注意這主要是celestial edition
新的 emperor edition 會有更多特色
Card Design! Themes! Keywords! The Wakshaani Manifesto.
Well well well, here we are, June 1st, 2009, with a new base set right around the corner and the unveiling of themes, new and old, and a brave new direction for everyone to watch. Huzzah! Every new launch, of course, gives us time to sit back, reflect, and see where the highs and lows have been; to see which clans have done well and which ones need some fine tuning. It shows the ‘voice’ that each clan will be given and what direction each will head towards. In some cases, the line sails on, never venturing far, while in others, it lurches to and fro as a new experiment fails or an old pathway no longer functions.
One of the key elements that defines a new direction is a personality base and, to a smaller degree, keywords. Keywords come in three general flavors: Mechanical keywords, semi-mechanical keywords, and story keywords. Mechanical keywords are those with distinct benefits, printed right there in the rulebook ... cavalry, naval, tactician ... simply having this word on your card makes it work differently than any other. Semi-mechanical, better known as ‘targetable’ keywords, do nothing in and of themselves (save Shugenja, see later), but are targets for otehr card effects. With no Courtier on the table, for example, an action that says “Target a courtier” can’t do a thing. The keyword Courtier doesn’t actively have a mechanic, like Cavalry, but has a mechanic interact with it, thus, the semi-mechanical notation. Story keywords are pure flavor, such as Golden Arm, Drunkard, or Innkeeper. No card is ever printed to interact with these terms, they’re just there as pure flavor.
All keywords are not equal, with mechanical having a clear superiority over semi-mechanical, which are in turn greater than story. Even in these three levels, there’s a distinctive difference ... compare how many cards use the semi-mechanical keyword of “Samurai”, for example, versus the number that use “Spirit”. A constant goal is to properly balance a keyword, either by making it a keystone of the game (Samurai, Courtier, etc), a strong mechanic (Duelist, Tactician), or a clan favor (Artisan, Ninja). Which brings me to the next point: Support.
Keyword support is a special thing. Every clan has Samurai, so, Samurai get large levels of support. Every clan has Shugenja, so they get many cards, while most have Courtiers, so that, too, gets a decent support. The more rare the keyword, the less support that there is. When a keyword is supported by only one clan, however, cards get printed which effect only that clan, which is where a fairness level starts to hit. Print too many for just this clan, and that clan feels that it needs to be using this keyword in most decks since, clearly, it’s getting pushed. Other clans are shorted due to cards being printed that could never, ever use. Yes, a Lion player could trade the new Ninja action he pulled, but he certainly isn’t happy when he opens a pack and sees it. On the flipside, if a keyword isn’t supported, then a wonder goes up as to why it was ever included in the first place. Striking the right balance is difficult, to say the least.
The best keywords, then, are those that several clans can use, with some clans getting the best use of them while others can get some use, with clan specific keywords being used for flavor, not effect. This flies in the face of current design philosophy a bit, I should note, with “Ninja” being a primary theme of the Scorpion, a theme that no other deck shares. It’s possible to mitigate this, as I’ll demonstrate as we go on (And I’ll use Ninja to do it! See? It all comes back around.)
With the L5R game engine, there are essentially three ways to win: Militarily, Politically, and via Enlightenment. Politically, in this context, includes both Honor and Dishonor. ALL clans should be able to win a military victory. Military victories are what the game is centered around, with more battle actions being printed than any other, and it’s seen as the most interactive form of the game. In essence, it’s the easiest (Deliver force to a province equal to its strength plus one), with a HUGE number of countering cards (Personalities!) To keep you from this condition.
Political victories come either in an honorable fashion or a dishonorable one, with honorable being easier and more supported and dishonor being more difficult and less supported, but also hard to defend against.
Enlightenment is the hardest way to win, bar none, but include almost no way to counter it. It falls fully on you to put it together and, if you can, good job! It’s so hard that no counters to it are ever printed, and, really, that’s just fine.
