It was also brought to my attention that somebody had already done something similar to what I am doing. Thanks to Andrew Kapish for better written article(s) IMO, and ones that go into far more detail than I've gone into. I will still finish this article but consider it a more reserved look into the Epic TCG than Andrew's. Here are the links to his articles which are totally worth a read though!
Part 1
Part 2
So this time I'm going to look at some Epic TCG cards and see what kinds of keywords we could possibly see in the future of our game. We know that the majority of Epic stuff from now on are supposed to be new stuff, but as we saw in the last article, there are plenty of things that were grabbed from the old TCG, so who knows? It's always fun to speculate either way.
Ancient Red Dragon - This doesn't have to do with a keyword as much as it's an ability that I would really like to see in Epic. Tapping and discarding a Wild card in order to use an ability is pretty cool. Epic so far has simply had abilities that tap, or abilities that cost gold or life, but we haven't had too many things that have a discard as a cost. Frantic Digging is one that comes to mind (amazing card), but we don't have anything that's a recurring ability with discard as a cost. I think there could be some very interesting interactions spawning from this. Andrew used a very good example of an interaction (Great minds think alike I guess, lol). Also note that Ancient Red Dragon has the keyword Deadly, which is the same ability that Thrasher Demon has.
1. Expend Ancient Red Dragon
2. Discard Smash and Burn
3. Deal 5 Deadly damage
4. Play Brachiosaurus
5. Banish Smash and Burn
6. Deal 6 damage to a target champion
7. Play Flame Strike
8. Deal 8 damage to a target
Timewalker - This one has an ability called Unveil. According to the Epic TCG rulebook:
Veiled - A champion with veiled may be played face down (so your opponent can’t see what it is) during the Build Step for the cost of 1 . You may unveil it (turn it face up) at any time you have priority. It must be unveiled after blockers are declared if it attacks or blocks. It also must be unveiled as it is targeted, would take damage, be broken, banished, leave play, or if a card or ability would check anything about it (like alignment, origin, offense, etc). If it is targeted while on the line, it is turned face up and will resolve face up. This is not considered unveiling and will not trigger any 46 47 when or as unveiled triggers. While veiled, a champion is considered to have no alignment or origin
Unveiled - A face down champion in play being turned face up is called unveiling. Many champions with veiled have an ability that triggers when or as they are unveiled.
This is a very interesting ability and one that would create a lot of fun interactions in the game, but one that I think would bog down the game and make it a little more complicated than it needs to be. It's a fun ability, but I don't mind it not crossing over.
Mithril Armor - This card brings us 2 differences between the old and the new: One is that this is an Object. Objects are kind of like Conditions in the LotR CCG, Effects in the Star Wars CCG, Artifacts/Enchantments in Magic: The Gathering. They are played and just stick around until used or discarded. Mithril Armor also introduces us to the Damage Ward keyword. According to the Epic TCG rulebook:
Damage Ward Reduce each instance of damage “Number” dealt by that number. Example: A champion with damage ward 5 is targeted by an event that does 7 damage to target champion. It will only take 2 damage. Example: A champion with damage ward 5 blocks an attacking group consisting of a champion with range and +3 , a champion with +5 and a champion with +4 . It will take 7 damage (5 + 3 + 4 - 5 = 7). Note: The 3 range damage and 2 damage of the blockers choice are prevented.
So we have a ridiculous in Mithril Armor. For one it replaces itself when played which is always nice. It's an Object so if it was added to Epic it would be impervious to all removal as we haven't seen Objects yet. Plus, it gives you Damage Ward 5, which allows you to ignore 5 damage from any source. If this plays out like I think it does, this would be way too OP. I am sure that if Objects would find their way into Epic that we'd have ways to get rid of them, but this is way too powerful. I think it could be added if it was a one time use. I think it would be very decent that way and an interesting addition to Epic. Champions with Damage Ward would also be a very cool addition.
Hunting Spider - This card gives us the Hunting keyword:
Hunter A champion with hunter may attack as normal or attack a champion another player controls (this doesn’t target). In order for a group to attack a champion, all the champions in the attacking group must have hunter. If the champion being hunted is prepared, flip it as the attack is declared. The controller of the hunted champion is considered the defender, and any breakthrough damage is applied to him. He may have other champion(s) block the attack as normal. If he does, the hunted champion is not involved in the 42 43 combat (but it is still flipped if it was prepared). An effect that prevents a player from being attacked will not prevent his champions from being attacked by hunters. A Hunter may only attack a champion that it could block. For example, a hunter without airborne or range can’t attack an airborne champion.
This ability is way too complicated as written. I like it in theory as it allows champions to specifically target opposing champions instead of a player, and I think that could be useful in Epic, but the wording would have to be changed. I doubt this would be added but I would be fine if it was.
The Archer - This generic card gives probably my favorite Epic TCG keyword, Range.
Range May block airborne attackers and deals damage first.
Range is so simple a concept, and yet it would be a huge and fun addition to Epic. I think it's simplicity runs well with how easy Epic is to grasp, and it would provide a different style of play that may crush chump blockers, which is always fun. Think of this like First Strike in Magic. I could and would like to see this keyword added to Epic.
Anyway that's it for this article, I hope you enjoyed it. Maybe we'll see some of these abilities someday? Until next time, happy gaming!
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