Crazy idea: one mulligan per turn

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Crazy idea: one mulligan per turn

So, one of the problems with Gwent right now, in my opinion, of course, is that the hands are "too stable". Most CCGs have players draw a card each turn, while Gwent there is drawing cards only twice in the entire game (besides the start).

That is an obvious problem for streaming and e-sports, because it removes much of the excitement and the surprise. Some cards and effects offset this, like Swap, etc., but often you look at the two players hands, and it is quite obvious who is going to win. Not only that, but I would argue that this lack of hand change is also a problem for game-play, especially in Arena. Often you look at a 5-6 card hand and say, "OK, this is the finisher, this one I want to save for the end, this needs to be played before that, and this is proactive I can play now." And basically your game is over, everything else is purely mechanically fulfilling your plan and waiting to see what happens.

I think that a draw each turn like other CCGs is important to keep the game exciting until the end, as well as keeping the players engaged strategically, always having to change and adapt their strategies. But naturally drawing each turn would never work in Gwent, because of the way it is created. So my proposal is: allow players to mulligan one card at the beginning of each turn. It would work exactly like drawing cards in other games, my turn starts and I have a mulligan. (The timer would be shared with the timer of the turn.) So I always have a chance to get a better draw and turn the game, as well as having to change my strategy every turn, keeping me engaged.

Of course that would mean removing the round-start mulligans, except probably for the mulligans at game start. And it would also work better in a scenario where we wouldn't have so many thinning cards like now, which is something I expect (and deeply hope) we will have in Homecoming. Otherwise games would be even more consistent than now, which is bad. But in Arena, for example, and a constructed environment that people don't consistently end games with 0-3 cards in their decks, it would make Gwent much more fun to play and to watch, in my opinion.
 
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Gwent is not like other CCG. It might lack some aspects like you have mentioned, but it also gains others in return, e.g. having multiple rounds. I don't think you should try to simulate the experience from other CCG by "faking" it. More importantly, though, it breaks the flow of the game. There is something interesting to be done with multiple mulligans or card draws, but it should be implemented differently.
 
I think part of what is great about gwent (though I acknowledge it has some flaws right now) is the fact that it is not like other ccg's. To me, other ccg's are less strategic because there is such a random element. I like gwent and have played it much longer because I can plan a strategy. I think they were trying to get that randomness you seek with create. Just my two cents though.
 
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