Mind
Alert
Info
Type
Power of Knowledge
Sees Other Aliens’ Caches
As a leader, after launch, use this power to probe your opponent’s cache.
As a bystander, after launch, use this power to probe the cache of either leader.
Legacy: During arrival, the leaders’ caches are public.
When the bid for Cosmic control first began, many intelligent races dismissed it as the foolish squabbling of brutes. Then the self-assured Minds emerged from their think tanks to show what a little brain power could accomplish.
Leader: Launch
Bystander: Launch
Mandatory
Wild Flare
When another alien drafts a pod, you may discharge this flare to probe it before they claim it.
Any: Any
Super Flare
When using your power as a bystander, you may discharge this flare to probe the caches of both leaders.
Bystander: Launch
Modifications
- My Mind is mostly identical to the original, with one key exception. For the base power and wild flare, I removed the clause that prevents the Mind from sharing what they see with the other aliens. Unless Mind cannot communicate in general, this restriction comes across as artificial, and that restriction couldn’t be applied to the wild flare. In any case, the knowledge provided by the power and wild flare is Mind’s only advantage. If they choose to share that info, they are sacrificing that advantage. In any event, Mind ultimately cannot reveal the alien’s cache to other aliens, and it is more interesting if it has the option to spread misinformation.
- My Cosmic doesn’t have the “before alliance” timing that base Mind uses. The equivalent would be after the planet targeting in the aim phase.
- Mind’s legacy makes both leaders reveal their caches after arrival. This prevents the aliens from surprising each other with strong encounter pods or rare dark pods, without also making everyone Oracle and causing the ‘who primes first’ dance. Combat aliens work better with this legacy, as they are less dependent on surprise to excel in combat. Sponsors who utilize distress pods and flares can also keep the element of surprise alive. Original Cosmic has no legacies.
Tips
- Since Mind can use its power every encounter, it will quickly end up knowing what pods everyone has. Similar to Oracle, this can help it play optimally against anyone, though it needs to weigh the odds that an alien will actually use their strongest pods to oppose them. It cannot know for certain which pod the opponent will play. This means that the more pods an alien has, the more effective they will be against Mind. Having one pod against Mind is effectively fighting against Oracle.
- Since Mind can see everyone’s pods, there is little use in trying to hide them, unless an alien has a hoard-type power that can keep pods outside of their main cache. Powers that gain quickly change up their caches can take advantage of Mind’s blind spots to have encounters with other aliens before Mind can see it.
- Mind can offer private information like any other alien as a term for a deal. Since Mind can more easily see what pods other aliens have, it can do this more reliably than most other aliens.
- As the Mind, try to remember the most important pods in each alien’s cache, and pay special attention to pods that change hands. When choosing whose cache to see, choose the one that you know the least well. As a bystander, Mind doesn’t know whose side it will be able to join, so it is good to have a decent idea of both leader’s caches by remembering past uses of the power.
Development Notes
- One thing I really like about the theme of Mind’s power is its reliance on the memory of the user to be effective. While this potentially has the issue of clashing with one of my edicts that prevents having to remember past information, it is a notable exception. For one, it is not required to remember past information in order to use the power, nor is it required of other players in order to oppose it. Instead, remembering the past information lets the power be used more effectively, making it a bonus perk rather than a necessity. Since Mind can use its power every encounter, it has little need to remember what it saw the previous encounter, though doing so can help avoid repetition.
- An interesting change-up between my rules and the way I modified Mind is that even though Mind can tell other aliens what someone is holding, it cannot do so if it does not join the encounter. Only actors can communicate, and only actors can hear.