Clockwork Shot vs. Mimic's Strike: Let's Play BattleCon!

Hey kids! This is Kalir, and today we're going to play Battle Connection!

...I guess you probably don't believe me. But part of this update was totally written by him; this LP is brought to you by the power of collaboration!

BattleCon: War of Indines is a card-based sidescrolling fighting board game. Yes, you read that correctly. It's probably best to think of it as a fighting game in which, instead of button inputs and combos, each player instead plays cards, and these cards determine how a round of combat progresses. It's sort of like a turn-based version of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, only less stupid.



Each round, or beat, of a BattleCon match begins with each player selecting two cards: a base card (most of which are shared among all fighters) and a style card (which are all unique to each fighter). The base cards shared among all fighters are as follows:

Shot: Range 1-4 spaces, Power 3, Priority 2. Stun Guard 2.

This move can hit anyone who is anywhere from 1-4 spaces away from the user. It deals 3 damage, unless modified by something, and is (obviously) good for hitting distant targets. The Stun Guard is helpful, as it lets the user counter if they are hit for 2 or 1 points before they attack. Good against Bursts and Grasps, less so against Strikes and Drives.

Strike: Range 1 space, Power 4, Priority 3. Stun Guard 5.

This move can hit adjacent targets. It is a powerful move with high Stun Guard, and as such is good against Drives and (nearby) Shots. However, as it has only middling priority and no additional range, Bursts, distant Shots, and Grasps can often shut it down.

Burst: Range 2-3 spaces, Power 3, Priority 1. Start of beat: Retreat 1 space.

This move enables players to open up distance between themselves and their opponents ("Retreat" means "move away from wherever your opponent is, if possible"). Since the retreat is one of the first things to resolve in a beat, it's excellent for escaping Strikes or Grasps, but due to its low priority, Shots and Drives will typically punish this move.

Drive: Range 1 space, Power 3, Priority 4. Before Activating: Advance 1 or 2 spaces.

A basic move to close the distance to your opponent and attack ("Advance" means "move toward your opponent, if possible"; if you're adjacent to your opponent, you are allowed to move past him or her). Note that it only moves you before activating, so if you are hit first and stunned, you remain still. That said, it's a fast attack, and great for punishing Bursts or Shots, but if you're already close by the opponent, it's generally a poor option.

Grasp: Range 1 space, Power 2, Priority 5. On Hit: Move the opponent 1 space.

A fast but weak move that can move the enemy around, foiling close range attacks like Strikes or Drives completely. Since it's the fastest base most characters have, this is also a good choice if you want to quickly stun the enemy. Due to the low damage and range, though, Bursts and Shots completely foil it.

Dash: No range or power, Priority 9. This attack does not hit or deal damage. After Activating: Move 1, 2, or 3 spaces. If you switch sides with the opponent with this movement, their attack cannot hit you this beat.

Simply enough, a Dash is a completely evasive maneuver. It will outspeed almost any attack in the game by virtue of base priority alone, although it can't hit back, and certain attacks can foil it in one way or another. It's best used if you're anticipating a brutal attack and want to focus on avoiding it over countering.

In addition to the above six bases, each character has a seventh base unique to him- or herself, as well as five unique style cards. All moves consist of exactly one base modified by a style, which typically alters the base's attributes. For instance, consider Hikaru's "Sweeping" style:

Sweeping: Range +0, Power -1, Priority +3.

If you are hit this turn, you take an additional 2 points of damage.

A Sweeping Drive played by Hikaru will have Range 1, Power 2, and Priority 7; will advance him one or two spaces before activating; and will result in him taking 2 extra damage if he is hit during the beat.

After each player has selected their moves, but before they reveal their selections, each beat has an "ante phase", in which most characters may elect to activate special powers they have. What goes on during the ante phase is entirely dependent on which characters are being played; Hikaru, for instance, may choose to discard elemental tokens of his to boost some of the attributes of his attack.

After the ante phase, both players reveal their moves and resolve any Reveal and Start of Beat effects (such as Burst's retreat). Then, the player who used a move with higher priority is declared the attacking player, who activates his or her move, possibly dealing damage to the other player (the defending player, of course). If the attacking player's attack connects and deals damage greater than the Stun Guard of the defending player's move, the defending player is Stunned and may not act! If the defending player is not Stunned, he or she may then retaliate with his or her own move.

With the main action of the beat concluded, all End of Beat effects are resolved and players move the played cards into their first discard pile. The cards that were in the first discard pile are moved into the second discard pile, and those that were in the second discard pile are recovered. In effect, when a card has been played, it cannot be played again for the next two beats.

But what if both players play moves with the same priority? If that happens, a Clash occurs, and both players must select new bases (their styles cannot be changed). Players place their new base cards on top of their old bases, and keep proceeding in this fashion until one of them has greater priority. If a player runs out of base cards before this happens (normally, this means both players run out of base cards at the same time), the beat concludes with no further action. All anted tokens remain lost. The last pair of cards each player plays is discarded, regardless of whether action was allowed to continue.

Each game ends after 15 beats or when one player's starting 20 health is depleted, whichever comes first.

Character Overview:

Basic Characters: These six are probably the easiest characters in the game to pick up, with simple styles and intuitive unique mechanics.

Hikaru: Hikaru is a well-rounded elementalist, who may ante Elemental tokens to amplify his attacks: Fire to increase power, Water to increase range, Air to increase priority, and Earth to gain several points of "Soak" (a property that reduces incoming damage). His unique base is Palm Strike, a move statistically identical to Grasp that restores one Elemental token instead of moving the opponent. His styles grant additional ways to recover tokens, and generally confer above-average priority to his attacks. Hikaru is Epithet's main.

