An important part of any good card game, be it collectable, living, or expandable is strong mechanics. When we developed REDLINE: Tactical Card Combat we worked hard to create mechanics that not only played well and had depth, but also were flavorful and helped to convey the world and different factions were were trying to build. As a result we came up with and tested a whole slew of mechanics to find the right mix that played together well in the REDLINE Core Set.
This was important for the Core Set is creating the foundation for the game to build on. The mechanics introduced in it needed to be fun to play with on their own, but also have plenty of design space to be used on additional cards in the future. Narrow mechanics just wouldn’t cut it. So during development we tested a lot of mechanics. Most were trash, a few needed some tweaks for balancing and a couple were mostly perfect fits from the start.
When all was said and done we ultimately decided on the eight core mechanics below with one each being exclusive to CPM and UNE. (And two honorable mentions as you’ll see.) In this development article I wanted to go over each Core Set mechanic in detail, to discuss its creation and how it plays during a typical game of REDLINE.
REDLINE: Tactical Card Combat Core Set Mechanics
Ambush – An efreet with the Ambush ability is able to get off a quick shot at the beginning of every engagement while the enemy is unprepared. Ambush is always followed by a number that designates exactly how much damage is dealt in this way. For example, an efreet with Ambush 2, would deal two quick damage towards a target once an engagement begins. This is a one time ability and does not repeat after combat begins. Ambush damage cannot be dodged naturally.
Ambush was one of the more straight forward mechanics that came early in development. Early versions of combat in REDLINE had a tendency to drag out and so Ambush was a way to speed it up a little bit by dealing damage right away when a fight began. However as combat became more consistent, Ambush emerged as one of the more powerful abilities in the game. The ability to deal direct damage with no way to avoid it was quite powerful indeed and so we had to dial the mechanic down a bit later on. Additionally, Ambush plays well as it gives players a little something extra to think about when heading into combat. I mean, you can’t keep your efreets shiny and new forever.
As a combat centric mechanic, Ambush appears in both factions though more frequently on CPM cards as it’s a good fit for their aggressive style of play.
Boost – Boost represents the ability for an efreet to engage thrusters to quickly get out of harms way in combat with a temporary plus two boost to its speed when attacked. Boosting requires an efreet to be expended and so can only be done once per engagement so be careful when you use it!
This was probably one of the more difficult mechanics to balance looking back. We knew we wanted to give light efreets some love with a way to avoid damage and stay viable in late game situations. Boosting as often seen in mech based video games and anime seemed like a great idea and had lots of visual flair when you imagine it happening in battle. The problem was early versions of Boost allowed an efreet to avoid an attack entirely. Combined with lighter efreets higher speed, which already made them hard to hit, this meant an efreet could sit back and dodge incoming fire all day with its speed then when a hit finally landed boost away unscathed. This required you to effectively hit an efreet with Boost twice before ever hoping to do damage and that was quite over powered.
Limiting boost to a plus two speed bonus still made them hard to hit, but not impossible. This gave them extra survivability and played really well in testing like we had hoped.
Though not necessarily limited to other efreets, Boost is most often seen on lighter ones like the UNE Thrust or CPM Huojian.
Cover – The Cover mechanic allows an efreet to jump in front of another during combat and tank damage to save a fellow squadmate from getting hit. It also is a one time use mechanic in combat as providing cover requires the efreet doing so to be expended. A player may expend to provide cover after an attack has hit but before damage is assigned. Any critical hits taken by the initial target are absorbed by the unit providing cover.
Lots of games often have a variation of this type of ability which allows a bigger beefier unit to take damage to preserve something smaller. The first version of Cover we tried simply allowed for incoming damage to be redirected indefinitely and was too powerful. Having to blast your way through a heavily armored efreet before ever getting a chance to attack the rest was frustrating to play against and made combat too lopsided when abused.
This mechanic had an easy fix as attaching the ability to an expended efreet providing Cover made it a one time use effect. Just like Boost, it had to be used carefully and with smart timing so as not to waste it.
Though it may not be the most glamorous mechanic, Cover is definitely one of the most useful and versatile and I know there isn’t a squad I’d take into battle where I wouldn’t want at least one efreet providing Cover once the shooting starts.
