WANDERER’S THOUGHTS ON QUIDDITCH CUP CARDS
Ok some stats.
80 Card Set
30 Rare all appear to be coming as foils/holos as well
for a total set size for Collectors of 110.
20 Uncommon
25 Common
5 Lessons
This set will be harder/more expensive to collect than
the Base Set, because there are 30 foils/holos, and not 20. They say that 30% of
rare positions contain a holo/foil instead. There are also rare copies of each
foil/holo.
In effect this means that not only is it more expensive,
because it’s a
Base set had 12 Character Cards, now we have +8 new
Personalities for a total of 20.
Base set had 12 Adventures,
now we have +8 Adventures for a total of 20.
We had 23 cards for each lesson type,
1 Foil
4 Rares
7 Uncommons
1 Lesson
10 Common
+3 new Rare/Foil cards for each magic type.
+2 new Uncommon cards for each magic type.
+4 new Common cards for each magic type.
Now each of the 4 original magic types has,
4 Foils
4 (7) Rares (those extra 3 being repeats of foils)
9 Uncommons
1 Lesson
14 Common
Total 32.
PERSONALITIES
Fred & George Weasley
You may use 1 Action (instead of 2) to put an Adventure
card from your hand into play, even if you already have one in play. If you
already had one in play, discard the old one.
This power could be very nasty. I think everyone has to
start seriously about stocking Apparates and Logic Puzzles, else the Weasley
Twins may keep swapping in and out Adventures, resetting the requirements to
satisfy them. This and the fact
that there are 8 more adventures. I am not sure if this is for me but its got
possibilities.
Harry the Seeker
Wizard - Gryffindor - Unique
Once during each of your turns, when you use an Action to
play a Quidditch lesson, you may draw a card.
This power gets Harry off to a fast start in any
Quidditch heavy deck. I think I will be keen to experiment with Harry the Seeker
as my starting character. I wonder if you have Hermione in play do you get two
cards when you put two such lessons into play? ;)
Madam Rolanda Hooch
Witch - Unique - ??House - Provide 1Q
Once per game, you may search your deck. When you do, you
may take a Broom card from your deck, show it to your opponent and put it into
your hand. Then shuffle your deck.
Providing 1 Quidditch Lesson should see Hooch a popular
choice to play the new magic type. The broom recovery might be nice to get the
Nimbus 2000 in combo with other Quidditch cards.
Marcus Flint
Wizard - Slytherin - Unique
Once per game, you may make your opponent choose 3 cards
in his or her hand and discard them. (If there are fewer than 3 cards in your
opponent’s hand, he or she discards them all.)
Can’t say I am too impressed by this power. Could come
in useful if timed well.
Neville Longbottom
Wizard - Gryffindor - Unique
Your may prevent all but the first 8 damage done to you each
turn.
Wow, this could be really interesting in stopping
opponents surprise you with Steel Claws or huge creature build ups or dreaded
potion one-two attacks. Probably a really good choice for a companion in a Ron
deck.
Oliver Wood
Wizard - Gryffindor - Unique
Once per game, when 1 of your Spell cards that needs Q
Power does damage, you may have it do 8 more damage.
Nice ability, if not brilliant, better than many.
Prof. Mivera McGonagall
Witch Unique - Gryffindor
Provides a Transfiguration lesson
“Once per game, you may discard the Adventure your
opponent has played. (You don’t get the reward.)”
I’ve played a few hands with a Minerva proxy as my main
character, and I think she is one of the best, if not the best, character to
come out of this expansion. 4 Privet Drive can be easily removed which proved to
be great when I was ready to attack or remove any other adventures from my
opponent’s hand. She can also get rid of Human Chess Game, which I have found
lots of fun with a Draco deck and creatures, to keep my opponent from doing
anything. Great card as primary or secondary in any deck.
Seamus Finnigan
Wizard - Gryffindor - Unique
Once during each of your turns, you may discard 2 cards
from your hand to get 1 more Action.
This could be a really interesting character. Combined
with an Owl or Harry Potter, it provides the opportunity to perform three
card/action combos again and again. I think this is the most intriguing card for
deck design in this set.
ADVENTURES
Like I said, I think decks are now going to have to have
Adventure removal cards, because there are some great combo potentials that
should support most deck styles so Adventures are going to be must for most.
