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Post by Cosmic Commissioner on Apr 7, 2011 13:50:13 GMT -6
Stepping Up Your Game - Alternate Team Abilities It often happens that some seemingly useless rules can become incredibly effective once something else is created or released to unlock their potential. Such is the case with what I’m going to talk about today with our untapped new friends, the Alternate Team Abilities. Just to recap, an Alternate Team Ability (ATA) is purchased through the Team Options section of the Online Store and is used during your next game. Please remember that ATA’s only last for a single game – to use them again you must pay out the VP again. An ATA adds an ability in addition to any existing Team Abilities a character may possess and does not replace anything. It is also important to note that ATA’s are entirely keyword based and the printed Team Ability has no bearing on this option. Alright – so why a strategic article on this? I mean, it’s pretty straight-forward, right? If you’re playing the Avengers then you can get the ATA that requires everyone to have an Avengers keyword and you’re set. Well, that’s true. But many teams have many more options than that. Sure, you can scour the units section of your favorite websites to find a way to make your X-Men team also have all Excalibur Keywords… but there’s a shortcut. A cheat if you will. Enter the Cosmic Shard Cash-In page; "3 - Your Heroic Team becomes Keyworded for the next game"So, that seems pretty straightforward – but there is room for abuse there. Allow me to clarify what exactly “Your Heroic Team becomes Keyworded…” really means. Here is a ruling for those of you who like those sort of things – What that statement means is that your entire team may share any keyword owned by any single character on the team. Let’s say you’re playing the Marvel Knights and you have a fairly Marvel Knight-y kind of team. But let’s just say the Spider-Man on the team has the Avengers Keyword in addition to any other keywords he may have. Well, if you were so inclined you could cash in your Crystal Shards and Keyword your entire Team to have the Avengers Keyword for the next game. Of course, with everyone having the Avengers keyword you could go out and buy a particular ATA. There are a ton of combinations available and while I wouldn’t rely on this strategy for every game, it is a great way to get around a roadblock or simply remain unpredictable for those important or challenging games. So, let's review.Spend 3 Crystal Shard points to have your whole team share a keyword that only one member needs to possess. Use that new keyword to buy an ATA that may not normally be associated with your team and give yourself options! It’s fun, it’s clever, and it’s unpredictable! What more could you want? Wanna Step Up Your Game? Look no further than Alternate Team Abilities.
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Post by Cosmic Commissioner on Apr 7, 2011 22:56:08 GMT -6
Just to showcase their coolness, I just added three more!
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Post by Ken on Apr 8, 2011 7:51:52 GMT -6
I like them. On Nextwave though 1d6 away from what? From the enemy? From attacker's location?
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Post by Cosmic Commissioner on Apr 8, 2011 8:53:24 GMT -6
From where they were/currently are. The Captain KO's Juggernaut, PLACE the Captain 1d6 squares from where he currently is.
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Post by Big D on Apr 11, 2011 8:15:29 GMT -6
First, let me say that I agree with everything in this article. However, like any good sales pitch it minimizes the price.
We seem to have forgotten the founding principle of Clix Theory:
Clix Theory and You (excerpt)
Everything revolves around the points.
Corollary The usefulness of any power or ability cannot be separated from the cost.
So we know what ATAs do, but what do they cost? Well the apparent cost for any ATA ranges from 100 to 400 VP. Still, a well designed sticker price always has hidden fees. ATAs are very restrictive in that every team member must have the required keywords. In IQ, very few teams will meet this criteria. So in the end, most teams will need to fall back on the Cosmic Shard cash-in feature to make this work.
So let's say I want to use an ATA that costs 250 VP. What is the real cost?
250 - Store price 150 - 3 x 50 VP for Cosmic Shard to VP cash-in value --- 400 VP
We still have a problem, though, because VP is irrelevant. If everything revolves around the points, then how much XP are we talking about? Well since 100 VP = 1 XP, the simple answer is 4 XP. If only life were so simple.
Another important limitation of ATAs is that they only apply to one game. So yes, for 4 XP you can gain the benefits of the ATA for one game, but at the cost of future XP purchases! Remember, you could just as easily trade in the same VP and add 4 XP to your team permanently.
Without getting into too much clix theory, realize that XP is compounding. This is especially true in IQ, where XP carries over to the next game. So that 4 XP purchase before game 4 is really an investment that results in a 24 XP (6 games x 4 XP) payoff throughout the rest of the season. So you are really choosing between a 4 XP ATA impulse buy and a 24 XP team investment.
This is not to say that ATAs can't be a good purchase. If you've maxed out on purchased XP, or if you only have a few games left, or if you have so much VP you don't know what to do with it, then ATAs are for you. However, if it's early in the season and you are building up your team, ATAs are a luxury you may not be able to afford.
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Post by CorpseDance on Apr 11, 2011 8:43:41 GMT -6
Coming from the man who has everything, why would I want that? - While I agree with you (the translated EXP seems wasted), unfortunately instead of looking at purchases with my "what it gets me" ruby colored visor, I have to look at with my "what I won't get without it" UVA and UVB protecting sunglasses. It's only slightly different, but without a certain purchase I may not be able to get something else (EXP, VP, gem, children, etc.). Some of it is math, and some of it is dumb luck, matchups, die rolls, you name it. - As a quick example, the Horsemen of Apocalypse is 3 crystal shards for keywording, and 100 VP for the ATA. That comes out to 250 VP, or 2.5 EXP. I get +1 to the attack values of my figures, provided I have exactly 4. One strong fart in the wind, Psylocke goes down, and it's points wasted. Unless I got what I needed out of their attacks. So I should've protected my weaker members. Which I should probably always do. And if I needed a boost for that Game, what could I have purchased for 250 VP? Luck Stone x5 that might possibly only work once, AND use up all 5 purchases from the online store? A battlefield condition that will be Ordinary Day'd? - As a secondary discussion, using the 3 crystal shards (150VP) allows for keywording which can get another fate token (50VP), a chance at removing a battlefield condition (Ordinary Day 50VP), etc., but NOT purchasing an ATA would save some VP. The keywording counts as a purchase that does not go against the limit of 5 from the online store, so it's another layer to the game. Is the 1.5 EXP a waste? - caveat: I haven't read the other ATAs, so they may be overpriced. I'm not arguing, I'm trying to see what would be more efficient.
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Post by Big D on Apr 11, 2011 9:33:15 GMT -6
That is the question. Really, everyone needs to decide for themselves. If you think it's worth it, then it is. As you point out, it depends on a lot of factors, including the ability in question. My point really is that it's not as simple as paying some VP and getting an ability. You could potentially be giving up something much better in the long run, so think twice about it.
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Post by Cosmic Commissioner on Aug 13, 2014 9:16:13 GMT -6
I figured I'd give this thread a bump now that the online store is up for season 10 and the amount of ATA's have tripled!
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