Cadenza: Cadenza is a slow but powerful robot who does not feel pain. It begins the game with three Iron Body tokens, which may be anted for immunity to all Stun effects (or may be played mid-beat to negate Stunning from damage; effects that automatically Stun may not be countered, this way, however). Its styles typically have moderate to severe priority penalties associated with them, but also grant high power boosts; the difficulty involved in Stunning Cadenza makes these rather fearsome. Its unique base is Press, a priority 0 move that becomes more powerful as it takes more damage during the beat. Cadenza is both Tefari's main and Kalir's main.

Kallistar: Kallistar is a fire elemental, who may use her styles to switch between her defensive Human Form and offensive Elemental Form. While she is in Elemental Form, all of Kallistar's moves gain +2 to both power and priority, but as she takes 1 damage during each ante phase, she'll need to prevent opponents from stalling effectively; Elemental Kallistar needs to ensure that her opponents get hurt even more than she does. Her unique base is Spellbolt, a weak but very long-distance attack that can move opponents. Kalir tried to make Kallistar his main, but it didn't work out terribly well.

Magdelina: A battle channeler, who starts the battle as the weakest character in the game, but gains levels over time. One of Magdelina's styles will grant her a level, adding +1 power, priority, and stun guard to every move she performs. To balance this, all of her styles have power and priority penalties, meaning she has to play a very defensive game to start with, but once she hits level 3 or higher, she can fight back harder than many other foes. Her unique base is Blessing, which does no damage, but heals both Magdelina and her opponent on a hit, easing early game survival and helping her draw out the match. Magdelina is Satonakaja's main, as well as Satonakaja's alt.

Vanaah: Vanaah is a scythe-wielding crusader whose attacks tend to have both decent range and high power; it's difficult to escape the range of Vanaah's attacks. During the ante phase, she may ante a Divine Rush token for power and priority bonii; the token follows her cards in the discard pile, and she recovers it when she recovers the cards she anted it with. Her tendency toward statistical superiority is offset somewhat by the need to guess at the priority of her opponents attacks, with some of her styles rendered ineffective upon an incorrect prediction. Her unique base is Scythe, a moderately ranged attack that can reel the opponent in on a successful hit.

Luc: A time-travelling historian and hero. Luc can store energy within a temporal battery over time, gaining one Time token per beat. These can be spent for a number of benefits, ranging from priority boosts, teleports, absorbing damage, and with enough tokens, automatically stunning the foe. His styles have some very powerful but situational and low-range effects, so getting up close and knowing the opponent's range is important. His unique base is Flash, which has higher priority and lower damage than a Grasp, but advances up to 3 spaces and instantly stuns if it does any damage. Luc is Asema's main.


Moderate Characters: These characters are slightly more complex than basic, but can be easily picked up after you've played the game a few times.

Kehrolyn: Kehrolyn is a shapeshifter who may apply two styles at once to each of her attacks: the one she plays in the current beat, as well as the one in her first discard pile. As none of her styles have any downsides, this makes her one of the statistically strongest characters in the game; as part of her move is known to her opponent even before the beat begins, it also makes her one of the most predictable. Her unique base is Overload, which always loses clashes but enables her to apply a third style to her move. Kehrolyn is Epithet's alt.

Zaamassal: A planestalker driven mad from wandering. Zaamassal combines versatile styles with the ability to assume paradigms, which grant additional benefits to each attack, such as movement, long range attack/defense, damage absorption, or blocking enemy movement. However, these paradigms require concentration, so they are lost if he is stunned. This makes momentum and prediction, as well as an ability to keep track of several benefits at once, important when playing as him. His unique base is Paradigm Shift, which lets him instantly take on a paradigm as well as attack at medium range. Zaamassal is Kalir's alt.

Demitras: A vampire who gains strength by landing blows on his opponents. Demitras emphasizes momentum: each hit he lands grants him one Crescendo token (up to a maximum of 5), and for each token he has in his possession after the ante phase, his move gains +1 priority. Additionally, Demitras can ante tokens for +2 power each, forfeiting the priority boosts associated with them. The tokens can make him the fastest character in the game, but as his styles all inflict power penalties, he'll have extreme difficulty damaging and stunning the enemy if he keeps them all, and being hit means losing a token. His unique base is Deathblow, a weak but high-priority move that enables him to fuel his damage output with his tokens without the need to ante. Demitras is elementalpenguin's main.

Heketch: A demon formerly employed as an assassin. Heketch's defining trait is his Dark Force token, which normally grants a +3 priority boost and a teleport next to the enemy, but can also be used with some styles to deliver deadly melee blows. However, his attacks, while reasonably quick, are also slightly weaker, and he has to retreat far enough from the enemy to recover the Dark Force token. Mobility is key to Heketch more so than a lot of characters, both in approaching without spending Dark Force, and retreating to recover it. His unique base is Knives, which has high power and priority and 1~2 range, but does not stun at close range.

Hepzibah: A healer who has more interest in power and evil magic. The only stat benefit her styles afford is range, but she possesses a wide array of Dark Pact tokens which she recovers each beat. Anteing these tokens costs 1 life apiece, meaning she has to ensure that she does not overspend and makes each hit count. Aside from the varied token effects which boost all kinds of stats, she also has a number of side benefits to her styles, including healing, destroying tokens, and mitigating or improving the effects of her tokens. Her unique base is Bloodlight, a weak ranged attack that undoes the drain from her Dark Pacts that beat on a hit.