Gaze
into the Mirror
Effect:
During your opponent’s turns, prevent all Spells damage done to you
by
Spell cards. To Solve: Opponent chooses 5 Spell cards in hand and
discards
them. Reward: Opponent gets 1 more Action
A form of 4 Privet Drive but not as effective. I am not
sure why I would want to use this instead of 4 Privet, given it can be solved
with a spell, and allows many other spells to be used, like healing.
Hagrid
Needs Help
Opponent
gets one less Action per turn (never to zero Actions though).
Solve:
Take 8 damage. Reward: draw 3 cards
An excellent card for spell based decks that need to
build up power and want to slow there opponent’s down before they are ready to
unleash their power. A good card
for any deck and another excellent reason to have Adventure removal cards
else you could be stuck with one action for half a game until the other
shorter more painful half where you get decimated.
In the stands
Effect: Your opponent can’t play creature cards.
To solve: Your opponent chooses 4 Creature Cards in his or
her hand and
This is a nice way to stymie creature decks, and maybe
good against players using a few bigger critters although limited value
against swarm decks; especially those using Halloween Feast.
Into
the Forbidden Forest
Effect:
Whenever 1 of your Creatures does damage to your opponent, it does 1
A great combo with swarm decks and the Swarm Spell. Steel
Claw of course as well. I think this will be very popular in all creature decks
allowing tiddly critters and even no damaging creatures to do reasonable damaged
when combined with a Swarm card.
Pep Talk
Effect: The first Action your opponent uses on each of
his or her turns must be used to draw a card. To Solve: Your opponent shows you
a card from his or her hand with a (printed) Power needed of 8 or more.
Opponent’s Reward: Your opponent may draw 2 cards.
Against some decks this could be a great card. Those
players who don’t believe in using costly cards may never be able to remove
this adventure which could slow them down fatally.
Race for the snitch
Effect: Your opponent discards the card he or she draws
at the start of each of his or her turns. To solve: Your opponent discards his
or her hand. Opponent’s Reward:
You discard your hand.
Another one of those double edged Adventures. Has a great
effect but could really damage your own game if your hanging onto healing and
other important cards. Could be funny to use with Draco’s Trick to get a check
Obliviate effect say using Seamus, Unicorn or Platform 9.75.
Snape’s Bias
Effect: Your opponent can’t use Actions to draw cards.
To Solve: Your opponent lets you search your deck for up to 2 cards and put them
into your hand. Then shuffle your deck. Reward: Your opponent may draw a card.
A pretty average threat adventure but with an excellent
reward for the player of it. Some decks may just have to concede so they can get
back to finding the cards they need to stay in the game.
Sticking
Up for Neville
Effect:
Before each of your turns, your opponent takes 4 damage. To solve:
Your
opponent discards his or her hand. Opponent’s Reward: Your opponent may put up
to 4 non-Healing cards from his or her discard pile on the bottom of his or her
deck (in any order).
Pretty nice Adventure. Good damage and nasty solution
requirement.
CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES
CoMC has given us another fist full of critters, a few
twists (Swarm being the best in my mind) and the awesome Fluffy that should
always be considered in any deck design. That card alone should make everyone at
least consider including cards to remove it easily else it’s likely to do
serious damage, especially when combined with Steel Claws.
Scabbers and Trevor are nice colour but nothing really
amazing about them that I can figure so far.
Cunning Fox is a feisty card, nasty damage (especially
with Hagrid) but easy to kill off.
Doxy and Streeler are interesting good cards to take
out an opponent’s creatures whilst getting you own in. Equivalent of doing two
things at once. Swarm is great. It
really makes presently overlooked cards like Curious Raven really good. If your
opponent has creatures as well it works against them. I am glad a somewhat
expected card like this has appeared. It also combo’s nicely alongside the
Adventure, Into the Woods.
Devil’s Snare and Cobra Lily are the real find after
Fluffy. They make herbology unlikely to appear with attacking creatures
probably making it a facilitator magic type like transfigurations. Devil’s
Snare has Unicorn health, meaning its hard to remove, but best of all both heal
so cards like Fumos and chipaway charms damage cards aren’t going to take
these plants out easily.
CHARMS
Charms provides us with more of the same, and some other
cards which will form important supports for deck designs. Halloween Feast,
Chocolate Frogs, Charms Exam and Bravado are the most interesting to me.
Halloween Feast and Start-of-Term are both discard
recover cards, with the first one likely to be a must for creature heavy decks
especially those using swarm and facing transfiguration tests and exams.
