Opinion: Vrihedd Officer change/nerf is a solid virtual slap on the ST faction

[rrc]

Pre-nerf, he was ridiculously over-priced for the current state of the game where every card should give +2 provision-to-point to be competitive. But he was at least useful/viable. He could shut down an engine. In one of my previous threads where I cry for justice for ST bronze cards I mentioned him and suggested that he get a buff. But CDPR decided to just nerf the hell out of him and make him a glorified Wold-Pack (where the wolf ate the peasant militia or vice versa thus gaining 1 provision and 1 power). After CC expansion, doing 2 damage is considered as the junkest thing a card can do unless it has some other additional properties. Either Deathblow or Bloodthirst. 2 Damage or 2 Boost belongs to Engines and not a card on Deploy with no additional benefits and definitely not for a card which just breaks even.

I don't know what CDPR thinks of ST faction. They just want to slowly kill it? Ridicule the faction so much that people give up and start playing other factions? Or ST players should only play against the improved Training AI? This particular change is completely unacceptable and completely unfair. They buffed Dryad Fledgling (who belongs to harmony decks which are junk and non-competitive) and hence they want to nerf a card which was already not much used? What kind of thought process goes into the Dev's mind when it comes to ST faction? While all the control elements are slowly nerfed, NR is actually indirectly getting buffed. The only faction which is treated like a horse s**t is ST.

If a 5 provision card shouldn't do 3 damage, then why the hell Dimun Warship is allowed to exist (which can synergize with GS or Dagur and hence can become much much more than 5 points on deploy)? There is not a single 5P card which does 2 damage and breaks even. All the cards do 3 damage and get +1 Provision to Points on some condition. Leaving Vrihedd Officer the junkest 5P card in the game and a tatoo on ST faction's forehead saying "Screw you ST. We hate you."

My kindest request to CDPR is to please delete this card from the game along with many many other ST bronze cards which are junk and unplayable and unusable. Apparently, you can't make them good; your motto and attitude towards ST will never allow these cards to become good. At least do them honor by deleting these cards from the game. It is too depressing to create an ST deck and see all these s***y bronze cards to chose "Which one is less horrible? This piece of junk? Or that piece of rotten junk?"

 

[Smradd]

I can finally join the conversation since I started playing ST after the latest patch (because I milled every card from new starter pack from other factions I was playing and am refusing to remill them back so soon xD). It was kinda hard to decide which deck I should make, all of the bronze cards are mostly shit (when you look at them by themselves), and was surprised to see vrihedd officer's change (didn't see it in changelog somehow) who was best 5p standalone bronze in ST. I decided I should try spellatel with new limits on spells just because I think that 4P elf which buffs by 2 if reveals special is best unit on 4P alongside the one that has order and pings for 1. And on 5P I had that elf that buffs by 2 when you play a special, alongside johnny and sarrah, decided I could give it a try.
However, I believe it will be my first and final ST deck, until they make some changes to the faction; I can't see playing any other leader since sinergies in ST feel weak compared even to NR charge decks, and some "good stuff" deck (like you can do with NG with practically any leader, or SK...) is near impossible.

TL;DR I JOIN YOUR FIGHT FOR SOME ST JUSTICE!

 

[4RM3D]

Let's say that, for the sake of argument, you are right about the state of ST. You're now talking about how a pretty insignificant bronze got changed to something else... still insignificant. I do get some of the points you've made in the other threads about ST. But here, you are nitpicking for the sake of it, in my opinion.

 

[rrc]

Let's say that, for the sake of argument, you are right about the state of ST. You're now talking about how a pretty insignificant bronze got changed to something else... still insignificant. I do get some of the points you've made in the other threads about ST. But here, you are nitpicking for the sake of it, in my opinion.

Dear @4RM3D, I am not nitpicking for the sake of it. I am aware that I am only getting bad image and bad reputation by creating threads and making a lot of people hate me. I would never want to create a thread for the sake of it, unless I feel that I have to either fight for something or appreciate something.

Vrihedd Officer was an insignificant bronze card, but at least he had a use. He was viable. I had rarely added him since he is very costly, but he had his place. He could shut down an engine. But now, he was changed to be a Wolf-Pack/Peasant-Militia of 5 provisions. If he had 2 point and 3 damage/boost, I would have created a post saying "Thank You CDPR!", because that would make him good, strong, and viable, even though he would only break even.

A 2 damage on deploy breaking even is so junk that it only belongs to Neutral Cards and when CDPR makes these kind of changes, it just reflects how they see ST as a faction. ST already lacks good bronzes (I don't think anyone will deny that. There is not a single really strong good bronze card for ST. Crushing Trap is the only decent ST bronze, every other card has harder conditions and doesn't feel like you would want to add them). And on top of that making a overpriced-but-kind-of-useful bronze card to a junk wolf-pack-at-5-provision is just too much.

