Cheering Section

Novelty: As I’m kind of getting tired of saying by now, the card gets the automatic +1 for having the Harmony tag (maybe we can just assume that going forward?) While pushing aggro and Competitive isn’t necessarily something new for Blue, this is one of the few cards that I can think of which specifically pushes the colour to go wide. Which is not something it’s done a whole lot of in the past.

Impact: Competitive 5 is I think the number where this card switches from middling to quite good. So Impact is a question of how many Blue decks from the days of yore could consistently have three pegasi out. Scootaloo clearly would qualify, Bluna perhaps less so. So there certainly could have been some adopters out there.

Flavour: The flavour on this card is pretty nicely established, especially while pegasi are known for having individualist streaks, they’re also fairly team-oriented most of the team. Why wouldn’t they work together to elevate the stars among themselves?

Accident at the Pear Farm

Novelty: As I’ve made this series, I’ve occasionally wondered if Novelty and Flavour are somewhat opposing ideas. For example, sometimes I’ve awarded Novelty for cards that took a colour away from doing things it’s done before, and sometimes I’ve awarded Flavour for cards that let a colour keep doing things that it’s always done. This card is a good example of why I think the system still works. It does a decidedly less-Orange thing (Troublemaker +Power) in a very Orange way (banishing stuff from discard). Which is great.

Impact: Funnily enough, as I mentioned in my Field Report video when I talked about this card, the real allure of it is that it’s sitting in that brilliant 2+2:5 spot where aggro will like it a lot. Even if the text is irrelevant, I can’t give it less for Impact since aggressive decks want Problems like this so bad.

Flavour: This card is strange, since I’d say that if the design idea of the card had anything to do with Dragons, I’d give it a 5. Troublemakers helping Troublemakers: that’s exactly the Dragon synergy. But there’s no connection to pears whatsoever.

Garble, Let’s Race

Novelty: It was pointed out to me after I lost my marbles over this card that giants in Orange aren’t exactly anything new, and Garble himself might not even be breaking new ground in terms of power. Competitive 4 is still the highest value on any individual Friend though, and this is the first Friend that’s been able to do that for Troublemakers (as opposed to directly giving them power like Purple has done before).

Impact: One the Impact front, the first thing that I said for Novelty comes back for this one. Rescue Party actually is probably the better Friend if you want a real aggro powerhouse at this cost, and Garble alone isn’t enough to bring the Troublemaker deck to life.

Flavour: I positively love this card’s flavour, though. I mentioned this in my reaction video, but Garble as a character really has this big individualist streak and is the kind of guy who really could strike out on his own. Despite being a total jerk, this dragon is ambitious, competent, and oh-so-willing to believe that he’s the best thing there ever was. In short, he’s not a ready-made support character, but if all you’re looking to do is start a ruckus, he’ll be plenty of help.

Somnambula, Pillar of Hope

Novelty: In general, for what it’s worth, I’ve found all of the Pillars so far to be quite well-designed. Somnambula may be re-purposing text from good old Balloonoculars, but that text needed to be better represented anyway, and she does something very special with it. The draw trigger is entirely novel, though (again, somewhat similar to what Balloonoculars did, but much more general).

Impact: I’ve plenty of talk already about fun things that can be done with this card, and many of them rely only on original Core cards in order to do it. Without question, this card could have been implemented into a variety of Pink strategies before FF, and I think most of them would have been eager to have her. Granted the answer to her is the same as the old meta’s answer to everything else (Belly Flops, pumpkins, etc. etc.), but it would still be a different place.

Flavour: I really like this card’s flavour. If you wanted to talk about Hope embodied in a card, then look no further. Given a little bit of knowledge, you get to make a judgement call, and hope that you’re right. Hope tempered with the wisdom to direct it properly is a potent weapon. Plus (and I’ll get to this for the other pillars), I really appreciate the chosen art. A hero of action should to the extent possible be depicted in action.

