kittiejenn Posted:

Genesis Posted:

Get rid of bumhole cards AND Shields.

I could not agree more.

I could.

From a design standpoint, each of the cards costs four scoops (of whichever colour you happen to be bashing this week), and rewards you with a lesser amount of scoops, with two obvious exceptions.

Allow me to break it all down in a long post that nobody will read.

The Destroyer:  Costs four scoops.

                Destroys one of your choice.

                Net "loss" of 3 scoops.

The Shotgun:    Costs four scoops.

                Destroys two at random.

                Cannot be used against a player with one scoop.

                Net "loss" of 2 scoops.

TMI:            Costs four scoops.

                Gain two scoops of your choice.

                Net "loss" of 2 scoops.

The Thief:      Costs four scoops.

                Steal 1 scoop from opponent.

                Net "loss" of 2 scoops against that opponent.

                Net "loss" of 3 scoops elsewhere in the bracket.

Peeping Tom:    Costs four scoops.

                Gives some mostly pointless information.

                Net "loss" of 4 scoops.

The Switcheroo: Costs four scoops.

                Swaps scoop totals.

                Ideal for getting antifreeze scoops.

                Net "loss" of 4 scoops.

The Shield:     Costs four scoops.

                Protects you from someone spending four scoops.

                Net "cost" of 3, 2, or -6 scoops.

The bumhole:    Costs four scoops.

                Destroys ten scoops of highest-totaled opponent.

                Net "gain" of 6 scoops against the opponent.

                Net "loss" of 4 scoops elsewhere in the bracket.

The only cards in that list that have a gain greater than their potential cost are the Shield and the bumhole, with the Shield potentially saving you a total of six scoops (ten, minus the four you paid) and the bumhole destroying ten at the cost of four, giving you a net gain of six scoops. While it might be argued that one cancels out the other, this is rarely the case as players don’t open up their card bumaults with the bumhole card. Shotguns, Thieves and Destroyers plink shields away and bumholes hit once unguarded.

While the bumhole specifically exists to handle players with high scoop counds, they are reminiscent of the blue shell of Mario Kart fame, coming along to pimp slap the player in first place, so that the guys in second, third and fourth can drive on by.

While removing the Shield and bumhole cards would be directly beneficial to members of larger raiding klans (including Brainfreeze), these cards imbalance the system that governs the other existing cards.If the effects of all of the cards were reconsidered using bumhole and Shield as the baseline, there might be a more fun Domination game to be played.

Consider, if you will, the following mock-up of a possible re-imagining of the cards:

     bumhole destroys twelve scoops at random:

       - six from the top player in the bracket

       - three from the second and third highest players in the bracket.

     Shield protects you from the card type of your choice:

       - bumhole

       - Destroyer

       - Shotgun

       - Thief

     Peeping Tom lists all of one opponent's cards and lets you:

       - steal one card at random

       - break an active shield at random

     Destroyer destroys two chosen scoops from one player.

     Shotgun destroys two random scoops from each of two players.

     Modest Improvement generates two chosen scoops.

[new]Lotus Position generates three scoops of one flavour.

     Thief steals from each of two players one scoop of a chosen flavour.

     Switcheroo stays the same because it's cosmetic.

The concept of the cards, with this sort of re-imagining is that you have more ability to do damage within your bracket, while also giving you cards that reward you in a way that is closer to what you spend for them.

By spreading the damage of the bumhole out, multiple people get hit, moving more people into places of contention for medals.

By thinning the effectiveness of the Shield, players can be more specific as to what they are trying to prevent.

By allowing the Peeping Tom to break shields or steal cards, the card becomes useful for more than listing someone’s holdings in the domination team stall.

By having more cards affect multiple players in the bracket, there is more of a sense of “self” within the bracket, reducing the effectiveness of klan co-ordination to win medals without eliminating that aspect of play.

The problem with Domination isn’t the time that the match ends or the ability to hoard cards until the last day. It’s that some of the cards are ridiculously powerful when compared to the other cards that are available. Level the playing field by levelling the power of the cards.