Limit Sweers to a Maximum Number of Copies
After playing the new Nekker Consume archetype for a while, I've felt compelled to make this post because I could find nothing on the subject.
So Nekkers has always been the cornerstone of any consume deck, but Sweers shuts them down entirely.
Consider this - the net value of Nekkers tends to increase in rounds 2 and 3. From experience I reach a value of around 8-12 in round 2, and 10-14 in round 3.
Let's say a non-round 1 Nekker has a mean value of 11. This means that if Sweers is played in round 1, every Nekker he removes is worth 11 points.
This means that if Sweers is played on round 1, where most copies are likely to be made, and he removes 6 copies, he singlehandedly swings for an effective value of 66, plus any remaining strength Sweers has.
There's no way to play around Sweers. You either put Nekkers on and boost them and they get removed, or you never put Nekkers on at all, both of which result in a great likelihood of losing the match. Additionally, Decoy or Emhyr allow Sweers to be reused.
That isn't really the point of this post either - defending Sweers by proposing a tactic to circumvent him is irrelevant - the fact that Sweers can shut down a specific archetype singlehandedly yet finds mediocre value against any other deck is the issue, especially since Sweers is NG specific, it makes it a bit unfair to other decks.
My suggestion for a rework would be for Sweers to send a maximum of 2 copies of a unit to the graveyard rather than all copies, as well as Sweers' base power changed from 9 to 8.
This means 2 Nekkers can be unavoidably removed, but you have the chance to either lock Sweers or Kayran him to prevent any more Nekker killing. If you don't lock or kill Sweers then, Decoy can be used to remove another 22 effective points, both of which are both still huge swings.
I believe this to be more fair - considering he retains single-play value into the 20s and retains what he originally did.
Thoughts?
After playing the new Nekker Consume archetype for a while, I've felt compelled to make this post because I could find nothing on the subject.
So Nekkers has always been the cornerstone of any consume deck, but Sweers shuts them down entirely.
Consider this - the net value of Nekkers tends to increase in rounds 2 and 3. From experience I reach a value of around 8-12 in round 2, and 10-14 in round 3.
Let's say a non-round 1 Nekker has a mean value of 11. This means that if Sweers is played in round 1, every Nekker he removes is worth 11 points.
This means that if Sweers is played on round 1, where most copies are likely to be made, and he removes 6 copies, he singlehandedly swings for an effective value of 66, plus any remaining strength Sweers has.
There's no way to play around Sweers. You either put Nekkers on and boost them and they get removed, or you never put Nekkers on at all, both of which result in a great likelihood of losing the match. Additionally, Decoy or Emhyr allow Sweers to be reused.
That isn't really the point of this post either - defending Sweers by proposing a tactic to circumvent him is irrelevant - the fact that Sweers can shut down a specific archetype singlehandedly yet finds mediocre value against any other deck is the issue, especially since Sweers is NG specific, it makes it a bit unfair to other decks.
My suggestion for a rework would be for Sweers to send a maximum of 2 copies of a unit to the graveyard rather than all copies, as well as Sweers' base power changed from 9 to 8.
This means 2 Nekkers can be unavoidably removed, but you have the chance to either lock Sweers or Kayran him to prevent any more Nekker killing. If you don't lock or kill Sweers then, Decoy can be used to remove another 22 effective points, both of which are both still huge swings.
I believe this to be more fair - considering he retains single-play value into the 20s and retains what he originally did.
Thoughts?