Designers: Zack Mader and Jason Viddal
Artist: Yuta Onoda
​
- Both of these characters were runner-ups in the Restoration Games Deck Design Contest and were offered the opportunity to appear in their own box.
- The rationale behind naming this box Sun's Origin as opposed to continuing the "vs." trend of 2-player boxes was due to name recognition and the awkward nature of including both character names. "We explored the "vs" names options and just felt they wouldn't establish the set vibe the way we wanted compared to previous ones that all have a "this is such a outlandish combo! fun!" vibe."
Oda Nobunaga
Primary Designer: Zack Mader
Artist: Yuta Onoda
Source Material: Japanese daimyo, "Great Unifier"
Thematic Map: Azuchi Castle
Recommended Match-Ups: Alice, Annie Christmas, Bruce Lee, ???
History and Fun Facts
- Because Oda Nobunaga was one of the first generals to use guns in combat, Oda's original design featured Oda with three 1-HP riflemen who only gained bonuses for their attacks. Additionally, when a rifleman attacked, they would get flipped over to an "exhausted" side, preventing them from attacking until they reloaded by discarding cards. In some versions, the riflemen received a +3 bonus to their attacks. Oda also gained the defensive buff for being in the same zone as his allies, making him a body-blocker for his low-HP allies. In some versions, if Oda was in the same zone as his riflemen, you were not allowed to target the riflemen at all.
BakedGoods Interview with Zach Mader
- Oda saw significant changes to his design during the development process due to the inbox balance with Tomoe, a character who wanted to hunt down the opposing hero over their sidekicks. This didn't work well with the previous version of Oda, who wanted to body-block for his allies.
BakedGoods Interview with Zach Mader
​
- Some revealed cards that never made it into Oda's final design: Unification made all zones on the map the same color for the round. An unnamed card worked like the double-attack cards of Battle of Legends Vol. 2, allowing a rifleman to exhaust himself to do a follow-up attack. Suppression was a rifleman card with an unknown effect. Terrifying Roar was previously in his deck to keep enemies next to Oda to body-block for his allies.
BakedGoods Interview with Zach Mader
​
- The title of Demon King of the Sixth Heaven stems from a nickname given to Oda by his enemies. When Oda was alerted to the nickname by one of his allies, he laughed and considered it a compliment.
Restoration Games Interview with Zach Mader
​
- The symbols indicating the different Honor Guard characters feature the family crests of the two houses Oda was primarily associated with, Oda and Toyotomi.
​
- All of the combat card names that feature flanking bonuses have an "and" in their title: Fire and Flames, Lightning and Thunder, Patience and Strategy, and Sun and Moon. The exception to this is Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, which is a scheme rather than a combat card.
Designer Interview with
Zack Mader by BakedGoods
Recommended Roster:
Bruised Knuckles
This character selection prioritizes characters that are beginner-friendly and relatively straightforward to pilot but don't pull any punches. With all the fighters having a Move 2, there's more encouragement to get down and dirty rather than keeping your distance.
Tomoe Gozen
Primary Designer: Jason Viddal
Artist: Yuta Onoda
Source Material: Samurai from the 12th Century
Thematic Map: Azuchi Castle
Recommended Match-Ups: Bullseye, Daredevil, Moon Knight, Nikola Tesla, Robin Hood
History and Fun Facts
- Jason Viddal was very heavily influenced when he read The Heike Monogatari, which led to his decision to design a character around Tomoe, who appears in the text. Her lore focuses on her want to fulfill her duty and find a worthy opponent in battle when defending her husband, Lord Kiso, which is heavily reflected in the character's design.
BakedGoods Interview with Jason Viddal
​
- The initial design submission had Tomoe as a mill deck, focusing on burning through her opponent's deck quickly. Justin Jacobson recommended Tomoe's current ability which "was the breakthrough that brought the whole design together."
Restoration Games Interview with Jason Viddal
​
- Many of the card names in Tomoe's deck are quotes from The Heike Monogatari, depending on the translation you choose. At one point, Restoration considered changing the names of a variety of her cards in Japanese but decided against it.
BakedGoods Interview with Jason Viddal
​
- Skirmish appears in Tomoe's deck in part because it's his favorite common card in the game.
Restoration Games Interview with Jason Viddal
​
- Jason Viddal reproduced his original Tomoe Gozen submission so fans can compare it to the final product. One of the more notable alterations is that Tomoe was originally a move 3 hero but was bumped down to 2 to make an opponent running out of range a more impactful decision.
Tomoe Gozen Original Submission and Jason Viddal, Discord, February 1st, 2024
Designer Interview with
Jason Viddal by BakedGoods
Rules Clarifications
1
How does Tomoe Gozen's core ability deal damage under various circumstances?
Tomoe deals damage to the opposing hero each time they leave her zone if it's more than once during a single effect, if an opposing hero, in a single move, starts in her zone, leaves her zone, but ends up back in her zone, or if an opposing hero leaves the battlefield.
Tomoe does not deal damage if the opponent closes a door on the Heorot board, if she is in a multi-zone space and the opponent moves from one of those zones to another, or if she and the opposing hero are in different zones and they swap spaces.
Recommended Roster:
All Part of the Plan
Each of these characters involves a play style that you'll need to carefully plan around if you want to make the most of their cards. Pin your opponents in a corner using your careful cunning, making full use of the tools at your disposal.
