Why I am Quitting Shadow Era
This is my first post and will be a lengthy so bare with me.
I have been playing Shadow Era for the past four months on my android phone. I also have a little background in Magic the Gathering. For a free game, let alone a free TCG, I do have to say it has been one of the best and has kept my interest longer than some games I have bought for Xbox 360. That being said, I wanted to state some problems I have had with the game and all of them have caused me to move on. Hopefully this post will get some attention and maybe even help the developers as SE evolves.
Finely Tuned 30 card decks: I believe this will be addressed in the 2.8 update but has been a problem since I got about above 150. Either by studying forums or memorizing all possible card combinations of all decks, people have created decks so small, so statistically well constructed that they are able to almost always draw the exact answer for any given situation. If their deck does have a weakness from this narrow, repetitive and consistent play, and it happens to present itself: they rage quit.
No Mulligans: Ever drawn a hand of 4 of the same card or two sets of 3? I have. Why not incorporate a concept from MtG that allows you to redraw your hand at a penalty of one less card or loosing your first turn advantage?
Attacking heroes directly = too short of game: We know SE allows direct attacks on heroes, but why? This shortens the game and eliminates true defensive play. Maybe I am hung up on MtG here, but why allow direct ally attacks on my hero if i have allies on the board? Isn't this why TCG created direct damage cards like fireball? This shortens the game and forces aggro style play. Items such as snow sapphire help but all but two classes have low cost item destruction cards, the highest being 3 resources (to eliminate a 6 resource cost card) and the lowest being -1 resource. With the game lasting only 10 turns and armor being a play of 6 resource cost on turn 6-8, the quick and easy 3 resource cost answer (plus a followup weenie) is frustrating to late game answer to direct attacks. If you want to keep the direct attacks on heroes why not increase their health beyond 26 - 30? Or why not allow more heal options for lower costs? Or why not allow every class a hero protector ally? Short games put pressure on perfect card draws and draw engines, strengthen 30 card fine tune decks and reinforce rush/aggro play. If the game was lengthened, to lets say 20 turns, then the over emphasis and over importance of draw engines would not be as you have more turns to draw the cards you need.
Resource Gathering/Difficulty of Choosing Which Cards to Sacrifice: This is a key concept as well and a defining characteristic of SE but also my biggest issue with the game. Strategically, sacrificing a card to gain resources/energy is incredible. Suddenly, you have to choose every resource you gain carefully. I get that but so many times I sacrifice a must-have-to-win 7 cost or 6 cost card to be stuck round 9, 10, 11 waiting for it come up again. Sacrificing cards means I have to keep multiple copies of cards in case high cost cards are drawn early as I have keep sacrificing something. Multiple copies means my total count rises. With my total count rising I suddenly need 4 copies of every single card I would use to ensure a chance of even drawing that card before turn 4 or even at all. Keeping four copies and a low total card count means I have specialize my deck and only stick to 7-10 different cards. Choosing a deck suddenly becomes incredibly difficult. In MtG I never had this problem because if I draw a late game card, I can hold onto to that with no penalty as I only use energy cards. Maybe this cannot be changed because in doing so would completely change if not ruin SE for others who enjoy this concept more. Perhaps simple remedies would be larger starting hands. More cards that allow resource gathering. Cards that allow for resource cards to be brought back into play or your hand.
Total Number of Card in SE: I understand SE is a mostly free TCG and that means their resources are incredibly limited in testing and introducing new cards but the addition of more cards must happen. With such a limited number of cards, people have memorized all decks, heroes and combination. This forces any new player who wishes to progress, and I had to do this myself, to start forum diving to find out every strategy used by major decks and counter strategies to equal the playing field. Furthermore, less cards means less possible card combinations in every game which allows for the above fined tuned decks.
Counters to the Rock-Paper-Scissors: Some heroes annihilate others (mage vs monk or monk vs warrior). To ensure no one class is OP and the best class this is necessary. But at the same time, advantages should exist but not guaranteed victories. Sure you can get incredibly lucky as a monk vs a mage, or as a warrior vs a monk and pull out a win. Multiple losses against the same burn deck or monk anti-warrior deck gets old especially when the outcome is nearly guaranteed. With this I don't mean over powering any of these classes, but perhaps included a few cards that work to cover each classes weakness. Ex: give a monk a down turn trap card that counters a spell, max in play 1, 2 cost. Or give a warrior a way to keep attachments through some similar counter or make attachment removals only affect one attachment per removal instead of all.
I really enjoyed playing this game and hope that these suggestions, as well as other players comments, will help the Devs in developing and improving SE as it has great potential to become a large, well recognized TCG. If you feel I am wrong, feel free to say so to help the Devs and voice your own opinion as they seem to be taking affect on how SE develops. I hope my input gives back to something I got to enjoy for free.