Precision – An efreet with the Precision ability is allowed to reroll one of its dice rolls once during combat in hopes of gaining a more favorable result. It is the exclusive mechanic of the UNE.
If not the first mechanic designed for REDLINE, then Precision is definitely the second. If you read last weeks article on the REDLINE factions, then you know the idea of accuracy was one of the core concepts behind the UNE. As a game with a fair amount of dice rolling, the ability to reroll those bones seemed like a natural fit for a great mechanic and a great way to actually make the UNE more precise when playing. Win-win!
Again, the design issues here revolved around timing. Early attempts at Precision allowed players to reroll incoming and outgoing attacks which was messy to keep track of. We changed it to only dice rolls made by the unit with Precision and once again tied it to being a one time use effect. (I think early versions allowed a free roll every time a dice was thrown.) What’s cool though, is if you can hang onto your Precision during combat it will also allow units to reroll their mission capture attempts which is a nice perk to have for sure!
Precision is deceptively powerful as it’s basically redo for when things didn’t go your way. In addition it has lots of room to grow as the ability affects any dice roll made by that unit. So as REDLINE grows and more instances of dice rolling are incorporated, Precision will only become more useful.
Salvo – Salvo is the CPM ability that allows an efreet to unleash everything it has in one devastating strike at any unfortunate target to be in its crosshairs. Letting off a Salvo gives an efreet a hefty plus two bonus to damage with the tradeoff being a negative modifier to your attack accuracy. It also is a one time use effect as it requires the efreet to be expended.
During development we knew we wanted the CPM to have a combat centered mechanic built around damage. Ambush was briefly considered for this but we wanted it to be used by all factions. In the end we created the Salvo mechanic which gives some CPM efreets the scary ability to one shot enemy targets at the risk the shot may miss entirely and be wasted. It’s a high risk/reward ability to be sure, though careful planning around the combat situation and the right tactics card or equipment upgrade can mitigate some of the risk involved.
There are few feelings worse in REDLINE than getting hit by a Salvo. Conversely there are few better than watching a Salvo whiff by you to see your efreet escape unharmed.
Scouting – An efreet with Scouting generates one point of recon when it makes an attack towards any mission on the redline.
If Precision wasn’t the first mechanic we designed, than Scouting likely was. Like with Boost, it was important we felt to make made lighter efreets valuable during all phases of the game, especially at the end when heavier units make their way into combat and begin to dominate the battlefield.
To do this we created the Scouting ability which gives units with it the ability to generate extra resources for the player to use. If you are unfamiliar with it, recon is a second type of resource in REDLINE and is extremely valuable in that many special abilities can only be paid with gathered reconnaissance. In addition, recon can be used to pay the deploy cost of tactics cards which is extremely valuable as a way to ramp out special maneuvers early or to pull off tricks in combat even if all your regular resources are expended. You can never have enough recon.
Generating recon while carrying out attacks is a flavor win and an important strategy when playing. Scouting efreets don’t gather recon by sitting around and so pushing them out into the front lines is essential if you want to keep building reconnaissance. On the other hand, intercepting your opponents scouts and taking away their ability to build that recon is an equally viable strategy.
Scouting is used by all factions.
Sharpshooter – When making an attack, an efreet with the Sharpshooter mechanic can adjust its attack roll up or down by one. Sharpshooter is a static ability that affects every combat roll made with it during an engagement.
This was actually one of the last mechanics to be added to REDLINE. By this time combat was feeling good but we wanted to add an extra wrinkle to it but weren’t quite sure how. We had lots of ways already to increase damage dealt or avoid it. But what an extra way to help get those shots to land?
What we didn’t realize at first was that Sharpshooter would end up being one of the more versatile mechanics in the game. Naturally it allow players to increase their attack accuracy by rolling higher. But being able to fine tune attack rolls by making them lower means you have greater ability to roll an enemy efreets speed exactly, which delivers a deadly critical hit. And in future REDLINE expansions being able to modify your attack rolls up or down by one might be extremely valuable, though I am getting ahead of myself at the moment…
Though it appears in all factions, Sharpshooter is more heavily centered around UNE cards as it provides another way to add precision and accuracy to them while in combat.
