Reworking Pendulums

[troglyte]

I do not like Pendulums, mechanically speaking. As a mechanic, I think it's ridiculous. It's wildly unbalanced and makes no sense in the context of the game itself. Pendulums literally warped the playing field upon their arrival, something they tried to fix with Links, but that's a different can of worms. Thematically, however, I thought they nailed it. The idea of Monsters acting as Spells isn't a new concept, but one that hasn't been explored that much. The card frame is perfect. It immediately shows how the card is supposed to function: as either a monster, or a spell. I always loved the artwork for the Pendulum Magicians. They gave the sense that they were magical, but a different kind of magic, almost as if they were operating upon a different level of existence. Not divine, but just that different rules applied to them.

Here are the main features of the mechanic I would include:

1. I am going to keep the original Pendulum Card Frame. A *Spell* Effect for when in the S/T Zone, and a Monster Effect when in the Monster Zone. We are also keeping the Pendulum Scales.

2. Pendulums are Main Deck Monsters that can be summoned to the field as normal. Alternatively, the turn player may place a Pendulum Monster from their hand face-up into the Pendulum Zone, which, like on the modern playmat, is the far right and far left zones in the S/T Zone.

3. When a Pendulum Monster(s) would be destroyed or otherwise sent from the Monster Zone to the GY, they can be either sent to the GY, or sent to the S/T Zone, face-up (player's choice). While in the S/T, they are treated as Continuous Spells and may use their Spell Effects.

4. During the Turn Player's Main Phase, a Pendulum Summon may be performed while you have Pendulum Monsters in both Pendulum Zones. Special Summon monsters from their NON-Pendulum Zone S/T Zones with levels in between the Scale Numbers of the Monsters being used as scales.

5. Pendulum Support Cards would revolve around filling up your S/T zones, or moving them from the S/T Zone to the Monster Zone, or vice versa. Scale support might be useful as well. Pendulums would also have synergy with other mechanics, like fusion or synchro, much like irl.

[Fredblade]

You'd also have to rework the entire cardpool related to pendulums, not just pendulum cards, but also any card with any kind of effect or interaction with pendulums.

[PENMASTER]

you just stole part of this from valients interacting in different s/t zones this is just dumb no existing archetype can use that accept for valients which are just pendulum wannabes

[PENMASTER]

also btw calling pends nowadays unbalanced is fucking stupid like how bad you gotta be to think the pend summon is unfair like the more competitive pends have strayed from it like endymion, magicians still use it a lot but they don't summon 20 off it and no normal pend deck does unless its part of a larger combo which from exp gets you ht a lot cause your vulnerable as hell I've been nibirued so much on my pends summon 4s

[greg503]

also btw calling pends nowadays unbalanced is fucking stupid like how bad you gotta be to think the pend summon is unfair like the more competitive pends have strayed from it like endymion, magicians still use it a lot but they don't summon 20 off it and no normal pend deck does unless its part of a larger combo which from exp gets you ht a lot cause your vulnerable as hell I've been nibirued so much on my pends summon 4s

If ASTROGRAPH SORCEROR is too weak to see competitive play in MR4 without Electrumite, then yeah, pends are pretty balanced. Even Monkeyboard and Plushfire are probably underwhelming with having to rely on Links

[troglyte]

also btw calling pends nowadays unbalanced is fucking stupid like how bad you gotta be to think the pend summon is unfair like the more competitive pends have strayed from it like endymion, magicians still use it a lot but they don't summon 20 off it and no normal pend deck does unless its part of a larger combo which from exp gets you ht a lot cause your vulnerable as hell I've been nibirued so much on my pends summon 4s

If ASTROGRAPH SORCEROR is too weak to see competitive play in MR4 without Electrumite, then yeah, pends are pretty balanced. Even Monkeyboard and Plushfire are probably underwhelming with having to rely on Links

Pendulums set the stage for the greatest levels of power creep the game has ever seen, and we are still feeling its effects to this day.

Pendulums should have been a splashable mechanic that could be included in any deck, sort of like Links (except Links are somehow even more unhealthy for the game).

