Great video, it's appreciated. I would also like to see analysis of how the curve differs in space. In general, the pattern I've noticed is that the space units get 1-2 stat points less than a similarly priced ground unit
Great video. I think the Bounty mechanic is a great way to design cards above-curve but with an element of risk to them. Can’t wait to see what comes next!
I prefer strong abilities to stats when I deck build, especially when they have combo triggers. I admit loving battlefield marine, though, in my Leia deck. I also think the use of bounty to make strong stats have a downside at a lower cost is such a great use of the design space. It changes the math and makes it much more challenging/interesting to deck build. Smuggle card with increased abilities through smuggling at a higher cost are going to impact how we weigh cards as well and could have an impact with how we consider the curve.
Good point! Smuggle is an interesting case because some Smuggle cards are "on curve" if played normally and "below curve" if Smuggled... but if you Smuggle them you gain a card to make up for it!
In general space units tend to be a bit weaker than ground units, so the curve isn’t exactly the same. Perhaps the biggest change I’ve seen in space is the addition of three two cost 3/2s, a statline that previously only existed on the ground at that price.
It depends on the cards. Open Fire will IMO lose some value because 3/5s don't get defeated in one hit from it; Takedown will perhaps also lose some value because five-cost units with 11 points of stats will often have 6 base HP, taking them "out of range" as well, whereas previously you could "trade up" with a Takedown against a five-cost 5/5 like Steadfast Battalion or Gideon Hask. On the other hand, removal that doesn't care about HP (Power of the Dark Side for instance) will stay strong, and I think the new Fell the Dragon will be quite relevant as well against some of the bigger targets.
@@TowerNumberNine fantastic! Just tried your latest Sabine list and really liked it. Got my 3 Aggression cards so will be following your updates as set progresses.
Question: Could abilities (Shielded, Ambush, Overwhelm,etc) be counted as 1 for curve considerations? Cargo Juggernaut is a good example - shielded would bump to '11' with a 'when played' ability offering some value, especially given Blue is control and, if this is present, you're looking for that bump, which would get us to '12'.
Different abilities are weighted differently. It seems to me that the "most valuable" abilities are likely Ambush and (unconditional) Sentinel, as units with those abilities tend to have notably below curve stats. In general the curve assumes units have some kind of ability (though maybe not a huge one) -- for a "vanilla" unit to be good it usually has to have "above curve" stats (as Battlefield Marine does).
What do you think is the "worth" of some keywords? I mean, how much lower are the stats if a unit has certain keywords? It seems to me that for instance ambush, sentinel, and shielded are worth 2 points of stats. See for instance Consular Security Force with 10 points but no ability to Nima Constables with 8 points but sentinel. Chain Code Collector has ambush and 6 points of stats, Dodonna does not have ambush and 8 points of stats. I have not made an in-depth study of it ;-) but do you think there is a pattern? A "fixed price" for certain keywords?
Space units are broadly speaking on a similar curve but a bit worse, and I haven't exactly figured out where that goes because we don't have anywhere near as many of them to analyze so the patterns aren't as obvious.
The expansion of 3 cost 3/5's makes 3 cost 3/4's better as well. Many cards were played like open fire because they always worked on 3 cost units, now we are in a world where 5 health is a lot more common and 5 attack is incredibly uncommon. What we will see is a move away from 4 attack units on 4 and away from cards like open fire making the 3/4 stat line almost the same effectively as a 3/5 stat line in practice. If 3/4's make a comeback because of this we may see a resurgence of the 4 attack unit, but for now that prevalence for 5 health may make the 4 damage effects just much less common making 4 health just as good as 5.
I think the 6 HP leaders that deploy after turn 4 are in a lot more vulnerable. Obviously this is deck dependent but if Poe or zuckuss or even the more vanilla 5 drops are waiting for your leader it seems like it becomes a lot tougher to get value. In other words 6 hps no longer is as much protection as it used to be.
I think Poe ambush might be the new Steadfast Battalion ambush for a bunch of decks! Poe hits for 6 base, can go up to 8 if you discard a card with his ability, and has better base stats + not dependent on having your own leader out...
Great video - thank you. Would be really interesting if you were able to analyze an actual game and discuss the turns and how maximizing the cost curve determined the outcome. Or explaining how to play certain hand, etc
Let’s see how many availability issues this set has before we get all excited. Fantasy flight seems to be at it again with the supply numbers. Between that and the lack of local support here, due to card availability, I have some concerns about this game’s longevity.
