chaotickreg
New member
This last update changed some things about Wraith that take away from her identity as a poker player. It's fine, it's a game, it doesn't matter, it's probably good for balance that we ignore the rules of poker, but here are my thought anyway.
Before the update: Wraith players poker
In poker, you are dealt two cards. Wraith holds two cards. Her character model holds an ace of spaces and an ace of diamonds, and an ace pair is the best poker hand. Card Trick fully upgraded has 2 charges. Extra Charge and Rapid Recharge give you up to 4 charges, there are 4 aces in the deck. Wraith is holding a poker hand, and at most has the other two aces up her sleeve.
Wraith hosts poker night. Silver, Infernus, Abrams, and more mention coming to poker night. The shopkeeper asks her what the blinds are for next week. She wears her hat low to hide her poker face. Wraith has the ability "Card Trick" which is a reference to magic tricks (or literal telekenesis) but also a "trick" is a round of a card game. Dynamo says he plays Bridge and she still asks him about poker. Wraith also offers craps, betting, and other kinds of illegal games but she definitely likes poker.
After the update: What even is poker? RNG for the gambler?
Wraith starts with 2 charges in Card Trick, that's a poker hand, but now she upgrades to 4 (6 with items). There's a poker variant where you hold 4 cards called Omaha Holdem, but it was invented in 1983. There is also Four Card Poker and Crazy 4 Poker, but they are recent inventions and owned by someone named "Shuffle Master". There is Five Card Draw, but Wraith doesn't make it to 5 charges without items. Items get you to 6 charges, but there are not 6 aces unless you have 2 jokers.
There are jokers. Jokers are fine for home games or variants like Chinese Pai Gow, but it's rare to see jokers/wilds in poker. The vibes are less Texas Holdem and instead more like Balatro.
Speaking of Balatro. The poker suits have had colors since the 1990s: Red Hearts, Black Spades, Green Clubs, and Blue Diamonds. Instead the game has Red Hearts, Black Spades, Blue Clubs, and Orange Diamonds. This isn't the standard color scheme for poker suits. You know where this color scheme shows up? Balatro!
Why do the suits mean different things? Suits are not ranked in poker. An ace of hearts and an ace of clubs have the exact same value. Players with the same hands in different suits just tie, the hands are even. This is even more Balatro stuff.
There is RNG now? There is randomness in poker, but poker is about hiding that randomness away behind lies, the game is based on randmoness but it's about the skill of lying. Wraith does not seem like she plays dirty by cheating in home games, but she definitely fights dirty using magic tricks, slight of hand and telekenesis. So why isn't the deck stacked in her favor? Why doesn't she already know the cards? Why are the cards random? Why doesn't she get to pick?
Anyways
I thought Wraith was the poker character, calculated and clever, always a step ahead, always in your head. Now Wraith just likes cards. You can say I am just salty about the RNG or that it doesn't matter but something changed and now the Balatro aesthetics kinda ruin it for me.
Before the update: Wraith players poker
In poker, you are dealt two cards. Wraith holds two cards. Her character model holds an ace of spaces and an ace of diamonds, and an ace pair is the best poker hand. Card Trick fully upgraded has 2 charges. Extra Charge and Rapid Recharge give you up to 4 charges, there are 4 aces in the deck. Wraith is holding a poker hand, and at most has the other two aces up her sleeve.
Wraith hosts poker night. Silver, Infernus, Abrams, and more mention coming to poker night. The shopkeeper asks her what the blinds are for next week. She wears her hat low to hide her poker face. Wraith has the ability "Card Trick" which is a reference to magic tricks (or literal telekenesis) but also a "trick" is a round of a card game. Dynamo says he plays Bridge and she still asks him about poker. Wraith also offers craps, betting, and other kinds of illegal games but she definitely likes poker.
After the update: What even is poker? RNG for the gambler?
Wraith starts with 2 charges in Card Trick, that's a poker hand, but now she upgrades to 4 (6 with items). There's a poker variant where you hold 4 cards called Omaha Holdem, but it was invented in 1983. There is also Four Card Poker and Crazy 4 Poker, but they are recent inventions and owned by someone named "Shuffle Master". There is Five Card Draw, but Wraith doesn't make it to 5 charges without items. Items get you to 6 charges, but there are not 6 aces unless you have 2 jokers.
There are jokers. Jokers are fine for home games or variants like Chinese Pai Gow, but it's rare to see jokers/wilds in poker. The vibes are less Texas Holdem and instead more like Balatro.
Speaking of Balatro. The poker suits have had colors since the 1990s: Red Hearts, Black Spades, Green Clubs, and Blue Diamonds. Instead the game has Red Hearts, Black Spades, Blue Clubs, and Orange Diamonds. This isn't the standard color scheme for poker suits. You know where this color scheme shows up? Balatro!
Why do the suits mean different things? Suits are not ranked in poker. An ace of hearts and an ace of clubs have the exact same value. Players with the same hands in different suits just tie, the hands are even. This is even more Balatro stuff.
There is RNG now? There is randomness in poker, but poker is about hiding that randomness away behind lies, the game is based on randmoness but it's about the skill of lying. Wraith does not seem like she plays dirty by cheating in home games, but she definitely fights dirty using magic tricks, slight of hand and telekenesis. So why isn't the deck stacked in her favor? Why doesn't she already know the cards? Why are the cards random? Why doesn't she get to pick?
Anyways
I thought Wraith was the poker character, calculated and clever, always a step ahead, always in your head. Now Wraith just likes cards. You can say I am just salty about the RNG or that it doesn't matter but something changed and now the Balatro aesthetics kinda ruin it for me.
