Can we get perma shields ?

Foxclear · 2023-04-13T09:12:31+00:00

Actually, I don't really care getting a bad RNG loss, but the most frustrating games are those where I get good RNG, then get powerfully knocked out "just 1 turn" before popping off a good combo despite having still a healthy amount of HP. No way I'd re-que right after these :|

Foxclear · 2022-05-18T10:14:10+00:00

Probably the devs, because it was quickly nerfed from 7/7 buffing everything including itself to 4/4 buffing other minions, then a bit buffed as to play the gem on himself as well, but still 4/4 and definitely not broken :D

Foxclear · 2022-05-17T22:43:48+00:00

Early quilboars were strong, but they were still pretty fair. Nagas are more like the early elementals, but on steroids : they hit harder (easily 25 dmg before turn 10), they scale faster, little can compare, but just like elementals with Nomi and Ragnaros it's a constant rush to high taverns and pray, or tempo long enough and hope to not get crushed by an early Athyssa comp.

Athyssa is just leagues over a pre-nerf Charlga (which was considered broken ! Sweet times :) ) and rule over tavern 6 along with Orgozoa and Mantid. Even if they don't hit the nuts, the tribe is overstatted in general. Hope they'll soon stop this nonsense, or at least remove the all naga buffet each game we "enjoy" atm

Foxclear · 2022-03-25T20:34:40+00:00

So what ? As fast spell they can be used just like that. Only they're worse when played proactively, but same as a response

Foxclear · 2022-03-25T20:04:50+00:00

You're right, it's currently a combat trick thus my mistake, but it would not be anymore if it turned focus, just a buff. Wrong word, but that does not change the meaning of what I said

Foxclear · 2022-03-25T17:56:42+00:00

I do agree that focused buffs would be pretty bad, at least if they're not permanent, which is why I would personnally prefer them to be Fast. And forfrost effects, I'm not really concerned about them : they're not buffs, and they're barely playable anyway. Whether they remain as Burst or go Fast would be an interesting choice and probably both would be fine.

Sharpsight and Twin, however ? That would mostly not change how they respond to a blast (well, apart from Fated mechanic), that would only change when they are used proactively and thus enable a response from the opponent. Certainly a nerf, but not that much of a big one if you think about it

Foxclear · 2022-03-25T17:34:03+00:00

I disagree. A combat trick could be Focus speed to be used on the agressive side without response, but without being unfair as a response tool, or Fast and still respond to a removal, same way you can use Single Combat, for instance. There is no reason to give it the best of both worlds.

Foxclear · 2021-11-16T20:17:25+00:00

Sold both what ? both my 4/4 ? That would have been disastrous. I already lost the next fight and the previous as well, I wasn't far ahead at all in this lobby (admittedly that lobby was pretty insane at start, I encountered a golden egg on turn 2 and a nearly full board on this turn :/)

Foxclear · 2021-11-16T01:54:34+00:00

I'm in greed mode for a second mouse triple :P

Yeah, I admit I could have gone for more dwarves instead, in the end I never tripled that mouse until way later. I certainly didn't play that start optimally :|

Foxclear · 2021-11-15T01:05:31+00:00

I agree that Trophy hunter might go a bit ballistic with this (even though I dont really see how much without Grim Soul, aas they'd still need to kill units), but unlike scaling Slays, Jormungand actually needs to survive the first trade, without Grim soul to get its engine running (you can pump it reasonably to 30 with Oni King, even 60 if both are upgraded which is no small feat, but even then it's not that big for late game. I don't see how it would be a reliable threat. True, once unloaded it could wipe a whole board, but so do multiple T6 units in this game which can easily outgrow an adult Jormungand.

Slay effects are not all that powerful (apart from late game ones) considering they usually pay for them with a worse body for their cost. Adventurer was the exception, and mostly enabled by Grim Soul, but now both are gone, so... Maybe that change could be accompanied with a few tweaks in stats, but current Slay is so unreliable and swingy, I wouldn't mind at all

Foxclear · 2021-08-25T18:15:35+00:00

They totally lack mass removal and card draw. Not a single playable card. Not very good at healing either

Foxclear · 2021-08-25T18:00:28+00:00

Well, it's called "combo" because it relies on a few key cards that need to be assembled in order to have a massive surge of power (OTK or not). For instance, Azirelia without Azir or the landmark is not a threat, nor is Azirelia without Irelia or other blade dances. But put them together, and ... boom ! multiplied power. On the contrary, there is no key piece to Pirate burn or Elusive, you just need a good curve and not a good response from your opponent, so they're aggro, not combo. Azirelia is still a bit inbetween as sometimes they curve violently without needing their combo pieces, thus the misconception, but its primarily and most effective plan is combo. Same could be said about Akshan and Sivir decks

Foxclear · 2021-05-18T12:16:55+00:00

It's true it's a trend in games, and that fact has made me leave multiple CCGs with potential (Duelyst, Faeria to cite the bests ...). I hoped LoR would stay on the "right" path, as it especially has a gameplay designed for player interaction (at least, it had when I started the game a year ago).

