Players ratings displayed

[Alien Fungus]

Hi guys this is only my personal opinion. Not calling for any changes ( or am I ? )
I see with the fantastic new Map of Balor we also have each player's ratings alongside their name. I thought this was a great idea at first but discovered I actually didn't like it. Effected whether I considered this deck capable against this rating. ( I change decks every 5 games ) I'd prefer not to know my opponents rating until after the game. And I can't not look
Is it possible in the future, somewhere along the line, we could have the option of turning off opponents rating ? They can still see ours of course. I'd prefer to not know but realise many players appreciate that info.
So not really a change, just an amendment. Cheers

[Tria]

I agree, but for different reasons.

Based on hero and deck size alone it's already possible to guess at what meta deck your facing, or even what the deck will be like in general. Rating is just another tool to give a touch of advantage.

If I see someone 330+, it's probably copy pasted meta deck.
If I see someone 300+, they probably have removal and have strategically annoying cards.
If i see someone ~270+, I can be a lot more relaxed and possibly count on them screwing up card interactions, or not anticipate certain things I have.

[Kross]

I get it, but it seems like this is mainly a matter of perception. You can mitigate this by perceiving any deck you come up against as capable, and piloted by an experienced player.

Alien, I often test decks above the 300 rating simply because its easier to do that than ask around in Telegram or the global chat for a bunch of unrated games. So just because the deck is being played at a high rating, doesnt mean its a deck that performs well.

Same goes for you, Tria. My current rating in my main account is over 330, and I got there using a deck that I think most people would not consider meta.

Judge a player/deck by the plays, rather than the rating.

[Tria]

Regardless of whether the deck is 'meta', there are undoubtedly stronger ways to build a deck than others. Looking at the hero, I can guess what kind of deck it is already for pretty much any hero. The first few turns confirms it. Visible rating just allows me to, in most cases, to take a guess even earlier to sort what I don't need for first turn sacrifices (I run quite a few 1x and 2x cards).

You're right in that all games should be expected to be against a capable player. Rating isn't the best judge of that - I have a few decks I play from time to time that most people havn't seen before, and won't likely see again. (Index's trololol swarm ele is a great example). But again, in most cases - it's just another piece of information that people can consider and use.