, it would look like you played a vampire, and when it attacked it would look like "-4", though the actual damage to the health bar would only go down 3. (However, the "+4" to your health wouldn't appear). The first time it is targeted, however, it reverts back to its normal looks (I may try to fit this bit on the card itself).

When played, the animation for your darkness quanta would be -whatever the mimic card costs, but your darkness quanta would actually go down by the cost of the trickster.

Note that this is all according to your opponent. To you, it would look normal and have the ability for 2  :darkness below it.


The idea behind this card was a trickery card. Unless your opponent plays special attention to details (ie health and quanta), he will have no clue that you have a creature that has an active ability until you use it. You could even wait a turn or two to start using the ability if necessary, and then your opponent would have no clue which creature is dealing the damage.

Possible Balance Issues:
-Cost: Will probably go up. Just made 5 as a base. Thoughts?
-Coding issues. But it ain't my job to do the coding for this card. It may be hard, but worth it in my opinion.
SERIES:
None
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: didonko on June 21, 2010, 09:05:54 pm
And if you switch to low graphics, those details become extremely difficult to notice.
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: PuppyChow on June 21, 2010, 09:08:00 pm
Actually I would say they become easier to notice, because all the things the advanced graphics add look identical to what the card it's mimicing does :).
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: didonko on June 21, 2010, 09:12:36 pm
What happens if you don't have a creature on the board and play this card?
Does it mimic the creature if it dies? (Let's say an oty eats the last vampire and only the mimic is left?)
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: PuppyChow on June 21, 2010, 09:14:36 pm
-Once mimicing, it stays mimicing until it's targeted.
-If it's played without another creature on your side of the field, then it mimics itself, essentially not mimicing anything :).
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: Xoned on June 21, 2010, 11:24:09 pm
Love the idea, fits with :darkness nicely. If the trickster was your lowest attack card would it appear as a trickster?
I'd make it so they can't see the ability till the creature is targeted or they use precognition.
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: PuppyChow on June 21, 2010, 11:40:01 pm
That's how it already is :). YOU can see the ability, but they can't. Once they target it the mimic effect is turned off, but until then, it's a guessing game.

And yes, if the trickster was your lowest attack card it would appear as a trickster. If there's two or more cards with the same lowest attack, it randomly chooses one.
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: Xoned on June 21, 2010, 11:42:24 pm
Does it recalculate at the end of the turn?
Say you had a photon, a trickster, and a dragon. You buffed the photon and the trickster above the dragon. Would the trickster then appear as a dragon?
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: PuppyChow on June 22, 2010, 12:21:39 am
Nope. The idea is that by imitating your lowest attack creature, people won't target it as much and it is harder to realize that it's a creature (noticing it doing 3 damage versus doing 5 damage is much smaller than 3 damage versus 10). If it suddenly changed, then it wouldn't be very tricky would it? I think the wording of the card clarifies that with "comes into play". It never says it will then change.
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: Xoned on June 22, 2010, 12:27:51 am
You could still buff it though, right?
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: finkel on June 22, 2010, 12:29:24 am
My favorite part is that your opponent will have to try to remember which was the last card you played when the assassinations started. In a fractal deck or amidst many creatures, it would be quite difficult to sort it all out without, say, a thunderstorm.
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: PuppyChow on June 23, 2010, 10:33:59 pm
-Updated card art
-Both versions went to two attack
-Upgraded now does -2/-2 versus -1/-2
(Submitted for review)
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: Kael Hate on June 24, 2010, 12:42:13 am
I'm real wary of trickery cards that mess up how things look. I can just hear the oncoming screams of "HAX".

Fixed the Art link in your post, it had too many bb codes in it.
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: PuppyChow on June 24, 2010, 12:50:50 am
Thanks.

Well, as soon as they use a spell that targets, they'll see it for what it is. Maybe there could be a cool animation when it's unveiled so people don't think the creature suddenly changed.

And if you made assassinate have a cool animation with it (like a dagger slashing the creature or something) when used, I doubt people would think their creatures health is gone for a random reason.

Problems could arise with newbies that don't know all the cards, but as soon as they see the card in the bazaar (and I know I at least checked out all the cards when I started), they probably won't have any questions.

