Balance Suggestion: Frontier Keep

[WatcherOfSky]

Lately I've been looking through the forums for balance discussions and just generally through the cardslist.

Looking at Frontier Keep, it's a little convoluted in what it is trying to do: help towers defend. Now it does combo more with the new Shrine of Martyrs to an extent, but I think it's such a roundabout way of going about it, especially since the range can't even freeze any ranged units hitting your towers, it's seems really useless. 

Now, I was thinking about a building version of Wheel of Gifts recently, and I think reworking Frontier Keep into that would be a cool way to work with it, so here's my proposition:

I would drop it down to around 200 power, just like around WoG, and keep it's ability as an activated ability, with the text being something like this:

Blessed/Infused Winterfall: Every friendly building in the game will ([Blessed] take 50% less damage)/([Infused] deal 20% more damage and take 20% less damage) for 30 seconds. Has a 60 seconds cool-down after having been built. Reusable every 60 seconds.

Now, I don't know if the numbers are fair, but this sounds a lot simpler and definitely more fun to play around in defensive style pve. It could even help in aggressive pve maps for those who like to go in with Kobold Inc strats, but overall I feel like it would at least let people take a look at the card. Also, same as with the way it currently is, if one affinity of the building is active, the other cannot be activated for the duration, so you won't be able to stack both.

Also also, I don't know if the upgrade should continue to remove the initial 60 second cool-down, or if it could drop the cost of the building instead.

 

So what do you guys think?

[shroomion]

I honestly play this card in one of my fun decks. You just use matter mastery on the central tower of a camp and then press whatever shortkey you got for the frontier keep(red aff) ability. It might not be meta since the frontier keep is expensive and it does not really shine that much if the match is short, but it surely is efective enough to be played.

I would maybe not digg the change you are proposing since it would mess with my strat quite a lot tbh...mattermastery + frontier keep ability + plus homesoil and if you want to then shrine of martyrs. not ultra-awesome, but still fun to do...but making it a bit cheaper should be okay. the price is really quite high..but i am not some pro who would be able to name a number which is not op but still good.

Edited January 25, 2021 by shroomion

[LEBOVIN]

I think so too, it really shines in combination with matter mastery and shrine of martyrs. Another option is to nether warp ranged enemies closer to an ice barrier of urs (for home soil) and then freeze them there.

The power decrease I wouldnt oppose but the rest I would keep as is.  

[Mynoduesp]

I tried to make a frontier keep + infernal machine (+ kobold inc) rPvE deck once. The concept is solid and the cards are pretty solid on their own, but my deck didnt work too well. MM seems to be way superior

[Volin]

1 hour ago, Mynoduesp said:

I tried to make a frontier keep + infernal machine (+ kobold inc) rPvE deck once. The concept is solid and the cards are pretty solid on their own, but my deck didnt work too well. MM seems to be way superior

Funny idea... hmmmmm I will come back on this

[shroomion]

On 1/26/2021 at 12:56 PM, Mynoduesp said:

I tried to make a frontier keep + infernal machine (+ kobold inc) rPvE deck once. The concept is solid and the cards are pretty solid on their own, but my deck didnt work too well. MM seems to be way superior

i tried the same once..was also sadly not too impressed..what i might like however would be to enlighten kobold inc. and put the red twilight bombard everywhere as a siege weapon and at t4 hatecasters or swap one orb and do cometcatchers with infernal machine backing stuff up xD..sadly i dh enlightenment i swear i would have tried that one if i had it. hatecasters get too little screentime..you could even summon this life shrine(forgot name) to make them supertanky. On lvl 3 it is very very neat if you can find a strat to use it.

[Ggoblin]

Frontier keep and infernal machine could honestly have a 30m range since they are T3 AND cost a lot.

[Prajoss]

The effect itself is pretty good, just increase the range by 5-10m and it will be really good