The solution to binary gameplay - Locks (Reworked)

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It's no surprise that the game has become more binary with each expansion since the devs feel that any new card introduced must be more powerful than the last. A very flawed approach but until they figure that out I'd like to propose a solution to some of the more extreme cases of binary play.

Currently the only way to counter many powerful cards is heatwave which doesn't synergize well with a lot of factions and if you don't draw it that often means you've immediately lost. The devs have now forced themselves into a corner by introducing a swarm of tutor cards to solve this problem that they created but now you can predict the outcome of most matches just from the first cards drawn.

I've always felt that the way locks are used in the game is very simplistic and forces players to utilize removal rather than disruption and that's where the game's balancing suffers. My suggestion:

Mechanic
Lock - Change to Bind

Effect
Disable the effects of a card on the opponents row for 2 turn. Increase the number of turns bind is active by the number of cards with Bind in your starting deck, up to 5 turns.

This effect would accomplish several things. Aside from removing the over reliance on heatwave it would also address the issue with scenarios. At times it feels like scenarios give too much value in a short turn but devs also don't want to make it too easy to counter which is why they've removed the other cards that could interact with them without any real alternative.

This Bind effect would apply to units as well as artifacts/scenarios on the board. It doesn't completely destroy the scenarios or finishers so players won't feel like they wasted 14 provisions because they can just wait out the Bind effect. It also means the opponent can force you to play a card you needed to activate both chapters while you wait, or play your finisher early depending on how many turns remain before the round ends.

This allows flexibility in disrupting specific chapters which again, encourage disruption vs the removal meta that we've been stuck in that limits any creativity in deck building or strategy. I think it could be worth considering a mechanic that reduces the Bind effect by a number of turns as well. Haven't thought that one out completely but it could apply to all effects, not just Bind. Not to completely remove the effect but reduce a specified number of turns to a min of 1.

Anyhow, interested to hear everyone's thoughts.
 
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Well you forget to mention if The number of cards with bind its acessive to all factions or its limited one card per faction and 10 cards for NG.

If its The second thing, Nice try bro, but no
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
The ideia is interesting, but the timing is awful. OP, you do know tomorrow the 'black sun' expansion is released in Gwent?

Because even though i cant predict what the meta will become, i can safely predict it will be completely shifted, even more so than when the forgotten treasures card drop happened earlier this year, with 6 new scenarios and renfri and NR's royal inspiration rework and whatnot.

And these new cards are already tricky to understand and plan how they will work, mixing them with your suggested changes in an hypothetical situation is nigh impossible.
 
The ideia is interesting, but the timing is awful. OP, you do know tomorrow the 'black sun' expansion is released in Gwent?

Because even though i cant predict what the meta will become, i can safely predict it will be completely shifted, even more so than when the forgotten treasures card drop happened earlier this year, with 6 new scenarios and renfri and NR's royal inspiration rework and whatnot.

And these new cards are already tricky to understand and plan how they will work, mixing them with your suggested changes in an hypothetical situation is nigh impossible.
There is no right or wrong timing because this expansion will be no different from the rest. These new cards will be overturned, it will then take the devs months to acknowledge it and then they'll make a poor attempt at balancing. That's literally been the cycle for a while now so I'm not sure why you think this will be any different.

Heatwave will still be an auto include and it will be a tutor fest to see who can remove who's card first. When the dust settles it will be the same factions dominating that it has for the last 2 years. You've seen the new SK cards I imagine.

In any case my suggestion is to tackle problems with the game as a whole, not whatever shiny card the devs are dangling at the moment to distract from the state of the game.
 
It's no surprise that the game has become more binary with each expansion since the devs feel that any new card introduced must be more powerful than the last. A very flawed approach but until they figure that out I'd like to propose a solution to some of the more extreme cases of binary play.

Currently the only way to counter many powerful cards is heatwave which doesn't synergize well with a lot of factions and if you don't draw it that often means you've immediately lost. The devs have now forced themselves into a corner by introducing a swarm of tutor cards to solve this problem that they created but now you can predict the outcome of most matches just from the first cards drawn.

I've always felt that the way locks are used in the game is very simplistic and forces players to utilize removal rather than disruption and that's where the game's balancing suffers. My suggestion:

Mechanic
Lock - Change to Bind

Effect
Disable the effects of a card on the opponents row for 2 turn. Increase the number of turns bind is active by the number of cards with Bind in your starting deck, up to 5 turns.

This effect would accomplish several things. Aside from removing the over reliance on heatwave it would also address the issue with scenarios. At times it feels like scenarios give too much value in a short turn but devs also don't want to make it too easy to counter which is why they've removed the other cards that could interact with them without any real alternative.

This Bind effect would apply to units as well as artifacts/scenarios on the board. It doesn't completely destroy the scenarios or finishers so players won't feel like they wasted 14 provisions because they can just wait out the Bind effect. It also means the opponent can force you to play a card you needed to activate both chapters while you wait, or play your finisher early depending on how many turns remain before the round ends.

This allows flexibility in disrupting specific chapters which again, encourage disruption vs the removal meta that we've been stuck in that limits any creativity in deck building or strategy. I think it could be worth considering a mechanic that reduces the Bind effect by a number of turns as well. Haven't thought that one out completely but it could apply to all effects, not just Bind. Not to completely remove the effect but reduce a specified number of turns to a min of 1.

Anyhow, interested to hear everyone's thoughts.
What I like about this suggestion is its potential for strategic interaction. A huge proportion of the latest cards are either immediate value, or total removal — neither gives any opportunity for back and forth interaction. Bind introduces opportunity for interaction and timing considerations. It is one of the most promising ideas I’ve seen in a long time.
 
What I like about this suggestion is its potential for strategic interaction. A huge proportion of the latest cards are either immediate value, or total removal — neither gives any opportunity for back and forth interaction. Bind introduces opportunity for interaction and timing considerations. It is one of the most promising ideas I’ve seen in a long time.
I've always wondered from a lore standpoint why they haven't done something like it. "Lock" sounds like something physical whereas Bind is more akin to a mage spell, monster curse or enchantment which makes a lot more sense and could be used across all factions.

The flexibility is the thing that's missing from Gwent right now. Matches are now very short or ppl forfeit outright after R1 or R2. The solution to everything now is win R1 or bleed R2...that's it or you lose. If the devs want players to stay in the game and also not feel frustrated then they need something like this. It would allow them a lot of freedom to add cards that might otherwise be too OP if not unanswered immediately because you as the player can answer it without the opponent completely losing the card. It would instead be a game to see who can outsmart the other
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Well you forget to mention if The number of cards with bind its acessive to all factions or its limited one card per faction and 10 cards for NG.

If its The second thing, Nice try bro, but no
It would be accessible to all factions but of course there are ways to make its activation unique to each faction or archetype.
E.g. For vampires you could have "bleed on an enemy unit" as a requirement or just make directly applicable like lock is.
 
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