Another option is to make an AI or two that uses it, so newbies would have experience with the AI using it so wouldn't be surprised when it happens in pvp.

Yes, it could be a problem. But I think the idea is cool enough to warrant the risk :) .
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: Boingo on June 24, 2010, 02:36:39 pm
The trickster's hp is 7, but it will appear to be something lower in most cases (e.g., photon.)  What will it display when the mimic's hp is lowered, like with poison or sniping?  Will it be a negative number?

Also, will it appear to have momentum but not actually have it (if your lowest creature has momentum)?
Will it gain bioluminescence if you play that card or will this be precluded by the creatures active ability?
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: PuppyChow on June 24, 2010, 03:37:42 pm
The trickster's hp is 7, but it will appear to be something lower in most cases (e.g., photon.)  What will it display when the mimic's hp is lowered, like with poison or sniping?  Will it be a negative number?

Also, will it appear to have momentum but not actually have it (if your lowest creature has momentum)?
Will it gain bioluminescence if you play that card or will this be precluded by the creatures active ability?
-As soon as it's targeted by something, the mimic effect stops.

About your other suggestions... I'm not sure how it would work mechanically; that'd be up to Zanz.

But how I would like it to work is that both would appear on the card and show the animation but not happen. Ie if your opponent had a solar shield up and it mimiced a 7 attack momentumed creature, the 7 damage animation would appear on the opponent's health but only 1 damage would actually happen. With bioluminessence, a +1 would appear next to your light quanta but no light would actually be added.
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: Boingo on June 24, 2010, 03:52:04 pm
The trickster's hp is 7, but it will appear to be something lower in most cases (e.g., photon.)  What will it display when the mimic's hp is lowered, like with poison or sniping?  Will it be a negative number?

Also, will it appear to have momentum but not actually have it (if your lowest creature has momentum)?
Will it gain bioluminescence if you play that card or will this be precluded by the creatures active ability?
-As soon as it's targeted by something, the mimic effect stops.

About your other suggestions... I'm not sure how it would work mechanically; that'd be up to Zanz.

But how I would like it to work is that both would appear on the card and show the animation but not happen. Ie if your opponent had a solar shield up and it mimiced a 7 attack momentumed creature, the 7 damage animation would appear on the opponent's health but only 1 damage would actually happen. With bioluminessence, a +1 would appear next to your light quanta but no light would actually be added.
Thanks for the explanation of your idea.  One other thought: how would you address non-targeted damage like Fire Shield or Thorn Carapace?  Would these reveal the Trickster as well?
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: PuppyChow on June 24, 2010, 06:06:48 pm
Hmmm. I think maybe if the mimic reaches 0 health then it would be revealed. Or maybe it would be revealed as soon as it takes damage =\.

What do you think should happen? :D.
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: melzardust on June 24, 2010, 06:33:10 pm
One question, say it copies to a 1/2 gnome rider, and the enemy has 2 otys out. what happens when the oty tries to eat the trickster?

Anyways, good card idea!
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: PuppyChow on June 24, 2010, 06:34:48 pm
That's another way to tell that it's a fake: it wouldn't be targetable unless the oty had over seven health.
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: melzardust on June 24, 2010, 06:43:54 pm
Oh ok, but this would stil add to the "WTFHAX? :o" comments.
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: SpikeSpiegel on June 25, 2010, 01:18:21 pm
I love this card and the idea, but i think this version is too strong...

A little less hp? Maybe 4-5?
Title: Re: Dangerous Trickster | Malicious Trickster
Post by: Boingo on June 25, 2010, 03:06:20 pm
Hmmm. I think maybe if the mimic reaches 0 health then it would be revealed. Or maybe it would be revealed as soon as it takes damage =\.

What do you think should happen? :D.
If you want it to be a real trickster, you'd have it reveal as such when mimic hp goes to 0.  That way you get a little extra satisfaction of screwing with him-- "Wait a minute....I thought I killed that creature.  Damn you Trickster!"   :P

One other thing--since a devourer/pest is likely to be the lowest attack creature in a :darkness deck, playing this guy early will be a dead giveaway.  Since they have 0 attack, he'll figure it out when there's no creatures with attack in the field yet his life is going down.  Still, he'll have to watch for which one is attacking when the life goes down....
blarg: