Weird. I initially had this card much stronger, but I nerfed it to the current version. I didn't expect everyone to say it was overpowered...
The main reason why extreme quanta generation would be overpowered is because it is
too fast (Sorry, Nepycros, but bolt decks are only viable with pillars). However, unupgraded Extract is underpowered because of just that: There is no way to consistently get out
any damage at all within the first two turns. Immolation decks can drop their entire hand on the very first turn, however, Extract decks need 3 turns... Even a pillar deck can drop their hand in 3 turns!
In addition, since Extract costs so much, your deck needs to invest heavily in Water quanta. This is intended, if you want to utilize the "overpowered" unupgraded Extract, you need to use Water; you can't just add 6 copies of Extract and 3 copies of Squids and expect to power the other 5 Extracts with the first Extract, because to play the first Extract you need to have added enough towers to generate 9
early enough.
In my eyes, I believe that unupgraded Extract is perfectly balanced, if not underpowered. However, I will decrease the quanta gain to 15/20.
As for the unupgraded card, let's create an upper-level boundary by examining the most viable Extrct decks:
Mono-water: To start, you need 5
for the Squid+Extract combo.
Example starting hand: 2 Water Towers, 1 Squid, 3 Extract, 2 Dragons
First turn: play Water towers. 0 damage.
Second turn: draw dragon. play squid (2 quanta left). play 3 Extracts (32). play 2 dragons (10). 27 damage.
Third turn: (12) draw dragon. play dragon (1). 67 damage.
Fourth turn: 106+ damage.
Even with the best draws possible, Mono-water can't reach a 3TTW, which old Cremation could reach. As used in mono-water, Extract is balanced when compared to the new Cremation.
Spirit+Crawlers: To start, you need 2 novas and a forest spirit
Example starting hand: 2 novas, 1 forest spirit, 1 extract, 3 abyss crawlers.
First turn: Play everything, 37 damage. Three turn win.
Sigh. It seems that the quanta boost is indeed too much for a single element.
As for Rainbow, it costs as much as Supernova, does half as much, and therefore isn't worth the card-space when used in conjunction with Supernova. I'd say that it's balanced for rainbows.
I will decrease the quanta generation of the upgraded to 9/12.
I will decrease the quanta generation of the unupgraded to 15/20.
I will decrease the quanta generation of the upgraded to 9/12.
Thoughts on this change?
Additional notes:
Why is the upgraded cheaper but less powerful than the unupgraded?
1. Because I can make it that way, following Phoenix | Minor Phoenix and 2. Because I want the upgraded to fit a different niche and role in decks following Nova | Supernova.
Why don't you balance using other variables, such as changing the delay from 0 to 1-2?
Because changing variables who are already at their default values would require adding sentences to the card text, and the mechanic is already complicated as is.
Why not make both cards cheaper but less powerful?
Because I don't want the unupgraded card to butt into the niche that nova/immolation own.