Rukyuk: A mercenary who uses a variety of guns and ammunition in battle, Rukyuk emphasizes long-range combat. In fact, he has considerable difficulty engaging foes at point-blank range, with many of his styles unable to hit enemies at short distances. Each turn, Rukyuk must spend an Ammo token in order for an attack to connect; these tokens each modify his attack in various ways, such as boosting power or inflicting knockback. His unique base is Reload, which deals no damage but restores all Ammo tokens and enables Rukyuk to teleport to any unoccupied position on the board. Rukyuk is dtsund's alt.


Advanced Characters: These characters rely on complex mechanics to play. Do not play as or against them until you're very comfortable with the game.

Khadath: A prince-turned-scholar with an impressive command of planar magic. Khadath may set a Gate Trap on the field, which hinders the movement and priority of enemies and can be used to attack as well. Aside from this, Khadath possesses excellent range and good movement abilities, but his other stats are average at best. Playing Khadath well involves using the Gate Trap to keep the opponent in a place they don't want to be while you avoid their attacks and whittle down their health. His unique base is Snare, which is an unstoppable attack that only hits the area affected by his Gate Trap.

Lixis: A dryad who specializes in debilitating alchemical weaponry. Lixis' attacks tend to be slow and close range, but upon each successful hit, she forces her opponents to discard one additional base, reducing their strategic options. Her styles additionally tend to block beneficial effects opponents might otherwise derive from their styles or special abilities. Her unique base is Lance, an attack with range exactly 2 that prevents enemies from moving adjacent to her in the current beat. Lixis is Zerosc2's main.

Seth: A seer who gains power by predicting the future. During the ante phase, Seth may attempt to guess at which base his opponent played; if successful, his Beyond Eyes ability triggers, granting +2 power and +2 priority. Most of his styles are statistically lackluster, but have special properties that, in the right circumstances, can ruin an opponent's plans; they might serve to reduce an opponent's range or mimic movement. His unique base is Omen, a low-priority attack which automatically stuns his opponent at the start of the beat if Beyond Eyes is active. Seth is dtsund's main.

Tatsumi: A water mystic who fights alongside her panda familiar, Juto. Tatsumi has low power, but can work with Juto and gain benefits depending on his position on the field, with Juto either taking hits for her or boosting her attacks in some way. Among her strengths are long range and movement effects: few characters can manipulate movement as effectively as Tatsumi can, letting her easily foil attacks with holes in their range. Her unique base is Whirlpool, which isn't very strong, but can move her opponent, Juto, and herself all in one go.

Sagas: A doppelganger from a dying dimension of cosplayers. No, that's not hyperbole. While he has a number of attacks with special tricks like keeping enemies at a distance or forcing stuns, his real trick is his ability to duplicate the abilities of his enemies, either with his Echo style or his Mirror token. If handled right, he can use the strengths of his opponents against them to devastating effect, but recovering his Mirror token involves copying a base in the opponent's discards, leading to predictability. His unique base is Staff, which combines stun guard, range, and a push effect, but does not stun at melee range. He can also use it to duplicate the unique base of his opponent.

Cherri: A blind girl, brought back from the brink of death by Hepzibah. Her experience on the other side has left her with the ability to psychically cripple her opponents, forcing clashes with them and inflicting slight damage each time a clash continues. She may ante her Insight token to force a clash at any time (regaining it whenever she takes at least 3 damage at once), and her styles facilitate the occurrence of clashes by various means. Her unique base is Stare, a ranged attack whose priority is equal to the priority of the opponent's base and which restores her Insight token on a successful hit. Cherri is Zerosc2's alt.

"Okay, but when the hell are you actually gonna show us the game?"

GLAD YOU ASKED.

Here's the plan: we're going to host a round robin tourney of sorts here. If you're interested, you're free to sign up, and will be free to do battle with a bunch of us chumps. Don't let a lack of experience deter you; we'll be sure to pit beginners against beginners at the, uh, beginning. And if you aren't interested, hey, we've got our own fighters that will be having fun with their own matches, and all you have to do is watch.

In fact, how about we show you a match right now.

Vanaah vs. Kallistar

Before we get started here, let's take a look at the characters' traits in detail (for the broad overview, see above):

Vanaah:
Ability: Divine Rush. Ante for +2 power, +2 priority; token follows the attack pair through the discard piles.

Unique base:
Scythe: Range 1-2, Power 3, Priority 3. Stun Guard 3.

Before Activating: Advance 1 space. On Hit: Pull an opponent up to 1 space.

Styles:
Reaping: Range +0~1, Power +0, Priority +1

On Hit: If the opponent has any tokens, they must choose and discard one. If they cannot, regain your Divine Rush token.

Judgment: Range +0~1, Power +1, Priority -1

Reveal: An opponent within range of this attack cannot move outside the range of this attack during this beat.

Glorious: Range +0, Power +2, Priority +0

If you have lower priority than an opponent, this attack does not hit them or deal damage.
Before Activating: Advance up to 1 space.

Paladin: Range +0~1, Power +1, Priority -2

End of Beat: Move directly to any space adjacent to an opponent.

Vengeance: Range +0, Power +2, Priority +0

Stun Guard 4, If you have higher priority than an opponent, this attack does not hit or deal damage.

Kallistar:
Ability: Elemental Form. Kallistar starts a duel in Human Form, but may change to Elemental Form during the duel, gaining +2 power and priority on all attacks and changing style effects, but losing 1 life in the ante phase.

Unique base:
Spellbolt: Range 2~6, Power 2, Priority 2

On Hit: Move the opponent 1 or 2 spaces.

Styles:
Flare: Range +0, Power +3, Priority +0

Start of Beat, Human Form: Kallistar loses 2 life.
End of Beat, Elemental Form: Kallistar returns to Human form.

Caustic: Range +0, Power +1, Priority -1

Human Form: Soak 2
On Hit, Elemental Form: The opponent is stunned.

