MikePustilnik wrote:
Here is a thought experiment: Suppose you just levelled up for the first time, and there are two choices in the AA offer: Ritual Attack, and Ritual Attack*. Ritual Attack* is exactly like Ritual Attack, except the card that would be thrown away is discarded instead. Which would you choose?
I would probably choose Ritual Attack* even though I think trashing cards is often an advantage. The reason I would prefer Ritual Attack* is that you can more easily choose the specific color of card you need, without worrying about throwing out something important.
If we have the same choice for Maximal Effect vs. Maximal Effect*, I would choose Maximal Effect*. Again though, it's not because I dislike trashing cards. It's because Maximal Effect* would allow me to double of triple my *best* cards without worrying about losing those cards. Part of what is so interesting about Maximal Effect is the choice between using it on a weak card that you don't mind losing, vs. using it on one of your best cards to generate a super-powerful turn.
The power level of Ritual Attack seems to me to be about equal to most of the advanced actions. What makes Maximal Effect so awesome is that you can pair it with different cards to generate almost any effect. It's almost always immensely useful, no matter what you're doing at the time. Ritual Attack is only useful during combat ... just like most of the combat cards, including the green and white cards here that everyone is raving about....