Priest is fine. The combination of Barnes, big minions and resurrection effects is a bit busted but it requires a) Barnes, b) only having big minions in your deck and c) drawing cards to survive/profit from having the combination. It's nowhere near as prolific as any number of 1-2-3 curves that exist or have existed in the game.
As a control class, it balances board clears and removal well with bigger minions. DK/Raza is really good, but requires you to survive to the late game and even then is totally beatable.
Priest is by no means overpowered, Highlander priest has its pros and cons and has counters, Right now those counters are harder to play with Jade Druid and that might remain the case depending on how the nerfs change the meta if at all, Might need to let the meta settle down see how the nerfs work out before looking at anything else, Its a typical control deck it has its win condition and thats it until it gets to that point is all about controling the board, Its no different to a freeze mage, It has its board control, It has its board clears and then it has its win condition, Freeze mage uses spells and Highlander priest uses its hero power, The deck has counters and it has bad match ups and ofcourse being highlander it can have bad draws.
Big priest, Thats a different story, That deck is not consistant at all, When it doesnt work you'll hear noone complaining about facing a big priest because its a free win pure and simple, When it has the perfect draw though and the game is pretty much over by turn 5, Then you'll see a ton of complaints about it, Even if that only happens one in five games its rage enducing enough to cause people to want it nerfing, Its a deck that can either end a game by turn 5 or 6 or its a deck that hands you a free win quite often, The downside of a deck like that is players only really remember the times it actually works, Personally i dont like the deck at all and i can understand why players hate that deck, Overpowered i dont know but i think a mechanic like that is only ever going to cause people to rage.
Big Priest is a strong deck but has also a lot of inconsistency: if you don't draw Barnes or Shadow Essence asap, you may not surevive enough to play some threat from your hand. Also you can turn out a 5/5 Barnes from your Shadow Essence, which bust your combo anyway. The deck requires a medium/low skill level, since it has not so many options and decision-making involved in it.
Razakus Priest requires more skill and it's a lot harder to pilot corretly but it's also extremely strong, expecially in the late game. During the early game it may struggle to survive to aggressive, fast decks and those are what is keeping the deck in check actually. Imho it's also a lot of fun to play, way more than Big archetype.
After the nerfs, Razakus may become more solid due to the lowering potential of those aggro decks that were a pain for him (Pirate Warrior and Token Druid) while for Big Priest I don't think that those nerf will change anything.
The class is just absolutely obnoxious and in an unhealthy spot imo. I dont hate the class. In fact it was one of my favorites since shamanstone when it was abysmal. Right now though, I don't like it. It needs more hard counters. The "I've lost this game but let me draw it out for another 15 turns because I'm priest" needs to go away.
Seems balanced enough, annoying to play against since it usually just boils down to if they draw well. It was more fun to play against the old-school control type decks.
At its best it might give the odd tense game, but usually not. They have a lot more weaknesses than jade druid though, so for sure far more balanced.
I do not like to play against big-priest, as it depends far too much on his draw and luck, and there is not much skill involved on either side. If the resurrect train is stopped by Shadow Madness, Hex or Polymorph, it is just game over, and likewise if he gets a Barnes into double Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound on turn 4.
Razakus ping-priest is more interresting to play against, you have generally have to treat it like a combo-deck, where the goal is to preasure to force out his combo-pieces before he wants to, and threaten lethal, as his self heal is limited once the DK is played.
The class could be OP after the nerfs, but I believe new counters will be found, notably with transform/removal cards for big-priest, and midrange/tempo plays for razakus.
So I picked overpowered, but that is only because that was the only poll choice that "fit", even though "overpowered" isn't really the way I feel about them.
My thoughts on them are similar to Exodia mage. The have a "gimmick" win condition. If they get it, its pretty much lights out no matter what, but their gimmick also exposes them to other weaknesses ... so in a way, that kinda balances it out.
The big difference between priest and exodia mage is that priest has quite a bit more effective control in their deck, so unlike exodia mage, just trying to burst them down isn't an option.
And the problem is ... I don't think a nerf to them is justified, but I would like to see some kind of change, if possible, to all gimmick wins, especially when they start to actually have a strong presence on the ladder.
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I wanna glide down, over Mulholland I wanna write her, name in the sky I wanna free fall, out into nothin' Gonna leave this, world for awhile
Priest is insane right now (second only to druid) and after nerfs will be the best class by far. The hearthstone community has a hard on for priest, so I think there will be lesser complaints than in most metas
I think that card should have been an 8 mana legendary or as an epic it should have the deathrattle removed. Maybe epic 8 mana and remove deathrattle. As it stands its way too much value, especially when they manage to barnes>res and then have two more in the deck. Even without the deathrattle that becomes a whole lot of healing and health to get through, the way it is there's also hard removal built in that you have to play around.