There are a number of discarding cards. Charms Exam is
the poor mans Obliviate that must be used with care, less it actually advantage
your opponent. Might be a great card to followup with a second copy or a real
Obliviate. Missing Parchment and Gone! are very cheap ways of removing spells
and creatures from an opponents had. The former is likely to get allot of
inertest from those always dealing with potion damage and healing decks or
trying to protect creature hordes from transfiguration attacks.
We have two relatively standard damage cards in Rope Bind and Stream of
Flames, but since the former allows card draw and the latter damages a creature
as well, I expect these will be popular.
Chocolate Frogs just made playing Ron a really viable
option. Seeking out a Wizard or Witch (so not Hagrid or Nearly Headless Nick) at
1C cost, means Ron can quickly get in Hermione or Harry or whomever, and get
some cool powers into play. This card and the Sorting Hat make Ron likely to be
competitive even with the character discarding cards that have appeared.
Bravado is just begging to be used in all sorts of combo decks. 5 less
power brings Transfiguration Exam to trash all creatures, Obliviate etc, all in
quickly to surprise and horrify to your opponent.
POTIONS
Out of the potions I think Jaw Bind Potion and Golden
Cauldron interest me most. We get more healing, damage and denial spells in the
rest.
Golden Cauldron will only be used by decks set on playing
the most powerful cards, but the fact you don’t loose the potions when you put
it in, really makes this an interesting choice for decks.
Jaw Bind Potion is a great way to stymie opponents. Sure
the damage is meek, but no spell play next round is just lovely.
Weakness Potion, Bloodroot Poison, Drowsiness Draught,
Potions Class Disaster and Mopsus Potion all have interesting side effects to
their damage but I am hard pressed to say that I would build part of a deck
around them.
Healing comes from a cheap card in Buiswort Balm, but its
Hospital Bed that as expensive as it is, allows you to seek out an elusive
healing card or just the right calibre to save the day. A great thing when Draco
is breathing down your neck and destroying all your potions.
TRANSFIGURATION
Transfiguration has always been a favourite of mine and
it now introduces some really interesting cards.
The Sorting Hat is a must in Character rich decks.
There are more anti-creature cards but several also
include any card. Mice to
Snuffleboxes, Vanish and Petificus Totalus are all anti-creature cards. The
later of these might be a good way of getting a much-needed lesson into play as
well.
Research also might be a good way of getting those
important lesson types missing from the game.
Put-Outer is a nice all round cheap way of getting
temporarily rid of a card that’s upsetting you which means adventures as
well and without needing spells! If you are Draco and have three actions
(Unicorn etc) it could be an great combo to build part of a deck around.
The awesome Diffindo is perhaps the best card of this
release, clearly allowing you to remove Adventure, great beast, Match, annoying
Item etc, alike.
Desk into Pig is an ideal card to be used with cheap
creature Swarm decks. I will have to go back through this little piece and word
search Swarm and put all those cards together.
No Time to Play is the anti-Quidditch card, a good way of
getting rid of brooms, bludgers and Snitches, as well as Matches.
QUIDDITCH
Quidditch looks like it’s all about speed, strategy and
interesting card combinations for bonus damages.
SPEED
Its speed comes from some dedicated cards, but also other
damage cards that have special effects like reducing opponent’s actions or
drawing extra cards. Three of the four Matches also provide Speed. A few Support
Banners could really make a deck fast.
Penalty Shot
5Q - Spell
Draw 3 cards
Strategy Session
3Q - Spell
You may put up to 3 Quidditch Lesson from your hand into
play.
Support Banner
5Q - Item
At the end of your turn, draw a card if you played at
least 1 Spell card that needs Q Power that turn.
STRATEGY
Not only does Quidditch aim for speed but also allows a
better degree of accuracy in getting cards into play that are needed. Searching
for the Snitch is a great card, allowing either lessons in early game play or
exactly the right power card at a later time.
Time Out
1Q - Spell
Look at the top 6 cards of your deck and put them back on top
in any order.
(If there are fewer than 6, look at all of them.)
Searching for the Snitch
2Q - Spell
Search you deck. You may take a quidditch lesson or a
card that needs quidditch power from you deck, show it to your opponent and put
it into your hand. Then shuffle your deck.
Cleansweep Seven
2 Q - Item * Broom
When you play this card, look at the top 4 cards of your
deck and put them back on top in any order. (If there are fewer than 4, look at
all of them.) If you play this card, and you already have a Broom in play,
discard the old one.
