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Redemption® Collectible Trading Card Game HQ => Redemption® Resources and Thinktank => Topic started by: Master Q on February 17, 2019, 01:19:20 PM

Title: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Master Q on February 17, 2019, 01:19:20 PM
Something I see that still hasn't declined over the years is Dominant abuse. It's apparent to a good number of people that I've talked to even after the Dom limit was set years ago (an awesome change) that this is still a problem. However, I was more or less resigned to accept this conundrum as I couldn't think of an alternative to banning certain Doms, which I don't want to do, and I haven't thought on it again until recently.

Now, I know it might be taboo, but I'm going to bring up another card game, so bear with me.

I've been playing the Pokemon TCG Gameboy game recently, and, while that was more for a nostalgic kick than anything, the parallels in that game got me thinking about this one. Mainly, how they handled a similar "Dominant" problem years ago. Mind you, I don't follow the game now and am only passingly familiar with the game past the first sets. But they had cards that were essentially "Dominants" - Trainers. And they could be pretty ridiculous, as the Gameboy game has affirmed to me.

Long story short, the most powerful of these cards were reworked into things called "Support Trainers" (and some even given "Ace Spec" status), with the "cost" of playing only one per turn (one per deck for "Ace Spec" cards). I think you see where I'm going with this. While Redemption has different deck-building rules that don't allow for the duplicates like Pokemon does, unlike Pokemon, it does not have this limit on its most powerful cards. IMO, having the most powerful, splashable cards in the game be "costless" is something that we should move away from.

So, what would people think about amending the rules of the game to have all Dominants fall under a "one dominant per player per turn" rule? How would this change affect deck-building and gameplay? Would Dominants need to have a deck-building limit if this was a rule? Would the fast decks still reign supreme? Would you draw cards if you knew you couldn't drop Dominants to lower your hand count?

Very interested to hear your thoughts.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Crashfach2002 on February 17, 2019, 01:27:25 PM
This would ultimately ban New Jerusalem, but would add more strategy in the sense you couldn’t just drop SoG and 2nd Coming to simply end the game.  You would be a little hesitant to play one too early or even too late with the fear of the other one getting discarded or removed from the game.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Kevinthedude on February 17, 2019, 01:39:52 PM
I support this. Banding and YWR get strong since you can't Woes+Martyr or Martyr+FA but this would reward planning ahead with the Woes and CoW FA is getting harder and harder to fit in decks anyway.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: The Guardian on February 17, 2019, 02:51:56 PM
I don't think I would be a fan of such a change. That being said, I really like cards that make it more difficult to play doms or more painful to do so. I think more cards like Fall of Man and Pithom would be good for the game so that dominants become more of a "last resort" option as opposed to an automatic play.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Master Q on February 17, 2019, 02:55:16 PM
This would ultimately ban New Jerusalem, but would add more strategy in the sense you couldn’t just drop SoG and 2nd Coming to simply end the game.  You would be a little hesitant to play one too early or even too late with the fear of the other one getting discarded or removed from the game.

Exactly! Things become much more strategic and TSC becomes less powerful as a result.

As for NJ, there exists simple solutions. Either:

A. Wait for set rotation or a reprint that does something different (I'm not holding my breath)
B. Errata NJ as follows: "Reveal Son of God from hand to rescue a Lost Soul."

B. still forces you to have both SoG & NJ in hand to use it and is very effective.


What I want to know is, if this were a thing, would the Dom cap be needed anymore? Would you clog up your deck with cards that are essentially only playable occasionally? Even if Dom cap didn't disappear, would this curtail dom power enough that the way decks are built shifts entirely?
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Master Q on February 17, 2019, 03:02:16 PM
I don't think I would be a fan of such a change. That being said, I really like cards that make it more difficult to play doms or more painful to do so. I think more cards like Fall of Man and Pithom would be good for the game so that dominants become more of a "last resort" option as opposed to an automatic play.

Can you give any examples of why it would be a bad thing, other than it would be something else that people need to know? I'm curious because I haven't thought about this for more than a day or two- obviously I haven't thought of all the implications.

