Expatriette Variants

Other Games SotM Game Engine
1

Hello everyone!

This is my first post on the Forums, but I've been playing SotM since the first edition of the base game came out. I really love the game and everything related to it.

I've read on the forum that some of you share with me a bit of an issue with Expatriette: I really like her theme-wise, and she isn't weak at all, but the fact that she has so few search/draw options in her deck makes her base power almost unusable, and also makes for a lack of in-game decisions. Therefore I also think she deserves a complexity rating of 1.

In many games in which I played Expatriette, if nobody made her draw cards, I felt I just had to "go with the flow", drawing one card and playing it, drawing one card and playing it, drawing one card and playing it, until (maybe) a much needed RPG or a satisfactory Unload showed up.

Her "draw" cards, Reload, Quick Draw and Arsenal Access are too limited in use, sometimes even useless.

I like Expatriette's base power and its possible uses very much, and I don't think that a solution to Expatriette's drawing problems could be a promo hero card with a drawing power, since then I think she wouldn't be able to use the extra cards, except maybe with an early-game Speed Loading.

What I want to share with you is a variant version of the three "draw" cards, with which I think the Double-X, the Expatriette Experience, would be at the same time more meaningful, less stressful, and thematically enhanced.

 

Modified Cards

1. Arsenal Access

Original Text:

Reveal cards from the top of your deck until you reveal 2 Equipment cards. Put one of them either into play or into your hand. Shuffle the rest of the revealed cards into your deck.

Modified Text:

Reveal cards from the top of your deck until you reveal 2 Equipment cards. Put each one of them either into play or into your hand. Shuffle the rest of the revealed cards into your deck.

Comment: I think this one is self explanatory. The first time I read this card, my brain refused to read what it actually said and I played it like in the modified version. I think this is what the card should do. Expatriette opens her Arsenal and takes a couple guns and a bunch of ammo with her. Why just a shotgun!?

 

2. Reload

Original Text:

Take an Ammo card from your trash and put it into play or into your hand.

Modified Text:

Take an Ammo card from your trash and put it into play or into your hand. You may draw a card.

Comment: This card tends to be a little situational, and furthermore slows Expatriette's search for new cards in her deck. I think it should give her a much needed draw. Thematically, she takes cover, reloads and makes a double check of her equipment. Still got some ammo for my assault rifle, time to take it out!

 

3. Quick Draw

Original Text:

Search your trash or your deck for either "Pride" or "Prejudice" and put it into play. If you searched your deck, shuffle your deck.

Modified Text:

Search your trash or your deck for either "Pride" or "Prejudice" and put it into play. If you searched your deck, shuffle your deck. You may use the power of either "Pride" or "Prejudice" now.

Comment: This card is the most situational of the three, and can realistically be useless in mid-late game. Since Expatriette doesn't have any discard mechanic, she just has a dead card in her hand. I find it rather normal to have a "quick shot"(or double shot!) follow a "quick draw". This variant of the card actually has a use after the two guns are out, and can be powerful, too. I think it fits Expatriette's "deadly gunslinger" theme nicely and it would be a card I'm excited to use nearly as much as Unload.

Edit: I realize this last card could really be too powerful. I tried a simulated game of unmodified and modified Expatriette with the same deck configuration and modified Expatriette ended up dealing 30% more damage, and half of that was thanks to Quick Draw. I therefore suggest a second type of variant.

Modified Text (2):

Search your trash or your deck for either "Pride" or "Prejudice" and put it into play. Search your deck for an Ammo card and attach it to either "Pride" or "Prejudice". Shuffle your deck.

Comment: Less powerful than Variant 1, but theme-wise appropriate, I think. Expatriette draws her signature pistol, already loaded with powerful modified bullets! This card also gives a use to Quick Draw once both pistols are out, and allows to search for a specific type of Ammo.

 

To conclude, I realize these changes would make Expatriette stronger (maybe much stronger) and that an hp reduction of 2 - 4 points would be necessary if such changes were made. But, if it were to happen, I think these modifications would give a bit more flexibility to Expatriette and allow her to use her base power and her ammo cards a bit more.

Thank you for reading, what do you think about all this? Do you have any house rules or suggestions for Expatriette? Please let me know in the comments!

 

 

2

I personally do not like changing existing cards, and this is something I don't believe simply changing her character card would enhance much.

In one of the Mister Fixer threads about him supposedly being under powered (I think there are three, one of which is technically off topic) where Expatriette is also mentioned, I suggested the idea of a hero setup card (similar to the second card a villain has).  It's actually a concept I've been working on for a few months, back when Absolute Zero was the focus of being underpowered/situational.

Setup:

Suffle your deck and draw 3 cards.

Gameplay:

Whenever Expatriette destroys a target, draw a card.

Whenever Expatriette uses the power of a gun card without an ammo card played next to it, destroy that gun card.

This setup replaces the default setup of "shuffle your deck and draw 4 cards."  I reduce the initial card draw to three due to the extra benifitial effects she gets (a trade off, which I do for all heroes I've created thus far).  Since Expatriette seems like a hero best suited to destroying a significant number of lesser targets, I have her drawing a card every time she does.  This gives her more card drawing that she desires. Because of all that card draw at the expense of simply one less card at the start seems quite the bit lopsided, I added the extra effect of losing gun cards without ammo.  In addition to attempt to balence out her extra card draws, it adds more focus to ammo cards and cards which deal with ammo (which typically are ignored until later in the game), and it thematically fits as in fiction, when a person runs out of ammo in his gun, he then throws the gun.  It's similar to the Staff of Ra power.