Its a cool card, but seems overtuned. And like UI it went to the class with the most possible ways to overly exploit all of its value.
A class that was once striving to make the most out of their spells and ressources now throws them away to hit you in the face with their hero-power or sends prayers trying to highroll you in the early turns.
Priest is certainly in a good spot, but it has nothing to do with the class it has been for years. And whether you like the spot or not is up to you.
if you just ignore barnes + stuff or anduin + raza, you will see how balanced the class and the decks really are
the only "problem" are just some combinations, but the cards themselves are perfectly fine.
I honestly think, that Anduin's hero power is well designed, because it allows you to sqeeze out some damage to clear a minion or to push for face, as long as you plan your moves carefully. Raza makes that a bit too good, but raza himself w/o anduin was never broken. In previous decks priests could profit from free 2 points of heal (or 4 with trueheart). There have been some OTKs with the mage's dragon, but that means, that you have to have a good RNG from kabal courier. So the issue is just some combos, which will rotate in 7 months.
same for Eternal Servitude and Barnes. priests normally used other resurrect spells or minions or used silence effects, but now the Eternal only allows them to choose the needed card. Monster Reborn was always very strong for the same reason. Without Barnes you have to reach the late-game, so that you can play your expensive stuff and then to resurrect them. Right now you can do this much faster, but again this won't be a problem in 7 months from now.
I admit it is not pleasing to have to deal with the effects of Raza the Chained. Eternal Servitude, and Obsidian Statue, but I've never seen any reason to believe the effects are unreasonably powerful. My win rate against Priests is good enough that I haven't been concerned about them, but I am worried that they could take over the meta game if aggressive decks become too weak.
Priest is op right now. Jade Druid level of power. Auto loose most of the time for any aggro deck, because of the tons of early and midgame removal. Priest can just play a removal or AoE every turn, it is just to much. And a 4 Mana 4/8 taunt with lifesteal and a radnom Assassinate-DR is the dumbest thing I ever seen in HS and I play since Open Beta.
Blizzard should make a special stream lessons or youtube videos in which they explain the the only way hs should be played is with supa dupa 1000 IQ control/combo homebrewed decks and 30 minutes long match is a minimum time period that proves you're not braindead blah blah something etc.
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What's your thought on the state of how balanced Priests are?
Obsidian Statue is ridic
Priest is fine. The combination of Barnes, big minions and resurrection effects is a bit busted but it requires a) Barnes, b) only having big minions in your deck and c) drawing cards to survive/profit from having the combination. It's nowhere near as prolific as any number of 1-2-3 curves that exist or have existed in the game.
As a control class, it balances board clears and removal well with bigger minions. DK/Raza is really good, but requires you to survive to the late game and even then is totally beatable.
too soon?
Priest is by no means overpowered, Highlander priest has its pros and cons and has counters, Right now those counters are harder to play with Jade Druid and that might remain the case depending on how the nerfs change the meta if at all, Might need to let the meta settle down see how the nerfs work out before looking at anything else, Its a typical control deck it has its win condition and thats it until it gets to that point is all about controling the board, Its no different to a freeze mage, It has its board control, It has its board clears and then it has its win condition, Freeze mage uses spells and Highlander priest uses its hero power, The deck has counters and it has bad match ups and ofcourse being highlander it can have bad draws.
Big priest, Thats a different story, That deck is not consistant at all, When it doesnt work you'll hear noone complaining about facing a big priest because its a free win pure and simple, When it has the perfect draw though and the game is pretty much over by turn 5, Then you'll see a ton of complaints about it, Even if that only happens one in five games its rage enducing enough to cause people to want it nerfing, Its a deck that can either end a game by turn 5 or 6 or its a deck that hands you a free win quite often, The downside of a deck like that is players only really remember the times it actually works, Personally i dont like the deck at all and i can understand why players hate that deck, Overpowered i dont know but i think a mechanic like that is only ever going to cause people to rage.
Not sure.
When big priest works it's broken, but then again that's WHEN it works because it's a stupid rng deck
Highlander priest is fine, except for the Raza the Chained + Shadowreaper Anduin combo. Something needs to be done about that.
Fuck cubelock
Big Priest is a strong deck but has also a lot of inconsistency: if you don't draw Barnes or Shadow Essence asap, you may not surevive enough to play some threat from your hand. Also you can turn out a 5/5 Barnes from your Shadow Essence, which bust your combo anyway. The deck requires a medium/low skill level, since it has not so many options and decision-making involved in it.