You can keep printing counters, but we all know how that goes. Too many counters is just as bad as not enough. I'd rather not need the counters altogether.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Red on February 17, 2019, 03:11:23 PM
I think dominants are strategic and no longer a problem. I don't want to play 75 minute long T1 games at all.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Gabe on February 17, 2019, 03:16:11 PM
My first impression is that this seems like a really cool idea! It's a great topic for discussion and probably warrants some test games depending on how the conversation goes. I can't immediately come up with anything that I consider a drawback to limiting Dominants to 1 per player per round.

Yes, that nerfs NJ considerably. Josh has given reasonable solutions to that. TSC is easier to get than ever right now. We could also reprint NJ (with a new ability) or make TSC even more accessible if we feel that is necessary.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: The Guardian on February 17, 2019, 03:17:48 PM

Can you give any examples of why it would be a bad thing, other than it would be something else that people need to know? I'm curious because I haven't thought about this for more than a day or two- obviously I haven't thought of all the implications.

You can keep printing counters, but we all know how that goes. Too many counters is just as bad as not enough. I'd rather not need the counters altogether.

I prefer to enable the limiting of strategic play through what cards I choose to use rather than by game rules. While there are some cases where a game rule is simply the only feasible option (such as the hand limit), in most cases I prefer to keep as much strategy involved in the game as possible, which includes when and how to play one's dominants.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Watchman on February 17, 2019, 03:18:49 PM
I agree with Guardian and Red. I’m also intrigued by the idea of limited dominant play per turn and would like to see how that would play out/test. But as it stands I don’t see a problem with the current state of dominants. Yes, NJ and TSC are, IMO, a lot in regards to decreasing the win condition, but with the dominant initiative rule change and more cards being produced that restrict dominant play I think it helps balance this out. Redemption needs it’s own certain uniqueness from other CCGs, and dominants and how they are played are it.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Master Q on February 17, 2019, 07:17:08 PM
in most cases I prefer to keep as much strategy involved in the game as possible, which includes when and how to play one's dominants.

It seems like this change would be right up your alley, then. ;)

I'll be testing this whenever we get around to playing games, because I feel like with something like this you can probably drop the Dom limit entirely. After all, who wants to be stuck with a handful of cards they can only play one at a time, right? I bet this won't even factor in most games, save the ones where you start by emptying your hand (possibly with SoG with/without TSC, and/or 3 Woes), playing Mayhem, and then dropping AotL on a blocker. :P

The current state of Doms might not be as bad as it was back before the limit, but it's still a nuisance that doesn't need to exist. If the only thing (outside of a lower triple-digit playerbase) distinguishing Redemption from other CCGs is how unrestricted its most powerful cards are, that's not a good thing in my mind. Costless cards aren't healthy, and the game isn't moving away from SoG+NJ/TSC, AotL, CM, or 3W anytime soon.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: ChristianSoldier on February 17, 2019, 07:32:05 PM
You could also have New Jerusalem's "Simultaneous Play" with SoG as an exception to a 1 dominant/turn rule, possibly because you play it simultaneously (the rule acts something like: "Restrict a player from playing a dominant if they have already played one this turn.").
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: The Guardian on February 17, 2019, 07:38:37 PM
Quote
It seems like this change would be right up your alley, then. ;)

No... I'd prefer to be able to use multiple dominants in one turn if that's what the game situation required (even though I'm not a fan of doing that).

It would also be incredibly frustrating to draw dominants on the last turn of the game and not be able to both of them (i.e. I'm holding TSC trying to get to SoG...on my last turn, which ends up being the last turn of the game due to time limits, I am finally able to get to SoG, but now I can't even use both of them). Now we're back to the luck factor, just on the other end of the game.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Kor on February 17, 2019, 08:34:40 PM
I like what you’re trying to do, but I think my preference would be to have a format with no Doms at all, with lower win required souls to compensate for time.

Pretty much any effect that is on a dominant that is wanted for the game could be reprinted as a territory class enhancement...without being overpowered just by the nature of the card type.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Kevinthedude on February 18, 2019, 12:10:39 AM
I like what you’re trying to do, but I think my preference would be to have a format with no Doms at all, with lower win required souls to compensate for time.

I agree with this sentiment and specifically in a perfect world I would have neither NJ nor TSC exist and the soul count be lowered 4. However, I don't realistically see the status quo ever changing that heavily so this 1 per turn rule is something I see similar value in that has the upside being slightly less extreme than outright banning one of the most (if not the most) expensive card in the game.

