Had one today that absolutely infuriated me. Patrons were Pelin, Ansei, Rajhin, and Druid. NPC is P1, draws 4 coin cards and one Fortify. Cashed a coin for a 2 coin card, used the remaining 2 coins to buy Harvest Season, which resulted in one more coin card, end of turn. Harvest Season gets replaced by The Armory and I am thrilled as the chances of getting 6 coins is pretty good. I get 4 coin cards and Fortify, so 5 coins. I cash a card and end my turn. Lo and behold, the NPC gets a shuffle because he only has 4 to start and gets 4 coin card and the 2 coin card for 6. Sigh.
The shuffle has been a running joke for a while, but I think with Gold Road it has become obnoxious. At this point, if the NPC gets a card like Archer's Volley, Customs Seizure, or Pool of Shadow early, you will see that card 3 out of every 4 hands as it seems to rise to the top with every shuffle. Conversely, if you get the same card, or something better, like The Armory, March on Hlaalu, or Squawking Oratory, you are lucky if you see that card more than once in the same 4 hands.
As if that is not enough, the NPC seems to stick their starter cards with the combo cards, especially Crow and Mora, without any thinning of their deck. Whereas if you get multiple Crow, Rajhin, Druid, etc. cards, they seem to be equally dispersed through your deck until you thin your deck. Its got to the point that I will check the NPC's deck and hand before every turn just to see what they have, then check it again to see what was left behind. More times than not, their remaining cards are 4 starter coin cards and a starter deck card, meaning all of their 2 coin and/or better purchased cards have magically stuck together and are played as a unit.
Then they take what I used to think was a stupid move, i.e. Harvest Season without enough coin to buy anything that may come up or is in the Tavern. But I have since come to realize that is how they constantly cycle their bad cards out so you never see them, like a de facto thinning. This is something no player I know would do as Harvest Season, or similar cards, almost always are replaced by a good card you don't have the coin to buy and you have just set your opponent in the process.
This gets even worse when the NPC uses Celarus and the shuffle to essentially whittle their hand down to 6 cards that you see repeatedly, which is absolutely impossible. Its as if Celarus brings all the garbage to the top to eliminate every time, leaving only good cards to play.
This insults the intelligence of the player. You can't replicate these results if you were to play this way. There is no way this is RNG.
Edited by ZOS_Kevin on November 7, 2024 10:34AM