Branching Paths does not work with Fandral, that's why I'm not a big fan of that card. Also, we already have enough card draw and we'll use BP maybe for the armor? At that point, Feral Rage is better and more synergic with the rest of the deck.
Why do people think this card would be useful here? Just because you have the chance to make one of a time dream combo, where you play the weapon, followed by Medivh and an UI, that doesn't mean it's practical in here. First off this is a very greedy combo, which means a bad draw vs faster decks. Secondly since this is a legendary, i.e. you have only one copy it, you might not always draw it in the early game for maximum value. No, you might even get it past turn 10, where having 20 mana won't matter that much, because a) against aggro you are winning anyway, b) vs control - they also have nice late game cards and you might play into their board clear. Thirdly - druid doesn't have ways to utilize weapons. It's like an extra terrestrial in that class, you just increase the damage of your HP by one - for 5 turns you can inflict either two or four damage points. Fourthly - if druids still had pre-nerfed Innervate, they would have used this instead. The strength of that card was allowing players to aggressively ramp and to summon bigger minions or cast expensive spells, which would put them in a much better position. The weapon doesn't contribute to this strategy, it will be super clunky in here.
tl; dr - add real cards into that deck. Cards, which the deck would really profit from - e.g. removals against aggro.
Why do people think this card would be useful here? Just because you have the chance to make one of a time dream combo, where you play the weapon, followed by Medivh and an UI, that doesn't mean it's practical in here. First off this is a very greedy combo, which means a bad draw vs faster decks. Secondly since this is a legendary, i.e. you have only one copy it, you might not always draw it in the early game for maximum value. No, you might even get it past turn 10, where having 20 mana won't matter that much, because a) against aggro you are winning anyway, b) vs control - they also have nice late game cards and you might play into their board clear. Thirdly - druid doesn't have ways to utilize weapons. It's like an extra terrestrial in that class, you just increase the damage of your HP by one - for 5 turns you can inflict either two or four damage points. Fourthly - if druids still had pre-nerfed Innervate, they would have used this instead. The strength of that card was allowing players to aggressively ramp and to summon bigger minions or cast expensive spells, which would put them in a much better position. The weapon doesn't contribute to this strategy, it will be super clunky in here.
tl; dr - add real cards into that deck. Cards, which the deck would really profit from - e.g. removals against aggro.
It's cause that weapon gives your hero attack +1 damage for five turns. That means you can take down 2 health (or 4 health) minions with your face, or push more damage into your opponent.
But do you really think that's worth in a deck like jade druid. You need a more consistent way of dealing with a board. Granted, you don't waste resources on clearing small minions and with the dudu DK you can take down minions more securely, but overall that's still not a reliable strategy, the card is not that flexible and the upsides can't compensate the more likely downsides.
I'm not going to repeat my points in my first comment, but I'm going to give an example of some cards and I will try to ignore the obvious powerful no-brainers like UI, Dudu DK or Fandral etc: Earthen Scales it's a flexible card. While giving +1/+1 stats to a minion doesn't alone define the card worth includible, the usefulness comes from the part, that this card covers a weakness of the jade dudu deck. Until you get to the position, where the jades got bigger, you allowed the aggro player to develop a threatening board, which you took some notable damage from. And this card rewards you for playing big stuff, for playing a value deck. There also some situations, where in order to maintain board control, you buff a minion to make a value trade.
Second example - Mark of the Lotus used as a tech card imho. So although this card supports token decks more, since your jades are small bodies at the beginning, if you've played many enough, you could make a fairly good board, which can trade with your opponent's minions and provide board control, thus you reach the late game, where everything is in your control.
Those spells are cheap and provide an immediate effect. Both of them (the first one more, but nvm) contribute to the jade dudu strategy, being a slow and a value deck. The weapon adds unnecessary value - you cover no real weaknesses nor any needs for that matter.
If you ask me Branching Paths and Zola the Gorgon are also kinda not worth including. Druid has enough draw options, adding another one is superfluous. Granted, this spell also provides a medium board buff and it sustains the player with 12 armor. Maybe the card is flexible, but imho druid has enough of those tools. And Zola - well, for me she's kinda slow. Yeah, copying an Aya or dunno a Medivh or a bonemare would be good, but you already have Jade Idols, you were already the greed king, why add more value to your infinite one?
If you ask me Branching Paths and Zola the Gorgon are also kinda not worth including. Druid has enough draw options, adding another one is superfluous. Granted, this spell also provides a medium board buff and it sustains the player with 12 armor. Maybe the card is flexible, but imho druid has enough of those tools. And Zola - well, for me she's kinda slow. Yeah, copying an Aya or dunno a Medivh or a bonemare would be good, but you already have Jade Idols, you were already the greed king, why add more value to your infinite one?