For the people saying you like the strategic possibility of playing multiple dominants in one turn, I actually think the 1 per turn limit increases the number of decisions per game and thus the skill ceiling. It rewards thinking ahead and getting things like Woes into play earlier so you can negate something like a YWR and still dom block that turn, it enables the other player taking entirely new lines of play in an effort to bait the opponent into playing their single dominant and then knowing they're safe, forces you to plan your dominant use out more instead of just holding both SoG and TSC until the exact soul you want to remove comes down or you're ready to win, etc. Most importantly I think is the bait potential making dominants a more interactive part of the game instead of just a one sided power play where the only thought that goes into playing them is to hold them as a backup trump card until your only option to win a scenario is to dump them and then you do.

I also think the affect on game length is negligible if it even exists at all. The number of times you'll be at 3 souls and topdeck SoG and TSC in the same turn should be quite small and more than offset by the number of extra rescues you get by not having your band double dom blocked or getting your Hero insta-gibbed by Woes+Martyr.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: 777Godspeed on February 18, 2019, 11:58:31 AM
I like what you’re trying to do, but I think my preference would be to have a format with no Doms at all, with lower win required souls to compensate for time.

With the exception of a lower LS count to win, Type NW might be what you are looking for.

Godspeed,
Mike
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: TheHobbit13 on February 18, 2019, 12:43:34 PM
I also play the pokemon tcg gameboy game and have been destroying the "elite" four recently. I keep switching decks though because I know their weaknesses... I am hoping to make one deck for the whole event. Maybe normal type?

As for dominants I actually think that there are so many other non-dominant "staples" and watered down dominants (shipwreck, destruction, rubble and dust, vain, THS, Glory) that we probably do not need dominant cap anymore. Basically I am saying that the opportunity cost of running dominants is higher now and the extra doms you may include are not game breaking  but help keep some other nasty stuff in check.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Kevinthedude on February 18, 2019, 12:58:28 PM
(shipwreck, destruction, rubble and dust, vain, THS, Glory) that we probably do not need dominant cap anymore. Basically I am saying that the opportunity cost of running dominants is higher now and the extra doms you may include are not game breaking  but help keep some other nasty stuff in check.

New destruction and R&D certainly aren't watered down, I'd consider both to be competitively viable this year. If it weren't for the dom cap I know for sure I'd be running at least two and probably three more dominants in every deck than I do now and the power level of every deck would go up quite a bit.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: sepjazzwarrior on February 18, 2019, 01:03:12 PM
I am all for this as long an NJ gets a reprint as a common.  As a person who couldnt afford TSC for the longest time, there's needs to be a cheap card with a similar, but less powerful, ability in the game for younger/poorer players. 
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: TheHobbit13 on February 18, 2019, 01:09:59 PM
(shipwreck, destruction, rubble and dust, vain, THS, Glory) that we probably do not need dominant cap anymore. Basically I am saying that the opportunity cost of running dominants is higher now and the extra doms you may include are not game breaking  but help keep some other nasty stuff in check.

New destruction and R&D certainly aren't watered down, I'd consider both to be competitively viable this year. If it weren't for the dom cap I know for sure I'd be running at least two and probably three more dominants in every deck than I do now and the power level of every deck would go up quite a bit.

But what would you take out? Probably cards that directly win battles or equivalent support cards? Grapes is the only "extra" dominant that will win battles consistently so more often than not by adding other dominants there is a trade off.

As for power level you can't just say it increases power level when these two cards can sack incredibly powerful cards like YWR.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Bobbert on February 18, 2019, 01:35:50 PM
I am all for this as long an NJ gets a reprint as a common.  As a person who couldnt afford TSC for the longest time, there's needs to be a cheap card with a similar, but less powerful, ability in the game for younger/poorer players.