Star Swirl the Bearded, Pillar of Sorcery

Novelty: Star Swirl is functioning here essentially an embodiment of Super Purple. I do believe that “Super Meticulous” is the correct shorthand for his first ability, and it takes the concept to its logical extreme. In addition, even though he’s borrowing Premier Twilight’s text for his second part, that text is entirely new to Core, so it’s not even really that old.

Impact: Unfortunately for Star Swirl, big expensive Friends really need to do something right away to be able to enjoy much relevance. Compare Redeem Starlight, whose ability was positively monstrous if you could get it off several times. Somnambula’s great because she does something right away, and Flash is similar. Star Swirl pretty much needs to see the start of a turn to get his value out.

Flavour: This one borrows from the Novelty blurb quite a bit. Star Swirl is Purple refined and sharpened to a point. The fact that he takes an original Purple ability (Premier Twilight’s) and adds on an evolution of a thing that Purple only later became known for is only icing on the cake. If Premier Twilight was the Faithful Student, then this is what she would have looked like if she’d been able to get her Ph. D.

Flash Magnus, Pillar of Bravery

Novelty: I really do feel sorry for both Flash and Lightning Dust (whose Novelty rating I will be decreasing as a result of seeing this card). It’s such a shame that those two cards simply had to be so similar to each other in the end. Flash gets the better end of the stick for adding a little onto that formula, but at least in this category I can’t help but feel disappointed.

Impact: In this category, though, I’ve got nothing but praise. Even if my initial reaction may have been somewhat over-the-top (Flash doesn’t necessarily go in everything) I still think most Blue decks would eagerly make a place for him. And he would be a potent tool for them. When you can’t zip Thunderlane around and confront everything, then you may as well use this guy as a cudgel on your opponent’s turn.

Flavour: My only complaint on the flavour on this card brings up the little footnote I wrote for Somnambula above. Sure, Flash is a finely handsome stallion, but with the amount of action this guy’s gotten up to, I would have expected there would be some art to show him in the thick of it. A shot of him just standing there doesn’t quite have the same impact. Besides that, though, the design works just fine.

Princess Cadance, Family Matters

Novelty: Cadance actually hits this one out of the park, doing some pretty crazy things on a Friend. The cost-reduction thing is close to Secret but it’s done in a much more extreme way. The Event tax is close to a Mimics (if you name Events with your Mimics about ⅔’s of the time, then in the long run it’s exactly the same thing). And the card draw is absolute insanity.

Impact: Unlike the other big, slow giant tri-colour cards, Cadance gets some love in this category even if she’s a super magnet for removal. Namely, she is still guaranteed value, except for the corner case where she’s removed by some effect that doesn’t require the opponent to play a card. Other than that, you’re going to get at least some value from her, which is enough to make her viable in more than just the reanimation playstyle.

Flavour: Okay, just like I did for Tri-Twi here: 1) While this cost reduction thing is clearly the Blue effect, it reminds me more of Pink because of Secret, and Gilda, and similar things. So I’m not feeling this one. 2) Taxes are for the rich and famous (because in Equestria the tax code makes sense). So White! 3) Pink has returned to its roots, and will draw you all the cards. Sorry, did you only some of the cards? I’m afraid you’re getting all of the cards.

Detention!

Novelty: As a slower unconditional Napcakes, this card reminds me a lot of some of the Events we had back in The Crystal Games. I don’t remember the exact names, but I’m sure there was something at least similar to this. It’s getting it’s mandatory +1 for the Harmony, but that’s it.

Impact: As I said in my reaction video, I think this card is kind of on the fringe even in the world where Unicorn decks exist. If it’s trying to make its own way, it’s not going to find one.

Flavour: Now, the Flavour here is pretty good, though. Top-decking is the most serious removal that Purple can offer, and setting it in the academic context is nice. Plus it’s important to point out that the Unicorn Harmony is done right. Having an abundance of Unicorns isn’t going to make your spells more powerful, but it might make them easier to do.

Smolder, Culture Shock

Novelty: Naturally, I can’t give Smolder much of a drop for Novelty. That text certainly looks nothing like anything that I’ve ever seen before. It’s clever, but it’s still decidedly Orange. It’s nice.