Blazing: Range +0, Power +0, Priority +1

Elemental Form: This attack has +0~1 Range.
After Activating, Human Form: Move Kallistar 1 or 2 spaces.

Volcanic: Range +2~4, Power +0, Priority +0

On Hit, Elemental Form: The opponent has -2 priority next beat.
End of Beat, Human Form: Move directly to any unoccupied space.

Ignition: Range +0, Power +1, Priority -1

Reveal, Elemental Form: This attack has +3 power, and Kallistar loses 3 life.
End of Beat, Human Form: Kallistar enters Elemental Form.

Each player will be providing commentary on the current situation and the reasoning behind their moves. This commentary was written privately; Kalir and dtsund didn't get to see each other's writing until after the match concluded.



(Every character starts with both discard piles occupied. By default, the first discard pile contains a character's red style and Dash, while their second discard contains their green style and Grasp. In general, the default initial discards are moves and styles you usually wouldn't want to play early anyway.)


Pregame



Beat 1: Ignition Shot vs. Glorious Scythe (Divine Rush)


<dtsund> I will ante Divine Rush.
<Kalir> i fear for my safety
<dtsund> Glorious Scythe
<Kalir> Ignition Shot.
<dtsund> So... you take 7?

dtsund advances two spaces (one from Glorious, one from Scythe) and hits Kalir for 7 damage, stunning him.

<Kalir> dtsund: i like how i remembered glorious scythe could advance that far
<Kalir> So where do we go then?
<dtsund> I'll leave you where you are.

dtsund elects not to drag Kalir in, as Scythe would let him.
Kalir, being stunned, does not get to use his Ignition Shot.
Kalir assumes Elemental form (End of Beat effects happen even when stunned).




<Kalir> why am I so bad at Kallistar

**************************************************

<Kalir> dtsund: i am writing my deliberations on my moves
<Kalir> as well as my self-loathing for forgetting obvious things
<dtsund> Same here
<Kalir> but hey, we all expected me to lose anyway


Beat 2: Caustic Spellbolt vs. Paladin Burst


<dtsund> Paladin Burst
<Kalir> Caustic Spellbolt.
<dtsund> ...piss.
<dtsund> That... was not a move I ever expected.
<Epithreat> hahaha
<Kalir> Good, because I was sure it'd fail.
<Epithreat> OUTPLAYED
<Epithreat> I guess spoolbolt is more useful in elemental form.
<Kalir> I was expecting you either to Judgment Burst or try to Vengeance me in the face.

Kalir loses one life at the start of the beat from being in Elemental form.



dtsund moves back one space from Burst.



Kalir hits dtsund with Spellbolt for 5 damage, stunning him, and drags him in two spaces.

<Kalir> Anyhow, that's 5 damage back, an autostun, and I move you... haha who the fuck cares you get an end of beat teleport. I move you right next to me for simplicity.
<Epithreat> like that move was the sort of thing that would only work on that one other move.
<Epithreat> godspeed
<dtsund> I thought you'd be expecting like Judgment Strike or something
<dtsund> And what I was *actually* afraid of was Drive.

dtsund, being stunned, does not get to use his Paladin Burst.
dtsund teleports to the other side of Kalir because of the Paladin style.

<dtsund> I'll move to the other side of you.
<Kalir> oh I wonder why




**************************************************


Beat 3: Flare Burst vs. Vengeance Dash


<dtsund> Vengeance Dash
<Kalir> Flare Burst.
<dtsund> This amuses me.
<dtsund> I am amused.
<Kalir> This is about what I predicted on both sides.
<Kalir> But I'm okay with that, honestly.
<Epithreat> so you just wanted to get out of burning anime spirit form?
<dtsund> I expected a Flare Grasp
<dtsund> Flare Burst can't get out of Judgment
<Kalir> (I didn't have a way of stopping a dash, so I figured I'd punish you if you didn't)
<Kalir> (and was expecting you to do a Vengeance attack of some kind)
<dtsund> Kalir: I am very capable of outprioritizing Flare Burst and stunning you
<Kalir> yes I know this
<Kalir> but Vengeance scared me more
<dtsund> Oh, wait, you said vengeance.
<dtsund> Well, you were half right
<Kalir> I was more expecting a Dash but frankly didn't care

Kalir loses one life at the start of the beat from being in Elemental form.



Kalir moves one space back from dtsund due to his Burst move.



dtsund uses his Dash to move three spaces to the right.
Kalir's attack misses dtsund, because dtsund Dashed past him.
Kalir assumes Human form.




**************************************************


Beat 4: Volcanic Dash vs. Glorious Grasp


<dtsund> No ante
<Kalir> not big surprise
<dtsund> Glorious Grasp
<Kalir> Volcanic Dash.
<dtsund> Huh, Volcanic? I'd have expected Ignition from you.
<Epithreat> I'M BURNIN UP
<Kalir> dtsund: A fair expectation, but in human form, Volcanic offers an end of beat telprot.
<dtsund> Where to?
<Kalir> Which is really fucking valuable here.
<Kalir> I'm dashing to one space behind you.



Kalir Dashes two spaces to the left, moving to the other side of dtsund.

<dtsund> Aight
<dtsund> I'll stay where I am
<Kalir> Then I teleport to over here.

dtsund's attack misses Kalir, because Kalir Dashed past him.
Kalir uses the End of Beat teleport from the Volcanic style to, uh, teleport.




