Aloyzo's Arsenal #15: You make the card! Part 4: Card Effect!

A surprise War Cry from afar totally won me one of Gnizla's tournament matches. $¦^ D Very potent.

The three major Helmet cards I remember seeing played were War Cry, Quick Reactions (depending of course), and Team pushes. (Aaaand of course movement-boosting auras in 3-4 leagues.) I'm not counting Armor cards (including Force Field) or Trait cyclers because we're talking Helmet specialties. $:^ ] So yeah, with all the other slots getting so many specialties (besides perhaps Boots sharing with Elf Skill just 'cause) -- including the good points about Midnight Schloss already bringing us new Skill cards -- I believe Helmets need more love.

Oh, and look at that, so do 21 other people out of 72 at the time of my writing this. In fact, the #1 answer is as big as #2 and #3 combined. Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have our winner... Of course, y'know, poll prediction bias, etc. Quick! Arcane Item and Divine Armor fans, vote for your candidates before the deadline!! $:^ P

 

Let's see... using my recently created spreadsheet and sorting by helmet/total we get...
11 cards that appear more often on helmets than all other slots combined.

Spoiler

Scamper, Team! 100.00%
Scuttle, Team! 100.00%
Quick Reactions 100.00%
Mimetic Crown 80.00%
War Cry 75.00%
Sprint, Team! 72.73%
Battlefield Training 66.67%
Dash, Team! 66.67%
Run, Team! 62.50%
Advanced Battlefield Training 61.54%
Shuffle, Team! 57.14%

 

Looks like my interpretations of those helmet skills being primarily based in racial concepts was a bit lacking.
Especially in my belief that QR was the only exclusive one [though scamper and scuttle are so similar to the other team move cards, ti's a bit unclear if they really should count as being distinctly exclusive].

Still, I stand by my belief that Helmets could benefit the most from additional distinction, and the stats certainly don't negate the fact that there seems to be a common belief that helmets most typically only serve as throw-ins for after you equip your "real" gear.

Besides, helmets specialize in leadership and tactics- it could be quite interesting seeing what sort of cards Aloyzo whips up under that premise.

Eh? EH? EHHHHHH?!
..and so I continue to dream my hopeful little dream.

Oh well. There's always the second best options..

 

Likewise, I thought the two Battlefield cards and most Team Push cards were primarily Human, secondarily Helmet -- not the other way around. Cool, 'kay, interesting.

(Yet more reason why Humans felt shorted on their special cards, eh? Of course, there were each of the three Thinking and Soldier cards, but two Soldier cards barely saw use. Then, y'know, Festering and Delegate. $E^ b heheh Yeah, Humans are weird. Yay @ BM for not making Humans boring middleground!)

 

Truth.

 

Humans *are* weird, yes. Sorry about that

They get their own powerful pushed low-cost trait this week, though!

 

Quickly! everyone who voted for something besides Divine Armor change your vote to divine armor! You were only kidding, right?
Yet another too-early prediction*, but looks like we'll have a new Helmet-only card. Not the worst of outcomes, I'd say. Certainly better than another tar quality move.
*I'm assuming the poll closes today.

 

Yes, it closed 19 minutes ago. I'll get the new one up ASAP. Helmets won.

 

Not as weird as priests, really. Most of us, as has been pointed out, preach goodness and altruism with one hand while inspiring our allies into a blood frenzy and calling upon demons for power with the other.

 

Hey everyone.

Aloyzo has determined that he is designing a new card for helmets.

I've updated the poll in this thread to be a question about card type.

If the top two results are within 5 of each other, and they can be hybridized, the card will have both types.

 

I don't see Move (Blue) on the list.

 

I must say, I don't recall a single Utility (purple) card on any Helmet. (Not that I checked the wiki before saying that or anything. But hey, impressions if nothing else.)

EDIT: That's not to say I've voted Utility -- yet. Just an observation in case we want some bran' spankin' new variety. Otherwise, another Boost card might be rockin', but that's just because Boost cards rock. Heh.

 

Jump, Soldier! is an example of a Utility card that we might allow on helmets.

 

I may be mistaken, but aren't the only moves on Helmets special ones like Dodge and Thick Hide Armor, aside from team moves?
I don't think direct movement cards are intended to be an emphasis for them, so the omission is likely intentional.

 

Right. I should note, if you all vote Attack, Boost, or Armor (any of which can be hybridized with Move), there may or may not be some hybrid Move cards on offer at the end of the event. We'll see!