Stealth – The Stealth mechanic is a powerful ability that gives efreets equipped with it protection from being targeted by enemy cards and abilities during a game. However, effects that affect all cards when played will still hit a unit protected by Stealth.
This is probably one of the more straight forward mechanics in the game. Stealth is used today to make aircraft untraceable while flying and it has the same effect on efreets in REDLINE. Stealth is extremely powerful as it protects efreets with it from being targeted by tactics cards or special abilities like Ambush.
Though Stealth is a universal mechanic, in the Core Set it only appears on the UNE Thrust. if I remember right, the CPM did have a card with Stealth early on, but it was either cut or altered during testing. This works out well however as the stealthy Thrust is a strong counter to the Ambush ability seen on many CPM cards in the Core Set. But fear not for I am certain we will see Stealth on a Crimson Pact efreet one day soon!
General Mechanics
Though I said earlier the game currently has eight core mechanics, there are two honorable mentions I didn’t want to omit.
In REDLINE, each deck is built around and led by a faction General with unique abilities that change how you play the game. In order to give each General card more of their own identify we decided to name these abilities and treat them as their own separate mini mechanics simply for fun flavor reasons.
This doesn’t mean every future General will always have their own special mechanic however. Nor does it mean we may not reuse some of the General mechanics on other cards one day if it makes sense.
Efreet Ace – This unique ability allows Valya Serova to lead from the front by leaving the safety of her HQ to jump into the cockpit of an efreet! As a pilot she gives bonuses to damage, armor and speed along with the valuable Sharpshooter ability. When her efreet is destroyed she to the bunker zone where she can be redeployed and you raze the top three cards of your arsenal.
CPM General Valya Serova was designed from the start as an efreet ace with the idea always being she would make your own pilots better when in play. This is what her static ability to provide Ambush does and is potent on its own. But how cool would it be if she could actually enter combat as a pilot herself and show everyone how she became an ace in the first place?
I’m really happy with how her mechanic turned out as she is a force to be reckoned with behind the controls of any efreet. And because she has such low armor, the safest place for Serova to be is in an efreet as soon as she comes into play. In addition, her static ability to give all pilots Ambush 1 is also granted to her since Efreet Ace makes her a pilot. There is a reason her fellow pilots have nicknamed her “the Reaper!”
The only real problem with this mechanic is it’s too much fun to use and it’s extremely tempting to introduce future Generals in the game who might also want to take an efreet for a joy ride.
Prepared Ground – After paying 6 recon, Prepared Ground allows a player to flip three mission cards over on the redline. Mission abilities and control is suspended on flipped cards until they unflip at the beginning of the next deploy phase.
As the signature mechanic for UNE General Camilla Brand the idea behind this ability came early in development. We knew we wanted to give players extra ways to interact with the five mission cards on the redline but weren’t quite sure how best to. do so. We tried shuffling them back into the mission deck. We tried adding additional missions to the game. We tried rearranging their order. None worked great.
Story wise we wanted Brand to be a tactical genius so it made sense she’d had some way to alter the battlefield in her favor. Prepared Ground, once tweaked, did that and more.
Though one of the most difficult abilities to use, Prepared ground can be one of the most devastating under the right player. At its most basic narrowing the battlefield to just two missions is a way to funnel an opponent playing hide and seek into a decisive battle on your terms. It can also be used to turn off mission bonuses harmful to your plans or, in the worst case scenario, can be used to buy time and stall an opponent who is threatening to take all five missions and win the game. Since control of flipped missions isn’t returned until the next turn this can be a last ditch attempt to turn a game around at the last minute.
Prepared Ground is expensive as it costs six recon to be used so be careful when planning your strategy. But in the right hands, it can win games and is not to be underestimated.
Mechanically Inclined
I hope this article gives you a better look at all the different mechanics in the REDLINE: Tactical Card Combat Core Set. They all have plenty of uses and it’s a lot of fun to find some of the interactions between them and the other cards in the game to create small combos to wreck your opponent with.
Game on.