It's because Branching Paths is your choice of Savage Roar, Shield Block, Arcane Intellect, or Greater Healing Potion. One of those options is a finisher (or have you forgotten Force of Nature + Savage Roar already?), another is a way to deal with aggro, while the other two give you draw - which (IMO) helps make your bad draws less bad, and can help you salvage games you would normally lose. IMO it's a very solid staple card BECAUSE of it's flexibility - you just don't see it yet.
I'm also not banking on infinite value with the Jade Idols as most games with Jade Druid need to account for either not lasting long enough for that to matter, or someone dropping a Skulking Geist.
You may be right on Twig of the World Tree, however, pulling off a 18-20 mana play is pretty good - assuming the opponent doesn't break it. Of the three cards, mentioned, it's the weakest.
Force of Nature + Savage Roar was a 14-damage combo BURST, i.e. the trees had charge and back then you could combo off more with Emperor Thaurissan, Innervate + other wild support cards like Dr. Boom and Shade of Naxxramas. There will be some situations, where the permanent Savage Roar will win you games on the spot, but (imho) you would be probably winning anyway. I feel like this only matters against Razapriest and Quest Mage, against other control decks you can easily pressure down the opponents with your big jade golems. If you wish I can take my words back regarding Mark of the Lotus (I just see it from time to time), but as a slow deck you can't really build that big of a board, which gains enough pressure to finish off your opponent. About the flexibility of the card later.
If this card were in shaman, then I would have had the opposite opinion. Because it would have been quite the support for the control arch-type - weaker, but a permanent Bloodlust (not to forget we spam bodies with the HP), card draw, which the class strongly lacks, and health gain. But in druid - I think you already have the needed tools, adding extra ones instead of the missing ones, like comeback tools (I know a strong AoE hasn't been introduced yet, you would have also included it), just doesn't improve the deck that much.
I didn't deny, that Branching Paths is a flexible card, but I just don't see the need for it. I'm going to use the following decks as an example:
I expressed my opinion above about the board buff. As drawing options you already have:Wrath (cycle, but still),Nourish, Ultimate Infestationand Wild Growth (as another cycle option). Yes, jade druid doesn't run Feral Rageanymore and thus I see the reason for you including Branching Paths (for that extra health gain). But since we can't overcome the 30-card deck limitation, the natural question comes - Which card(s) should be replaced? And I am willing to tolerate the inclusion of this card, but only the single copy of it - I would replace the second copy of Mire KeeperorFeral Rage(from the second deck list). Or maybe two copies as you wish, but like I said instead of Mire Keeper.
Zola the Gorgon - I understood why you put her in the deck, but she doesn't act similarly to Brann Bronzebeard. And I have to apologize for saying this and the following, which you were already aware of, but the good part about him was the tempo he enabled - extra big bodies on the board, i.e. he impacts it faster. Now, Innervate is long gone and you can't even combo more than one battlecry minion with him in wild, unless you decide to use the coins anyway, but he would have still been a better value enabler than Zola. If jade druid had the good removals as priest does, then I would have probably agreed with this inclusion. Probably. But I feel like the only strong outcome you can get from her is either from Aya or Medivh. Copying another jade spawning minion is not something bad on its own, but I don't think this justifies the need you are describing. She is not that impactful, you druids have better ways to get value out of something. Quick statements: - I'm one of those people, who plays Skulking Geist in their decks. Yes, I'm happy, when I stop your infinite value, but this doesn't mean the end of the world for you: a) you can spam two jade minions (three with a coin) in a single turn, you have the DK and Swipes to burn me down. You have, like I said, Medivh and expensive spells. - Your real win-condition lies in the card draw (UI). Imagine playing against a slow deck - your opponent might spend some resources to gain a temporary board control - you play Kun, followed by UI. Now you are far from being out of steam. You are prepared to play even more bodies and thus to exhaust the opponent or to take down theirs.
And as for Zola, I feel like you are making the draws worse by yourself. You have to have a minion on the board, which then you have to play the full price of.
About the druid weapon - the combo sounds good, but it doesn't feel secure or consistent. That's what I wanted to say in the previous posts.
I will end with the following - I just want to thank you for reading my novels. Sometimes I can get carried away.
