Gwent now is not really a card game. It is now more like strategic RPG like Heroes of Might & Magic with some card mechanics. What are the signs of a real card game?
1. Cards are swift and immediate.
A moment ago card was overturned and in the next moment it is faceturned and shows u some effect, which is immediate and changing board’s situation. All popular card games have this shocking and swift essence. U make u turn and get immediate effect. Simple, shocking and fun. This shock does not give people to sleep. They wait every moment in awareness. Noone knows what will be next, what cards are in the opponent’s hand.
But in a new Gwent almost half of all cards are static, because of charges. They just laying and doing nothing before user directs them. It’s too predictable and boring, this cards are no secret, no shocking. It is more like chess’ static predictable figures. And if u cannot control such a card, u, probably may loose a game, because this cards in most are engines and are too strong when they go in bussiness. They are strong to compensate their slowness. But if u control it, u get more value, that is why Nothern Realms are mostly unplayable faction. Cause it has too much low HP order and charges cards, which are too easy to control by normal immediate and uncontrollable by nothing except pitfall trap cards (lock, destroy or even move to another row).
Most atrifacts are not immediate too and have a cheap contrcards. That’s why atrifacts are not in a meta and will never be except immediate uncontrollable artifacts whoose “artefactness” is even not needed, because they are just laying on the field and doing nothing after use (swords and a land of thousand tales). They could easely be just an immediate special cards.
Charges and orders have another unpleasant effect – they are hard to use, hard to direct. Sometimes u just have no time for this. And it would be even more harder to directs them on mobile devices.
So, as u can see, charges and orders are not good for a card game. They are boring, slow and hard to use. And they are hard to balance. If u do not control such a card, u loose too much. If u do, u gain too much value. That’s why this cards are hard, boring and too risky to play.
Another charges and orders disadvantage is a confusing difference between each of them. Why can I recharge cards with charges, but cannot recharge order cards? They are looking very similar and have the same mechanic. This confuse is bad and it makes another unneded complication to a game. If u have too much complications, ur game become too hard to understand and to play, what is a bad for every game, which are made for fun.
2. In a card game everything is a card.
Card is something unknown, something interesting hidden and which has it’s preset image, completed essense. For example, a tarot cards: here u can see a card of death, a card of fortune, a card of sun, a card of mage. U don’t know what will u pull out of a deck, but when u overturn it u will easyly regonize and understand it. All tarots are understandable and have a completed interesting deep image and meaning. Noone has charges or orders which make it more flexible on the board. This charge flexibility is unneeded complication for cards. It makes an image of card not clean, too garbage. With charge it’s not even a card, it is living flexible figure which is needed to be controlled after use. If some cards in Gwent are normal immediate completed cards, charge and order cards are too comlicated and flexible figures. This is refered to leaders too. Most of them are not cards, cause they have charges. Card is simple: it have one purpose, it is not flexible, it has completed understandable and recognizable image. Charge flexibility is not needed in a card game. It brings too much complication and uncompletness.
Another thing here is that charge is something like chip in some board game. When u use it, it is like u remove one chip from some board’s cell. Chip is not a card, what is breaking card game essense where everithing is a card. Chip is something foreign to cards. Cards are in a deck, and u cannot place chips on them. This feels abnormal. That’s why it is another reason why charges must be deleted. They are looking foreign. They have alien mechanic in relation to normal card’s immediate mechanic.
What I want to say at all: OBT Gwent was very close to normal and interesting card game. Everything was a card, it has leader cards, it had no unneded charges, evering was fast and understandable, shocking and not boring. HC became not fully a card game. It’s look like a board game with chips or like HoM&M series game or even like chess with figures which can be used not just one time and not with just one purpose. I don’t like it. U are mixing two different mechanics: figures and cards which are both laying in a deck. It looks odd and not beautifull. Leave just cards, please. It will be good, fun, clean and understandable which is needed for game popularity. Card games are fun, they are made for fun. Board games are not so fun, because they are too opened, heavy, predictable, too slow for having fun. That's why most popular decks are control decks with immediate funny mechanics (like Nilfgaard's ones), and most useless are decks with charges and orders (like NR ones). Just remove this heavy and slow charges at all and make gwent fun again!
