Daredevil

Alert

DaredevilBorderless3

Resource

Support

Combat

Type

Power of Risk

Risks the Odds for Boons

As an actor, during combat, you may use this power to scrap a pod from your cache. Subtract your fleet’s might by that pod’s might. 

If your fleets wins a clash by 5 or less might, each alien in your fleet gains boons equal to your committed ships. Your gate capacity is increased by 2.

Legacy: If a leader wins a clash by 3 or less might, the enemy fleet’s ships are vaporized.

In the Cosmos, nothing can be gained without putting something at risk. The Daredevils have found that much can be gained through risk itself. Their carefree attitude toward danger has made them famous in multiple galaxies, with people willing to shower them with praise and fame after witnessing them defy death.

Actor: Combat

Optional

Wild Flare

As an actor, after approach, you may discharge this flare. If your fleet wins by 4 or less might, establish a base in the opponent’s system with one of your committed ships. Otherwise, ravage three of your ships.

Actor: Approach

Super Flare

After arrival, you may discharge this flare. This encounter, aliens in your fleet gain boons if your fleet wins a clash by 7 or less might instead of 5.

Actor: Arrival

Modifications

  • This version of the power is based on the Cosmic Odyssey retrain, which is exactly the same as the original except for having a limit for rewards of 4 instead of 5 and a pod limit of 01 to 08. I added the additional clause of increasing Daredevil’s gate capacity by 2. It allows Daredevil to increase its risk for greater reward than what it grants to its sponsors.
  • The original Super Daredevil is nearly the same, only having a limit of 6 instead of 7.
  • Daredevil’s legacy invokes the power of risk to every alien, punishing the opponent instead of rewarding the user. However, the closer the encounter is, the more risk there is to the user. Aliens may prefer to avoid cutting it close, which could result in close matches anyway. Daredevil’s legacy can dramatically cut down on the total ship count, increasing the scarcity of ships and making that much more risk. Reinforcement pods and combat powers also become much more valuable, since they can be used to avoid turnabouts, as well as push the total might out of the danger range. Original Cosmic has no legacies.

Tips

  • In a standard match, Daredevil can commit up to 6 ships, granting it six rewards if it can pull off its effect.
  • Daredevil’s power can scrap weak pods from its cache to easily get them out of its cache without having to discharge them. It can even scrap negative pods for a small combat bonus, allowing it to use them as makeshift reinforcements.

Development Notes

  • Daredevil is mostly seen as underwhelming for the same reason as General and Animal, since it provides rewards to its sponsors as well as itself. As with those aliens, this aspect is necessary to avoid Daredevil being unattractive as both a leader and sponsor that never gets sponsored or commissioned. Daredevil’s power can potentially sabotage its own fleet, which can make some aliens hesitant to commission it. However, the allure of boons keeps that fear in check, preventing them from falling off. 
  • I wanted to offset this downside by giving Daredevil a base opportunity to commit more ships than most aliens, increasing the potential for both risk and reward. Losing 6 ships can be a devastating blow, as aliens like Amoeba and Gambler can attest. However, Daredevil is uniquely capable of getting its ships back after a loss through boons, so it has some degree of loss mitigation if its risk pays off.
  • Removing the limit on which pods Daredevil can use for its power gives it much more utility and flexibility as an alien. When winning by 20 might, it can scrap a 15 attack and still get its rewards. The ability to gain a combat bonus through negative pods allows Daredevil to potentially flip the table, turning a loss into a win and also gain pods. It’s a great addition that allows some extra change-up for what is generally an anti-combat power.
  • Daredevil’s theme of risk is fairly straightforward and also very fitting. The question of why Daredevil and its fleet get boons brings to mind the image of a showman getting paid for a death-defying stunt. It’s worth noting that Daredevil’s boon collection is automatic and cannot be zapped on its own. Only the pod scrapping aspect can be zapped, which will also zap the boon collection.
  • My version of Daredevil has a passive benefit due to the way reinforcements work in mine. Both Daredevil’s power and reinforcements will activate during the clash phase, with distress pods sending a signal if they will be activated. Aliens cannot respond to Daredevil’s power with reinforcement pods, as they will both be activated simultaneously. The user of a reinforcement won’t know the value of Daredevil’s scrapped pod, and reinforcements don’t have set values. It puts risk on both sides when it comes to using the power. Reinforcements are the biggest risk to Daredevil’s power, so removing the restriction is fair. I imagine the animation for the power activating before the pod is chosen, giving it time to be zapped. This means that Daredevil will know reinforcements are being played before deciding which pod to use, but it will be locked into scrapping a pod after seeing a distress pod has been discharged. Discharging any distress pod can bait Daredevil into avoiding the risk, since they won’t know if it’s a reinforcement until after they choose their pod.