Impact: Smolder gets a helping hand in this category because Orange is really crying out for a reasonable Mane right now. Yes, Muffin Mare exists, but she has a pretty dedicated niche. With AJ gone, Orange desperately needs a good general purpose Mane. And even though Smolder has the obvious Dragon synergy, she’s perfectly fine in other Orange decks that do faceoffs from time to time.

Flavour: Like with Gallus, let me try to interpret this text into something that can be well-understood. Again, we’re in a tough spot (the faceoff). Smolder is going to take the opponent head on (exhausting herself) in the hope of interfering with them (forced discard) enough to give one of her allies (other card) an opening to strike (+Power). Now that is very Dragon-like (it’s bascially what the tribe is about), but it sounds like a super stretch to throw that on Smolder as a character. I’m not convinced.

Yona, Student of Friendship

Novelty: I was getting ready to bust Yona all of the way down to 1 just like I did with Sandbar before. While it’s true that no card that no card has had her specific text before, there have been many variations on the theme. However, I did notice one key thing that I felt merited something: the fact that her effect isn’t local, whereas all of the Friend-based “Turn a Troublemaker down” effects are. That actually counts for something, since it helps her out with the Trixie TM.

Impact: That said, we’re still going to be moving along here. Yellow has plenty of Troublemaker hate already, and won’t blink an eye getting more.

Flavour: Interfering with Troublemakers has in the past been interpreted as impressive power (including in one of my favourite Flavour cards, Princess Celestia, Bane of Evil). However, sometimes it’s also been mere trickery or unexpected good fortune. I find it hard to really fault Yona in any way on this, so she can have a middling score, since she’s okay in Yellow.

Stop Fighting!

Novelty: This is another card that I really like, in this case mainly because of the novel thing that it’s doing with its tribe. When the tribe thing was first starting out, we saw the way that Unicorns and Pegasi and Dragons etc. were looking, and everyone said “Well gee, there aren’t really enough griffons to pull a deck like that together; let’s hope we see a lot more griffons.” But this card is saying that the griffon tribe isn’t going to work like that. There probably isn’t going to be a griffon deck; there may instead be a griffon package that augments other things. And it’s cool to see some tribes that aren’t implemented as full “Your whole deck must be Unicorns” things.

Impact: Somewhat paradoxically given the above, I still think that we’re a little short on griffons at the moment for this card to have a real spot in the world. It’s not terrible as a pure 1 AT frighten, though, so at least I have to give it that.

Flavour: Griffons can be loud and intimidating, and I really love again how the tribe’s synergy is portrayed in the design of cards like this. Griffons generally aren’t team players, so you’re not going to see effects like Unicorn Trixie or Dragon Charcoal. Instead, you’re going to see effects that make each griffon individually better. Top notch, though why this has to be in the discard pile first is a tougher lift for me.

Queen Chrysalis, Evil Twin

Novelty: In effect, what Chrysalis is really implementing is a stronger version of the already-done stealing mechanic. Since this card effectively steals a Friend, but no recourse exists to get the Friend back. If that was the only thing special about the card, it wouldn’t score that highly. But implementing it on a 5-cost, 0-Power Friend that ushers in a whole slew of rules on what “copying a Friend” actually means. Sign me up for that.

Impact: Unfortunately in terms of game impact, we really can reduce Chryssy down to just a stronger stealing effect. Since stealing was already generally considered too expensive at 4, I wouldn’t say that making it 5 and getting the extra surety is going to help all that much. Though she can be cheated out, which is something at least.

Flavour: Let us all take a moment to collectively chuckle at this beautiful flavour text. And if you hear any hissing, watch carefully the one who hisses, for that one may be the traitor in disguise. In all seriousness, though, this card perfectly encapsulates the changeling ideal of aggressively replacing someone else. It’s something Chrysalis honestly ought to do more of on the show; it’s kind of what she’s good at.

