With the announcement of the rockbiter nerf, I have the strong feeling that our beloved Windlord will only be worth 400 dust. I can't see running rockbiters anymore in my midrange deck. It's value in early minion removal is arguably more important than it's burst potential in midrange shaman. But without the ability to efficiently remove minions, I can't justify running this in my midrange shaman deck. And if I don't run rockbiters, it hugely reduces the utility and power level of Al-Akir. Intentionally or not, I think the HS team effectively nerfed 3 cards with this one nerf (rockbiter, doomhammer, and Al-Akir).
What do you think? Is Al-Akir worth anything more than 400 dust?
alakir was already struggeling being a weak card on its own but stuck with combos makes for a deck requiring alot of draw. draw = bad stated minions =bad stated minions requires boardclears = requires value cards. value cards require early game control. and at the end of this there is simply not enough room for a card like alakir who requires so many cards to work probber.. sad to see one of my favorite cards going even further out the drain than it even is now
Its not like you combo'd him with double rockbitter every time..thats really hard to pull anyway so not a huge change imo. Still playable unlike King Krush..
The card was marginal to start with--works well in current Midrange because running Spirit Claws and Doomhammer together is klunky, the Midrange build often has board control (i.e., a clear path for Al'Akir's to charge through), and yes pretty easy buffs from Flametongue or Rockbiter to make the burst powerful.
With Tuskarr nerfed to become a niche Totem Shaman card and Rockbiter becoming a worse early option than Lightning Bolt, I think Al'Akir will most likely go back on the shelf. It was cool to see him in the meta for a little while, at least. With a health buff, he might come back, but otherwise I don't think so.
Al'akir was already a bad card to begin with, anyone saying it's okey haven't played enough shaman to know. The reckbitter nerf was uncalled for, and the only reason they didn't changed doomhammer (more mana cost, less overload) is because of their stupid dust-refund policy.
Stupid chairmen molding the development to their economical-focused ways. This game will never get REALLY good but a casual fiesta for newbies that hate complex games in other card games because of this. And who can blame them really? if such a high ammount of people fill that role.
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There is nothing left if you can not has the right to bear your arms - werebear 2016-eternity campaign
Yeah Big Al took a big hit, but even if no one wants to play Rockbiter, you can still buff Al Akir with Flametongue Totem or Primal Fusion. The card might still have a place in the meta.
Flametongue alone is not enough to make Al-Akir viable. And delaying the rockbiter combo by one turn is a moot point because rockbiters won't be run in midrange anymore and Al-Akir is strictly run in midrange decks. The utility and versatility of rockbiter was as a removal card in addition to a burst damage card. Rockbiters usefulness as a cheap and efficient removal was arguably more important than as burst damage in midrange decks. At 2 mana, Blizz nerfed it's versatility as a removal spell but it's probably still viable as a windfury burst spell (2 mana for 6 face damage is still pretty good). I don't think midrange shaman has room to fit in inefficient removal spells and therefore I don't think they play Al-Akir. For those who say Al-Akir is a shitty card, well it has only been a shitty card when midrange shaman has been a shitty deck. Naxx weakened mid shaman and GVG killed it. But before that and after WOTOG, midrange shaman has been good and whenever midrange shaman was good, Al-Akir was good. Why? Because Al-akir, like most midrange decks, is really good at shifting between offensive and defensive strategies. Al-akir was good at going face or as removal. A very good fit for a midrange deck.
how often were you actually holding 2 rockbiters by turn 10? odds are you used at least one for board control. big al still works with flametongue, primal fusion, or a solo rockbiter.
the real question is if rockbiter will survive in non-doomhammer decks, not if big al with survive
For the times I've played Al'Akir, I've never been in a position where the extra cost for rockbiter would affect the combo, either as a single on turn 9 or double on turn 10. Even then, I'm questioning whether it's worth having him in the deck at all. I play him more because he's a recent addition to the collection.
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Member of Fever Clan | Battle tag: sparkis#1748 | Discord: sparkis#5613
This is too true. The thing with rockbiter is that it was versatile both as 1 mana deal 3 dmg, allowing early board control, while also serving as a late game finisher when combo'd with Big Al. With this nerf, midrange shaman (the only archetype who uses Al'Akir) will just start using lightning bolt instead of rockbiters (some already are) and thus will cut Al' Akir with it because there will barely be anything to combo him with. the issue of overload is also to be taken in consideration, like you said.
