So, I was thinking before about OP cards is what balance is about, but it's not truly about OP cards:
So, this was off topic on a thread about a pretty good deck at the moment, and I was thinking to balance the game, you have to balance OP cards and comboes. Someone said it is impossible. I ended the topic there by saying:
Both are ofcourse correct, but that's not the true core of how to balance a complex game like Gwent. Muirlega and Etriel IS OP compared to Unicorn and Chironex, or U/C is underpowered compared to M/E. But does fixing OP cards balance the game?
Many people complain about all kind of cards and comboes in this game (and rightly so), but often it comes down to gold replay (including leader replay) and cards that generally see too much value. This is not the true problem or the solution.
I started playing anti-meta decks based on poison due to my perception there is something wrong. And now I went on to Skellige scenario. Ofcourse, many people can say there is something inherently wrong with scenario and that it's OP, and they are probably right. However, this is not the core of the problem or the solution.
The true problem is how some decks, comboes and OP cards etc etc makes MOST other decks unviable, this is the true lack of balance. It could be due to the cards themselves being OP or comboes or whatever, but essentially it is about how some decks make most decks unviable. This is a true shame, because playing Gwent should be about making good decks from good cards and have them work well. Sadly, this is not possible. Even making good decks out of good cards is unviable due to certain cards, decks and comboes that restrict ALL of Gwent to having to use those cards, comboes or decks to have a strong deck.
To find true balance for Gwent is about finding a way to make as many decks as possible viable and strong. I am not talking about haphazardly throwing together a deck, but conciously building a good deck from good cards. Generally some cards narrow down or restrict viable decks to only a few minor differences instead of a wide range of possibilities. You may say this is due to OP cards, comboes etc, but it is actually due to a range of factors, including those. For example, most people consider Stefan Skellen an OP card, but in fact it is not. It is a card that puts 5 points on the table and if it survives until order can be executed it can REPLAY the LAST TACTIC card played DURING THIS ROUND. That's ALOT of restrictions, requiring this card to have alot of setup, and also be played at a risk (order). If you look at the list of tactic cards, the isolated ability of Skellen with the risk and the setup is not really OP at all. At BEST you can get good value, on average decent value, but often poor (4p bronze tactic) or no value.
It is like that with alot of things in this game, yet ALOT of decks run Skellen, why is this? The deck is NOT just Skellen, it is MANY things, neither is Damien seen in isolation as a single card overpowered. So what is the issue? It is the way this deck works in general. Anyhow, it is considered tier2 or tier3, not tier1. It is a strong deck in it's various forms.
Anyways, Skellige Scenario and poison made me realize just how dominant SOME decks are and can be. When very few other decks can beat a particular deck, that's when the imbalance is formed, and this is the true balance problem. Yes, sure, in the case of Skellige scenario, that is due to the single card, but scenario decks aren't the only decks that dominate the meta of this game, alot of decks do. But when you look at all those decks, they are based around many of the same cards and the same ways of playing and what not. I don't know it all and I don't really have the true answer. But I did realize lack of balance is about many of the things already mentioned, but in particular it is when deck building is highly restricted and narrowed down.
A good and true balance is when there are "endless" options and the widest possible variety decks are viable and good. Gwent consists of alot of cards, but only a few seems to dominate.
Well, there is all that, and then there is a game which is balanced well relative to itself, meaning cards relative to each others, which is generally something the game seems to aim at, relatively speaking.
I never said anything about every deck being able to beat every other deck. I'm speaking about well balanced cards that maximise the strategic aspect of the game, while feeling like a fair game and well balanced, relatively speaking. I know it's a complex game, but it's certainly possible.
So, this was off topic on a thread about a pretty good deck at the moment, and I was thinking to balance the game, you have to balance OP cards and comboes. Someone said it is impossible. I ended the topic there by saying:
Well fine, let's not talk about it here. But just think about Muirlega and Etriel vs Unicorn and Chironex.
Anyways, to finish this on something slightly relevant, Caranthir, belongs to the category, inherently because of what he does.
Both are ofcourse correct, but that's not the true core of how to balance a complex game like Gwent. Muirlega and Etriel IS OP compared to Unicorn and Chironex, or U/C is underpowered compared to M/E. But does fixing OP cards balance the game?
Many people complain about all kind of cards and comboes in this game (and rightly so), but often it comes down to gold replay (including leader replay) and cards that generally see too much value. This is not the true problem or the solution.
I started playing anti-meta decks based on poison due to my perception there is something wrong. And now I went on to Skellige scenario. Ofcourse, many people can say there is something inherently wrong with scenario and that it's OP, and they are probably right. However, this is not the core of the problem or the solution.
The true problem is how some decks, comboes and OP cards etc etc makes MOST other decks unviable, this is the true lack of balance. It could be due to the cards themselves being OP or comboes or whatever, but essentially it is about how some decks make most decks unviable. This is a true shame, because playing Gwent should be about making good decks from good cards and have them work well. Sadly, this is not possible. Even making good decks out of good cards is unviable due to certain cards, decks and comboes that restrict ALL of Gwent to having to use those cards, comboes or decks to have a strong deck.
To find true balance for Gwent is about finding a way to make as many decks as possible viable and strong. I am not talking about haphazardly throwing together a deck, but conciously building a good deck from good cards. Generally some cards narrow down or restrict viable decks to only a few minor differences instead of a wide range of possibilities. You may say this is due to OP cards, comboes etc, but it is actually due to a range of factors, including those. For example, most people consider Stefan Skellen an OP card, but in fact it is not. It is a card that puts 5 points on the table and if it survives until order can be executed it can REPLAY the LAST TACTIC card played DURING THIS ROUND. That's ALOT of restrictions, requiring this card to have alot of setup, and also be played at a risk (order). If you look at the list of tactic cards, the isolated ability of Skellen with the risk and the setup is not really OP at all. At BEST you can get good value, on average decent value, but often poor (4p bronze tactic) or no value.
It is like that with alot of things in this game, yet ALOT of decks run Skellen, why is this? The deck is NOT just Skellen, it is MANY things, neither is Damien seen in isolation as a single card overpowered. So what is the issue? It is the way this deck works in general. Anyhow, it is considered tier2 or tier3, not tier1. It is a strong deck in it's various forms.
Anyways, Skellige Scenario and poison made me realize just how dominant SOME decks are and can be. When very few other decks can beat a particular deck, that's when the imbalance is formed, and this is the true balance problem. Yes, sure, in the case of Skellige scenario, that is due to the single card, but scenario decks aren't the only decks that dominate the meta of this game, alot of decks do. But when you look at all those decks, they are based around many of the same cards and the same ways of playing and what not. I don't know it all and I don't really have the true answer. But I did realize lack of balance is about many of the things already mentioned, but in particular it is when deck building is highly restricted and narrowed down.
A good and true balance is when there are "endless" options and the widest possible variety decks are viable and good. Gwent consists of alot of cards, but only a few seems to dominate.