I have been playing a little with Olivia of the Brook recently, which is a Life, Epic reward card from the new set that I only have to Level 3 at the moment, but I think it is a pretty amazing card. It's "mimic" ability is one of the most interesting out there at the moment, where at the beginning of each round, it picks up a random ability from the enemy team, as well as having a chance of stealing an ability from an attacker that hits her.

The longer the battle rages, the more abilities mimicked.

A battle I should have lost

The round is a long one, but it is worth the watch just out of morbid fascination. About halfway through I still didn't think I was going to win it, but it ended up working out in the end.

For once.

Battle

Opportunity
Mimic
Corroded
Return Fire
Triage
Scavenge
Snare
Thorns
Blast
Repair
Resurrect
Martyr
Strengthen
Swiftness
Flying
Double-strike
Cripple
Void
Immunity
Tank Heal
Affliction

One feisty lady.

Each round, the attackers had 6 melee attack and 19 magic, but by this point, it was just a matter of time. And because I had put scavenge on her using Eternal Tofu, should would keep climbing, even as fatigue sets in, self-healing along the way.

And while mine is sitting at Level 3 where it picks up a shield, it isn't until level 5 it gains a bit more attack and level 6 it gets an important reflection shield addition.

Of course, because the abilities are picked up at random, she doesn't always mimic the right ones at the right time and several times I have played her, she has been killed early with opportunity, or scattershot. However, a taunt card, preferably with martyr to boost her attacks, helps mitigate a little.

I think what is interesting with playing in modern, is that a lot of the matches are going to be close to mirror, because there are less options to choose from. This means that the line between win and loss is narrower, so any advantage is highly valuable. I think that this card makes a difference, because in those close matchups, it can pull in an ability that turns the game, like the one above, or this one below, where the opportunity and the mimicked affliction do the damage against four triages.

Wouldn't it be nice to have the mimic ability in real life? I mean, I know a lot of smart and talented people, so if I was able to obtain one of their positive traits at even the rate of once a year, a decade from now I would be pretty awesome. It is a bit like being able to download skills from the matrix. Alas, all I have to work with are my own capabilities and therefore, my own potential is all that is available.

What a pity.

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]