THE NEW ABILITIES OF REBELLION EDITIONS

So finally the long awaited Rebellion editions will soon come to released in 5th December. Well still a lot of undisclosed information regarding the profile of the cards will be available to use. But one thing for sure is the new abilities. There are 4 (four) of them, and then really extend the way battle could run on. I'll review them based on their effectiveness, which is how great the abilities could buff cards or formation performance; and their efficiency, which is how often the chances they get to be triggered (of course except for buff and debuff which automatically applied). And here's my own opinion regarding how this abilities could run along.

1. Armored Strike

Any unit with this ability gains an ADDITIONAL Melee attack using its Armor stat. This allows characters to improvise with deadly force, using their gauntlets, shields, helmets, or perhaps physical attributes (spikes, hard shells, etc) as weapons!

This is a new concept that never imagined before. Adding even a +1 melee damage from having an armor stats is equally as powerful as having Inspire or Summoner melee buff. I assumed that this ability will grant at most +1 melee damage, considering the wording only said "an additional ..." rather than saying "additional for each ...."; otherwise having granting +1 melee damage for each count of armor value might turn this ability overpowered. The only possibilities is to scale down the addition by lets say the value of armor divided by 3 rounded up.

This ability is only applied to Melee attack which make sense since the ability come from using the shields, helmets, and other physical attribute, which should be a melee based. Ranged and especially Magic attack might be too powerful possessing this ability, since currently there are less buff for these attack types.

The only weakness of this ability is when the armor is entirely crushed, which I assumed would resulting in the additional damage ceased to take effect. In turn this ability should be much better used by back-row melee with Reach, Sneak, or Opportunity ability. In my opinion a secondary Tanker card which ready in the 2nd row with Reach ability would be the best one to possess it. Their armor are much needed to block damage, and while they are reserved they could still strike with enhanced power.

My verdict for this ability:
Effectiveness : 9 / 10 (This is a great alternative to increase melee damage other than Inspire, especially if you only bring a handful of melee cards. And compared to Inspire, this ability should cost less mana).
Efficiency : 7 / 10 (I might find this ability could be hindered in use, mainly if opponent decided to use Rust or Shatter. Armor mainly used to protect Health, which means their utility use to break down by any attack. By the time battle run, this ability might ceased to take effect in the mid-round).

2. Corrosive Ward

When hit with a Melee attack, a unit with this ability does 2 damage to the attacker's Armor AND reduces the max Armor of the attacker by 2. This is the nemesis to the Repair ability. You can't Repair something that's been melted into acidic goo! Note that this only affects units with Armor.

My first thought on this ability was that, "This the real anti-armor arsenal!". For the past times, facing against armored formation, we would rely on Shatter ability and keeping a handful of magic cards to bypass the armor. But what if the opponent anticipate this by taking Magic Reflect or magic damage debuff? Now this ability become an alternative solution.

Rather than actively break down armor using Shatter, this ability instead break down armor indirectly through damage sustained by the possessor. Imagine having Corrosive Ward and Taunt as one, it will be a guarantee to dismantle down opponents armor. In my opinion this ability is much more similar to Thorns, Return Fire, and Magic Reflect.

The effect might be less potent compared to Shatter. While Shatter totally destroy the target's armor, Corrosive Ward only deal actual damage plus 2 damage. In some way, this ability might make no difference for target with armor between 3 to 4, but against cards with gargantuan 10 armor (such as Diamond Dragon), Shatter might be better.

The only problem with this ability multifold. The ability only triggered if the an attack hit the possessor, and only the attacker will get imposed with the effect. Which means this will require an exact match for the ability to be triggered (just like Thorns, Return Fire, etc.). And then again this ability are useful to counter Repair, but in my opinion whether there's Repair or not, this ability are still a great ability to counter fully armored formation.

My verdict for this ability:
Effectiveness : 10 / 10 (This is a great ability to counter a fully armored formation, or against Protect and armor buff).
Efficiency : 7 / 10 (This ability only effective against armored opponent, expecting opponent to bring armored cards might be difficult to predict. In addition if opponent only deploy 1 or 2 armored cards, this cards become less efficient).

3. Flank

If the unit with this ability is in the first position, then the unit in the second position gains the Reach ability. Prepare to leverage positioning and the element of surprise. Now your first two units can work together to bring down the enemy tank!

Its a Reach but with a wider reach!

Flank is the inverse of Reach which allow any cards next to the possessor to strike using Reach. Reach itself is already one of the most popular ability with substantial number of cards possessing it. Most of the cards with Reach play roles as the secondary Tanker, ready to take up the front-row any time needed.

But now with Flank, any cards could be a secondary Tanker and fully participate in attacks. Imagine having Grum Flameblade stand ready in the 2nd row while gaining chances to trigger its Bloodlust. The possibilities are vast, and any melee cards could fill this roles.

The only weakness of this ability will be its predictability. My thought there would be only limited number of cards with Flank ability. Deploying them would create a predictable pattern since the 2nd position will be filled most likely with powerful melee cards with no particular target-altering abilities. To fend this, your opponent could easily choose armored cards with Shield ability to take the front-row.

My verdict for this ability:
Effectiveness : 10 / 10 (This is another great ability which could allow melee cards actively participate in dealing damage. The cost of the mana is yet to be disclosed, but I expect this will be more costly than Reach).
Efficiency : 10 / 10 (This ability could only be triggered if the possessor stand in the front-row. Given the exact nature of this ability, cards with this ability will most of the time take front-row).

4. Lookout

A unit with this ability results in adjacent allies taking one less damage from attackers with Sneak, Snipe, and Opportunity. Give your team a heads-up when stalkers approach from the shadows. It's always a good idea to have a Lookout!

Sneak, Snipe, and Opportunity are truly a nuisance in any battle. Its very difficult to predict from where they will come, and we don't have enough resources to protect all the cards. Shield and Void could be defensive mechanism against these attacks, but its hard to accurately predict the result.

Lookout come as a more one-for-all and dispersed solution against these attacks. The first advantage is that this ability could applies to all kind of attack types, either melee, ranged, or magic. And then it applies to adjacent rows, which means at most 2 cards could gain these effects.

The only inferior things of this ability, it only reduce incoming attack by 1 damage only, which means this ability will be effective for attack with 2 to 3 damage, while might be less effective for higher damage attacks.

My only minor question for this ability is would it only be triggered by Sneak, Snipe, and Opportunity attacks as it is? Or could it still be triggered if the adjacent cards by chance stood in the front-row, and it being attacked by front-row cards possessing Sneak, Snipe, Opportunity?

My verdict for this ability:
Effectiveness : 7 / 10 (I'm not particularly sure if this ability is quite effective handling ambush attack better than Shield or Void. Once the Lookout cards move to the front-row, its effect is almost useless).
Efficiency : 7 / 10 (This ability is a safe measure only if opponent decided to deploy Sneak, Snipe, and Opportunity. Meanwhile it only affect at most 2 cards. So chances is quite slim to use this ability).