1 minute ago, BayushiCroy said:

I've been thinking about this. A card being 1 honor is true but misleading. Because 1 honor is more valuable the closer to 0 or 25 you are. I mean, you're still right, but the value is fluid.

Also going first allows you to dictate the rings. You could, in a way, argue that Way of the Unicorn is actually with >=1 fate. Since it guarantees you have the option to claim the ring that wasn't used last turn.

I think all of this is true as well. Card evaluation is hard.

However, imagine drawing into Way of the Unicorn on T1: Draw Phase while you are the second player. That's effectively a dead card for a whole turn that could've been something to help you win a conflict that turn and you paid Honor for it.

I think Way of the Unicorn has a lot of little uses that add up to being worth the deckslot. You can use it economically as it lets you take the Fate for passing more reliably as well as the fate off the unclaimed ring from last turn. It lets you take first pick of rings, if there happens to be one more important than +1 fate. And it lets you take first conflict in the case where that actually matters (like when you and your opponent are one conflict each away from winning).

It it dead half the time, unfortunately, but I think the fact that it can always be a 2 fate swing (and possibly more) makes it pretty strong on the turns it isn't.

1 minute ago, GoblinGuide said:

It it dead half the time, unfortunately, but I think the fact that it can always be a 2 fate swing (and possibly more) makes it pretty strong on the turns it isn't.

I think it's more of a conditional fate swing. Being first play could mean you pass first which is +1 Fate, but it also means you've passed your turn first and given up the play to your opponent. You could also take the unclaimed Ring Fate, but it could be on a Ring that doesn't necessarily help your board/game position and it means you give your opponent their free choice of Ring, assuming you were trying to deny them in the first place.

Situational, WotU could be quite good. I just think comparing it to WotL and WotC, both of the other cards we either know or feel pretty confident about in terms of their text, WotU is not nearly as strong.

9 minutes ago, Danwarr said:

I think it's more of a conditional fate swing. Being first play could mean you pass first which is +1 Fate, but it also means you've passed your turn first and given up the play to your opponent. You could also take the unclaimed Ring Fate, but it could be on a Ring that doesn't necessarily help your board/game position and it means you give your opponent their free choice of Ring, assuming you were trying to deny them in the first place.

Situational, WotU could be quite good. I just think comparing it to WotL and WotC, both of the other cards we either know or feel pretty confident about in terms of their text, WotU is not nearly as strong.

I disagree. Wotu gives options and having options is always strong

35 minutes ago, Kakita Shiro said:

Not free. Costs a card each time.

That's why I said "almost" :/

13 minutes ago, Danwarr said:

I think it's more of a conditional fate swing. Being first play could mean you pass first which is +1 Fate, but it also means you've passed your turn first and given up the play to your opponent. You could also take the unclaimed Ring Fate, but it could be on a Ring that doesn't necessarily help your board/game position and it means you give your opponent their free choice of Ring, assuming you were trying to deny them in the first place.

Situational, WotU could be quite good. I just think comparing it to WotL and WotC, both of the other cards we either know or feel pretty confident about in terms of their text, WotU is not nearly as strong.

I don't think that it's not as strong, necessarily (we won't know until we get a better idea of the cards and the flow of the game). Rather, it's a bit less straightforward.

Way of the Lion is very plain in what it does. Getting a pump to your stats is obviously very useful, so you play it when you need a pump and there you go. Way of the Crab, too, let's you sacrifice a character to get rid of an opposing character. Also pretty straightforward.

Way of the Unicorn, however, doesn't just give you a momentary stat boost or effect, rather it changes the flow of the entire next turn. As others have stated, there are a lot of different ways one may use this, which individually may be less important than some of the other effects, but together could get you a lot of opportunities or deny them to your opponent. We've already seen cards for Phoenix and Dragon that interact with the Rings, and setting up some of their combos will likely rely on thinking ahead to the next turn and what Rings will be involved in which conflicts. Against Way of the Unicorn, this is much less certain. Yes, if you just use the card to gain a single Fate from passing first, it's not that impressive. However, if you use it to gain multiple first player advantages and also throw off your opponent's rhythm, it could be quite potent indeed! And of course, your opponent could plan their strategy expecting to go second, only for your to not play Way of the Unicorn and have them go first, instead!

In short, I don't see Way of the Unicorn as necessarily being weaker than the other cards, just less tactical and more strategic.

12 minutes ago, JJ48 said:

In short, I don't see Way of the Unicorn as necessarily being weaker than the other cards, just less tactical and more strategic.

