Duelyst Forums

Keyword Brainstorming: Design Discussion

#1

I went through a bunch of design threads on the forums and compiled a bunch of keyword concepts people came up with.

BEEN DONE BEFORE

Keywords that already exist in other card games, under different names. Applications in Duelyst are still worth talking about though!

Consume: When this minion destroys another minion, activate an effect.

Overkill: When this minion destroys an enemy minion, deal any excess damage to the enemy
General.

Armor(X): This minion takes X less damage from all sources.

Thorns(X): This minion deals X additional damage when counterattacking.

Thorns: When this minion counterattacks, activate an effect.

Conceal: This minion cannot be targeted by attacks, spells or Opening Gambits until it attacks.

Survivor: When this minion survives damage, activate an effect.

Execute: When this minion attacks and destroys another minion, it takes no counterattack damage.

Wither: When this minion deals damage to an enemy minion, grant that minion -X/-X instead, where X equals the damage that would have been dealt.

Dawn: When you draw this card, activate an effect.

ODD THOUGHTS

Ideas from the forums I haven’t seen word for word in other games.

Bumrush: While this minion is at full health, activate an effect.

Cache(X): At the start of your next turn, add X Mana to your Maximum Mana.

Conduit: When you summon this minion activate an effect X times, where X equals the amount of mana you have after summoning this minion.

Adapt: Copy the target minion’s keywords (Provoke, Celerity, Frenzy, Flying, Ranged, Forcefield, Rush).

Tribute: Destroy a card from your deck.

Dusk(X): At the end of your turn, if you have at least X mana, activate an effect.

Invigorate: At the end of your turn, if this minion did not attack, activate an effect.

Delay(X): After X turns, activate an effect at the start of your turn.

#BOARD-BASED CARD GAME

Duelyst’s unique aspects are best highlighted by these positioning based keywords.

Hit and Run: May move again after attacking.

Support: While a friendly minion is directly in front of this minion, activate an effect.

Bravado: While this minion is nearby X enemies, activate an effect X times.

Link: Grant this minion’s effects to all joined allied minions with Link.

Lookout: When an enemy moves to a space nearby this minion, activate an effect.

Deploy: This minion does not need to be summoned nearby an allied unit. You must summon this minion in your starting column.

Adrenaline: If this minion is destroyed by combat or any effect, it does not die until the end of the turn.

Impenetrable: Takes no damage from units in columns in front of this minion.

COMPLEX GAMEPLAY

The weird ones.

Charge(X): If this minion moves a minimum of X spaces this turn, it activates an effect.

Quickstep: This minion may move through adjacent enemies in a straight line. If this minion moves through an enemy in this way, activate an effect.

Fortify: You may play Artifacts on this minion. If you do, grant this minion the effects of the Artifact (instead of your General) and activate an effect.

Embody: You may play this minion on another friendly minion. If you do, activate an effect.

Elude: You may summon a friendly minion from your action bar on this minion’s space. If you do, return this minion to your action bar and activate an effect.

Deplete(X): This minion enters the battlefield with X Deplete counters on it. At the start of your turn remove one Deplete counter from it. If this minion has no Deplete counters at the start of your turn, destroy it.

Deplete(X): This minion enters the battlefield with X Deplete counters on it. At the start of your turn remove one Deplete counter from it. While this minion has no Deplete counters, it is a Structure.

Dissolve: At the end of your turn, summon two 1/1 copies of this minion nearby.

