Mechanics

[Hunter Wolf]

What are all these keywords on cards like Surge? I know what it does in AH LCG but that seems really bad for it on a player card....

[FFI]

Since we've gotten questions like this often, we figured this would be a good place to drop a list of keywords as they stand. If there are any major changes before release, we'll edit the topic here.

Once the game launches, we'll create a similar glossary as a Guides page on here.


Ambush This attack ignores Block and Counter.

Arrival This ability triggers when the card enters play.

Block Each time damage is taken, reduce the amount by 1.

Counter Deal 1 damage when defending.

Fleeting This card is removed at the end of the round.

Guard This target must be defeated before you can attack another target or engage an Objective. A card with Stealth cannot Guard.

Power An ability that you may choose to activate.

Preparation An Event card type whose effect triggers based on a timing window or circumstance.

Pursuit Follows your Heroes from one Location to the next.

Ranged This attack ignores Guard and Counter.

Revenge This ability triggers when the card is defeated.

Stalwart Does not exhaust after the first action each round.

Stealth Cannot be attacked or targeted while Stealth is active. Ignores Guard for Enemies and Objectives. An exhausted card does not receive the benefit of Stealth. A card with Stealth cannot Guard.

Surge Gain an immediate action after this card is played.

Upkeep* This ability triggers at the start of the round.

Vanquish This ability triggers upon defeating a target.

[En9a9e]

Awesome! Nice to have the current list for reference and definitions. Speaking of definitions, shouldn’t “ranged” show as ignoring counter as well?

And speaking of “counter”, curious as to why you only get or give 1 damage in return as opposed to whatever the card’s attack value is?

[FFI]

Originally posted by En9a9e:

Awesome! Nice to have the current list for reference and definitions. Speaking of definitions, shouldn’t “ranged” show as ignoring counter as well?

And speaking of “counter”, curious as to why you only get or give 1 damage in return as opposed to whatever the card’s attack value is?

Good eye! Editing now.

Counter was kept as a static 1 damage because we feel the mechanic has room for expansion in the future. We wanted to have something in between recip. damage and no damage, something that punishes the attack without completely blowing out the aggressor. It came from a conversation of "what do we like about recip. damage, what don't we like?"

[En9a9e]

Hmm. Thanks for the extra note on counter. Will be interesting to follow it through future development.

Stealth is so much more unique and clever, the way it operates in the game now. Looking at it again, I had two observations...

1. Cannot be attacked while active. <- Don’t know if you want to add to this that aoe dmg goes through it

2. Stealth and guard can’t be in play on the same character which makes sense, but does this mean a character like Frodo can never equip an attachment that bestowes guard... or can he equip the attachment but lose the stealth keyword until it is removed?

How does this square with every hero getting the guard ability as a power?

[Frank Beardsley from Japan]

Originally posted by En9a9e:

1. Cannot be attacked while active. <- Don’t know if you want to add to this that aoe dmg goes through it

Cannot be targetted would make more sense as I believe this interacts with events, powers, etc?

[FFI]

Stealth is still going through the ringer, but basically: can't be targeted. Since AOE doesn't target, it goes through Stealth.

If a character with Stealth guards up, they'll lose Stealth.

[En9a9e]

That’s what l meant in asking if the definition in the listing should be changed... so those details are understood.
“Cannot be targeted” indeed clarifies it even more.

Good to see guard and stealth simply swap out, back and forth... giving more variety of options for a player to use, depending on the situation. That flexibility, on top of the good battle logic these keyword definitions use, is really nice to have. Especially if that kind of versatility can be kept as a general design goal going forward.

[bullwinkleman]

Originally posted by En9a9e:

That’s what l meant in asking if the definition in the listing should be changed... so those details are understood.
“Cannot be targeted” indeed clarifies it even more.

