This month's meta was somewhat balanced, however, there are a few outliers and Skeleton Dragons created a spell bait meta in challenges and top ladder. So I thought it was a good month for some major changes. I will use bold italic to underline the important points, but if you want to understand my intentions, you should still read the whole thing. Or hit me with a comment if you want to discuss further.
Let's start with the two big reworks and then move on to the other changes.
Rage Spirit
- Rage will be changed into this new character who, similar to Heal Spirit, jumps on enemies to activate an aura that rages friendly units
- Cost: 1 elixir
- Hitpoints: 190, Damage: 90
- Speed: Very Fast, Range: 2.5, Targets: Air & Ground
- Rage Boost: 35%, Rage Duration: 5sec (from 7.5sec for tournament standard Rage), Rage Radius: 5, Rage linger duration: 0.5sec (from 2sec for tournament standard Rage)
Frankly, I think Heal Spirit's introduction was really successful. Compared to Heal, it's not one-dimensional. It can be a cheap distraction and might not even deliver its healing, at least in a useful way. It's a lot more interesting when you're in a battle and rather than simply choosing to play Heal, you need to pay attention to when enemy units get close to your friendly ones and then playing the Heal Spirit.
Well, compared to Heal, Rage is an even better card to transform into a spirit. Rage is not scale-able as it deals no damage, has no hitpoints, and doesn't summon anything. The Rage Spirit has hitpoints and damage, so the death effect no longer needs to have a different duration between levels. This would fix one of the final hurdles to bringing top ladder's and tournament standard's balance together. Also, because counterplay exists, it would finally change this.
So, why do I think this version is balanced? For the most part, with the experience from buffing Heal Spirit. Heal Spirit is currently OP, but overall it looks like the strength of the effect needs to be worth between 1 and 2 elixir for it to become balanced. Rage is already at roughly that level of strength, but because it lasts for long and one of Heal Spirit's main weaknesses is that the healing radius not always reaches out far enough, I figured that some other adjustments needed to be made to bring Rage Spirit to the right power level, too. Here, I nerfed the duration to be even weaker than the first level of Rage and also massively reduced the 2sec of boost units get when they exit Rage's radius.
Elixir Golem Rework
- Golem: Hitpoints +28% (1196-->1557), Speed increased to Medium, Range increased to Melee: Medium, Death spawn changed to 3 blobs
- Golemites: Removed from the game?
- Blobs: Hitpoints +70% (299-->519)
Usage 2-5%, Win 35-50%
I don't want to just rant here, but I simply have so much to say about this card. I don't want it removed, but a total overhaul is needed.
Many of you might not even acknowledge this as an issue, because we are not facing Elixir Golem all the time, but Elixir Golem is easily the most toxic card in the game. Elixir Golem decks are the kind of thing you give mediocre players so they get a shot at beating pros. Maybe you'd say "it's good that lower-skilled players have cards they can use" but I will disagree. First, the card is inherently flawed no matter how much skill it takes, I'll explain below. Second, there should not be a win condition that brings anyone close to the success of pro players with barely any learning curve. Elixir Golem is, to me, the most game-breaking card right now, and I really insist on a rework.
CWA: Pro Ranks Top 20 Decks from LOWEST to HIGHEST Skill! (Vulkan rating Elixir Golem as the least skilled deck in the game)
Elixir Golem was also overpowered in the past and it only got health nerfs and a hit speed standardization, not fixing the underlying issues. At this point it is just a half-relevant card that people are only tolerating because it's not the meta.
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1. Let's talk about the problems
The first issue with the card is how swarmy it becomes. It's hard to put in words, but in many matchups everything gets melted while trying to deal with the latter phases. Heal effects are the best in medium swarm decks, which the golemites phase really capitalizes on, and so Healer and Heal Spirit are good with EGolem alongside with Rage to increase the healing. So if you can't deal with a push, it will get healed back and you wil get 3-crowned. Elixir Golem is basically a magnet for yet more cards that are considered toxic.
