Game Mechanics

[Kutono]

I write this not as a person complaining about how the game is turning out, I simply want to talk about what I think the format needs. I know that in our new format Bandai has decided to kill off a bunch of old mechanics in order to make way for their newer ones. Well at least that's what it seemed.
So Bandai said that they are killing of AMBUSH, GROWTH, and MASTERY or at least these are the ones I want to make note of.

MASTERY was an understandable sacrifice, it could allow to flip flop games and just create chaos, that I can live with.

AMBUSH was a pretty combo-rific mechanic that definitely made hand cost for things such as missions and ninjas a lot easier and there where a lot of ways of getting cards in your discard pile back to your chakra so you could play a ninja again, ON TOP of that with the reprint of the Void Deck we have a lot of Void ninjas who are coming back. That doesn't seem right.

Now the one I really want to talk about GROWTH. Growth is a mechanic that's been around since the beginning of the game. I know that in the Sage Deck coming out that there are a few people with growth and I think that's good. Though I have to say this.

Bandai please bring back GROWTH, it was a good, balanced mechanic. It allowed better flow of playing cards as well as allowed you construct your deck to a bit of a more focused theme. We have a lot of cards that have been coming out that are really good but already have a card with the same name that is out that is equally good. Or alternatively there are good cards that won't see play because they're good cards but not as good as former cards and therefore won't see play, which means bandai is wasting a bunch of paper. That's a shame, because I feel like growth wasn't a mechanic that needed killing, that is just me but that's my opinion.
Thanks for your time.

[Nice-Guy-Pose]

Agreed.

Growth didn't have to stop being printed. You can say it's to make room for more mechanics so there's less for new players to learn but if you're going to reprint cards with Growth and Ambush anyway it's contradictory because these have to be explained in the rulebook along with any new mechanics.

Even the new Hinata says she gets Growth coins. Why? Would it be so bad to just give her a +1/+1 coin instead? Sure, you can draw with The Sage but set 25 Lee places one every other turn for much less effort and risk so I'm not seeing the difference. If Growth is being phased out, what happened here?

I also feel bad for set 22 Hokage Rocks because that didn't stand a chance of being played, not even for fun. Hina was everywhere and there was 0 support.

For the cards in block that have Growth, people still try to utilize that. Like the above said, it gives you some choices when you want to run different versions of a character. Growthing tp4 Sakura over an I can do it! after holding off the early game is still good.

Mastery and Ambush got dumb so they can go. Growth you have to -1 yourself and more often than not, the put in play effects at this point if any are whatever. I don't mind the Pains coming back that much because without tp3 Animal Path, using these guys for hand costs don't give you any advantage since sacrifice actually matters now.

[allanime01]

Honestly I just don't want them phased out. Give high turn people (4 or greater) ambush, unless like with Sand Anbu, some effect gives it that based on some cir****tance or condition.
Only T6 super high ranked masters should have Mastery. The only exception is a ninja with some sub-par lame effect or no effect at all (IE there was a jiraiya that literally only had Mastery and Senjutsu. Using any chakra for jutsus + being able to mastery them back is pretty beast on it's own for a T5 common)
Lastly, Growth should ONLY be given to ninjas that have o PiP effects (except maybe getting some effect with "if this ninja is PiP by growth..." effect)

Follow these rules and maybe 10 ninjas max with Growth (thats at least 2 per element) and the keywords would be fine.

[Shino'sDad]

Go to bed, Tyler.

[spiritomb]

Originally Posted by allanime01

Honestly I just don't want them phased out. Give high turn people (4 or greater) ambush, unless like with Sand Anbu, some effect gives it that based on some cir****tance or condition.
Only T6 super high ranked masters should have Mastery. The only exception is a ninja with some sub-par lame effect or no effect at all (IE there was a jiraiya that literally only had Mastery and Senjutsu. Using any chakra for jutsus + being able to mastery them back is pretty beast on it's own for a T5 common)
Lastly, Growth should ONLY be given to ninjas that have o PiP effects (except maybe getting some effect with "if this ninja is PiP by growth..." effect)

Follow these rules and maybe 10 ninjas max with Growth (thats at least 2 per element) and the keywords would be fine.

R u implying u want ambush back.

[allanime01]

Originally Posted by Shino'sDad

Go to bed, Tyler.

I'm only halfway through trying to build my new (hypothetical) deck though! D: Cmoooon, let me stay up a few more hours!

Originally Posted by spiritomb

R u implying u want ambush back.

Nah. I'm saying the same thing i've been saying. Ambush was snapped because EVERY card had it in one element. I don't think it's a good mechanic either, but if they must have it, things like Sand Anbu or did it right. Only giving Ambush under a set of cir****tances and/or taking away from the cards effect if you ambush it.

[Sai'ix Renkai]

Mastery: Glad it's gone. That kind of powerful effect made stuff like Hydro Pump even more busted than it was.

Ambush: Sad, but glad it's gone. I loved no hand water, but it was too good.

Growth: Also glad it's gone. It was either on too pointless a ninja, so it wouldn't matter, or the ninja had too good an effect, so it was snapped in half.

[avatar7]

Originally Posted by allanime01

Honestly I just don't want them phased out. Give high turn people (4 or greater) ambush, unless like with Sand Anbu, some effect gives it that based on some cir****tance or condition.
Only T6 super high ranked masters should have Mastery. The only exception is a ninja with some sub-par lame effect or no effect at all (IE there was a jiraiya that literally only had Mastery and Senjutsu. Using any chakra for jutsus + being able to mastery them back is pretty beast on it's own for a T5 common)
Lastly, Growth should ONLY be given to ninjas that have o PiP effects (except maybe getting some effect with "if this ninja is PiP by growth..." effect)

Follow these rules and maybe 10 ninjas max with Growth (thats at least 2 per element) and the keywords would be fine.

For a change, I'll totally agree with you. As I've said before, there are no broken mechanics, only abuse of mechanics that lead to broken combos/situations/decks. If use carefully, all mechanics would work just fine and having more mechanics means more options and variety in deck building. Otherwise the game becomes a bit too simple, straightforward and boring.

I also don't like the "this element gets that mechanic" approach, both to growth and ambush before, and to the new mechanics now. Mechanics shouldn't be element-bound, at least more generic ones.

[kunoalpha]

Originally Posted by avatar7

I also don't like the "this element gets that mechanic" approach, both to growth and ambush before, and to the new mechanics now. Mechanics shouldn't be element-bound, at least more generic ones.

in the past every element has had growth ninjas.

[world of pein]

The way i saw it was that water and void had ambush, while the other elements had growth, surge, and mastery.

Then set 18 came out and everyone had these characteristics and it got messy.

I agree with allanime in that the T4 + ninjas should have ambush. They're bad guys, they ambush people, thats what they do.

Growth shouldnt have been phased out, there should have been an effect like the new flashpoints "put in play except by deployment" effect similar to the new Naruto that searches for Rasengan.

Bad guys should have Ambush

Good guys should have Surge, or Growth.

The OP characters like Raikage, Orochimaru, and Itachi should have Mastery or Senjutsu.