Even if the current system is good enough, there is always room for improvement, and in this article I will give my vision of how this could be achieved. My primary motivation is to make the game equally accessible, enjoyable and profitable for each player. So let's first see how the current matchmaking system works.
There are 12 ranks in Weekend Constructed:
| 1. Rusted Bronze |
|---|
| 2. Purified Bronze |
| 3. Rusted Iron |
| 4. Purified Iron |
| 5. Impact Meteorite |
| 6. Astral Meteorite |
| 7. Twilight Shadow |
| 8. Midnight Shadow |
| 9. Auric Gold |
| 10. Solar Gold |
| 11. Ethereal Diamond |
| 12. Mythic |
How ranks work: Winning games will fill the bar on your ranked tab in the launcher. Losing games will damage your shield. When your shield has taken too much damage, you’ll lose a chunk of your ranked progress. If the bar empties, you’ll drop a rank. If you completely fill the bar, you’ll rise a rank. If you have filled up the bar beyond the white line, you’ll still lose a chunk of progress when your shield shatters, but you won’t drop a rank.
The player rank is used by the matchmaking system to find an opponent, and there is one condition at the moment - both you and your opponent should be of roughly equal rank. That sounds good, but is it fair and could it be done better?
What if we add one more condition - such as deck rank? A rank based on the total value of the cards in your deck. This could be achieved through a monthly snapshot on the market, that gets the price of all cards. This period should be enough to choose a tier and build your deck before the next snapshot. Here is an example of how deck tiers might look like:
| 1. Meteorite | $0-10 |
|---|---|
| 2. Shadow | $10-100 |
| 3. Gold | $100-1000 |
| 4. Diamond | $1000-10000 |
| 5. Mythic | $10000+ |
*tiers names, count and ranges are only examples
Now the matchmaking system will have two conditions for finding an opponent - player rank and deck rank. The idea is the most of your opponents to be from the same deck rank, but not all of them. That will make the good deck builders advance faster, regardless of the price of the cards they use. On the other hand, it will still maintain the Mythic deck tier most desired, as the bias will give them a chance to face a small percentage of lower deck tiers. Here is some examples:
| Your Deck Rank | Opponent Deck Rank |
|---|---|
| Meteorite | Meteorite (75%) or higher (25%) |
| Gold | Gold (75%) or higher/lower (25%) |
| Mythic | Mythic (75%) or lower (25%) |
*player rank always match at 100%
First of all, this will limit the pay-to-win factor. If you manage to build a cheap, but powerful enough deck to beat your opponents, you will still be able to reach Mythic. It is always good for everyone to have an equal start in the game.
Currently, the player's progression in the game is linear and the goal is to get cards from the top of the price list. I think the new system will add a wide variety of options to make players successful. A player may even want to remove an expensive card from his deck, just to stay in a lower tier, and still be competitive.
There will be a chance for the minimalists to shine. It would be interesting to see what the cheapest deck that reach Mythic would look like. Could a full Welcome deck do it?
Also, this should add some movement to the mid-range market, as cards could switch price tiers as demand changes. At the moment it is quite static and the cards with balance lock are unlikely move, as their power is proven over time.
Аnd last but not least, it will push players try new versions of decks and not just stick to proven successful ones.
This is just my personal opinion, which I would like to share and I may be wrong, so I will be glad to hear yours, mortals.