I'll second this. It wasn't until about two years ago that I had the funds to actually put money directly into the game, other than a few packs at tournaments and playing booster here and there. I didn't even consider paying $30 for a Grapes or Mayhem when they were the most expensive cards in the game. For as much as we like to talk about negative player experiences, there's a metagame aspect to that too; it feels really bad to play against someone with the full meta dominants when you've got the starters, NJ, and maybe a(n old) DoN. Removing NJ would only make this worse.
Unless, of course, we ban both NJ and TSC. I'd be all for that  ;)

That aside, I think the idea's worth testing. It certainly has potential, not least because it makes Mayhem shenanigans more difficult by making it harder to just drop cards.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Kevinthedude on February 18, 2019, 01:45:13 PM
(shipwreck, destruction, rubble and dust, vain, THS, Glory) that we probably do not need dominant cap anymore. Basically I am saying that the opportunity cost of running dominants is higher now and the extra doms you may include are not game breaking  but help keep some other nasty stuff in check.

New destruction and R&D certainly aren't watered down, I'd consider both to be competitively viable this year. If it weren't for the dom cap I know for sure I'd be running at least two and probably three more dominants in every deck than I do now and the power level of every deck would go up quite a bit.

But what would you take out? Probably cards that directly win battles or equivalent support cards? Grapes is the only "extra" dominant that will win battles consistently so more often than not by adding other dominants there is a trade off.

As for power level you can't just say it increases power level when these two cards can sack incredibly powerful cards like YWR.

I can't tell you exactly how my decks would change since this would warp deck building beyond just swapping out a couple cards but I can definitely say I'd take FA and/or Grapes over my worst EE. As for doms that aren't just upgrades of enhancements, I'd be able to reform my deck in a way that doesn't have to account as much for the weaknesses that the new doms I'm running now cover. But there is absolutely no doubt at all that every single deck would run more than seven doms and be stronger because of it.

It objectively does increase the power level. What you're saying is that the opponent's deck is also increasing in power level, which is true, but that doesn't negate the fact that there is a power increase across the board. This is especially an issue because of the inherent uninteractivity nature of dominants. By removing the dom cap you're letting everyone take potentially interactive cards out of their deck in exchange for strictly uninteractive ones.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: TheHobbit13 on February 18, 2019, 05:33:30 PM
Redemption is probably one of the least interactive CCGs out there so the difference in interactivity between dominants and cbn enhancements or your non-dominant power cards is marginal. Not to mention most of the evil "extra" dominants are counters and most of the good ones supplement various strategies much like the cards you have to cut in order to add more dominants. Don't get me wrong I would rather no dominants at all because staples cut down on deck variety. But there are plenty of non-dominant staples that do as well which, btw, you might have to cut to add extra dominants. FWIW I don't really like all of these "copy" cards either. Every civilization gets an army? Boring.

What I am saying is that if YWR increases the power level of decks counters like Destruction decrease that power level. Just because the counter is more "powerful" than say, treasures of war, doesn't mean it increases the power level. It actually decreases the power level by more because it can discard YWR easier. Of course DoN is still something you would want to race to get but then again so is YWR.


Back on the topic of a dominant per turn... The idea is growing on me. It really punishes decks that race to dominants with hand clog. And it is actually more strategic this way because you have to plan out the one dominant you want to use.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Sean on February 18, 2019, 06:16:13 PM
The best place for limits is in deck building rules.  Limiting game play rules, in my opinion, is counter intuitive and makes it more difficult for new players.  I think the current rule limiting dominants are more than enough and it also leaves room to add more if you want to by having a larger deck. 
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: jesse on February 18, 2019, 08:15:32 PM
My first inclination is to be in support of the 1-dom-per-player-per-turn rule change (with an exception or errata for NJ). It would help change the meta from being so hyper-speed focused and hopefully therefore diversify it.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Isildur on February 18, 2019, 09:09:49 PM
My first inclination is to be in support of the 1-dom-per-player-per-turn rule change (with an exception or errata for NJ). It would help change the meta from being so hyper-speed focused and hopefully therefore diversify it.
Something to think about is... should the game slow down?

For years many of us fought against the game "speeding up". Now the game is faster than it ever was when I was competitively playing. But is the fact that the game is now faster a bad thing?
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: jesse on February 18, 2019, 09:39:39 PM
My first inclination is to be in support of the 1-dom-per-player-per-turn rule change (with an exception or errata for NJ). It would help change the meta from being so hyper-speed focused and hopefully therefore diversify it.
Something to think about is... should the game slow down?

For years many of us fought against the game "speeding up". Now the game is faster than it ever was when I was competitively playing. But is the fact that the game is now faster a bad thing?

