by sojasonk
(Moved to Variants Forum - thanks nerman8r)One of the bigger disappointments to plague most of the KoT fans is how overpowered Wings seems to be. For those who find it to be a perfectly suitable card that meshes well with their gaming experience, that's great and I can only say keep doing what you're doing!
Me personally? Especially considering I've adopted the Double Dose of Energy House Rule, I've been trying to find a way to still incorporate the card without having to toss it out completely (I mean, the artwork on that card is so good!)
I came up with a couple of guidelines I wanted to keep in tact while I fooled around with new ideas for the card:
1) I wanted to balance the card but keep the cost of the card and the cost of using it the same as the original.
2) Thematically, I still wanted the player to feel like they were a monster that really had wings and the benefits that come with them.
3) I wanted to keep the card simple yet unique from any of the other cards out there.
And so here is what I came up with....
WINGS
Cost: 6 Energy - Keep:
Once at the end of your turn, you may force your way into or out of Tokyo, even if no attack has occurred, at the cost of 2 Energy. If nobody controls Tokyo after this, the next Monster to roll a CLAW enters.
This gives the player an advantage of great mobility, continues to be fun and tactical, and yet initially doesn't seem too overpowered as it can only be used on your turn. Plus, the legitimate energy cost is still in effect.
It doesn't seem to have the problem of getting more powerful as the number of monsters diminishes either, as STAYING in Tokyo, rather than moving in and out, is where you gain more Victory Points by that point in the game.
Depending on how play-tests go, I am more than willing to scrap guideline number 1 and heighten or lower the cost of the card, cost of energy etc to balance it out more...I could see this happening if this ability was abused to ALWAYS leave Tokyo, giving the next Monster nobody to attack on their turn (but they do benefit from the automatic VP) However, the chances of this are EXTREMELY thin and multiple things would have to happen -
* The Wings bearer would have to make it a full round without yielding Tokyo (A feat in its own right)
* Monster who's turn is directly before him would have to roll ZERO Claws or do no damage.
It bears repeating: If you just used Wings to GET INTO Tokyo, you can't use it again until your next turn. Ironically, I see Wings becoming more of a card for OFFENSE rather than DEFENSE, something I hadn't intended initially...and more offense is good for the game overall.
It also doesn't seem to come into conflict with any other special or evolution cards that I'm aware of.
Lastly, I was wondering if there was anybody in the same position that I am in, and that would be willing to try this version of Wings out with their groups and report back? I'm going to try this out hopefully this weekend and let you guys know how it goes...thanks for reading all of this and if things go as planned, it should hopefully flow seamlessly into the deck without sticking out like a sore thumb!