Rebalancing the New Spells - a deep dive

[Kurgan]

Nice summary & comments, but...

A major difference between the "Summon" (or Call) Dread Spells in WOM vs. the GS, is that here the bad guys get to move and attack immediately (and appear "within line of sight" of the castor, rather than just spawning in the 8 squares surrounding his figure and can't do anything else until the next Zargon turn.

[manaknight14]

Nice summary & comments, but...

A major difference between the "Summon" (or Call) Dread Spells in WOM vs. the GS, is that here the bad guys get to move and attack immediately (and appear "within line of sight" of the castor, rather than just spawning in the 8 squares surrounding his figure and can't do anything else until the next Zargon turn.

Line of sight vs. surrounding the caster, yes that's a notable difference, but I'll ask an honest question about Summon Orcs and Summon Undead from the game system: where does it say that those monsters can't move or attack immediately?

[Kurgan]

It just says they appear to surround and protect the spell castor. These other cards say may move and attack immediately, hence different.

The WOM Lightning Strike could have been used to fire a horizontal line on the top or bottom of the castor without moving (instead of projecting out from the figure like the GS version or any projectile attack), but I think in the new version it is fired like a projectile only in one of the four cardinal directions, making it considerably weaker. First Light's version of lightning doesn't harm monsters, but AH confirmed that was a mistake (it damages everyone in its path).

[wallydubbs]

Summon Orcs and Summon Undead doesn't specify, but I would imagine the monsters can attack. It doesn't say they can't. Protection can come in the form of offense.
I agree that these spells should've been altered and I'm slightly disappointed in some of the changes they made, but there are only 4 skeletons in the Game System box and none came with this expansion, so they're limited on the undead they can put on the board.

Just the same, the spells from the game system are obviously more powerful, but I'll add 2 extra points for the Wizards of Morcar spells: the Wizard now has the "Unlearn" spell, which could wreck the Warcaster and Necromancer's reinforcement spells if they were able to summon all these guys at once.
Point 2: the Necromancer and Warcaster have beefed Skeletons and Orcs with extra attack and defense dice. 2 Extra skeletons and Orcs don't seem like much, but these guys hit harder than their normal counterparts.

[wallydubbs]

So if Future Sight is now action-free, can the Wizard use it combined with Genie?

[manaknight14]

So if Future Sight is now action-free, can the Wizard use it combined with Genie?

That... is a really interesting question. The non-action nature of the updated Future Sight certainly means the timing of casting it is now compatible with a Genie spell. It honestly depends on how Zargon interprets the word "you" in the second sentence of the card's text. Does it refer to "you" the player or "you" the spellcasting hero? If it's the latter, is the attacking Genie considered to be a distinct character from the hero casting the spell, and thus not eligible for the Future Sight effect? I think I know how I would handle this interaction, but I have already said that I don't intend to use the new version of Future Sight as it is written, so my interpretation may not be helpful to others.

[wallydubbs]

So if Future Sight is now action-free, can the Wizard use it combined with Genie?

That... is a really interesting question. The non-action nature of the updated Future Sight certainly means the timing of casting it is now compatible with a Genie spell. It honestly depends on how Zargon interprets the word "you" in the second sentence of the card's text. Does it refer to "you" the player or "you" the spellcasting hero? If it's the latter, is the attacking Genie considered to be a distinct character from the hero casting the spell, and thus not eligible for the Future Sight effect? I think I know how I would handle this interaction, but I have already said that I don't intend to use the new version of Future Sight as it is written, so my interpretation may not be helpful to others.

This is true too. I'm just looking for some benefit to this spell. I hate that they want it to only be used by the Wizard, it negates so much potential. I wouldn't normally intend on using it as written either.

The Old Dispel from Spells of Protection offered potential alternative uses. I'd let it remove a spell from an afflicted hero or disarm a magical trap. Now that it's called "Unlearn," the implied alternatives are nowhere near as exciting. But hey, if you want to pick this spell group in First Light, that Dragon just might forget how to breathe fire!

[manaknight14]

Always Board Never Boring has been making quite a few videos reviewing the new Wizards of Morcar expansion, including one focusing entirely on the spells for the evil wizards. One bit that caught my attention was a comment he made about the Wall of Flame spell. Like me, he didn’t like how “vanilla” the spell is as a wall, but he had an idea that I hadn’t thought of. He suggested a hero might take damage for attacking the wall, and I like this idea a lot. In addition to the other changes I suggested, I’m thinking if a hero makes a melee attack that fails to destroy the Wall of Flame, s/he must roll a combat die, and if it is a skull the hero loses 1 BP.

[wallydubbs]

Always Board Never Boring has been making quite a few videos reviewing the new Wizards of Morcar expansion, including one focusing entirely on the spells for the evil wizards. One bit that caught my attention was a comment he made about the Wall of Flame spell. Like me, he didn’t like how “vanilla” the spell is as a wall, but he had an idea that I hadn’t thought of. He suggested a hero might take damage for attacking the wall, and I like this idea a lot. In addition to the other changes I suggested, I’m thinking if a hero makes a melee attack that fails to destroy the Wall of Flame, s/he must roll a combat die, and if it is a skull the hero loses 1 BP.

Inevitably the Wall of Flame doesn't act like fire. It's not a solid piece of Ice or Stone blocking the heroes path. You can break an Ice or Stone Wall down, not so much with fire. Especially if the expansion comes with a Potion of Fire Resistance, that right there should allow the hero to walk right through it. A better way for this spell to function would be to attack a hero for 6 attack dice if he tries to move through it., but the spell would only last for 3 turns.