Soul-Boards

[leaderfirestar]

Buffs:
 - Giriko Kutzusawa

• Damage penalty from "Time Tells No Lies" increased to 10
  
• The penalty for violating the contract with time doesn't feel all that impactful, especially since it's random who even gets affected. This should help turn up the heat a bit
  

Nerfs:
 - Ginjo Kugo

• "Cross of Scaffold, Manifest" now ends when Ginjo dies
  
• This can hardly be considered a nerf, but while I was fixing a bug, he died on my team and I noticed the effect still on the enemy and just thought "why?"
  

 - Komamura Sajin

• "Heavenly Fist" cooldown increased to 2
  
• This skill's synergy with "Overwhelming Reiatsu" is kind of nutty, so this will help disconnect a bit. This character might receive a bit more punishment depending on how other parts of this update shake out, but for the sake of not killing this character completely, Especially since he's very expensive and doesn't work well alone. I'm keeping him here for the moment
  

 - Jackie Tristian

• "Dirty Disrupt" Energy cost increased to 1 white 1 random
  
• "Sludge Kick" cooldown increased to 1 turn
  
• With a free prep, Jackie's cheap skills look even more enticing. For that reason, the cooldown on sludge kick was increased because, while I'm not dis-satisfied by the cost, she is using it pretty frequently. Alternatively, you aren't prepping her and just using her anti destructible defense in tandem with the helpful/harmful remove. For those people, she has no prep needed and can jump into it. Adding the cost is meant to help slow the roll a bit. I'll be keeping an eye on her if that ends up being a bit too harsh, but I'm relatively confident in her strength
  

 - Traitor Ginjo

• "Power Drain" no longer steals health, no longer steals energy, and base damage lowered to 20
  
• Much like several other mechanics that have been introduced, I was not quite sure how strong the ability to steal helpful effects would be. Unlike some mechanics that have been introduced, this one is actually pretty damn strong. I like it, and it's certainly cannon to Ginjo's character, so I want to keep it. That said, I have to take some strength away from him if it's going to stay
  

 - Ukitake Joushiro

• "Thunder and Water Seal" invulnerability reduced to 1 turn
  
• Let me paint a picture for you: over 2 years ago, Komamura, Ukitake, and Kaien were running through ladder. That team is still running around in ladder, though some have modified the tea, by removing Kaien and adding in an already strong character, and keeping that character permanently protected while they dish out crazy amounts of damage. I was ready to nerf this guy back when Hueco Mundo Kenpachi was the third character in that team. I ultimately changed my mind and nerfed Kenny, and while That change ended up being pretty healthy for him, that still left the problem of Ukitake covering the ass of whichever character was deemed strongest. I could go on and list more teams, but the important point is that Ukitake has been the common denominator. A 1 cost 2 turn 2 ally invulnerability is incredibly strong. Hell, for 1 cost, most characters can make just themselves invulnerable. That invulnerable also doesn't make their damaging skill stun and give them access to another counter. I'll be monitoring Ukitake closely, and if a compensation buff is needed, he'll get it
  

 - Yamamoto Genryuusai

• "Bonus Damage" stacks from "Reduce all Creation to Ash, Ryuujin Jakka" end when Yamamoto Dies
  
• Sort of similarly to Ginjo, these stacks (used to) serve no purpose being on the battlefield one Yamamoto is dead. However, I'd be lying if I said this wasn't targeting a specific team that's been seeing some use. Since Jackie cannot be stunned, a somewhat common strategy is to stun and eliminate other characters on her team, which seems like solid counter play. That said, by the time you kill those people, if the battle field is littered with these stacks, Jackie really pumps out damage at that point
  

Tweaks:
 - Senna

• "Blade of Recollection" no longer grants energy to allies, heal lowered to 10, and damage threshold removed
  
• "Call Forth the Twilight, Mirokumaru" cost lowered to 1 red
  
• Ever since her release, Senna has been a wildly strong utility. The effect from "Blade of Recollection" would be crazy strong without a damage threshold, and she'd no doubt be an integral part of every team. Even with the threshold, she's still very strong with those characters. The heal, combined with energy gain lead to old Ganju receiving a nerf. Granted, old Ganju was pretty damn strong anyway, but simply having a skill that did 30 damage opened many doors for ordinarily weaker characters to be super stars. Characters in game right now, such as Grand Fisher who could realistically stand to be buffed, cannot be buffed without making Senna more prevalent, and further exacerbating the problem. We could choose to follow in the footsteps of old Soul Arena and remove more 30+ damage skills, which doesn't really address the problem, rather than just limit the spread of the issue. I could nerf characters with skills dealing 30+ damage in other ways, but that would be similar to drain teams prior to the change, where it just increases the dependency those characters have on Senna because they would be weaker on any other team. It was clear that she was meant to be a support-oriented character, so I think the Change to "Call Forth the Twilight, Mirokumaru" will allow easier synergy with characters that grant destructible defense, and the no-longer conditional heal will let other characters who ordinarily not synergize with her at all be able to team up with her well. We'll see though, it's entirely possible I need to look at her again in the future
  

Random Tip:
Sometimes, you'll be in a position where a character on your team can be killed by your opponent the next turn, and you have a counter you could use to save them. If your opponent is aware that you could use that counter, they might avoid hitting your character to avoid the counter. As such, you could try bluffing your counter, which would save the energy since you wouldn't be using it, and make a powerful play your next turn!

Noteworthy Bug Fixes:

• Yukio Vorarlberna's "Invaders must die" emblem now disappears from himself when he dies
  
• Yukio Vorarlberna's "Save State Load" had several janky interactions fixed
  
• The calculation to determine whether or not a character is invulnerable or not now works properly
  
• Jackie Tristian's "Mud" stacks can no longer be removed
  
• Jackie Tristian's "Dirty Boots" passive can no longer be removed
  
• Butterfly Aizen no longer prevents the turn from being passed (causing a loss on some poor soul's end) when he's targeted by a new skill in niche circumstances