I was actually hurt when I saw that change. When I saw that he was 5 provisions, for a second I was happy, but then when I realized that he was made a Wolf-Pack, honestly, I felt like it was an insult to ST faction. I don't know why, but I am personally attached to the game and the ST faction and seeing it treated like this is really hurtful. Just open the deck builder and filter on bronze cards and see for each faction. Every faction has really many strong good bronze cards except ST. And when another junk card is added to that list, it makes the deck-building depressing for ST decks.

 

[Sleeperko]

We don't hate you. You are fun

 

[Allistre]

When I saw that he was 5 provisions, for a second I was happy, but then when I realized that he was made a Wolf-Pack, honestly, I felt like it was an insult to ST faction

Dude this is like my biggest problem with Homecoming. All the cards feel the same. There's at least 20 "wolf pack" cards across factions. You never would have seen this lazy design in the beta cards.

 

[mzeebra]

Many factions have many "weak" bronze cards. But it depends on the deck as well, in some cases bronze cards that are "weak" seen in isolation are actually quite good or even strong.

+2 for bronze cards is not correct. I've said in another thread that I think ST bronze cards are quite weak, but this is actually seen in isolation. Etinhe decks are incredibly strong, and they use these bronze cards quite well. I think there would be an issue if bronze cards of ST was strengthened, unless some higher provision cards were weakened to compensate for that.

Vrihedd Officer can damage or boost and gets a 5 value for 5 provisions, which is pretty standard for a bronze card. He actually have two choices, which is more than most other bronze units have.

 

[aatrilo]

Many factions have many "weak" bronze cards. But it depends on the deck as well, in some cases bronze cards that are "weak" seen in isolation are actually quite good or even strong.

+2 for bronze cards is not correct. I've said in another thread that I think ST bronze cards are quite weak, but this is actually seen in isolation. Etinhe decks are incredibly strong, and they use these bronze cards quite well. I think there would be an issue if bronze cards of ST was strengthened, unless some higher provision cards were weakened to compensate for that.

Vrihedd Officer can damage or boost and gets a 5 value for 5 provisions, which is pretty standard for a bronze card. He actually have two choices, which is more than most other bronze units have.

Have you actually seen an updated Eithne deck?

 

[mzeebra]

Have you actually seen an updated Eithne deck?

Yeah, I have. Considering it is so predictable and everyone pretty much plays the same deck, it is difficult to avoid.

 

[aatrilo]

Yeah, I have. Considering it is so predictable and everyone pretty much plays the same deck, it is difficult to avoid.

The most popular Eithne plays these bronzes:
Dol Blathanna archer
Volunteers
Sentinels
Dwarven agitators
Skirmishers and dragoons.
Aside from archers and agitators there isn't any "synergy" in an Eithne deck.

 

[StrykerxS77x]

SC wasn't worth playing in my view BEFORE the patch. The balance changes they just did were very MEH to me. I find the game very uninteresting right now due to terrible artifacts, too few archetypes, badly designed cards with no use, and repetitive no brainer cards to use in each faction. Deck building just doesn't interest me anymore until they make some good changes to the game.

-Dana decks are too predictable and too rigid in design. There's only so many types of cards that can fit into the deck or that you can feasibly pull out.

-Filivandril is fun but just not competitive. I want to use him with dwarves but for some reason the devs haven't added any dwarves to the game or updated dwarves to make more sense. They are too easy to shut down and too predictable. Not to mention their best card IMO which uses resilience is screwed because any good Ardal player is just going to steal your resilience and use it for themselves. Engines such as carryover cards are so screwed in this game. Removal and steal effects just crap all over them.

- Eldain is tricky to use and just not interesting to me. I don't really like how trap cards are designed. There aren't enough of them and artifact removal deletes their value (most of the time). Have zero interest playing these decks.

-Eithne was a leader I used until they did a bunch of nerfs to its best cards. After that it was too weak for me. There needs to be a better reason to use a leader that only has 4 pings of damage. In the final round you are going to get run over. Also I used to play elves but they are also too weak at this point.

-Francesca is a good leader by herself but I find Scoiataels cards to so boring/weak that I can't think of anything I actually want to do with her. I want to see some good synergies with this faction. Typically I would want to do some kind of spell deck but aside from the old no unit decks what are you even supposed to do with spells? There are no good spell engines. The ones we have will simply be deleted from the board.

 

[mzeebra]

-Eithne was a leader I used until they did a bunch of nerfs to its best cards. After that it was too weak for me. There needs to be a better reason to use a leader that only has 4 pings of damage. In the final round you are going to get run over. Also I used to play elves but they are also too weak at this point.

How about the highest provisions in the game?

 

[StrykerxS77x]

How about the highest provisions in the game?

Not for me. I mentioned why in the rest of the post. SC cards aren't good enough to make up the difference.

