[Virtual Suggestion] Darkness Under Tree and awakened plants

[Leon]

I know there are several awakened plant boost cards among the dream cards and I think it is time 1 or 2 are used for virtual cards, since they will probably see more play that way. A great candidate I found is Darkness Under Tree, which is sadly rare, but has a very fitting picture and title.

The flavour text of this card:"..there now a forest loomed. Great trees, bare and silent, stood, rank upon rank, with tangled bow and hoary head: their twisted roots were buried in the long green grass. Darkness was under them." -LOTRIII

The most basic would be a permanent event with +1 strike, +1 prowess and discard if one awakened plant is defeated, but more creative things could also be done.

Any thoughts on this?

Another candidate would be Natures Revenge, but that card probably sees slightly more play than Darkness Under Tree. Also Waiting Shadow has a terrific picture for an awakened plant booster, though this card was already used for a virtual card.

[Nerdmeetsyou]

maybe we cann make two cards...

maybe we make something more unusual, to make them different:
like only some kind of prowles boost... to make them creatures with high prowless and low strikes... ????
or something that also pushes puckel-creatures????

Here is a suggestion from me:

Darkness Under Tree
Hazard Permanent Event
All Awaken Plant and Puckel-Creature attacks get +3 prowles and attacker chooses defending characteres.

Natures Revenge
Hazard Long Event
All Awaken Plant and Puckel-Creature attacks get an additional attack.
If Doors of Night are in play these attacks are not detainment.

[Frodo]

Someone already suggested an awakened plant booster that had a really neat, new creative ability we hadn't seen before. Maybe it was a dream-card on the old man willow site? Or, maybe it was one of Vastor's dream cards? Could someone look into this and post the text here, please?


--Frodo

[sly southerner]

Something that allowed some kind of "regeneration" ability of awakened plants would be cool. Perhaps the ability to play an awakened plant from the discard pile?

[Leon]

The awakened plant enhancers in dream cards, from the First born set.

#CURSE HIM, ROOT AND BRANCH! (MENW) - PERMANENT-EVENT
[MP: 2*]
Playable if your opponent is a Minion, Dwarf-Lord or Fallen-Wizard (neither Radagast or Gandalf). All awakened plant attacks are non-detainment against this player’s (resp. these players’s) companies. When such an attack is defeated, tap this card. When tapped all awakened plant attacks gain +2 prowess and +2 strikes. When this card is tapped and an awakened plant attack is defeated, place this card in opponent’s marshalling point pile. Cannot be duplicated.

#DARK HEART (MEFB) - SHORT-EVENT
Playable on a site with an Awakened Plant automatic-attack. That automatic-attack cannot be canceled this turn.

#PROTECTING THEIR DOMAIN (MEFB) - PERMANENT-EVENT
All creatures keyed to wilderness receive -1 prowess. All attacks by animals, spiders, and awakened plants receive +2 prowess (+3 for awakened plants keyed to wilderness). Discard when any attack by animals, spiders, or awakened plants is defeated. Cannot be duplicated.

45#SENTINEL OF THE GROVE (MEFB) - PERMANENT-EVENT
Playable on a Ruins & Lairs [R] in a Wilderness [w] that is not a Dragon's lair. The site gains an additional automatic attack: Awakened Plant - 1 strike with 10 prowess. Discard this card when the site is discarded or returned to its location deck

#WRATH OF THE OLVAR (MEFB) - LONG-EVENT
All awakened plant attacks receive +1 strike and attacker chooses defending characters. Cannot be duplicated.

#YAVANNA’S PLEA (MEFB) - PERMANENT-EVENT
All Awakened Plant attacks receive +1 prowess and +1 body (or 4 body if the attack has no body). Discard this card when any play deck is exhausted. Cannot be duplicated.

Out of these cards I like the effects of Wrath of the Olvar and Curse Him, Root, Tree and Branch most and Yavanna's Plea is also ok.

Waiting Shadow and Darkness Under Tree would be perfect for the effects of 2 of these and I think that would be enough to.

My suggestion now would be this, note a slight modification. If there are only 2 enhancers I rather have them permanent.

Darkness Under Tree V - permanent event
All awakened plant attacks receive +1 strike and attacker chooses defending characters. Discard this card if any awakened plant attack is defeated. Cannot be duplicated.

Waiting Shadow V - permanent event
MP: 2*
Playable if your opponent is a Minion, Dwarf-Lord or Fallen-Wizard (neither Radagast or Gandalf). All awakened plant attacks are non-detainment against this player’s (resp. these players’s) companies. When such an attack is defeated, tap this card. When tapped all awakened plant attacks gain +2 prowess and +2 strikes. When this card is tapped and an awakened plant attack is defeated, place this card in opponent’s marshalling point pile. Cannot be duplicated.

