Hi guys, hereâs a quick little summary of some of the things Iâd like to see changed in the near future and why.
Right now, my top3 most requested changes would be:
- Variax / Geomancer
- Entropic Gaze
- Mech decks
Lets talk about each of these things in turn.
1) Variax / Geomancer
So before we start, I want to point out that I am not convinced either of these cards are âoverpoweredâ. Rather, Iâd like to see these two cards changed because I feel that they are unhealthy for the game.
In my mind, the problem with Variax is that there is currently no counterplay (which is slightly ironic, given the name of the company!) ; once Variax hit thats it â for the rest of the game Abyssian has a super strong BBS that will, like a boa constrictor, squeeze the life out of you. Right now, the only âcounterâ to Variax is to smorc them down before they get too many uses out of their BBS.
Basically, the problem we have right now is that JUST ONE CARD is able to trash any player that dares to try to build a non-abyssian control deck. âOut-control abyss?â UNTHINKABLE!!
Just stop and think about that for a second â one card in an Abyssian list is able to ruin ALL other control decks in the game. And, in case you hadnât noticed a âcontrol decksâ are in very short supply as it is.
~~~ PROPOSED FIX? ~~~
I think a somewhat simple fix would be to make make it so that you gain X charges for your BBS. Once you have used all of the charges then your BBS reverts back to the normal one.
If we went with this change then we would have to consider a value for X. Make X too high (e.g. 10) and it does not solve the problem. Make X too low (e.g. 1) and Variax becomes trash tier.
At first glance, I think a good number is about 3-4. At 3 the card is still decent, but crucially there is inherent counter-play built into the card because now, unlike before, other control decks have a chance to beat Variax by surviving the 3 turn onslaught.
This also has an interesting knock on effect that your other copies of Variax/geomancer are not merely âvanillaâ minions.
If we went with this change, I think it would probably be a good idea to make it a basic rule of the game that cards that change BBS only last for X charges (you know, kinda like how all artefacts have 3 durability). I think Iâd also make it so that if you played another copy of Variax the charge counter refreshes.
2) Entropic Gaze
Just as with Variax, counterplay games releases a card with little to no counterplay. My main complaint with this card is, once again, not really to do with power.
Rather, I donât like this card because I its kinda boring and incredibly frustrating to play against. Have a massive board of big minions? SO WHAT!? Magmar has a 4 mana Spiral Technique aimed at your face.
Basically the crime this card commits is that most of us like the board-game element of Duelyst; this card ignores all that and pummels your face with alarming efficiency. In my mind, this card is the epitome of everything wrong with Duelyst.
Iâd like to compare this card with Tetonic Spikes. In the case of Spikes I think counterplay got the design right; since it deals damage to both generals it has to be used with care and its slightly higher cost make it a bit harder to fit into a turn.
In other words spikes is the more interesting card with a significantly higher skill ceilling than its uglier âno-brain requiredâ counter-part.
Changing the dmg/ mana cost changes the power of the card but does little to change how interactive the card is. Below is a really simple change that fits the themes of magmar (e.g self dmg):
Deal X dmg to enemy General. Deal Y dmg to your own General.
Where: X >= Y
I dont know what the exact numbers should be but I think we could make a powerful, if situational, card with the right numbers.
For example if X = 5 and Y = 4 we have a powerful aggro card. But, counter-play is built into this card by the fact that 4 face dmg to yourself is a lot; use this without getting lethal and you might just get yourself killed.
Other ratios worth considering: (4,2), (3,1), (5,5)
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**3) FUCKING MECHS**
Again, my real concern isn't the power of Mech decks; inspite of what J might say on Reddit I honestly do not think Mech decks are too strong right now.
My problem with Mechs is simply how unfun this archetype is to play against; If they get Mechazor out on Turn 2-3 you often just feel cheated out of a game. Players such as myself do not like losing games to random dicerolls and thats what-- all too often -- mech decks feel like. Meanwhile, does the mech player really have a lot of fun with such a "spray & pray" strategy? I doubt it.
In summary I think Mechs are boring to play and frustrating to play against. In my mind, I think the real problem is that Mech decks are cheap "spammy" affairs. If Control mech were the strongest way to play and build mechs I think we would all be happier; skill (on the part of the mech player) would be better rewarded and the opponent meanwhile doesn't have to deal with turn 2 mechazor chesse quite as often.
