Oh so there WAS a Scrolls thread. I've been playing it for a few days recently, and heartily recommend it.
My two cents: It's a great game, and while I understand Scott's message of having a fair game right from the start, and that time should not be a substitute for resources like the Guile example he used on twitter, that's where the Ranked Matches in Scrolls come in.
You get matched according to your profile points, which you earn by defeating opponents. Every starting player gets the same cards from the premade decks at the start. All these same players will get matched, and from there, skill comes in to decide how far you are rewarded, in this case, in gold to buy extra random cards. If you suck at first, no problem, if you do not win, your profile points stays low, and you keep getting matched to low level players with more or less the same basic card pool until you raise your skill level and get a hang of the game.
Also, the Trial games where they impose various restrictions to you and advantages to the enemy AI, are great ways of earning gold outside of the the PvP arenas. You get to increase your skill level and understanding of the game, while getting rewarded for solving the Trial. Plus you can never farm from them, since each trial will reward you only once, and the trials are available to every single player. They give a good amount of gold, from 400-600
To me, the major problem of meeting opponents who have crazy cards right from the start, is countered both by the fact that you CAN'T trade nor sell the starting cards you get in your first deck, hence there is no way a new player can get an advantage on the other players he or she meets in their first Ranked Matches. As you increase in Profile Points, one would assume an increase in skill, a reward in customization and trading options in more cards, and more varied opponents of a higher skill level. Unless you hit the Quick Match button, you'll never be punching above your weight, or dominating a player less experienced.
I quit playing MTG because there is simply no way to ensure a basic card pool, and a game where money speaks louder than skill. I still play drafts though, as it is one place where skill, both at choosing which cards to take, and building a deck on the spot, comes in.
Scrolls is a happy crossroad between the trading card game aspect, and the skill based aspect. I see no reason to click the quick match button, when in the ranked matched I play, I can more or less be guaranteed an opponent of simillar skill and challenge, and a simillarly varied deck built up from winning and getting gold since he started, not to mention all the trading you can do. ( I hardly trade for gold, i trade and negotiate cards for cards)
Yes, matchmaking makes up for the inequality a bit, but still sucks. Having played Netrunner, where everyone has every card, I can't really tolerate the bullshit of Scrolls. Sad, because it is, as you say, otherwise a great game.
Comments
My two cents: It's a great game, and while I understand Scott's message of having a fair game right from the start, and that time should not be a substitute for resources like the Guile example he used on twitter, that's where the Ranked Matches in Scrolls come in.
You get matched according to your profile points, which you earn by defeating opponents. Every starting player gets the same cards from the premade decks at the start. All these same players will get matched, and from there, skill comes in to decide how far you are rewarded, in this case, in gold to buy extra random cards. If you suck at first, no problem, if you do not win, your profile points stays low, and you keep getting matched to low level players with more or less the same basic card pool until you raise your skill level and get a hang of the game.
Also, the Trial games where they impose various restrictions to you and advantages to the enemy AI, are great ways of earning gold outside of the the PvP arenas. You get to increase your skill level and understanding of the game, while getting rewarded for solving the Trial. Plus you can never farm from them, since each trial will reward you only once, and the trials are available to every single player. They give a good amount of gold, from 400-600
To me, the major problem of meeting opponents who have crazy cards right from the start, is countered both by the fact that you CAN'T trade nor sell the starting cards you get in your first deck, hence there is no way a new player can get an advantage on the other players he or she meets in their first Ranked Matches. As you increase in Profile Points, one would assume an increase in skill, a reward in customization and trading options in more cards, and more varied opponents of a higher skill level. Unless you hit the Quick Match button, you'll never be punching above your weight, or dominating a player less experienced.
I quit playing MTG because there is simply no way to ensure a basic card pool, and a game where money speaks louder than skill. I still play drafts though, as it is one place where skill, both at choosing which cards to take, and building a deck on the spot, comes in.
Scrolls is a happy crossroad between the trading card game aspect, and the skill based aspect. I see no reason to click the quick match button, when in the ranked matched I play, I can more or less be guaranteed an opponent of simillar skill and challenge, and a simillarly varied deck built up from winning and getting gold since he started, not to mention all the trading you can do. ( I hardly trade for gold, i trade and negotiate cards for cards)