See yours? Claim it below in a comment. Don’t see yours? Add it below in a comment. Think any of these have real potential? Let’s discuss it below! (Feel free to add potential card concepts, archetypes, or whole factions when relevant)

5 Likes
#2

Sleep(X): Minions damaged by this cannot act for X turns or until it takes damage
Nimble: Cannot be targeted by ANY single target spells and effects
Skirmish: Can move through enemies
Charge: This minion gains bonus attack for every square it moves, until end of your turn.
Pierce: When this minion attacks, also damages the unit behind the primary target
Rejuvenate(X): The first time this minion takes damage, heal it for X

3 Likes
#3

One that I’d been brainstorming a faction around:

Invigorate: At the end of your turn, if this minion did not attack, activate an effect

2 Likes
#4

If you’re doing a master thread, you may be interested in keywords here:

2 Likes
#5

One thing your forgetting is FACTIONS
Themes and synergies

Abyssian - sacrifice: when this minion is destroyed by a friendly spell or minion effect, activate an effect (could overlap with dying wish, but requirements more strict)

Magmar - adrenaline: this minion cannot be killed until the end of either players turn (basically its health can go negative but doesnt die until end of turn. Overwritten by destroy effects)

Lyonar - empathy: all forms of damage and healing that effect nearby minions also effect this one (possibly vice versa possibly instead)

Vanar - stasis(X): unit gains structure (or wall) type. Transforms into a minion after X turns. Damage triggers the transformation immediately. (Kinda the same as sleep)

Songhai - arcane flood: when targeted by any spell, Activate an effect. (Abusable, i know, but still interesting and in theme)

Vetruvian - cursed(X/X): whenever this minion damages an enemy it gains cursed(X/X) and loses X/X per turn. (A bit abyss-like, but still in theme with enemy debuffs)

2 Likes
#6

@isgopet and I discussed some that I really enjoyed a long while back about a robotic faction. The keywords were LINK and PROGRAM. Link to thread

LINK: Every minion who shares the LINK keyword would gain +1 Attack, +1 Health.

PROGRAM: Select a keyword upon being summoned (non-rush)

What I also thought would be a great touch to the faction and keywords is that the faction color would be a dark blue, where one of the generals would be Deep Blue (the first computer to defeat a chess grandmaster)

2 Likes
#7

I’ve made a similar topic months ago and will just reiterate some of my ideas.

Hit and run - can move again after attacking.

Rock throw - can’t attack adjacent enemies. Can only attack an enemy two spaces away in horizontal or vertical line.

Dash - can move up to three spaces. Can only move in a straight line.

Torture (x) - activate an effect upon receiving damage.
ex.
Torture: gain a random keyword ability.
Torture: increase attack equal to damage received.
Torture: heals friendly General equal to damage received.

2 Likes
#8

In addition to Adapt and Mutate (x) i’ve been looking into a “Origin” keyword

“Origin” - After this minion attacks return it to where it was summoned/ where it was at start of that turn.
Makes where you position your minions very imortant and is a diffrent way to interact with the board.

5 Likes
#9

Hey it’s like harpies in HoMM. I liked them and I like the idea!

#10

Definitely an interesting idea, though I can’t see enough minions interacting with this concept thematically to make it a keyword. One mechanical issue: “attacking” happens before “damaging”, so it would put a minion to sleep, then immediately wake it up.

Again, seems to have limited applications. Most minions can only move up to 2 spaces, Celerity minions can move up to 4 and Flying minions can abuse the mechanic so much that they couldn’t be printed with the ability (remember that Astral Phasing exists). For a conditional attack-only buff… it just seems like not enough for a keyword. Still, its a cool concept that works really well with Duelyst’s board.

Cool idea, but a bit strange. It would only mitigate one instance of damage, so why not just make the keyword heal fully? Really unique, I’ve never thought of this idea before.

Awesome concept, can’t wait to see what you come up with :smiley:

I put your Adapt keyword here, but Mutate seemed too specific to your faction idea to include in a brainstorming list. Yours was one of the threads that convinced me to start this thread, actually!

Excellent idea, though this should never be allowed to overlap with Rebirth. I’m not sure why you want destroy effects to overwrite this effect. For balancing purposes?

Cool idea, sort of like Deplete, I appreciate any idea that plays with the unique aspects of the Structure keyword.

Here’s an interesting idea kind of like Adapt, but with the added element of a choice. That, unfortunately, has yet to be added to the Duelyst interface, and you can’t Program on your opponent’s turn.

Simple, sweet, excellent.

Seems more limiting than helpful.

Excellent idea for Duelyst’s board based gameplay.

