CREATING THE CARD - THOR

Creating a card from a snapshot in time can't be an easy thing, not even for the guys at R&D at UDE. You have to look at the comics that are inspiring the card, draw from that what you can and then develop it within the rules restraints of the game and there is probably alot more. Hopefully over the course of this series we the players of VS System TCG get a better understanding of that and come up with some ideas that are inspired and perhaps actually feasible. Finding focal points is Key.

For those of you who haven't been reading up on the new series of Thor click the title of this blog and it will take you to the summary review for Thor #1. Using issue #1 we can begin creating our card.

Three Major elements occur in THOR #1:

A. Thor is awakened/Reborn.
B. Mjolnir foreshadows his return.
C. The Donald Blake/Thor persona is explored.

Our main focal point for this issue has to be creating a Thor character card. It has been awhile since we have seen him in comics at this point and it is awhile since we have seen him in VS System TCG.

A second focal point is creating the card that enables Thor, The Thunder Gods existence, which also serves it dual role in exploring the Donald Blake/Thor persona.

A tertiary objective could be creating a plot twist that stamps the event. That could probably be the most daunting of task as capturing an event such as this will get extremely difficult as the material itself is very sci-fi and therefore has multiple angles to look at.

For now lets stick to Mjolnir and Thor, an equipment and character card.

Card Considerations:

Team Theme: Firstly, we need to look at the larger picture for this card. Thor as we know him at this point is standing alone having fought the cycle of Ragnarok and fallen to sleep. So when we last saw him the team he was on was Asgard or Asgardians, fighting alongside his bretheren. As Gods they definitely give reason to question how do we attribute their abilities. In Marvel these Gods and/or characters of their stature are seen as Cosmic beings. Cosmic-Surge mechanic has made the Heralds playable we will apply the same type of Cosmic mechanics to the Asgardians. As Norse mythology Asgardians are seen as fierce warriors. The mindset is rush into battle. So our team theme:

Asgardians, Cosmic, High Atk/ Low Def, Aggro

Before, we even look at Thor we need to look at Mjolnir. The liklihood that Thor is played without this piece of equipment doesn't really bode well for Flavor. Deciding how Mjolnir will effect play is crucial to any creation of Thor cards as well, since it will affect every Thor card created.

MJOLNIR

In the history of Marvel only 7 others have wielded Mjolnir, notably Captain America, Odin, Beta Ray Bill and Eric Masterson. Mjolnir is not an indestructible weapon, but it has alot of power. Thor often uses Mjolnir for defense as well. We never see the two in tandem, not that you could be on offense and defense at the same time, Thor's fighting abilities have never been that great, generally he just overpowers and endures while he thinks of a way out.

Considerations:

Mjolnir must be Unique and Stamped. Mjolnir must not be easily wielded by others. Mjolnir's abilities should be choice between offense and defense. Keep in mind this will probably hit the board in every Thor deck, Here is my Draft version:

Mjolnir
Cost 3
Unique
Game Text: Mjolnir cost 3 less to equip to a character named Thor. Equipped character receives +3ATK while Attacking. Equipped character gets +3DEF while Defending.
Flavor Text: "We are two children of Mjolnir."
RARE

That takes care of Mjolnir. Now we also know how each of our Thor creations stand to be adjusted so as to not abuse Mjolnir and overpower the combo.

THOR

Name: Thor is Thor! No Clones, this is the real thing. What we have though is a version that needs to be reflective of Thor as he is being reborn or awakened, however you choose to look at it.

Thor, Rebirth or Thor, Awakening

Cost: As we deal with various versions of Thor we need to look at the series on a whole. We will not drag on creation of Thor past Thor #10. We also need Thor to be representative of what we see him in this issue. He isn't really doing anything special in this issue, no fantastic display of power. For knowledge we are going to create him as a legend. 3 card slots; 4, 6, and 8. This is the beginning of the series so his cost will be 4. The Series is also far enough along for us to start thinking about his 6 cost slot, but lets stay focused.

Cost 4

Stats: Thor is without a doubt a Visible character, but in this issue he is not really showing anything spectacular in the realm of stats. Representing the Asgardian trait of rushing into battle before thinking could be shown in low back-end stats (Def), but higher front end stats(Atk). This goes along with our theme. Thor should also have Flight and Range as these are hallmarks of Thor. Some could argue, but what about Mjolinir isnt that what enables his flight? It is and it's something to look at, as it has been skewed in the comics over time.

Visible, Flight(?)/Range, 8ATK / 6DEF

Rarity and Ability: An ability should definitely take on the flavor of the character as it is at that point in time, but it also needs to be reflective of that cards rarity and team theme in the game. I do not believe that there should be anything too special about a 4-cost Thor, even though it is his first entrant into the TCG in quite some time. So we should look at effects that are limited to what we would see for a common or uncommon character.

Thor isn't really doing anything special in this issue. He is just returning to being Thor. Reuniting with the Donald Blake Persona and Mjolinir. So we should make that reflection. My personal opinion is he has some search for Mjolnir. The only thing is Mjolnir is pretty good card and we dont want a 4-cost character that could easily take down an opposing 4 and cause significant breakthough damage and also be capable of taking down an opposing 5-cost. Here is my Draft version:

Option 1
When Thor comes into play, you may discard a character card >> Search your deck or KO pile for a card name Mjolnir. Put that card into your hand. Cosmic-Surge.

Option 2
Remove a Cosmic Counter from Thor >> Search your deck or KO pile for a card named Mjolnir. Put that card into your hand. Cosmic-Surge.

Option 3
Activate, Discard a character card. Search your deck or KO pile for a card named Mjolnir. Put that card into your hand. Cosmic-Surge.

Name: Thor, Rebirth (Awakening)
Cost: 4
Type: Character
Team: Asgardians
ATK:8 DEF:6
Flight/Range: (?)Both
Game Text: Option (?)
Flavor Text: "And birth, like death, comes only through great pain."
UNCOMMON

For Discussion Check Out:
http://forum.tcgplayer.com/showthread.php?p=1204898#post1204898
or
http://www.vsrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?p=870085#post870085
Monday we will look at our final version.