I just had to put up a blog entry about Zag24's idea of using the LEGACY mechanic in "Crystal Heroes".
Zag24's original idea was so make the writing on the cards permanent and go with inexpensive paper cards. This way you don't need a fancy dry erase marker, you could use a Sharpie or a ink pen.
BUT what is so AMAZING about this idea is that it TRANSFORMS the game into a whole other set of strategic rules. It makes players question: "Do I use this Ability and mark one of my cards knowing the game will end in the next game round?"
Do you use Abilities EARLY (First Game Round) in order to improve your odds of defeating (and killing) an opponent? Will you eventually BALANCE your deck with cards that can help your troops and hinder your opponent knowing bonuses or penalties are permanent unless negated!
This concept, although not new, is rare. And I think having a game that fits into this sub-section of the board game market is even more rare. Even more impressive is this is a quick "filler-type" game which is filled with strategy and thinking. You want to win - but how many cards are you willing to sacrifice??? Not enough strategy/thinking and your opponent will beat you...
The game is divided into various *rounds*. The game is played over a series of *games* and players try to beat their opponent by winning the most games (say first 3 out of 5).
With LEGACY you can make your own cards STRONGER and your opponent's cards WEAKER. And some cards like the Wizards that come with the BASE set, are just there to p!ss people off! :P What do the Wizards do? They can cast a Magic Missile (-1 Resistance) against any opposing card (even Support). Good to "work" on dealing damage to strong melee cards. But if present each game - they can lower a player defenses to near 0... 3 games x 2 Wizards = -6 Resistance! And that's how you defeat a mighty opponent's card.
This is just the START of the LEGACY mechanic. I will work over this weekend and make NEW cards and playtest them.
Bottom line: I really like Zag24's idea. I think it adds a whole NEW dimension to the game.
Comments
Best 3 out of 5
The one thing to add about the LEGACY mechanic is that whatever cards you BOOST will also be useless once you win or lose.
Why?
Well if you re-use the cards with markings on them, they might be too powerful and boosted up to a 5th time (or more). That means using OLD cards means that your opponent cannot TRACK how you got these bonus modifiers.
This means that when you start your duel, you need FRESH cards. ALL cards in your deck must be free of any markings. This means each player starts with NEW 12 card decks and ... from there they can decide how many of those 12 cards they want to sacrifice (from the overall game).
Some might be lost by consecutive melee battles... others by the fate and luck of a dice!
More about the Wizards
The BASE set comes with two (2) Wizard cards. They are NON-UNIQUE and can both be played in the same game. Each Wizard may use his "Magic Missile" ability to reduce an opponent's unit by -1 Resistance.
Okay all that sound cool - but why do they p!ss people off?
Well you can target ANY card on the table. Which means if you have your precious Assassin or Phoenix, your opponent can MARK that card and remove it from your play deck in future games!
Pure @sshole play!
THAT's why the Wizards can be very *naughty* cards! :P
Plastic sleeves
I have been thinking about the LEGACY mechanic and have found that IF you want to PRESERVE your cards, you may use "plastic sleeves". Even if you write on the sleeves with a Sharpie Pen (Permanent ink), you can throw away the sleeve instead of the card.
That's one inexpensive way of marking your cards. I have priced it and at $1.29 for 100 sleeves, it's only $0.01 a sleeve. Which is less costly than buying new cards.
BUT there is a downside: the cards with sleeves will not fit into the game box! :P And it's a little less *FUN* marking sleeves than the actual cards.
They are also awkward to shuffle and play with.
However this is one way of preserving your cards...