1. Cards are swift and immediate.
A moment ago card was overturned and in the next moment it is faceturned and shows u some effect, which is immediate and changing board’s situation. All popular card games have this shocking and swift essence. U make u turn and get immediate effect. Simple, shocking and fun. This shock does not give people to sleep. They wait every moment in awareness. Noone knows what will be next, what cards are in the opponent’s hand.
But in a new Gwent almost half of all cards are static, because of charges. They just laying and doing nothing before user directs them. It’s too predictable and boring, this cards are no secret, no shocking. It is more like chess’ static predictable figures. And if u cannot control such a card, u, probably may loose a game, because this cards in most are engines and are too strong when they go in bussiness. They are strong to compensate their slowness. But if u control it, u get more value, that is why Nothern Realms are mostly unplayable faction. Cause it has too much low HP order and charges cards, which are too easy to control by normal immediate and uncontrollable by nothing except pitfall trap cards (lock, destroy or even move to another row).
Most atrifacts are not immediate too and have a cheap contrcards. That’s why atrifacts are not in a meta and will never be except immediate uncontrollable artifacts whoose “artefactness” is even not needed, because they are just laying on the field and doing nothing after use (swords and a land of thousand tales). They could easely be just an immediate special cards.
Charges and orders have another unpleasant effect – they are hard to use, hard to direct. Sometimes u just have no time for this. And it would be even more harder to directs them on mobile devices.
So, as u can see, charges and orders are not good for a card game. They are boring, slow and hard to use. And they are hard to balance. If u do not control such a card, u loose too much. If u do, u gain too much value. That’s why this cards are hard, boring and too risky to play.
Another charges and orders disadvantage is a confusing difference between each of them. Why can I recharge cards with charges, but cannot recharge order cards? They are looking very similar and have the same mechanic. This confuse is bad and it makes another unneded complication to a game. If u have too much complications, ur game become too hard to understand and to play, what is a bad for every game, which are made for fun.
2. In a card game everything is a card.
Card is something unknown, something interesting hidden and which has it’s preset image, completed essense. For example, a tarot cards: here u can see a card of death, a card of fortune, a card of sun, a card of mage. U don’t know what will u pull out of a deck, but when u overturn it u will easyly regonize and understand it. All tarots are understandable and have a completed interesting deep image and meaning. Noone has charges or orders which make it more flexible on the board. This charge flexibility is unneeded complication for cards. It makes an image of card not clean, too garbage. With charge it’s not even a card, it is living flexible figure which is needed to be controlled after use. If some cards in Gwent are normal immediate completed cards, charge and order cards are too comlicated and flexible figures. This is refered to leaders too. Most of them are not cards, cause they have charges. Card is simple: it have one purpose, it is not flexible, it has completed understandable and recognizable image. Charge flexibility is not needed in a card game. It brings too much complication and uncompletness.
Another thing here is that charge is something like chip in some board game. When u use it, it is like u remove one chip from some board’s cell. Chip is not a card, what is breaking card game essense where everithing is a card. Chip is something foreign to cards. Cards are in a deck, and u cannot place chips on them. This feels abnormal. That’s why it is another reason why charges must be deleted. They are looking foreign. They have alien mechanic in relation to normal card’s immediate mechanic.
What I want to say at all: OBT Gwent was very close to normal and interesting card game. Everything was a card, it has leader cards, it had no unneded charges, evering was fast and understandable, shocking and not boring. HC became not fully a card game. It’s look like a board game with chips or like HoM&M series game or even like chess with figures which can be used not just one time and not with just one purpose. I don’t like it. U are mixing two different mechanics: figures and cards which are both laying in a deck. It looks odd and not beautifull. Leave just cards, please. It will be good, fun, clean and understandable which is needed for game popularity. Card games are fun, they are made for fun. Board games are not so fun, because they are too opened, heavy, predictable, too slow for having fun. That's why most popular decks are control decks with immediate funny mechanics (like Nilfgaard's ones), and most useless are decks with charges and orders (like NR ones). Just remove this heavy and slow charges at all and make gwent fun again!
