Appreciate the thoughtful response here. Even if we land differently on this one, the conversation is important. For me, the core issue isn’t about undermining ownership — it’s about preserving a healthy, competitive TCG. Comparing Nidhoggr to stock, core-set cards like Sheng Xiao or Akane misses the mark — those were standard releases, not airdrops specifically designed as presale rewards and purchased as such. A card as central as Nidhoggr — the premier Dragon airdrop, the #1 presale prize, the YGG-designed summoner — simply wasn’t meeting the expectations or gameplay role it was intended to fill. Leaving it weak “because that’s how it launched” would have done more long-term damage to presale confidence, gameplay quality and Dragon’s identity than a careful adjustment ever could.
It’s also important to clarify: this was not the community dictating a change. The community expressed discontent, yes — but the team evaluated that feedback (hey, nidhoggr is a dogshit card), looked at the usage data (proved it's a dogshit card) and independently agreed that the most expensive, most celebrated presale card from Rebellion deserved better. This wasn’t governance overreach or DAO meddling – it was the team correcting a clear design miss. And regarding the podcast mention — the podcast that was called out was The People’s Guild and I can say with absolute certainty there was no alpha or inside hint about this rework coming. I was there and, while I have always hoped it would eventually come, I had no idea.
I understand concerns about precedent and post-mint adjustments, but to me, this change actually strengthens trust. It shows the team is willing to fix problems, protect the meta and support long-term game health rather than hide behind immutability.
Could communication around these kinds of changes improve? Absolutely.
Should there be clearer windows and transparency? Yes.
But the alternative — locking the game into imbalance because we’re afraid to touch a minted card — is worse for both gameplay and the economy. I’d rather see Splinterlands iterate toward a healthy meta than leave Dragon’s flagship summoner in the dumpster forever.