Slave Driver too Strong; it reveals too much about the enemy deck

[altaybek]

Slave Driver despise thread

1. It's gives your away your entire deck and removes the element of surprise.
2. It creates units regardless of power
3. In mirror matches, there is a vicious circle of SD & Vicovaro Medic which is probably the most boring and useless thing ever happened in Gwent
4. It can be resurrected
5. It's a waste to use Artifact Compression, Alzur or any other hard control cards because of it's a 2 point value bronze card..

2 and 4 are the most ridiculous things ever. Create options should be limited to units with 5 power or less and it should have doomed tag if it's gonna stay like this.


If you ask me it should change completely something more similar to: "Play a different random bronze unit with 5 power or less". Simple. Nice thinning tool with balanced numbers and no broken mechanic.

One way or another, it HAS TO change

 

[Wonderboy8700]

Not only do I agree I will add 2 more problems.

1. It can actually be worth over 20 points in value when playing against a return and spot deck.

2. Also because of the insane value of other low card creates, it can basically steal the best cards from other decks and be worth almost 15, (eleven scouts, beast masters, nekker warriors to make even more slave drivers, and theft siege.) The downside to this is that each faction is supposed to have it's own identity and advantage, when NG steals that it makes them even more OP and makes the others feel less unique.

 

[OG.laloquaint]

I love their ability but I do agree it's a bit overpowered in certain match ups. I don't like your suggestion because Nilfgaard already has tons of deck thinning cards. I think it would be interesting if they could "steal" the ability of a bronze unit in your opponent's deck. For example, have it say: "Create the ability of a bronze unit in your opponent's starting deck." It's basically almost the same thing but without the body of your opponent's unit. His strength would have to be increased if that's the case though.

It would be cool if they had synergy with Slave Hunters tbh. Maybe if the Slave Driver got their strength raised up to 6-8 and it read: "Damage a unit by the power of a bronze ally on the board." Very boring and could be dead, but hey, at least he can't create your opponent's deck. I don't know, I wish those two cards worked well together.

 

[niroz]

it's frustrating to watch your own deck being played against you with +2 points on top, but it's very fitting as a NG card. Personally I'd prefer the spirit of the card remained but was limited in some way, such as only allowing you to create bronze non spying cards that are on the opponents side of the board, adding a doomed tag or reducing the point value of the slave driver.

 

[Rawls]

Reduce value to 1, make it doomed, have it say "Create a random Bronze unit from your opponent's starting deck." Would make it less powerful but it would still get played.

 

[Khreygond]

There is a thread for that. Here.

Other than that, yeah. I think it should be "create a bronze unit from your opponent's starting faction. Against Reveal decks, it sucks having them reveal your cards with spawned alchemists out of nowhere before you do. Against spies, they can also use your strategy against you by creating vicos or spies to bring in their units. Virtually anything, except possibly foltest has something that's useful to them.

 

[ClimbHigh]

Having played with SD for a while, I will say its balance is about right. It lacks Real synergy 90% of time with one's deck, when one play it. Most of time it is a points play, which it play like a 12 point (give or take).

It is more like a 'reveal' card, giving one intelligence of opponent's deck.

Maybe at most, give it a doom status.

 

[Tir_na_Lia]

Reduce value to 1, make it doomed, have it say "Create a random Bronze unit from your opponent's starting deck." Would make it less powerful but it would still get played.

This is the suggestion who makes the most sense among the ones I read, though it would still be like a Doppler with an additional value of 1.

I think the Create mechanic spawned (or literally Created) both powercreeping units like Slave Driver and Elven Scout, or useless ones like several new Leaders'.

But worry not...the Gwent tournament which is about to begin will show the world how turning Gwent into a bad copy of Heartstone was a very bad idea. :doubt2::surprise:

 

[Pruny]

create needs to be removed from ranked games
:rage:

 

[altaybek]

Reduce value to 1, make it doomed, have it say "Create a random Bronze unit from your opponent's starting deck." Would make it less powerful but it would still get played.

Thought about that but I don't think it would find any play with that ability. Using 2-3 bronze slots just fishing for one or two useful units for your deck that your opponent MAY have is not viable. It may be removed as well.


SD should be doomed there is no argument about that. It may keep the same ability but damage the created unit by half to a minimum of 1 (so that 1 point units can still be used). At least it won't be a senseless point spamming tool.

 

[ClimbHigh]

SD should be doomed there is no argument about that. It may keep the same ability but damage the created unit by half to a minimum of 1 (so that 1 point units can still be used). At least it won't be a senseless point spamming tool.

At lot of time, the card it draw from lacks synergy with the SD deck.
Thus point-wise, probably nerfing SD to have just 1 point will be fair, instead of halving the pulled unit.

 

[adorablepuppy]

SD should be doomed there is no argument about that. It may keep the same ability but damage the created unit by half to a minimum of 1 (so that 1 point units can still be used). At least it won't be a senseless point spamming tool.

Yeah, halved seems a bit severe. Maybe just weaken the pulled unit by the strength of SD to a minimum of 1.

The same changes should apply to dwarven agitator and elven scout.

 

[chrizzleblizzle]

I do not think i really had a problem with it

 

[mfool123]

I don't like that slave drivers can basically stop you from using many cards in gwent. It's a card that negatively effects deck building. I try to specifically build my decks around this one card, which is sad. What a great idea for a card, gone so terribly bad. The game could easily keep this card as is AS LONG AS THE CARD IS DOOMED AND CANNOT BE RESURRECTED, as even a nerf of the card to not copy itself or become only a 1 strength card still allows this card to be abused.

 

[slow_cheeetah]

1. It has to be doomed.
2. Should have 1 strenght instead of 2.

And it would be fine. Neither overpowered nor murdered.

 

[Draconifors]

I haven't had a problem with Slave Drivers myself, but having watched plenty of streams I can definitely see why they're considered a problematic card. The chains they're often part of can be rather ridiculous for Bronze cards.

Wouldn't be opposed to it receiving the Doomed tag. Ointments have good targets even without Slave Drivers.

 

[iamthedave]

I think the big problem with Slave Driver is that it turns any mirror match into absolute insanity. Or indeed, any deck you're up against that has a slave driver. I ran into a Slave Driver as a NG soldier swarm deck; they pulled my alba cavalry as their first draw, and it was almost as big as mine because further slave drivers were drawing slave infantry. The alchemy mirror is just stupid, because you draw extra viper witchers and extra alchemists.

I think that's what pushes it over the edge for me. That and a game where I was out-greatswording a greatsword player because I was able to kill and Vicovaro his best greatswords.

Ultimately, Slave Driver is just an annoying, frustrating card to play against, and I don't think it's good for the game as a bronze. A one-of silver? Sure. It'll never be played, but it'd be tolerable (maybe as a silver it boosts the unit it steals?) but as a bronze, getting resurrected over and over and doing its thing? It's too much. Especially when it's stealing 12 point bronzes the opponent didn't even draw, so that your slave driver is actually getting more power out of the other deck THAN THAT DECK IS.