I dont like this card. I find games where I have used it have an increased chance of becoming losses.

Best play:
In offensive situation where more than one stat token is desireable, such as both toughness and attack or often for twisted nomads, both movement or range. Even then its never really good to look for toughness from the card.

Worst play:
Using it to save a creature with 0 health. Any time your looking for a specif stat, especially if your looking for more than 1 token in the desired stat.


Math:
Symbiote has a 66% chance of giving one or more stat tokens on the desired stat.

Symbiote has a 20% chance to remove a desired stat token every turn

Strengths:
Retard luck
Flexibility
Cant be disenchanted

Weakness:
1/3 chance you wont get a desired stat token
removes a stat token ever turn
Not every stat token will be used

Conclusion:
I think since it deserves another stat token. Increasing its odds of getting a desired stat token to 74%. I think it giving negative stat tokens is weaker than trainings weakness to enchantment removal. I think this is covered in the domain cost differences. I also think that its ability to be most usefull in situations where 2 different stats are desired offset its advantage of being flexible. However training has positive 4 for stats and symbiote gives 5 to stats, however symbtiote stat tokens will more often not be used to their full potential compared to training. This brings me to the 1/3 chance of not recieving a token on a desired stat. I think it should have 6 tokens. If you remove 1/3 of 6 tokens you get 4 leaving it balanced with training.

What about this idea:

Keep it at 5 tokens, but make ONE of them a token that you get to choose?

i.e. when you cast it, you click the icon for the stat you want, and one of those tokens is automatically that stat...

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Altren wrote:

I agree with Keyser, and that's what I'm planning to implement actually.

|| The Rise of the DCC | Plasmatium Netherious | Tastes Like Chicken | The Astridian Conspiracy ||

Guild -> | Platypus Rising|

New idea: leave it as is. I don't think comparing it to training (still one of the best cards) is fair. Also, I think there are a few viable uses for it as is. I've seen a number of clever combos that add the symbiote and then remove it thereby leaving the stats as permanent. Also, I have used it quite a bit to try to save a creature with zero life and if that fails either throw on another symbiote or use an elixir to get two really powerful attacks. Basically it's a good card in the right decks and that's all I'd expect from any card.

Best Combo I've seen someone use for it was :

Chaos/Celestial: Symbiote/Anti-magic shell


It would also be good with Yarnaga's Lab Assistant.

_________________

Altren wrote:

I agree with Keyser, and that's what I'm planning to implement actually.

|| The Rise of the DCC | Plasmatium Netherious | Tastes Like Chicken | The Astridian Conspiracy ||

Guild -> | Platypus Rising|

@Huger

So your going to cast defection on symbiote? The only combo I like with symbiote is antimagic field and thats just because antimagic field is way strong anyhow. Ive done stagg and still found the clever combo wanting. Symbiote just isnt worth the card space because for the flux you could have just casted a bigger creature.

Your right training is really strong.

@Keyser

Would that be unbalanced to experience even though experience can be cast on enemy creatures as well?

Id also like to open up a thread about mutant synergies. Im going to test out lab assistant but I think lab assistant should be changed, I dont like how it dims, how the creature has to be adjacent and how it takes away from your current creature. Should it really dim for that if your already risking a game to chance and isnt that a ci thing? I think it should be not exact but similar to crypt doctor.

Also if lab assistant is so good I still have yet to see it, besides as a 3 domain weenie. Im going to mess around with it, been thinking about it a while, I personally just left the lab assistants out of my play nomad symbiote deck.

I've used it in a few zwars...

symbiote OR twisted nomad + lab assistant = put counters from a creature that you aren't using/didn't get the counters you wanted onto a creature that already started nice and wants the bonus's...

_________________

Altren wrote:

I agree with Keyser, and that's what I'm planning to implement actually.

|| The Rise of the DCC | Plasmatium Netherious | Tastes Like Chicken | The Astridian Conspiracy ||

Guild -> | Platypus Rising|

I find use for lab assistant but nothing of noteable deck building worth. Also sealed can be different from constructed. Theres a much broader selection of cards in constructed.

Its a very situational ability but it can be used to overcome a stall if you have dips and lords defending your base. Other than that its just a high domain weenie.

I cant for one second forsee building a competitve deck based around its ability. Honestly Id rather use the card space for something else. If the deck was to win games it would be because the obvious use of twisted nomad to get vision for rebelious serfs. In my symbiote testing, I found drawing another serf or nomad was much more powerful than playing a symbiote.

I just think symbiote needs this small boost.

Someone said, "Chaos is already over powered and Id hate to see anything get stronger" but I dont think thats valid. Chaos also has a lot of weaknesses and its debateable that mf/ele decks or well formed mono DL deck is as strong or stronger. Theres a short list of chaos cards that are unquestionably great. After playing Chaos almost exclusively since it came out, and yeah, thats a small attempt to pull some weight, I feel the opposite and would hate to see them be nerfed without some small gains elswhere. Id also like to open a thread debating mutant synergy strength and another about how a majority of chaos buildings have 5 life and I feel the life of the buildings was genericaly balanced and slapped on like a sticker.

Sylvan/Chaos:Symbiot/Arcane Adjustment

two for the price of one and 1 flux ;P and since that deck of mine has 3 arcane adjustments some lucky times i have 4 critters left with symbiot's effect

Symbiote may not be as good as Training but is far better than Experience. Sure, Experience can always give a creature 1 health, but it ends up sitting out a turn (and generally dying) before it can do anything. The tempo loss is too great an additional cost for the benefit.

Anti-Magic Shell/Symbiote is a pretty nice combo as the bonuses stay without the penalties and the creature becomes immune to targeted spells.

the most effective use for experience is to dim someone else's unit, which makes it quite a bit better than just a pure buff like training or symbiote.