Ocellus, Knowledge is Power

Novelty: Well, clearly there isn’t much to say on this. This Mane is totally new; we’ve never seen anything even remotely like this before. And it’s clever, and it’s cool. Ocellus has already inspired lots of new thinking about how to play decks with her (including from yours truly). That’s precisely what novel cards are supposed to do.

Impact: Similar to Smolder, Ocellus gets some of her Impact score purely from the fact that White was in need of a better general-purpose Mane than it currently had. Which isn’t to imply that this one is necessarily “general-purpose”. She definitely does require some thought and work to use properly, but not as much as Octavia. And she’s clearly powerful, though not quite in a way that I’d immediately say she’s going to rock the meta.

Flavour: Okay, I may as well keep this process going. So Ocellus is naturally a timid individual; she needs some support (the efficient Friend) to properly shine. With AT somewhat associated with knowledge via Purple, the Immediate ability is the implementation of the whole Knowledge is Power thing: with applied thought, Ocellus can be a proper force. However, she has to take a hit because she doesn’t belong in White. I fully understand why this Mane had to be White (the changeling colours are Yellow and White) but that doesn’t make it a Flavour win.

Maulwurf, Extra Large

Novelty: It’s true that the text on this card has an identifiable source, coming straight from good old Jet Set & Upper Crust, albeit with a slight variation both in Power and in text. Bringing that effect to Core is desirable enough (especially since it was actually a valuable thing in Harmony once or twice), even if it’s basically the same card.

Impact: While clearly a farming counter, Maulwurf on its own does nothing against a farming deck. Indeed, old JSUC required an Alicorn Amulet to really come into its own, and this card will likely fill the same role in any deck that wants it. Farming is around though, so in that sense it stands a fighting chance.

Flavour: Trying to figure out what exactly the point value of a Troublemaker translates to in terms of flavour was an interesting exercise for me. In the end, I think it comes down to the degree of cunning on the part of the character. Minions and wild beasts don’t get the points, it’s the leaders and the planners that get that benefit. And thus this works, in addition to the moderate values on the rest of the card with the game text filling in for its resistant biology.

Untested Magic Fireworks

Novelty: This card really comes out of leftfield and leaves only an impact crater when it leaves, doesn’t it? On the one hand, this is a classic Johnny card and something that the game needs more of. On the other, it instantly calls to mind Chaos Capital of the World, though clearly with some major differences that probably make it much more applicable to the weird interactions that it’s going to cause people to dream up.

Impact: I have no idea whatsoever what the Impact of this card should be. Again, its presence has already incited fevered theorizing, and a couple of combos that sound like they might be edging closer to the main stage. But it definitely feels like more of a joke to me.

Flavour: At this stage, I feel like the card should just turn things up to eleven and replace the Problems each time while it’s at it, so the whole board is just getting nuked. Either way, though, it’s still pretty awesome. This is a meteor coming out of nowhere and doing some damage. To everyone. Outstanding.

Sorry Stamp

Novelty: Mechanically, this card is actually pretty interesting. It stands in a similar spot to Pharynx, where it’s quite bad when used on its own, but rapidly gets quite respectable when used in the proper deck. In the way that I see Earth Ponies playing, this card is very much just going to be dismiss two things, and that’s new too. It will be interesting to see how the costs play out.

Impact: This is one of the cards where I feel like Impact, as I have been judging it, feels wrong. Like sure, this card gets a low Impact score because it’s not going to start an Earth Pony deck all on its own, so clearly in SB nobody would use it. (Especially since there was no shortage of removal in those days already). But that’s really not the point of the card. But again, that’s why we don’t average or combine the ratings when we do overall. The card is novel, and cards shouldn’t have to always be all three.

Flavour: Like a fair number of these Harmony cards, the problem is with the scaling. We have more Earth Ponies so it’s easier to stamp more stuff? Hardly.

These things somehow always turn out being incredibly gigantic pieces of work. That I didn’t quite expect when I started out. But I guess it’s almost done, right? Just have that review stream to look forward too…