As noted, every clan should have a military option. I’d go further and say that every clan should have two military options, to showcase the numerous substyles of play that different folks find interesting; thus, Crab as an example should have both sneaky scout options and big powerful Hero options. Each clan should then have a secondary win condition suitable for it. Since wehave nine clans, we can achieve best play balance by assigning one secondary condition to three clans each. For a Political (Honor) secondary, we see Lion and Crane as the two obvious ones, then slotting Unicorn in as the third due to the ongoing Battle Maiden experiment. For a political (Dishonor) secondary, we traditionally had only Scorpion, but sharing the load makes it a more viable play technique and allows more meta use. We give it to Scorpion and newcomer Spider, then add Mantis to the mix, as they’ve become a premier Magistrate faction. This leaves Enlightenment, which has always been Dragon, but also fits Phoenix. (Phoenix had been a political (Honor) contender, but lost out barely.) Crab players would normally shout, here, that their third option should be military, but, we’ll give them an Enlightenment option as well... the Thunder Dragon chose one of them, after all, Kisada’s a famous Fortune, and they have a strong Shugenja history. With no real political strength, the Enlightenment victory remains their only secondary, and should get a few eyeballs turned that way.
With an even split of secondary win conditions between the three clans, we can print support cards for each victory method with a good eye for where they’ll land, allowing cards to be better controlled as victory conditions get more or less viable over time. As each method relies on a handful of keywords, you also gain the ability to see where MOST of those keywords should go. Each clan, of course, will have a smattering of “Off Theme” cards, just to appeal to multi-clan players or those with a taste for the unusual, but the core themes will be well reflected.
Some keywords that you might find for each condition, though several have crossover:
Military: Samurai, Commander, Tactician, Scout, Cavalry, Naval, Hero.
Political: Courtier, Imperial, Magistrate, Governor
Enlightenment: Monk, Shugenja
Which now brings us to individual clans, keywords, and themes. You know, the LITTLE things.
CRAB
Crab have always been about the military beatdown, but the way that they’ve gone about it has changed quite often. Followers, raw force, crazed berserkers, scouts ... every time you turn around, there’s a new way for a Crab Samurai to lay a tetsubo upside your head. For purposes of this manifesto, I’ve decided to break the Crab in half at the Wall, which is pretty much the dividing line in their style.
Western Crab – The side that leaves the Wall behind and plunges into the Shadowlands, looking for trouble. This is where you find your Hiruma scouts, your berserkers, the Kumi shugenja, and, of course, the Damned. Western Crab military is all about pragmatism, with honor 0-2 and no real issue with being dishonored. Shugenja backs the military theme, here, and raw power is vital.
Eastern Crab – The relatively ‘safe’ Crab make up the Eastern Crab philosophy, with more Heroes, Commanders, possibly a tactician or two, and Artisans. Artisan is the first ‘expanded’ keyword in this philosophy, taking the theme from simple painters and poets to actual craftsmen and weaponeers; a role that suits the Kaiu well. Seige is here as a flavor, not a true keyword, since no other clan has any, to keep spreading themes around and never letting any keyword hold in just one clan. This is where the more honorable Crab are found, as well as those with lower force and (again relative) subtle uses, such as creating armor or weapons, directing followers, and so forth, again leaning towards military.
Hermit Crab – for lack of a better term, Hermit Crab allows the Crab a secondary victory condition, taking advantage of the strong Shugenja basis, adding a small number of monks for those following the path of Hida Kisada and the Fortune of Persistence. Here you could see Sumai as a flavor text, with duelists who fight with force, not Chi, who already sport a healthy province-threatening force and, as monks, have access to the Kiho that are needed for an Enlightened win. A small segment, true, but each would also work well as gap fillers for the Eastern or Western Crab forces, still keeping their military strength intact. A token Yauski courtier would also fall in this umbrella, for those Crabs wanting some defense against political forces.
CRANE
The Low Crane – The Daidoji run rampant in the Low Crane style, featuring Scouts, Samurai, Scouts, Commanders, Scouts, and did I mention Scouts? A mix of lightweight Scouts with recon abilities and low honor and middleweight Samurai with decent honor backed by followers, Low Crane uses Dastardly Daidoji Tricks and mainline Samurai fighting techniques as the primary Crane military model.
The High Crane – The Doji and Kakita Samurai, featuring Samurai, Duelists, Kensai, and, of course, Artisans, the High Crane features average forces (3-4), above average Chi (3-4), and matching personal honor (3-4) across the board, giving them access to high-honor-required followers, ‘noble’ Crane weaponry, and Kensai/Duelist tricks. Quite possible to see a Paragon or two in here as well.