**************************************************


Beat 5: Blazing Spellbolt vs. Judgment Scythe


<dtsund> Judgment Scythe
<Kalir> Blazing Spellbolt.
<dtsund> Hrm.
<Kalir> in which Kallistar rapidly learns the value of Spellbolt
<dtsund> I was expecting Caustic to try to ride out the token.
<Kalir> yeah, I couldn't actually stop a token attack that turn
<Kalir> so I hedged my bets against alternate attacks
<dtsund> I am seriously overthinking things too much
<dtsund> At least I only take two damage



Kalir deals 2 damage to dtsund, failing to break his Stun Guard, and moves him back two spaces.
Kalir moves back one space.

<Kalir> But I move you away, which gets me free of the effect of Judgment!
<dtsund> You weren't in the effect of Judgment anyway!
<Kalir> oh right :>
<Kalir> You do still get the advance from Scythe, since that didn't stun you.
<dtsund> Oh, Scythe has Stun Guard
<dtsund> How did I not notice that
<Kalir> Yeah, it's basically a Strike that trades damage and high Stun Guard for better range and advancing.
<dtsund> So... not actually that much like a Strike
<Kalir> it's a Strike-Drive
<Kalir> and Spellbolt is a Shot-Grasp
<Epithreat> Scythe has a little bit of everything.
<dtsund> I'm kind of curious as to why you moved me to where you can't actually hit me, mind

dtsund uses Scythe to advance one space. His attack misses Kalir, because Kalir is out of its range.




**************************************************


Beat 6: Caustic Shot vs. Paladin Shot (Divine Rush)


<dtsund> I'll toss in my Divine Rush because seriously I need to actually use it
<Kalir> yeah no kidding
<dtsund> Paladin Shot
<Kalir> Caustic Shot.
<dtsund> You take four damage.
<Kalir> and no one is surprised

dtsund shoots Kalir for 4 damage, stunning him.
Kalir, being stunned, does not get to use his Caustic Shot (though dtsund was within its range anyway).
At the end of the beat, dtsund teleports to the immediate left of Kalir using the Paladin style.




**************************************************


Beat 7: Ignition Dash vs. Reaping Strike


<dtsund> Reaping Strike
<Kalir> Ignition Dash
<dtsund> oh hey, exactly what I was expecting
<dtsund> for once
<Kalir> :>
<dtsund> Where to?
<Epithreat> GOFAST

Kalir Dashes three spaces to the right.
dtsund's attack misses, because Kalir Dashed past him.
Kalir assumes Elemental form.

<Kalir> over there
<Kalir> i like being distant from you
<dtsund> Now you are elemental form and all is right with the world
<Kalir> hang on, you prefer fighting elemental kallistar?
<Kalir> you're a weird
<Epithreat> stun guard, yo
<dtsund> No, what I'm saying is
<dtsund> It is very much unlike you to spend that much time as a human




**************************************************

Beat 8: Volcanic Grasp vs. Vengeance Scythe


<dtsund> Vengeance Scythe
<Kalir> Volcanic Grasp.
<dtsund> Hrm. You actually push me out of range.
<Kalir> Yes I do.
<Kalir> In fact, I think the only non-Dash that could foil that would be a Vengeance Burst.
<dtsund> OH WELL.
<dtsund> I... wasn't really expecting that move.

Kalir loses one life at the start of the beat from being in Elemental form.



Kalir hits dtsund for 4 damage, failing to break his Stun Guard, and pushes him one space away. On the next beat, dtsund will have -2 priority, due to the effects of the Volcanic style.

dtsund advances one space with Scythe.


<Kalir> And now you're at -2 priority this beat.
<Epithreat> that's a cool powah




**************************************************


Beat 9: Blazing Drive vs. Glorious Dash (Divine Rush)


<dtsund> I will use Divine Rush
<Kalir> oh man!
<dtsund> Glorious Dash
<Kalir> Blazing Drive.
<dtsund> I knew you would be doing that
<dtsund> Because that clashes with a Dash
<dtsund> And I would be in severe pain after the clash
<Kalir> I'm okay with this, because I made you blow a Divine Rush token on a Dash.

Kalir loses one life at the start of the beat from being in Elemental form.



dtsund Dashes three spaces to the right, moving to the other side of Kalir.

Kalir advances with Drive. His attack misses dtsund, however, because dtsund Dashed to the other side of him.

<dtsund> That move was either brilliant or exceptionally stupid
<Kalir> well you didn't get hit
<Kalir> and not getting hit by elemental kallistar is a good thing
<Kalir> man, even though that first move was hella stupid I am liking this match a lot




**************************************************


Beat 10: Flare Shot vs. Reaping Strike

As Flare Shot (in Elemental form) and Reaping Strike have the same priority (4), a clash occurs.

<Kalir> down to 4 health!
<dtsund> Reaping Strike
<Kalir> Flare Shot.
<dtsund> *clash*
<dtsund> I played that move *exactly* because I expected Flare Shot and really didn't want to be hit by it
<Kalir> A Reaping Drive would've stopped it without the Clash, y'know.
<Zerosc2> Owing to the what? 8 damage?
<dtsund> ... oh yeah.
<Zerosc2> Wow...
<dtsund> My mental calculations involved a +0 style, then I noticed that I didn't have any of those available
<dtsund> My initial thought was to outprioritize it with Grasp, but Grasp doesn't break stun block
<dtsund> So I kind of just nudged everything over by one priority point
<dtsund> OH WELL
<Kalir> Right. I didn't expect you to think of a Drive though: at this range, Drives kinda suck.
*dtsund is speaking gibberish at this point
<Zerosc2> I've totally used Drives at melee range for priority.
<dtsund> Same here.
<Zerosc2> That's what you need sometimes.
<Kalir> Oh sure, but they're not a very good option for it. Grasp is usually better for that.
<Kalir> (not always)
<Zerosc2> As dtsund said.
<Zerosc2> Grasp can't break Stun Guard.
<Zerosc2> Usually.
<Zerosc2> Which often defeats the purpose of going first.
<Zerosc2> Though not always.
<dtsund> It's good that we have a clash, though
<dtsund> It being a demonstration game, and all
<Kalir> Yeah. Plus, this is a fun clash.
<Zerosc2> dtsund: I think the first time Tefari clashed was his game against me playing Cherri.
<Zerosc2> Not a good situation to be in.
<dtsund> Well, yes, but Tefari plays Cadenza
<dtsund> Cadenza doesn't clash, he just goes second
<dtsund> (usually)
<Kalir> Cherri makes Cadenza clash. Very easily, in fact.
<Zerosc2> Oh yes.
<dtsund> Well, yes.
<Zerosc2> Slow characters are great to play against as Cherri.
<dtsund> But against most characters, Cadenza just goes second.
<dtsund> I've got my second move
<Zerosc2> Reaping is plus one priority, right?
<Kalir> Zerosc2: Yes.
<dtsund> Wait, hm
*dtsund reconsiders
<Kalir> dtsund: wine in front of me, am I right
<dtsund> I know right

