to level up or not

loroku

I have played red at level 22 for a while, so I have a pretty good sense of how long it takes to win with her and how hard it is. I decided to go ahead and bump her to 30 and I'm already thinking that was a bad idea.

Sure, she gets 50% more ribbons per match, and no, matches don't - usually - take +50% as long. So technically, she's coming out ahead. But the flip side to leveling is that you WILL face opponents with better cards. Sometimes you'd still get people with good cards at lower levels, but at higher levels you will definitely face more of them. And better cards typically means that games last longer. Having +8 HP isn't really a big deal - that's one hit from a juiced-up creature in the end-game, maybe one or two extra rounds. Having to deal with the 6/6 flying creature your opponent just summoned for 12 mana - now that is something that will cost you plenty of time. Or seeing more frogs. Or more whatever.

On the flip side, the only things she really gained were +1 to black (not white as in the only chart we have to document these things) and a 3rd ability that isn't really useful, although sometimes it's nice to speed up the last round or two.

Maybe I'll change my mind after a deeper dive into level 30, but for now I have to agree that there are just too many reasons NOT to level your PWs. I can only imagine who I'd be facing at level 50, and how long those games would take.

Rootbreaker

I certainly recommend leveling up now.

Upsides:
You can make much more interesting decks with the reduced restrictions of high levels
Mana increase means you can more quickly play expensive cards, and higher life totals make it worth it to do so
Ribbons per fight increase, so the longer fights are compensated for now

I haven't played that many people with cards that scare me even at 50. I still win the vast majority of my games (and haven't spent any money). The most annoying card to play against has been Mizzium Meddler, but I've only played against it twice in dozens of games.

Also at level 50, I'm getting level 1 opponents sometimes, which is obviously a bug that will be fixed at some point, but neat while it lasts.

loroku

I think the best solution to the "why is it better to not level up" problem is to create better, more interesting PW powers.

For example: red's level 3 power is dull and frankly kind of meh. A more interesting power would be:
9 cost: choose a 3x3 block of tiles to destroy
How interesting would that be! You could set up matches and do damage to supports and take out activated tiles. That's the sort of power that I would think: I need to get to level 27 ASAP. As of now I think: how low can I get away with?

Another thing that would greatly speed up games: change all +4 HP to +2 HP. So much faster.

Right now not only are some of the later powers not interesting, they're actively worse than the lower-level powers. Add to that all the inherent disadvantages and even with the Quick Battle ribbon change it's hard to recommend anyone to get to 50.

raidan

loroku wrote:

I think the best solution to the "why is it better to not level up" problem is to create better, more interesting PW powers.

For example: red's level 3 power is dull and frankly kind of meh. A more interesting power would be:
9 cost: choose a 3x3 block of tiles to destroy
How interesting would that be! You could set up matches and do damage to supports and take out activated tiles. That's the sort of power that I would think: I need to get to level 27 ASAP. As of now I think: how low can I get away with?

Another thing that would greatly speed up games: change all +4 HP to +2 HP. So much faster.

Right now not only are some of the later powers not interesting, they're actively worse than the lower-level powers. Add to that all the inherent disadvantages and even with the Quick Battle ribbon change it's hard to recommend anyone to get to 50.

Nissa is good at 50. She has beastly creatures, buffs, ad fast mana gain. Most final attacks involve 2-3 strong creatures. This usually mean just 1 extra turn to win vs a lv 50 PW compared to a lv 40 PW. Totally worth the extra ribbon.

I am using her more than my lv 30 chandra, lv 37 Liliana and my lv 40 Jace because she seems more efficient at ribbons per minute.

Keegan

I'm working at keeping my planeswalkers at a skill level that is sustainable while still being worth it.

For example, Gideon at level fifty with the new points is good for at least three or four wins before healing, at least, if I'm using (and pull) the right combination of healing spells and supports along with creatures that have lifelink, and buffing them. I can get up to seven uses without healing as long as I don't run into Jace or Liliana with badass decks With the new point system, that's anywhere from 20 to 35 rewards and the battles don't take that much longer, as long as I don't run into Jace or Liliana with badass decks

Nissa is strong in the forties, and Chandra remains worth it up through the thirties. I can cycle through them and get lower level rewards without having to use healing potions on Gideon. I can pull another 20-30 rewards from them while Gideon heals, and then start over again. If all else fails I can use Jace or Liliana for a few turns before I get frustrated because I'm not used to playing with them.

Overall, I think it depends on at what level your planeswalker peaks at rewards versus health/heal lost. This mainly depends on how you have your decks built for Quick Battle, I guess.