Hi all,
Okay so I have successfully manage to hide information from the opponent using 3 mana colors per unit card (Ex: Green-Blue-Red). This way a card can be from any level (level 1 to 5).
I have a challenge: what to do with level 1 and 2 units.
See level 1 or 2 units are pretty weak especially level 1. The odds are never in their favor. They could be simply used as card to see what your opponent is playing (sorta like a way to spy higher cards).
Anyways my problem is with passive or active effects.
I'm not sure what kind of effects to give level 1 and 2 units. Why? Because they are too easy to defeat... And as such I don't expect them to have a long lifespan. Therefore the odds of triggering an ACTIVE effect is low.
For example:
Unicorn:
-Level = 1
-Alignment = Good
-Element = Sun
-Color = White
Now I can have a Passive ability such as: "When unit dies, restore HP to 20."
This could make sense in that when the unicorn dies it bestows its life (Think soul or spirit) to its master (Self-Sacrifice: goes well with the color White).
BUT I don't know what to do about ACTIVE abilities?! These abilities are triggered by a dice roll. However a level 1 creature ONLY gets 1 dice to roll. And it lives or dies by that roll.
So basically the odds are not good for Active abilities for level 1 or 2 units. And those units do not usually stick around a long time in the game...
Q: Should I simply not have any Active abilities and favor instead Passive abilities for level 1 and 2 units?
In the Unicorn example, if you kill the unit the player's Health Points (HP) get restored. This is a b!tch - if your opponent has only a few HPs left...
So it's a level 1 card - with a *blocking* effect since the card can be played on a stack of card (Top). This FORCES the opponent to kill the card in order to move deeper into the stack (as he makes his way to the bottom of the stack).
Correct me if I'm mistaken: put I would think that level 1 creatures would be like pawns in chess - disposable, but sometimes useful. Any given pawn is weak, but a pawn that makes it to the end of the board or controlling the middle can be more powerful than originally thought.
Well that is the kicker: level 1 units are so weak they can NEVER DEFEAT an opposing unit... Either they die or tie a battle (and by extension live to fight again). As such it is hard to define an effect (or ability) that makes sense for each of these weak units.
In the example of the Unicorn, the ability to HEAL a player makes sense... It is part of the unicorn's lore: their horn is used to heal.
But it is much harder to define *penalties* or *bonuses* for all the level 1 units.
If there is no passive effect/ability, as I mentioned the only benefit to level 1 units is discovering the nature of an opponent's unit card... Basically more than that they either die or by sheer luck survive 1 battle (at a time).
I am also *struggling* with *counters*... The type that track things like a unit's health and maybe it's victories. I am still thinking if there should be a HEALTH stat for units. For now, my units have no health - they either win a battle (and live) or lose a battle (and die). I did this because it is difficult to manage the health - using counters.
Q: Anyone have advice about using counters? Or comments on health stat for units...
I am also thinking about using counters to give a bonus to a unit... such as a level 1 unit could EARN an extra dice if they survive a battle (tie). Using this method, a level 1 unit could become a level 5 unit after 4 successful battles (victories)... This could maybe be a BONUS ONLY for level 1 units... This would mean that a level 1 unit could earn a second dice and then could "maybe" be victorious against another level 1 or 2 unit...