Celebi

it’s a really good card on its own, but serpieor was EXTREMELY unnecessary

lol this kids… nerf Misty… then nerf Pikachu… after that neft Mewtwo… now nerf Celebi… stop with this ridiculous threads! Nothing will be nerfed…

How about instead of complain about nerf stuff everytime something isn't convenient for you… maybe try to learn how to play vs the new decks and adapt your decks to the changing meta? either adapt to the meta or find another game to play.

True but it also isn't wrong to ask someone(in a nice way) to stop.

I often call out a lot of the hasty cries to immediately nerf or ban the most powerful new deck in any given card game. New counter-strategies emerge, new cards are released and metas can adapt to handle them. It is not always necessary or the only way to handle the problem.

That said, it is also folly to assume that no mistakes are ever made and that nothing ever need be banned or nerfed. Designers make mistakes and adjustments do need to be made from time to time.

Many companies are reluctant to ban powerful cards in their games, because it annoys everyone who already pulled/bought the card and it removes a key incentive to buy more packs. But simply leaving problem cards unaddressed will eventually erode trust and interest in the game. It will become viewed as a pay-to-win money sink, where no deck is worth investing in long term and the only way to win is to buy all the new, broken cards.

Fortunately all-digital card games have an advantage over physical ones in that cards can be errata'd and nerfed very easily. It doesn't necessitate reprinting the card or putting out notices to inform people who pwn the original of the new rules text. The client does it all and everyone is always up to date.

There are still disadvantages, though. People are still losing the card they originally bought to be replaced with a weaker version, which can cause them to feel cheated and quit the game. Not everyone will be aware of the errata the first time they play with the errata'd cards, so may think there is a bug when their cards no longer function the way they used to.

It's not as upsetting as an outright ban, but nerfs have their own potential pitfalls if used excessively.

So in summary, while I would caution against banning and nerfing every powerful card or deck the second it rises to prominence, I would also avoid over-reluctance to nerf problem cards when they do arise. It takes a considered, balanced approach, not an all or nothing one.

@DoubleCure

I wasn't directly responding to your post. It was more of a starting point to discuss a number of thoughts regarding card games and nerfs and bannings.