Emperor
Alert
Support
Resource
Info
Type
Power of Champions
Chooses Champions for Encounters
As a leader, after arrival, use this power to call forth “champions.” Each sponsor in the encounter also primes a pod from their cache. Probe the primed pods of your sponsors. Then, you may choose a primed pod in each fleet to act as the fleet’s driver for this encounter. The other primed pods are rebounded.
Legacy: After arrival, every alien in a fleet primes a pod. The leader may look at each pod and choose one to be their fleet’s driver. The other primed pods are rebounded.
Long live the mighty Emperors! May their reign be just, benevolent, and absolute.
Leader: Arrival
Mandatory
Wild Flare
As a leader, after launch, you may discharge this flare to declare majority rule. The winner of the encounter will be determined solely by the fleet with more sponsorships, with the defender winning ties as usual. Skip approach and contact.
Leader: Launch
Super Flare
When using your power, you may discharge this flare to probe the primed pods of enemy sponsors before choosing the enemy fleet’s champion.
Leader: Contact
Modifications
- This power originally belonged to an alien named Usurper. I rearranged a few of the monarch-like titles to best fit the themes. There is another alien in base Cosmic with a different effect, which I gave to the alien known as Tyrant.
- The original power is optional. Changed to be mandatory due to the optionality being pointless.
- Original Emperor has the power of Tribute. I changed it to the power of Champions to fit the current theme.
- The original power activates after approach with priority, the only power in the game to explicitly prioritize itself before other effects. My version has earlier timing and doesn’t require priority since it is mandatory.
- Wild and Super Emperor are the flare effects of original Wild and Super Usurper.
- Original Usurper cannot use its power against aliens that force pods to be played like Oracle and Author. My version names those aliens as exceptions in my Special Matchups section of my Design Philosophy page.
- Emperor’s legacy makes the original effect mandatory while giving control to each side. Having more sponsors provides more options, and it can help to preserve pods when running low. Since the leader has the choice and unchosen pods are rebounded, it isn’t effective at dumping weak pods and can be punishing for aliens with a hand of only good pods. Original Cosmic has no legacies.
Tips
- Emperor provides a unique combination of control and risk. If possessing a bad cache, Emperor can call on its sponsors to help. However, even if its allies have good pods, they will be of no help unless they volunteer them.
- Attacking Emperor with no sponsors is the only way to ensure one’s own pod will be chosen. However, this carries the inherent disadvantage of fewer ships if Emperor fights with allies. Emperor will want the support of the people in order to maximize its strengths.
- Inviting aliens with weak caches can be a major liability. Since Emperor cannot see the primed pods of enemy sponsors, it will likely choose whichever enemy has the weakest-looking cache.
- Though Emperor is required to summon champions, it can play out a normal encounter by choosing the primed pods of both leaders to be the drivers. Emperor can also choose its own primed pod in order to gain information about its allies’ pods that can be retained by not discharging them immediately. Emperor and its allies can use this power to exchange information, since it is generally against the rules to show cards to one another.
Development Notes
- Since any primed pods that aren’t chosen will be rebounded, this power can be considered pointlessly optional. Emperor can choose its own pod and the enemy’s pod to be the champions, which is the same as not using the power at all. The reason the power is optional in the base game is that it lets the game move faster, since sponsors don’t have to spend the time choosing a pod to prime.
- While Usurper was the original name for this power, I find the theme of an Emperor summoning champions to fight for it more thematically on-point. A usurper is one who seizes the throne for itself, but this power is insisting someone else fight for its stead, and its enemy’s as well. It brings to mind the Emperor in the Colosseum, demanding that champions fight in his honor.