Should Merigold's Hailstorm be a gold card?

[Cabowse]

Should Merigold's Hailstorm be a gold card?

Even though the card has not changed at all it has suddenly become a lot more popular in the current meta, likely due to it's ability to cut through armor. The card is used to greatest effect in Monster & ST decks with their abundance of movement units, allowing you to line up every unit the enemy has on one row before using MH.

This card very often can score 20+ value in most decks when used towards the end of a game, which makes it far more powerful than most silver cards and also most gold cards as well.

If the card was changed to gold a few things would happen:

- Players would have to more strongly consider whether the card fits with their deck so they can get the most value out of it rather than just putting it in every deck.
- Eithné would no longer be able to resurrect the card from the graveyard.
- Nature's gift will no longer be able to play the card from the deck.
- Royal Decree would be able to play the card from your deck.
- Aglaïs would no longer be able to play the card from your opponents graveyard.

It's worth thinking about the balance and if you could see the card as a match for other gold cards like RNR, Drought & Assassination.

Let CDPR know what you think in the poll below!


( Also I know this discussion might have been started in the different thread, but If I could ask the moderators to let this particular thread be it's own thing so that the poll can gather data more effectively, Thanks!)

 

[4RM3D]

If the card must be changed, then it's better to nerf it than to turn it into a gold. Having said that, the card isn't the problem, the meta is. Then again, if this is the way forward, everything needs to be rebalanced. Not only cards, like Hailstorm, that have an increased relative value, but at the same time, cards that have fallen behind.

Also, the poll lacks the important option: Keep it silver, but nerf it instead. This means the poll is flawed anyhow.

 

[partci]

How about leave it Silver but just cap it? You know, like Iris got capped and it was way more situational and used card before. Or tune it down to hit 1/3 STR instead of 1/2 STR.

 

[Cabowse]

If the card must be changed, then it's better to nerf it than to turn it into a gold. Having said that, the card isn't the problem, the meta is. Then again, if this is the way forward, everything needs to be rebalanced. Not only cards, like Hailstorm, that have an increased relative value, but at the same time, cards that have fallen behind.

Also, the poll lacks the important option: Keep it silver, but nerf it instead. This means the poll is flawed anyhow.

You're right! I've just added that option now.

 

[devivre]

Even as gold card it would need more limitation. I'd like to see the effect limited to only a few adjacent units, so players can try to work against the effect through positioning. But if you can do that, MH is probably not worth the gold slot anymore. So yeah, better keep it silver but change it.

 

[l_WHIT3WOLF_l]

I wish mg hailstorm freeze all cards on row & will remove 2/3 strength from all card par turn & you can clear it's effect with clear sky. I am really looking forward for more effects in game like.. fire, poison, mud, howling winds etc..

Fire will burn cards for some strength par turn, Mud will stick cards to row & you can't move them, howling wind may be change position of all cards on row par turn.

 

[Ildun]

No, simply because it is not fair for newcomers if they want to craft it

 

[Pruny]

limit to 20points

 

[Cabowse]

It should probably be limited to hitting 3 or 4 adjacent units, most of the time the value you get from the card if from a couple of units on the row anyway but it allows you to pre-empt that and position lower value units between your higher targets to minimize damage.

limit to 20points

The problem with limiting the card to 20 points is that you have no real way of telling where those 20 points are going to be distributed, you might be using the card to cut a specific unit down so that you can steal it with treason or eat with Kayran, and adding that RNG into the mix won't help with strategy.

 

[idomyownstunts]

Has no one termed it Merigold's Shitstorm yet?

 

[ArianeGrosmont]

Has no one termed it Merigold's Shitstorm yet?

Damn! How did I not think of that????:hatsoff:

 

[JeromeNtheHouse]

I'm all for either making Hailstorm a gold card, as well as keeping it silver but changing the damage output. I played 4 matches jus now, and ALL 4 were played in the exact same manner, in which they used hailstorm at the very end. It's gotten to the point now where if u're playin ST or Monsters, there's a VERY good chance someone is gonna use hailstorm at the very end.

-Northern Realms

 

[GenLiu]

For me personally it has to be caped (4 adjacent units seem reasonable to me) and remains as a silver.
I don't see any reason to make it a Gold, it's kinda making things complicate when you can make them simple imo.

 

[Salmonhater]

I feel like the main reason its become so popular is because every second man and his dog is playing a NR deck that always ends up with a row very heavily stacked. I'm running a Greatsword SK deck and have only lost to Hailstorm once and I'm pretty sure I could have avoided it had I played better.