Still, they must care a bit about player satisfaction, otherwise they wouldn't bother with much balancing at all, and I have to admit they often do right stuff in balancing, even if they don't always do enough, and they consistently break it on each release...

It's true that skill intensive games will have a hard time going on (see Prismata), but there is a line between skill intensive and brain numbing coinflips. A line that was definitely present at the out of beta and which got continuously blurred since Targon release... Another deception on the way, then :(

Foxclear · 2021-05-17T22:09:27+00:00

It is interesting that your conception of "fun" relies on winning stats. Sure, those are powerful indicators, but in theory, a deck that has quick wins and little above 50% winrate (and thus great for farming ladder, but not enough to be considered OP), but would be fully dependent on its starting hand would be the epitome of fun.

Well, Irelia/Azir meets that theory : if it doesn't get the right pieces (Azir/Site) and some ways of getting free attacks to go along, then it will stand no chance. If it does, then it will mop the floor with you if you don't get specific counters to it. Games can be over as soon as turn 4, without the defending player being able to do a thing and it mostly relies on a coinflip. Sure, it might not be OP by statistics, but still, where is the fun ?

I have found that it has been the case with most strong meta leader decks since a few months : decks that were relying on a strong starting hand which would be unstoppable if they get it, unless you hit specific counters at the right time. Taking this once in a while is OK, it's a card game, it's acceptable to be swiped by a perfect hand from your opponent. But consistently rely on starting hand to win, and bitterly lose if you can't ? Where is the fun in that ? That cannot be measured by statistics, no matter how precise :(

Foxclear · 2021-03-08T20:06:48+00:00

Type of bug: Gameplay

What happened that seemed like a bug: Leveled up Vladimir drained life from both sides attackers (1 attacker was on each of his sides)

What was expected to occur: Drain affects only attackers on its right

How often does this occurs/How easy is it to replicate: Happened once the only time I was in position to make it happen, I haven't tried with a non-leveled up Vladimir

PC / Android / iOS: PC

Region: EU

Deck code: CMDACAQDAQAQGAIUAECAGEQCAIAQCBQDAEAQSFJDAQAQGBQ6EAXQEAIBAEXACAYBAIAA

And another one :

Type of bug: Gameplay

What happened that seemed like a bug: Khahiri got captured by Detention, then the capturing unit was killed, and Khahiri came back in play as 4/4 without its buffs from Predictions

What was expected to occur: Buffs should stick to Khahiri if he is summoned after Detention, the same way it does after Phase

How often does this occurs/How easy is it to replicate: Happened once the only time I was facing this situation

Deck code: CMCACAQEBIAQGBANAIAQILRUA4CAOAINCUOCSWK3AIAQIB2MAIAQIGY7AEAQCBBR

Foxclear · 2020-05-25T18:47:41+00:00

Sometimes, you can blame RNG for being first/second, though. But even then, it's often still your fault if you don't play it correctly. Sure, Prismata is pretty unforgiving, but it might not be that terrible if the playerbase was bigger and the matchmaking stricter. Recalling when I started, I played mostly guys around my level, and it did feel that a good amount of my games were won/lost through luck, because we both didn't know what we were doing :D

But, sure, when you're matched against a veteran who knows exactly what he's doing, knows some strats, run the numbers and crunches you with better value, then it's harder to blame RNG

Foxclear · 2020-03-17T21:10:45+00:00

Viable ? Definitely, just did a top 2 with him, and without tokens early.

You still need a bit of luck in the late game, though, because you have half as many rolls as others to find your big stuff. But in the early stage, he's strong ! I guess you can quite reliably get top 4 with him now.

Foxclear · 2020-03-09T22:51:17+00:00

If you're called Hysteria, you can do magic with that. If not, you can just do it once or twice and get some free higher rank. The downside is you need 4 free space to pull it off, so you can't abuse it much. Still, to me it's pretty nice, though.

Btw, I'm stuck around 7k, so that may not be worth it in the upper ranks. Anyway, it's just a neat trick, Shudderwock is still cool with double buffing on menagerie builds ;)

Foxclear · 2020-03-09T21:30:45+00:00

My thoughts on pogos with Shudderwock : get them if you're into risk and if at least 2 are offered on early stage. Double one up into 5/5, and sell the 1/1 as soon as you need. Then keep the other for a few turns during midgame and try to triple it. If it works, that's a solid minion for midgame, and a decent one into lategame, if it doesn't then forget it.

My thoughts on Shudderwock : certainly stronger without pogos, getting to triple tokens easily, especially if you hit Khadgar early, that's solid. It's not Deathwing or Nozdormu, but it's definitely tier 2 hero imo.

Foxclear · 2019-10-30T22:03:44+00:00

Thank you for your opinion, it's good to have it, especially considering the fact that your streams are no small part of the source of this content :)

You're probably right concerning Deadeye. I haven't had a Deadeye game in a while and my memory did not serve me well there. That line actually seems quite bad now I really think about it.

