Turn of Events

SITUATION:  While this card is in play, all players must make an Exertion to
play an Event.

A promotional card that has become available recently, Turn of Events is a
very interesting and unique card.

A brief game mechanics note:  although the phrasing of the card might indicate
otherwise, you play the Event(s) first and make the Exertion(s) at the end of
the phase.

Nothing else in the game limits an opponent in quite the same way.  While
other Situations limit an opponent's ability to play certain cards (i.e.,
Honor Bound disallowing the play of all Specials) no other Situation blocks
the play of a card while allowing a player the option of Exerting to play that
card.

By forcing all Players to Exert whenever they play an Event, it gives players
a choice as to how important something is to them.  This is an interesting
technique, somewhat similar to cards like Joy Ride, Toadies, Stumble,
Battlefield, Song of the Executioner, or Watcher: Hunter.  I enjoy cards which
limit or hurt an opponent but give them a choice about it.  Cards like this
makes a player think, which adds to the strategy of the game.

A word of warning:  Turn of Events affects both players equally.  Like Avery
Hoskins, a player should only play with Turn of Events if their deck is
prepared to either Exert a lot, or not play Events.

Turn of Events is of only minor effectiveness against Plot-based decks.  Two
of the three Plot cards are Situations, so only one Exertion (when the Plot is
completed) is necessary.  Still, one Exertion is better than no Exertions.

There are some interesting side-effects of this card that are worth noting.
Every Event played requires an Exertion. This wreaks havoc with any multiple-
Event plays, or Event/Exertion combos, which suddenly require multiple
Exertions in a single turn to pull off.  Some of these cards include:

          multiple Dr. Sonny Jacksons (or Sonny/any Event)
          Darius/Seduce (or Darius/any Event, for that matter)
          Chessex
          multiple Kirk Matunas cards
          Connor:  It's a Kind of Magic
          TSC Troopers
          Duncan: Inspiration (not limited, but made useless)
          Kurgan:  Bloodlust
          Kurgan:  Master's Disarm
          Connor, Duncan, Khan, Richie, Nefertiri:  Battle Rage

Obviously, because Turn of Events requires an Exertion, players can't play
Events if they need the Exertion to power block, power blow, or search for
attacks or defenses.  By forcing them to Exert, this card will quickly run
them through their Endurance if their deck isn't built to handle Exerting a
lot.

Also, Katana can't Exert to remove a Situation _and_ play an Event on the same
turn.  If he wants to remove Carl and play Holy Ground, he'll have to use
other means than his Persona ability.

Because Turn of Events is not limited, a player who builds a deck around this
card should certainly put many of them in the deck.  Like Avery Hoskins, the
card doesn't stack (making a single Exertion to play an Event fulfills the
requirements no matter how many ToEs are out).  However, it allows a player to
put many of them into play at once.  This also helps against Police/Remove and
Katana decks, because this is a card (like Honor Bound) that screams out to be
removed from play.

You should therefore use Turn of Events in two types of decks:  decks that
don't use Events much (if at all), and decks that don't mind Exerting
regularly.

One option for using Turn of Events is to play a deck with few or no Events.
This is a difficult proposition:  my "standard deck" template begins with two
each of Holy Ground, Watcher: Treatment, Misfortune, and Police/Remove.  Very
few of my decks use fewer than those eight Events.  This would therefore mean
that the proposed deck is either built with very few Specials (maybe as few as
Honor Bound and Turn of Events) or with only non-Event Specials (Situations
and Locations).  My Connor/Stance deck, for example, uses Honor Bound and
other Situations, and is built with only three Events (a Police/Remove, a Head
Shot, and a Misfortune).  It could use Turn of Events nicely.

The other main option for using Turn of Events is to play a deck which makes
use of cards like Master: Sword Master and Collect to minimize Exertion costs.
A deck using these cards could play Events, while hurting an opponent's
ability to play them.  A Katana direct damage deck, for example, could use
Master and Collect to minimize the expense of Exertions, play Event damage and
Situation/Plots, and serve the double duty of removing an opponent's
Situations (with Exertions) and limiting their ability to play Events (with
ToE).

Which decks rely on Events?  Many swordfighting decks use cards like
Combination, Extra Shot, Power Blow, Head Shot, Battle Rage, and more.  Direct
damage cards are almost all Events, so Turn of Events hurts both of these
decks pretty equally.  Many Personas also have a lot of Immortal-specific
Events that they rely on, and ToE can crimp their style quite effectively.
Some other cards (those listed above) become _very_ difficult to play, because
they suddenly require multiple Exertions in a single turn.

The Kurgan, for example, loses a number of his best cards due to this.
Currently, Flashback (the version that allows an additional Exertion) and the
Prize/Exertion cards are the _only_ way to make multiple Exertions with Turn
of Events in play (Duncan's Inspiration is an Event, and therefore requires an
Exertion to play it in order to get an extra Exertion).

In conclusion, Hank gives Turn of Events a _8_.  ToE is a useful anti-cheese
card.  Steve gave Simple Mind a 7, and I think ToE is more painful against
decks unprepared for it.  It could prove quite annoying to most opponents,
because Events are a significant part of so many strategies.  It doesn't
_stop_ cheese, it just makes it more expensive.  It's a Situation,
unfortunately, which limits its effectiveness against Katana, the Persona of
choice for cheese decks right now.  Turn of Events is a momentary hindrance to
Katana, nothing more.  ToE as an Object or Location (with an appropriate name-
change) would have been a more effective anti-cheese card.

What Our Other Raters Say:

Ben - [Abstain]

Jeff - A theoretically nice card for anti-cheese -- even if it _is_ a
hard-to-find promo.  However, not any good against Katana decks, which
comprise 75% of cheese decks, so I have a hard time recommending it in that
capacity.  I'd prefer it against non-Katana Renee decks, myself.

Rick - It's a double edged sword.  While it's clearly a Chessex inhibitor, it
doesn't promote swordplay since you'll need to exert to play any attack
enhancements (Head Shot, Combination, Extra Shot).  Without any additional
Exertion cards, you can rule out Battle Rages, Berserks, and Bloodlusts.
Still, in the right deck (Slan perhaps) this could be nasty.

Steve - Mix with Greenfield Hobby and you have a anti-direct-damage deck that
will give even Katana pause.  Since Events are a part of so many swordfighting
strategies, ToE is probably best for Slan, the Kurgan, and Xavier.  These
three aren't particularly dependent on Events, and gain huge advantages if
their opponent is penalized for Event play.  This is also a good anti-Holy
Ground card, even against Katana.

Alan - [Abstain]

Jim - Turn of Events is a good anti-cheese card.  It works well against most
decks that use direct damage.  It is very strong when played in conjunction
with Greenfield Hobbies and a deck that utilizes a strong Power Blow attack
offense.  Since it is a Situation it is vulnerable to removal by Katana.

Chip - [Abstain]

Ratings Overall:

Steve                   7
Ben                   N/A
Jeff                    7

Rick                    3
Hank                    8
Alan                  N/A
Jim                     6
Chip                  N/A

Average:                6.2