the best card from set 1 of Altered takes a huge nerf!

It just came across all the Equinox networks, the studio that develops Altered: the best card from set 1, called Robin Hood, has just been opened in 2 by the creators, who completely change its text . Here is my analysis of this big nerve.

See you Waru, Space Bureaucrat

This is the first big adjustment in the competitive game of Altered, which follows a fed up on the part of the players, because the deck which used it wonderfully, Waru, monopolized all the top 8 of the tournaments .

The Robin Hood card used a tax mechanic, making the opponent pay their characters, or cards, one more mana. And sometimes even two in some single double tax.

Altered as a whole had a sort of miraculous balance for a set 1, until the meta crystallized around an Ordis hero, Waru, particularly with these sleeping Robin Hood cards.

The problem with this card is that it prevents the other player from playing. Literally. And in general, it’s not very good in a game. Robin Hood cuts off the possibilities of spells against him, and if he releases two on the field, the game is practically folded. Especially with Waru who leaves him on the field for 4 turns, putting him to sleep.

Modifications for Robin Hood

Robin Hood’s ability

• Common Robin Hood
  • Old text: ~~Characters played by your opponents cost {1} more.~~
  • New text : Characters played by your opponents cannot cost less than {2}. (If they cost less, they cost {2} instead.)
• Robin Hood Rare
  • Old text: ~~Cards played by your opponents cost {1} more.~~
  • New version : Cards played by your opponents cannot cost less than {2}. (If they cost less, they cost {2} instead.)
• Unique cards that have the Robin Hood ability will now have the new text for it. Single cards will only use the short version of the text:
  • Characters played by your opponents cannot cost less than {2}.
  • Cards played by your opponents cannot cost less than {2}.

Each unique card with the double Robin Hood ability (Double Tax Robins) has this text replaced twice.

This change only affects this specific section of the card’s abilities. For example, a single card with the ability “If you control a token: Cards played by your opponents cost {1} more.” becomes “If you control a token: cards played by your opponents cannot cost less than {2}.”

The changes apply from November 15. As long as the print-on-demand service is not effective, players can play the original card, while applying the new text in force.

Source : Altered officiel

The game lives

After the first major tournaments, whether Angers or Villepinte, which brought together 1000 and 500 players, the Waru deck had established itself in force. 80% of the results placed were Waru. Which is a bit annoying in a TCG, when one deck wins too regularly against all the others.

I find this positive on the part of Equinox, which reacts immediately to a balancing issue, by imposing a big nerf on an overplayed card. The health of the meta requires a balance of playable decks. In the article cited in the source, the Altered development team indicates that attempts to balance the map were numerous during the game’s testing phase.

I prefer that the game is alive and corrects certain aspects, even if they are a little painful for some players. The community’s interest is to keep a healthy game, with multiple possibilities, with uncertainty. There between Waru and Robin, a win highway was taking shape, and no one wants that. Besides, this nerf does not mean that Waru should be thrown in the trash: it will just be less stable, on an equal footing with other strong decks like Treyst, Sigismar or Fen.

It was originally supposed to cost 5 mana, but for fear that the card wouldn’t be played at all, it ended up being “only” 4 mana. What I personally like is also when players develop decks and strategies that game designers haven’t thought of. This also proves that the game is not on track, and that its richness allows for surprising deck construction.

Personally I appreciate the news as a Treyst player, even if Robin will still be strong against decks that play lots of 1 mana cards.

Finally, I still think of the players who bought their unique double tax Robin for €700 or €1500, bad day for them!