Newest Cast Member and Deck Considerations

Let's all welcome our newest cast member here at TPK (Copyright 2014, Blackleaf Games), R00d!

*applause, applause*

Deck/Card Powers Design Notes
As I'm creating these decks, I think I may have stumbled on a small baked in play test opportunity.  I'd like to design 5 different methods for proc/combo abilities and put one in each deck type.  Since the card counts are small from each role for the solo deck, I think working only one proc/combo mechanic per role would allow for each role to be fairly successful with mostly straight forward cards, and one sort of 'slow and low' ability that generates over time.

Ideas for proc/combos:

 - Collect enemy/minion cards as you defeat them.  Turn in cards for bonus to x ability.
 - Discard from play, any x card types for bonus to x ability.
 - Discard from play, any x card types to activate ability.
 - For each x card type in play, perform y ability x times.

Dungeon, Location, and Boss Decks 
Let's look at how two very popular card games, in fact the two games that have inspired TPK, handle the idea of Big Bad, location/environments, and victory conditions, to maybe see where TPK should land.

LotR: The Encounter deck is created by bundles of cards that are all part of a certain theme - so eye of sauron, fortress of something, river deck, wild animals, spiders, etc.  Each of these cards are themed to sort of work together.  When you do a scenario, ~4 of those different decks are grouped together usually with some scenario specific cards like quest items. Then one card is flipped per turn and away you go.  I think the scenario goals are balanced against the 'cost' of the encounter deck.

Some cards take effect immediately, some languish in the threat queue and don't engage players until their threat is of a certain level.  Means that as the game progresses, more enemies will auto attack rather than languish.

WHAT I LIKE:  Packs of themed baddies for the encounter deck.  Goblinoids, Cultists, Traps and Tricks, etc.  I like how the overall deck is flavored by all these themed encounter cards.  Trying to emulate, say, the Ragefire Instance: Cultists, Lava Beasts, Rock Beasts, Underground + Boss Cards = Dungeon Deck?

WHAT I DON'T LIKE:  Clearly the lotr game is balanced to use threat, questing, locations, and the queue to keep the game properly paced, but it's too much (i.e. too well developed and balanced :) ) for what I'm looking for, at least at this stage in the game.

SotM:  The player adversary is made up of the Villain deck (Baron Blade, Omnitron, Plague Rat), which is a static deck that includes all the baddies themed for that villain and the Environment Deck (Rook City, Ruins of Atlantis, Dinosaur Land, etc.), which affects all players and villain cards alike.  The fun here is fighting different villains in different environments will mean different challenges, and likely superhero choice, per combo.  Each turn only one of each card is flipped.  So in this case we only have two variables to sort of consider or balance, vs. TONS in lotr.  SotM is designed to pick up and go - grab a villain deck, an environment deck, 3+ heroes, and play, LotR is more of a crafted scenario based game.

WHAT I LIKE: The get up and go piece.  Almost no set-up or break-down, no planning, no deck building or tweaking, just go for it!  I like that its one card per turn, do what it says, then off to the player turn.  each card that comes into play will then have start/end of turn actions to take, but at it's core it's a fairly simple system.  Fighting the same villain in a different locale could totally change the fight too, which I like, and is VERY superhero thematic.

WHAT I DON'T LIKE:  Not much.  I think it's a great idea and a great execution.

More thoughts later.