So, because people that play this game think that the changes MIGHT, just MIGHT be positive, we are fools?

Whatever.

Okay , i sorta understand that . Makes the GEAR card an optional nexus ??? That is SOO cool!

Note to self : Look for the AOD 'Mech with the longest range Streak. If I can see you , AP . If not , Streak :) ... and Move and Shoot from behind the Blocking Terrain gives me a total advantage .

Here's a creative one : Clubbing Gear - Melee . When this 'Mech deals 3 or more damage from a successful melee(not CC , must use melee) attack , +1 damage to this slot until this 'mech takes 3 or more damage. :)

On the Pilot notes ... maybe we'll see the Gearhead from the BT CCG ... roll a d6 : 5-6 , heal 1 :)

Headhunter - deal 2 less damage . when you roll a 6 on ANY dice , deal +1d6 damage instead. heheheh :)

of course , it wouldn't hurt if every pilot had a female 'mechwarrior clad in skintight gear on it ... :)

I am of mixed feelings about this one.

First, let me say I am an old-time CBT'er and love the fluff.

So, gear cards solve one of my major hang-ups with this game- the loss of SE. I can't remember a mech I ever fielded in CBT that split the ammunition I had- say 1 ton of swarm SRM, then 1 ton of infernos. Heck, I don't think such a thing was possible. So why does my anti-personnel run out, but I can keep firing.
With gear cards, that it taken away. YES!!

But...

From a gaming standpoint, I have issues with this. I think it is going to destroy the faction design paradigm. If Highlanders (and ROTS) are hi-armor and low speed, and Dragons Fury was hi speed and Improved targetting, what will happen to those concepts when I can slap IT onto my Highlander mechs? Or give my Dragon's Fury reactive armor?

Now you may think that such a loss is a good thing. But you have to look at the game as a whole, and not just mechs. If they keep the design paradigms for the infantry and vehicles, but strip it from the mechs, are you not opening up another potential for abuse?

I think the SE cards and pilot cards are a great idea. I agree with Jonboy that it will make sealed a lot more interesting. Furthermore, I think it's still way too early to judge what kind of impact this change will have on the game. We don't know the whole picture yet. I am pretty sure it will be cool when it's all done. It may not be balanced but at least it will be cool. I'd rather play a fun game than play a stagnant game that is balanced all the time. Change is good!

i think the gear cards are a very good idea...... true you will find some gear cards that will be broken but i think that you will have something like that in any game..... so i dont completely think that problem will go away too easy...BUT with the new gear cards you have multiple choices and stratagies to counter it and it adds something that i wanted in this game from the beginning.... CUSTOMIZEABLE MECHS!!!!!! that is how you put the MECH back in MECHWARRIOR

There's a type of gear called "I win." It's 418 points, but if you equip it, well, the name says it all. Now the plastic toy robot prizes are yours for the taking!!!

I'd like a gear card where it cancels out all heat effects. Now that would be neat! :)

With only 32 or so gear cards and 4 different mech classes i wouldnt count on seeing things like IT, AnP, cammo, evade, black armor, and greay armor.

In other words, i wouldnt count on seeing all of the REALLY powerful SE's (other than AP of course) on cards.

Wow, Danni Haag with armor piercing=eViL!

I doubt we see IT gears for anything other than lights, maybe maybe mediums. I also doubt we get any grey armor under heavy. I dont think we will see black at all, if we do it will most certainly be assault only.

Are there faction requirements on cards?

actually, the cards has done wonders for MK , eyetooth. that why i think AoD will be a success.

I really like the gear cards better than the Relics from MK. The Gear cards are much more restricted to what can equip them to prevent a uber combo (at least somewhat).

My guess as to how the factions will kept there sytles, the few SE built into the mechs would match the factions. Say a HL mech would have 2-4 clicks of armor, DF a few clicks of IT, SC energy based weapons, SW besereker dials, etc.

Of course, AP on heavy Mechs is probably pretty expensive on the figures they've already released. And it's a waste of points on them. AP artillery and SS Balacs, and SS TACs for that matter, are much more point-effecient with AP than a heavy Mech.