Way back in March 2016 I LOVED mechs; I ran a list that used old-skool vindicator (gave rush, back then) to combo out Mechazor. This deck, with me at the helm (get it!? Helm? LUL) was an aggro-combo deck, and I think that was waay more fun to play and probably more interesting to lose too.
You see back then I did something you almost never see these days; Skip Mechazor! (Yes, guys, you can actually do that!). In most of my match-ups I'd choose to delay mechazor with the aim of getting a my rush combo later on.
I've said this plenty of times on discord and elswhere, but **back in March every other deck ran a one-of crossbones (you could do shit like that in old 2-draw duelyst) and that made me love playing mechs even more.** Why? Because the prevalence of Crossbones in the meta made me feel like I was *rewarded* for taking the "control" line of play; **Crossbones forced me to think** (mindlessly spamming Mechs was just bad back then), and that was really cool. "Combo mech" beat Crossbones players in virtue of the fact that by the time they get use Crossbones I have already-- in most likelihood--- killed a big dude and spiralled their face in.
Nowadays, I hate mechs. I hate mechs because spamming mechazor is basically the only way to win. And unfortunately, I think spamming a turn 2-3 Mechazor is the main source of frustration players have when fighting against mechs. Its kinda a lose-lose situation.
I myself have been a [long-time advocate of control/combo style mech decks.](http://managlow.com/can-we-build-control-mech-decks/) And personally, I think genuinely decent control/combo mech archetypes would be a lot more interesting to play and play against than the current iteration of mindless spamming.
~~~ Proposed FIX?
Do you guys remember the creep rework? The moment the creep mechanic changed counterplay opened up more possibilities for printing creep based cards. I'd like to see a similar "sideways" design change for mechs.
I think the simplest and easiest change would be to make Helm, Wings, Sword . cannon-- all offer 10% Mechazor progress. Chasis can stay at 20%. Alter Rexx could also be buffed to offer +20% as well.
With this change we have made room to print more mechazor cards at higher mana.
For example:
9 mana | 5/ 6 | Mech | Mechazor Progress +50%.
ALL friendly Mechs gain Rush.
If you haven't summoned mechazor already then this monster (on the turn you play it) threatens you opponent with a 5/6 rush AND a rushed out Mechazor. This is clearly powerful shit, but its also 9 mana, which means the non-mech player has a whole game to play with their own cards/strategy. Meanwhile the mech player also has tough choices; do they drop mechazor now or wait for the monster combo?
Notice also that 50% progress is a huge boost; and so, with that in mind, notice that mech decks can *choose* to run less mechs if they want. Right now, most mech decks run 3 of everything (except Zor).
Another option:
6 mana | 3/3 | Mech |
Opening Gambit: Double current Mechazor Progress
With this card, your going to have a really good change of getting Mechazor out on 6 mana, and once again, deck builders have interesting choice to make regarding how many mechs they should run.
A card like this would help Mech decks gain consistency, BUT, rather crucially, I think Mechazor coming out on turn 6 is a lot better than the current turn 2 bullshit we currently see.
Mech players gain consistency, the rest of us don't lose on turn 2. :)
2 mana | 2/2 | Mech
If Mechazor died this game,
summon "MR REVENGE" nearby the enemy general
MR REVENGE (Token Minion) | 15/ 1
Once Mechazor dies, you can use this 2-mana dude to spawn a 15/1 minion near the enemy as a last ditch attempt to win the game. Fortunately for the opponent a 1 health minion shouldn't be too hard to dispose of.
Because we plan to make Mechazor slower, you need to give mech players more options (its only fair, lol). Cards like this will help compensate for how bad mech cards are in general. In short, cards like this will help mechs compete with other control decks; a 2 mana for a 2/2 and a 15/1 is a really good value play, afterall.
__________________________
**CONCLUSION**
Overall I think the Duelyst meta is in an okay place right now; but with that said, I'd certainly like to see more interactive strategies and 'control' decks flourish.
The cards/mechanics I decided to talk about today where not chosen because they are too strong, rather, I choose them because I feel that these cards push the game in the wrong direction; As a player I want to see more cards that are counterable and interactive. I want the board state actually fucking matter, I want to see less 'out-of-hand' dmg, and I dont wanna lose cuz dice-rolls (RNG isn't part of todayâs discussion, but for what its worth I think CP has struck a good balance with the RNG printed on cards).
The proposed cards/card changes are really intended for illustrative purposes only; I'm not going to claim my suggestions are the best way forward and/or balanced.
But yeah, I think that'll do for now. Later, kids. :slight_smile:
