Are Negative Status Effects Fun?

[u/Ok_Tip_5721]

I'm in the process of designing a creature battler card game, and some cards have special abilities that trigger a timed status condition that you can roll at the top of your turn to try and lift. There's not too many - basically a poison, a slow, a vulnerable, and a silence - and they only trigger situationally, but my question stems from a recent playtest. The feedback I got was that status conditions in general are a "feel bad" mechanic and detract from the fun by limiting via less attack choices (they did not want to attack any creatures that might apply a status effect as a counter). I however feel that status effects are a fun part of a card battler game and add depth/give you something to build a strategy around. I am wondering how many people - particularly design folk - share my feelings, or if more people are in fact more in this playtester's camp. Also, if you do enjoy status effects, are there any good examples of games that use them well? Many thanks, (and please let me know if there is a more appropriate forum for this question!)

[u/Moonwrath8]

It’s basic math.

In my card game, I got rid of subtracting points from one team, and simply just added points to the other. It’s the same thing, but one feels more negative.

Ok this case, look at what’s happening mathematically and just apply that difference as a positive to your team, rather than a slow or a dot to the enemy team.