(This page is courtesy of Dave Van Domelen, Shadowfist playtester and all around good guy.)
For those who don't follow me on the comics or RPG groups, "Rant" is just what I call my reviews. Not that this is a review in the classic sense, hence I don't call it a review. I call it a Rant. }->
Now that I've cracked open two boxes of boosters (and gotten two paper cuts from the cards), I've got all but three cards in the set. And I can see that a rather large number of changes were made between the final playtest version and the published version (most of them for the better).
This post is going to be a combination of art comments, color text comments, pointers on how the cards work or can be used, and a few vague and not-likely-to-violate-my-nondisclosure-agreement comments on how some cards have evolved through playtest. A couple of questions I had answered in playtest don't seem to be in the provisional FAQ, so I'll bring them up here just in case anyone wondered about them.
In general, at first I thought they'd made the background of the text box bolder, because the text was kinda hard to read. Then I compared and found it was the same...it's just that almost all of the new sites use tinier type which gets lost in the texture.
Field of Tentacles: This was a card that had many variants in playtest, some of which might come back in later cards if they can be fixed (which is why I'm not listing the variants explicitly for this or any other card). IMO, the current ability is better (not more powerful, just better) than the old ones it had.
Garden of Bronze: Interestingly, one of the abilities this had during playtest got given to Festival Circle. Its current ability, which falls into a class I call Burner Busters, bounced from card to card until landing here. The number of Burner Busters in the set fluctuated significantly, from zero to lots to a few to the current number.
House of Mirrors: A lesson in trying to fit a neat piece of color text. Originally, they kept trying to find a way to make it fit a quote about having another site in your sights, but it never really worked. And, of course, now it has no color text at all. As an example of old abilities being recycled, the House's current ability is a fixed version of a power removed from a Limited Edition site (Hallowed Ground, I think).
Ring of Gates: All I have to say is, if you think this might be a confusing card now, you should have seen its old power.
Whirlpool of Blood: This one has not changed at all since the first playtest set, with the possible exception of a BODY change. And it was the single card greeted with the most relief by my playtesting group. Why? Because one major lack in the original set is a way to deal with site-effects. Before Netherworld, you pretty much could not stop site-effects. Now you can.
Eugene Fo: I agree he looks a little like Tarantino, but I think there's more Sean Penn in there. Fast Times at Furinkan High?
The Losers: They mutated about as much as any card did, changing in almost every revision. I'm not sure their current power is worth 2 power for 1 fighting, but I suppose a one-shot defense against any nasty Event or State (maybe 2 or 3 shots) is good enough.
IKTV Rebroadcast Link: IKTV stands for Inner Kingdom TV. The Four Monarchs refer to the Netherworld as the Inner Kingdom.
Discerning Fire: Just a note on a current debate. You can't pay 2 and smoke 1 target, since the rules text is "Smoke X target cards...X must be greater than 1." You must smoke more than 1 target.
Pocket Demon: This guy started off with another name, as a State, and with a power that got modified and given to the Abysmal Prince. Fun, yes?
Gnarled Attuner: Gotta love the flying cybernetic devil rays.
Sergeant Blightman: A must for Dragon/Architects decks. Chinese Healer and Blightman were made for each other. That, or make sure you have a Sacred Heart Hospital in with Blightman.
CHAR: One of the best pieces of art in the set. But what does CHAR stand for (or for that matter, HAVOC?)?
Brain Sucker: It was always the intent to have this guy somehow mess up Masterminds, but he went through a number of changes before his current ability was settled on. It's certainly more likely to hose a Mastermind-heavy deck than the old versions.
Chi Sucker: Gee, Discerning fire on "Sucker"? And in case you missed the post elsewhen, this guy's Fighting boost only lasts until the end of the combat he's in, not forever as the text accidentally implies.
Undercover Agent: I liked her original name better, although I suppose it might be taken the wrong way: Denim Infiltrator. I wanna see a Denim Infiltrator/Big Trousers Tsien combo, man!
Sucker Rounds: The art looks like some of the newer Nerf weapons. Nerf from hell!
Reverend RedGlare: Missing color text: "Okay, you tell him he's quoting the Bible wrong!"
