Aloyzo's Arsenal Official SUBMISSION Discussion Thread

You'd probably get more responses if you'd provide links to your previous Smithy submissions

 

Aloyzo's guidelines say that the handicap in question should be detrimental to the item as part of a risky but rewarding item, not just a free cycling card to push down the level.
"I'm looking for items that are worth running but have a serious drawback."
So no Runestone shenanigans.

 

Wait, who won the March contest then?

 

Hopefully Redshirt's Phaser doesn't fall foul of the "using someone else's IP" rule. Happy to change if someone can confirm...

 

Adding to what @Maniafig said, I'm seeing submissions so far that have pretty irrelevant / non-serious "drawbacks." (And don't expect Accelerate Time x2 for anytime soon. The flavor's cute, but the handicap would probably have to be "die instantly" to be considered.) The Bad-Tempered Flamestaff, on the other hand, is pretty hot, pardon the pun.

• Once again considering Antimatter Helm as War Cry, Boiling Armor, Dropped Guard. Is it a problem that it's tokenless? I mean, Dropped Guard, blech, but WC+BA, wow... Also, despite its weirdness, it's only common. Pick up for 5g with 6 renown.
  
  Spoiler

  Antimatter Helm - common tokenless Helmet
  
• Had a new idea for Uncanny Dodge, Trip, and something else (maybe another bad thing like Slowed) to give us Uncanny for rare and ... unfortunately, Jump Back makes it ... Investigate fits the bill ... perhaps call it "Curiouser and Curiouser" ... thoughts? (Also, Uncanny Dodge, Jump Back, Slowed for is ... eh ... more thoughts?) Biggest problem is because I never got Perfect Agility, I never got to seriously play with Uncanny.
  
  Spoiler

  Curiouser and Curiouser - rare Elf Skill
  
  Spoiler

  insert name here - rare Elf Skill
  
  (yeah, I don't think I'm feeling this one)
  EDIT: lemme retry that last one there...
  
  Spoiler

  Injured Acrobat - rare Elf Skill
  
  
  Perhaps much higher risk/reward...
  (same Injured Acrobat name, or perhaps...)
  Reckless Evasion - rare Elf Skill
  

Ridiculous ideas more suited for Ozyola:

• Pathfinding, Pathfinding, Slowed - lol! maybe call it "Ancient Pathfinder" lol! - uncommon
• Negative Energy Being, Demonic Revenge, Investigate - lol again!

 

My submission isn't serious, just a tribute to @gulo gulo . I should probably trick it out a bit to make that more obvious.

 

Don't worry, Veza, the title + cards + tokens/level make it pretty obvious. $;^ D

 

Bob, I think your Reckless Evasion would have a shot. Big risk/reward, cool name. I think that may be what...uh... "Aloyzo" is looking for.

 

Thank you, Mr. seth. Lemme let you in on some of my internal arguments.

"Curiouser and Curiouser"

• Flavor: Fun Lewis Carroll / Alice reference linking nicely with Uncanny Dodge's memorable flavor text and Investigate's illustration. Then, too, the imagery, flipping like all crazy get out -> miss the landing -> investigation. $:^ J
• Power: Uncanny Dodge already has questionable power since an enemy can abuse it if the equipper's not careful. Trip would nullify it! Also with Trip, you couldn't Inv. to Move 4, but you could at least still Heal 2 via your allies -- but then, if you're Halted, the opp will likely skip your allies for targets anyway. Trip is painful here (like always for elves) -- but the item only costs a minor thus making it an interesting equipment choice.

Uncanny + Jump Back + Slowed

• Flavor: Kind of exists, but not so evident that a name or "story" really jumps out at me.
• Power: Slowed would Encumber 1 only 1/3 of the time, until you played it first. This actually gave me neat play ideas, but for a level 18 , this item looks severely overcosted as-is.

"Injured Acrobat" & "Reckless Evasion"

