Machine

Alert

Invasion

Destroy

Type

Power of Automation

Burns Pods to Fuel Invasions

As the invader, if you have no fuel during upkeep, you may use this power to scrap one pod from your cache and manifest one fuel.

As the invader, after losing an encounter, you may use this power to scrap one pod from your cache and revive your flagship.

Legacy: If an invader has remaining fuel, they may revive their flagship during upkeep.

The Machines were created by a long-forgotten race of aliens, designed to help them invade other planets. Their creations proved too capable and ended up taking over their system as a race of their own. Operating under an infinite while loop, they work tirelessly to gain dominion, and not even oblivion is enough to control-alt-delete them.

Invader: Upkeep
Invader: Encounter

Optional

Wild Flare

As the invader, after losing an encounter, you may discharge this flare to revive your flagship.

Invader: Encounter

Super Flare

During your warpfall, you may discharge this flare to draft a pod instead of reviving a ship.

Invader: Warpfall

Modifications

Originally the power to continue. Changed to the power of automation to fit the theme of living machines and mass production.
Original Machine can use its power to continue as long as it still has encounter pods in its cache. This allows Machine to potentially keep going indefinitely. The only way to stop Machine is to attack its cache using powers or compensation. If Machine uses compensation itself to keep its cache stocked, it can result in a CE that lasts half an hour longer with nothing being accomplished. To fix this, added an additional mechanic that puts a soft limit on Machine’s power that still allows it potentially unlimited fuel without wasting everyone’s time. Losing encounters causes Machine to wear out faster than winning, and Machine can only win so many encounters before the CE is decided. The infinite loss spiral is what we are looking to avoid.
Divided Machine’s base power into its two halves, as it allows Machine to continue whether it loses or wins. This means it lets it continue after the first encounter no matter what, and then every subsequent encounter. Fuel is one pod, and the flagship is two, meaning the first loss costs two pods to continue, and subsequent encounters cost three.
Machine’s legacy gives every alien the ability to have two invasions per campaign (minimum). This legacy results in campaigns lasting longer on average and making each alien take longer to see their campaign. Invader-only powers are not too keen on this one. Original Cosmic has no legacies.

Tips

Machine’s turn will last longer the more pods it has in its cache. As Machine, stock up on pods before your turn and be wary of compensation when the opponent has many ships.
Be wary about inviting Machine to help defend your planets. Machine can go from 0 VP to 5 in a single turn, so it is wise to keep a handle on their resource pool.
Watch out when Machine sends four ships. It may be looking to snag some extra pods to help prolong its turn. If you get into a negotiation with Machine, you can agree to let them win the encounter in exchange for ending their turn.
As Machine, it can be worth gaining a bunch of extra encounters just to get rid of a bad cache. If any of the encounters turn into victories, that can be a bonus.

Development Notes

Just from my shallow understanding of Cosmic meta, Machine is considered to be one of the most “un-fun” aliens in all of base Cosmic, one of the designs that is singled out as undesirable, both to play as and against. It’s not because it’s too weak or too strong; it’s because it makes the game drag on potentially forever and refuses to let someone else have a turn. I wanted to try and correct some of the power’s shortcomings with my version. The trick is that I need it to still be a considerable threat without letting turns last an infinite amount of time. I want to preserve Machine’s ability to go 0 to 5 without granting it the ability to go 15 losses in a row without even going minus on pods.
Machine’s double cost prevents it from stalling a match using compensation, as it would only gain one pod with this tactic after the first encounter (if including the pod played and losing four ships.) Instead, Machine is actually more incentivized to negotiate, as this will count as a win and allow potentially more pods to be gained. As a trade-off, the opponent is less incentivized to negotiate.
Machine is one of the primary reasons why the invader cannot request free resupplies during their own campaign, as it would allow Machine to go infinitely until it either won or lost. Even factoring in the limited number of free resupplies I added, it would take far too long for Machine to lose its power by giving up its bases for more invasions. It could get four resupplies before losing its power. With effectively 10 pods due to lucre, and each encounter costing 3 pods minimum, that could be at least 15+ invasions before the next alien gets a turn. Though still not quite as bad as the original, it’s a little too much for my taste.
The limitation to the power is supposed to be both pods and ships, as its turn will end if it runs out of encounter pods or if its power gets deactivated. Original Machine revives one ship each encounter during warpfall, and it can usually get more encounter pods through compensation, so neither of these are particularly significant blockades for Machine. My version gives Machine the original momentum to generally have two guaranteed encounters (requires 3 pods), and then additional encounters as long as it has encounter pods. To keep getting additional encounters after the first, it has to use an additional pod, meaning it spends two to four pods at minimum instead of one. As an example, if Machine invaded first with its starting provisions and didn’t gain any pods over the course of its turn, it would use 1 pod the first encounter, then 2-4 each subsequent encounter (minimum). Assuming it won all of these encounters, it could go 5 encounters maximum before running out of steam, which is just about the number I’m looking for. Not too many, but still more than double what everyone else gets, and it means it’s possible yet unlikely for Machine to go 0 to 5 in one campaign.