How to take IS back to competetive from bottom tier

Soko asked for some ideas on what can be done to fix IS. Please post ideas.

My first idea is to revert the last set of nerfs. They simply went to far.

Also the font bonus nerf with no compensation hurt. IS has no FF bonus vs some decks. Against FS for example I get to watch them summon hippos that do 30 damage, poison cloud me for full damage and drown all my heros, all the while gaining more nora than I do every round. Its a one sided match up from turn one in favor of the FS player.

Add to the IS bonus a 10%/5% increased cost for all spells for your opponent. Reduce the damage reduction to 4/2 for the FF bonus. At least then the FF bonus can have an impact vs more factions, runes, and decks.

Give us a viable drunk theme. Give drunken thug 6 speed. The Hooligan has received quite a few nerfs, both in cost increases and reduction of the power of his abilities, carouse is priced to high for 1. Drunkard needs to be permanent when equipped with the brew. Keg toss can have a 6 round duration. Mead trap could be re worked to trigger drunkard just like Keg toss. Your opponent moves in, Mead trap explodes pushing the opponent back 1 space and give all units in 4 spaces intoxicated. It would be a unique trap in that it buffs the units close to it. The 1 space push back makes it viable as a trap. Give the alchemist drunkard.

Just a few ideas. Please contribute.

 

If you want drunk to work, you'll have to look at Carouse/Black Label Brew.
Drunken Thugs cost will up if you give him speed 6, I like him atm with opportunistic at less than 60 nora.
I always feel that the no placement of relics in the font/shrine zones are part of the faction bonus. But wouldn tknow if and how I'd change the current ff bonus.
Aside from that, maybe you could also look into the sarge/handler area. I feel that even costing over 10 nora less, the handler is more effective in being a support, while it used to be the other way around for very long.

 

There was a suggestion to make FF bonus to reduce 4/2 damage from all AoE. This will include spells, bombs and cones. Of course, we will lose our resistance to single target spell damage.

For me is the best suggestion for a FF faction bonus. It encourages phalanx and is definitely stronger than our current FF bonus (by stronger, I mean that it will be useful in 8/10 games).

 

I like the current faction bonus, gives the resilience that IS stands for.

 

I hadn't noticed thug had opportunistic. He is fine then. 5 speed first turn draws suck. Opportunistic fixes that.

The problem is vs factions/decks that run zero or 1 rune effected by the IS bonus you end up with no bonus vs an opponent with a bonus. FS is a good example of a faction that runs very few runes that work vs the IS bonus.

By weakening the damage resistance and adding the 10/5 % cost increase for spelks you don't punish decks that run aoes as heavily and decks That run few or no aoes now pay 10% more for using spelLs.

This means, on average, the IS bonus will effect far more runes in opponents deck then it currently does.

This to would be an acceptable change although it would be stronger than what I suggested IMO.

 

Why are people saying ironfist is bad ? Dwarves are extremely powerful at the moment, if not one of the best themes in-game. Am i missing something what makes is so bad now, actually curious what people's reasons are.

 

Paladins lost a lot of their power. Charger Knight is totally ruined, Archangel upgrades don't fit it's role, Hallowed Ground was nerfed.
Constructs rely on a 85 nora Helpless unit, the only source of Boost 3 in the entire theme. They are carried by S. Protector, which it's cheapest build is 90 NORA!!!. Yeah, it hits hard, but it costs an insane amount of nora.
Trolls, even if i don't know a lot about them, seem to have some kind of issue. Haven't seen a Troll BG in ranked in months.
Wings are totally ruined. Don't make me talk about them or I'll cry.
Barbarians are in good shape, but it's racial is just plain. Flavorful, but boring.
Dwarves were always good. Not because they are a theme, but because they have an overwhelming amount of runes that are useful. You can always throw a bunch of them together, and they'll do fine. Take into account this: Dwarves are not run because of it's racial (Blacklabel Brew granting tough 1, Shattering the brew to enrage them), but just because it's runes are meta worthy.

Edit: Don't think I'm a zealot. I recognize we're not the worst faction, and I don't think the entire faction is utter crap. But the only BGs worth running are Goodstuff, because it's themes are a bit underpowered (a bit only, but enough to discourage players from running them).

 

50% of IS is dwarf. So if dorfs didnt work u'd have to rely on barbs or leoss. Barbs seem to be fine. But as maljaran races seem to be in need of a rework, a full bg leoss is behind in power (they are carried by the blue/red fist and monk).
The good bgs are dwarf heavy but its no theme. Drunk is a theme but its situational and wasting too much ap on using carouse.

I've posted so much about wings that im just waiting for the expansion before i talk about them again.

People say that talgar and geomancer are op. By now the main consensus is that the hero equips are slightly overpowerful. But without geomancer (which relys heavily on an ideal situation) IS would have little left to compete at high level.

Now am I no great player, but I love pox and especially dorfs so ill just keep blabbering till they are so op that i can get into high level of play.
Keep teh thread alive

 

Now! On fixes. Change brubaker bond. Change brubaker brothers (and to work they require a change to sibbling and get 6 speed )
Change dmg and range values on geomancer imo.
Ill search for more later

 

The new font bonus is better and faction bonus is one of the best in the game. Just because it doesnt work against hippos doesnt make it bad. Pallies did seem to get nerfed too much. But dwarves are solid

 

I wouldnt agree with anything you said.

 

why not?

 

I can quote a lot of top players saying that IS faction bonus is one of the worst. Let's compare:
+10 HP? Better. +1 speed +1 AP cap? Better. +6 nora/turn? Better. 20% dmg reduction from attacks? Better. +2/+4 dmg on all champions? Better. 8% refund on deploy/4% refund on death? Better. 60% CDR on champion runes? Worse if the theme doesn't rely on recycling champs.
Strong font bonus, weak faction bonus; that's how factions were balanced. Here goes a hint: we had the strongest font bonus of all before the change; I think you can deduce the rest.

 

lets stop measuring d's and keep the thread's topic important. buffing dorfs!

 

Could you elaborate? I know it doesn't have impact on the game if you're deploying away from battle and moving close, but you have other opportunities to cause intoxicated if you want the Iron Will and Fearless.

 

Ok, post the quotes. Kthx

 

I would agree with your disagreement

 

drunken as an ability. 5 nora for an ability which wears off before its used. Intoxicated is simplay amazing. Just drunken on drunken thug and dwarven sharpshooter feels like sandbag nora.

 

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Clearly mine is the biggest one

 

herp derp derp