 

[Wallcrawler8878]

In its current form it needs to be gold. No neutral silver should be auto include to the point where youre just hurting yourself not running it. You will generally get ridiculous value from this card even if you have no movement units yourself. If you can move your opponent into one row, they cannot play around it and you devastate them. Lacerate isnt even run anymore in my experience. If it remains a silver it needs to change. Make it an armor ignoring lacerate for 4 damage per unit. Cap the damage or make it a few adjacent units only. Even a norma armor ignoring lacerate would be fine with all the movement cards out there. Hit a stacked row of 5 for 15 damage, Imean thats really good. 15 point silver is really good. But as it is, hitting 30-40 points is BETTER than any gold card in the game. It can be resurrected, target drawn, and movement cards destroy any way to play around it. Its a God tier overtune.

 

[Elecktra]

Merigold's Hailstorm should not be capped or changed. Merigold's Hailstorm is 1 silver card that has the ability to give a countermove against players that stack rows.
With all of the regeneration, retaliation, or boosting cards i.e. Temerian Drummer, point totals are crazy high , like facing a consumption deck. Also, row stacking is one of the easiest ways to counter weather effects, making game strategy even less varied.

Row stacking also helps avoid multi-row attacks like Mahakam Pyrotechnician.

Since Igni was bumped up to 25 and with cards like Poor Flanking Infantry, rows have been getting fat. The only other counter option is to play Skellige and build Whale Harpooner decks. With Ice Giants becoming mobile, there are viable strategies to avoid row stacking with almost every faction. Merigold's Hailstorm is an appropriate check that creates varied game play. I mean, who really worries about Lacerate or Arachas Venom which are just abbreviated versions of Merigold's Hailstorm ?

 

[Cabowse]

Merigold's Hailstorm should not be capped or changed. Merigold's Hailstorm is 1 silver card that has the ability to give a countermove against players that stack rows.
With all of the regeneration, retaliation, or boosting cards i.e. Temerian Drummer, point totals are crazy high , like facing a consumption deck. Also, row stacking is one of the easiest ways to counter weather effects, making game strategy even less varied.

Row stacking also helps avoid multi-row attacks like Mahakam Pyrotechnician.

Since Igni was bumped up to 25 and with cards like Poor Flanking Infantry, rows have been getting fat. The only other counter option is to play Skellige and build Whale Harpooner decks. With Ice Giants becoming mobile, there are viable strategies to avoid row stacking with almost every faction. Merigold's Hailstorm is an appropriate check that creates varied game play. I mean, who really worries about Lacerate or Arachas Venom which are just abbreviated versions of Merigold's Hailstorm ?

These are all valid points but are overshadowed by the fact that Monsters and ST have multiple cards that move cards to where you want them to be. Unless you also have a movement deck, there is ultimately no way of fighting having all of your cards moved to one row to be blasted by MH.

The card needs to be adjusted so that it still works as a way to counter row stacking, but cannot be so easily abused by ST & Monster decks.

 

[Eliadann]

I think Merigold´s Hailstorm should be changed, but remain silver. What I propose is the following:

- Make the card affecting silver and bronze units only OR
- Bronze units only

This way, the play around Hailstorm is more complex, with more to do on top of row stacking and sheer numbers. The card keeps being good for move decks, but it is not so decisive as now it is, where all decks have it no matter the concept. For the player, there´s more to pay attention to when having the card at hand. Hailstorm, as many other singular cards, should be part of a concept deck. If it becomes a must carry for all decks no matter what because it is too good, then it needs to be changed.

 

[altaybek]

Merigold's Hailstorm should not be capped or changed. Merigold's Hailstorm is 1 silver card that has the ability to give a countermove against players that stack rows.
With all of the regeneration, retaliation, or boosting cards i.e. Temerian Drummer, point totals are crazy high , like facing a consumption deck. Also, row stacking is one of the easiest ways to counter weather effects, making game strategy even less varied.

Row stacking also helps avoid multi-row attacks like Mahakam Pyrotechnician.

Since Igni was bumped up to 25 and with cards like Poor Flanking Infantry, rows have been getting fat. The only other counter option is to play Skellige and build Whale Harpooner decks. With Ice Giants becoming mobile, there are viable strategies to avoid row stacking with almost every faction. Merigold's Hailstorm is an appropriate check that creates varied game play. I mean, who really worries about Lacerate or Arachas Venom which are just abbreviated versions of Merigold's Hailstorm ?

Lacerate and Venom doesn't ignore armor but shitstorm does. Only way to counter is to Quen 2-3 units (if you are that lucky to have them on that row)

 

[RickMelethron]

hailstorm is one of those cards that only becomes a problem when the meta revolves around big tempo

so far, the card had never seen play; simply because it was hard to get value. with this patch, however, the value of bronze units was pushed well above what it used to be, on top of the gold immunity change; those two factors combined make hailstorm a very powerful card to have.

i personally believe that it should be capped at 20 value, just like the other silver specials are (commanders horn, treason, and bekkers twisted mirror)