So I have a problem with a certain epic item. It's called Ettin's Club. And as far as I can see, there is no reason for it to exist at all. It boggles me. Let me show you: Ettin's Club Level 9 Epic Weapon Goblin's Club Level 7 Rare Weapon What is the actual difference between these two items? Well, it's these two cards. Ettin's Club has 1 extra Lunging Bash instead of a Simple Strike. Just 1; as an Epic weapon it can have 3 or 4 rare cards on it. There is a problem here though. Changing that 1 Simple Strike into a Lunging Bash changes the quality value of that slot. And when it does that, it raises the level of the item by a whopping 2 levels. This makes Ettin's Club cost one extra power token! That's nuts. You would have to be crazy to use Ettin's Club over Goblin's Club, or have no other choice of decent tokened items in your other slots. Goblin's Club exists, therefore Ettin's club is an inferior item. And an epic item to boot! It would be one thing if there weren't a Goblin's Club and Ettin's was the best way to get cheap Lunging Bashes; but the fact is that this is not the case. Now this alone isn't enough. The fact is that weapons that cost two minor tokens range from levels 9 all the way up to and including 13. This means that Ettin's Club could actually have had 4 Lunging Bash and 2 Simple Bash, or 3 Lunging Bash and 3 Simple Bash, or any 6 bronze cards; it still would have cost 2 minor power tokens but at least it would be distinct from Goblin's Club and become an actual, usable item. I hope this thread counts as feedback.
Many items exist just to fill out the possibilities for the item type. I've never used my Ettin's Club, but I can think of situations where I might. It's less disappointing than the legendary Trained Tactics that dropped for me last week. Lateral Thinking should not be rare. It should be extinct.
Lateral Thinking is pretty bad for a Silver rare card. It's basically a -1 with the caveat that you can pick one of your own cards and discard it. I mean, you could use it to discard weak cards like Ember Spray/Unreliable Block, or drawbacks like Slowed or even Raging Strike. Currently it's just really bad. It should be Discard 1 Draw 2, or make it a Trait. At least then you would come out even like Inspiration or most of the Dwarven racial cards. Forward Thinking is a Gold card but it is still just a 0. Inspirational Thinking is a +1 but it still isn't worth the cost, being Emerald. Back on topic, please tell me about these "situations" where it would be better to spend 2 tokens on Ettin's club rather than 1 for a single Lunging Bash. Take a look at Lunging Glaive VS Excellent Rapier. 1 Token gives you 4 cards which are better than before! While I am at it, why is there Simple Dagger and Dagger ? Dagger is a better weapon... period. And again, unless you were playing peasant, why not use Excellent Rapier instead?? Thing is, there is nothing better than Ettin's Club that costs 2 minor tokens. I just don't see why it doesn't have 3 Simple Bash or 4 Lunging Bash or something.
Martin K could give (and has given) an explanation of card rarity, item level, and what can be on what item. I've read it, but haven't studied it. Lunging Bash is great for knocking opponents around the map while staying outside melee range. (I'd really like an item full of Shambling Bashes, but only monsters get those.) I've had fun playing with Goblin's Club, but don't use it in any regular builds. Even having 3 extra Lunging Bashes is no guarantee that any will show up when you need them, but it does give a better chance and might be worth the tokens if they're important to your build strategy. Lunging Glaive VS Excellent Rapier: In spite of what some people maintain, some cards are simply better than others. Edit for a specific: Bash immobile but armed enemy into a corner. Drop lava. Seal with Wall Of Stone. 2 minutes in the penalty box. I haven't tried it often, only had it work once, and it can be done with just wizards, but it's very effective if you can pull it off.
I'm not asking you why you would want to have more Lunging Bash in a deck; but I am asking, why would you pay (Waste!) a token to get 1 Lunging Bash instead of Simple Strike? I mean, if you want to Extreme Build: Lunging Bash, go right ahead. What I am saying is, you could get Frenzy Aura/Team Run/All out Attack by paying a token on your Martial skill instead of a weak chop/p.cut/bludgeon (all paper) on your token-less martial skill, if not getting 2-3 better cards on another slot! Just the martial skill alone is going from Paper (0 points) to Gold (9 points) instead of Paper to Bronze (3 points). For everyone reading this: If you think that card hunter is not about points than you are mistaken.
You've described why it isn't a regular build. Lunging bashes are great for control with minimal exposure, and they're fun to play around with. However, they're rare and usually expensive in token (or accompanying card) terms. I've played with the build to see what I could do with it, but I found others that work better for less token cost. Like many builds, it can work pretty well against the AI, and might be fun to play in Casual/Low Level PVP. I don't think it would do well in the top brackets.
And now for my second example of a poorly designed item: Beater VS The Strongarm The total damage from these two weapons are equal. 4 Strong attacks and then either 2 Able Bludgeon or a Strong Hack and a Weak Strike. There is only a very small difference here; one costs a token and the other doesn't. WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE?
Beater is better against skeletons. (I've got The Bludgeonator which would be great except I can't use it on most levels where skeletons show up.)
You might as well have said The Strongarm is better against Black Ooze and Jellies. Also, it makes no difference in MP.
Great point, not everything should be looked at from the MP perspective, it may also prove useful in MP eventually when skeletons are a playable race finally (return of the Fireball on a racial skill item - yes please!)
Both are good weapons, and I don't find either to be poorly designed. One's level is just below the minor token cutoff point, the other is just above. Damage types are very significant in SP, and both are consistent except for the Weak Strike on The Strongarm. Both are legendary items, so it's less a question of which you choose than which you find. I have neither, but if both showed up in Randimar's, I'd buy both. IMO, the Thick Club is good example of a poorly designed item. I would expect a wooden club to have only crushing attacks, but they included 3x Lunging Hacks. This makes half the weapon's attacks useless against skeletons. As a result, the best common/uncommon tokenless blunt weapon is the Bulky Club, which is only slightly better than Bare Knuckles.
Yes, I would agree that if either weapon showed up in Randimar's, I would have no trouble buying one. Given the choice, I would pick The Strongarm hands-down. It just makes very, very little sense to spend a token when you don't have to. I mean, at least you aren't spending a token for a worse card. I have a few examples of those. -_- You don't like Thick Club? I suppose there is not a crushing equivalent of Lunging Hack made yet (Lunging Whack?) since it appears on Warrior's Mace too. I can imagine a lunging hacking motion with a mace/club. Still, damage types are irrelevant the 90% of the time we aren't talking about skeletons or blobs in SP. In general, it doesn't matter when it comes to melee damage types.