@@codyf13 yes and what does that matter and how does that change the impact? I’ve already talked to game store owners about this game in my area, 5 of them actually, and they’re all getting crap for supply when set 2 comes out. Wait six months and see if set two is hard to get just like set 1 is . This company is notorious for shooting themselves in the foot with their game distribution. Let’s not act like my worries are unreasonable here when they have that history . And don’t act like my comments mean that I don’t like this game, it’s the opposite, but liking a game doesn’t matter when supply is low, it’s hurting entry for new players, and I can’t play locally anywhere. I bought two booster CASES of this game to have no local support anymore, it all died out. Remember this is a Disney product, plain and simply, Disney has billions, why are we using printing companies that can’t even keep up with supply and demand? They could easily use a company that prints pokemon for example or magic the gather and have a larger print run for supply. I’m sure Disney isn’t happy that a lot of people can’t play one of their games they own the rights to. So, it’s be realistic here, evaluate their performance in the past, compare that to the supply issues they’re having now. And also evaluate their poor product management in the past. And then evaluate what happens months down the line for set 2. Because according to the store owners I know here in my area, the supply they’re getting for set two isn’t even enough to support events like draft etc. and I would be very weary of buying chase singles like Vader, when you don’t even know if a game is going to live on because they’re already having major supply issues.
@@codyf13that doesn’t matter when local stores are already abandoning the game and won’t support local play due to fantasy flight’s notorious history and lack of supply
@@nickfanzo I’m just saying man. The game was more popular than they had thought. Not sure what you want them to do, can’t just wish more product into existence.
@@codyf13 right, but again fantasy flight is notorious for ruining their own product runs and games . With that history and this happening, what are you going by when you believe the game will last long term IG- years? I wouldn’t dare spend money on chase singles right now. Because that value is inflated due to poor supply management, not actual long term values. There’s a reason why cases for set 2 are already marked for 850-900$ usd before release. And it’s not because the game is going to be widely available
Great video, it's appreciated. I would also like to see analysis of how the curve differs in space. In general, the pattern I've noticed is that the space units get 1-2 stat points less than a similarly priced ground unit
Great vid and explanation of how the cost curve is changing between sets! Thank you. Looking forward to Set 2.
Thanks - I’m looking forward to it as well!
Great video. I think the Bounty mechanic is a great way to design cards above-curve but with an element of risk to them. Can’t wait to see what comes next!
I prefer strong abilities to stats when I deck build, especially when they have combo triggers. I admit loving battlefield marine, though, in my Leia deck.
I also think the use of bounty to make strong stats have a downside at a lower cost is such a great use of the design space. It changes the math and makes it much more challenging/interesting to deck build.
Smuggle card with increased abilities through smuggling at a higher cost are going to impact how we weigh cards as well and could have an impact with how we consider the curve.
Good point! Smuggle is an interesting case because some Smuggle cards are "on curve" if played normally and "below curve" if Smuggled... but if you Smuggle them you gain a card to make up for it!
Always fantastic videos
Glad you like them!
Interesting! Would also be interesting to see if we see something similar for space units.
In general space units tend to be a bit weaker than ground units, so the curve isn’t exactly the same. Perhaps the biggest change I’ve seen in space is the addition of three two cost 3/2s, a statline that previously only existed on the ground at that price.
How significant is this shift in comparison to removal cards ? (Takedown, Open Fire, etc)
It depends on the cards. Open Fire will IMO lose some value because 3/5s don't get defeated in one hit from it; Takedown will perhaps also lose some value because five-cost units with 11 points of stats will often have 6 base HP, taking them "out of range" as well, whereas previously you could "trade up" with a Takedown against a five-cost 5/5 like Steadfast Battalion or Gideon Hask.
On the other hand, removal that doesn't care about HP (Power of the Dark Side for instance) will stay strong, and I think the new Fell the Dragon will be quite relevant as well against some of the bigger targets.
Thanks, solid breakdown of current and future curve.
Really enjoyed this. Thanks.
Happy to help out!
Fantastic video as always Tower. Would love to know which decks you are most excited to play in set 2?
Updated Sabine builds! When it comes to new leaders though I’m excited to try Gar Saxon, Bo-Katan (though I’m pessimistic) and young Han.
@@TowerNumberNine fantastic! Just tried your latest Sabine list and really liked it. Got my 3 Aggression cards so will be following your updates as set progresses.
Question: Could abilities (Shielded, Ambush, Overwhelm,etc) be counted as 1 for curve considerations? Cargo Juggernaut is a good example - shielded would bump to '11' with a 'when played' ability offering some value, especially given Blue is control and, if this is present, you're looking for that bump, which would get us to '12'.
Different abilities are weighted differently. It seems to me that the "most valuable" abilities are likely Ambush and (unconditional) Sentinel, as units with those abilities tend to have notably below curve stats. In general the curve assumes units have some kind of ability (though maybe not a huge one) -- for a "vanilla" unit to be good it usually has to have "above curve" stats (as Battlefield Marine does).
Great Video!
Thanks!
