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Originally Posted by Kinseth
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Originally Posted by capsocrates
I actually think that the extra defense dice when engaged with 2+ opponents makes for more interesting tactical decisions overall. There are plenty of times where it will be the opponent who engages the Bladesmen instead of being the other way around. If COMBAT PROWESS gives the BLADESMEN an extra defense, the opponent may be more reluctant to engage the Bladesman with more than one unit to get extra attacks in. It also works to slightly mitigate powers like MOB ATTACK from the Cutters.
JANDAR'S FAVOR, on the other hand, is a static power that neither player can do anything about. There are other powers like that, and if this one didn't feel tacked on it could be okay, but as it stands I think it detracts from the elegance of the card.  |
I understand your point of view on this, The myth behind these figures is such that they trained in Nastralund, the best of the best Bladesmen. These fighters more or less have been "Blessed" by Jandar. Hence why the ability to roll Jandar dice, and why they are "Tougher" than the average human.
Remember that while you might think of 4 Def dice with Jandars Favor = 6 Def dice, it isn't really the same. The ceiling of these guys isn't 6.
Sure we could boost their def to 5, and get the bonus with Combat Prowess to 6 if engaged with 2. Most players are not so concerned with giving the enemy a bonus +1 def. I don't think any opponent is going to think twice of moving 2 figures to engage with the hops of one defeating one of the bladesmen.
I think that this ability adds a nice flavor to them that is consistent with the theme of the figure.
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Originally Posted by capsocrates
I like EAGLE'S CRY alright, but it feels like it would be cleaner if it were modeled more after the Axegrinders' Strategic Bonding, something like: Before taking a turn with the Nastralund Bladesmen, you may take a turn with one Valiant Warrior you control. If you do not take a turn with one Valiant Warrior you control, you may move one additional Nastralund Bladesmen during their turn.
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I think this makes most sense, the Bonding before a hero moves made more sense when it was with Eltahale. It does not make much sense anymore to have the figures go first, and then a hero.
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Changing the with probability of the dice, such as with JANDAR'S FAVOR, increases your average while decreasing your variance. You are right that 4 dice with that ability is different from 6 dice since you have a lower possible cap, but rolling 5 or 6 shields is already pretty unlikely and even more so on when it would actually matter. On average, you will get about the same results out of 4 defense dice with that ability and 6 defense dice without it. They'll survive more often than not against attacks of up to 4 attack dice, where they'll die about half the time against an attack of 4 dice. It's obviously not exactly the same, but it is a useful tool to try to quickly understand about what these numbers reflect and roughly translate to.
I agree that a defense bonus of 1 while doubly engaged is not much of a deterrent, but nothing is stopping you from playing with that number some more. What if it were a defense bonus of 2 or even 3? The numbers aren't necessarily right, but it can suddenly become a calculation between whether to get more attacks with more squad figures or denying the defensive bonus.
I understand the theme behind the ability and I do think that sounds quite cool. It may work just fine as is for all I know, though I do like the notion of them being better defensively when surrounded as well. You could even link Jandar's Oath to that, but that may prove to weaken them too much against range and single engagements. Something worth mulling over, at least.