Sneak Peak - A new faction I'm thinking about!

[Hannibal]

Okay, fair enough.  Your goal is the process.

So in the end that returns to my original point:  because your design is the process, using an existing mechanic (drawing command cards) for something it wasn't designed for will produce massive unintended consequences, two of which I've already pointed out:  1)  playtesters have found it an unfun mechanic and 2) the army will be so dependent on command cards that it'll always be either overcosted or undercosted.

The result is neat (an armies of weenies really dependent on command action bumps to be viable) but the process isn't going to work.

[Zelc]

Yea, it's entirely possible this whole thing won't work.  I'll try to make it work though .

On 1), would changing it to discard 1 command card for a +1 stat make it better?  Now you don't have something egregious like stacking Forces and Accuracies.  You can't counter the +1 stat boost, but it's only a +1 stat boost.

On 2), would giving the faction ways to draw extra command cards and costing the ability on the high side help?

[gull2112]

I kind of agree with Hannibal, but your idea is definitely intruiging. BTW I just thought of another cool command card "The Phantom Menace" a command card that looks like a unit and represents a ghost unit or more accurately, the opposing unit's fear of another unit that you could play right on the table to cause a Pinch. Place the unit on an opponent's exposed side of a card that your engaged with and the card itself gets no attacks, but the unit must test courage and your guy(s) get a pinch bonus. I'm sure that could be explained more clearly and in fewer words, but you get my drift.

[Hannibal]

On 1), would changing it to discard 1 command card for a +1 stat make it better?  Now you don't have something egregious like stacking Forces and Accuracies.  You can't counter the +1 stat boost, but it's only a +1 stat boost.

I think that if you go this route its now too weak and won't get used much.  And from a rules design perspective, I'd grab you by the shoulders and shake you while saying "let go of this drop-more-CCs fetish!"  If you want to give stat bumps, CAs is a more elegant way to do it.

If you're in love with 'doing wacky stuff to CCs' what about some checkbox where you play a Red or Blue card in the M&C phase and every unit that erases the box is affected by the card.  Units that erase the card couldn't play CCs while attacking.

On 2), would giving the faction ways to draw extra command cards and costing the ability on the high side help?

You could do something like working out the cost of CA every turn.  The problem is that'd probably get prohibitively expensive.  How long is an average game?  12 turns per side?  A CC costs 25 pts.  Now you're not drawing them all at once so they'd be discounted, say 15 pts a card.  That's 180 pts down.  I mean you could test it out, but I don't know that I'd take that many points off the table.

[elgin_j]

Instead of designing a faction to represent this why don't you simply introduce a play variant that allows any faction to drop 2 CCs (or more) as they see fit.

[leemie]

If you want a faction that requires command cards. One idea is to have units with a rule like "easily lost" meaning without orders they get confused; A unit with this rule that doesn't have a command card played on it during this round of combat gets penalties. For instance if you don't play a red card -1 attack and -1 to hit, if you don't play a blue card +1 to be hit. Then to assist in the drawing of command cards you could either have a unit that lets you draw command cards or have an army ability that lets you draw a command card at the beginning of your turn for each 500 or 1000pts.