Cave Bear | Elder Bear

[Treldon]

NAME: Cave Bear ELEMENT: Earth COST: 5 TYPE: Creature ATK|HP: 3 | 5 TEXT: : Hibernate Target creature is delayed for 4 turns, gains +1|-1 each turn while it is delayed	NAME: Elder Bear ELEMENT: Earth COST: 5 TYPE: Creature ATK|HP: 4 | 5 TEXT: : Hibernate Target creature is delayed for 2 turns, gains +2|-2 each turn while it is delayed

ART: Treldon - source IDEA: Treldon NOTES: Skill has dual use, as you can both use it to delay targets or to buff them. Upped delays for only 2 turns so that you can benefit from the buff sooner. gains +1|-1 each turn while it is delayed means that if the affected creature is delayed for more turns from any source, the buffing continues as long as it is delayed. SERIES: Skyrim Hold symbols

[iancudorinmarian]

Can you actually "hybernate" someone?

Also, you would expect to get extra health and lower attack if you hybernate...

Interesting mechanic though.

[Treldon]

Can you actually "hybernate" someone?
Now you can. Think more of cryosleep/suspended animation - hybernation just sounds more natural.
I have been thinking whether or not to make it targetable. Not targeting (hybernate self) makes more sense for a bear, but targeting makes it widely more useful.

Also, you would expect to get extra health and lower attack if you hybernate...Lower HP comes from the fact that hybernating creatures do not eat while hybernating and use up their fat reserves, losing weight - thus losing health

Interesting mechanic though.

[UndeadSpider1990]

The ability is interesting and I like the pairing but it is thematically a bit odd. I agree it's strange to "hibernate" something, pretty sure that's not even grammatically correct. Also spelling

Why make the upped only delay for 2 turns? It's better if you want to use it as a buff, but worse if you want it as CC. Honestly I don't think it's a very good attack strategy though (it's like a super super weak Shard of Patience).

[Treldon]

The ability is interesting and I like the pairing but it is thematically a bit odd. I agree it's strange to "hibernate" something, pretty sure that's not even grammatically correct. Also spelling

hybernate
Verb

(third-person singular simple present hybernates, present participle hybernating, simple past and past participle hybernated)

Obsolete spelling of hibernate.

Why make the upped only delay for 2 turns? It's better if you want to use it as a buff, but worse if you want it as CC.That's the exact reason. If you want to CC, both  and  have better options, this is only an additional one.
Honestly I don't think it's a very good attack strategy though (it's like a super super weak Shard of Patience).It is indeed a weaker SoP with one great difference: while shards are banned from most organized PvP events, this would not be. However I am considering buffing the effect

[Spacious]

I actually do think the idea is rather solid, numbers-wise. I don't think it'll be used in it's upped form, but I see situations where it can be strong unupped.

Let's compare to say, Fallen Elf, which fits into the niche of cave bear. Let's also consider things like otyugh, squid, etc. for more numbers.

This thing kills anything with >3HP (although you can save it with HP buffs). A very notable card that runs on 3HP is Shrieker, which also happens to be a core part of an extremely strong deck, Grabbow. Even if it doesn't kill, you are essentially freezing a creature for 3 turns (trading 3 extra atk for 3 turns of no attack is perfectly fine.)

Fallen Elf is a 4 3/2 that has a 1 "unreliable" CC/Buff. Cave Bear is a 3/5 5 3 turns of confirmed CC or a very bad buff (but good for stopping antimatter, sosacs, these are unlikely situations because sosac is banned but meh). Just looking at these two cards, Cave Bear is much bulkier and has a more reliable form of CC. While it doesn't past the 5HP mark of being immune to Lightning, it is much bulkier than it's counterpart.

Other CC creeps: Squid, Maxwell, Otyugh. Numbers-wise, Cave Bear gives the most value for stats. It has the stat-level of an upped card (Maxwell's Demon) and it is perfectly arguable that Cave Bear has a better effect since it can delay a creep for 3 turns regardless of its statline but also kills low HP ones vs Paradox.

Squid: Cave Bear has cheaper and is more likely to survive. The effect can be argued as the same or even better.
Otyugh: 4 0/3 with devour. Unfortunately it is hard to compare the 2 cards, but Cave Bear definitely prevails math-wise. And I also happen to prefer maths (also SoP is out in most unupped metas so Oty unfortunately loses one of its best combos).

As you can see Cave Bear is a very strong card. Water/Earth having better CC is a moot point. Deal 3 damage over 3 turns of delay is essentially a repeatable firebolt with freeze and no other card offers that. It also happens to be repeatable, and very much cheaper to play than nymphs with an even cheaper activation cost.

[UndeadSpider1990]

hybernate
Verb

(third-person singular simple present hybernates, present participle hybernating, simple past and past participle hybernated)

Obsolete spelling of hibernate.

I stand corrected 

[Treldon]

I've added a poll about the ability. Please choose whether it should be targetable or not, and whether it needs a buff or not. Select two. Thanks!

Also the name will be changed to Hibernate on update

[Treldon]

Updated a bit. Now upped is called Elder Bear and grants +2|-2 per turn while delayed, unupped is the same as before but delays for 4 turns

[Mr Muffin]

I think that when a creature is hibernating it should be targetable but when it is hit with a effect (skill spell etc.) it wakes up the creature. I know that's not in the choices but I think the idea needs to be heard.