Good to see guard and stealth simply swap out, back and forth... giving more variety of options for a player to use, depending on the situation. That flexibility, on top of the good battle logic these keyword definitions use, is really nice to have. Especially if that kind of versatility can be kept as a general design goal going forward.

But it can be targeted by owner of the card (i.e. for healing and buffing). Attacked is the correct wording if you distinguish between attack and damage. Card can't be attacked, but it can be damaged.

[En9a9e]

Originally posted by bullwinkleman:

But it can be targeted by owner of the card (i.e. for healing and buffing). Attacked is the correct wording if you distinguish between attack and damage. Card can't be attacked, but it can be damaged.

True. Thats why I like stealth so much here, with the nuances of how it interacts with other keywords and mechanics. Imo its much more complex and interesting than a HS take for example, but not overly complex because the logic of the interactions feels right in battle. The only thing I'd add to it (not sure if itd be too op) is that stealthed characters always have the ambush keyword while stealth is active.

For the sake of clarity in the definition, I still think aoe dmg should be noted. I see your logic on attack vs dmg but not sure that would make it apparent to the average player who sees aoe dmg go through and checks the glossary to figure out if that is supposed to happen. In my mind aoe dmg would qualify as an attack made, so then I'd see "cannot be attacked" and still be confused... even if I thought, yeah that makes sense aoe goes through. Maybe thats just my odd parsing though, in looking at it.

"Cannot be targeted by enemies while active", "Is vulnerable to aoe damage", & "Can still be targeted by allies with beneficial effects" would be good as additional qualifiers...just to verify the logic flow that many would probably read and say "wow, that's cool, different, and actually fits better than other dcgs".

Luke mentioned stealth is still going through the ringer. I hope that means any further tweaks add to the uniqueness of it and it doesn't lose out on the better way it works now.

[stuartm]

It would have been nice if this list had been kept up to date!

Achieve This keyword triggers an effect each time the card resolves and objective. This includes Bolster or Hazard.

Ambush This attack ignores Block and Counter.

Arrival This ability triggers when the card enters play.

Block Each time damage is taken, reduce the amount by 1.

Counter Deal 1 damage when defending against melee attacks. Does not apply to Ranged attacks.

(Defense Activates gives the unit the Guard keyword.)

Fleeting This card is removed at the end of the round.

Guard When active, no other target [except other targets with guard] can be engaged until the unit with Guard acts, is exhausted, or is attacked in melee combat. Also, the Guard unit deals it's Attack value in reciprocal damage when attacked in melee combat. Attacking or exhausting the unit removes Guard. A unit with Stealth cannot Guard. A unit with Flying or Stealth loses that keyword whilst Guard is active.

A unit with the Guard keyword activates the Defense as a free action at the start of each round.

Locked A card with this keyword cannot be affected in any way. This includes using units or playing cards.

Power An ability that you may choose to activate.

Preparation An Event card type whose effect triggers based on a timing window or circumstance.

Protect[/b/ this]Protect[/i] is removed from the unit.

Pursuit Follows your Heroes from one Location to the next.

Ranged This attack ignores Guard and Counter.

(Recover The term used when a card goes back to your hand.

Restriction This term indicates that you cannot use a Character to attack or engage a card as long as the listed restriction is in play. You may still take other actions against the restricted card (e.g. play Attachments or Events; apply Upkeep abilities).

Return This keyword is used when a card goes back into your deck, at the bottom.

Revenge This ability triggers when the card is defeated.

Shed The listed number of cards are discarded from the top of the player's deck and removed from play.

Stalwart Does not exhaust after the first action each round.

Stealth Cannot be attacked or targeted while Stealth is active. Ignores Guard for Enemies and Objectives. An exhausted card does not receive the benefit of Stealth. A card with Stealth cannot Guard.

Surge Gain an immediate action after this card is played.

Timed This keyword applies 1 progress to the related Objective automatically at the end of every round.

Upkeep* This ability triggers at the start of the round.

Vanquish This ability triggers upon defeating a target.