I came to Gwent beta in the wake of the Uroboros set update for Hearthstone, which for me, was the last straw in a line of such blatant power creep and pay to win tactics that had ruined the game for me. Old Gwent had a feeling that anything was possible. Sure you will hear complaints about the big bad alchemy or greatsword or reveal decks in Old Gwent, but the truth was that it was designed as such that you could make just about any archetype work with enough time spent optimizing your deck and strategy. Every card I put down felt powerful if played correctly. Every turn was exciting. There was a strategy to everything. It was fast paced, high octane, online card game action. An best of all it felt like when I won, it was because I played better, and if I lost, its because I made a mistake. I either got too greedy, or made a misstep, or my deck was missing a vital component. Unfortunately Old Gwent, Beta Gwent, the game I am praising so much... No longer exists. New Gwent (Gwent Homecoming) is almost entirely the opposite. Cards are low power with boring (mostly very similar) abilities. Most use the new "Command" archetype (which is so universal it is more like the new driving game mechanic), which makes most deck feel bland and samey. Games play out painfully slow, and archetypes are either bland and uninteresting or removed entirely. Most cards are very low impact save a select few which only serve to make games feel like even more of a slog as you try to "Ping" them down over 5 turns, or sloooowly build up your own board. I honestly don't know what else to say. New Gwent isn't even interesting enough to right a properly critical review about. I could talk on and on for ages about Old Gwent and its strengths and weaknesses, but New Gwent... I just can't be bothered to even play. I heard it put best in a Gwent forum post. "New Gwent may have more "potential" or be easier to expand or balance but it isn't fun, I had fun when I played Old Gwent."
