Hearthpwn

I just played an arena run with Shaman and I had Stormforged Axe 2x. 

Now my question: Why has it overload? It's literally the same like Fiery War Axe but reverse stats. That doesn't make sense for me.

Because warriors are the weaponmasters. 

becaue 3 durability for 2 mana was actually amazing back in the day

And reversing stats doesn't mean the card don't change.

In this case I believe a 2/3 is better than a 3/2 because both will kill small minions, both will deal 6 damage total but 2/3 can be a 3-for-1 trade which is actually twice as good as a 2-for-1 tradeif you know your card game theory.

Thanks for the answers.

@the_kmt: Didn't thought about that.

Its also a clasic card which are all mildly underpowered in general because of the original game concepts

Quote from saiburOFFICIAL >>

Quote from Velrun >>

And reversing stats doesn't mean the card don't change.

In this case I believe a 2/3 is better than a 3/2 because both will kill small minions, both will deal 6 damage total but 2/3 can be a 3-for-1 trade which is actually twice as good as a 2-for-1 tradeif you know your card game theory.

 So you are saying that Stormforged Axe would've been better than Fiery War Axe if it didn't have overload? LOL

You have no merit for saying that. Yes it can deal with bigger threads but it can also only deal with two of them.

We have no card to compare with so obviously we can't make exact statements.

Makes me wonder if Warrior will ever receive a 2/3 weapon for 2 Mana Crystals without any drawback. That card would dominate Standard during its two-year-reign.

Because Shaman used to be the meme class, only recently replaced by Priest.

Quote from TheWamts >>

Because Shaman used to be the meme class, only recently replaced by Priest.

The most powerful and frequently played 1 drops are 1/3s.  That fact alone makes FWA better than a no-overload Stormforged Axe.  Stormforged is also more likely to lose at least one charge to ooze. 

Overall a 3/2 weapon would always be put in a deck over a 2/3 weapon even if they both cost the exact same.  Yeah there are highly specific scenarios like zoo or something where a 2/3 may be better, but the vast majority of matchups a 3/2 is far superior.  

Because it's not very good. I think Shamans would gladly take FWA that costs 2 and has 1 overload. Now, some people are correct in saying that Warrior is a weapon class and all - but Rogues are supposed to be a weapon class too, since HS is a WoW spinoff. Rogues were famous for being able to use - and dual wield! - killer weapons. Swords, daggers, axes, maces, fist weapons etc. Unfortunately, we all know how powerful Warrior is in HS, while Rogues got a shaft. Too bad.

Quote from Velrun >>

You have no merit for saying that. Yes it can deal with bigger threads but it can also only deal with two of them.

We have no card to compare with so obviously we can't make exact statements.

Makes me wonder if Warrior will ever receive a 2/3 weapon for 2 Mana Crystals without any drawback. That card would dominate Standard during its two-year-reign.

Quote from gagan_dugan >>

Because it's not very good. I think Shamans would gladly take FWA that costs 2 and has 1 overload. Now, some people are correct in saying that Warrior is a weapon class and all - but Rogues are supposed to be a weapon class too, since HS is a WoW spinoff. Rogues were famous for being able to use - and dual wield! - killer weapons. Swords, daggers, axes, maces, fist weapons etc. Unfortunately, we all know how powerful Warrior is in HS, while Rogues got a shaft. Too bad.

Sure, rogues are fine. Amazing, really. :) And yes, they should make new rogue weapons, they nerfed Flurry with this in mind after all.

To directly answer the OP's question, there really is no reason behind Blizzard's designing certain cards to be less viable than others. Stormforged Axe was never intended to be the Shaman's Fiery War Axe, similar though the cards may be.

The question most people seem to be asking, however, is how viable Stormforged Axe would be without the Overload. Keep in mind that there is a big difference between 2 and 3 Attack, more so than with Durability. Fiery War Axe is run universally in Warrior decks because of how many common, 3-health threats it answers, not limited to: Tunnel Trogg, Feral Spirit, Mana Wyrm, Voidwalker, Beckoner of Evil, Northshire Cleric, Flame Juggler. (The list grows in conjunction with Warrior's multifarious 1 damage Whirlwind effects.) Shaman, in addition to not having access to 1-damage pings as Warrior does to compensate for Stormforged's lower Attack, already has a variety of "deal 3 damage" effects (Lightning Bolt, Rockbiter Weapon, Totem Golem, etc.) which in many cases would render Stormforged Axe inferior or irrelevant. 

To understand this better, let's examine a card called Totem Golem. You play it on Turn 2, and let's assume it destroys 2 enemy minions. Put simply, you deal 3 damage to two targets. In this situation, which happens relatively often, Totem Golem is essentially a Fiery War Axe with Overload: (1), and it is played universally in Shaman.

Tl;dr: Even without the Overload: (1), Stormforged would still struggle to find a place in most Shaman decklists. What most holds back Stormforged Axe from becoming viable is not the Overload. Rather, it's the fact that its 2 Attack is incapable of answering many common and relevant threats.

Old  card, was balanced back in the day, not the overload is kept for the synergy i believe. On top of that, blizz just likes bad cards. That being said, Stormforged Axe is an ok weapon overall, not a FWA, but not a total crap (mainly in arena its pretty decent).

Quote from KeMT >>

Warrior is the class of weapons by definition.

I love how people justify broken cards with lore (wariors needs best wepon) in a cardgame that has nothing to do with lore and stuff like Ragnaros lightlord exist.

And how has warrior access to better weapons than other classes? Even by lore thats just not true they use same weapons as other classes so this whole "needs to have best weapons" is completely made up.

An the most ridiculous thing is that some people crawl out to argue that a 2/3 is better than a 3/2. Seriously? Id say with 2/3 stats FWA would not even see play in some warrior decks, its a difference like night and day.

3/2 Statline makes the card so imense better because enemy cant play around it with a 2/3, it has reach even to most 3 and some 4 drops.

If there ever will be another nerv list for standard its save to say this is on top of it, hard to argue with this. Prove is just that its a staple 2 off in every sinle ladder warrior deck ever.