[Pod 0] Glyph of Toughness - Design

[Astroking112]

The Book of Glyph of Toughness

Arena of the Valkyrie Master Set



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NAME
Glyph of Toughness

Power Glyph
TBA

The glyph used for this glyph is the Glyph of Toughness +1 from Arena of the Planeswalkers.

Editing Check

Playtesting:

-Rulings and Clarifications-

TBA

-Strategy, Tactics and Tips-

TBA

[Astroking112]

See here for the beginning of discussion surrounding these new glyphs.

I don't have much to say here. I like the idea of testing out @Captain Stupendous ' idea of making this glyph basically be a once-per-turn Tough (+1 automatic shield against normal attacks once per turn). I do fear that it might be too strong for competitive games, but I'm okay with these glyphs being more reserved for casual scenarios.

It is worth noting that whatever we decide here, the Glyph of Power should probably mirror this. Both glyphs have images of the "skulls" and "shields" of the AotP dice, so something involving that would be intuitive to new players.

[NecroBlade]

Depending on where we want the power level to fall (or we need it to fall after testing), we can pick from "before rolling defense" and "before a figure rolls attack dice for a normal attack".

[Astroking112]

As another potential dial to tweak, we could also choose "after rolling defense dice," but that would be much stronger.

As a starting point, I like "before rolling defense dice against a normal attack" the most from those three. I think that before attack dice is more prudent, but from a casual standpoint, it makes sense that the decision is linked to your roll instead of before your opponents', and I can see some bad feelings if you forget to declare that before your opponent rolls attack dice.

As yet another idea for timing and power levels, how about if the automatic shield is applied to the first normal attack against one of your units each turn? Functionally similar against heroes, but it gives squads more of a leeway to come up with a way around losing too much firepower.

Ironically, whereas the Glyph of Power really benefits armies that take a lot of smaller turns, this glyph will hurt them the most since they'll be facing more automatic shields. Just an interesting tidbit to note there.

[MegaSilver]

Similar to my Power suggestion, it allows one defense dice to rerolled.

[Astroking112]

Rerolling one defense die is more consistent, but I fear that it might not feel impactful enough to really drive a scenario. So far, our other three glyphs feature two temporary features (recovering hero health or a squad once, respectively) and Knowledge, which is more of a minor impact on the game.

This is more speculative at this point, but I feel like creating a more Gerda or even Thorian level of glyph could be pretty useful to us for designing scenarios. Of course, that comes at the cost of a glyph with more of a "meta appeal." I'm not super concerned about the tournament side of the game for these glyphs, so I'd personally lean more towards the stronger scenario side to give us a broader range of tools to work with, but I'm curious to hear if others disagree.

The only other thing that makes me a little less enthused about a defense reroll is that it loses out on some of the anti-synergy with Velkhor, who otherwise pretty much negates this glyph entirely. He's been testing a bit weak so far, and he bonds with units outside of our box. That alone isn't reason enough to design a glyph for him to wreck, of course, but it is worth noting that it might make him more satisfying to play with just our base box for newer players.

[NecroBlade]

Originally Posted by Astroking112

As another potential dial to tweak, we could also choose "after rolling defense dice," but that would be much stronger.

I highly doubt we'll need to go that strong and would be against a "nope" button anyway.

Originally Posted by MegaSilver

Similar to my Power suggestion, it allows one defense dice to rerolled.

As with the attack version, this isn't bad, but does lose the tie to the Tough(ness) power.

[Astroking112]

Based off of the discussion about new glyph types, here's how I'd recommend changing the Glyph of Toughness, assuming these rules for the black glyphs in our box:

INVERSE GLYPHS
Inverse Glyphs have an active-side displaying their name and symbol and an inactive-side with the Inverse Glyph symbol on their back. While an Inverse Glyph's active-side is up, figures standing on that space grant the powers for that glyph as outlined below. While that Inverse Glyph's inactive-side is up, there are no special benefits for that space. When your figure lands on an active-side Inverse Glyph, it must stop. Note: A double-spaced figure must stop when its leading side moves onto an active-side Inverse Glyph.

At the beginning of each round of the game after the first one, flip every Inverse Glyph on the battlefield so that the opposite side is now up (so all active Inverse Glyphs become inactive, and all inactive ones become active). Scenarios will tell you what side to place each Inverse Glyph on to begin the game, or you can start them on either side when designing your own battlefields.

GLYPH OF TOUGHNESS
When any figure that you control is targeted for a normal attack while a figure that you control is on this space and this glyph is active, before attack dice are rolled, you may add one automatic shield to your result. The Glyph of Toughness can only be activated once per turn.

This has the potential to be frustrating like Gerda or Jalguard, but the good news is that it can only be active on either even or odd-numbered rounds with this approach. This adds a timing element where players can choose a more opportune time to attack while this glyph is useless.

Note that this also synergizes with Velkhor, who subtracts one shield from nearby opponents when two or more shields are rolled. Having something for him to counter in our box could be fun.

[NecroBlade]

I like it. I feel like the wording could really be cleaned up, though.

GLYPH OF TOUGHNESS
While a figure you control is on this glyph, before any figure you control rolls defense dice against a normal attack, you may add one automatic shield to whatever is rolled. The Glyph of Toughness can only be activated once per turn.

[Astroking112]

Thanks; that wording is much better. We do need to decide if we want to specify that the glyph also needs to be active-side-up on each power, though; intuitively, that's part of the base rules, but IIRC the rulebook glyph powers tended to explain that figures need to stand on the glyphs in every power again anyway.

@Captain Stupendous , @flameslayer93 , any thoughts on this direction?

[NecroBlade]

I personally hate the idea of spelling out "if this glyph is active" on each card. It'll be in the rules, and intuitively the "inactive" side means exactly that, plus I hate unnecessary wording. It's not a hill worth dying on, though, if others feel differently.