The next issue with the card is the disconnection between the elixir you spend and the elixir you put on the board. I believe that an Elixir Golem that doesn't give elixir would cost about 5.5 elixir. So you get the stats of a 5.5 elixir card for 3 elixir, giving you an advantage of 2.5 elixir instantly. In the long run, you lose 1.5, but some of that elixir might be wasted by the opponent if their bar was full or thanks to the sheer advantage you got earlier and used. Then if you get a second Elixir Golem down, you are now 5 elixir up front. In the early days of the pro scene, often both players would ban Elixir Collector to have a sort of "Gentleman game" and not abuse the downward spiral of not being able to stop these custom elixir advantages, which is what Elixir Golem does without there even being a counterplay.
Actually there is a counterplay Seth kept talking about: getting elixir from the blobs.
Probably the biggest issue is how long it takes to gain some of the lead back. You first need to get through an Elixir Golem with 1196 hitpoints. Only after then killing an Elixir Golemite with 598 hitpoints, you can start getting elixir by killing an elixir blob with 299 hitpoints. That makes it 1993 damage you need to deal to get just the first elixir. Add 300-400 because of wasted damage and it's 2400... except wait, actually you need to deal 300 more damage to get to a blob because EGolem got healed by a Heal Spirit. Oh, 100 more because of the Healer. And 100 more, and 100 more. Not to mention your units will probably retarget to the support or the other golemite before starting to attack the blobs, and that each split will reset the attack animation of your units.
Basically, if you use a few point attackers instead of splash, it can often take 3000+ damage, as much as a 5-elixir Giant, just to pop a single blob and start recovering from the disadvantage. This is an awful lack of counterplay on most occasions. Let's be honest, all of the high-damage splash attackers that counter this, like Wizard and old Executioner, are/were divisive cards. Bomb Tower also works well, but it's difficult to say with certainty after its recent nerf.
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2. Let's talk about my rework proposal.
With the changes, the overall hitpoints of the card are reduced from 3588 to 3061 (-15%)
Not so swarmy anymore: The overall units in the elixir golem goes from 7 to 4, and from 3 to 2 different types. The average hitpoints of a unit increase from 513 to 778 (more than 50%), reducing the wasted damage.
You no longer get a 2.5-elixir lead just by playing it: This lead you get is massively reduced. Elixir Golem would be worth around 4.5 elixir, reducing the effect by about 30-40%. So now he would be more of a cheap cycle-style beatdown tank than a powerhouse. Also, because the golem walks faster (by 33%), split pushing will only happen when the opponent is already in the middle of defending the first one and possibly has some of the advantage taken back.
The opponent Actually has counterplay: While popping a blob takes more hitpoints than before (1993-->2076), there is less wasted damage and only a single re-targeting on the way.
So what will Elixir Golem be about? I don't know. Maybe beatdown-cycle hybrids? Maybe split pushing? It might end up good, it might end up bad. The only thing I know right now is that it can't be worse than what we currently have.
After trying to imagine it, I thought it was weak, so just to "play it safe", I also buffed the melee range. The current short range looks visually weird for such a huge guy.
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I am disappointed that Elixir Golem has come to be this. I knew from the start its problems were a lot deeper than it seems. Frankly, not many people in the community, even the pro community, think about things this way: people make up their opinions based on how they feel in battles. Complaints like "those blobs deal too much damage" took over genuine concerns about the card's design as they were easier to implement. But this led us to the most obnoxious decks in the game. This needs to be fixed now. Please.
Buffs & Nerfs
Lumberjack: Death Rage Duration standardized to 8 seconds
Lumberjack's rage bottle will no longer be tied to the Rage card, because Rage Spirit is now replacing it; the rage bottle will be its own thing with a consistent duration from level 9 to 13. This fixes the incosnsitency with the card between max level and tournament level.
Heal Spirit nerf: Healing -18% (366-->300), Hitpoints -1% (191-->189)
Usage 10-20%, Win 52-59%
A few months passed and Heal Spirit's stats have remained over the top. This nerf removes some of its healing potential and fixes an inconsistent interaction against Tesla, however, it doesn't change it in situations where no friendly units are around.
