Tempo Plays are Getting out of Hand [Saovine Patch Feedback: Part 2 - The Bad]
In More Diversity Than Ever [Saovine Patch Feedback: Part 1 - The Good] we had the good stuff. Time to look at the things that can be improved. Actually, it isn't inherently bad, but it does limit the direction Gwent can take. And yes, it's a thing that has existed since open beta, but now I want to talk about it seeing as its getting more prevalent.
Tempo plays are getting out of hand. This is partly a problem because of the coin flip not being fair. If you have to go first and the opponent has (more) carry-over, that very often leads to a loss of 1 card advantage. Fixing the coin flip, mitigates this problem. However, that's a discussion for a different thread. Here I want to talk about Gwent having too many swing cards and relying too much on it for its win condition. Swing cards come in two flavors: openers that push your opponent or finishers that crush your opponent.
Openers That Push Your Opponent
Especially after going first, when an opponent throws down 20 strength, you'll have to keep up otherwise you'll lose too much card advantage. This means you are forced to keep playing your stronger cards, meaning the opponent dictates your play. Only a few decks can survive losing 2 card advantage. When everyone starts power-playing, this will kill certain decks and tactics. Gwent shouldn't be a race to win, but rather a thought out turn-based strategy game, where speed (strength) isn't everything.
Finishers That Crush Your Opponent
The other side are the finishers, which can take many shapes and sizes. An interesting recent acquisition is the Swordmaster deck. While not having the classic carryover, like Olgierd, the deck hides the carryover in their hand, which is actually quite interesting. The flipside is that a very short 3rd round is often quite deadly with a 14 strength bronze doing 14 damage on top. Another new addition is the invigorated Nekkers, which basically scream: if you don't win the first round, the carry-over will blast you out of the 2nd one. These kind of finishers either force you to go deep in the 1st round and/or deep in the 2nd round.
I am not saying decks are OP here because every deck has strong combos. I am just saying that for the top ladder, it limits the options as to what you can play.
In More Diversity Than Ever [Saovine Patch Feedback: Part 1 - The Good] we had the good stuff. Time to look at the things that can be improved. Actually, it isn't inherently bad, but it does limit the direction Gwent can take. And yes, it's a thing that has existed since open beta, but now I want to talk about it seeing as its getting more prevalent.
Tempo plays are getting out of hand. This is partly a problem because of the coin flip not being fair. If you have to go first and the opponent has (more) carry-over, that very often leads to a loss of 1 card advantage. Fixing the coin flip, mitigates this problem. However, that's a discussion for a different thread. Here I want to talk about Gwent having too many swing cards and relying too much on it for its win condition. Swing cards come in two flavors: openers that push your opponent or finishers that crush your opponent.
Openers That Push Your Opponent
Especially after going first, when an opponent throws down 20 strength, you'll have to keep up otherwise you'll lose too much card advantage. This means you are forced to keep playing your stronger cards, meaning the opponent dictates your play. Only a few decks can survive losing 2 card advantage. When everyone starts power-playing, this will kill certain decks and tactics. Gwent shouldn't be a race to win, but rather a thought out turn-based strategy game, where speed (strength) isn't everything.
Finishers That Crush Your Opponent
The other side are the finishers, which can take many shapes and sizes. An interesting recent acquisition is the Swordmaster deck. While not having the classic carryover, like Olgierd, the deck hides the carryover in their hand, which is actually quite interesting. The flipside is that a very short 3rd round is often quite deadly with a 14 strength bronze doing 14 damage on top. Another new addition is the invigorated Nekkers, which basically scream: if you don't win the first round, the carry-over will blast you out of the 2nd one. These kind of finishers either force you to go deep in the 1st round and/or deep in the 2nd round.
I am not saying decks are OP here because every deck has strong combos. I am just saying that for the top ladder, it limits the options as to what you can play.