Not necessarily, although I don't mind longer games..I just would like more diversity in competitive playstyles. When building T1 decks I have this feeling that if I don't build a hyper fast deck I'm likely to get steamrolled  :laugh:
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: The Schaefer on February 18, 2019, 11:34:41 PM
I think a dom per turn limit could potentially make dom playing a bit more strategic but I'm not sure it would significantly help the game. I feel this would help scale back the power of doms not having many timing restrictions compared to other cards which is part of why they are so good but it may not always be good for that to occur. Other cards may see a rise in power due to a change. Doms still will be incredibly poweful and used in every deck in likely similar composition.

When you think about it playing 1 dom a turn likely means that SOG, SC, AOTL, FA, CM, and 3W are likely still the best doms and still should be in a deck. That still leaves 1 dom flex spot for most decks which is still similar to now and their power just gets more spread over a game and more strategic rather than spammy. Fast decks still will benefit from early access but in a corner case could suffer from hand clog if they blindly just let it. Doms still have some of the least amount of timing/play restrictions by game rules and are usually very powerful so they are still likely better than alternatives even if they have to be used a little more wisely.

There could be drawbacks with deck consistency regardless of what you play and certain strats may prey on the limitations but thats something that would have to be playtested.

Ultimately while very intrigued by the idea and while very supportive of changes being made to better the game im not sure this does it or rather enough to warrant a change. It may even make top play have a further barrier of entry by making dom playment skill all the more imperative. I also don't think it addresses the biggest issue of the game which is the costless nature of very powerful cards. (Im not sure there is a good way to address that without ser rotation/mass bans honestly.)

I also feel that the game needs more streamlined rules in the future for easier access/learning for new players so im always skeptical of game rule changes that don't simplify. I'm much more in favor of set rotation and a legacy style format but thats another matter entirely.

Love the thinking and thought process. Probably not on board with the rule change.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Master Q on February 19, 2019, 09:13:37 PM
Great thoughts, Joe. This segment alone is why I think it's worth trying:

When you think about it playing 1 dom a turn likely means that SOG, SC, AOTL, FA, CM, and 3W are likely still the best doms and still should be in a deck. That still leaves 1 dom flex spot for most decks which is still similar to now and their power just gets more spread over a game and more strategic rather than spammy.

The Doms this hurts the most are obviously SoG, TSC, NJ (if no errata/reprint), 3W, and Mayhem- all cards whose power I don't mind seeing curtailed.

I imagine most games a turn limit wouldn't even make an impact. It's those games where it would be a runaway that I would be thankful for something like this.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Master Q on February 22, 2019, 01:25:20 PM
Update:

After testing a few games with this rule I am really liking it! It doesn't always have an impact, but in those games where it has it really has. Something like Grapes + CM is no longer an option, TSC + AotL is out, 3W + AotL/Grapes/CM is out, Mayhem + anything, and so many more; these were just the ones that came up in the games I played (as options no longer available). The battles feel better, and there's definitely a feeling of balance when you know you have to choose what you're playing this turn if you have more than 1 Dom in hand and want to think about the turns ahead.

One thing: I was playing where it was 1 Dom per player per each player's turn, rather than 1 dom per player per round (which is what I think some people might've thought I meant by 1 per turn). So maybe at the end of your turn you play TSC to get SoG back. Then on the start of your opponent's turn you play SoG. What does this change? Well, perhaps the opponent can draw their own Dom (FA, SoG, CoF) on their turn to potentially increase their score or still be in the game; rather than just ending the game after the third LS rescue with SoG + TSC in hand. I think that is a bit more fair, since we all know how it is to look at the top 3 cards after a loss to see if a FA, SoG, or TSC was sitting there. :2cents:

To summarize, if it sounds interesting to you, try it out. You will probably like it. If it still doesn't sound like it would be worth exploring, try a couple games anyway to see how it actually plays out. It very likely won't be as extreme/oppressive/limiting as you think. :thumbup:
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: The Guardian on February 22, 2019, 02:52:00 PM
Bearing in mind that everyone's personal experiences are different, I just don't see the need for a change. Is it a horrible idea? No. Does it add some strategy? Sure. However, it also takes away some strategy so it's really just a trade-off. Like many rules, there's going to be games where it would be better for you to have it one way and other games where you would be better off if it was the other way.

