Arena Ban List - should it exist and what should it include?
I am one of many who are very excited for the new arena game mode. I was a big fan of limited in MTG and arena in hearthstone, so I expect to put a lot of hours into Gwent's arena when it is released. In order for the arena to be as interesting as possible for both the competitive and casual player, I suggest a small ban list is added so that certain cards will not show up in your drafts. My suggestions are as follows:
Ciri: Nova
Arachas Drone
Blue Mountain Scout
Drummond Shieldmaiden
Alba Pikeman
Mahakam Volunteers
Let me explain my reasoning:
For drafting to be an exciting experience, there needs to be a degree of choice involved. In Gwent, this is why you get to pick each card from a pool of 4 cards. This keeps the deck building aspect non-linear and competitive. I have come to the conclusion that under no circumstance should any of these 6 cards ever be picked. With a bronze pool of 199 potential cards, you have only a 39% chance to see your first bronze after 24 more picks. Even if your deck is entirely comprised of bronzes AND your first pick is a muster card, the chance of getting the same card again is phenomenally low. Given that you want 3 of the muster cards for them to be good, you are putting yourself at a statistical landslide of ever finding enough of these units. This means that anyone with any fragment of sense will always avoid picking these cards, and if you have 5 cards in the bronze pool that will never be picked, you will have players frustrated by the lack of choice presented to them in their draft. Imagine a scenario where one of these shows up in your choices: instead of picking between 4 potential candidates, now you have to choose between 3. Have this happen enough, and players will feel cheated out of their ore, and justifiably so. Ciri: Nova is on a similar in that statistically it will virtually never be correct to pick. Since the gold pool is smaller than the bronze pool, this card will show up more often, and ironically it is the worst gold, silver, or bronze you could possibly draft.
With all that addressed, I would love to hear any suggestions for cards that could also make this list, or if there should even be a ban list in the first place.
I am one of many who are very excited for the new arena game mode. I was a big fan of limited in MTG and arena in hearthstone, so I expect to put a lot of hours into Gwent's arena when it is released. In order for the arena to be as interesting as possible for both the competitive and casual player, I suggest a small ban list is added so that certain cards will not show up in your drafts. My suggestions are as follows:
Ciri: Nova
Arachas Drone
Blue Mountain Scout
Drummond Shieldmaiden
Alba Pikeman
Mahakam Volunteers
Let me explain my reasoning:
For drafting to be an exciting experience, there needs to be a degree of choice involved. In Gwent, this is why you get to pick each card from a pool of 4 cards. This keeps the deck building aspect non-linear and competitive. I have come to the conclusion that under no circumstance should any of these 6 cards ever be picked. With a bronze pool of 199 potential cards, you have only a 39% chance to see your first bronze after 24 more picks. Even if your deck is entirely comprised of bronzes AND your first pick is a muster card, the chance of getting the same card again is phenomenally low. Given that you want 3 of the muster cards for them to be good, you are putting yourself at a statistical landslide of ever finding enough of these units. This means that anyone with any fragment of sense will always avoid picking these cards, and if you have 5 cards in the bronze pool that will never be picked, you will have players frustrated by the lack of choice presented to them in their draft. Imagine a scenario where one of these shows up in your choices: instead of picking between 4 potential candidates, now you have to choose between 3. Have this happen enough, and players will feel cheated out of their ore, and justifiably so. Ciri: Nova is on a similar in that statistically it will virtually never be correct to pick. Since the gold pool is smaller than the bronze pool, this card will show up more often, and ironically it is the worst gold, silver, or bronze you could possibly draft.
With all that addressed, I would love to hear any suggestions for cards that could also make this list, or if there should even be a ban list in the first place.
