The amount of viable decks is the single dumbest argument and metric that exists for evaluating the health of a meta and OCG/TCG as a whole, and should be entirely disregarded. It is absolute nonsense. In fact, in trying to use it as your metric, you have instead just made an attempt to counter an ACTUAL argument and metric for the health of the game: How much variability is there.
Right now, the game has only 2 different decks. I give 0 shits about whether or not the deck is a priest, a hunter, a paladin, mage, warlock or whatever. That's arbitrary, and it doesn't matter at all. In standard right now, there are 2 decks: Extreme aggro, or OTK combo.
First, let's remember what OTK means: One-Turn Kill. That means the deck has to be capable of dealing at least 30 damage in a single turn. Anything less than that, and it's just a combo burst, which is not nearly as unhealthy. In many cases, it may just be a control deck with an actual win condition.
Here are some Tier 1 and 2 decks that are not aggro or OTK:
- Secret Paladin, the top deck at the moment, is not aggro. It is midrange.
- Deathrattle Demon Hunter is the most midrange deck you'll ever see.
- Handbuff Paladin plays like midrange. (Battlemaster certainly makes it capable of OTK damage, but it can win without that.)
- Quest Shaman is a control deck. It may get bursty at the end, but it does not usually take you from 30 to 0 in a single turn.
- Rush Warrior is midrange.
- Quest Warrior is midrange.
- Quest Mage, which isn't even a top deck but is one everyone likes to complain about, is arguably a control deck. It is designed to keep the board clear and deals a big burst at the end, but not usually 30 in a single turn unless you let the game go on forever. That's not so different from the way control has always played -- inevitability is a hallmark of control archetypes.
- Some Warlock decks, with their massive healing and heavy removal, are control. The ones people hate most are combo, for sure, but there are viable Warlock decks that do not use combos or OTK.
I think a big part of the problem is one of terminology. People don't really understand the difference between OTK combo and the inevitability of control.
Control now has real win conditions, and it reaches them faster. That can feel like an OTK, but it's usually not even technically a combo. And hey, guess what -- in control vs. control, the winner is the one that reaches its win condition first. That's why really slow control decks are having trouble these days. They still lose to real combo decks, and now they also lose to faster control decks.
You are simple wrong here, yes an ideal combo aims to kill your opponent in one turn, however any deck that is not capable of doing so is not automaticly not a combo deck. The "combo deck" term has been established long before hearthstone has even been a thing (and combo doesn ot mean anything different in hearthstone)
Combo deck is a term for a deck of (usually sixty) Magic: The Gathering cards that aims to win the game using a relatively small number of cards that instantly or very quickly win the game when combined (hence the name "combo").[1] Because of this win strategy, a common motif among combo decks is an emphasis put on the ability to find specific cards quickly and win as fast as possible.
Almost all current quest decks are by definition combo decks, it only happens so that you start with one piece of the combo in your starting hand. The difference between a control and a combo deck usually comes in the form of value, a typical control deck aims to play the "null game". Answer everything your opponent does until you reach a point in the game where you can start dropping your own threats, which in contrast to combo decks dont just end the game the moment the card is played or even the turn after, Rattlegore is a perfect example of this.
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Thank you sir. Youre 100% correct.
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I'm just wondering whether the correct tactic isnt getting 2 triples from tidehunter and get 2 5 drops. Kinda like some other heroes do. And then if you hit brann go for murlocs. Otherwise just pick whatever other 5 drop is offered and build your board from there. Just not trying to force murlocs aka get every murloc possible.
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Give it taunts and its playable.
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WHO AM I?
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NONE OF YOUR BUSINES
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It's perfect where it is now. The card is just very strong. Nothing else.
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Well. OP is right. Mage is so bad atm that you can't even see decks for mage on hsreplay between rank 1 and 5.
I'm glad I crafted highlander mage :) Well... That's what happens when just 1 card grants additional 5% WR. GJ BLIZZARD! Thanks for letting me spend my dust on mage for nothing! Should have stood away from this class, it was fucking worthless.
1
Often players ask: what deck is the strongest, which should I chose. Instead of asking yourself: which deck suits me the best.
If you ask somebody, what does oneself finds funny and entertaining, it won't always be the truth for a different person. I think everyone will find this obvious. But have you ever wondered, how many times what we think makes us happy, is not the "most happy" you can achieve?
I don't know, but for me, there are too many people that play what is the strongest instead what they might find funny. Like all those threads "OMH guys I've played for few days straight and I have to tell you it wasn't funny". Or newcomers who look for what is the strongest deck instead of searching for something they find interesting.
Do you like having control over the game and achieve later stages of the game? Would you rather have a minion based fight where fighting for the strength of the board is more important than a number of spells in your hand. Do you like counting hitpoints left on your opponent?
Those don't have to be the right questions to ask but one question is for sure certain. Are you playing the correct deck?
2
Couldn't agree more. MOST of the games feel like you're just doing your thing with fingers crossed that the opponent isn't playing a counter deck. Even if you win it's not like it used to be. You're not outsmarting your opponent. You KNOW that you've just had better draws or upper hand with counter deck. Having fun when winning in this game is like clapping for winning a race with ferrari against opel. Even a much better driver is gonna lose with opel in this race because the road is too simple for skill to matter.
1
This game should only be played on the toilet. Thats all. If any1 thinks that hes winning due to some high level skill then youre just bad at other games and youre fooling yourself.
Its a fun game for 2 years but then one just HAVE to leave the dream of skill intensive match ups. Its too easy for adults. Only kids should be playing this or if youre a person that just enjoys beautiful animations when nothing else matters.
Some people will tell you "bla bla if youre shit talking about this game like this then youre prolly bad not thinking about your mistakes". This is bullshit. 90% of the games youve either lost or won because it was the will of the RNGod.
3
Once you've played this game long enough, you start seeing that most of the time it is a polarized unfair match up or that you're constantly losing to CREATED BY rng. And most of the cases it is true.
Either find a deck you enjoy playing and stick to it or just change your attitude towards the game. It shouldn't be a game at which you spend hours playing. Just play max 1 hour or on mobile when you're waiting for sth. You just can't treat this game competitively + other computer games are much better than HS.