Change One Card!

Hey, gang!  Long time, no see!  The summer's been kind of busy, so I haven't been available as much as I'd have liked.  However, a friend of mine came up with a bit of a challenge.  You see, he hates Absolute Zero.  Won't play him, doesn't like him.  Loves complex characters like Argent Adept, Nightmist, and The Naturalist, but he just doesn't care for AZ.  And, while I'm more of a fan than he is, I did have to admit:  "If I could make one change..."

So, that got me thinking:  if you could change ONE CARD from each deck, what cards would you change?  I'm not arguing that the decks aren't great as they are; just a matter of, if you were to "revise history", how might you do so?  To get us started, here are my thoughts so far:

Absolute Zero and The Wraith:  Quite simply, I'd swap the text on Impromptu Invention with that of Onboard Module Installation.  The Wraith is already absurdly versatile without Imp Inv, and Absolute Zero's greatest weakness is his long set-up time.  I'd love to be able to see him operate in a world where he could get down his starting modules in one turn.

Legacy:  I'd make Fortitude (rather than Next Evolution) unlimited.  Let him be the tank we all know he can be.  

Bunker:  I'd alter the Mode cards, such that you'd only lose out on one phase--Recharge Mode would let you *either* Play or Power, Upgrade Mode would let you *either* Power or Draw, Turret Mode would let you *either* Play or Draw.

Fanatic:  I'd add the following text to Undaunted:  "While this card is in play, Fanatic deals +1 damage to all targets."

Haka:  I'd alter Enduring Intercession, such that Haka would take -1 damage from Environment Targets while in play.

Tachyon:  I'd alter her base power:  "Reveal the top card of your deck.  Play that card, place it into your hand, or discard it."

Ra:  I'd add to Wrathful Gaze:  "If you destroyed a target this way, Ra deals +2 damage to all targets until the end of your next turn."

Visionary:  I'd love to see her have some kind of damage buff, to make Demoralization and her damage one-shots more appealing.  Perhaps add it onto Foresight?

Tempest:  I'd probably nerf Localized Hurricane, such that it'd only draw 1 card, if not 0 cards.  

And, for good measure, a few of the expansion characters:

Expatriette:  I'd revisit Reload to make it more attractive with Speed Loading:  "Take all Ammo cards from your trash and put them in your hand.  You may play a card."

Mister Fixer:  So much of his deck is built to work well together, it's hard to isolate a single card.  Riveting Crane Style, however, always seems to be particularly situational.  Adding a damage buff to it would make it a much more attractive option.

Argent Adept:  Scherzo of Frost and Flame gets so little love.  Why not make it "All non-hero targets take one fire damage.  All non-hero targets take one cold damage."?

Nightmist:  I don't think I've ever seen anyone use Mists of Time.  I'd love to see it become something like a rotation:  "Shuffle your Hand.  Your hand becomes your new deck.  Shuffle your Trash.  Your trash becomes your new Hand.  Place your old deck in the Trash."  That'd be really hard to word, but it makes it a lot more interesting as a choice...especially if casting it can get your "desirable" cards back.

For Mr. Fixer, I would have his tool cards return to the hand at the end of the turn (change the text of his tools be "at the end of Mr. Fixers turn, if there are two or more tools in play, return all but one to your hand). That way you can chain them a little bit better, or just change his power to "Play a tool card, if you do deal one target 1 melee damage before returning any cards to your hand"

That would make for an interesting change to how Fixed Point affects Mr. Fixer. Currently, if fixed point is in play, you can throw out a second tool and it'll stay there, letting you benefit from both for an arbitrary amount of time. With your suggested wording, Fixed Point would allow you to put out that second tool, benefit from it that turn, keep it out… and on your next turn throw out a third tool, but then going back down to one afterwards. Bigger benefit, but as a one-off.

Given the shenanigans possible with two tools, I dread to think what could happen with a third!

Absolute Zero - Glacial Structure should either be a one-shot to draw three cards. If it stays as an Ongoing it should grant a second ability like playing a card or a second power use.  

The Naturalist - The Nimble Gazelle should have an effect that says the first time he would be dealt two or less damage each turn redirect it to another target.   Mostly I just feel this form should grant some static effect like the others.  

KNYFE - Infiltrate and Obfuscate should redirect damage to a target of choice or the villain target with the lowest health.   In the current form this Ongoing does nothing if there is only one villain target in play.   

Wraith - As currently setup the Wraith is only missing a way to recover destroyed equipment from her trash.   I feel Impromptu Invention should allow you to pull from the deck or trash for getting an equipment into play.   

Captain Cosmic - Construct Cataclysm should deal X times two damage if hitting a single target.   

Chrono Ranger - "The Ultimate Target" should leave play when it's target does just like the other bounties.   

