So, I just finished Queen’s aul on Hard with my normal group – and since Queen’s maul is quite Elf heavy, we played with some of the new cards. I thought I would add some thoughts…
Overall, I think they are a great addition and pretty well balanced.
High Elf: Is a hoss. We had two on the map pretty early and they solved problems. Those two accounted for 3 dreadlord assassinations. At first, i thought it was TOO powerful, but the more I think about it, I like it. High Elf is a card thats as powerful as the group’s cooperation and communication. My group is very good at this, and so the High Elfs were powerful. In a group with a little less coordination, the High Elf’s utility likely drops precipitously. I like the meta of high-end rares being better depending on the group. 5 power x mana is good, but not amazing. You still need to collect a lot of mana to do big damage. The synergy between the Witch, Eldermage and High Elf is fun when it goes off. Mana-> Mana-> Kaboom!
Overall A+ (love the theme, love the mechanic, love the concept)
Blind Justice: The mirror to the High Elf in terms of power scales with cooperation. We had one on our map and it didnt see much play. I think this was a function of how much mana we had and the utility of the High Elfs. Conceptually I like that the Justice’s damage multiplier is double that of the High Elf. The High Elf enjoys a faction that can swim in the operative resource – mana. It also needs mana to cast the spell, offering a bit of a competitive advantage over the Blind Justice (who needs a lot of mana and a lot of Valour). Need to see the Justice in action.
Overall: A (I like her as a counterpoint to the High Elf, though the lack of the Human’s secondary Valour production [like the Elf’s mana] hurts the Justice’s utility a bit)
Berserker: I personally had four out in play at one time. I noted in another thread the wonky power scaling, but the first one seemed to operate as intended. I really like the card design. The 5x power rate is good, but not overwhelming. It encourages the player to get the Beserker out early and then to have them avoid combat – which is a neat dynamic. I tended to only commit them to combats in dire situations… it was simply too valuable;e to have them on the board and keep gaining power. I like this different play style – its situational – but fun.
Overall: B (would be an A if not for the power scale errors with later Beserker plays)
Nerfed Dark Forest Witch: My group loved the old Witch and decried her nerf. I for one, did not agree with them. We tended to use the Witch to solve all problems. Now, as a hero, you cant stack her in the same way. Now, you have to be more tactical in her use. My Witches (I had 2) were still incredibly useful, especially in area attacks to thin out zed herds.
Overall: A+ (the introduction of Hero/Unit has been a very good game change)