**************************************************


Beat 10, Part 2: Flare Strike vs. Reaping Grasp


<dtsund> Alright.
<dtsund> Ready?
<Kalir> Ready indeed.
<dtsund> Grasp
<Kalir> Flare Strike.
<dtsund> DEAD.
<Kalir> THAT'S RIGHT
<Kalir> I WENT FOR IT
<Zerosc2> ...
<Zerosc2> did that...
<Zerosc2> Just happen?
<dtsund> Yes, it hit for 9 damage.
<Zerosc2> Why did you even leave that open?
<Kalir> He hit me first for 2, but yeah.
<Epithreat> INTENSE
<Epithreat> holy shit, did a Flare Strike just hit?
<Kalir> Zerosc2: Because WIFOM.
<Zerosc2> Yes.
<Epithreat> ULTRA FINISH
<dtsund> It was that or Burst, and potentially eat 8. It was a WIFOM situation.
<Zerosc2> I would've gone for Burst just to be sure I wasn't getting instant killed.
<Zerosc2> Probably anyway.
<dtsund> KALIR WINS AS KALLISTAR
<Kalir> If he did that, I could Burst or Spellbolt him and hit back.
<Zerosc2> At any rate.
<Epithreat> VICTOLY
<Zerosc2> That definately show cases Kallistar's merrit.
<Kalir> dtsund: That was a hell of a match, and not just for a tutorial.
<Epithreat> intense duel
<Asema> luc gambit
<dtsund> I was kind of hoping to win with my first time piloting a character
<dtsund> Since that hasn't happened yet
<Zerosc2> You were pretty close.
<Zerosc2> 9 damage.
<Zerosc2> That
<Zerosc2> 's crazy.
<Kalir> dtsund: fun fact: reaping drive would clash with a strike
<Epithreat> isn't that more or less the most damaging attack in the game?
<Zerosc2> Pretty close.
<dtsund> Aw, hell.
<Zerosc2> Demitras can top it.
<Kalir> Epithreat: Kallistar can do more with Ignition Strike. Demitras can do even more.
<Zerosc2> With a 5 token Strike.
<dtsund> Should've hedged.
<Kalir> But nobody likes Demitras.
<Kalir> NOBODY.
<Epithreat> ooh yeah, ignition strike
<Zerosc2> He'd get...13 max.

Kalir loses one life at the start of the beat from being in Elemental form.
dtsund hits Kalir for 2 damage, failing to break Kalir's Stun Guard. He regains his Divine Rush token.
Kalir hits dtsund for 9 damage and a KO.




And there you have it. All that remain are a few questions:

Who'd like to guest star in a few updates in this LP? Don't be shy; we'd really like to get some new blood, and we'll make sure to help ease new players into the game.

And, more immediately, who do you want to see in action? The next one or two updates will probably be experienced players showing off some of the other characters, and we want to know who you want to see!

holy shit best topic title~

I still wanna be the robit.

I submit that you're only saying that because you know who'd come out ahead in that exchange!

I will be happy to teach you all the proper ways to get beaten down brutally!

I want in.

This is a fun thread to watch. (And anything hosted by dtsund+Kalir is something I'm potentially going to be interested in, given that Kalir has some of the best taste in videogames ever and dtsund likes most of the same games I do.)

I've been considering a "linear TBS" along similar lines to this game. Seeing the same concept as a fighting game makes a lot of sense (although obviously, the rules have to be more complex due to having fewer characters), and I'm curious to see what people will get up to. (It also oddly reminds me of competitive Pokémon, in a way, with the WIFOM at the end; that sort of situation happens on over half the turns in some games in Pokémon.)

This game seems complicated. And I'm terrible at fighting games.

But I believe I want to give this game a try. I'll have to think about it a bit.

You have no idea how much WIFOM goes on in these games. No idea.

I don't know what you're talking about.

Especially when Seth is involved!

*whistles innocently*

I suddenly know that I must play this game.

Battlecon is a great game and I'm happy Kalir introduced me to it! You should all play it. Hopefully one of my matches makes it in.

Since we kinda forgot to put it in the first post and I can't edit it:

The homepage for the game.

Normally, it exists only in meatspace card form and iOS form, but the setup we've got is more ideal for the LP. I'll also work on getting together something for those of you who want to join in, probably an IRC room.

A Battlecon exclusive matchmaking irc? Oh boy!

Also, either I really don't understand how mains and alts work, or this is a typo:

All you need is magical girls

Is Satomobile based joke.

Okay, so now that you've seen a fight in action, let's make this whole bit a little easier for you to join in.