The Paper Crane – The secondary win condition of the Crane is political (honor), but in many players’ eyes, the political win is a primary and the military a distant second. For those players, look to the Paper Crane, where Courtiers, Imperials, and Magistrates dwell, with a few Yojimbo or Duelists just in case. Artisans, using the older use of the word, also crop up here, making origami, not swords. Needless to say, this faction aims for political wins.
DRAGON
The Dragon’s Fire – A military deck centered around a monk core, dabbling in Shugenja, Tattoo pops up as a flavor keyword here, possibly with Scout (Which would replace Mountaineer).
The Dragon’s Fist – Mirumoto style! Samurai or strong force, chi, AND personal honor are here, sacrificing in speed by being high cost for high quality, often sporting Kensai and/or duelists, Magistrates, and possibly a token Courtier for defense against political moves.
The Dragon’s Heart – Monks, shugenja, and duelists combine to make a Dragon deck aimed at Enlightenment and Ring control. Tattoo could, again, pop up here.
LION
Akodo – Low force, low to moderate Chi, average to good personal honor, featuring Samurai, Tactician, Paragon, and Commander, this is the Lion deck that everyone knows.
Matsu – High force, low Chi, low to average honor, featuring Samurai, Hero, Berserker, and possibly Scout, this is a more raw, kick-in-your-face, almost Crab-like deck.
Ikoma – Cleaning up for the Political win are the Ikoma, with Samurai, Courtiers, and a few wildcard Tacticians, Cavalry, and Naval keywords. Storyteller is set aside as pure Flavor, rather than continue a mechanic for just one clan.
MANTIS
Land – Featuring Samurai, Scouts, Commander, and possibly Budoka, the Land military force for Mantis features scouting, movement, followers, and ranged attacks.
Sea – Featuring Samurai, Naval, Shugenja, and a splash of Commander, the Sea military force features naval actions like mad, plus some Thunder, to be the more smash-mouth side of Mantis Military, versus the Land’s scout movement tricks style. Sea features samurai a bit smaller than other smash-mouth military decks, but, the Naval keyword makes for a huge advantage in and of itself.
Air – A political (Dishonor) build, Air features Samurai, Magistrates, Courtiers, and some Shugenja, but mostly Magistrates, dishonoring and controlling via the law.
PHOENIX
Shugenja Military – As it states, Shugenja with Samurai backup, including Yojimgo and Duelists. Elemental Master shows here, only getting flavor status, but Daimyo could be added as well from a pure mechanics standpoint.(IE, all masters are Daimyo, no others are printed.)
High Phoenix – Not at all unlike High Crane, High Phoenix features Samurai and Artisans backed by high personal honor, but also dabbles in Hero, Paragon, and Courtier. Phoenix have fewer Samurai than other Clans, but feature some of the best weapons and amazingly elaborate armor. This military build should focus on that, showcasing the Noble Phoenix.
Fires of Rebirth – Barely beating out the Political (Honor) side, Phoenix instead uses Enlightenment as a secondary win condition, featuring the most Shugenja of any clan, Duelists, and perhaps a token Monk or two, even if they aren’t really needed.
SCORPION
The Lie – Honorable Samurai are the foremost side of this military deck, backed by Magistrate, Hero, Paragon, and Duelist. Bitter Lies pops up here as a flavor, with Scorpions featured here having decent force, good chi, and surprisingly high personal honor (2-3, maybe a 4 Unique).
The Truth – Sneaky Scouts are at the core of this military deck that features lightweight movement tricks over raw power. Ninja is a flavor, not a true keyword, but also a design decision: Ninja personalities will have 0-1 personal honor, for example, and likely sport Poison or Honor “buffer” reactions and battle actions. Paragon and Shugenja are featured here.
The Mask – Political (Dishonor) is the game of the day, with Courtiers and Magistrates, with some token Shugenja, Yojimbo, and Duelists to make themselves well known.
For flavor’s sake, The Truth Shugenja are Yugo, The Mask Shugenja are Soshi. Actor is included in several places as flavor, not a true keyword.
SPIDER
Dark Virtue – The parody of Rokugani culture, Dark Virtue features the ‘noble’ spider, with Samurai, Duelist, Paragon, and possibly snippets of Commander, Tactician, or even Hero.