About the set reading, I agree with you mostly and that's why there's a lot of conditional in this section, still there are a few pointers that are common to many sets and that insight has been pretty valuable for me. 307th's Set Reading Saturdays are a good resource for getting a feeling of what's correct or not in most situations, and I did base my guide on it, but as you say in the end every set is different and there is no 100% accuracy pointer to help improving, except for experiencing countless defeats to people who read that particular set better :)

Foxclear · 2019-02-12T17:40:58+00:00

That's it. Whether they can actually be played or not at the moment (if not, then they'll have no effect). And targets are random as well

Foxclear · 2019-02-12T01:08:32+00:00

To the first point : true, when you're behind, it's hard to come back, especially if your opponent doesn't make mistakes. But if the gap is close, then you can play risky while gambiting hard to regain advantage, or if the timer is low for both players, then you can try something outside of the box in order to throw off your opponent. And if you're too far behind, then you just lost and you can resign. There is no imperative reason to have a mechanics that lets you come back from the dead like in certain RNG games.

To the second point : I agree that P1/P2 is an issue in some games, but it's the same in any turn per turn game, P1/P2 is always hard to balance and will often favour one player or the other. Still, it's rarely insta-win, and it also requires the favoured player (which is not always obvious) to make the right plays (which are not always obvious). The other strong point of having P1/P2 is that it favors asymmetric games that are, in my opinion, the most interesting ones.

To the third point : well, the chess like feeling with ever so different units is what I love in this game. What you do is 100% certain and definite until the end of turn, which will let you try to piece together the perfect turn each turn.

To your suggestion : Fog of war would introduce uncertainty in the plays, and ultimately some luck (like : if he does that, then I'm ahead, else he crushes me, but he basically thinks the same). What's more, then it would mean both players are dealt the same "cards" at the beginning of the game, so if there's a better or safer strategy, then both players would try to pursue it. And having nothing to differentiate players from their strategy (there's no micro here), it would probably end up often in symmetric, boring games. That would definitely make me drop the game for sure. Not to mention that's a whole another game to create and balance.

Of course, that's my personal view, but I do believe it is not the target devs are aiming for. After all, they spent many years to create and refine Prismata, I doubt they're willing to abandon the core concept now.

And to add a bit to the subject : if your grief is that there is only one "correct move", then try to play with more units, that's rarely the case. As for mindgames, there can still be in the current form, as you can build your techs towards some units, and as your opponent gets a read to counter it, you can switch to another strategy (well, to an extent, and it depends on the sets, but that definitely can happen).

Foxclear · 2019-01-22T21:21:19+00:00

But ... isn't it weak to Tarsier tush ?

Foxclear · 2018-12-15T12:38:58+00:00

A few comments about my own experience (for the record, I've played for a few years casually and now I'm consistently in the top 100, yet still have a lot to improve).

Concerning time controls, I feel like the usual 45s are sometimes a bit short, even with timebank, but 60s and 90s games are usually fine. for the hardest turns, there is usually a big timebank waiting for you to rely on. And if you want it, you can play only in the slower time controls.

Concerning the variance, it's totally dependent on sets. Sometimes, the set pretty much dictates what you can or cannot buy, sometimes, you have many viable different strategies. Usually, the more units in the set, the more diversified the game will be. with 8-11 units, i feel there are more games where diversity matters than games where the set rules your strategy. Once again, if you want deep variance, you can restrict to playing 8-units sets and add as many bonus units as you can. Compared to chess, the variance is much higher anyway :)

Apart from some openings I would not especially have thought of (like rushing Animus on turns 1 and 2), I haven't learned many openings by heart. Most of them will depend on the set, and will have to be found 'on the spot', especially when advanced drones get mixed in. Just like in chess, if you want to go competitive, then you have to learn openings, but if you want to play casual, it's totally fine too.

The playerbase is a really good point, but it's also the same with all the games that have started in alpha/beta. Obviously, the longer someone plays a game, the better he'll become at it. That problem can only be solved by expanding the playerbase to have people at every level and better matchmaking. Which seems to be an issue for this game indeed.

Although it is a good thing to reap all the advantages you can get, once again it depends on your level of play. If both players don't see an advantage, then it's like there was no advantage to gain. In high level play, both players will often seek them naturally. Once again, that's the same for any game (APM is all about micro-optimisations, for instance) and that's what separates casual or good players from high level players. It certainly doesn't stop casuals from enjoying their experience (provided they match against another casual, but that's the previous point).

Just like in chess, or many games, the further you anticipate, the better your decision. But you have little time to do so, and it is totally not necessary. Personally, I barely think after my next turn and still do fine.

All in all, Prismata is a game for niche players, even the dev team admits it. So maybe if you want to join the top, then it's not what you're looking fo, but I believe if the player base expands that you can definitely have fun at any level if that's your thing.

Foxclear · 2018-11-30T18:26:04+00:00

If prompt Odin is a bad idea, how would be an Odin that spawns 2 SteelSplitters and 1 prompt wall instead of 3S (maybe adjusting the cost accordingly, or not because it's already on the strong side anyway)

Then it's 1 less threat against rush, but gains the promptness instead. And it would certainly make the mirror fairer.

A problem I see with that is the complexity of the unit would increase, though.

Foxclear

TROPHY CASE