[Pod 0] Ozuul (Eldrazi Ruiner) - Playtesting

[Pumpkin_King]

Yeah, we can definitely focus on the gravity theme with some simplifying it a bit.

[caps]

I feel like we're jumping the gun on all this simplification, but I won't object to going back to design in this case.

[Pumpkin_King]

I think it's something to keep in mind - I doubt very many of the remaining figures are going to be too simple.

[Astroking112]

True, but let's keep in mind that Ozuul is essentially the big bad of the set. We don't want to sacrifice him to the point that he isn't fun or interesting to play with/against. I think that our current direction is acceptable with some tweaks like this:

GRAVITY PULL
After moving and before attacking, you may place each non-adjacent small or medium figure within 2 spaces of Ozuul adjacent to him. After using Gravity Pull, Ozuul must use his Gravity Crush Special Attack and may not attack normally this turn.

GRAVITY CRUSH SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 1. Attack 4.
All figures adjacent to Ozuul are affected by Gravity Crush Special Attack.

That maintains the core of what we were going for (pull in figures and then wipe out as many as possible) while removing some of the excess complexity such as only being able to move them one space or relying heavily on the number of adjacent figures.

That said, AYP's Weight of Eternities also looks like a fun power to me, along with being intuitive and easy to understand. I wouldn't be opposed to a redesign to incorporate that.

Spoiler Alert!

Of course, we could always think of this classic power again as well.

GRAVITY CRUSH SPECIAL ATTACK
Range 1. Attack Special.
When attacking with Gravity Crush Special Attack, roll X attack dice, where X is the height of the defending figure.

[Pumpkin_King]

Would it be possible to give Weight to the squad?

[All Your Pie]

I have a suspicion that Weight of Eternities would not be as mechanically clean as it read when I first wrote it out. It’s also more of a cheerleader ability than the shark or menacer that we probably want this guy to be. As for the squad, it sounds like kind of a flashy power for a unit that we’re probably hoping to come in at a lower point bracket. But it’s something I’ll keep in mind going forward.

I like the simplified Pull+Crush. I’m happy to take that into some testing rather than going back to design without even giving it a try.

[Pumpkin_King]

I do think we may have issues slingshotting people around but we’ll see.

[All Your Pie]

If a chainfighter can do it, no reason this guy shouldn’t be able to. Something the chainfighter can’t do is lava dunk on most maps, though. With Gravity Pull being guaranteed, that could be a significant worry.

Should we make it so that the controller of each figure decides where it ends up next to Ozuul, rather than Ozuul’s controller deciding for all of them? I would prefer that to a same level restriction which would severely limit the power’s ability to pull large numbers of units.

[caps]

It makes him more like a black hole than just a gravity well, which is interesting. I like it.

[Pumpkin_King]

Depends on what would a shorter/simpler addition to the power, only moving one space or specifying the controller moves it.

[All Your Pie]

GRAVITY PULL
After moving and before attacking, you may place each non-adjacent Small or Medium figure within 2 clear sight spaces of Ozuul within 1 space of its current space. Figures can only be moved with Gravity Pull if they can be placed adjacent to Ozuul. Figures moved with Gravity Pull will not take leaving engagement attacks. After using Gravity Pull, Ozuul must attack with Gravity Crush Special Attack this turn.

Vs.

GRAVITY PULL
After moving and before attacking, you may use Gravity Pull. Each player must place all non-adjacent figures they control within 2 clear sight spaces of Ozuul on any space adjacent to Ozuul, if possible. Figures moved with Gravity Pull will not take leaving engagement attacks. After using Gravity Pull, Ozuul must attack with Gravity Crush Special Attack this turn.

Marginally simpler, though I'm not sure the second wording is workable. If multiple players control figures within 2 spaces of Ozuul, do we need to specify in which order those players chose to place their figures? Can we simplify it further by specifying that only opponent's figures are affected and removing the must use gravity crush requirement?

I'll also note that the "within 1 space of its current space, must be placed adjacent to Ozuul" wording in the first power is always going to be tortured no matter how we simplify the rest of it. Anyone reading that power for the first time is likely to be a little confused as to how it works.

[Astroking112]

Lava dunking is a great point that would likely lead to a lot of unfun interactions with Ozuul on certain maps. Lets take a stab at preventing it:

GRAVITY PULL
After moving and before attacking, you may use Gravity Pull. Each non-adjacent small or medium figure within 2 spaces of Ozuul must be placed on an empty space adjacent to him by the player that controls that figure. After using Gravity Pull, Ozuul must use his Gravity Crush Special Attack and may not attack normally this turn.

We could probably clean this up more still, but my impression is that this is significantly more approachable than the within 1 space restriction.

Edit: 'd.