This forums is for questions, answers, and discussion about First Edition rules, formats, and expansions.
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By Boffo97 (Dave Hines)
 - Gamma Quadrant
 -  
Retired Moderator
#560353
Hypothetical: You have a time machine, and you can go back and stop a Decipher or CC designer from designing any one card in the game. Why didn't you instead use this to prevent some great tragedy or something? Because you're a SELFISH MONSTER. And don't even get me started on why you didn't play the lottery with foreknowledge of the winning numbers.

Anyway...

Which card do you retroactively prevent the existence of to stop the biggest rules headaches?
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First Edition Rules Master
By BCSWowbagger (James Heaney)
 - First Edition Rules Master
 -  
Community Contributor
#560364
Alternate Universe Door.

The card is not that offensive by itself, but it set several awful precedents that Decipher would only deepen over the coming years:

* new loaded icons are inexpensive and fun

* when we have a new mechanic, let's just create an entire new card type for it instead of just changing the Event template and putting "Immune to Kevin Uxbridge" or "Not nullifiable" on it.

* oh, let's give that new card type different timing rules from anything else in the game, just to make it seem special

* what this game needs is extra steps and sidegames (in this case, the Doorway Phase)

* above all: we can change the game's rules in significant ways without notifying the majority of our players and everything will be just fine.

(Most players in 1996 did not buy booster boxes, but individual booster packs from their Friendly Local Gaming Store. As a result, only a tiny fraction of the player base, the fraction that was most plugged into the tournament scene, ever saw the AU rules. This was especially problematic in a time when Internet Access was strictly limited to the upper and upper-middle class. The first time I personally saw the Alternate Universe rules supplement was in the 2010s. The first time I ever saw the Alternate Universe FAQ was last week. As a result, I spent much of the early '90s just randomly guessing how the new cards were supposed to work -- and you should have seen the crazy ways my friends and I theorized about how [Q] cards worked in the next set! Decipher's single greatest failure was its steadfast refusal to keep rules changes simple enough to be printed on a card that could be inserted into a booster pack, like an MtG art card.)

My father saw it all coming, and stopped playing pretty much immediately after he saw that specific card. If I could go back and convince them not to do AU Door, everything from "scouting attempts" to Tribbles and Troubles might have been prevented.

EDIT: Oh, ha, @winterflames beat me to it!
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First Edition Rules Master
By BCSWowbagger (James Heaney)
 - First Edition Rules Master
 -  
Community Contributor
#560373
phaserihardlyknowher wrote: Mon Aug 23, 2021 12:33 pm To follow on from James, but Q-Flash fits the bill. I had a whole thing about how much I hated Q, but that's not really a "rules" problem so much as a stewardship of the game problem. Q-Flash (and all [Q]) were just... confusing. I mean, obviously AU Door is the worst, but to add some spice to the thread.
No, no, you're absolutely right. Q-Flash is way worse than AU Door, IMO. One key reason I'd try to stop AU Door from being produced is because it might stop the entire Q-Continuum rules supplement (the worst rules supplement) from ever being printed.

It's a CCG, Decipher. You want cards to do things, you need to print the friggin' things you want on the friggin' cards.
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By Smiley (Cristoffer Wiker)
 - Gamma Quadrant
 -  
Continuing Committee Member - Retired
#560437
All sid decks. Sure, all of the above menitioned as well. But anything Q-tent is horrendus. As it was meant to be a side board (but in-game) So you could reach the cards during the game and not just in between games). And with the advent of the [DL] and other downloading such as the Borg does and D letting the cards come from the Tent, that's when things started to go bat shit crazy.
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By stressedoutatumc (stressedoutatumc)
 - Beta Quadrant
 -  
#560578
Honestly, every single card. But in a good way. I love how complicated, precise, in-precise, and simple this game can be.

I welcome all the weird-ass rules, illogical contradictions, and the fact I have to keep coming back to this forum to ask questions every week.

But, If I HAD to choose, it by far is any Interrupt card. When you can and cant and respond or not respond or interrupt an action or cant interrupt an action is literally a weekly discussion in our play group.
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By nobthehobbit (Daniel Pareja)
 - The Center of the Galaxy
 -  
Moderator
#560580
stressedoutatumc wrote: Wed Aug 25, 2021 8:51 pmBut, If I HAD to choose, it by far is any Interrupt card. When you can and cant and respond or not respond or interrupt an action or cant interrupt an action is literally a weekly discussion in our play group.
There's a whole 1EFQ thread about that.

Funny enough, when there was later a thread about rules that should go away, I don't think anyone brought up the valid-response rule.
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By geraldkw
 - Beta Quadrant
 -  
#560845
Smiley wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 4:21 am All sid decks. Sure, all of the above menitioned as well. But anything Q-tent is horrendus. As it was meant to be a side board (but in-game) So you could reach the cards during the game and not just in between games). And with the advent of the [DL] and other downloading such as the Borg does and D letting the cards come from the Tent, that's when things started to go bat shit crazy.
Yeah I think when the cost of having a Q Tent Doorway and drawing less cards "went away" somewhat with downloads (especially special downloads) but you still got to keep situational cards out of the main deck, game balance and speed became harder to control instead of easier.
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