Thrive and Gernichora are over tuned

[hi_im_Tyy]

Most BRONZE units have synergistic game play, with abilities that compliment one another, and make the cards stronger if conditions are taken advantage of. All factions have multiple key word archetypes. There is thrive, bloodthirst, deathwish, boost, etc.

On paper the addition of thrive to the game seems like a great concept. However, I can't help but feel like it's condition is far too easy to meet (compared to other archetype cards), for far too high value over provision cost. All a player has to do is simply make sure they are playing the units in their hand from lowest strength to highest, in what turns out to be the most basic, auto pilot game play the game has to offer. It is downright simple. What makes this worse is that not only is it the easiest archetype in the game to pilot by far, it is also the best, always finding incredible value.

Monsters were slightly tweaked with the consume units, Ghoul and Ozzrel, being changed, and the unit Old Speartip being changed from 13 strength to 12, making it an easier target for removal from cards such as Geralt Professional, which at the time of the nerf seemed smart because Geralt Professional had an extremely high play rate in the meta. Despite these changes I can't help but feel like the consume units were not the issue, thrive was.

Gernichora was the newest monster leader added to the game, and she is has no doubt become the most popular. Her ability to have an unlimited number of fruits (thrive units added to the game) as long as there is not any on your side of the board seems like a huge oversight. I understand just capping abilities is not really a great answer to design, but maybe limiting her to a certain amount of fruits per round, or match, could be an answer.

We don't have the statistics, CDPR does. So perhaps they should look at Gernichora's play rate and win rate across all ranks. And if possible look at the thrive archetype compared to other archetypes to see it's provision cost to value return. I'm not a dev, but I have played Gwent for years and have seen what is balanced and what is not in this game. I feel like Thrive and Gernichora are over tuned and overlooked.

 

[BrokeCiri]

Gernichora "brain dead" deck builds

 

[Shelinn]

You overlook something:
Either the units have low power thrive, then you can remove them.
Or they have higher power thrive, then the progress they can make is limited.
They can, with one exception(Alpha Werewolf) be locked.
The only exception is the fruit of Gernichora, which you should simply ignore or lock.
And Gernichora has low provisions(13, just 3 more than Ursuper, so the ability should be strong...
As long as the Thrive units don't have Deathwish... well you all know which previously OP card I am talking about.

 

[BrokeCiri]

You overlook something:
Either the units have low power thrive, then you can remove them.
Or they have higher power thrive, then the progress they can make is limited.
They can, with one exception(Alpha Werewolf) be locked.
The only exception is the fruit of Gernichora, which you should simply ignore or lock.
And Gernichora has low provisions(13, just 3 more than Ursuper, so the ability should be strong...
As long as the Thrive units don't have Deathwish... well you all know which previously OP card I am talking about.

The problem is that thrive decks' mechanic is literally brain dead but IT WORKS. How come a beginners/point slam deck is so strong at competitive level?

 

[4RM3D]

Having played Gernichora myself (among other decks), I can say that she doesn't feel too strong. Sometimes, when you have the right hand, you can push the opponent to a 2-0 or keep your strongest cards for last. However, other times, it still feels challenging to win, especially against certain decks.

Also, I don't really face that many Gerni decks in ranked. There is a good balance between various SK decks, a few non-Gerni Monster decks, some NG decks and, occasionally, an odd NR or ST deck.

Furthermore, all factions get their own "Thrive" in the upcoming expansion. Harmony, found in ST, is particularly interesting.

 

[Shelinn]

The problem is that thrive decks' mechanic is literally brain dead but IT WORKS. How come a beginners/point slam deck is so strong at competitive level?

Why is that a problem? You can still mess it up(oh yes you can). It might not be the most complicated theme, but there is usually more to these decks than just thrive.

 

[FG15-ISH7EG]

You can easily interrupt Thrive units as an enemy by buffing them. If you buff them high enough, the player won't be able to trigger the Thrive anymore.

Being serious, I think while Thrive is good, all its card aren't able to achieve more than 1 point per round, while there are other engines, which can get a lot more value when set up properly. Also Thrive units lack options to really interrupt the enemy, thus engine decks should be able to overroll them.

 

[BrokeCiri]

Why is that a problem? You can still mess it up(oh yes you can). It might not be the most complicated theme, but there is usually more to these decks than just thrive.

I agree you can still disrupt their tempo and Iv'e beaten numerous Gernichora decks (currently rank 5 at main acc). My point is among all the competitive deck builds, Gernichora has the least required mechanics to play but still has the highest win rate (i don't know the statistics though if Gerni really has one of the highest win rate). Compared to ST, Eldain is like a mind game.