Rather than try to follow the old Flashpoint threads that are ages old, I figured I'd start up a new one, with my takes on some of the new cards, and how they've performed: Feng Shui: Peacock Summit: Not bad, if you have lots of factions. I've seen it get up to 12-14 body without much trouble. In that case beats the heck out of Inner Sanctum. Only fits in certain decks though. City Park: At first, I thought this was just above coaster level. Then I watched someome plop down 3 in response to me burning one of his sites. This card rocks. Night Market: At first, I thought this card was better than Monkey House for generating power. Then people stopped playing events during my durn, or only play 0-cost or 1-cost ones. I really want to like this card (it has neat artwork) but it just doesn't work as well as I'd like it to. Monkey House is still better. Neutral: Wing of the Crane: Did someone call this card "only good in specialized decks" ?! Cripes, this card is the most versatile since Vivisector. Want to stop an attack? Wing of the Crane. Want to keep someone from Shadowy Mentoring or Tortured Memorying your guy, but don't want to sacrifice him? Wing of the Crane. Want to punch through your own attack, but don't know how to get rid of that big nasty blocker? Wing of the Crane. Trust me, this ain't no coaster. Satellite Intelligence: Another card I think someone here is greatly underestimating. The fact that it can be used during an attack is just brutal. One tactic I've seen is let someone take a battleground site or an Auspicious Termites, then attack it (and they probably won't put much effort into defending it since it's a crappy site anyway) and Sat Intelligence it for one of their good sites. On defense, you can pull the opposite, give an opponent that you just can't stop a piece of crap site they don't want. I don't think any card that has game-winning surprise value could be considered a coaster. CAT Tactics: OK, here's a coaster. So what if it's free. The most you can get out of this is in a 4-player game is +3 fighting for 1 turn, and that's if nobody does anything on any of their turns. How often does that happen? Once I put this out, people will attack with a weenie just to keep me from getting a counter. And the fact that they all go away if you don't use them makes it next to useless. I think the deck's better off without it. Hand: All the new Hand base characters: WHY DON'T ANY OF THEM GIVE YOU CHI? :P Enough said. Blood of the Valiant: This card rocks. Almost as good as Cellular Reinvigoration, in some situations better. Can be totally unexpected, as most people don't expect such an offensive card from a Hand deck. Combined with, say, Sun Chen or Fong Sai Yuk, you've got yourself an almost guaranteed site. And without a scratch, whee! Shan Tsu: At first, I didn't like this guy too much. I thought Sun Chen would be a better investment. But after playing with him a few times, I've grown to like him. Especially against 'theme'-type decks (ie Cop or Butterfly Knight decks) because most of the time decks like that rely on low-resource characters, which he just waltzes right by, or plows over. He's not awesome, mind you, but I think definitely worthwhile to put 1 in a deck. Just for those stupid cop decks. Dragon: Dirk Wisely's Gambit: Who said this was a coaster? (Wait, lemmie guess...) Even if you don't get the power out of it (which, to my experience, one does about 75% of the time), it's a 0-cost event that gives you 2 resources! Can't be reburied! Costs nothing! In a good draw, I've had the Gunman out on turn 3 with this card. No, this ain't no coaster. Both Guns Blazing: This is another card I want to like, I really do, and in some instances it's been pretty nasty. I've seen some GOOD gun decks, but no really GREAT gun decks. One more effective combo I've seen is this with Spirit Pole and multiple Claws of Darkness. The states end up paying for themselves most of the time, and give you +2 fighting per state instead of +1. Not too bad on the efficiency scale. Still, this card isn't a must-have, but not to forget, either. Redeemed Gunman: I've done not quite a 180 on this guy. Maybe 170. In playtest, I just thought he was awesome. I'd never use Friends of the Dragon again. But in honest, I've wished on more occasions that I could use him as a blocker, than I've had chances to use his special ability. Only the most foolhardy would put a Fox Pass or Proving Ground in the front row, so most of the time he's just a 1 that can't intercept. Hmm...maybe you really CAN'T have too many Friends... Architechts: Buromil Grunt: These guys are pretty neat. Also very versatile. I've got a deck right now called 'Smack' that likes to drop these guys on turn 2 with Explosives and an Arcanoseed. They're also great for holding onto and dropping to block your opponent's Hackers or Instruments of the Hand. If they gave tech, they'd be a must in every Architecht deck. As they stand, they're just pretty darn good. Paradox Cube: This is a card I don't know why more people don't play with. Aside from the obvious uses (Feast of Souls, for example) I've found it to be incredibly versatile against other decks that rely on powerful Edges. Copying a Paper Trail or Rackets can be fun, and sort of takes the advantage away from powerhog decks. Maybe it's that it requires magic, which required DNA mages. I think this also falls into the 'pretty darn good' category, but not a must-have. Colonel Griffith: Great artwork, and lots of fun with The Reconstructed and Drop Troopers. Still, every time I play this guy I can't help thinking there's better things I can do with my 3 power. Maybe time will tell. Or maybe I'll just play him in a deck with Gao Zhang and satisfy my morbid curiosity. ;) Ascended: Did the Ascended get any cards in Flashpoint? Oh yeah. Just a Rat is cool. NEXT! Lotus: Claw of Fury: Another card I've done a 180 on, this time in the other direction. At first I thought, "Oh great, another expensive resource character that doesn't give you magic. Thanks a bundle. :P" But I've since changed my opinion. The fact that he pops out for Pocket Demon, Violet Med, Covert Operation, or Curtain of Fullness makes him the most frequent 'pop-out-for-free' guy in our play groups. And 2 for 2 assasinate makes him GREAT for whacking things like Arcanotechnicians, Vivisectors, and The Prof. I've got at least a couple in every Lotus deck I play now. Won't be replacing Sinister Priest anytime soon, but still only a hair out of the 'must have' category. Destroyer: No, I won't even bother. Is there anyone who thinks Destroyer ISN'T awesome? Didn't think so. Glimpse of the Abyss: The jury's still out on this one, though it's not looking good as far as the verdict goes. It's not useful in the early game (too many resources, and not enough power), and in the late game, if you're ahead it extends the game and maybe gives your opponent(s) time to get back into it, and if you're behind it just puts the game that much more out of reach, all for what, 2 or 3 power? 4 or 5 if you're lucky? Still, I've seen instances where this has turned the game around. But not many. Crappy cousin to Dangerous Experiment. But don't set your drinks on it yet. Jammers: Gorilla Fighter: Pretty darn cool, especially in a deck where you don't mind your opponents taking your sites too much. Comes out for cheap (or even free) quite a bit. And Independent is always nice. Not for every Jammer deck, but I'd venture to say, maybe better than the $10 grand man if you're pretty sure you're going to have the resources. Give him a shot. Homemade Tank: I like this card, I really do. I consider it more of an Event than a State, though. +4 fighting and Toughness:1 is often enough to get you a site, especially when it takes an opponent by surprise. If it sticks around, hey, bonus! I'd throw a couple into most Jammer decks for that quick, cheap POP! Monarchs: Why did the Jammers get so many new cards, and the Monarchs get what, 2 or 3? I think I already said something about Spirit Pole. That's all I wanted to say. :) Opinions/discussion welcome.