Re: Heroscape/AOTP Mixed Play Rules PDF :TREX Edition 6-7-18
I know I'm a little late chiming in here, but I have come up with some house rules for using Planeswalkers in a Heroscape setting that seem to keep the playing field somewhat even.
Rules:Once per turn you may draw a spell card. If you started the game, you don't draw a spell card just like in Magic the Gathering game play.
When you reveal an order marker on a Planeswalker, you can move, and then take one of three actions: Cast a spell, summon a figure or squad figures, or attack.
Most of the rules from the AOTP rulebook work, as far as spell cards, and summoning creatures, but the casting three spells with one action on your turn is as broken as it gets in Heroscape game play. Activating your Planeswalker, and then being able to activate a hero figure or squad is broken. You can only activate a figure or squad figures if you put a order marker on it. When you have to cast spells, summon creatures, or attack on our turn, efficient use of your actions is critical with a Planeswalker.
Another house rule. Planeswalkers are not unique hero's. Planeswalkers are Planeswalkers. This keeps hero's in Heroscape from using their special abilities to target Planeswalkers since once an opponent takes out a Planeswalker that player is nearly dead in the water as far a casting spells and summoning creatures is concerned.
Also, look at a Planeswalkers stat card. Their attack and defenses are pretty on par with most hero figures in Heroscape as well as their abilities, so why is their point cost in the 300's. Add that 200 point spell deck and now you know why Planeswakers have such a high point cost. Take it away, their about as good as any hero in Heroscape.
When it comes to the Planeswalkers themselves, I didn't see the need to house rule any of their abilities except for two of them. However, some of the Planeswalkers abilities aren't viable unless another player is playing a Planeswaker too.
Ob Nixilis: At Any Price-Destroy target squad creatures adjacent to Ob Nixilis. It's controller draws a card. If the controller has no library, add a +2 bonus to the next initiative roll. Use this ability once per turn.
Jace, Investigator: Search for Answers-Name a sorcery and reveal the top card of an opponent's library. If it's the named card, you may play it, then return it to the top of that library afterward. If it's not the named card or you choose not to play it, put it on the bottom of that library. If the opponent has no library, at the start of the next round, after all your opponent's order markers have been placed, and before initiative is rolled, reveal all order markers on those army cards. Use this ability once per game.
Spell Cards: When it comes to spell cards you'll be able to customize them a little with the expansions that came out, but you'll also notice some only affect Planeswalkers. Some of your spells will be useless unless someone else if playing a Planeswalker too, so that helps balance things out a bit when someone is using a Planeswalker in a Heroscape game.
Reserve: Just like AOTP, Heroscape has a reserve too, it just works different as most of you know. Some Planeswalker spell cards can send a players squad figure to their reserve.
AOTP Squads: As most of you know, Planeswalker squads are all unique. This seems to limit a Planeswalkers use of some of their spells as they only affect unique squads, helping Heroscapers from having their common squads being affected.
Summoning: The biggest complaint I get from players about using Planewalkers is they can move across the battlefield and summon their army at will in your face. Well yeah, their Planeswalkers! It is an advantage for sure, but hey. If you want to summon an army at will, be a Planeswalker I say! Also, I don't let players who want to be a Planeswalker use Heroscape figures since some Planeswalker squads are so dependent on color and use of Planewalker spell cards but, you can choose any of the creatures of your Planeswalkers color from any of the AOTP expansions.
That's most of what I've done to add Planewalkers as a option for players when we play Heroscape. If anyone has any questions or any great ideas they've used to blend AOTP in with Heroscape, please speak up. Hope this is a help to someone out there that is having trouble blending these to systems together.