A Few For Skies of Fire

[Bandobras Took]

Currently, only one card has an effect with Skies of Fire. Perhaps we could do a few more:

Hail of Darts:
Playable on any attack (even an automatic attack) if Skies of Fire is in play. Reduce the attack's body by one for each character in the company that is not assigned a strike.

Foul Trophies:
Resource Long Event
The body of each Orc and Troll character is modified by +1. If Skies of Fire is in play, the body of each Orc and Troll character is modified by a further +1.

Eye of Sauron:
Resource Long Event
Playable if Skies of Fire is in play. The prowess of all hazards with an * next to their Marshalling Point value is reduced by 1.

Powers Too Dark and Terrible:
Permanent Event
Playable on a Resource Long-Event if Skies of Fire is in play. Target Long Event is not discarded during the Long-Event phase. Discard this card when any play deck is exhausted, if Skies of Fire is not in play, or when target Long-Event is discarded.

People Diminished:
Short Event.
The prowess of all automatic attacks at a Border-Hold or Free-Hold is reduced by 1. Alternatively, if Skies of Fire is in play, reduce the number of strikes of any Elf, Dwarf, Dunedain, or Man attack by one.

Eddy In Fate's Tide:
Playable on any Free-Hold if Skies of Fire is in play. This card gives no marshalling points. Target site becomes a Border-Hold. Discard when the site is discarded or returned to the location deck.

Just a few weird ones while on my break at work.

[marcos]

i like them, but note that eye of sauron was already virtualized...

[Jambo]

Might Ben mean "The Great Eye"?

[Bandobras Took]

I meant Eye Never Sleeping.

[Thorsten the Traveller]

I never really understood the concept of Skies of Fire anyway, minions operate best under cover of darkness, some additional lightning doesn't change that fundamentally. And I guess ICE didn't either, because SoF is a rather obligatory card and the fact that there are no cards to use it with is enough evidence.

So, why not Virtualize Skies of Fire itself, and keep the other nice cards for other proposals, in stead of introducing a 'light-side' environment theme for minions.

something like:

Skies of Fire V - short event

Playable on a sorcery-using character before engaging in CvCC. Each untapped character in opponents company must make a roll, adding his mind. If the result is less than 12, the character must tap. Unless he is a ringwraith, sorcery-using character makes a CC at -3. Opponent may cancel this card before it resolves if he plays Vanishment, Wizard Uncloaked, or Praise to Elbereth.

This is meant to be able to choose your victims and tap out the small meaningless dwarves, or to prevent the hobbits from playing a concealment. Rationale: the lightning in the skies distracts and discourages the characters, foreboding evil, something like the Black Rain when Thrain was taken captive. The number 12 is an avarage mind of 4 plus avarage roll of 7.

[Bandobras Took]

Skies of Fire always suggested to me a foul sort of atmosphere -- not sunlight, but the glow of things burning while smoke covers the sky.

[Thorsten the Traveller]

Well the picture shows lightning. But either way, what does it mean, what does it do for minions? Why do they need this type of environment strategy, how do they benefit? Only thing I can think of, is that it kind of awes the good guys, showing the might of Sauron, or otherwise disables the heros because they're not used to it, while at the same time it inspires or incourages the minions when they go to battle knowing that Saurons power is behind them. Like wrath of the west also shows lightning, it's the greater powers that are battling. But it doesn't increase minions abilities or anything.
that's my 2 cts

[Nerdmeetsyou]

I think the Sky of fire represents...
the fires and lightnings in the sky... when saurons forces grow stronger...

I think they where for canceling gates of morning and doors of night in the first place... but it isn't needed... because there is twilight anyway...!

but maybe we should make some cards to make it usefuller... for a recource strategy...
but if we do that... we should also make some cards for hero's gates of morning which are also used VERY few... as long as i know at least...

or are there any strong decks with gates of morning around....??

[Thorsten the Traveller]

elven/dunadan power, Many Turns 'n Doublings HL reduction combined with Crowing Cocks, sometimes even Fifteen Birds...

I think for heroes Gates makes sence. For Minions Doors makes sence, but Skies doesn't really. I'm not against designing cards based on Fire, but it would have to be gooood, to make for a convincing resource strategy, I mean thematically speaking.

No coment on the Skies V proposal for CvCC? I thought it could be very useful actually.

[Jambo]

Skies of Fire V - short event

Playable on a sorcery-using character before engaging in CvCC. Each untapped character in opponents company must make a roll, adding his mind. If the result is less than 12, the character must tap. Unless he is a ringwraith, sorcery-using character makes a CC at -3. Opponent may cancel this card before it resolves if he plays Vanishment, Wizard Uncloaked, or Praise to Elbereth.

This card idea does have potential, but I do have some questions:

1. Playing Vanishment and Wizard Uncloaked. Do these still have to be played by a Wizard? Vanishment could just be used to cancel the attack anyway.

2. Is it actually a Sorcery Magic card, or does it just require a character who can use Sorcery? There is a difference.

3. What happens with a Wizard character with no mind?

4. Also, it's kind of pointless if the RW gets tapped. A simple river will render this card fairly useless.

Suggestion - either make it also untap the RW pre-CvCC in addition to existing effects, or just allow the RW company to assign strikes regardless of status?

[Thorsten the Traveller]

Good questions.

Skies of Fire V - short event

Sorcery. Playable on a sorcery-using character before engaging in CvCC. Each untapped character in opponents company must make a roll, adding his mind (wizard/ringwraith 10). If the result is less than 12, the character must tap. Unless he is a ringwraith, sorcery-using character makes a CC at -3. Opponent may cancel this card before it resolves by playing Vanishment, Wizard Uncloaked, or Praise to Elbereth. All normal conditions for playing these cards must be met, and any normal effect of these cards still applies.

1) Yes they must be played by wizard, or any character able to use these spells (for future reference). But I wasn't sure how to phrase that.
2) I would say it's sorcery. Nice for Akhorahil/Indur.
3) So wizard doesn't get tapped by it. Indeed, good for avatar duelling
4) Not sure what you mean. This is the trouble in any CvCC situation, River always annoys you, why would this card have to fix that? Keep in mind that this card is not just for RW, but for any sorcerer's company, that's why I kept the CC low so a Grimburgoth doesn't get tapped by this card. I'm not against including this untap ability for RW, but that could actually make it very strong, couldn't it?

[Jambo]

My point was simply that if the attacking player's character(s) happen to be tapped pre-CvCC, then the defending characters will be selecting who fights who, regardless of whether you tap the defending characters with this card. Given that one of your goals for this card was to enable the attackers to choose defenders, I thought I should point this out.

In the situation where the attackers are tapped, the only advantage of tapping the defenders will be to prevent them from tapping to cancel the CvCC or tapping during the combat so as not to receive a -1 prowess. That may be deemed enough of an advantage however.

[Nerdmeetsyou]

There is already a minion card that allows choosing in company vs company battle...
it's called: Motionless among the slain!!!

did you forget that?
so we don't need another card that does quiet the same but only worse!

[Thorsten the Traveller]

I thought that could only be played on an attack against your company. If you iniciate CvCC, thats not an attack.

[Bandobras Took]

Playable on an attack.

Though that's a point of debate. I think under current interpretations, the resource played is as limited as the non-resource player in what he can play during his turn if it's CvCC.