Provides: 1 Q
DAMAGE
There are several damage cards, all with conditions or
other effects. One of the best cards is the Nimbus 2000, which works nicely with
all the spells that do damage and also the first item in the game that does
damage, Bludger. This brings up another nice combo with several bludgers doing
significant damage especially with the Nimbus in play although only when a
Match is also in play. Two of the Matches do damage as well.
The damage is better than Charms BUT it’s not against
creatures. This highlights the real weakness of Quidditch its got nothing to
take on creatures. A deck design in the least will need to be combined with good
anti-creature cards.
Out of Control
10Q Spell
Do 6 damage to your opponent. Then your opponent chooses
4 cards in his or her hand and discards them. (If there are fewer than 4 cards
in your opponent’s hand, he or she discards them all.)
Power Play
6Q - Spell
Play this card only if a Match is play. Do 7 damage to your
opponent.
Cobbing
Spell - 7Q
Do 4 damage to your opponent. Then, if your
opponent has any cards in play ,he or she chooses 1 of them and discards it.
Fouled!
4Q - Spell
Do 4 damage to your opponent. During your
opponent’s next turn, he or she gets 1 fewer Action. (If this would mean
your opponent has fewer than 1 Action, he or she still gets 1 Action).
Ouch!
5Q - Spell
Do 5 damage to your opponent. Then, if your opponent has
any cards in his or her hand, he or she chooses 1 of them and discards it.
#64
Pulling Up
4Q - Spell
Do 2 damage to your opponent. Then draw 2 cards.
Bludger
4Q - Item
Before each of your turns, Bludger does 3 damage to your
opponent if a match is in play. (If no match, Bludger does no damage).
Nimbus Two Thousand
7Q - Item-Broom
Provides 1 Quidditch power. Whenever 1 of your Item or
Spell cards that needs Q power does damage, it does 2 more damage. If you play
this card, and you already have a Broom in play, discard the old one.
DEFENSIVE
Quidditch supports two defensive cards, but I personally
don’t think they will be in any decks I make. Either too wimpy or too
expensive unless of course I plan to use them in a combo.
Comet Two Sixty
3Q - Item - broom - provides 1Q
Once during each of your opponent’s turns, you may
prevent 1 damage done to you. If you play this card, and you already have a
Broom in play, discard the old one.
#32
Defence!
10Q - Spell
During your opponent’s next turn, prevent all damage done
to you.
#33
Smash!
2Q - Spell
Choose 1 of your opponent’s Items in plan and discard it.
SPECIAL
The Golden Snitch is a highly expensive and risky card,
providing the first alternative way to end a game without going out. Play this
and Play Defence! if your opponent can’t heal then their done for. Just
another example of a possible combo in this combo rich magic type.
Golden Snitch
11Q Item
At the end of your opponent’s turn, you win the game
unless your opponent has at least 10 more cards in his or her deck than you do.
(If he or she does, your opponent wins the game instead.)
MATCHES
I am pretty happy with Matches. I want to see more, and I
was surprised there were only 4.
The Matches are about speed (Practice, Hufflepuff and
Ravenclaw), bonus damage (Hufflepuff), and the only non-spell, non-potions way
to heal (a chance to heal with 4 Privet Drive in play). Several combos with
Quidditch and other magic types come to mind when I read these. I think they
will be a must in Quidditch using decks.
Ravenclaw Match
1Q - Match
To Win: Do 10 damage to your opponent while this card is
in play. (That damage doesn’t have to be done all at once.)
Prize: The winner searches his or her deck. He or she may
take up to 2 Lesson cards from his or her deck and put them into play. Then that
player shuffles his or her deck.
Slytherin Match,
1Q - Match - Healing
To Win: Do 15 damage to your opponent while this card is
in play (That damage doesn’t have to be done all at once.) Prize: The winner
may shuffle up to 15 non-Healing cards from his or her discard pile into his or
her deck.
Hufflepuff Match
1Q - Match
To Win: Do 8 damage to your opponent while this card is
in play. (That damage doesn’t have to be done all at once.) The winner may
draw 5 cards, the loose takes 5 damage.
Practice Match
1Q - Match
Do Five Damage To Your Opponent While this Card Is in
Play...(You Don’t Have To All At once)
The Winner may Draw 4 Cards.
Catch the Snitch
7Q - Spell