BALDSDAY! - Fan Created Cards

Blinded by the light…or is that the shine from his forehead?  Presenting…

BALDSDAY!

Hey peeps! Welcome to Baldsday! Here we celebrate all things Vs. and talk about how we can make the game we all love so much, even better.

This week’s article once again focuses in on the goodness of the fans…fan created cards.

I began work a couple of months ago on a fan set for a new local comic book. There is a huge difference between making a card and designing a set. It is a sizable jump in not only scale but responsibility.  I really never understood the amount of work I was undertaking when I decided to design 3 starter decks…but I soon found out.

There are a few things I wanted each team to have in the starter decks I was creating, and that is a unique mechanism or function.  I was not keen on designing new keywords.  I wanted instead to use existing keywords, but in ways that had not been done in the past.  I figured that a fresh take on existing keywords would make this new mini-set something our hobby league could have fun with.

First I had to decide on which keywords to include. Given that this was neither a Marvel nor a DC product, I felt no ‘brand loyalty’ to any keywords, and put everything on the table.  I quickly put together a list of the keywords that I figured would be both fun AND appropriate for the material I was covering.

Press
Reservist
Shift
Leader

It was also clear from the comic itself that army characters would play a large role for each of the three teams. (The title is called ‘The Hunters’ and it is fast and fun, with a couple of great twists/swerves in the first issue alone.  Issue #3 due out this summer. Check it out!)

So I had my keywords…not that all of them would play staring roles, but I figured that given the material that I was covering, that they would all be appropriate.  (Since almost none of you have read the title, you will just have to trust me on this one.=)   But, I was determined to use them not only properly, but in a fresh way.  So below are a couple of the cards and the fresh way I used the keywords.

I don’t remember a Leader that was used quite this way. Dr. Davida Moore sorta leads the team, yet she does not engage in the combat herself generally. Her helm gives her the ability to pick out the aliens and others who are hiding, but I did not want to create it as equipment. This ability mimics the powers of the character the closest.

Oh, and her recovery ability that mimics Wolverine 5 drop from MXM?  It turns out that our main hero has avoided certain death twice, and mysteriously recovered somehow.  As of yet the power is unexplained, so I decided not to create a plot twist for it, and just give her some pretty strong text.  She can still be KO’d by KO effects like Finishing Move, Punisher and 2 Equipment, etc, so she is not overly powerful in my opinion, especially given the low stats.

Plus, her team has a fair amount of equipment, especially guns, and her ATK value can go up from these equipment, effectively limiting her drawback to almost nothing if you play with guns. (Kids, don’t try this at home…)

The situation this plot twist addresses in the comic is complex.  If the team were found out, then basically this plan would go into effect and all equipment and information stored at the local ‘warehouse’ would be destroyed to cover their tracks.  This would force all agents into deep cover, effectively making them Reservists on-call.

While this effect is highly beneficial, losing a location to get it is not, and something I felt was a decent enough cost and drawback for the card’s effect.  (Though I will admit that giving everyone in the resource row a blanket Reservist is pretty powerful…)

I want to hear your feedback about my ideas for these cards.  Do these look like a fresh take Leader and Reservist?

In two weeks I will have another article for you that reveals my (hopefully) fresh take on Press and Shift!  (Remember that Press would not be triggered by Shift, since Press requires characters to be recruited for its effects to trigger for other recruited characters.)

Next week I will give a salute to America, Independence and The Rebirth of an American Icon (just not the one you may be thinking of…)

I will also have a short wrap up next week of who got what prizes from the EA challenge!

Do you have feedback from something you did that was particularly fun, or have an idea for a future Baldsday? Do you have some fan created cards lying around that are just dope?  Do you have feedback you would like to share?  Then contact me at seanthebaldman@hotmail.com or leave a comment.  Feedback is always welcome!

Comments

[Chris]

id be careful with press...

but i like the reservist ongoing. That card is redonkey.

[crash]

for CTD's info (1 month sub to marvel comics included)

http://www.eventhubs.com/news/2009/jun/25/marvel-vs-capcom-2-collectors-edition/