Guise - Gimmicky Character should either heal Guise for an amount equal to twice the number of targets discarded through it or should give a flat amount of health back (anywhere from 2 to 4)

I have said for a very long time now that Enduring Intercession is by far the single worst hero card in the entire game. The text for that card right now might as well read "discard this card to increase the damage dealt by your next Haka of Battle by 1"

I love your suggestion here though. I think that is exactly what the card could have used to make it a viable option for in-game situations.

It's a rarely used card for sure.   I think having Ta Moko and that in play in Realm of Discord might be the main case I'd use it.  Even then I would likely play something else.  

Expatriette's biggest problem is lack of card draw, so I'd change Arsenal Access to put both the cards you pull up in your hand, then play one. Or make it an Ongoing that lets her draw two cards during her draw phase.

I like that one because even keeping both cards doesn't mean you can necessarily play either one but it still thins her deck for playable cards.    

i don't think she needs a damage buff as that really isn't her game.   I'd like to see Foresight updated to allow her to do that with any hero deck.  This gives base Visionary an improved power to use and gives Dark Visionary potential pause about which power to use.  

Mass Levitation would also be better if the power was "reduce damage dealt by the environment to hero targets by 3" That way The Visionary could also have environment usage as a strategy

Thematically, that certainly makes more sense - and creates some comical imagery of the heroes floating above (and occasionally taking pot shots into) a batterfield of the environment and villains going at it…

I don't know how that might affect it's power level, though, as that sounds pretty awesome.

I don't think it would be too overpowered, because you would need to get the villian to a position where they can get hit by the environment, which isn't too easy. Other than that, you're just letting it take care of some lackeys. The only places I can see it be truly overpowered is when explosive wagons go off, and in pike

My first thought was to make Enduring Intercession an optional redirect, like Lead From the Front but for Env damage instead of villain damage.

A+ idea!  There have been many games when I've hit situations in which none of Vis' powers were especially useful, and this would make for some interesting very strategies.

Forced Entry.

New text for Best Card Ever!: "The heroes immediately win."

Ra:  I'd add to Wrathful Gaze:  "If you destroyed a target this way, Ra deals +2 damage to all targets until the end of your next turn."

That's a cool idea, but I think that Ra could afford something more than just damage. Right now he does damage, damage, and more damage. I don't think he has a single Environment/Villan card destroy in his deck. Perhaps Wrathful Gaze could more like this:

RA: "Destroy a target with 2 or less HP or destroy any non-target villain card.

This gives him a unique function in that he could destroy specific cards that others cannot. 

Argent Adept:  Scherzo of Frost and Flame gets so little love.  Why not make it "All non-hero targets take one fire damage.  All non-hero targets take one cold damage."?

Honestly, I wouldn't improve AA in any way whatsoever. Given 3-4 turns of buildup he can own pretty much any fight.

See, my thinking is that changing a card should enhance the role the hero has, not change it -- AA is simply not meant to be a damage powerhouse. He basically has the damaging powers just in case he's the last hero standing.

Besides, when he's fully set up, Scherzo can help him do an obscene amount of damage (35 HP in one turn, going by the Nuking thread).

Yeah, I would say the Adept is pretty perfect as he is - if he can get fully set up, there's very little he can't do :D.

I really like the AZ with an Impromptu Invention like card idea!

My suggestion: Mr Fixer. Tool Box is a quite handy draw power card... I dunno if I would truely like this change in the ong run, but here is my suggestion anyway: Tool Box changed into a Meditation for Tools, thematically it fits and would overall improve his consistency at getting set up, but at the cost of killing a little late game speed. Really I'd rather just play with his deck numbers and drop a Bloody Knuckle and maybe an Overdrive for additional Tool Boxes.

I really like the OP’s ideas for Ra, Fanatic, Tempest, and Haka. Some other ideas:

Absolute Zero – Make “Focused Apertures” a module. Also, buff the base power to deal 2 damage.

Bunker – Make “Recharge Mode” draw an additional card when you play it (or even per turn). 

Expatriette – Buff speed loading to play the ammo directly to the gun.

Mr. Fixer – Combine “Riveting Crane” and “Alternating Tiger Claw” effects. Create a new style with the open slot, for example “the first time each turn Mr. Fixer deals damage, Mr. Fixer deals one target one melee damage”

Nightmist – Change DW promo to draw 3 then put 3 from hand back on deck.

Captain Cosmic – Change the prime wardens promo to “until the next time you use a power” so it combos with his own destroy construct cards.

Nerfs:

Legacy – Change base power to buff only two heroes. On the other hand, I love that Legacy is really powerful, he is Legacy after all. 

Tachyon – Change TLT promo to cause only two heroes to draw.

The Scholar – Maybe limit Flesh To Iron to once each turn. 

Sky-Scraper – Change Emergency Evac to just one villain ongoing and one environment card.

The Sentinels – Remove card play and draw from Unique Capabilities.