 

Well, that's certainly cool to hear (although it'd be one more knock on Human exclusives) -- but moreso in the context of future items, whether BM- AA- crafted. Ahh, but a new card. Hmmmmm. $:^ }

EDIT: As I continue to ponder whether to click Utility, a Helmet- primary/exclusive Handicap could be interesting. "Dizzy" attached Trait. Lol. Hmm. $:^ P

 

Okay, let's do an initial rundown:

Attack: This'd be weird on a helmet, unless we're looking into introducing sonic attacks. One worth mulling over our options for.

Boost: Static (typically defensive) effects. Helms already have QR, so this'd be setting a sort of precedent for what kind of style helmets emphasis. In terms of effects, this could be quite interesting, as it allows for us to include some interesting tactical emphasis [eg, Maze of the Mind]

Assist: Now. while we do have plenty of team moves available as assists, this option could be quite an unusual one for Helmets. Other than things like team moves, Assists are based in buffs and heals, so this would likely best be utilized to pursue a leadership-style buff ability [eg, Attack, Soldier!]. That could be an interesting direction to take helmets.

Armor: Mimetic Helm is a good indication of a Helmet-primary armor, but it's not really that distinct (though that's more due to the existence of Mimetic Armor). Likewise, armor is also quite prominent on helmets, and the cost of adding armor traits to the armor will limit the potency of special effects we can add, unless we get really creative on our definition of armor [eg, Adaptive]. Another one to mull over concepts for.

Utility: Using Flax's example of Jump, Soldier, we get a good tactical vibe. Assuming we can push aside from the general Helm straight movement emphasis, this could be another great way of emphasizing tactical traits. Manipulation effects, so this'd be a way to get tactical in a more direct way.

Handicap: Well. I mean, it's certainly one way to go- but since our aim is boosting the appeal of helmets, this might be one to avoid for now.

 

Let's vote in an amethyst handicap.

EDIT: Amethyst utility would be purple on top of purple! And it would be a higher quality utility than Accelerate Time.. on a Helmet. I say we vote utility.

 

I'd like to enter the discussion with a thorough examination of our options. I will be looking at each card type from the perspective of making something truly helmet themed, not just putting something good and interesting on a helmet.

First off, I think we can rule out Handicap, as I believe the purpose of making a new helmet card was to make them usable, and a new handicap is unlikely to produce that result. Typically the only reason to slot a handicap is for the card cycle (except in a few examples, such as Festering Guts) and creating more helmets with card cycle is not really going to help the helmet identity crisis.

Now, let us move on to Attacks. Helmets already have a few interesting attacks, the most notable of which is War Cry! I think that creating a new attack card for the helmet certainly has the potential for making them more interesting and usable. The main downside is that there are really not very many exclusive helmet attack types. (I can only think of Headbutts, Throwing your helmet, or some sort of Intimidation).

Boosts: Helmets currently boast only a very few boosts, with only one that is mainly a helmet thing. (Quick Reactions) There are definitely a lot of options for helmet-themed boosts, but most of them could also just be special features on Helmet themed armor. The advantage of voting for a boost is that it would most likely end up being a trait, which would help warriors card cycle and stay focused on their main card type, weapon attacks.

Assists: Helmets already have a decent variety of assist cards that are unique to them or primarily used by them. (The team moves all count as assists, as does the Battlefield Training Series) Most of what is likely to come out of this branch is probably going to be card draw or tactical, although there could be some well themed cards. In general, I don't see this as a very helmet themed route, more of command themed way to go.

Armor: Helmets as they stand currently have no unique or even tightly themed armor cards, aside from the knockoff mimetic helm. Despite this, there is decent itemization for primarily heavy armor on helmets. Personally, I believe this is the best route to go down to produce a tightly themed card, as helmets, more than being an inspiring visage, are a piece of armor.

Utility: If we look at current examples of utility cards, the only one that makes even remote sense for a helmet is Jump, Soldier! Also, most utility cards are for moving other characters, which again, has more of a tactical theme than a helmet theme.

Edit: Added Section: Hybrid: The potential for hybrid cards is strong here, as helmets obviously perform multiple functions. I believe that some very well themed hybrids could be made, but I won't include this in my list of favorites, for obvious reasons.

After examining the options, my early favorites, listed in order of how favorable they are, from most favorable to less favorable, are Armor, Attack, and Boost, as these are the only cards that I can see maintaining tight helmet flavor while making helmets more playable.

 

Festering Guts isn't enough for you?