Also, just to clarify, my biggest inspiration was Crystal Beasts, because they did the whole Monsters are Spells thing very early on (not well, but they did it). If there's any positive takeaway from this thread, I just want to see a full retrain of Crystal Beasts as Pendulums.

[PENMASTER]

also btw calling pends nowadays unbalanced is fucking stupid like how bad you gotta be to think the pend summon is unfair like the more competitive pends have strayed from it like endymion, magicians still use it a lot but they don't summon 20 off it and no normal pend deck does unless its part of a larger combo which from exp gets you ht a lot cause your vulnerable as hell I've been nibirued so much on my pends summon 4s

If ASTROGRAPH SORCEROR is too weak to see competitive play in MR4 without Electrumite, then yeah, pends are pretty balanced. Even Monkeyboard and Plushfire are probably underwhelming with having to rely on Links

Pendulums set the stage for the greatest levels of power creep the game has ever seen, and we are still feeling its effects to this day.

Pendulums should have been a splashable mechanic that could be included in any deck, sort of like Links (except Links are somehow even more unhealthy for the game).

Also, just to clarify, my biggest inspiration was Crystal Beasts, because they did the whole Monsters are Spells thing very early on (not well, but they did it). If there's any positive takeaway from this thread, I just want to see a full retrain of Crystal Beasts as Pendulums.

splashablility is whats killing the fucking game and power creep was bullshit they were comp when they came out but it wassent on top also making an entire mechanic when it only possible as a archetype is dumb to say the least the only way they were broken was when they became a second hand in the extra deck which is fixed now and crystal beasts do need retains but still your idea was a bad ripoff of valiants and that's it

[troglyte]

If ASTROGRAPH SORCEROR is too weak to see competitive play in MR4 without Electrumite, then yeah, pends are pretty balanced. Even Monkeyboard and Plushfire are probably underwhelming with having to rely on Links

Pendulums set the stage for the greatest levels of power creep the game has ever seen, and we are still feeling its effects to this day.

Pendulums should have been a splashable mechanic that could be included in any deck, sort of like Links (except Links are somehow even more unhealthy for the game).

Also, just to clarify, my biggest inspiration was Crystal Beasts, because they did the whole Monsters are Spells thing very early on (not well, but they did it). If there's any positive takeaway from this thread, I just want to see a full retrain of Crystal Beasts as Pendulums.

splashablility is whats killing the fucking game and power creep was bullshit they were comp when they came out but it wassent on top also making an entire mechanic when it only possible as a archetype is dumb to say the least the only way they were broken was when they became a second hand in the extra deck which is fixed now and crystal beasts do need retains but still your idea was a bad ripoff of valiants and that's it

So I finally read the Valiant cards, and yeah, they are very stupid. I'm sure the deck has some strong plays, but I can't help but laugh at anyone who tries to play them. They are a bad ripoff of Crystal Beasts.

[PENMASTER]

Pendulums set the stage for the greatest levels of power creep the game has ever seen, and we are still feeling its effects to this day.

Pendulums should have been a splashable mechanic that could be included in any deck, sort of like Links (except Links are somehow even more unhealthy for the game).

Also, just to clarify, my biggest inspiration was Crystal Beasts, because they did the whole Monsters are Spells thing very early on (not well, but they did it). If there's any positive takeaway from this thread, I just want to see a full retrain of Crystal Beasts as Pendulums.

splashablility is whats killing the fucking game and power creep was bullshit they were comp when they came out but it wassent on top also making an entire mechanic when it only possible as a archetype is dumb to say the least the only way they were broken was when they became a second hand in the extra deck which is fixed now and crystal beasts do need retains but still your idea was a bad ripoff of valiants and that's it

So I finally read the Valiant cards, and yeah, they are very stupid. I'm sure the deck has some strong plays, but I can't help but laugh at anyone who tries to play them. They are a bad ripoff of Crystal Beasts.

only the robots are half decent they are pend wannabes the deck has no strong plays of its own without an actual low scale