[Jambo]

Going on sly's theme, here's a suggestion:

Darkness Under Tree [2 MP]
Short event
Playable on an eliminated Awakened Plant hazard creature in your opponent's MP pile. If Awakened Plant can attack, bring it into play as a creature that attacks immediately (not counting against the hazard limit). The attack receives +1 prowess and +1 strike and chooses defending characters. If the creature is defeated place this card in opponent's MP pile and he receives 2 MPs.

[Leon]

That sounds like a good alternative for the Curse Him, Root, Tree and Branch. 2 mp for such a card sounds fitting, since it is a way of removing a creature from your opponents points. How about using Nature's Revenge for that, the image and title would be perfect. The 3 cards I would like to see:

Darkness Under Tree V - long event
All awakened plant attacks receive +1 strike and attacker chooses defending characters. Cannot be duplicated.

Waiting Shadow V - permanent event
All awakened plant attacks receive +1 prowess and 4 body if the attack has no body. Cannot be duplicated.

Natures Revenge V
Darkness Under Tree [2 MP] - short event
Playable on an eliminated awakened plant hazard creature in your opponent's MP pile or a trophy. If Awakened Plant can attack, bring it into play as a creature that attacks immediately (not counting against the hazard limit). The attack receives +1 prowess and +1 strike and chooses defending characters. If the creature is defeated place this card in opponent's MP pile and he receives 2 MPs.

I want it to be playable on a trophy as well but am not sure if current text is tight enough to ensure it only attacks the company the trophy was in.

[Nerdmeetsyou]

First I want to note that I would suggest that this awaken plant enhancers should also affect puckel men!!!!!!

I like the regenerating thing...


But I think the +1 prowles and strikes is too standard....


maybe just push their prowless and give them body...
to make them different from other hazard pumpers.

in my version... only the natures revenge gives an additonal attack which also goes against the same character.

so this would give them a slightly different feeling if you play them.


maybe this:

Darkness Under Tree V - long event
All awakened plant attacks receive +3 prowles and attacker chooses defending characters. Cannot be duplicated.

Waiting Shadow V - permanent event
All awakened plant attacks receive +1 prowess and 5 body if the attack has no body. Cannot be duplicated.

Natures Revenge V
Darkness Under Tree [2 MP] - short event
Playable on an eliminated awakened plant hazard creature in your opponent's MP pile or a trophy. If Awakened Plant can attack, bring it into play as a creature that attacks immediately (not counting against the hazard limit). The attack receives +1 attack against the same character. If the creature is defeated place this card in opponent's MP pile and he receives 2 MPs.

[Jambo]

Yes Leon, Nature's Revenge would be a better title than Darkness Under Tree. By the way, the card Waiting Shadow has already been virtualised.

One thing we should bear in mind is that Awakened Plants are generally fairly easy to play and at the same time more difficult to cancel. This shouldn't be forgotten as ideas for buffing their attacks are being thrown about.

[Frodo]

I found one card on the Dream Willow site. It was called "Memory of the Axe-wielders", and the text ran:

Memory of the Axe-wielders
Hazard Permanent-event
All Awakened Plant attacks receive +2 prowess against any company with a Man, Dwarf, Orc or Troll character. Discard this card if such an affected attack is defeated, or when any playdeck is exhausted. Cannot be duplicated.

That would at least be thematic. Also, the card I was thinking of was similarly thematic, probably from Vastor's expansions. It was a hazard with text like: "If an Awakened Plant is killed this turn, all Awakened Plant attacks receive +3 prowess and+1 strikes until the end of the turn." Kind of funny. Perhaps, to reflect the "awakening" theme, the card could run something like:

"Permanent-Event. All Awakened Plant attacks are at -1 prowess. Alternatively, if an Awakened Plant is killed this turn, all Awakened Plant attacks instead receive +3 prowess and +1 strikes until the end of the turn."

Ha ha...

Frodo

[Leon]

I know Waiting Shadow V already exists and I think they made a mistake in choosing that card. If a second set of virtual cards is going to be issued some day they will have to make serious changes in the first set in my opinion anyway. I know bonuses like +1 strike and +1 prowess is standard, but I would not like to do much more than that. Jambo is right about the problem canceling these plants. Before discussing more I will post the awakened plant creatures as they exist now:

One comment on Pukel-creatures: Silent Watcher sucks and Pukelmen is good enough, considering it is so hard to cancel. If Silent Watcher gets a V version they do not need enhancers.