First, instructions. If you're interested in playing, we've cooked up an IRC channel for playing: ##battlecon, on Esper.net. If you aren't familiar with IRC, you'll need a client: Bongo's thread on joining IRC channels should be a passable tutorial in that regard. If that doesn't work, then PM me or dtsund and we'll see about working an alternate method for you to join in.

Second, the characters. The first post had a bit of an intro to them, but I'll make it a bit easier to understand. This post will focus on the six basic difficulty characters, providing info on their playstyles, mechanics, and even backstory, if it exists.

Hikaru Sorayama



"Motion, Power, Clarity, Purpose--to fight is to experience the thrill of living!"

Hikaru Sorayama is a geomancer! He studied at the Argent University, Indines' most renowned college for magic and science, and is skilled both at unarmed combat and the ability to utilize the elements. Though kind of a "leap before you look" guy, he's always trying to do the right thing. He's good friends with Khadath, studied with Kallistar, and learned a lot of what he knows from Luc.

Unique Mechanic: Geomantic Assault. He's got four tokens: Fire (Power +3), Water (Range -1~+1), Wind (Priority +2), and Earth (Soak 3, i.e. damage reduction), and may ante one of these tokens per attack. Without them, he's an unremarkable, if speedy, fighter, but with them, he's a very literal force of nature.
Strengths: Hikaru has a level of versatility that few characters can equal, but that's not to say he's a jack of all trades, master of none. Getting 3 Soak or +3 power on any attack he wants is a truly terrifying power in the right hands, and Hikaru's high speed and easy ability to advance lets him spend those tokens with ease.
Weaknesses: Without his tokens, Hikaru doesn't have a lot going for him, especially range-wise. Most importantly, if he lacks his Water token, only one style gives him a range bonus, and all his other token recovery methods are dependent on hitting, so well-timed Bursts can keep him low on resources, and as a result, a far more manageable threat.
If He Was Another Fighting Game Character: Ken (Street Fighter). Not just for his ease of use, but come on. Look at the guy.

Cadenza



"The Cadenza model is Willat's most powerful soldier--it fights without hesitation, pain, or remorse--a perfect engine of destruction!"

Cadenza is a mass-produced, high-tech clockwork soldier in the service of Willat. The one you see in BattleCON is said to be directly controlled by Magister Bors Vilner, the leader of Willat who hasn't been seen in public in 50 years. Cadenza's current mission is to capture the fugitives Kehrolyn and Lixis, and it is very well equipped to do so.

Unique Mechanic: Iron Body. Cadenza starts with three such tokens, and can either ante one before attacking for Stun Immunity, or spend one upon taking damage for infinite Stun Guard. The distinction is important: some characters, like Kallistar and Luc, have auto-stun mechanics, which Stun Immunity will stop, but infinite Stun Guard will not.
Strengths: Cadenza is ludicrously powerful and resilient, perhaps more consistently so than any other character in the game. Only one of his styles lacks a power bonus. Aside from that, his unique base of Press is an almost unbeatable melee move, and Cadenza has very good abilities to get to melee range and keep its opponent there.
Weaknesses: With such massive power, Cadenza comes with massive drawbacks, most notably in the areas of priority and range. Outside of a few edge cases, Cadenza will almost always go second, and the options it has outside of melee range are very few. This, coupled with an inability to negate movement effects, means that when fighting Cadenza, your top priority is keeping it away from you.
If It Was Another Fighting Game Character: Zangief (Street Fighter). Giant arm blades are quite different from bear-defeating wrestling, but hey.

Kallistar Flarechild



"Fire within, consume my heart, that I might destroy those who stand in my way!"

Kallistar is a half-elemental, who trained at Argent University alongside Khadath and Hikaru for the sole purpose of bettering her destructive power. Her studies have paid off, and she can transform herself into a living inferno. At present, she travels with Magdelina and Vanaah, aiding them in their mission. She loves a good fight and hates a boring one.

Unique Mechanic: Elemental Form. Kallistar alternates between two forms: a defensive and evasive human form, and a powerful Elemental Form, which gives +2 power and priority as long as it's active, but also drains 1 life during the ante phase. Her styles also change effects depending on her form.
Strengths: The most obvious advantage Kallistar has is the pure power Elemental Form, and in particular the Flare style, offer, letting her pull off devastating hits that can easily drop a foe in as few as three hits. One other strength is her range: at any given time, Kallistar has an easy choice for attacking at ranges of 3 and beyond. Don't discount the mobility and defense of the human form, either.
Weaknesses: Maintaining elemental form comes at a life cost each turn. This means that opponents who want to fight Kallistar can often do so by simply avoiding attacks while she's in elemental form, wearing her out. Further, she's a very predictable character, since each mode plays in a very different way, and not changing forms often limits her options sharply.
If She Was Another Fighting Game Character: Pichu (Smash Bros). No, you may not have a pet Kallistar.

Magdelina Larington



"Solar Saint, let your light shine through me, that I might deliver Justice by your sword!"

Magdelina is a battle channeler, given the holy mission to prevent the resurrection of the Dark Overlord Rexan, who formerly led a bloody campaign against the rest of Indines in the Centennial Wars. Magdelina can channel the spirit of her ancestor, the Solar Saint Avenlia, one of the four heroes who slew Rexan and stopped his plans. Among her allies are Kallistar and Vanaah.