Razakus Priest requires more skill and it's a lot harder to pilot corretly but it's also extremely strong, expecially in the late game. During the early game it may struggle to survive to aggressive, fast decks and those are what is keeping the deck in check actually. Imho it's also a lot of fun to play, way more than Big archetype.
After the nerfs, Razakus may become more solid due to the lowering potential of those aggro decks that were a pain for him (Pirate Warrior and Token Druid) while for Big Priest I don't think that those nerf will change anything.
For what profit is it to a man, if he gains the world and loses his own soul?
The class is just absolutely obnoxious and in an unhealthy spot imo. I dont hate the class. In fact it was one of my favorites since shamanstone when it was abysmal. Right now though, I don't like it. It needs more hard counters. The "I've lost this game but let me draw it out for another 15 turns because I'm priest" needs to go away.
Seems balanced enough, annoying to play against since it usually just boils down to if they draw well. It was more fun to play against the old-school control type decks.
At its best it might give the odd tense game, but usually not. They have a lot more weaknesses than jade druid though, so for sure far more balanced.
I do not like to play against big-priest, as it depends far too much on his draw and luck, and there is not much skill involved on either side. If the resurrect train is stopped by Shadow Madness, Hex or Polymorph, it is just game over, and likewise if he gets a Barnes into double Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound on turn 4.
Razakus ping-priest is more interresting to play against, you have generally have to treat it like a combo-deck, where the goal is to preasure to force out his combo-pieces before he wants to, and threaten lethal, as his self heal is limited once the DK is played.
The class could be OP after the nerfs, but I believe new counters will be found, notably with transform/removal cards for big-priest, and midrange/tempo plays for razakus.
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Priest is fine. Big is rng fiesta, but it can be fun to play sometimes. Razakuz is a solid T1 deck, but ain't nothing wrong with that.
So I picked overpowered, but that is only because that was the only poll choice that "fit", even though "overpowered" isn't really the way I feel about them.
My thoughts on them are similar to Exodia mage. The have a "gimmick" win condition. If they get it, its pretty much lights out no matter what, but their gimmick also exposes them to other weaknesses ... so in a way, that kinda balances it out.
The big difference between priest and exodia mage is that priest has quite a bit more effective control in their deck, so unlike exodia mage, just trying to burst them down isn't an option.
And the problem is ... I don't think a nerf to them is justified, but I would like to see some kind of change, if possible, to all gimmick wins, especially when they start to actually have a strong presence on the ladder.
I wanna glide down, over Mulholland
I wanna write her, name in the sky
I wanna free fall, out into nothin'
Gonna leave this, world for awhile
Priest is insane right now (second only to druid) and after nerfs will be the best class by far. The hearthstone community has a hard on for priest, so I think there will be lesser complaints than in most metas
A class that was once striving to make the most out of their spells and ressources now throws them away to hit you in the face with their hero-power or sends prayers trying to highroll you in the early turns.
Priest is certainly in a good spot, but it has nothing to do with the class it has been for years. And whether you like the spot or not is up to you.
if you just ignore barnes + stuff or anduin + raza, you will see how balanced the class and the decks really are
the only "problem" are just some combinations, but the cards themselves are perfectly fine.
I honestly think, that Anduin's hero power is well designed, because it allows you to sqeeze out some damage to clear a minion or to push for face, as long as you plan your moves carefully. Raza makes that a bit too good, but raza himself w/o anduin was never broken. In previous decks priests could profit from free 2 points of heal (or 4 with trueheart). There have been some OTKs with the mage's dragon, but that means, that you have to have a good RNG from kabal courier. So the issue is just some combos, which will rotate in 7 months.
same for Eternal Servitude and Barnes. priests normally used other resurrect spells or minions or used silence effects, but now the Eternal only allows them to choose the needed card. Monster Reborn was always very strong for the same reason. Without Barnes you have to reach the late-game, so that you can play your expensive stuff and then to resurrect them. Right now you can do this much faster, but again this won't be a problem in 7 months from now.
Boring to play, annoying to play against.
I admit it is not pleasing to have to deal with the effects of Raza the Chained. Eternal Servitude, and Obsidian Statue, but I've never seen any reason to believe the effects are unreasonably powerful. My win rate against Priests is good enough that I haven't been concerned about them, but I am worried that they could take over the meta game if aggressive decks become too weak.
Big Priest is a highroll deck that you can pretty easily tech around.
Highlander priest is a solid control deck that loses to the best deck in the format on average. They're fine.
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Priest is op right now. Jade Druid level of power. Auto loose most of the time for any aggro deck, because of the tons of early and midgame removal. Priest can just play a removal or AoE every turn, it is just to much. And a 4 Mana 4/8 taunt with lifesteal and a radnom Assassinate-DR is the dumbest thing I ever seen in HS and I play since Open Beta.