[Official] Ghost of the Past | Ghost of the Past

[Keolino]

Ghost of the Past isn't OP.
Ghost of the Past + Nightmare isn't even that OP.
The problem is that Darkness and Time have access to Steal and Reverse Time. So this isn't a question of individual card balance anymore. This is about, at its core, balance within the structure of how EtG and its basic mechanics work.
Nerfing Ghost of the Past won't fix the problem. Nerfing balanced cards because of powerful yet easily countered decks would only make the problem worse in the long-run.

I agree with everything you say. Jet nerfing the skill of Ghost of the Past a little won't hurt it that much. It is a balanced card now, and with a little less skill power it will still be balanced.

[Pineapple]

I want to disagree. Right now the Ghost+Nightmare combo is pretty mediocre in a non-dedicated Ghostmare deck. If Ghost+Nightmare is nerfed, all currently-weak decks that use the combo will be even weaker, forcing Ghost of the Past's viability to be restricted in Ghostmares (and Time Rushes).

If anything, I'd go for an HP reduction.

[Keolino]

I want to disagree. Right now the Ghost+Nightmare combo is pretty mediocre in a non-dedicated Ghostmare deck.

...That's true. I didn't think of that. Nerfing it that way would really harm those decks (Well not all, A Ghostmare PSNBow which I just tried out wouldn't be effected in most games)

About the HP reduction, I really don't like that idea. Even now, Ghostmare is really vulnerable to CC because it has not many creatures. With HP of 3, it would become a bit hopeless to play against air decks (Owls Eye) as well as fire decks (Fire bolt, rain of fire).

[Fippe94]

I don't really get what you are saying? Is it really a big problem that GotP+Nightmare is only viable in specialized decks? The same are true for other combos as well. I don't really see the problem, because both GotP and NM are completely viable on their own.

[Pineapple]

I don't really get what you are saying? Is it really a big problem that GotP+Nightmare is only viable in specialized decks? The same are true for other combos as well. I don't really see the problem, because both GotP and NM are completely viable on their own.

In the current meta Ghost of the Past and Nightmare see little play outside of splashes of a mid-range hitter in quanta-heavy rainbows (Ghost) and splashes of a low-cost damage spell in quanta-light rainbows (Nightmare). This is excluding Ghostmare, of course.

[Fippe94]

The cards are still good in their respective monos too, at least I use them for that.

[Keolino]

In the current meta Ghost of the Past and Nightmare see little play outside of splashes of a mid-range hitter in quanta-heavy rainbows (Ghost) and splashes of a low-cost damage spell in quanta-light rainbows (Nightmare). This is excluding Ghostmare, of course.

The cards are still good in their respective monos too, at least I use them for that.

I guess they are still good cards, but not seen very often. You can see nightmare sometimes in rainbows or mono darks, but I rarely see somebody playing ghosts (outside of ghostmare) Mono time isn't used that often, but that doesn't mean that GotP is UP outside of Ghostmare, right?
I guess a small nerf of the skill should be fine, since nearly no Ghost-Decks (aside from Ghostmare) rely on the skill. Most decks don't even care that he has one.

[Aneninen]

Has this topic stopped?

Eventually, as Naesala and Pinapple have already mentioned, the biggest problem is not the card itself, not even the Ghostmare combo but the deck around it.
It is true that it's hard to put enough Steals and Reverse Times (or an Eternity, some Siphons etc.) in this deck but when you encounter a Ghostmare you don't know the exact deck, nor the draw of your opponent. So, you still have to play against it expecting that you're goint go come across a Steal or a Reverse Time any time. Plus, you should keep some cards in your hand even if you could play them. All these lead to a boring and an unreliable match. Against a bad draw (or a bad design) you still might play extra-cautiously while sometimes you simply can't win. In addition, the Ghost itself hits you hard with its attack...

So, Ghost of the Past is "situationally overpowered".

Maybe the card should remain the same (or even the cost could be lowered as a buff) but, it should be moved to another element with which a lesser versatibility could be reached.  perhaps ( /  are common anyway, like Pestal), or  or something else...

Frankly,  / provides almost everything – massive creature and permanent control, multiple draws, healing, hard hitters... why must such a powerful combo like Ghostmare strenghten this "pairing" of elements?

[omegareaper7]

Moving ghost to a different element would mean it would have to be reworked entirely. Obsession doesn't fit with any other element aside from maybe dark. And nobody wants a mono ghostmare. Also, swapping it to a different element would pose different issues. Being able to splash in freeze, lightning, or lobo even, would cause huge issues for a lot of decks.

[CrockettRocket]

What about  ? Ghost of the past It lived, then when it died it was obsessed with the living. You could splash poison in, but that wouldnt be nearly as strong as reverse time or steal.

[omegareaper7]

You could make the same argument about pharaoh for death. I do however understand where you are coming from.  But even then, bonewall addition would be to good, poison would go past shields as well. And getting access to arsenic is a thing that no deck hates.

Also, switching ghost to another element would also kill time. It would get rid of one of its few good, viable combos, along with one of, if not its best, offensive cards.

[CrockettRocket]

Well, where the obsession will only apply to ghostmare decks then like I proposed earlier obsession should be nerfed. By how much, thats something zanz could decide on. Even nerfing obsession by a lot you're still not gonna nerf ghostmare (including steals and reverse times) by much at all.