Smash Up: How I Really Feel About The Geeks

[@michaelmalgus2304]

As my gaming group and I, we prefer to roll randomly with what we get, but we made a house rule to not play with Geeks for all of those reasons that you said. None of us enjoy playing with or against. We all stopped playing Yugioh and Magic due to the toxic players in those games (no hate to the game, or players, just explaining that some take the fun out of the game for others). Every time we play Geeks, it just makes us feel like we are playing those games once again. Thank you for highlighting this faction. It is a faction that isn't overpowered in a sense. Just takes a bit of fun out of the game and ultimately makes the session itself less enjoyable.

[@ariksanderstuckwisch1604]

I liked Geeks until my little brother played only Geek Wizards for several games in a row and annihilated everyone else every time. I like the idea of having counterspells and the like, but they are a little too geared towards shutting the other player down, and like you said, they don't have much synergy with anything else, and when they do it's extremely busted.

[@CoreyMarinoGames]

One of the most balanced parts of the geeks is there are fewer minions (usually tossing the fan) and there is no 5 power minion. It is very control based on its own, but can't win on its own.

[@shapeoffour2319]

The geeks play another game, it's like they are not a Smash up faction, they feel so much like yu gi oh or magic

[@CrankItUp]

how do you feel about Aliens?

[@shapeoffour2319]

@@CrankItUp they're strong.. i mean really strong. They are the faction I chose when i wanna win Easy on the Smash up app. However, they don't interrupt your turn and there are ways to counter their VP gaining strategy

[@griffinman3Depic]

I enjoy the concept of the geeks, but I feel like they have just a bit too much of the same and are certainly too strong in two-player I feel like there are too many interrupts- If I could change the faction I’d remove the special from control minion and remove force of will entirely I feel like fan should cost something, card draw on play would be powerful already without it being free. Being an ability on play also helps with making it easier to overpay with Felicia I feel like cosplay should be a copycat style of card- perhaps it gives the minion it’s on a talent to use the talent of another minion I usually only use mulligan after a big play or on the first turn

[@gamerpenguin6312]

Personally I really like geeks especially since I drive pleasure from the suffering of others

[@marktaylor4962]

I don't particularly like them, but I don't think they're as strong as people think they are. I've always believed they're good at stopping others from winning the game, but they're not good at helping you win the game. That said, the main issue I have with them, and you didn't mention it because you've already talked about it with Banned List, is the fact that as a Geeks player you need to know every card in your opponent's deck (or at least every action). While this is a problem for Banned List, it's also a huge problem for Force of Wil and Wil Wheaton. If I'm playing Geeks and I know what every action in your deck is and does, then I know the optimum targets for WW and FoW. Knowledge is power by knowing what your opponent is capable of doing is one thing, but knowledge is power and being capable of interrupting it is quite another.

[@strifera]

I love the Geeks, but Banned List alone experience locks the set, the interrupt cards slow the game down and lead to fumbling play, and they just fundamentally aren't fun to lose to outside of Felicia Day and Non-Infinite Loop. Getting outplayed should be entertaining, not frustrating. The Geeks are just too much concentrated "you're not allowed to play" in one faction.

[@JuddBrown]

Good points about the Geeks. I can see how this style of play can be frustrating to some people. Personally I like the interrupts in games. When you have to pay attention on someone else's turn I think it makes it a much more engaging game. Star Fluxx took fluxx to a great new level when they added surprises to the point where that is my favorite Fluxx game and along with other things added a lot more strategy to the game. I love the option of countering a surprise with another surprise though. I think I may be in the minority but when someone stops me on my turn and can actually know when to play key cards to stop me it really makes me smile and I just have to say good play. :) I understand about you wanting to take things back in your turn. But, really whenever you draw a card or flip a coin with Goblins you can't take a move back so how is that any different then someone playing a geeks card? To be honest I have moved back and forth on my opinion of Geeks. When I first read about them I could not wait to play them. They sounded awesome. I got to play against and with them in the app. All your arguments of why you don't like Geeks are valid and I can agree about too much of too many cards. I just don't agree about phase 2 of your turn being sacred? It's smash up where anything can happen and you have to be ready for anything. If timing was figured out, some of these cards nerfed a bit, and given the option to counter by your opponent being able to say discard 2 cards to prevent an interrupt affect I think it would be really fun to sprinkle in other factions with interrupts. I think it would become a more engaging game. So anyways, summary: I agree with your points on Geeks...don't agree with interrupts not being in the game and unfortunately I think Geeks left a sour taste in everyone's mouth to the point they have steered clear since.

