[Balance Suggestion] Some of the Strongest Cards of this Meta
Wardancer
Strength 3.
Whenever you Swap this unit, play it on a random row. Ambush: Flip over on turn end.
It’s currently the strongest carry-over in the game, mainly because it’s not played the round before the unit comes to use to block a dry pass, unlike most carry-overs, so you cannot counter it with the usual tools, in addition the card is also used to thin, making it too strong for a bronze.
The change should keep its thinning aspect while putting points on the board, but prevent the card from being used to block a dry pass. Wardancer should be more akin to Daerlan Soldier with the change, but unlike to latter doesn’t necessarily need another card to trigger its effect, explaining why it’s only a 3 strength unit. Moreover this change should also be an indirect improvement on Braenn, as she’d have potentially three more cards to boost, and other cards like Iorveth will also boost Wardancer, making the latter stronger.
Dimun Pirate Captain
Strength 1
Play a different Bronze Dimun unit from your deck. If the unit you pulled form your deck is destroyed, then banish the Dimun Pirate Captain who played it.
Dimun Pirate Captain doesn’t really have any kind of counters, unlike other bronze tutors in the game, for instance most bronze tutors necessitate one card on the board/graveyard before being able to tutor the same card from your deck, which means if the card you want to pull from your deck is removed from the board before you can tutor the other, or if the card you want is not in your hand to begin with, then you cannot use your tutor as efficiently as you wished. Dimun Pirate Captain has none of those limitations, but instead is limited to which kind of cards it can pull from, bronze Dimun units, but this isn’t really a limitation as decks playing Dimun Pirate Captain will have essentially Dimun units in them, allowing you to directly pull from your deck without limitations.
The change will keep this strength, but can be countered now as Dimun Pirate Captain will be banished if the unit pulled by the card is destroyed, which will deny Sigrdrifa/Restore, and also remove Dimun Pirate Captain from the board.
Skjall
Strength 5
Play a random Bronze or Silver non-Agent Cursed unit from your deck.
Outside of cursed decks Skjall is mainly used in combination with Hym to tutor Udalryk, which reduces the value of this card advantage spy to 8 strength in one turn, or 5 strength if used alongside Hym, which considerably soften the drawback of playing a card advantage spy, while also thinning your deck for the price of having your hand bricked for time to time. The only card advantage tutors in the game should be non-leader golds, as it takes the slot of a gold card, a more viable slot than silver’s, only to have the option to tutor while softening (less) card advantage spies, in addition of Alzur's Double–Cross which isn’t going to soften the strength of the card advantage spy, but on the contrary give more points to your opponent.
Brouver Hoog
Strength 4
Play a Silver non-Agent unit or a Bronze Dwarf from your deck.
Similarly to Skjall we’re talking about a card that can potentially be used to tutor and soften a card advantage spy, in that case reducing the strength of Yaevinn to 9 strength in one turn, nevertheless Brouver Hoog is a leader contrary to silver or gold cards used for the same purpose, which means Brouver Hoog is always going to be available to pull Yaevinn, no matter what you have in hand, and in consequence you’ll always be able to play your card advantage spy, giving too much consistency to it.
Dun Banner
Strength 4
If you are losing by more than 23 on turn start, Summon this unit.
Unlike the two cards above this bronze unit isn’t used to tutor a card advantage spy, but instead is only used to soften Thaler while thinning, reducing Thaler to 1 strength, or 3 strength if played by Alzur's Double–Cross. It’s currently rather easy to trigger this card’s ability, you either have to play Thaler while being down by 8 points, or being down by 6 points (with Alzur's Double–Cross), which isn’t very hard at the beginning of a round with low tempo cards.
With the change this will have to go to being down 10 points, or 8 points (with Alzur's Double–Cross), making this combination less consistent. It might make Dun Banner too weak, as they’re more likely to brick your hand unlike Brouver Hoog or Skjall, but they’re currently a tool rather easy to use in order to abuse from Thaler, and this change will keep their safe guard role against huge plays from your opponent.
There are currently too many ways to reduce the threat of card advantage spies for the player who plays them, and card advantage spies being very powerful it makes abusing them through those secondary cards way easier.
Half-Elf Hunter
Strength 6
Spawn a Doomed copy of this unit with 5 strength.