Unique Mechanic: Divine Conduit. While her stats are initially poor, over time Magdelina can gain levels, each contributing +1 power, priority, and Stun Guard to all of her attacks. She starts at level 0, but by the end of the match, she can be as devastatingly strong as level 5.
Strengths: With enough levels under her belt, Magdelina can outpower and outspeed almost any other character in the game in terrifying fashion. Before she has that strength, she has excellent stalling tools, including one of the most reliable healing methods in the game, and the only ability in the game that can cap the damage she takes from a given attack.
Weaknesses: All of Magdelina's styles come with power and priority penalties, so at low levels she is an extremely easy opponent to fight. Fast matches are Magdelina's #1 threat. A second, less expected threat, is the time in the match. Take too long to level up and make up the health difference between you and your foe, and you may hit the 15 beat limit before their health drops past yours.
If She Was Another Fighting Game Character: Goku (DBZ Budokai). Among our group, she's referred to as the DBZ Touhou, for obvious reasons.

Vanaah Kalmor



"By the goddess' will, I will purge this world of darkness, no matter the depths I must delve."

Vanaah is a paladin from the desert theocracy of Sanghalim. She accompanies Magdelina and Kallistar on their journey to stop the resurrection of the Dark Overlord Rexan, under the orders of Seth Cremmul. As a follower of the goddess of life and water, Sanghalia, Vanaah sees herself as a purifying element, charged with eliminating only the parts of the world that cannot be saved.

Unique Mechanic: Divine Rush. Vanaah's Divine Rush token can be anted for +2 power and priority to any attack, making ordinary attacks a major threat, and heavy hits all but unstoppable.
Strengths: Vanaah combines decent power, fast movement, easy Stun Guard, and above-average range, letting her hit mid-range foes with ease. In fact, she fights best at range 2. She also has styles that reward her for guessing an opponent's priority (high or low) with a heavy punishing attack. On top of that, Divine Rush forces opponents to stay on their toes, lest they risk losing a quarter of their life in one shot.
Weaknesses: Despite her mobility, Vanaah isn't actually very fast outside of Divine Rush, with most styles having a priority penalty. Additionally, while she has good mid-range capability, dedicated close-range fighters can outpower her with relative ease. Finally, foiling her priority guesses forces her to miss, which can be a terrible downside for her.
If She Was Another Fighting Game Character: Cassandra (Soul Calibur). Note that I don't actually remember much about Cassandra at all.

Luc Von Gott



"Every age needs a hero. Perhaps I could be of use to this one too."

Luc Von Gott is the royal historian at Jeffreys, Magdelina's homeland. He's been working the job longer than anyone can recall, and for good reason: he's actually one of the four heroes who stopped the Dark Overlord Rexan. Expecting his threat to come up in the future, he used his machines to travel forward to the present day to prepare the new generation of heroes. Among his students: Hikaru and Khadath.

Unique Mechanic: Temporal Battery. At the end of each beat, Luc gains a Time token. In addition to many of his styles using them, he can also ante them. Anteing one gives +2 priority, three gives a teleport, and the maximum of 5 lets him stun the opponent before they even reveal.
Strengths: Luc has both high priority and mobility, letting him get up close and stay there easily. Once there, he has a number of tricks to foil the opponent, all while building up Time tokens each turn to fuel a chain of powerful effects. Predicting Luc's actions can be extremely difficult, for this reason.
Weaknesses: While Luc has a number of powerful effects, they're also very situational effects in many cases, which does something to make him a bit easier to predict. Forcing him to spend Time tokens to keep up with a faster or stronger character prevents him from using them for deadlier effects. Without them, he's actually relatively weak, and lacks much in the way of damage output.
If He Was Another Fighting Game Character: Dio Brando (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure). No knives, but he can stop time. Reports that he has been building a steamroller in his lab have yet to be confirmed.

What are you using to actually play the game? I see that there's a Vassal module available for the game, but I don't think you're using that.

I kind of want to throw together my own online client for this.

So hey this looks really cool and I'm going to be in on this asap.

We've rigged up a Google Doc for it. Simulates the board in a gloriously ghetto fashion, and stores all the character data to boot.

How do you deal with the simultaneous reveal? Honor system?

Yep.

Antes are turn-based, though. I'm not sure what the rule is for the first-beat ante, because usually nobody cares at that point, but on all subsequent beats the person who had higher priority last time does his ante-phase action first (whether it's a token ante or something like Seth's prediction).

First-beat ante is determined randomly... I think it's in the FAQs or something. (I have been reading things)

Didn't we sorta come to the conclusion that wasn't the case? Like there was no way to force someone to ante first? I thought we switched over to a simultaneous ante reveal in cases where both players would benefit from anteing second, like Hepzibah using her Soak token in response to Hikaru's Fire token. I mean I like the idea of giving the person with lower priority who likely got hit a chance to recover a little by being able to respond to antes better but I just thought we as a player base came to a different conclusion.

These were pretty much my exact thoughts, for what it's worth.

Am I reading this right that a clash is resolved by playing bases until someone gets priority, at which point both bases then resolve as normal? What about start and end of beat effects?

Priority resolution (including any clashes) happens before Start of Beat effects but after Reveal effects. Only the base that ends up going through gets any of its effects executed. I don't think there are any bases with Reveal effects, so.

EDIT: the only base with a Reveal effect is Sagas' Staff, which turns into the opponent's unique base if used on a turn where you ante his token. So if it turns into, say, a Spellbolt and you clash and replace it with another base then its reveal effect becomes irrelevant.

An online client for this would be great, solve the honor system problem as well. This seems like a game where something taking care of all the math-y portions could make it a bit more fun.

When I started playing I kinda assumed that we had an IRC bot that could be PM'd moves and then spit them out once it got a prompt to reveal. Something like that would be cool, and probably not too difficult for someone with programming experience to slap together.

In my experience the honor system problem isn't too big a deal so long as you're careful to reveal simultaneously. That is, unless one of the current players is a crazy fast typer or something.