[@nykandrusiakmusic]

I hate the interruption mechanism. If all, or even more had that capability Smash Up would plummet down the ranks of my favourite games, if it would get played at all.

[@jessicabellandy5687]

Haven't played with them, but looking for factions that might not be fun for new players to play against. I feel like wizards is not fun for others even though they are my favorite faction, just because they sit there while I get more actions, turns, etc. I think for my friends who are new to the game I'll take out wizards and geeks. I'll stay away from titans or anything that adds new mechanics too.

[@gustidegen]

I actually kinda dissagree. Given that smash up is a game where the creators try to have factions that all do very different stuff, I feel like having a faction that negates effects was inevitable. It would've come sooner or later. Disruption is a specific kind of playstyle that usually has its dedicated userbase in every game. I am not saying that smash up should apsolutely copy other card games but given how basically 1/5 of magic is all about disruption and the whole yu-gi-oh competitive scene is basically "handtrap city" right now, I am kinda surprised over its unpopularity in smash up. Maybe it is because the smash up format incentivises more casual plays and players and they may not be used to such things, but I frankly didn't get that feeling out of the general game community and it seems like most people here have experience with other card games as well. This is more on the personal side, but i actually enjoy disruption. It is reall fun to play and (although I understand why people would dissagree) if you expect it I really dont think its all that infuriating. Granted, the impossibility to deckbuild in smash up leaves little room to counter play, but I am quite sad that people overall don't seem to see the geeks as a faction that brings a new playstyle to the table but more as a faction that hurts the game in general. That being said I do agree that the timings should be fixed, that is quite annoying. Overall i think we could all use a little bit of cancer in our lives, it's not like it will kill us.

[@CrankItUp]

This is an interesting perspective. Thanks for that. While I don't view SU through a casual lens, I think that definitely contributes to part of the unpopularity. It may also be the nature of the game that makes the interrupt so potent. In Magic, from my limited experience, I would say that turn X isn't any more important than turn X+1. But in Smash Up, when you are going for a base capture, that's your window. You get very few windows in the actual game. Smash Up sometimes feels like a 3 base-win game. So if you can cancel 1/3 of meaningful turns, i think that is much more potent than in Magic.

[@CoreyMarinoGames]

@@CrankItUp I just want to say every turn is important in Magic, I think even more so than in Smash Up.

[@someguy86]

I agree with everything, although IMO they are SLIGHTLY overrated. In my experience they aren't top 5 factions however I get why they would be seen that way.

[@CrankItUp]

I was deliberately trying to avoid strength level and focus on principle. That being said, i tend to agree that, in general, they are not the strongest, but their ceiling is very high. The extreme Geek pairings are truly extreme

[@stephenmoses7515]

Well said 👏 I’m definitely not a fan of the Geeks either.

[@castsmeteor3]

First! Love this game! LOVE this channel. Keep up the great work!!!!

[@CrankItUp]

Thank you for the support!

[@castsmeteor3]

@@CrankItUp No… thank you guys. Seriously, got this game for Father’s Day. Bought two expansions since. International Incident! then It’s your fault! We play multiple times every day. We are all competitive Magic players. This game ticks all of our boxes. I hear you guys say “graveyard” and “control”. We know what’s up! We get the terms and the playstyles from said games and have been applying as such. I’ve downloaded all of your videos and have been watching them on planes, listening in physical therapy, driving and as I go to sleep. Knowledge is power. We want all of the expansions and we’re going to chip away a few at a time every check or month so we can slow burn expansion testing. Bigger Geekier Box is next!

[@CrankItUp]

This is great to hear. If you are a competitive Magic player, I'd love to get your thoughts on Erudia. It was designed to take the Smash Up idea of preconstruction, twist it in a new way, add back in some of the customization from Magic and create a competitive atmosphere. As the video says, the demo game is now available.

[@castsmeteor3]

@@CrankItUp 😳😳 I’ll have to check this out! Thank you

[@castsmeteor3]

@@CrankItUp I don’t have access to Table Top Simulator… :/