In order to remedy the enormous advantage which going first creates, the advantages of this position need to be identified and explained very precisely.
1. Resources - player 1 has the benefit of sacrificing first, giving them access to more resources. Player 1 can play their higher resource cards first, most of which are better than what player 2 was able to play the previous turn. This gives player 1 an advantage in the form of power and quantity of cards played.
2. Board Control - Depending on which faction each player is playing, typically player 1 is able to enter their 2nd or 3rd turn with one ally on the board, who is able to attack. Player 2, on the other hand, usually winds up with no (usable) allies available; their first ally being either destroyed or nullified. Allies are very important early on in the game as they are some of the only playable cards and they give the greatest return for their cost entering turns 4 and beyond. The advantage the first player receives is the ability to take more actions than the second player (i.e. play a card AND attack) and this usually grants an additional +1 action for each round player 1 sustains board control.
Any solution to first-turn advantage will invariably involve a change in either the rules of Shadow Era or the flow of play. The introduction of new cards is not likely to mitigate first-turn advantage without undermining the usefulness of existing cards.
I offer a simple and elegant solution without eliminating the benefit of going first entirely.
The 2nd player automatically repeats their 2nd turn when it is finished.
They do not draw or sacrifice extra cards or gain additional Shadow Energy. They are simply allowed to play an extra card. All allies played during the "first turn 2" will remain exhausted like normal as will the cards played during the "second turn 2" - in other words, neither can attack until turn 3. Here is an example of play with the Shadow player going first:
(P=Player, T=Turn)
P1,T1 Sacrifice --> 1 resource; plays Fire Snake
P2,T1 Sacrifice --> 1 resource; does nothing
P1,T2 Sacrifice --> 2 resources; plays Brutalis
P2,T2a Sacrifice --> 2 resources; plays Puwen Bloodhelm
P2,T2b Plays Reinforced Armoron Puwen Bloodhelm
Now, there are possibilities where the Shadow player can gain complete board control from this situation, but they will be left defending a poor board position. If they relinquish complete control, they can increase their position, but the Human player will be allowed a counterattack first.
Here is an example with the Human player going first:
P1,T1 Sacrifice --> 1 resource; does nothing
P2,T1 Sacrifice --> 1 resource; plays nothing (not having drawn a Fire Snake
P1,T2 Sacrifice --> 2 resources; plays Blake Windrunner
P2,T2a Sacrifice --> 2 resources; plays Brutalis
P2,T2b Plays Rain Delay
Shadow vs Shadow:
P1,T1 Sacrifice --> 1 resource; plays Fire Snake
P2,T1 Sacrifice --> 1 resource; plays Fire Snake
P1,T2 Sacrifice --> 2 resources; plays Extra Sharp
P2,T2a Sacrifice --> 2 resources; Plays Brutalis
P2,T2b Plays a second Brutalis
Human vs Human:
P1,T1 Sacrifice --> 1 resource; does nothing
P2,T1 Sacrifice --> 1 resource; does nothing
P1,T2 Sacrifice --> 2 resources; Plays Blake Windrunner
P2,T2a Sacrifice --> 2 resources; Plays Blake Windrunner
P2,T2b Plays Retreat!
You'll find that all of these situations allow for interesting choices come Turn 3 and that despite either player's position, board control is mostly up for grabs. Play out some scenarios of your own and see what happens. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised ;D
I also want to point out that of the two problems I listed regarding first-turn advantage, this system preserves #1. So player 1 still gets an edge.
Please post your feedback too~!
Originally Posted by Drakkon
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