Onslaught and Royal Inspiration

[Slizzl]

Is it just me or are Onslaught and Royal Inspiration starting to feel a bit outdated?
What is their purpose when leaders like Reckless Flurry and Uprising support the same decks better?

I think the devs should consider replacing them with more unique leaders. After both Sacrificial Vanguard and Second Wind got removed Skellige has a lack of leaders interacting with the graveyard, replacing Onslaught would be a good way to reintroduce one.

I also think NR might struggle to find a leader that properly supports both Siege Engines and Mages, but maybe the Stockpile changes will prove me differently. My idea would be replacing Royal Inspiration with a Crew focused leader. Maybe something like:
Order: Spawn a Volunteer on an allied row. Charge: 2.
Once all Charges are used up, Spawn a Siege Support on an allied row.

 

[ReaperTek]

They won't reintroduce SW for the 2 Cards in 1 turn reason but I'm totally for bringing back Sacrifical Vanguard (especially considering that the Discard Leaders interaction with Eist is a hell of a lot healthier than the current BoG one), but I would say that Onslaught still has some uses like lining up a Wild Boar, Regis, Scorch or Igni.

As for Royal inspiration after the introduction of Uprising it really doesn't make much sense to pick RI anymore when Uprising practically supports the same Cards with more flexibility, I guess bringing Vicious Slash would also be an Option.

 

[Madlax1992]

I would also argue that SY Jackpot is a bit of an awkward leader. On paper it can be a good leader, but it has no synergy with any SY archetype. Congregate supports Firesworn. Hidden Cache supports Hoard. OTB supports Tribute. Lined Pockets supports Crimes. Blood Money supports Cutups and Pirate's Cove supports spenders. What does Jackpot support? There is no specific archetype that this leader would synergize with. Seems more like a jack of all trades than anything else. There was that Wild Card leader, but that synergized more with the Crime archetype. Maybe rework this one to support the Bounty/Witch Hunter archetype or the Self-Poison archetype.

 

[ReaperTek]

I would also argue that SY Jackpot is a bit of an awkward leader. On paper it can be a good leader, but it has no synergy with any SY archetype. Congregate supports Firesworn. Hidden Cache supports Hoard. OTB supports Tribute. Lined Pockets supports Crimes. Blood Money supports Cutups and Pirate's Cove supports spenders. What does Jackpot support? There is no specific archetype that this leader would synergize with. Seems more like a jack of all trades than anything else. There was that Wild Card leader, but that synergized more with the Crime archetype. Maybe rework this one to support the Bounty/Witch Hunter archetype or the Self-Poison archetype.

In the beginning this was actually my favorite Syndicate Leader skill because you could get the max 9 Coins whenever you needed them plus the nice synergy with Bincy.

Apart from that Lined Pockets was considered very bad shortly before the Leader Card drop and Pirate Cove didn't exactly look that impressive at first glance either so I would say never underestimate a SY Leader Skill when already some small tweaks turn them from garbage into top tier material.

 

[Madlax1992]

In the beginning this was actually my favorite Syndicate Leader skill because you could get the max 9 Coins whenever you needed them plus the nice synergy with Bincy.

Apart from that Lined Pockets was considered very bad shortly before the Leader Card drop and Pirate Cove didn't exactly look that impressive at first glance either so I would say never underestimate a SY Leader Skill when already some small tweaks turn them from garbage into top tier material.

Good argument. However, the problem with Lined Pockets, as well as with Pirate's Cove was a lack of proactivity and a lack of support for their respective archetypes. Lined Pockets got good when it got Cleaver and several Crimes received a provision buff. Until then, it was better to play crimes with Congregate, making full use of a Firesworn/Intimidate synergy rather than using the leader that synergized with crimes.

Pirate's Cove, although it still does not do anything to the SY Pirate archetype, its rework solved one of the main issues of any SY deck, striking a proper balance between coin generators and coin spenders. You no longer need to include a 4/4 spender in your deck. Your leader gives it to you. As such, you can include more cards that give you a fuckload of coins. You also don't need to rely on cards that generate coins at the end of your turn (Imke, Tax Collectors) which are the first to be removed by your opponent. The buff the Borsodi brothers received also helped.

In regards to Jackpot, there is always a chance for it to get some cards which make it a viable leader. But the core problem is that it doesn't synergize with a specific archetype. In theory, it would be like a reverse Pirate's Cove. While Pirate's Cove gives you spenders, this one gives you full coins. Its only usage I can think of is a Bincy/Townsfolk deck with Igor. But even there, Lined Pockets would do a much better job. Rather than waiting until planets align and a deck appears which gives this leader a stage to shine, I would rather rework it to synergize with SY archetypes that do not have a leader. Two of them I just mentioned.

