Deadlock mtg-like CCG

[tonesh]

I'm working a little on a deadlock CCG similar to games such as MTG.
My work revolves around simplifying and modifying it down to a game with similarities to the existing MTG system, albeit with a lot of additions.
By contrast, I know of one other working on a deadlock CCG project who is aiming at making it more of a deadlock replication and specific system.
I thought i'd just outline some of my thoughts:

Game is set on a starting map of unknown territories, usually 3x4 (12 territories) in size for two players as a starting point for my project.
The player chooses a starting territory. The territories are cards only showing a type of land (forest, mountain, plains, swamp, ocean)
and name on one side, and a specific feature such as a bonus to a type of production or possibly a native shrine on the other.
Details of territories bonuses are only revealed on territories the player lands on or explores, and may be left face down if desired to keep details hidden.

Players then start building and expanding. Housing is placed and treated in a similar way to mana lands in MTG, you can only place one per turn.
This represents the slow pace of population growth and may be enhanced with some cards or abilities.
Each territory can only take a maximum cap of buildings, including the mana/population producing housing. I am thinking a cap of 4, or possibly up to 6.
This forces players to spread out and build an empire rather than sitting in one territory if they want to be powerful.
Landing territory will have a city centre and some starting resources/benefits, may have a building cap up of up to 6.

Instead of 20 life as the win/lose goal as in MTG, destroying all city centres or building enough to win is the win/lose goal.
This allows for victory either by economic complete supremacy, or by militarily breaking all significant enemy cities.
There is always at least a single city centre from the start at the landing site, so it works fine as a default win/lose condition.

The placing of housing like mana land in mtg, allows for players to choose specific colors/races and play those and have mana for only those. colors are as follows:

Red/orange: Tarth / Cht Cht -aggressive, fast, brutal
Blue /Teal: Maug /Relu -knowledge based
Black / Grey: Cyth, Skirineen -evil and black market
White / Silver: Humans, Tolnans -white, political manipulation, etc.
Green / khaki: Uva Mosk, Natives -nature, guerrila, native bonuses

Red/orange both use red mana, Blue/teal use blue, and so on.
As you can see a wider range of colours would give a wider range of abilities.

I am using MTG set editor to work on cards,
which very conveniently allows colors to be overlaid so as to produce orange, teal, etc as options.
A large number of high specific type of mana cards, and higher potency of those cards, means players are likely to stick to one or two colours,
and a large number of race specific cards, similar to how you get goblin/vampire/etc decks in MTG, will support only playing one race if you desire.
Various multicolour alliance cards, such as Quadra alliance, anti-skirineen resistance, human-relu research, etc will give benefits to those who play them
in return for the difficulty of using many types of mana and missing out on getting to use color/race specific cards as much.

I aim to do the early work with just two races -Tarth and human, as these are the simplest. ("Tarth culture simple, so Tarth culture superior!")
If i ever get to, i'd like a first round including 5 races -all the playable except chtcht and relu.
and then a second with those two, and the unplayable in pc game natives, skirineen and tolnans.
The first round would focus more on core units and abilities, while the second would add more complexity.
For example tolnans use diplomacy, skiri black marketing, etc.
Thus the two rounds would complement each other.

And if I really had the time, a third round called "deadlock: origins" focusing on the written history of the races and characters such as tarth astronomers,
uva mosk revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries and such would be great. This would be the first true expansion/series/set.

There are a lot of issues in the execution of making this work,
mostly around the use of various buildings, techs, and resources in deadlock, whereas MTG operates off simpler mechanisms usually.
I am working through these, such as simplifying the tech tree down to about 3, possibly 4 levels of core techs and amalgamating some non-core ones into the
more essential techs where appropriate. Forts as walls would have high stats for cost and take on much importance as they are needed to help defend your mana/pop now whereas in mtg its harder to loose. Complex details such as morale and cloning will be left outside the core mechanics but show up in the actions of some cards added later. Energy, research/electronics, steel, wood/construction, unit production, and possibly food are areas i'm trying to work through how to run. endurium will only operate as a bonus to steel activated via a tech on territories that have this bonus. buildings will be upgradable after the associated tech is researched, possibly by using double sided or split cards.

I will go into more detail soon, but hope what I have detailed above gives a good start on describing my direction.
Also, I've been compiling a LOT of card art from deadlock, but could do possibly with any other resources available.
Would like the manuals for detailled race backgrounds. I'm also after quotes from the races to add as flavour text.
And Tomgrakk, I would like to seek your permission to use you comics for card art, is possible?
Thanks.

-Tonesh

[tonesh]

Mana = population and vice versa, it is the key and dominant resource, and linked to what racial abilities you can get.
There are no transport or morale resources, for simplicity and to support colony expansion.
Factories will be required to field units, and also as a unit card drawing mechanism.
Energy is fairly simple and will be made by powerplants, required most buildings of any complexity and great use as in game.
Food will be produced in terms of territories supported, so as to keep the numbers small simple as with all other resources.
Research and electronics i have the idea fleshed out and i'm midway through work on the tech tree involved, 4 levels.
I might leave wood out for simplicity, and the benefits of forests be in the more randomised benefits as they had.
Steel is the sole resource I am left considering a role for, possibly as a means of cheapening unit production.

So most of my big structural questions seem resolved with one exception.
And progress is going okay with a lot more cards made, hope to get it ready for some basic testing in a week or two.
Any other players of both MTG and deadlock are welcome to get involved if interested.