Shadowlands Smash – Shadowlands, Shugenja, Monks, Berserker, and possibly Commander (To lead undead or Goblins into battle!), this is the truly corrupt side of Spider. Like Dark Virtue, this is a military deck, but much more smash-mouthy, happy to die if it takes others down with it.
Spider’s Venom – Featuring Political (Dishonor) wins, with Courtier, Magistrate, Yojimbo, and Duelist, being quite friendly with Budoka types, this is the ‘public face’ of the Spider, able to abttle it out with a voice in the Empress’ ear, showing how other clans are unworthy.
UNICORN
Kohl – Moto-centric force of cavalry with few Samurai but many Budoka, with Tacticians, Berserkers, and of course cavalry. The ‘Smash mouth’ military.
Baraunghar – The scout-themed military army, featuring Samurai, Shugenja, cavalry, and of course scouts. Many more movement tricks, but not as much smash, as Kohl.
Junghar – The Political (Honor) themed style, Junghar showcases Battle Maidens (a flavor, not a keyword, due to only one clan having them), with a high personal honor being commonplace. Shinjo are also here, serving as Magistrates, and there are both Paragons and Heroes here, topped off with Ide Courtiers for using Political actions. There could be room for a Yojimbo Duelist.
OTHERS
Shadowlands semi-exists, as a purely Military smash deck, and possibly a Goblin-centric deck with scouts and commander. Everybody loves Goblins!
A handful of other rounding-out personalities should exist, to plug holes in decks whose clan has a shortfall here or there... scouts, Samurai, Budoka, Monks, even Courtiers or Imperials for those people who really WANT, say, a Crab Political (Honor) deck but don’t have quite enough personalities available to make a go of it. These outliers should be boxable, or nearly so, and weak, but still have a place. A 4 GC Imperial Courtier is handy in many a deck, even if it sports 0 F, 3 Chi, and 2 PH, simply to keep Political decks honest!
Keyword specific cards are not equal in every clan, keep in mind, even with this evening of the families. Let’s say that a card of “Poison the Well” was made as a Scout Action.
Scout Action– Dishonor and Bow a Scout: Either add two -1F -1C poison counters to a target personality OR add one -1F -1C poison counters to two target personalities OR destroy target follower.
This card could be used by any Scout deck (And, you’ll note, there are several!) But would work best in a Scorpion Truth deck, where Ninja (Scouts with a flavor ‘Ninja’) are all printed at 0-1 PH, as opposed to, say, Lion, where 2-3 is more common. A spell with the Fire keyword will do ebtter for Phoenix, with several Fire casters, than in Crane, where Air is the order of the day. These cards could still be used, just be used BETTER in certain decks, rather than not at all.
Heck of a lot of work, trying to even the keywords out for everyone, and, obviously, this manifesto’s a bit late, since Celestial’s alrady at the printers and the next set or two are pretty much finished, BUT, I only just got back in and am trying to wrap my head around some game design philosophy. Several players are eyeballing the “Clan Theme” articles with a jaundiced eye while others are wondering if they’ll be support for their keyword of choice. As keywords run rampant and experimental themes fly or fail, you have to rope things together and let several clans share in them... otherwise, you might as well print “Scorpion Only” on all Dishonor cards and call it a day. Spreading the themes out a bit more goes a long way for proper support of each theme.
Anyway, this is page seven in WordPerfect, so, I’m betting I’ve had to split this post into two, or maybe even three, parts. My say’s pretty much finished for now, which turns it back over to y’all. I’m certain that those who have greater knowledge of their particular clan will be up in arms a bit, and I welcome that ... I don’t pretend to be an expert on the Crane, let alone the rest! By all means, post your own views and suggestions in here! Make it an actual discussion and help me get a better grip on the three approaches that should be taken for your clan. Two military, then one of either Political (Honor), Political (Dishonor), or Enlightenment is the structure I’ve used, so that each clan gets three strongholds early on, with room for a fourth down the road as a new theme crops up or Kotei wins lead to created strongholds mid-arc. I know some (Crab!) Would rather have theee military, but, work with me here. Ideally, you get better support for the main styles of each clan, plus better support for the other victory styles since none is dedicated to just one or two clans. With less keywords, you also get more focus out of the future expansions, which helps several clans, not just one.
