Core Curve
by Cameron McKay
Curve is an aspect of game theory that eludes a lot of players. There are many factors that make it extremely difficult to determine the best curve, but the overriding reason is human. People have their own ideas on how things are done; they rationalize ideas based on their deck strategy or statistics. It's not surprising that people have different ideas on what a perfect curve is meant to be; especially when you consider that people and the meta are continually changing. In this blog, I am going to discuss why curve is important and what you can do to improve the curve in your deck.
Curve is a simple concept that can be described as how efficiently spirits, spells, and nexus are played to complete a strategy. This means that curve fulfils strategy conditions in the quickest way possible. Let's say that you are playing a rush deck; the ideal curve for a rush deck would be a lot of low cost cards; this gives you the ability to play cards in large numbers at anytime. The curves for all deck strategies are different, but they have similarities. A deck needs to be able to keep up with all the other curves to be competitive; you will often find that decks capable of this win more often and place within the top eight at large tournaments.
The perfect curve changes continuously because people change their ideas; this shift is often caused by cards being added to the card pool or a new strategy appearing. Most competitive players have taken the time to examine all known deck strategies and their curves. This gives them the knowledge to create a deck with a highly efficient curve. Competitive players are aware that deck strategy plays a big role in how curve operates. You may be thinking that running a deck with an abnormal curve is okay because that's your strategy. However, your strategy won't succeed if you aren't able to keep up with your opponent.
Adjusting the curve in your deck requires a lot of time; the best way I have found to do this is to play test and try different things. There are times when you will find that your opponents are overwhelming you with spirits; this is a good sign that your curve needs improvement. You can improve your early game curve by removing higher cost cards and adding lower cost cards. You can improve your mid and late game by adding more cards with cost reduction and increasing the amount of gems you have in-play.
Curve is not something to obsess about, but a good curve will improve how your deck plays. Take the time to examine your deck in detail while playing. Look at how often and quickly your cards are hitting the field. Make adjustments to your deck based on what you believe will help increase the quality of your curve. It's a good idea to examine deck lists with similar strategies to get ideas as to how you can improve your curve. Use these tips and I'm sure your deck building will improve!