Fire Spirits & Furnace buffs: Hitpoints +21% (91-->110), Kamikaze time -50% (0.2sec-->0.1sec)
Fire Spirits: Usage 1-2%, Win 20-40%
Furnace: Usage 0%
Both cards are abysmally weak right now. Fire Spirit's main niche is its damage, but it's difficult to buff this aspect much further without breaking the card. Increasing the count is an option, however, if the damage becomes too high, then 4 of them would fully-counter Royal Hogs - a 5-cost win condition - for only 2 elixir. Not good. I think the best option right now is buffing other stats like hitpoints, kamikaze time, range, etc. Here, I buffed the hitpoints to be the same as those of a spear goblin and increased the kamikaze time a little. As a bonus, inconsistencies get fixed with this.
Fixed inconsistencies against: Lower-leveled crown towers, Guards; Prince.
Survives an extra hit from: Firecracker's pellets, Ice Spirit, Heal Spirit, Goblin, Dart Goblin, Royal Recruit
Skeleton Dragons nerf: Speed reduced to Medium, Initial attack faster by 0.1sec
Usage 27%, Win 56%
Now, many of you might want some fancy shmancy rework with a poison type attack or turning into a pile of bones or something, but you know what? They are one of the highest-complexity common cards with their abilities to fly, split, and splash. I am having stellar fun fighting against them, unlike when facing Firecracker, Healer, or Elixir Golem with their unique mechanics.
Instead of reworking them, I just gave the duo a speed nerf that would make them more distinctly different from Baby Dragon. I held a poll on Deckshop's discord where almost everyone answered they find it to be the most similar to Baby Dragon, when the card was more likely meant to be something between Mega Minion and Minions.
Pathfinding fixes & Sight range standardizations
Pathfinding: Troops will no longer switch to their original lane when the tower on the opposite lane is down
This needs to be patched. The outcome is different when the troops were placed on the other lane even though the conditions are the same, making this pathing counter-intuitive.
Pathfinding: Troops will no longer occasionally walk backward when a target is in front of them
This needs to be patched.
Troops' "clutch attack" will now only (and consistently) happen when the target remains in sight range
This needs to be patched. Clutch attack is when units land one extra attack after being pulled out of range. This will now only happen when the target goes outside of sight range, which currently is especially not the case for Sparky, Bandit, and Fisherman.
So I am proposing that this gets fixed. I.e. knocking back Bandit with The Log will now make her need to charge again because she can no longer "see" the target. However, Tornado won't disrupt her charge instantly, instead, it would only work if it pulls her fast enough so that the tower is no longer in her sight range.
Rebalancing sight range:
- To summarize, all units will have at least 5.5 tiles sight range. Troops with a long reach will have a 0.5 tiles longer sight range than their attack range. Building-targeting units have a 2 to 4 tiles longer sight range. Self-pushback units are exceptions.
- P.E.K.K.A., Giant Skeleton, Sparky: Sight range increased from 5 to 5.5
- Ice Wizard and Wizard: Sight range increased from 5.5 to 6
- Bandit, Flying Machine, Musketeer: Sight range increased from 6 to 6.5
- Dart Goblin: Sight range reduced from 7.5 to 7
- Lava Hound: Sight range increased from 5.5 to 7.5
* PEKKA and Giant Skeleton: This makes their gameplay more intuitive. Kiting will work at the same distance as any other melee unit
* Lava Hound: Every card that targets buildings has a 7.5 or a 9.5 tiles sight range with this one being a weird and unintuitive exception.
* Musketeer, Wizard, Sparky, Ice Wizard, Bandit: Every troop is able to see enemies a little in advance to being able to attack them, which makes sense and adds to the depth of gameplay. Currently, these five units can only walk or attack. If you play your Ice Wizard 5.6 tiles from an enemy, then I believe it shouldn't walk away when it is only 0.1 tiles from being in range to attack. This change also enables a great deal of the ability to address pushes from the opposite lane, since a single 0.5 tiles walk is never enough to make a unit switch its lane.
* Dart Goblin: Can occasionally switch its lane with a single retargetting, when it's clearly not the intention of the attacker, and it's the only card that can do so.
![[IDEA] I saw this comment under a YT video from CWA and I really agree with this person](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/LMBSQJn-U_Q7evFuFXl1sB8B9YoF-HJYm6k4s8BTx8A.jpg "[IDEA] I saw this comment under a YT video from CWA and I really agree with this person")
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