The more I think about it, the better the idea sounds if you let us change a cobalt card into a special edition skin by merging them.
I’ve gotten lucky a few times for sweet loadouts, but I just dropped my second ranked 4 card that is a duplicate of a ranked 3 card that isn’t a very good loadout.
And yes, there is still 1 best card for most mercs with a few mercs having no good cards and a few having 2 or 3 best cards depending on play style.
I’d rather if they turned every loadout card except for the base lead-cobalt ones (and maybe a few like the Aura and Fragger obsidians) into just skins with no augments or changes to weapons.
You would be able to use the skins along with the default card for the merc with no problem (so it’s just a pure skin)
OR you will be able to combine a skin with a silver and up card to turn it into a special edition loadout card.
Basic skins (like the ranked skins and Alienware skins) will have to be combined with a silver (or above) loadout card for that same merc to be turned into a ranked loadout card
Event skins and better looking skins (like WTD and Shock Shell skins) will have to be combined with a gold or cobalt to become loadouts.
And finally, obsidians and amazing skins (like the elite operatives) will have to be combined with a cobalt to be turned into loadouts.
Once you combine a skin with a loadout, there’s no turning back. But that’s where trading comes into place so you will be able to sell cards you no longer want.
Using the skin with no loadout (with the default card) will NOT require you to combine the card or “waste it” in any way