Is it possible to balance charge?

#1 - May 1, 2013, 2:56 a.m.

Most of my TCG background comes from playing Magic and the popularity of haste (charge) has waxed and waned over the years (and anyone who is familiar with the psychographic profiles Mark Rosewater identified will know the mechanic will always be popular with a certain percentage of the population regardless of how good it actually is) but the creatures were mainly balanced around the fact they could generally be killed fairly easily by either chump blocking or using an instant that was usually much cheaper (or even free) then the hasty creature.

Since Hearthstone has no way to react to what your opponent is doing (outside of surprise cards) it seems like it's going to be very hard to balance the charge mechanic. I've only seen a handful of cards with charge (and probably not all the ones that have been spoiled) but they have all seemed to have a reasonable cost to power (as in overall power not necessarily attack power) ratio.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Phenteo

#2 - May 1, 2013, 5:09 p.m.

This is only my experience and probably does not reflect the game in its entirety, but many cards with charge have a tendency of being dealt with quickly (especially the ones with high damage).

Sometimes it really helps to have the ability to attack with a minion before your opponent has a chance to deal with them. The game is pretty well balanced currently (and they're working tirelessly to ensure it is further balanced) while still in alpha.

That being said, I only put a couple of charge cards into my deck (Paladin) but it does help in a pinch from time to time. ;)