Angler
Alert
Resource
Info
Type
Power to Fish
Fishes For Pods
As a leader, after arrival, you may use this power to “fish” from the opponent. Name a specific pod. If the opponent has one of those pods, they must gift it to you. Otherwise, draft a pod.
Legacy: After arrival, the invader may fish from the defender.
Lurking in the depths of space, the cunning Anglers cast their light, looking to draw in unsuspecting prey into thinking they found a free pod. The beasts can be finicky about their food, and they will spit out anything that doesn’t satisfy their current food cravings.
Leader: Arrival
Optional
Wild Flare
At any time, you may discharge this flare to name a specific pod. If another alien has that pod and gifts it to you, gift that alien this flare. Otherwise, snatch a pod from any alien.
Any: Any
Super Flare
As a sponsor, after arrival, you may discharge this flare to use your power.
Sponsor: Arrival
Modifications
- Angler’s legacy grants its power to every defender, allowing them to keep their cache stocked, making it harder to run out of pods during the campaign. Aliens like Mind and Trader who gain info about enemy caches can take great advantage of it, and Machine can extend its own campaign using it. Aliens like Clone and Vulture, whose powers grab specific pods, are the ones most hurt by it, since everyone that invades them will be able to snatch their pod. Any invasion-only powers can also benefit from the legacy, since they will be getting free resources to help their invasion efforts. Original Cosmic has no legacies.
Tips
- Angler is guaranteed to gain a pod from its ability, with the specific pod it gains potentially being the one it wants. By using its power often, it can ensure it doesn’t run low on pods unless targeted by compensation. If aiming to gain a resupply, it may need to hold off on using its power for a time.
- If Angler does not get a pod from the opponent, it will confirm the opponent does not have that pod. This factor can be useful for fishing for whether the opponent has a 40 pod before its location is known.
- If the opponent has a known weak cache, Angler can name a pod it knows the opponent doesn’t have in order to draft a pod instead. This can be an important tactic to avoid letting an opposing defender get a free resupply off your power.
Development Notes
- Whether a bug or a feature, my lucre and poison cards provide Angler a means of guaranteed fishing in many cases. Since every alien starts with lucre, Angler will know that anyone who hasn’t spent theirs will have some, and poison damage confirms the opponent has a P pod. Angler can take either if it so chooses, with the opportunity cost acting as the drawback. There may be a more valuable pod to fish for, or even the information from determining the opponent does not have a 40 pod.
- Wild Angler inherently works on a first-come first-serve basis. The first alien to gift the pod gets the flare, and I imagine the effect working on a time limit, where other aliens are prompted to gift a pod until time either runs out or someone does. Similar to the code to choose the pod to prime, only the interruption condition is different.
- Angler’s mechanical design is a brilliant implementation of the classic card game Go Fish into Cosmic Encounter. In that game, you ask your opponent if they have a card. If they don’t, you “go fish” and draw a card. The concept is linked to the theme of “fishing” through the name “Angler”, which doubles as the term for a fisherman and also refers to the anglerfish, a creature that lurks in the depths of the ocean and emits a natural light from its head to lure prey into its maw.
- Angler has some interactions with other aliens like Clone and Envy, who add specific pods to their caches that Angler can target. Info aliens like Mind can collude with Angler to de-power certain aliens with strong caches. The larger the enemy’s cache is, the greater Angler’s chance of grabbing a specific pod. However, the smaller the enemy’s cache, the more rewarding it is to take one of their pods, unless it results in them getting access to a free resupply.
- Angler is one alien design that demonstrates the importance of having a discard pile, at least in some form. By keeping track of the significant pods that have not been used yet, Angler can have a better grasp of what to fish for. If every pod is always capable of being drafted at any time, it makes the power much more of a shot in the dark and far less engaging for the user of the power.