Old Man Willow
TYPE: Hazard
RARITY: U
CLASS: Creature
SUBCLASS: Awakened Plant
MP: 1
PLAYABLE: 2 w
STRIKES: 1
PROWESS: 13
BODY: 0
CORRUPTION: 0
ARTIST: Angus McBride
RANDOM#: 5
Awakened Plant. One strike. 15 prowess against Hobbits. May also be played keyed to Fangorn, Heart of Mirkwood, Southern Mirkwood, and Western Mirkwood; and may also be played at Ruins & Lairs [R], Shadow-holds [S], and Dark-holds [D] in these regions. Also playable at Old Forest and Druadan Forest. Two Wildernesses [w] in site path are required.

Ent in Search of the Entwives U 1* 14/8 w w b f
Awakened Plant. One strike (detainment against covert and hero companies). If Doors of Night is not in play, may also be played keyed to Shadow-lands.

Huorn C 1 10/- w
Awakened Plant. One strike. May also be played at Drœadan Forest, Old Forest, and Wellinghall. May also be played keyed to Heart of Mirkwood, Southern Mirkwood, Western Mirkwood, and Woodland Realm; and may also be played at Ruins & Lairs and Shadow-holds in these regions.

So what I would suggest is the Natures Revenge V and Darkness Under Tree V is had posted earlier and Waiting Shadow V as card with the text of Memory of the Axe Wielders. Playtesting should show which of these is overpowered, probably the Natures Revenge.

[Thorsten the Traveller]

I've played a couple of games with the dreamcards mentioned for awakened plants, and I tell you they really rock, up to the point where they get a bit overpowered (mainly against minions obviously, because facing a 4@18 Ent searching for Entwives is a bummer, especially when you're in a forest where you can't tell your tree from your ent

So some boost is okay, but careful not to boost too far. Curse Him, Root and Branch, is not really a good idea imho because you can sacrifice a Huorn and boost your other ents and Oll Man Willows to supreme hights....

The regeneration idea is nice I think, especially since there are only 9 official plants/ents creatures playable. (huorn/willow/ent in search), that's not much.

Not that the playability of the awakened plants is awful, far from it, but it could be better still, and I like interplay of resources and hazards. So how about something along this line for

Darkness under Tree V: Any (ent or) awakened plant creature may be played keyed to a region or adjacent region (non dark-domain, non coastal sea) where an ent is present or an ent-faction was played.

This way you could take your company with Quickbeam to do some CvCC at lets say Southron Oasis (or just get near there), and hit any survivers on their way out with a surprise forest showing up on the doorstep. And Huorns can at least attack at Helms Deep. [And dreaming even further, for the fans, you can play the Entwives faction in Woodmen Town and hit any minions issuing from Dol Guldur].

@boderhamster. I don't see what puckel-creatures have to do with awakened plants. Better to align them with earthy hazard boosters (like for lava flows, Cruel Caradhras and earth-tremours and such).

[marcos]

i really like this topic and i think that awakened plant should be similar to elf-lords.
so my suggestions:

Nature's revenge V:
short evemt
Look in your discard pile for an Awakened plant creature and put it into your hand, this creature must be keyable to current company's site path. Alternatively, look in your discard pile and shuffle an awekened plant creature into your play deck.
Additionaly, all awakened plant attacks keyed to heart of mirkwood, woodland realm, southern mirkwood, western mirkwood or by by type or name to a attacks normally not as detainment

Darkness under tree V:
Long event
All awakened plant recive +2 prowess and 1 extra attack. All attacks from any awakened plant with 13 or less prowess and no body receive +4 body. Cannot be duplicated

Radagast the tamer V:
MP: 6*
P/B: 13/9
Creature or Permanent-event
Playable: Free-domain/ Free-hold
Unique. Maia. Manifestation of Radagast. Two strikes. Detainment and -3 prowess against hero companies. Discard this card if Radagast comes into play. As a creature, may also be played keyed to Southern Mirkwood, Western Mirkwood, Woodland Realm, Heart of Mirkwood, or Rhosgobel. As a permanent-event, each player at the end of each turn may bring one (pukel creature???) awakened plant, animal or wolf creature from his discard pile to his hand. Discard when any play deck is exhausted.

i would really like to see awakened plants played during march's tourney

what do you think?

[Jambo]

Here's an idea for combining some of these ideas, i.e. why use 3 cards when we can use 1!

[v] Darkness Under Tree
Hazard long-event
All Awakened Plant attacks receive +2 prowess, +1 attack and attacker chooses defending characters; all Awakened Plant creature attacks with no body have 5 body.
At the end of each turn, each player may take one Awakened Plant hazard creature from his discard pile and shuffle it into his play deck. If Doors of Night is in play, the Awakened Plant hazard creature may be taken from discard pile to hand. Cannot be duplicated.

[marcos]

Here's an idea for combining some of these ideas, i.e. why use 3 cards when we can use 1!

because using just 1 doesn't give the needed power to make that strategy as playable as it is wanted to be... I still prefer the 3 separate cards. If you just don't want to include it in VC1 is ok, we can make some space in any of the following virtual sets