Hearthpwn

I'd rather have a card that unlocks overloaded mana crystals for zero mana but doesn't do the 2 damage, even if that means it only unlocks mana crystals on the current turn and not the next as well. It just seems like it's so rare to have a situation where you unlock more crystals than it costs you to play lava shock and still get value out of the 2 damage. It might even be worth it to use it in situations that it doesn't unlock crystals if it were 3 damage, but 2 isn't nearly as relevant. It's not a bad card, it just never feels like I'm getting maximum value when I play it.

Not if Thalnos has anything to say about it.

In a recent game against a face hunter I coined Feral Spirit on turn two out of absolute desperation because I had nothing on the board and nothing to play the following turn regardless. It took him 2 turns and most of his cards to deal with them and they single-handedly won me a game I had no business winning.

On the other hand I've had them immediately wiped off the board like they were nothing and the overload put me irreversibly behind.

I can't decide if this card is amazing or terrible.

Fair enough. I asked because I'm on the fence about Feral Spirit myself. I've had them single-handedly win me games and I've had them wiped off the board like they were nothing. I keep seeing them as two-ofs in several top rated decks and I'm trying to figure out if I'm just using them wrong, but they just seem outrageously inconsistent to me.

Any particular reason why you went with Sen'jin Shieldmasta over Feral Spirit or Sludge Belcher? Technically it's cheaper than both, but Feral Spirit can come out sooner if you're desperate.

I've tried decks with 2 Bloodlust and it often does more harm than good. If you end up with both of them in your hand before turn 5 or 6 you might as well just concede because you won't have the board presence to use them. Bloodlust is an excellent win condition, but I try not to rely on it because good control decks will keep you from using it to its full potential.

Lava Shock unlocks all overloaded mana on the current and next turn. Even if you played the Lava Shock on turn 7, it would still be worth it.

I can't get Thunder Bluff Valiant to work to save my life. Like you said, most Shaman games are pretty much determined by turn 5. Either you have board control and you overwhelm your opponent, or you don't have board control and fall behind. Valiant does nothing to change that. If you're ahead he puts you even more ahead, but if you're behind he does absolutely nothing. I really want the totem synergy to be real, but it's next to impossible to get enough totems on the board and keep them there long enough to make Valiant do anything before you're already falling off.

It's a 3 mana creature for 2 mana and your opponent has to play around a secret. Throw Mad Scientist into the equation and you're talking about 5 attack and 5 health plus taunt for 2 mana. If Blizzard ever figures out what a mistake they made, this card is screwed. The only thing I hate about it is that it makes me feel like a douchebag for putting 2 of them in all of my hunter decks.

I pulled two from spiders in a single game. Good times.

 Arcane Shot is better.

You can pretty much replace any card in any deck with Dr Boom and it would be just as good or better. Even in an aggro deck I wouldn't complain.

Because it doesn't have charge, therefore no face.