Outlaw
Alert
Resource
Type
Power to Waylay
Snatches Pods from Enemies
As a leader, after arrival, you may use this power to snatch a pod from each enemy.
Legacy: After arrival, each actor ravages a pod in their own cache.
As the first alien species to get their own personal wanted poster, the Outlaws aren’t ones to mess around. Their proficiency with firearms and affinity for setting ambushes allows them to get the jump on any law enforcement that would hope to apprehend them. If you see them a-comin’, best reach for the skies.
Leader: Arrival
Optional
Wild Flare
As a sponsor, after losing an encounter, you may discharge this flare to snatch a pod from each enemy.
Sponsor: Encounter
Super Flare
When using your power, you may discharge this flare to gift any of your snatched pods to any alien.
Leader: Arrival
Modifications
- Original Super Outlaw rebounds enemy ships when Outlaw loses as a defender or backward. Changed to an effect that grants more utility to the base power since the original flare often results in stalling, creating lose-lose scenarios that don’t make for compelling gameplay.
- Outlaw’s legacy punishes actors, making it more difficult to rely on strategies that involve specific pods in one’s cache. Aliens like Clone and Diver may need to sponsor less often so that the pods they are looking to preserve are less at risk of destruction. Aliens with weak caches can take advantage of this legacy to empty their caches faster. Monk can put it to especially good use. Original Cosmic has no legacies.
Tips
- Outlaw gets more pods when matched up against more enemies. It can be dangerous to invite too many sponsors to oppose it, especially if the sponsors have strong caches.
- Outlaw’s power can potentially get it some good pods but also take weak pods away from its enemies. Consider the strength of the enemy’s cache before using the power, similar to how Trader operates.
- Outlaw can leverage both its power and compensation in the same encounter to potentially get as many pods as a full resupply. If it tries getting a resupply naturally, it will be unable to use its power, so it’s generally better to go for a larger cache via backer boons and compensation.
- Beware of snatching poison pods as Outlaw when lacking your super flare. Poison damage activates during arrival, so Outlaw will see it before deciding whether to commit to the ambush.
Development Notes
- I wanted to change the power name to the power to “ambush” for the thematic relevance, but I had to stick the original power to “waylay”. “Ambush” is a keyword in my Cosmic that refers to invading a system when it isn’t your turn, and it would be confusing since this power has nothing to do with that mechanic. Waylay is effectively just a synonym for ambush, but it also reminds me of the phrase “lay waste”, referring to causing great destruction to a widespread area.
- Since pods are not necessarily good to have, especially with my Cosmic introducing poison pods, Outlaw is not pointlessly optional. There may be times when Outlaw doesn’t want to snatch pods specifically from one alien, such as allowing the opponent to request a resupply by taking their last pod.
- Despite being such a simple power, Outlaw occupied a fairly unique design space when first released. Snatching pods is generally reserved for compensation powers like Hacker and Ethic, which help leverage losses to gain more resources. Alternatively, aliens like Envy and Vulture that snatch pods after they are discharged. Outlaw snatches pods before they are used, allowing them to be immediately usable in the upcoming encounter. It’s almost more comparable to Trader than those other powers, but it carries less risk for less reward. Trader vs. Outlaw is an interesting matchup, as they both have the same timing. Due to timing rules, an invading Outlaw might not want to snatch pods from a defending Trader, since it will potentially be giving pods to Trader. However, a defending pod will be incentivized to ambush an invading Trader, since it would snatch a pod after Trader swaps, potentially getting back a pod it needed. It is also fairly thematic that Outlaw and Trader have such a rivalry.
- Outlaw is considered one of the few well-designed aliens to come from the Cosmic Storm expansion. The power is simple, elegant, effective, and occupies a rather novel design space. It is somewhat similar to Pickpocket, released in the following expansion, but it leverages its power to help it win instead of relying on losing.