"Moving" this conversation over here where it's way more relevant...

Sadly, all I have to say in restarting here is that I'm going to have to sleep on this one. Houlding's made some really good points, and combined with a lot of points Bombshell's made about the aggro-balancing nature of the mechanic, I think I need to find a little more identity for the R/G faction.

(The conversation was originally on CA07 Rotoskate.)

Picking up where M_Houlding and I left off yesterday:

I think I'd lost sight of and thereby failed to address where the G/R faction fits in the story. It's pretty likely that this oversight is going to make a difference in the thematic structure of Feint.

The G/R aggros aren't about strong, organized military force. They're irritated civilians pushing for answers that they feel are being withheld. Each faction has a Mythic figurehead; the aggro faction's adopted leader is a fiercely persistent newspaper reporter. Serix Thames and his readers/fans are a force of social momentum, stirring up trouble for and putting pressure on the societal and cultural structures that enable the parties responsible for recent events to stay hidden.

Mechanically speaking, the connection between the G/R aggro build and Feint was never meant to be a direct one (all colors have at least one Feint card). The aggros should however be able to make the most and best use of it. So far, my execution of that has been to provide several small, efficient creatures — 1- and 2-drops — to the group followed by acceleration to drop larger creatures and boosters quickly. By getting more creatures out in the early turns than an opponent can, it should allow a G/R player to force through an unblocked attacker, thereby getting those windows for Feint.

These aggressive pushes can have high casualties though, so I feel that it's important to let Feint function as an accelerant in and of itself. Should Feint impact combat? Sure, whenever possible, but it's not the only way to use it. From the beginning, I've wanted Feint to help set up the next turn. If this means that there's short term loss (failure to deal 1 or 2 damage to an opponent) in exchange for getting a sizable advantage in board position, then that fits the faction in my eyes.

That's where cards like ItW and even Mossback Gargantula fit in. These are cards that a swarm attack can consistently put on the board much faster than other strategies can. The G/R force isn't one of precision military actions, it's one of disenfrachised people standing up and gaining momentum. They're people that want answers following the Day of Silence (key story element) and suspect that their government isn't being completely forthcoming with them. They want to gain ground, build resources, and show a groundswell of support backing their agenda. Now, can a big-ass spider read a newspaper or demand answers from municipal and corporate leaders? No, but it'll get people to listen to you.

In this regard, looking at G/R as a largely civilian grassroots campaign of stirring up civil unrest, I feel it's fair to have some less-than-combat-focused Feint spells, as long as they all serve the purpose of gaining notable momentum.

As the mythos of the set isn't currently burbling and bubbling inside my brain, I can only address the mechanical concepts at issue here. Right now I see six commons in R/G that support a swarming approach to feint, with the majority in red:

1. Ridgerunner Lookout
2. (((Goblin Glaivemaster)))
3. Granite Ridge Salamander
4. Viper Lashvine
5. (((Unwilling Participant)))
6. Frothing Glare

Of the creatures, the Salamander and Lashvine offer the greatest opportunity to sneak by opposing forces for one reason or another, with the Glaivemaster's dependency being somewhat problematic on a glorified Grizzly Bear.

I think that if you really want to make a go at defining R/G as you've conceptualized, you're going to need to provide it with the common tools that can properly fight the strong defense and control mechanics that I'm seeing in White and Blue. An early non-feint creature with 3+ power would go a long way, as well as a less-conditional anti-blocking measure, as Intimidate might not be as useful in that regard in a multicolor set.

A couple suggested tweaks to the skeleton:

1. Remove the trample clause from (((Crackling Hellion))) and drop it to , switching it with (((Veteran Blastmage))). Pingers aren't common anymore anyways.

2. Push (((Tectonic Collapse))) elsewhere and devise something appropriate. Two common LD in red seems unnecessary.

3. Related to that, Green could use a anti-noncreature permanent card at common. Think Mold Shambler.

4. Spice up Pendarvian Scout. Maybe , Sac: Target creature is a Prized Unicorn?

5. Keep in mind that Rally Instigator isn't an actual two-drop, as everyone will want to save it so they can ramp off it.

These are all some really good points. The o Lu one I can really push back on at all is #2; unless I've really overlooked something, there's only one common red LD card. Otherwise, I think the call to effectively swap the pinger for a lightning elemental is one of the best "how'd I miss that?" catches yet.

I'll take a few more looks from this new angle and see what I can do.

For some reason I thought Industrial Sabotage was common. I think I'm just used to Demolish.