Some predictions, from the PonyTron 6000 (tm) (patent pending) :

Certain SEs will likely not be seen on gear cards. The PonyTron 600 (tm) (patent pending) predicts that these will be added by pilot cards, as these particular SEs are much more a function of the relationship between the pilot and the 'Mech than any special equipment the 'Mech carries around attached to its frame. These SEs are as follows : Grapple, Rapid Strike, Agility, Alpha Strike, Brawling, Full Strike, Improved Targeting, Evade and Command.

Certain others, the PonyTron 600 (tm) (patent pending) decalred triumphantly, just do not make sense to add to a 'Mech through a gear card at all, or at least at this juncture : Bypass, Repair and Salvage.

So that leaves a much smaller pool of SEs to draw from for the gear cards. The PonyTron 6000 (tm) (patent pending) has predicted the following may appear :

Anti-personnel : Light and Assault.
Armor Piercing : All except Light.
Flamers : All except Heavy.
Point Defense : Heavy and Assault.
Pulse : All.
Homing Beacon : Light and Medium.
TSEMP : Heavy and Assault.
Hardened Armor : Assault.
Heavy Armor : All except Light.
Reactive Armor : All except Assault.
Reflective Armor : All except Assault.
Camouflage : All.
Electronic Camouflage : All except Assault.
Jump Jets : All.
Hand-to-hand Weapon : All.
Infiltrate : Light and Medium.
Decoy : Light.

This brings the PonyTron 6000 (tm) (patent pending) to a total of 46 possible gear cards. Extrapolating from the data we already have in the article, there are 32 "standard gear cards" (30 in the set, 2 in the starter) and 19 that "have received Limited Edition treatment" (18 tourney prizes and the 1 'ultra-rare'). Whether there is some overlap between those two groups is very hard to determine from what has been written in the article, but I am guessing that there is at least a little bit. Thus, the number that the PonyTron 6000 (tm) (patent pending) is coming up with (46) is not too far out of whack, especially seeing as we know that some of the gear cards will be standard SEs, and some will be entirely new things (revealed by the article).

Also, of course, the PT6000 is very fond of pointing out that it would be not in the best interests of WizKids to release every SE as a gear card in the first new set. After all, what is to keep people coming back for more gear cards if they go out and release everything that everyone wants all at once? Thus, it states, anything that is available to all weight classes is very likely to be seen only for one or two classes in the upcoming set.

So, the revised list, as spit out by the latest projection, looks something like this :

Anti-personnel : Light
Armor Piercing : Medium, Heavy
Flamers : Light, Heavy
Point Defense : Assault
Pulse : Medium, Heavy
Homing Beacon : Light
TSEMP : None.
Hardened Armor : Assault
Heavy Armor : Heavy
Reactive Armor : Medium
Reflective Armor : Light
Camouflage : Assault
Electronic Camouflage : Light
Jump Jets : Light, Medium
Hand-to-hand Weapon : None
Infiltrate : Light, Medium
Decoy : Light

That accounts for 20 of the 32 standard gear cards. The rest will be new things that we have not yet seen, such as the Swarm-I, the possible inclusion of A-Pods, Nemesis Charges, the Rotary Autocannon, Heavy Lasers or Thunder Munitions.

Then again, the PonyTron 6000 (tm) (patent pending) also predicted set retirement would start in June, so who knows?

- GhostPony

I think that WK will still be able to keep the faction flavors. Gear will be pretty varied so you aren't going to use your Pulse Gear or Heavy Armor gear on your SC Mechs- you are going to be able to gear up with Evade or IT. Your DF Mechs could still come with IT on the dial- you'll gear them up with AP and Armor SE. Not to mention one of your slots can go for a pilot.
Gear will become an equalizer among factions, but IIRC, one of the original concepts was that certain factions get their faction "flavors" a little cheaper than other faction -like we don't know if IT costs DF units 80% of the base cost, while HL pay 110% of the base cost for the same SE. Therefore Heavy Armor at 80% of cost is a better buy for HL (and so we see few HL with IT). Gear is going to be a way to get around faction deficiencies but it won't be a way to cheese out faction advantages.