Half-Elf Hunter is slightly too strong right now, with its two bodies it makes Vrihedd Vanguard more efficient, and with its 12 strength it makes for a good tempo for what is basically a set up cards for your Vrihedd Vanguard, and unlike Bearmasters which are split 1/11, making them potentially vulnerable to Scorch/Igni or cards like Vandergrift, Half-Elf Hunters are only going to be countered by direct damage, and not a lot of units can directly deal 6 damage.
Elven Scout
Strength 1
Create a Bronze Elf unit that is not in your starting deck, currently on the board, or in the graveyard.
This change will prevent the Elven Scout from creating several time a strong engine during the whole game, moreover being restricted by elf units will reduce the pool of cards it can pull from. It’s still going to be a strong card to swarm the board with elves, potentially stronger as you won’t have any more dwarfs.
Slave Driver
Strength 1
Create a Bronze unit from your opponent's starting deck. After 3 turns, deal one damage to the created card, doesn’t repeat.
The ability to play your opponent’s deck with 1 more point is very powerful, though the creation can sometimes be pretty bad with cards like Dun Banner, Foglet, so on and so forth.
The change will still keep this slightly better tempo for 3 turns, which means you can time your pass according to the timer on your Slave Drivers in order to keep this advantage, otherwise you will lose 1 point, in addition Slave Drivers are still going to be very strong against low synergy engine decks, and few other cards such as Sage.
Winch
Silver
Create a Bronze Northern Realms Machine. Boost it by 3.
Winch being a bronze mean you can use it three times, four with Triss: Telekinesis, which increases the chances to get multiple time the same engine, Reinforced Ballista or Battering Ram being the most profitable, in return making Nenneke/Henselt too strong as you’re almost guaranteed to pull three Reinforced Ballista or Battering Ram through Henselt, and potentially more if you’re lucky enough. Moreover the machines you’ll create are going to become stronger with Siege Masters, so if you create a Ballista, which is a great counter against some swarm decks, you’ll be able to counter them efficiently thanks to Siege Masters, even though you didn’t tech against swarm but only created one unit.
The change will reduce this risk, while making the three pull from Henselt less consistent.
Ointment
Resurrect a Bronze unit with 5 power or less, add the Doomed category to it.
It shouldn’t impact too much Alchemy, but adds a bit of needed limitations to resurrections.
Runestones and Black Blood should be limited to Arena until they're changed to include less high-roll options, or reworked entirely.
Wardancer
Strength 3.
Whenever you Swap this unit, play it on a random row. Ambush: Flip over on turn end.
It’s currently the strongest carry-over in the game, mainly because it’s not played the round before the unit comes to use to block a dry pass, unlike most carry-overs, so you cannot counter it with the usual tools, in addition the card is also used to thin, making it too strong for a bronze.
The change should keep its thinning aspect while putting points on the board, but prevent the card from being used to block a dry pass. Wardancer should be more akin to Daerlan Soldier with the change, but unlike to latter doesn’t necessarily need another card to trigger its effect, explaining why it’s only a 3 strength unit. Moreover this change should also be an indirect improvement on Braenn, as she’d have potentially three more cards to boost, and other cards like Iorveth will also boost Wardancer, making the latter stronger.
Dimun Pirate Captain
Strength 1
Play a different Bronze Dimun unit from your deck. If the unit you pulled form your deck is destroyed, then banish the Dimun Pirate Captain who played it.
Dimun Pirate Captain doesn’t really have any kind of counters, unlike other bronze tutors in the game, for instance most bronze tutors necessitate one card on the board/graveyard before being able to tutor the same card from your deck, which means if the card you want to pull from your deck is removed from the board before you can tutor the other, or if the card you want is not in your hand to begin with, then you cannot use your tutor as efficiently as you wished. Dimun Pirate Captain has none of those limitations, but instead is limited to which kind of cards it can pull from, bronze Dimun units, but this isn’t really a limitation as decks playing Dimun Pirate Captain will have essentially Dimun units in them, allowing you to directly pull from your deck without limitations.
The change will keep this strength, but can be countered now as Dimun Pirate Captain will be banished if the unit pulled by the card is destroyed, which will deny Sigrdrifa/Restore, and also remove Dimun Pirate Captain from the board.
Skjall
Strength 5
Play a random Bronze or Silver non-Agent Cursed unit from your deck.