Triumvirate Dealmaker: Ideally designed for multiplayer, there's a limited use you can get out of her in two-player: if your opponent's about to smoke a character anyway, use her to get a power out of it. Overkill is lost, yes?
Flying Kick: The color text almost breaks the fourth wall. While it's funny, I'm not sure I like the precedent.
Surprise, Surprise: Thus proving that the Dragons simply have the hottest wardrobes of all the factions. Which is as it should be, really.
The Prof: I've known people who looked like her.
Ting Ting: Man, that expression on her face. It's a sort of "come hither...so I can kick your butt into next week!" look.
Tanbi Guiawu: As long as you turn him to attack, he's fine. If he's later removed by Tactics or Kinoshita House, this will not trigger his smoking.
Abysmal Absorber: A suggested way to keep track of his extra Fighting bonuses: turn the toasted characters face down and place them on him like States.
Abysmal Prince: Gosh, you have a Molten Heart. Now it has 2 Fighting, and gee, here's a Shattering Fire. Yep, now Lotus can get rid of Edges.
Senshi Chambers: Background note. See how they're "Netherworld Sites"? This is because the Hand dudes found that they could mold the malleable reality of the Netherworld into the ideal meditation chambers, which these are.
Storm of the Just: Wording's a little vague. Simply put, if your opponent is ahead and has nailed at least one of your FS sites, then you can play this and make your characters really buff.
Violet Monk: The Dirk in the color text is coming up in a later expansion.
Gorilla Warfare: This card radically changes one of the major play dynamics of Shadowfist. Now overkill matters. Before, sending 20 Fighting worth of characters against a 4 Body site meant that 16 damage was lost. Now, a really big overkill can nail two sites in one shot! One seized, the other smoked.
Entropy Is Your Friend: Another Burner Buster.
Furious George: Okay, where's the man in the yellow bulletproof helmet? }-> Also, a very good character for helping out in multiplayer...if you attack with him, he's all alone. But if you join in on someone else's attack with him, he's got pals.
Gearhead: I suppose this is closer to what Andrew would have wanted for the Gadgeteer.
Demolitions Expert: Grenade Launcher that can be moved around as needed.
Tunnel Ganger: Original color text, presumably too long to fit: "They're not exactly Jammers, but then again, they're not exactly not Jammers."
Fire and Darkness Pavilion: Somehow, this looks like a mystic mobile home to me. This is a nasty card, though, since it lets you get out the Molten Heart without meeting the long string of resource requirements.
Thunder Pagoda: Normally, I like Foglio cards. But I was all set for a castle of clouds flying over the Vatican, not this.
Counterfeit Heart: Remember, Thunder on Thunder doesn't target, and will wipe all Edges including this.
Molten Heart: A few notes. One, it can provide 4 power alone, up to two more per extra player. There are 4 Triuvirate Edges, and I kinda doubt there will be more in later sets. And all of them are either Unique or Limited. The original power of the MH was a real gamewinner, and it also originally could easily be gotten out by turn three. Now it takes at least 4 turns, and while nastyevilnasty, it's not a gamebreaker anymore. Whew.
Brain Fire: Originally had this neat color text, but we could never find a decent power for it.
Mark of Fire: While the original color text was good (something to the effect that while Li Ting's really sneaky, people forget he does outrigth devastating pretty well too), this new version has got to be the best color text of the set. "Li Ting's idea of equality is everybody on fire at the same time." Yes!
Lord Shi: I don't have him yet, so I'm not sure if this is clear from the card. But he's not tied to any of the Monarchs, he's a minor fifth power from their reality, possibly a former vassal of one of them who went his own way.
Queen of the Darkness Pagoda: Note that her power doesn't specify "in combat." So if you Blade Freak her, the Blade Freak is toasted.
Butterfly Knight: Remember, he must start off unturned to be declared as an attacker, even though he doesn't have to turn to make his first attack.
In general, it looks like Ice got the best deal of the Four Monarchs, since it almost now has as many foundation characters alone as a regular faction (Ice Healer, Ice Warriors, Ice Tiger) while the other three Monarchs each only have one foundation character (Thunder Knight, Fire Warriors, Darkness Priestess). OTOH, Darkness got a number of non-character cards, like the Blanket of Darkness, Claws of Darkness and Shields of Darkness.
Last modified: June 18, 1997.
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