A Magical Huffalump Resides Here: October 2009

A Magical Huffalump Resides Here

My name is Ed, I am a programmer. Just another dude with another blog. I like MTG, Open Source (more towards FREE software). I like sports, and eventually I hope to do business and do good for the world in general. This blog is gonna be about Magic The Gathering. Decklists and snippets will be posted here. It may lead somewhere or nowhere, as with all things arcane, that was bloody obvious =)

Saturday, October 31, 2009

RONZA!!!!! A discourse on the Traps she left us

So now....

Ronza is almost leaving. Lets talk about the traps she left us!


To reiterate the traps:

Traps:
Giant Speakers

Hitgrab Rockin' Horsey

Rainbow Hitgrab Rockin' Horsey (via upgrade with the wig)

Kraken Chaos

Magma Base


Which are the ones that are MUST GETS?

All of em' s is the correct answer =)

Why? Simply because these are limited edition and will not come again. That is enough reason for me.

For the more frugal or cash strapped out there. I will talk about WHY some traps you should get before others.



Top of the list:

Magma Base!!

Reason:

This base blows all the other bases to bits.

This is my logic when using bases before magma:

If I need luck I use Aqua. The pro is that you get more luck, the tradeoff is you get less power.

Now I do not believe in the way pooflinger thinks luck works: i.e. I do not believe it is an additional roll. I believe it is a doubling or some factor multiplication effect. Something like how it is done in Mythmonger, where the power doubles (and the character card feels luck is on their side).

So when a Partybot gets "lucky" it doubles in power or something like that. The problem with this effect is if your power is already dumpster low, it does not help you. Hence the drawback of Aqua (no power bonus) is pretty big... hence its slightly higerpower.

If I need attraction, I use the dehydration or Birthday trap for the +5 attraction.

If I need a nice mix of power and luck, I use polar. This is also why the polar is so popular, you still get your lucky breaks once in a while (less compared to Aqua) but you do retain enough power to still have a nice chance to catch the mouse if you don't "get lucky". (Also since you have more power, when you DO get lucky, you actually have a BETTER chance of SCORING as compared to when you get lucky with the Aqua).

But all that is over.

Well not really, polar still has a 2 percent power boost advantage over magma. But thats it.

Well that and the staleness. But really staleness only matters if you use REALLY expensive cheese that does not attract well. Okay mabbe runic in AR with a forgotten crap/trap counts =P

STILL.

I would'nt bee TOO worried about the strategy. Cos the power and other bonuses are still largely with the traps not the bases. So its still cool.

So please get your magma bases, before Ronza leaves in a few days.


SECOND on the list is:

Giant Speakers!!!

You heard the newer players complaint about the lack of a Partybot for them. Well GS is the next closest thing. Except it is a tactical Partybot. Also be AWARE that the GS lacks the attraction and power bonus.

I suspect the lower power bonus is not such a big deal as, against tactical you get an "effective" advantage. (Though I suspect it will not be as versitile as Partbot).

The real hurt is in the lack of attraction. One of the combos I really like in the Derrs now is Partbot/Magma/Gouda for farming. Try it. Its like SB =). But please don't yammer about it all over the place. If it is too good, the Devs will kill it ;)

Its not new BTW. You could achieve something similar with Snob/Aqua/Gouda in Nerg. The high luck + high attraction makes the farming(with gouda) relatively pain free.

NOTICE I used Snob as the example and not GS.

There are two reasons for this:

1) I have NOT tried it =P
2) Snob has +20 Attraction.

Thats a whopper. Partybot has +15 only... barely cuts it to farming status and only because magma give it the +5 AND luck. (Believe me farming with Partybot/Aqua/Gouda is STILL a pain though feasible)

This is why I believe the GS is NOT really equal to a Partybot. with the +15 attraction you can replicate Snob/Aqua/Gouda effect in Derr with Partybot. Notice we did'nt need magma with the Snob. I'm not sure the GS is equal to the Snob EVEN with the MAGMA. The magma managed to push the Partbot over the edge (for farming) BUT i doubt it can do the same for GS.

Will GS/Magma/Gouda be equal to Snob/Aqua/Gouda? Time and testing will tell, but sadly I do not think so. Simply because of the lack of attraction. (Oh and i am biased, I am always a proponent of attraction, I use target base, and I do recommend people try out Kraken/Target/Gouda -- I haven't tried it myself =P)


Quick Aside:
In MH there is FTA (Fail to Attract) and FTC(fail to catch). FTA can be solved by increasing the attractiveness of the cheese or using SB (not all cases). FTC is largely determined by power (and possibly luck). The effectiveness act as a modifier.
End Quick Aside:

The GS is also useful to adavanced players for another reason: It covers a hole in Snob. Snob's power is a little low. So if you are willing to trade off some luck (and attraction) for MORE POWER, GS is the man! err trap. Why might this situation occur? Remember what I said earlier? With a higher power trap, during the times you "get lucky" you have a higher chance of scoring (i.e. actually catching the mouse).


Third of the List is:

Kraken Chaos!!!!

same thing. Its a high luck HYDRO trap. (not that high, not in the 20s only18 .. but that is as good as the ACRONYM). Use it for farming =) Or if you STILL do not have the ship blueprints, it is almost MAGNETIC with it =)

Fourth is :

The Horseys. Now I like the horseys. Don't get me wrong. The are 25 luck. EQUAL to the Snob. The only thing higher is the Chromebot (28). But the power is a FAIL (at least for the more advanced players).

The reason is:

the trap is physical. There is no effectiveness bonus =) Snob is not as low as it looks because it is a tactical trap and gets a bonus against the mice it is meant to catch.

BUT if you are new and less advanced, the Horseys are a good buy (assuming you cannot afford or do not have enough points for the other traps).




I still feel like there is much to say... but I haven't thought of...

Do look at the Pooflingers link though it is definitely informative!

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