Outside of cursed decks Skjall is mainly used in combination with Hym to tutor Udalryk, which reduces the value of this card advantage spy to 8 strength in one turn, or 5 strength if used alongside Hym, which considerably soften the drawback of playing a card advantage spy, while also thinning your deck for the price of having your hand bricked for time to time. The only card advantage tutors in the game should be non-leader golds, as it takes the slot of a gold card, a more viable slot than silver’s, only to have the option to tutor while softening (less) card advantage spies, in addition of Alzur's Double–Cross which isn’t going to soften the strength of the card advantage spy, but on the contrary give more points to your opponent.
Brouver Hoog
Strength 4
Play a Silver non-Agent unit or a Bronze Dwarf from your deck.
Similarly to Skjall we’re talking about a card that can potentially be used to tutor and soften a card advantage spy, in that case reducing the strength of Yaevinn to 9 strength in one turn, nevertheless Brouver Hoog is a leader contrary to silver or gold cards used for the same purpose, which means Brouver Hoog is always going to be available to pull Yaevinn, no matter what you have in hand, and in consequence you’ll always be able to play your card advantage spy, giving too much consistency to it.
Dun Banner
Strength 4
If you are losing by more than 23 on turn start, Summon this unit.
Unlike the two cards above this bronze unit isn’t used to tutor a card advantage spy, but instead is only used to soften Thaler while thinning, reducing Thaler to 1 strength, or 3 strength if played by Alzur's Double–Cross. It’s currently rather easy to trigger this card’s ability, you either have to play Thaler while being down by 8 points, or being down by 6 points (with Alzur's Double–Cross), which isn’t very hard at the beginning of a round with low tempo cards.
With the change this will have to go to being down 10 points, or 8 points (with Alzur's Double–Cross), making this combination less consistent. It might make Dun Banner too weak, as they’re more likely to brick your hand unlike Brouver Hoog or Skjall, but they’re currently a tool rather easy to use in order to abuse from Thaler, and this change will keep their safe guard role against huge plays from your opponent.
There are currently too many ways to reduce the threat of card advantage spies for the player who plays them, and card advantage spies being very powerful it makes abusing them through those secondary cards way easier.
Half-Elf Hunter
Strength 6
Spawn a Doomed copy of this unit with 5 strength.
Half-Elf Hunter is slightly too strong right now, with its two bodies it makes Vrihedd Vanguard more efficient, and with its 12 strength it makes for a good tempo for what is basically a set up cards for your Vrihedd Vanguard, and unlike Bearmasters which are split 1/11, making them potentially vulnerable to Scorch/Igni or cards like Vandergrift, Half-Elf Hunters are only going to be countered by direct damage, and not a lot of units can directly deal 6 damage.
Elven Scout
Strength 1
Create a Bronze Elf unit that is not in your starting deck, currently on the board, or in the graveyard.
This change will prevent the Elven Scout from creating several time a strong engine during the whole game, moreover being restricted by elf units will reduce the pool of cards it can pull from. It’s still going to be a strong card to swarm the board with elves, potentially stronger as you won’t have any more dwarfs.
Slave Driver
Strength 1
Create a Bronze unit from your opponent's starting deck. After 3 turns, deal one damage to the created card, doesn’t repeat.
The ability to play your opponent’s deck with 1 more point is very powerful, though the creation can sometimes be pretty bad with cards like Dun Banner, Foglet, so on and so forth.
The change will still keep this slightly better tempo for 3 turns, which means you can time your pass according to the timer on your Slave Drivers in order to keep this advantage, otherwise you will lose 1 point, in addition Slave Drivers are still going to be very strong against low synergy engine decks, and few other cards such as Sage.
Winch
Silver
Create a Bronze Northern Realms Machine. Boost it by 3.
Winch being a bronze mean you can use it three times, four with Triss: Telekinesis, which increases the chances to get multiple time the same engine, Reinforced Ballista or Battering Ram being the most profitable, in return making Nenneke/Henselt too strong as you’re almost guaranteed to pull three Reinforced Ballista or Battering Ram through Henselt, and potentially more if you’re lucky enough. Moreover the machines you’ll create are going to become stronger with Siege Masters, so if you create a Ballista, which is a great counter against some swarm decks, you’ll be able to counter them efficiently thanks to Siege Masters, even though you didn’t tech against swarm but only created one unit.
The change will reduce this risk, while making the three pull from Henselt less consistent.
Ointment
Resurrect a Bronze unit with 5 power or less, add the Doomed category to it.
It shouldn’t impact too much Alchemy, but adds a bit of needed limitations to resurrections.
Runestones and Black Blood should be limited to Arena until they're changed to include less high-roll options, or reworked entirely.