I feel like we should stop displaying win/loss records so prominently on the player page.
Reasons* We already have the player rating system which gives a good measure of a player's experience.
* I feel it might discourage players from trying out more interesting deck types (if they're worried about messing up their record, they might just stick to a few decks that they know work). Yes you can try out new decks with friendly games, but then you miss out on gold and achievements.
* It can be disheartening to new players who lose a lot of their early games. A player who racks up a 50-100 win-loss record during their newbie era has a long way to go just to get a 50% record.
AlternativesI think any alternative should have the property that a loss is never a
permanent stain on their record. Some such possibilities:
* Divide the year into, say, four seasons. At the beginning of a season, the win/loss records are wiped (but player ranking level stays the same). The player screen shows each player's level and their win/loss record for the current season. This gives a more accurate representation of a player's skill
now.
* Replace win/loss with something like the ELO rating system (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elo_rating_system). This would be unlike the player ranking system in place, because it goes up and down (it doesn't increase with every game played). However, unlike win/loss record, you can't "tarnish" your record - it's always possible to get back to the top no matter where you are. We would then have player ranking as a measure of experience, and the ELO-like system as a measure of skill.
* Just get rid of win/loss entirely. (Maybe with the option of displaying it in your profile, or not, depending on player's preference).
Maybe I'm the only one who's OCD about this, but I find it kind of inhibiting. I had really hoped that the player ranking system would completely replace win/loss, but it hasn't.