I honestly can't see the reasoning behind this, rockbiter is fine as it is, sure, the combo with Doomhammer is pretty devastating, but it's a combo. in a game like HS where every point of mana counts, any combo has to be devastating in order to be put into a deck. My hope is that they will reverse this change later on, but it's blizzard we're talking about here. They butchered Warsong and still don't give 2 shits about it. I doubt this will be any different, especially since most people see the nerf as "adequate".
Its better to use stormcrack now and just run the togg package because ferrals will remplace tuskar totemic for sure.
In Aggro you will still use rockbiter but you will now cut Tuskar for 1 more horserider and ancestral knowledge , then lava shock or eternal sentinel... instead of thing from below, basically Ants version of Aggro Shaman who is more of all in.
rockbiter in the early game was never an issue, in fact it was a great thing, now it will just become a shitty version of heroic strike which is trash and only used in face decks
Doomhammer is fine. It still puts your opponent on a clock and can still burst with Rockbiter. Al'akir is fine, as long as we can still validate putting Rockbiter in our deck. That's the questionable part. Adding one more mana to the combo won't change much, but it's used as removal probably more than as burst.
I might be more disappointed with Tuskar. I really think that card is overrated a little, but losing it could hurt my Witchdoctor deck.
It's not just that the alakir combo is more expensive and can't double dip, it's that rockbiter, at this cost, may not even be worth running in decks that would run alakir. It's difficult to say, but this being 2 mana makes it absolutely terrible as far as removal goes. This change is way more impactful than it looks than it looks.
I'd have much rather they touched on doomhammer. They mention the versatility of rockbiter, including burst, but the primary burst that they're talking about is because of doomhammer, not rockbiter.
They even mention it being one of the most widely used cards in shaman history, but... well... fireball? PW:S? PO? Those are of a similar nature, are they not?
Its better to use stormcrack now and just run the togg package because ferrals will remplace tuskar totemic for sure.
In Aggro you will still use rockbiter but you will now cut Tuskar for 1 more horserider and ancestral knowledge , then lava shock or eternal sentinel... instead of thing from below, basically Ants version of Aggro Shaman who is more of all in.
I never got why people talk about "replacing" with cards that are already staples (wolves, ligtning bolt.)
Ancestral knowledge and the overload removers will make a big comeback though, as they were cut when the true OPness of the wotog cards were discovered. Shaman will still be viable, but not cancer.
With the announcement of the rockbiter nerf, I have the strong feeling that our beloved Windlord will only be worth 400 dust. I can't see running rockbiters anymore in my midrange deck. It's value in early minion removal is arguably more important than it's burst potential in midrange shaman. But without the ability to efficiently remove minions, I can't justify running this in my midrange shaman deck. And if I don't run rockbiters, it hugely reduces the utility and power level of Al-Akir. Intentionally or not, I think the HS team effectively nerfed 3 cards with this one nerf (rockbiter, doomhammer, and Al-Akir).
What do you think? Is Al-Akir worth anything more than 400 dust?
Al'Akir is still 'pretty ok' without Rockbiter. Not to mention you still have Flametongue Totem.
Might as well dust him unless there's some new cards that have synergy with him the next expansion.
alakir was already struggeling being a weak card on its own but stuck with combos makes for a deck requiring alot of draw. draw = bad stated minions =bad stated minions requires boardclears = requires value cards. value cards require early game control. and at the end of this there is simply not enough room for a card like alakir who requires so many cards to work probber.. sad to see one of my favorite cards going even further out the drain than it even is now
You can still use rockbitter with him. Going from a 9 mana combo to a 10 mana combo is not really such a big deal.
Its not like you combo'd him with double rockbitter every time..thats really hard to pull anyway so not a huge change imo. Still playable unlike King Krush..
The card was marginal to start with--works well in current Midrange because running Spirit Claws and Doomhammer together is klunky, the Midrange build often has board control (i.e., a clear path for Al'Akir's to charge through), and yes pretty easy buffs from Flametongue or Rockbiter to make the burst powerful.
With Tuskarr nerfed to become a niche Totem Shaman card and Rockbiter becoming a worse early option than Lightning Bolt, I think Al'Akir will most likely go back on the shelf. It was cool to see him in the meta for a little while, at least. With a health buff, he might come back, but otherwise I don't think so.
Al'akir was already a bad card to begin with, anyone saying it's okey haven't played enough shaman to know. The reckbitter nerf was uncalled for, and the only reason they didn't changed doomhammer (more mana cost, less overload) is because of their stupid dust-refund policy.
Stupid chairmen molding the development to their economical-focused ways. This game will never get REALLY good but a casual fiesta for newbies that hate complex games in other card games because of this. And who can blame them really? if such a high ammount of people fill that role.