I've had games where my opponent played SoG/TSC/AotL on his first turn to go up 3-0...and then I won 5-3. I think it's also worth noting that few (if any) of last year's Top Cut decks were running Woman with Child -- the ultimate "Dom-rush" Hero.

To me, the more frustrating experiences have been when my opponent has consecutive dominant block turns in a row. (i.e. Grapes, then Martyr, then FA in 3 consecutive turns). At the same time, there's been times I've been the one doing that to my opponent. It's just part of the randomness of a card game. In most cases, if I force my opponent to use 2 dominants to stop my rescue or defeat my block, then I usually see that as an advantage. If they've managed to get to 4 and still have AotL and TSC at their disposal to defeat my block, then kudos to them.

I guess my point is that while this rule would certainly put a damper on those whose style is to rush to dominants, you also punish players whose style is to use their dominants very selectively (and I readily admit I'm one of those players).

A few weeks ago, I was playing a T2 game and my opponent had an early King of Tyrus (PoC). Knowing my specific offense (as constructed) would struggle to overcome KoT until I drew certain cards, I decided to play aggressive and used TSC to grab Woes from deck--a play I almost never make, but decided to take the calculated risk and it paid off as I defeated KoT in that early battle and my offense kept rolling to an eventual win.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: TXJonathan on February 22, 2019, 04:52:00 PM
I agree with Guardian. Redemption is unique and great the way it is and doesn't need this rule change. +1
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Master Q on February 22, 2019, 07:07:19 PM
I've had games where my opponent played SoG/TSC/AotL on his first turn to go up 3-0...and then I won 5-3. I think it's also worth noting that few (if any) of last year's Top Cut decks were running Woman with Child -- the ultimate "Dom-rush" Hero.

And I've seen it the opposite way (win 5- <5 after early Doms) so many times it's sickening.

Point about WwC - How many decks in Top cut ran AutO (unquestionably the best non-Samuel Hero for getting Doms)? I bet it was a few. :P

To me, the more frustrating experiences have been when my opponent has consecutive dominant block turns in a row. (i.e. Grapes, then Martyr, then FA in 3 consecutive turns). At the same time, there's been times I've been the one doing that to my opponent. It's just part of the randomness of a card game.

Except in any other card game something as one-sided as this would not be tolerated. I know this rule would not address that, but there is basically no way around it as-is without some bans (or some radical new cards that completely make Doms unviable). I don't want to go either route.

A few weeks ago, I was playing a T2 game and my opponent had an early King of Tyrus (PoC). Knowing my specific offense (as constructed) would struggle to overcome KoT until I drew certain cards, I decided to play aggressive and used TSC to grab Woes from deck--a play I almost never make, but decided to take the calculated risk and it paid off as I defeated KoT in that early battle and my offense kept rolling to an eventual win.

That's fine, but how many times does this happen normally? Not very many, in all probability.
Title: Re: A rule change proposal for Dominants
Post by: Master Q on February 22, 2019, 07:17:52 PM
I agree with Guardian. Redemption is unique and great the way it is and doesn't need this rule change. +1

Redemption is not a unique game because it has "broken" cards (Dominants). Far from it- the big ‘3’ have their fair share:

Spoiler (hover to show)

*Just a few classic examples. Fun fact: all of the above are either banned, reworked, or played in severely limited categories. It’s hard to say SoG + TSC (which are costless, free to play at anytime, and contribute directly to your win) aren’t broken when you look at these, yes?*


No, Redemption is unique because it is a truly one-of-a-kind Christian competitive collectible card game… that just so happens to have next to no ‘cost’ for playing cards (apart from opportunity and brigades, but brigades are basically moot at this point). Some people like that. I think I’d rather play Booster Draft anyday.

Don’t take this the wrong way; Dominants are my favorite cards in the whole game. Their existence can lead to some unique, thematic cards (ANB, CoF, Glory) that open up wild possibilities for the future. I would never want to ban them as a whole. I just think steps should be taken toward lessening that ‘costless’ feeling.


TLDR: Overall, this is more of a ‘consideration’ than a request for immediate action. I’d play this game for Booster Draft alone, but I do really love building and playing decks in general. I just don’t think there should be no downside for the lowest possible amount of effort. :2cents:
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