• Flavor: The "Injured Acrobat" name subtly nods at Acrobatic Flip and Acrobat's Aegis which used to feature that card; funny that the card has an elven illustration and flavor text, but anyway. The "Reckless Evasion" name borrows from a few "Reckless" items (which are reckless for a couple different reasons interestingly enough) plus of course the "Evasion" skill line (a few of which feature Slippery) -- and let's face it, Trip and Uncanny are pretty reckless...
• Power: Each of these items is level 21. $:^ [ That's probably a problem with Aloyzo, despite the fact that Uncanny makes for a weird purple quality; I mean, Delegate requires an ally (and not hitting draw limit), and Pulverizing Hack requires an adjacent enemy (without damage-nullifying defenses), but Uncanny requires crazy positional plans and backup plans (and enemies without all the bypassing attacks...).
  • With Slowed, you get an annoying card for an elf, although the racial Dash does its thing. However, 1/3 of the time, it Encumbers the Uncanny Dodge -- yet doesn't affect Slippery at all. I actually forgot about that until just now, thus it might be too little risk for too high reward here.*
  • With Trip, you get Uncanny plus two traits -- but one black trait Halts both the purple and gold cards, not to mention the racial Dash and nearly anything else you'd equip. Arrogant wouldn't be worth it because three rounds of Slippery beats one round of Trip nearly any day, and you're paying a . Much higher risk, but a purple + gold + double-trait reward.*
  • * In all the high-risk-high-reward talk, don't forget that Uncanny Dodge has questionable reward in the first place. I've played against a couple players using it. I don't know if I'd do any better equipping the card, but I was able to beat them.

I believe "Reckless Evasion" is my favorite interesting choice, but that level 21 issue above all else... ("If your submission would be level 21+, it is unlikely to be selected.") But "unlikely" vs. an odd assortment like that. Hm. (Never forget "Tasty, Tasty Staff" after all...)

"Antimatter Helm"

• Flavor: $E^ D
  (albeit a better name wouldn't hurt)
• Power: Tokenless War Cry; the only other such helmet is Helmet Of Thorns with the Spiked Mail + Ouch! combo; that's comparable. Tokenless Boiling Armor; a warrior's only other source of Boiling Armor is the rare Flame-Touched Spear; that's so costly it rarely sees play, and it has a Combustible to boot, which sounds like BM really just doesn't want warriors to have it. Dropped Guard is rough on a warrior, meaning you know you build around this card when you dare to equip it -- and when your opponent sees it, it screams, "I don't have much defense!"

I believe this one's weird but probably the "safest," especially since the original more-flawed (and more-joke) design got official nods.

(But I can't help but like Reckless Evasion! ...but would I even play it? (of course, Trip's mitigatable..) ...I can probably try the helmet in a future rejects round. Weeks to go. I'll wait to hear more input than my own internal spinning.) (EDIT: I also really like "Curiouser and Curiouser" ha ha ha ha, but who knows if Aloyzo would allow a mostly untested card** on such a cheap item? (**not many people have equipped it due to its item being unique and legendary, plus it having a bad reputation, plus cetera))

 

Personally I think Curiouser and Curiouser is the best of those designs, it's a fun reference and the cards all fit. Less expensive and rare itemization for Uncanny Dodge is also something I welcome.

 

So this hat has magical arms that help you (and your allies!) in combat. It can "hand" off cards to your allies to lend a "hand", and it can also whack people, cast magic and protect you from harm. However, as the arms are not attached to any sentient creature, it can be pretty clumsy, and drops your sword at inopportune times.

 

PKB, I like Uncanny Dodge, Slippery, and Trip
I called it Achilles in the smithy. It gets my vote.

 

Would Myx'd (or however you spell you Elf Wiz name) use it?....I love your Misadventures!!! P.S. Hope to read more, Bob!!

 

Thoughts on either of the following?

Trans-phase Sword (Level 12.5 weapon )



Memory stick (Level 7.5 Staff ) [I know Mind Worm isn't on Wizard items, but I don't see why it isn't...]

 

Unnerving Strikeseems to fit better with the theme than Sundering Strike seeing as all the other cards interplay with blocks.
If you left them as they were, I would still commend the former submission over the latter though each add something new to the game.

 

I actually like your sword a lot. But dropped guard is too heavy a handicap for me.
But the staff, I would use. I find that it would give an edge for controlling the enemy. Maybe add Counterspell, instead of arcane curse?

 

Counterspell would push the staff into . That seems quite high for staff which gives no card advantage.

How about:

Over-thinking (Human skill, )

 

Arcane Curse is hardly what I'd think about when it comes to big drawbacks so I don't think the design fits the guidelines myself. Sure, Arcane Curse annoying and can be a problem, but usually it's just a weak Zap, it's not something that causes you pause when it's drawn or something you'd want to take precautions for.

 

@Founder
You can raise the token count by one (making it level 17,5) by adding pulverizing bludgeon instead of clumsy chop.
You keep your theme, and make an all out attacking weapon, worth of any berserker around.

 

I disagree, you have to get rid of it one way or another. Forward Thinking actually makes it almost impossible to get rid of by discard, so there's anti-synergy there. And since FT is giving you advantage for the next round, you don't necessarily want to engage this round. So that makes it potentially harder to get rid of. There are certainly more devastating handicaps, but this one has to be worked with in some way, even if its just attacking an ally.