While Caranthir: Golden Child can either be worth a lot of points or very little depending on how the match went, I find it’s effect to be unnecessarily complicated and swingy. I think providing a more consistent and linear ramp on his power would be better for him. I understand the high-roll nature of certain cards makes them more fun, and while it isn’t inherently chance on how much he is worth, I find it to be too much match-up and RNG dependant to be consistent.
Furthermore, because his effect only counts the last 5 turns of frost damage rather than the 5 highest* turns of frost damage, his effect forces you to play him at his strongest lest your most damaging frost turn isn’t within the most recent 5 turns. It’s clunky, inconsistent, and doesn’t provide the same level of ease-of-use and finishing potential that Regis and Lake Guardian provide for Vampires and Harmony.
While in general I don’t like the homogenization of cards and effects (especially across all factions), I believe the reason those cards work and help their respective archetypes is it provides a pay off for successfully executing your deck’s combo, and more so relies on your play rather than your opponent’s. Frost is by its nature subject to counterplay due to the way your opponent can make your row effects struggle to find value, and so Caranthir as he is now isn’t quite the kind of card that helps out the Wild Hunt archetype as much as it could. I know the effect now is more interesting, and also has much higher point potential (but also a conversely lower floor), but I don’t like clunky he feels to use.
Anyways just my thoughts.
Furthermore, because his effect only counts the last 5 turns of frost damage rather than the 5 highest* turns of frost damage, his effect forces you to play him at his strongest lest your most damaging frost turn isn’t within the most recent 5 turns. It’s clunky, inconsistent, and doesn’t provide the same level of ease-of-use and finishing potential that Regis and Lake Guardian provide for Vampires and Harmony.
While in general I don’t like the homogenization of cards and effects (especially across all factions), I believe the reason those cards work and help their respective archetypes is it provides a pay off for successfully executing your deck’s combo, and more so relies on your play rather than your opponent’s. Frost is by its nature subject to counterplay due to the way your opponent can make your row effects struggle to find value, and so Caranthir as he is now isn’t quite the kind of card that helps out the Wild Hunt archetype as much as it could. I know the effect now is more interesting, and also has much higher point potential (but also a conversely lower floor), but I don’t like clunky he feels to use.
Anyways just my thoughts.
