Controller: Each of your S&P Garou gains Insight: +1.
Contoller Pre-Combat (Out): A target combatant fighting at a Battlefield draws one Combat card.
| May 17, 1999 | |
|---|---|
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| Type: Battlefield | Renown: 4 |
| Defender: Black Spiral Dancer | Defender Keywords: |
| Defender Text: | |
| Rage: 7 | |
| Gnosis: 4 | |
| Health: 5 | |
| Keywords: Tech · Unique | |
| Text: When a player plays his or her first Event card during the Main Phase, that player draws a Sept card. Controller: Each of your S&P Garou gains Insight: +1. Contoller Pre-Combat (Out): A target combatant fighting at a Battlefield draws one Combat card. | |
| Quote: | |
| Phase: 6 | Artist: Larry MacDougall |
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Power: 19
For a single card, there are many applications that it can be used, more so than most other cards. First, just by being in play, the cost of playing Event cards is reduced, since the first played Event for each person lets them draw another card to replace it. Not bad in itself. Then we get the controller text. Play with S&P characters, and you've got yourself some mighty useful Insight. Even if you aren't playing S&P, you get the very helpful ability to draw an extra Combat card at Battlefields. As a side note, the defender is nothing to shake a stick at, either, having one of the best sets of stats for a Battlefield defender in the game. The Renown value of this card is the highest for a Battlefield in the game as well, tying only the Ragnarok Casino.
Usability: 20
While probably best used in decks based around one or more of the abilities, any deck can take advantage of at least the neutral ability. There are no restrictions as to who can play it, so full points.
Limitations: 18
Probably the biggest limitation of this card is the defender. The Black Spiral Dancer is no pushover at a health of 5. Getting the controller text or even just the reclaim Renown is not an easy task. And once you get it, you'll have to defend it against any other players who want it from you. However, the neutral text has no limits other than that the effects apply to all players. It almost worth playing the card without having the intention to ever attack it. Otherwise, the card is very balanced.
Decks: 18
Well, with all the abilities this card has, it's easy to come up with a deck using any one of the abilities. Build an Iron Rider deck with S&P Garou, and you can get yourself some Insight. Build an Uktena deck to collect Battlefields, and if you get this one first, you get a boost to conquer the other two to reach Uktena victory conditions. Build a deck focused on Events, and you should effectively raise your Sept Draw by one with the neutral text on the card. As a fourth idea, build a deck that concentrates on affecting Black Spiral Dancers in a Wyrm hunting deck, and you've got another target to use.
Flavor: 19
Studying the Battlefields in general, I think Larry MacDougall was a good choice here. Many of the other Battlefields are simpler depictions of the subject of the work. However, a busy train station is just what this card is about. The card is called S & P Railroad, after all. The card effects reflect the card nicely - events are common at a railroad, those who work for the railroad are more likely to know what's going on, and when you've got steam on your side, you usually get the geographic advantage in battle. The only aspect that seems odd is the Black Spiral defender. Granted, it would be able to go mostly undetected in the crowds, and probably is one of the reasons why the Iron Riders were more concerned with their railroad than in defeating the Storm Eater. But that isn't exactly clear, I'm extrapolating. This is the only source of lost points. There is not quote, but there's no room to add any with all the card text. Maybe a reword would have been appropriate to include something short and sweet to explain the BSD, but as it stands is fine without quote. Otherwise, great theme! This definitely fits into the game as a major location once the Iron Riders roll into town. I would have been surprised if this card was not part of the Battlefield releases.