Thursday 31 May 2012

Questioning Konami's Card Design

-What is this Knife of Stone?

Or Inzecter Damsel? Or Master Hyperion? Or Grapha, Dragon God of the Dark World? I'm sure there have been times we are thinking WTF is wrong with the Konami design team. And today I'm gonna express my views on some of the most scrutinized cards in the game.

Inzecter Damsel: You don't need to be a rocket scientist to realise this card is a problem, at 1000ATK it is as hard to stop as a Trunade, which is banned for that very reason. Even without Hornet this card can abuse Mantis and Gulf to net pluses. An engine on its own, the consistentcy and potential of it must be nerfed.

Card Car D: Pot of Greed is banned for a reason, and the only reason this isn't is cos of all its restrictions. Giving rogue decks a boost is one thing, giving Tier decks more consistentcy is another. The only things the restrictions do is define which decks can play it and which decks can't. Bad design is bad.

Master Hyperion: Everyone knows I hate Agents, and this is why. At 2700, beaters with good effects never looked so free. Hyperion comes out way too easily and gives the Agent player way too many options. The typical opening of Earth -> Venus, Pot -> Hyperion is already enough to force players is olay conservatively. It isn't banworthy per say, but the design can seriously be improved, such as lower ATK.

Grapha, Dragon God of the Dark World: On the topic of free 2700 beaters, Grapha has taken alot of flak for being a recurring one. Able to utilise field clearance whilst losing a minimal, Grapha is truly a force to be reckoned with. However, what many fail to realise is that with Grapha, the Dark World playstyle has already been defined, that is to pitch Grapha and revive him. This isn't hard to stop as compared to the variations that Agents can do, hence I belive Grapha is balanced in every regard.

Snoww, Magician of the Dark World: HOWEVER, the real reason Dark World can win probably lies in this card. Snoww gives the deck much needed consistentcy and also serves as a backup beater. Recurring toolboxes are still a problem though, as Snoww searches any Dark World card, including itself. If the basic set up of Gate is not stopped in time, Snoww could potentially rip 6 cards out of the deck by herself, a feat that no other toolbox can do.

Glow-up Bulb: I think I speak for all Junkdo players who have truly abused this onion time and time again that Bulb is indeed, banworthy. A +1 that can be used to garner more +1s with Formula and such, Glow-up Bulb is too splashable to remain in the game.

Tour Guide of the Underworld: A +1 anyway you look at it, with a potential +1 after that, Tour Guide is really a pain. However, with the exception of Sangan, there really isn't any more targets which could truly prove to be a problem. Still, a free Rank 3 is not cool and Tour Guide's reign has to be cut short, one per deck would be fair.

Wind-Up Rat: Did they not see the ridiculous loop that they had made? The card attempts to balance itself by allowing Rats to call Rats in DEF, but it doesn't take a genius to see that when put with Zenmaighty this card was dumb. Zenmaighty just wanted to give Wind-Ups some playablility, but Rat defined the way Wind-Ups were played.

True Six Samurai - Shi'en: I'm bashing on my own card! In Post March'11, Six Samurai was still dominating despite Gateway's limit, largely due to the fact that a double Shi'en board was easy to build, and difficult to break. I myself have never lost on a double Shi'en. Now that it is Limited, and Veilers are everywhere, too much emphasis to keep the Shi'en alive can lead to a less experienced Six Sam player's downfall.

Dark Dive Bomber: The first Synchro to be banned, DDB defined a format by itself, games were won and lost by this Machine too often. It looks ok to the average player, but put in the hands of a pro, and the monstrousity of this chunk of cardboard can be seen even before it hits the field. Fucking bad design.

Evolkaiser Ragia / Rescue Rabbit: Both cards are not bad design IMO, Ragia is one use only anyway. The reason they win so much in the TCG, is cos of TGU, which was already discussed above.

That's all I have for now. Lalalala.......

Oh ya, I think the new Knight of the End for WATER mobs, is SICKKKKKK!!

4 comments:

  1. Whats the new water armagadon knight?

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  2. Is 1400/1200 Warrior then effect is when this face-up card change battle position mill a WATER mob.

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  3. Not exactly that useful, hard to mill and i assume the new water deck supports can't trigger its effects?

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  4. Used with the Mermail one, but can oso mill Poseidra.

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