 

[Restlessdingo32]

Vrihedd Officer was an insignificant bronze card, but at least he had a use. He was viable. I had rarely added him since he is very costly, but he had his place. He could shut down an engine.

I'd have to question the viability component of this statement. If memory serves Officer used to be 3/3 + 2 for 5p but was pushed to 6p at some point. At 5p the card was viable because it broke even on cost vs value, had the flexibility to damage/boost by 3 and, when used for damage, could knock 3 pt engines from the board. At 6p it became questionable to carry the card and most stopped doing so. There are better, more cost effective ways to knock 3 pt engines from a board. Basically, I wouldn't call 3/3 + 2 for 6p viable.

Part of the issue is Officer doesn't fit the design of most other cards in the same cost range. A great number of 5p deploy cards are designed differently. Most fit into one of three categories...

1. Breaks even by default and has a condition or synergy where it can slightly exceed the cost in value.
2. Has a condition or synergy where it slightly exceeds the cost in value when it's satisfied, but dips slightly below when it is not.
3. Has an uncapped variable condition or synergy, where the points go up the more the condition is satisfied.

To pick random cards as examples, look at MS. Wyvern would be an example of #1, as it has 2 + 3 damage for 5p with thrive. WH Hound would be an example of #2. It's 3 + 3 damage for 5p when the condition is met and 3 + 1 damage when it is not. WH Warrior would fit #3. It's 3 for 5p but gains +1 for every synergistic unit on the board when it is played. The various other factions have similar themed cards.

Compare Officer to these cards. It breaks even now because it's 3 + 2/2 for 5p. What it cannot do is exceed the cost in value. Presumably this card is balanced around the flexibility offered by having the damage or boost options. Unfortunately, this means in an ideal case it's never going to compare to similarly costed cards. It has no ideal case. It's a relatively neutral, filler card. It's similar to a card like DB Archer. 5 value for 5p with a tiny bit of utility from being able to split the damage. Marksman is also 5 value for 5p but has to satisfy it's condition fully to break even (and, these 3 cards alone being the way they are, compared to certain other faction 5p deploy cards, says a thing or two).

I'd also point out before, back when it was 5p and 2 + 3/3 it was typically utilized for damage. The boost aspect was more of a situational option when there was nothing you needed to hit for 3 damage. For the most part this is because it had the utility to push 3 pt engines off a board. At 3 + 2/2 it stands to reason the usage would flip. It would be better used as a small, flexible (in terms of deck building) boost option, with the damage option being the situational choice.

I think the card would be viewed in a better light if this were not the case. Instead it should be designed like these other cards. While the flexibility is nice it's not significant enough at 2/2 boost/damage.

I also think ST probably needs a significant revamp. The faction as a whole needs to be adjusted. Not necessarily because it's "bad" either. It's more because it's fundamentally poorly designed in a lot of areas.

 

[BrokeCiri]

 

[mzeebra]

Compare Officer to these cards. It breaks even now because it's 3 + 2/2 for 5p. What it cannot do is exceed the cost in value.

There are many bronze cards in all factions that cannot exceed value. They fit with different tactics for various reasons. Some cards are even plain bad. Vrihedd Officer is not one of those.

 

[Restlessdingo32]

There are many bronze cards in all factions that cannot exceed value. They fit with different tactics for various reasons. Some cards are even plain bad. Vrihedd Officer is not one of those.

Yeah, they're usually the bronze cards people either don't play or don't want to play too.

 

[mzeebra]

Yeah, they're usually the bronze cards people either don't play or don't want to play too.

That's the bad ones, and then you have the ones that are good in some decks, but generally not necessarily good. The Vrihedd Officer might get added value if you use him with that card that boost double for example.

Most bronze cards will be good or decent in at least some decks. Some bronze cards have less uses than most, but might still be good in some decks. Some bronze cards are restrictive in their use and some are more generic/varied. And yes, some bronze cards are just not good, in that they have very little usefulness in most decks and/or give poor value almost always.

Vrihedd officer is a rarity, it is a bronze card with different abilities depending on which row you place him. He will give equal value at least, which is good. As you say, he has been downgraded, but it is not a bad card.

 

[Allistre]

As you say, he has been downgraded, but it is not a bad card.

It's bad because it's boring. How many cards do we need that are straight 5 points for 5 provisions, with no room to exceed that. It's just another Homecoming card they didn't know what to do with because it's old ability didn't fit into the new game they made.

 

[mzeebra]

It's bad because it's boring. How many cards do we need that are straight 5 points for 5 provisions, with no room to exceed that. It's just another Homecoming card they didn't know what to do with because it's old ability didn't fit into the new game they made.

Well, Tridam Infantry (which is one of the most powerful bronze cards in the game) is a measly 3 for 5 unless you use an engine. As I said, with the Vrihedd Officer, you can make an engine with that double boosting gold card (that I don't know the name of). I'm sure it's also a useful card in Eithne control deck.