I read in the Runaway Carriage thread that the devs are concerned about the “meta” of the game with respect to blocking creatures - specifically, that people don’t use them much. That got me thinking about why I don’t use blockers. Until recently, I have definitely considered blockers an inferior type of creature generally. I’ll try to explain why I have that feeling here, so the devs can add it to their thinking about the blocker meta.
My experience with the game is that blockers generally die very quickly. Often on the opponent’s very next turn. I believe this is generally due to the fact that a blocker keeps blocking additional creatures until it dies. This is an aspect of the game that I like in some instances - like when I can make a blocker immune to damage. But without that, I find that I would much rather have a creature that is going to stick around that one that will block and then die.
The only blockers that I consider using are ones that are really big. And not just toughness-big, but power-big. A blocker with high toughness but low power is much worse in this game than in paper magic, because of the fact that damage doesn’t immediately regenerate in this game. If a blocker doesn’t actually kill at least one other creature before it dies, then that feels like a complete and total waste. Creatures are VERY important in this game, and chump blocking just doesn’t seem like a good strategy. So, something like Skysnare Spider works - it can frequently kill things and live, or if it does die, it is after it kills something big. But something like Birthing Hulk ends up feeling awful. That four toughness seems to make it a lot weaker, and I find Birthing Hulk not worth its cost for this reason.
Blockers that have a 1 or 2 power, even if their toughness is high also come across as weak, because they are likely to die without killing something else, and without inflicting any damage on my opponent. If they were super cheap, like 3 or 4 mana for a 1/4 blocker, it might be worth it. But spending a few turns building to a blocker that immediately dies with little effect is disappointing.
Another factor in all of this is how much life the planeswalkers have at high levels. Chump blocking makes more sense in paper magic, where you only have 20 life to start with. But when you start with 80, 90, or 100+, paying 10+ mana for a one-turn blocker doesn’t seem worthwhile. I can take a few hits while getting my offense together.
So, in thinking about this, it feels to me like the reason people don’t use blockers is somewhat built into the structure of the game. I don’t have a good suggestion off the top of my head for how to alter that (if that’s a goal, which it seems to be) without making significant changes to either the game design or to a lot of the smaller blockers.
That’s my 0.02. I offer it not as a complaint, but simply as feedback. Still love the game.