[Takket]

Surprised to see this doesn't get played much. Seems like a decent draw engine. Can be tricky.... you can only time travel once per turn so gotta send a group of anthro/arch people back first turn, and return one per turn following turns... Eventually you winn "run out" and have to spend a turn sending them back again. have to stock several of GoF since the doorway goes out of play after use, mission is steal-able...

but you net 3 cards (4-another GoF) and the doorway doesn't cost a card play......

are the cons too great compared to other "generic" draw engines?

[geraldkw]

Seems to me like the worst "drawback" is a stealable mission. It also requires you to be able to get 4 appropriate personnel pretty quickly and have enough doorways in hand, maybe the math doesn't work out too easily when you try to build the deck, or no one wanted to tackle figuring that out.

[BCSWowbagger]

are the cons too great compared to other "generic" draw engines?

That's basically my experience. GOF used to be quite good, and it saw play because of it -- drawing four unmirrorable cards for a doorway play was really strong, and tough to beat, despite the high costs. Now it's not that hard to build a deck that draws faster than an efficient GOF deck with fewer resources and less risk.

[princedetenebres]

Seems to me like the worst "drawback" is a stealable mission. It also requires you to be able to get 4 appropriate personnel pretty quickly and have enough doorways in hand, maybe the math doesn't work out too easily when you try to build the deck, or no one wanted to tackle figuring that out.

I think you may not have used Guardian in a while, it doesn't require 4 personnel, just 1.

You get 4 card draws, but it just needs the one archaeology/anthropology personnel.

My recollection is that the most often confused part of the card is that you have to use the Guardian to travel both ways:
To draw cards, your Archaeology or Anthropology personnel must time travel to, and return from, a time location using the Guardian.

But you *could* send multiple people back on T1 (say I send Dr Royse and Darian Wallace). Then on T2 I could bring one of those back, play guardian and draw 4. Then turn 3 bring the other back and draw 4.


I'd say it's the worry about a stealable mission that anyone can attempt and also that it's an older card/technique that is just maybe not as well known and comfortable as the more modern engines?

[BCSWowbagger]

I'd say it's the worry about a stealable mission that anyone can attempt and also that it's an older card/technique that is just maybe not as well known and comfortable as the more modern engines?

...you're about to go build a deck that proves this is a perfectly viable and undervalued card, aren't you?

(I know that look on your face!)

[princedetenebres]

I have no idea what you're talking about sir.

[SudenKapala]

are the cons too great compared to other "generic" draw engines?

That's basically my experience. GOF used to be quite good, and it saw play because of it --

I can, at least, vouch for the latter, since I see it used in my play group -- playing "the old", Traditional/Open game -- and it works well. Well, worked, in any case.

[Smiley]

It's good but complex and requires a some setup (mission, skills etc.) and you have to remember to do the right thing each turn and not mor all of them onto your ship and let them die in an attempt... Things I have never done... more then maybe 4 times... max...