Too many minions already have “on damage” abilities.

Super weird, I wonder what this could possibly be useful for or how many minions could fit thematically with it. Guess I gotta look up those Harpies from HoMM now.

edit: Okay, I get this idea now. I think it could be cool if it didn’t take counterattack damage when returning to home and you had to hunt down the “Nest” to fight it in melee range.

#11

Sounds like Kunkka’s X marks the spot

#12

That wasn’t my thread actually. You’d better say thanks to @2munk4u.

1 Like
#13

whoopsie daisies, ty @2munk4u

2 Likes
#14

Well, charge should give +2 per space instead, and make sure this don’t go with flying or in a vet card…

Anyway i came up with some ideas

Knockback: Minions damaged by this are pushed backwards 1 space. If there’s no space, deal 2 damage instead (yes it prevents melee counters)

Assassinate(X): If the minion this minion attacks is below X health, destroy it.

Ethereal: Cannot attack or be attacked. (think of dota 2’s ethereal mechanic)

First Strike: Always attacks first, even when counter attacking (good for in damage effects)

Coward: When there is an enemy nearby, cannot act (allows airdrops to counter ranged. Planar scouts pls)

Medic: This minion cannot attack enemies, instead uses attack command to heal allies

And here’s one joke keyword

Racist: If there’s a minion from other tribe and faction when this is summoned, destroy it

1 Like
#15

Didn’t know about this, ill edit it right away

Then it would be weaker forcefield (the effect wouldn’t trigger if it dies of one attack… Or would it?) making it heal partially sounds more interesting since it wouldn’t always a full restore all the time, or maybe it would get random ping to trigger the effect then actually hit it afterwards.

1 Like
#16

Here’s some idea I got.

Critical: 50% chance to deal 150% damage when attacking or counterattacking. (rounded up)

Siphon: Take all keywords from ALL minions nearby. Those minions may have the keyword back by simply walking away from any minion with this keyword.

Throw Weapon: Able to engage ranged combat. Attacking or counterattacking in a ranged combat will remove this keyword and decrease this minion’s atk by 50%. (rounded down)

Inpenetrable: Takes no damage from ANY source from anything in front of this minion. Ranged damage will be nulified if the ranged minion attacked on the same row as the inpenetrable unit, and directly faces it.

Bound : This minion cannot receive any status effects except Provoke. (can’t be buffed and debuffed) Dispel does not remove this.

This one’s kinda unique to Duelyst as it counters a recent keyword–
Keen: You can see what triggers enemy sentinel transformation.

1 Like
#17

Overkill <3. Thank you for finding time and mentioning me.

I made one a while back, can’t remember the name but basically, “no minions can be summoned next to this one”.

1 Like
#18

I’d call this keyword “Disgusting” :stuck_out_tongue:

#19

Jupp, Big HoMM fan :slight_smile: and the thought was to make it work something like that. But in a more “Duelyst” type of way :stuck_out_tongue:

I think mutate (x) (just change the name) could work in some other concepts/ factions. Also, Your feedback made me want to create another Faction concept! A Lovecraftian inspired one, with keywords workship and Gravity well as well as a twilight zone tile.

The Keywords i realy liked here are:

1 Like
#20

Although all of the keywords are cool, I think it would be best if some of the “keywords” were assigned to a specific minion, spell or artifact and work as an ability. For example, Bumrush and Overkill don’t necessarily have to be keywords, much like how Thunderhorn’s effect is unique. Anyway… here’s another keyword I came up with.

Dissolve: At the end of your turn summon two 1/1 copies of this minion

These small copies will have they same abilities as the first minion. For example:

Liquid Acid
Neutral minion
4 mana
3/3
Dissolve, Dying wish: Deal 1 damage to a random enemy minion

Malignant
Magmar minion
5 mana
3/4
Dissolve, Opening Gambit: All of your minions gain Dissolve

Extinction
Magmar Minion
7 mana
5/5
Frenzy, Dissolve, Dying wish: Deal 2 damage to all units.

1 Like