Freak Show & the Borsodi Brothers [with Bounty]

[Anciluart]

it's too early to talk about nerfs, update is alive only a few days.
People still do not know how to counter new decks, make mistakes and learn to play.
I would prefer buffs to other factions instead.

Look at the image and tell me how you play based on that. You kill Menge? You remove the bounty with purify? How many bounty can you remove? How would you use 4 cards to purify in another game without bounty?

Unpopular opinion here, but pinging out multiple bounty targets in a single turn is very satisfying. It requires some setup (to maximize profit, you'd better deal some damage to enemies beforehand), it requires opponent not playing around Caleb Menge + Executioner, it requires math. Balance-wise it is very strong indeed, but I'd rather see other fractions receive similar cool combos (and buffs overall), than have this one nerfed to the ground. I mean, nerf to bounty mechanic would take so much fun away.

I'd rather remind the majority of people that there are multiple purify units out there that can help you get rid of bounty. But everybody's just so used to carrying max-value cards instead of teching against sth nowadays, and whenever something requires them to make the deck suboptimal value-wise, they start complaining.

Gwent, the game of counter? You want all the other people palying around you? Because thats the definition of imbalance.

What kind of mathematics does the combo need? 1 coin is 1 damage, if the unit dies you recover the coins and continue doing the same ...........


One thing I've noticed playing these days. The whole new faction is nothing more than the combo of Sheldon and the Dwarven agitators, they simply removed their weaknesses and added many more strengths.

Imagine that each card that gives coins is a Dwarven agitator, but instead of giving the power to Sheldon in hand that power is saved in a place where the opponent can not attack (coins).
Then you play any card that uses coins but instead of having a single Sheldon, all your cards that spend coins are Sheldon, besides that, instead of giving it the power before playing it (and without being able to reverse what was spent) you give it the power after playing it and you spend only what you need.

Basically the faction is - Card A: generates x resource and Card B: for every 1 resource you can: do 1 damage, obtain 1 power or boost an ally in 1.

Taking into account this and that the carryover is invulnerable, we do not have a clear weakness other than to remove the units that use the carryover before they take advantage of it (which is not always possible since they have zeal).
So much benefit should have some cost, and clearly there is no such cost.

I'm using Scorch in a KoB deck, 2 or 3 bounty in some units, the previous coins to line up and that's it.

 

[MeCosmos]

I feel like they should have given themselves a bit more time for balancing. I would rather wait 2 more weeks for something that works well and doesnt make other factions unplayable.

I got to admit though, that SY has its identity and looks very interesting, but there are some serious issues they need to fix ASAP.

I tryed some decks and had some pretty insane games and by ,,insane,, i mean that i was winning by almost 50 points when i played my last card. My opponent had 2 more cards to play ( yes he had card advantage) and nothing on the board and he still somehow managed to win with just those 2 cards. I dont know which cards were those bcs i am not yet familiar with names but it left me bamboozled.

 

[Manwwe]

I think that the problem is that they rushed to release SY because, for some reasons, they were in a hurry for it. And that inevitably leads to an immature faction with a clear lack of deep testing. That brings a lot of frustration to players that, suddenly, have to face this faction once and again because a high percent of their opponents play it (logical, as it is the new toy). Then comes a bad game experience for some users, like me that I am seriously considering playing for a while only in friendly mode and forfaiting at the exact moment I see a SY in front of me. In fact I already did it a couple of times.

Later come the nerfs to just take down all the euphoria that SY players have accumulated so far, bringing to the game more frustration.

Why this (unnecessary) rush for releasing? Is it for marketing reasons? Is it because they are in a hurry to meet competitors?

My humble advice would be: no matter the hurry they can be in, please do this trial & error process during the testing phase. This is the moment where this process is suposed to be done. But do it carefully. It´s far more satisfying for the players and gives to the community a picture of a serious company that care about us, IMO.

 

[DRK3]

So yesterday played a little bit, and ofc, faced a lot of Syndicate, and every single one was using Freakshow.

One of them even used Renew on Freakshow, after i used Curse of Corruption on him. Im using a 9prov card to counter a 6pt/6prov. card. Renew is 13 provisions! Do you see something wrong about this?

Freakshow is so broken right now, CDPR could set a record on nerfs and increase his provisions by doubling them, from 6 to 12, and he would STILL be played!

This card is way too versatile. You can use it to instantly remove almost any engine or dangerous card. You can also use it to hit multiple targets, just like only NR can do with charges, except they dont have zeal, and are easier to remove.

Also, you never waste value - for example, if you use a alzurs thunder on a 3pt card you just had to remove, you lose 2pts... but not freakshow, no. And then there's the heals, so this is not just a one time thing.

Honestly, the nerf to this card cant be just provisions:
- they need to fix him so he doesnt work when locked
- maybe remove his zeal
- add a cooldown if insanity is used instead of coin
-increase provisions, even after all this nerfs

 

[tulamide]

I didn't play for days now. I would love to do at least some daily crowns, but I just refuse to play against SY. And since I can't select my opponent and I'm not willing to gift them victories, others have to work hard for, I stay out of the game.

It's up to CDPR how fast they react and get players back to spending time in Gwent.

And although Freakshow is the "highlight", it is not the only card that needs a rework ASAP. As well as the coin mechanic in general. To me it feels like a total disaster.

 

[akhorahill]

Basically the faction is - Card A: generates x resource and Card B: for every 1 resource you can: do 1 damage, obtain 1 power or boost an ally in 1.

Or to steal a unit, copy a unit, spawn 2/2's or bring a 4/4 from the deck or graveyard.

SY feels like a swiss army knife, they stock on resources that cannot be interacted with and then, based on the game development, decide to spend them on the best way possible, with zeal.

Meanwhile, other factions feel like one trick ponies and units with order are simply a joke. Hell CDPR even changed the SK leaders so that one is about damaging enemies and the other about damaging your own units. SY is just about everything that is good.

Game balance is really bad since the update, I do hope it is fixed fast. Just bring the hammer and wreck the SY now and take your own sweet time to make it viable, no rush, like you guys are doing with NR.

 

[AlterKobold]

Yes, but with the ability to steal coins by killing or seizing units with coins, or directly steal from them like Thaler and Kaedweni Cavalry.

One thing that could be fun would be an Ambush card that steals the opponent's coins before he gets them, or at least destroys them. With sort of the same mechanic as the Scoiatel Serpent Trap card. It could be called "Embezzlement" or something like that. If the opponent plays a crime card, you get its benefits/you cancel his benefits.

It would also kinda fit in the lore, like a rival gang/Syndicate sub-faction or the Scoiatel having an agent somewhere who "redirects" funds...

 

[4RM3D]

One thing that could be fun would be an Ambush card that steals the opponent's coins before he gets them, or at least destroys them.

A card that steals coins is a very bad idea. There should never be a card that hard counters a faction specific mechanic. We've seen it with the old Roche (NR) who could destroy a trap. It was a poor design then and it still is now. However, the existing traps should be buffed/fixed to also block coin gain from cards.