I'm picking and choosing a few from your buffs.   I like the idea of the Apertures being a module but I don't think AZ needs a damage buff to his base power.   With that out he is already healing two or dealing two from his base power.   For Expat I'm not sure how this is a buff.  Are you suggesting the ammo from trash gets played immediately onto a gun?   For Mr Fixer the new style you suggest works a bit like Dual Crowbars and so I would suggest instead a style that lets him destroy an ongoing or environment card if he destroys a target.   Lastly, with Captain Cosmic I'm not sure I follow how that lets you do combos.

The constant discard for The Scholar to keep that in play is enough regular cost that I don't feel it deserves a nerf. 

Also, Legacy buffing everyone is, itself, as much a risk as it is a boon. The indiscriminate buffing means that Nightmist is hurting herself more for every card and her base power, Tachyon has a harder time keeping Pushing the Limits out, Golem Unity's practically killing herself with her base power, etc.

Yeah, with Expat I was suggesting it playing one ammo per turn from trash to gun, skipping the top of your deck. Currently Speed Loading prevents you from drawing a new card when you use it.

With Cosmic, right now the effect wears off at the start of your turn, so if you play for example "Potent Disruption" on your turn it won't trigger it. I'm suggesting tweaking the timing so that it does.

Ok I was thinking the power expired at the end of his next turn and it seemed odd to me you want it to expire on a power use.  

For Expat I don't see it as much of downside because Speed Loading for me mostly comes out when i don't really need guns anymore and I just want ammo back to play.  

Fair, but if you could still draw new cards then you could also build up for bigger Unloads (and get auxiliary stuff like RPG launcher and Flak Jacket).

As it stands, Speed Loading's basically for when you want to keep cycling the same couple Ammo cards (like Hollow Points to get through DR or Liquid Nitrogen Rounds against Spite). You get your ammo back, but you don't get anything new.

Uncharmed Life could use some love.

How about reducing the redirect cost to 1 token or giving Setback 1 damage reduction against damage redirected this way?

Dunno, the Ongoing ability is ok. Situational, but useful when the damage has a rider. I think I have never used the Power. Better leave it there as destruction fodder and be busy with something else. Maybe if it added some Unlucky Tokens when you use it, or play a card, or draw a card, or something happy?

Edit: I think adding some Unlucky Tokens would be the most thematic. Like 3.

Well, he's healing two or dealing two from his base power after he's gotten both modules and the Apertures into play (and even then, dealing two means he takes a point of damage as well).

Personally, I'd like to see AZ's base power simply tweaked to be "Thermodynamics: AZ deals one target 1 fire damage or 1 cold damage."  That would give him something to do in the early rounds when he's still at full HP and you haven't gotten the fire module yet.

If you are just looking for that with AZ then look no further than his promo F6 version.   

I have thought of a card I would change!!! I would revert Updated Intel to an earlier wording, which said "Whenever a Villain Card enters play, you may look at the bottom card of your deck, then either put it on top of your deck or discard it." It's one of the few (if not the only) changes I have not grown to enjoy as much as it's current wording.

I'd take it a step further and say that she could do that for any deck.   Being able to discard that bottom card would be nice as you can get to a point currently where that bottom card is just going to stay there.

edit: Making that change to Updated Intel would make me want to update Critical Multiplier to say that any discard by Parse from Parse's deck or hand gives that +1 damage boost to any target.  

Really like that.  Was it too good with her original build?  Two multipliers, Updated intel and Hairtrigger would be sick, so I can see why it might get nerfed.

Oh, there is a card I did change, print and sleeve the deck. It's the Amulet from Nightmist deck to only redirect Infernal damage.

Critical Multiplier only triggers with discards from hand so having Updated Intel discard from bottom of the deck wouldn't trigger Critical Multiplier.  

Makes sense thematically but I like it as is.  I might play it way if it didn't require having to discard two cards if it only redirected infernal.  

Why? That upends half of her whole strategy, and makes any kind of type-changing into a game-killer.

Well, it's thematic, as said. That is a big plus for me. It makes a lot of sense having the Amulet redirect one of her spell's damage but not as much redirecting a T-Rex or a collapsing Train. And it also makes sense that the Amulet is more powerful when fighting guys that do Infernal Damage, like Apostate or Gloomy.

But also because it's half of her whole strategy. It overshadows other great cards she has in her deck. Draw cards, play stuff here and there util you draw the Amulet gets old after some games. This change forces you to be less lazy with Nighmist and more creative/reactive. Other powers like Astral Projection or the Book make more sense if you can't redirect that damage off from yourself. Still the Amulet is your main offensive buff. In general it takes Nightmist away from Tank and more into Damage/Support.

Of course, the other option was to play DW Nightmist, but I do like her main version a lot more.

Oh, just thought of another one for Nightmist: change the Ring to instead of increasing damage, increase [Magic] value of all your cards. Will have to try that out!