Fan Designed Cosmic Expansion Set Discussion

Bill Martinson: Suggested revision:

GRIFTER (formerly known as Joker) 20111123

PLAYS CARDS FROM DISCARD PILE

You have the power to Con. As a main player, after encounter cards are selected but before they are revealed, you [*may use*] this power to exchange the card you selected with a “hot” encounter card of your choice from the discard pile. (If there are no encounter cards in the discard pile, you immediately lose the encounter.) When encounter cards are being discarded, the “hot” card is removed from the game. Other players may not examine the discard pile until after the “hot” card is revealed.
( Main Player Only | Optional | Planning )

WILD Once per encounter, you may force either one of the main players to discard a non-encounter card of his or her choice from his or her hand. Then you may give that player one encounter card of your choice from the discard pile.
( As Any Player | Any Phase )

SUPER Instead of removing your “hot” card from the game, you may stash it in a stack on your alien sheet. You may play cards normally from your stash, but the stash is not part of your hand.
( Main Player Only | Resolution)

@Allen: you can't be zapped when playing from your stash, because this is not a *use* effect of the power.

Bill Martinson: @Jefferson: I agree that artifact/flare removal is kind of cool, but there's also something un-appealing about generating new FAQ entries to support it. :-( Good effect for a different alien, perhaps ... something with a theme of annihilation rather than the ol' switcheroo, maybe.

Stephen Sloboda: If I were going to design an alien called, “Grifter,” it would involve a three-card monte.

As the offense or defense, before pods are chosen, use this power to declare a three-card monte. If you do, either player with less than 3 Encounter Cards discards their hand and draws a new hand. Then each player chooses three Encounter Pods and places them face down. Each player then chooses one of their opponent's three face down cards. Those cards are used to resolve the encounter.

Bill Eberle: Peter's saving the 3-card monte idea for another alien we'll call the Con Artist. It will actually put out 3 cards, etc. For now let's focus on and finalize the GRIFTER as a candidate for the expansion set. (1 thumb up)

Peter Olotka: @Stephen Sloboda indeed! We put that on the 'list' this morning while editing Grifter and set it aside as CON ARTIST power to CON for later consideration!! Great minds.....

Stephen Sloboda: Well... save the name Grifter for that alien and we'll give this one a new name, since he has little to do with conning. He just replaces his encounter with a pod that's been used already, if any. That has nothing to do with a grifter.

Peter Olotka: Opps I meant Con Artist power to HUSTLE!

Bill Eberle: actually it will be the power to hustle . . . but that's for another day. Let's finalize the GRIFTER.

Peter Olotka: So Grifter can be as is with the power to CON

Jack Reda: What about POD (power to replace)? It makes me think of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the Pod people who replaced real people with pods. It also gives a wee nod to CE Online, where cards are called Pods.

Stephen Sloboda: I like the theme, Jack, but it needs a better name. POD is not only vague, it's also the name of a card type.

Replicant?

Bill Eberle: Hmmm. That would work, Jack. Stephen, perhaps, the tide is turning in your favor and we'll rename this alien “one more time.”

Bill Eberle: Replicant was used (it's a Matt Stone power in the Warp database).

Jefferson Krogh: Darn. My history won't fit POD at all.

Stephen Sloboda: I knew it had to be taken.

Reploid? Wait, that's in a video game.