There is nothing left if you can not has the right to bear your arms - werebear 2016-eternity campaign
Yeah Big Al took a big hit, but even if no one wants to play Rockbiter, you can still buff Al Akir with Flametongue Totem or Primal Fusion. The card might still have a place in the meta.
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Flametongue alone is not enough to make Al-Akir viable. And delaying the rockbiter combo by one turn is a moot point because rockbiters won't be run in midrange anymore and Al-Akir is strictly run in midrange decks. The utility and versatility of rockbiter was as a removal card in addition to a burst damage card. Rockbiters usefulness as a cheap and efficient removal was arguably more important than as burst damage in midrange decks. At 2 mana, Blizz nerfed it's versatility as a removal spell but it's probably still viable as a windfury burst spell (2 mana for 6 face damage is still pretty good). I don't think midrange shaman has room to fit in inefficient removal spells and therefore I don't think they play Al-Akir. For those who say Al-Akir is a shitty card, well it has only been a shitty card when midrange shaman has been a shitty deck. Naxx weakened mid shaman and GVG killed it. But before that and after WOTOG, midrange shaman has been good and whenever midrange shaman was good, Al-Akir was good. Why? Because Al-akir, like most midrange decks, is really good at shifting between offensive and defensive strategies. Al-akir was good at going face or as removal. A very good fit for a midrange deck.
Hammer is just better now.I really dont understand why they have nerfed rockbiter instead of Doomhammer
how often were you actually holding 2 rockbiters by turn 10? odds are you used at least one for board control. big al still works with flametongue, primal fusion, or a solo rockbiter.
the real question is if rockbiter will survive in non-doomhammer decks, not if big al with survive
For the times I've played Al'Akir, I've never been in a position where the extra cost for rockbiter would affect the combo, either as a single on turn 9 or double on turn 10. Even then, I'm questioning whether it's worth having him in the deck at all. I play him more because he's a recent addition to the collection.
Member of Fever Clan | Battle tag: sparkis#1748 | Discord: sparkis#5613
This is too true. The thing with rockbiter is that it was versatile both as 1 mana deal 3 dmg, allowing early board control, while also serving as a late game finisher when combo'd with Big Al. With this nerf, midrange shaman (the only archetype who uses Al'Akir) will just start using lightning bolt instead of rockbiters (some already are) and thus will cut Al' Akir with it because there will barely be anything to combo him with. the issue of overload is also to be taken in consideration, like you said.
I honestly can't see the reasoning behind this, rockbiter is fine as it is, sure, the combo with Doomhammer is pretty devastating, but it's a combo. in a game like HS where every point of mana counts, any combo has to be devastating in order to be put into a deck. My hope is that they will reverse this change later on, but it's blizzard we're talking about here. They butchered Warsong and still don't give 2 shits about it. I doubt this will be any different, especially since most people see the nerf as "adequate".
Yeah his unplayable now and so is Doomhammer.
Its better to use stormcrack now and just run the togg package because ferrals will remplace tuskar totemic for sure.
In Aggro you will still use rockbiter but you will now cut Tuskar for 1 more horserider and ancestral knowledge , then lava shock or eternal sentinel... instead of thing from below, basically Ants version of Aggro Shaman who is more of all in.
rockbiter in the early game was never an issue, in fact it was a great thing, now it will just become a shitty version of heroic strike which is trash and only used in face decks
Doomhammer is fine. It still puts your opponent on a clock and can still burst with Rockbiter. Al'akir is fine, as long as we can still validate putting Rockbiter in our deck. That's the questionable part. Adding one more mana to the combo won't change much, but it's used as removal probably more than as burst.
I might be more disappointed with Tuskar. I really think that card is overrated a little, but losing it could hurt my Witchdoctor deck.
Al'Akir definitely takes a hit with this.
It's not just that the alakir combo is more expensive and can't double dip, it's that rockbiter, at this cost, may not even be worth running in decks that would run alakir. It's difficult to say, but this being 2 mana makes it absolutely terrible as far as removal goes. This change is way more impactful than it looks than it looks.
I'd have much rather they touched on doomhammer. They mention the versatility of rockbiter, including burst, but the primary burst that they're talking about is because of doomhammer, not rockbiter.
They even mention it being one of the most widely used cards in shaman history, but... well... fireball? PW:S? PO? Those are of a similar nature, are they not?
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rockbitter is now similar to darkbomb and you know how much warlock misses dark bomb so nothign too out of the world here.