Gambler
Alert
Combat
Destroy
Type
Power to Bluff
Bluffs About Encounter Pod
As a leader, after approach, you may use this power to bluff about your primed pod’s aur value. Wager 1-4 of your ships and declare any aur value. Your opponent may then choose whether or not to call your bluff.
If your bluff is called, your primed pod is discharged normally and your opponent wagers the same number of ships you wagered. If your declared value matches the aur value, your opponent’s wagered ships are scrapped. Otherwise, your wagered ships are scrapped.
If your bluff is not called, discharge your pod while leaving it shrouded, even after it is scrapped. Its aur value is considered equal to your declared value, and no wagered ships are scrapped.
Legacy: During crash, the losing leader’s casualties are equal to the number of ships their opponent committed.
The Gamblers know that reward doesn’t come without a healthy amount of risk. Of course, most wouldn’t find much to be healthy about risking an arm and a leg on a coin toss.
Leader: Approach
Optional
Wild Flare
As a leader, after approach, you may discharge this flare to declare a numerical value. After pods are discharged, if the might difference between the discharged pods is equals or exceeds your declared value, add the declared value to your fleet’s might.
Leader: Approach
Super Flare
When using your power, you may discharge this flare to “up the ante” to any number of uncommitted ships. If your opponent cannot wager enough ships, they must wager all of their ships to call your bluff.
Leader: Approach
Modifications
- Original Gambler causes aliens to lose ships equal to the number of ships they each have in the encounter. This clashes with the gambler theme, as the two sides aren’t facing the same level of risk. My version allows twice the potential for mind games, as a Gambler chooses 1-4 ships twice to let opponents gauge its confidence level.
- The original Gambler has a conflict that prevents it from being used with Sorcerer. My version naturally has a fix for this conflict, allowing both to be used in the same match without one stepping on the toes of the other. First, Gambler and Sorcerer decide at the same time whether to bluff/swap. Both happen simultaneously. After swapping a bluffed pod, Sorcerer may choose to call it, risking the ships, or use the bluffed value that Gambler specified. If not called, the bluffed pod remains secret to Sorcerer, even after it is scrapped.
- Gambler’s legacy causes aliens to lose only as many ships as their opponent committed, meaning the fewer ships they commit, the fewer their opponent will lose. Aliens who commit more will destroy more but lose fewer. If an alien doesn’t lose all of their ships as casualties, their flagship isn’t destroyed, allowing invaders and defenders to act again after losing. Invaders can use this legacy to guarantee a second encounter by sending more ships against a base with fewer ships. If they target an empty planet, they will lose no ships from a loss. Original Cosmic has no legacies.
Tips
- As one might expect, Gambler becomes more powerful the more free ships it has in comparison to its opponent. It becomes harder to call a bluff when losing 4 ships means sacrificing a base. Try to keep as many ships out of the warp as possible.
- Like a poker player with a good hand, a Gambler with a strong encounter pod is a dangerous adversary. When Gambler bluffs with a strong encounter pod that happens to be true, it can put their opponent in a lose-lose scenario. If they do not call the bluff, they won’t actually find out if Gambler was telling the truth. If they do, they lose extra ships, in addition to facing an encounter pod they can’t beat.
- Gambler can use its power to inflate the might of its encounter pod, but that extends beyond simply claiming might of 20+. Gambler can claim a 06 is a 10, giving it a small combat bonus if the opponent deems the value of 10 too small to care about. It can also turn an envoy into a brigade by bluffing that an N is a 04.
Development Notes
- Gambler’s power can and should backfire if it abuses the bluffing to get easy wins. When players don’t call, the defeat won’t be as bad. When they do, Gambler’s bluffing can easily put it in a bad spot, even if it ends up winning the encounter.
- I designed Gambler to fight against the “always call” mentality that just turns Gambler into another Cudgel. If an opponent always calls against Gambler when they would otherwise lose, Gambler can adapt by always telling the truth with its bluffing. It has to have strong enough pods to still win, but being able to control the amount of ships wagered helps it to stay threatening. It also helps to distinguish it from Cudgel, who simply smashes ships equal to the number of engaged ships.
- This power definitely warrants a red alert. In addition to being wordy and complicated, properly using it requires a solid knowledge on which pods are in the game. Gambler’s power allows its user to pull a great deal of tricks, which is better suited to someone with more experience.
- Super Gambler is extremely dangerous in my version of the game if it has a ship advantage, as it can bluff a 40, forcing the opponent into a situation where they have to risk being eliminated to call the bluff. The counterbalance is that it’s equally risky to Gambler, as if they are bluffing and get called, they can end up being eliminated too. Worth noting is that Super Gambler is virtually just as powerful in the original, just without the threat of elimination.