Lunge - by Hank Driskill EDGE: Play in conjunction with a basic attack. Your opponent may block normally, but may not dodge this attack unless the dodge is from an Exertion. Lunge is one of the cards in the new expansion set, Watcher's Chronicle. It's a card that has made its way into a number of my swordfighting decks, and one of many recent attempts to help refocus the game toward swinging swords instead of playing cheese. Let's look at the game mechanics. Lunge is an Edge card, which means you can play it any time during your turn, and it doesn't count as your one Special card for that turn. This makes playing the card a simpler thing, and means it's fairly easy to get out of your hand: you just need to be playing a basic attack to use it. A Lunge-modified attack may not be dodged under certain circumstances. Nonetheless, playing Alertness/Dodge has no effect because all Alertness/Dodge lets you do is . . . play a dodge. You could do that before you used Alertness/Dodge, so you gain no benefit. Strategically, Lunge can be compared to other cards which limit an opponent's ability to dodge . . . Challenge/SE, for example. What makes Lunge really interesting is that it doesn't count as your Special, unlike Challenge/SE or others. This opens it up to lots of combination possibilities . . . unfortunately, it can only be used with a basic attack, which means it can't be used with Stalk, Master's Attack, Shooting Blade, or other non-Special attacks (i.e., Slash, Dirty Trick, and Flurry Strike) that are either difficult to block or unblockable. Those work with cards like Challenge/SE, where you use Challenge/SE as your Special and follow with an unblockable attack. You have to use some other means to make your attack unblockable with Lunge. Let's look at some combinations for Lunge. The first combo is Lunge/Head Shot. This is a simple, easy-to-play pair which forces an opponent to either have a way to Power Block _and_ have an Upper Block/Guard ready, or spend five cards scrambling for a Dodge. Many cheese decks rely on Dodges as their main defense, so this is a simple way to keep them nervous. Break Weapon: I never used this card before Lunge came along, but now I can play Lunge/Break Weapon, make a Power Blow, and my opponent has three choices: take the Power Blow, Exert for a Dodge, or block and risk losing their weapon. Fun . . . Head Hunter: This plot just became much more interesting. For three turns, your opponent can't block, and Lunge means it is hard for them to dodge. Opportunities for Head Shots and Power Blows and other obnoxious attacks await you thanks to Lunge. Other cards that limit blocking include Xavier's Hook, Mishap, Kastagir's Charm, Run Through, Connor's Master's Block, and more. These are all usable with Lunge. The worst of them is Connor pulling a Master's Block, Lunge/Head Shot attack: a Head Shot that's unblockable and dodgeable only with an Exertion. Ugh. Looking at the rest of the Watcher's set, only one new card really begs for the use of Lunge: Annie's Extra Shot (second attack is unblockable). There are other cards that work well with it, however. Watcher's Chronicles has lots of ways to do multiple attacks in a round, so Lunge's ability to limit Dodges works nicely with Flashing Blade, and the many multiple attack combos in this set. Rachel Ellenstein is the only card that currently cancels Edge cards, and it's not in wide use. This means putting Lunges in your deck, if you ever plan on playing a basic attack against your opponent, is probably a reasonable thing. They're fairly easy to get out of your hand, and they're always useful when played. In summary, Hank gives Lunge an _9_. It's a great addition to the swordfighting aspect of the game, it opens up new possibilities for fun combos, and it encourages the parts of the game I like the most. What Our Other Raters Say: Steve - This is the card that breaks the back of those irritating dodge-types. Having trouble pinning down those Amanda types? Got a non-attacker like Xavier who prefers to dodge? Lunge/Power Blow them. A vital card for Slan and the Kurgan, helpful for Duncan and Connor as well. Good for enhancing Trips, Power Blows, the first attack of a standard Extra Shot and the second attack of a standard Combination. More versatile than Flashing Blade, and duplicates many of FB's functions. All these factors make Lunge vital in Renaissance-style. Jeff - Now _this_ is a sweet little Edge card. Play Kalas with a Slan Q, Intimidate, and make it a Power Blow. Nasty. Lends itself to an infinite number of combos, some fun, some nasty. Rick - Abstain Alan - One of my favorite new cards, since it makes dodging attacks _really_ expensive, especially with Master's Advance out. I find its best use, however, is in a Connor deck with Master's Stance/Advance Warning, Master's Block, and six Thrust. Not quite as effective as Master's Block/Lunge, but effective nonetheless. Jim - Lunge is a cool card. It lets you get more mileage out of basic attacks. This is an excellent card to use in conjunction with Combination and Extra Shot. It's nice to use in conjunction with Hidden attacks, so it works well with Trip as well as being played following Jumps and Ducks. Lunge is a good card to play with the first attack on a Kurgan Follow-Up. This is a card that should be used in just about any attack deck. Wayne - Abstain Prodipto - This is one of the best attack-oriented cards yet. The usual defense against a Power Blow or Head Shot is to dodge if possible. With the Lunge, played in conjunction with a Head Shot or Power Blow, you can quickly put your opponent on the defensive. They'll either have to block and exert, or exert for a Dodge (unless they're Luther or Slan). Lunge will also have a huge impact when you play Hidden basic attacks. Again, your opponent has to either block and hope it's the right defense, then Exert if it's not, or Exert for a dodge. Note, Lunge doesn't make the attack undodgeable, so even Alertness doesn't help here. Of course, it only works with basic attacks, but I would still put it in just about any deck. Allen - Lunge is a great friend to attack-heavy decks. Dodges have long been the bane of decks stressing multiple and/or hidden attacks. When played with power blows, Lunge assures that your opponent cannot escape exerting for a Power Block merely by dodging. Used with Extra Shot or Combination, you prevent your opponent from avoiding your use of three cards by merely playing a single dodge. Of course, you'll still need to do something about Holy Ground. You'll find your odds of scoring sword damage in one pass through your deck to be much greater if you include Lunge in your strategy. Ratings Overall: Steve 10 Jeff 8 Rick N/A Hank 9 Alan 8 Jim 8 Wayne N/A Prodipto 9 Allen 8 Average: 8.57