Elements - The Thread

[eaglgenes101]

So TLDR is we should complete the elements and do much more to balance the game?

Completing the elements is a terrible idea. Each element is supposed to be unique for a reason. Imagine if Aether had PC, quanta denial, inexpensive creatures, etc. People complain about certain decks because they think one element is either too complete or one of its cards beats too many others. If every element was complete, there would be no point except to use the one with the most powerful cards. If every element had a card that beat too many others, there would still be no point except to use the one with the most powerful card. Balance is good, completion is not.

Time is forced to twiddle its thumbs and pray to RNG if it goes up against an archetypical mono aether. What I mean by completeness is not that the elements do the exact same things, but they have all sorts of strategies and soft counters against all sorts of other strategies. Check out Dust Beast | Dust Giant in the smithy. That card would give Time the means to counter shield-lock strategies in its own unique way.

Oh, and I noticed you were a newbie after typing up that post. Now imagine if you went against a Mono Aether and had no PC. Would be hell, right? Well, that's the situation that many mono and duo configurations find themselves in right now.

[ElementalDearWatson]

I'm a bit pushed for time at the moment, and was planning on reading the whole of the OP/thread before responding, but I've just got to quickly comment so I apologise if it's already been addressed.  I'll read the rest later and get back to it.

Steal "beats" phase shield, because in addition to gaining 2 quanta, you also gain the remaining turns of the phase shield.

This is not necessarily true.  If you have no shield, then stealing Phase Shield will be a net gain for you.  If you have a Bone Wall with 83 layers, then it will be a net loss.  If your opponent has creatures which are Immortal, then Skull Shield or Spine Carapace may be more useful as the only way to kill those creatures.  If your opponent is playing a hand using Psions and/or Shards of Wisdom, then a Jade Shield or Solar Shield may be of more use than a Phase Shield.  If your opponent has Pulveriser or Explosions or other Permanent Control, then a shield that is Protected may be of more value than a Phase Shield.

Steal is a more complicated card than you're making it out to be and using it, even to Steal a Phase Shield, may have a negative effect on you.