4Game

Why does Viper Witcher Adept have base 4 power, but Wild Hunt Hound has only 3 power? Both are 4 provision, and both function similarly: Meet x condition, and the unit will boost itself each turn. You might think that VWA is overpowered. But if you take a broad look at self-boosting bronzes, you will see that there is a logic behind why some self-boosters have 3 power and some have 4.

The basic principle is this: If you could play the bronze as your first card on blue and it would boost itself, then it has 3 starting power (or the rough equivalent of three starting power). This protects the value of 4 damage special cards. Examples include:

Wild Hunt Hound
Vernossiel's Commando
Magne Division
Kerack City Guard (for 5 prov you get veil and an order as well)
Redanian Knight (with 1 power and 2 armor, it will be removed by a 4 damage answer, like the others)
On the other hand, if a card requires at least one other card (or leader ability) to be played before it can boost itself, then it has 4 starting power. Consider:

Viper Witcher Adept (you need to play a thinning card or tutor)
Mahakam Defender (you need to boost it first)
An Craite Warcrier (you need bloodthirst 1)
Master of Disguise (you need to lock an enemy)
Garkan (requires a bleeding enemy)
Ice Troll (opponent needs to have more units on the board)
Iron Falcon Infantry (boosts self if it has barricade)
Svalblood Priest (needs to be played next to another card. Starts w/ 3 power but by the end of the turn is at 5 power like the others. 5 prov gets you +2 boost instead of 1).

There are also a bunch of bronze cards that boost themselves when a condition is met (i.e., Nauzicaa Sergeant when you play a deploy card) and almost all of these cards start with 4 power, but those are another topic. Another whole topic would be bronze cards that boost other cards. Most have 4 power or 3 power/1 armor and obviously require another card to be played before they can do any boosting.

If Viper Witcher Adept feels overpowered, it is probably because it is usually hard to stop the condition that allows it to boost itself. With Mahakam Defender, for instance, all you need to do is remove its boost, and it loses its power to boost itself. But you probably can't react to the other player having a thinner deck, unless you have a lot of tutors or deck thinners. VWA might feel a little overpowered, but there is consistent logic for it to have 4 starting power.

The only card that didn't fit well into this logic was Passiflora Peaches, which has 4 starting power, and if you play it as your first card on blue it can easily boost itself (if you use Tiger's Eye or are playing Hidden Cache for some reason). Perhaps Passiflora Peaches is inconsistent and overpowered as a bronze point engine?

Do you guys see any other inconsistencies or flaws in my logic?
Happy weekend grinding!