3

If Expatriette's main problem is draw-supply then the following (completely untested) base power might work (bsed off Haka of Knowledge) better for her.

Supply Cache

Draw a card. You may discard a card. If you do, draw 2 cards.

 

4

I agree, changing cards is horrible. This post wanted to sound more like a "what if" post. This is just how I feel Expatriette would play in a more engaging and less frustrating way.

I like the idea of different Setup rules for different heroes, it opens many new possibilities, and is maybe something >G may implement in some way, some day.

As far as a base power goes, I mentioned in the post that just drawing more isn't beneficial, as Expatriette would not be able to play the extra card without her original power. What maybe could be done is a sort of "cycling" power, a "draw 2, discard 2" or maybe a "draw 3, discard 2" power.

Theme-wise I have thought of this (mantaining her deck as it is):

The Chairman and the other Rook City villains have transformed the city in a battleground. Law enforcement is scattered, and the remaining forces of order rally to fight an all-out Urban War in the streets of Rook City.

Art: Expatriette leads a group of policemen and armed civilians in a devastated street of Rook city, under a dark sky. She wears a Rambo-like bandana, a Shotgun in her right hand and a lighted Molotov Cocktail in her left.

Expatriette : Urban Warrior

28 HP

Power:

Makeshift Explosive

Draw 1 card. Discard 1 card. Expatriette deals 1 target 1 Projectile damage and 1 Fire damage.

 

Maybe the power is a bit too long and complicated, but I like the fact that it gives a small deck cycling power while also dealing an unused combination of damage.

5

Ok.

Supply Cache

Draw a card. Discard a card. If you do, draw a card and play a card.

It's slightly better than her original power but not a lot. It will mean her deck cycles fast and she cgtets the cards she needs into play. However, the cost means it's not a no-brainer. I'm not sure how draw 3 discard 2 helps her as it's still just drawing cards.

6

@pwatson1974 - I like that, but maybe instead of discarding any card, it must be similar to Haka of Knowledge where you must toss a gun/ammo specifically for the latter action?  

ie. Assemble a gun from broken gun parts? This way I see how Arsenal Access and having 3 quick draw can still allow you to do something with duplicate guns.

7

 

 

then why are you trying to buff her, I wonder…? =p.

8

That wasn't the intent,really. The goal, as you can read a few lines below the one you quoted, is to give such a straight forward hero some tactical options, which the Ammo mechanic and her base power could give, if only she had a few more card or search options in her deck. Plus, I think this would make her feel more of a badass punisher than she does now.

But that's just me, apparently :)

9

No, a buff was absolutely your intent.    Of course I read what you *said* the goal was, but look at the changes you made!    All 3 of them are straight up buffs to her cards.     *BIG* buffs to her cards.  If you had intended her to play somewhat differently but maintain current her power level, you would have initiated some sort of a tradeoff,   not pure buffing in 3 seperate areas with no nerfs.  I'm not saying you're wrong to want to give her a buff, but at least be honest about it.

10

The tradeoff I mention in the last few paragraphs is a sensible reduction to her hp. She's just human after all. I've always felt those 29 are a bit too much, that's more than an ironclad behemoth like Bunker. If you feel 25 hp isn't much a tradeoff, ok, you're right and I just wanted to buff her. Maybe I feel she's a bit weaker than other heroes, after all. Didn't want to make anyone mad with this! By the way, do you feel these changes would make her worse? And by worse I mean unbalanced and theme-wise worse?

11

The only change I think would be worse (fun-wise) is the change to Quick Draw.  I don't like the idea that drawing Quick Draw is better than just drawing Pride or Predjudice.

If you feel like you hand gets full of Quick Draw sometimes, you could give them an alternate ability (like search for Pride or Predjudice OR use the power of Pride or Predjudice).  But I would probably just leave Quick Draw alone, where it is effectively just another copy of the gun.

12

Drawing Summon Staff is better than drawing The Staff of Ra, and drawing Onboard Module Installation is better than drawing Null-Point Calibration Unit or Isothermic Transducer, so there's precedent.

13

True, and I really don't like that with Ra.  Not as much with Zero because you are unlikely to get all 8 modules before the searches.  At least if you draw those after their search targets they are effectively null in most cases (draw a replacement and play a replacement).

With Pride/Predjudice/Quickdraw, it is nearly the same as having 5 copies of the same card which is 'limited', but limited to 2 copies in play instead of 1.  I guess there's no reason not to make 3 copies of the card better than the other 2, I just wouldn't.

14

A while ago, I had suggested:

Conserving Resources: Discard a gun card. If you do, draw 2 cards.

But lollcrox makes a good point: she needs to be able to play cards as well, and taking away the "play a card" element hurts that a lot.

Maybe she needs a "draw a card" added to her current power. And maybe a lower HP to make up for it.

 

Also, welcome to the community, lollcrox.

15

If she had more card draw, she'd be able to play more cards via Speed Loading.

16

Thank you! Nice to be part of all this!

17

Maybe a slight variant of Eternal Haka.

 

Draw a Card. You may discard a gun. If you do you may play 2 cards.  (or "draw 1 play 1" if this sounds better)

18

How does

 

Power: Play a card. Draw a card.

 

sound? Yes, it is a straight up buff, but I think it would add some much needed tactics to Expatriette. Should I lay down more guns and get more resources, or just shoot Blade in the face with a shotgun?