In that sense, it is very Unicorn flavored and I like it.

Historically, sitting and facing a Unicorn player meant playing a slightly different game and we were the experts of that game. (Although, seasoned players didn't notice much.) Occasionally, I was matched against someone "without much experience" against Unicorn. I inevitably won those games. Unicorn had it's weaknesses and critics, but I can say I've beaten opponents during the shuffle and cut phase.

Give me more game flow and tempo cards in Unicorn!

1 hour ago, Danwarr said:

Also, because a Card effectively equals 1 Honor...

If you're saying all cards "cost" 1 Honor, then every discussion of every card begins with "Would you pay 1 honor to..." and I just can't do that. All Conflict cards are on equal footing, and as such, this assumed 1-Honor cost for every single card in the game is meaningless and moot.

2 minutes ago, twinstarbmc said:

If you're saying all cards "cost" 1 Honor, then every discussion of every card begins with "Would you pay 1 honor to..." and I just can't do that. All Conflict cards are on equal footing, and as such, this assumed 1-Honor cost for every single card in the game is meaningless and moot.

It is not. Look at the situation I proposed where you are the second player and you draw into Way of the Unicorn T1. That card cost 1 Honor and is effectively a dead draw until the start of turn 3. Is paying 1 Honor for that card better than something that might help you win a conflict or remove a character? I'm not sure, but I'd leaning towards probably not.

Just now, Danwarr said:

That card cost 1 Honor

Did it? Maybe. Maybe not. What if I bid 1, and my Scorpion card-loving opponent bid a 5? I drew my Way of the Unicorn, and gained 4 honor in the process. Heck, you could say that one card cost them 4 honor.

15 minutes ago, twinstarbmc said:

Did it? Maybe. Maybe not. What if I bid 1, and my Scorpion card-loving opponent bid a 5? I drew my Way of the Unicorn, and gained 4 honor in the process. Heck, you could say that one card cost them 4 honor.

Then you are behind on card advantage and that is a very different situation. Also, if that WotU really is the only card you drew that turn, it means that your Conflict draw actually did nothing to help you in that Conflict phase specifically.

5 minutes ago, Danwarr said:

Then you are behind and card advantage and that is a very different situation. Also, if that WotU really is the only card you drew that turn, it means that your Conflict draw actually did nothing to help you in that Conflict phase specifically.

Complicated thinking is too complicated. For my taste, anyway. Make up your mind, does a card cost honor, or tempo, or board position, or power? Yes. They all do, at certain times, in certain games. And if every single conflict card has the same hidden fees as every other, then what's it matter? To me, it doesn't.

As much as I hate cavalry, this conversation is actually making me want to try a Unicorn deck! XD

4 minutes ago, JJ48 said:

As much as I hate cavalry, this conversation is actually making me want to try a Unicorn deck! XD

Join us! Ponies are fun!

Chances are there's going to be a "going first matters" theme for Unicorn, too. In the AGoT LCG, Greyjoys had similar stuff: a number of cards that got a big bonus on every turn they were the first player. Unicorn getting something similar would be pretty thematic, and it'd synergise with WotU.

7 minutes ago, Smobey said:

Chances are there's going to be a "going first matters" theme for Unicorn, too. In the AGoT LCG, Greyjoys had similar stuff: a number of cards that got a big bonus on every turn they were the first player. Unicorn getting something similar would be pretty thematic, and it'd synergise with WotU.

One could easily imagine Unicorn characters that said, "While there are no claimed Rings, <get some bonus>," which would encourage being the first one to attack.

Not meaning to derail/distract the ongoing conversation but, can anyone hazard a guess as to what the Way of the Dragon Philosophy card might be???

4 minutes ago, LordBlunt said:

Not meaning to derail/distract the ongoing conversation but, can anyone hazard a guess as to what the Way of the Dragon Philosophy card might be???

If I had to guess, it would be to put Fate on a Ring.

It's an attachment, so I don't think it would something so...instant.

7 minutes ago, WHW said:

It's an attachment, so I don't think it would something so...instant.

Is it an attachment? I must have missed that. Probably gives a bonus to military and political skill.

Now that I'm looking at the photo, it also seems to let you use your Dragon Clan character's ability one additional time.

1 minute ago, Kakita Shiro said:

Is it an attachment? I must have missed that. Probably gives a bonus to military and political skill.

If you look at the spread of the Way ofs, it doesn't have a title like everyone else, so the Title should be on the side like an attachment. I think it's the only one with a fate cost to it as well.