What do you think is the "worth" of some keywords? I mean, how much lower are the stats if a unit has certain keywords? It seems to me that for instance ambush, sentinel, and shielded are worth 2 points of stats. See for instance Consular Security Force with 10 points but no ability to Nima Constables with 8 points but sentinel. Chain Code Collector has ambush and 6 points of stats, Dodonna does not have ambush and 8 points of stats. I have not made an in-depth study of it ;-) but do you think there is a pattern? A "fixed price" for certain keywords?
Looks like you already answered this in reply to @WitbierCircus :)
How do you discuss the curve without once mentioning space units?
Space units are broadly speaking on a similar curve but a bit worse, and I haven't exactly figured out where that goes because we don't have anywhere near as many of them to analyze so the patterns aren't as obvious.
I think with the increase in 3/5 units each base defender will likely drop out of favor.
Thank you, great video.
You are welcome!
The expansion of 3 cost 3/5's makes 3 cost 3/4's better as well. Many cards were played like open fire because they always worked on 3 cost units, now we are in a world where 5 health is a lot more common and 5 attack is incredibly uncommon. What we will see is a move away from 4 attack units on 4 and away from cards like open fire making the 3/4 stat line almost the same effectively as a 3/5 stat line in practice. If 3/4's make a comeback because of this we may see a resurgence of the 4 attack unit, but for now that prevalence for 5 health may make the 4 damage effects just much less common making 4 health just as good as 5.
Will this Curve changes now came with every new set or did you think these set 2 curve is a longer basic standard for the game?
Wow subbed , amazing info🎉
Thanks for the sub and welcome!
Thanks for explaining this
I think the 6 HP leaders that deploy after turn 4 are in a lot more vulnerable. Obviously this is deck dependent but if Poe or zuckuss or even the more vanilla 5 drops are waiting for your leader it seems like it becomes a lot tougher to get value. In other words 6 hps no longer is as much protection as it used to be.
Oh jeez and damage based removal like force choke which was a catch all for any ground unit until 6 cost gets worse. Blue removal stocks go up !
I think Poe ambush might be the new Steadfast Battalion ambush for a bunch of decks! Poe hits for 6 base, can go up to 8 if you discard a card with his ability, and has better base stats + not dependent on having your own leader out...
Great video - thank you. Would be really interesting if you were able to analyze an actual game and discuss the turns and how maximizing the cost curve determined the outcome. Or explaining how to play certain hand, etc
Such a good video ♥️
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!!
Good video.
good tech video
Thank you!
Let’s see how many availability issues this set has before we get all excited. Fantasy flight seems to be at it again with the supply numbers. Between that and the lack of local support here, due to card availability, I have some concerns about this game’s longevity.
You realize that supply numbers for set 2 would have been determined before the game released, right?
@@codyf13 yes and what does that matter and how does that change the impact? I’ve already talked to game store owners about this game in my area, 5 of them actually, and they’re all getting crap for supply when set 2 comes out. Wait six months and see if set two is hard to get just like set 1 is . This company is notorious for shooting themselves in the foot with their game distribution. Let’s not act like my worries are unreasonable here when they have that history . And don’t act like my comments mean that I don’t like this game, it’s the opposite, but liking a game doesn’t matter when supply is low, it’s hurting entry for new players, and I can’t play locally anywhere. I bought two booster CASES of this game to have no local support anymore, it all died out. Remember this is a Disney product, plain and simply, Disney has billions, why are we using printing companies that can’t even keep up with supply and demand? They could easily use a company that prints pokemon for example or magic the gather and have a larger print run for supply. I’m sure Disney isn’t happy that a lot of people can’t play one of their games they own the rights to.
So, it’s be realistic here, evaluate their performance in the past, compare that to the supply issues they’re having now. And also evaluate their poor product management in the past.
And then evaluate what happens months down the line for set 2. Because according to the store owners I know here in my area, the supply they’re getting for set two isn’t even enough to support events like draft etc. and I would be very weary of buying chase singles like Vader, when you don’t even know if a game is going to live on because they’re already having major supply issues.
@@codyf13that doesn’t matter when local stores are already abandoning the game and won’t support local play due to fantasy flight’s notorious history and lack of supply
@@nickfanzo I’m just saying man. The game was more popular than they had thought. Not sure what you want them to do, can’t just wish more product into existence.
@@codyf13 right, but again fantasy flight is notorious for ruining their own product runs and games . With that history and this happening, what are you going by when you believe the game will last long term IG- years? I wouldn’t dare spend money on chase singles right now. Because that value is inflated due to poor supply management, not actual long term values. There’s a reason why cases for set 2 are already marked for 850-900$ usd before release. And it’s not because the game is going to be widely available
Hmm your sound is usually very good but today, it sounds like you are in an echoy tunnel/fishbowl.
Not sure what happened there! I'll take a look at my settings...