 

[Lord-Misplay]

I would also argue that SY Jackpot is a bit of an awkward leader. On paper it can be a good leader, but it has no synergy with any SY archetype. Congregate supports Firesworn. Hidden Cache supports Hoard. OTB supports Tribute. Lined Pockets supports Crimes. Blood Money supports Cutups and Pirate's Cove supports spenders. What does Jackpot support? There is no specific archetype that this leader would synergize with. Seems more like a jack of all trades than anything else. There was that Wild Card leader, but that synergized more with the Crime archetype. Maybe rework this one to support the Bounty/Witch Hunter archetype or the Self-Poison archetype.

It saw some play with the Salamander and the double poison everything after the witcher expansion came out but yeah its pretty much dead now

 

[Madlax1992]

It saw some play with the Salamander and the double poison everything after the witcher expansion came out but yeah its pretty much dead now

First time I've heard of this. I can't even remember when was the last time I encountered this leader. Still, it hardly synergizes with self-poison. In that deck it only mattered because it gave full coins for Salamander's tribute.

 

[Lord-Misplay]

First time I've heard of this. I can't even remember when was the last time I encountered this leader. Still, it hardly synergizes with self-poison. In that deck it only mattered because it gave full coins for Salamander's tribute.

I can't remember what rank was I then. Probably 1 or Pro but you would have Kalkstein on board play Louisa, free tribute Salamandra purify some units, leader, renew Salamandra and clear the board. It saw some play but it was more of a meme deck and died pretty quickly

 

[DRK3]

Is it just me or are Onslaught and Royal Inspiration starting to feel a bit outdated?

They arent STARTING to feel outdated, they are outdated for months, perhaps even years. And they're not the only ones, stockpile is the other obvious choice, a leader that gives you 1X every 2 turns.

I dont think these leaders are necessarily bad, i think they just missed with the provision system, and these leaders should have a significant advantage, provision-wise, to compensate for the lack of tempo plays and vulnerability to pushes/ short rounds.

I've been saying this for years, the provision range of leaders is between 161-167 (if im not mistaken), so only 7provisions, it should go for 10-12 between the highest and lowest leader.

Finally, i've actually found a few Onslaughts recently, but that's just further proof of how good SK is right now that it can do well with any leader really. But the truth is since those SK leaders you mentioned got removed, there isnt any real SK leader i like, which is a problem when its your favourite faction...
(i like Rage of the Seas, but its criminally underprovisioned, specially compared to other SK leaders, so i dont use it)

 

[Celadyl]

hands off my onslaught I'd prefer fixing it with a adrenaline 3: deal 2 damage or reduce cooldown by 1 instead of changing it. royal inspiration on the other hand

 

[ReaperTek]

I dont think these leaders are necessarily bad, i think they just missed with the provision system, and these leaders should have a significant advantage, provision-wise, to compensate for the lack of tempo plays and vulnerability to pushes/ short rounds.

I've been saying this for years, the provision range of leaders is between 161-167 (if im not mistaken), so only 7provisions, it should go for 10-12 between the highest and lowest leader.

I guess the Provisionen Limit really is best way to deal with those underperforming Leader Skills because imho not every Leader needs to be top tier if he offers at least a much better provision bonus than the "Superior" Leader Skills especially if they should plan to add more Leader Skills each year (which I really hope because after finishing all the Leader Contracts I'm not really that motivated to play anymore).

The prime example probably was freaking 19 Provision Bonus Eithne (Presicion Strike) before the Brokilon Sentinel rework, gotta say I really loved that huge provision bonus back then, probably a unpopular option but as a former Eithne main I really hated the rework, especially that you're practically now forced to run Brokilon Sentinels and to keep them in you're Deck for round 3, I guess at this point it would be even possible to return her to her formerly overtuned Damage a unit by 1.
Charge: 3. On round start, refresh Charge count Skill (same probably goes for the old Unseen Elder Skill
Order: Trigger an ally's Deathwish ability.
On round start, refresh this ability especially after the OH nerf)

And like already mentioned some of them still have their uses even if it should just be for some memes like Onslaught - Regis/Scorch or Jackpot - to ensure to have enough Coins for Fallen Rayla tributes (Salamander, Savolla and Tin Boy) and if they should should get a higher provision bonus they might even become a consideration for more competitive Decks.