I also think that the twig is useless in this deck. It costs a LOT of tempo to play it. Potentially, you get it back with interest, but you might have to wait 5 turns. That can cost you the game. Unlike wild growth, jade blossom or nourish, you will not have the ramp on your next turn. I.e. you ramp without ramping and I don’t think jade Druid can afford that. And being able to make 2 damage instead of one just means that you will hero power the next turn as well ( more tempo loss). A slow start (no minions, no immediate ramp)with jade Druid is often the beginning of the end.
I also tried medivh. And while he is really strong in slower matchups, he is too slow in the matchups when you are under pressure. But if there are more slower decks, the he is a great card. Presently, I’d cut him.
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Here's what I'm prolly gonna run for Jade Druid post KaC release:
Thoughts?
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Branching Paths does not work with Fandral, that's why I'm not a big fan of that card. Also, we already have enough card draw and we'll use BP maybe for the armor? At that point, Feral Rage is better and more synergic with the rest of the deck.
Gave it another update, and realized that I had left out Bonemare >.>
Edit:
Thoughts on Carnivorous Cube and Spiteful Summoner?
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Why do people think this card would be useful here? Just because you have the chance to make one of a time dream combo, where you play the weapon, followed by Medivh and an UI, that doesn't mean it's practical in here. First off this is a very greedy combo, which means a bad draw vs faster decks. Secondly since this is a legendary, i.e. you have only one copy it, you might not always draw it in the early game for maximum value. No, you might even get it past turn 10, where having 20 mana won't matter that much, because a) against aggro you are winning anyway, b) vs control - they also have nice late game cards and you might play into their board clear. Thirdly - druid doesn't have ways to utilize weapons. It's like an extra terrestrial in that class, you just increase the damage of your HP by one - for 5 turns you can inflict either two or four damage points. Fourthly - if druids still had pre-nerfed Innervate, they would have used this instead. The strength of that card was allowing players to aggressively ramp and to summon bigger minions or cast expensive spells, which would put them in a much better position. The weapon doesn't contribute to this strategy, it will be super clunky in here.
tl; dr - add real cards into that deck. Cards, which the deck would really profit from - e.g. removals against aggro.
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But do you really think that's worth in a deck like jade druid. You need a more consistent way of dealing with a board. Granted, you don't waste resources on clearing small minions and with the dudu DK you can take down minions more securely, but overall that's still not a reliable strategy, the card is not that flexible and the upsides can't compensate the more likely downsides.
I'm not going to repeat my points in my first comment, but I'm going to give an example of some cards and I will try to ignore the obvious powerful no-brainers like UI, Dudu DK or Fandral etc: Earthen Scales it's a flexible card. While giving +1/+1 stats to a minion doesn't alone define the card worth includible, the usefulness comes from the part, that this card covers a weakness of the jade dudu deck. Until you get to the position, where the jades got bigger, you allowed the aggro player to develop a threatening board, which you took some notable damage from. And this card rewards you for playing big stuff, for playing a value deck. There also some situations, where in order to maintain board control, you buff a minion to make a value trade.
Second example - Mark of the Lotus used as a tech card imho. So although this card supports token decks more, since your jades are small bodies at the beginning, if you've played many enough, you could make a fairly good board, which can trade with your opponent's minions and provide board control, thus you reach the late game, where everything is in your control.
Those spells are cheap and provide an immediate effect. Both of them (the first one more, but nvm) contribute to the jade dudu strategy, being a slow and a value deck. The weapon adds unnecessary value - you cover no real weaknesses nor any needs for that matter.
If you ask me Branching Paths and Zola the Gorgon are also kinda not worth including. Druid has enough draw options, adding another one is superfluous. Granted, this spell also provides a medium board buff and it sustains the player with 12 armor. Maybe the card is flexible, but imho druid has enough of those tools. And Zola - well, for me she's kinda slow. Yeah, copying an Aya or dunno a Medivh or a bonemare would be good, but you already have Jade Idols, you were already the greed king, why add more value to your infinite one?
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But, OP,
Force of Nature + Savage Roar was a 14-damage combo BURST, i.e. the trees had charge and back then you could combo off more with Emperor Thaurissan, Innervate + other wild support cards like Dr. Boom and Shade of Naxxramas. There will be some situations, where the permanent Savage Roar will win you games on the spot, but (imho) you would be probably winning anyway. I feel like this only matters against Razapriest and Quest Mage, against other control decks you can easily pressure down the opponents with your big jade golems. If you wish I can take my words back regarding Mark of the Lotus (I just see it from time to time), but as a slow deck you can't really build that big of a board, which gains enough pressure to finish off your opponent. About the flexibility of the card later.
If this card were in shaman, then I would have had the opposite opinion. Because it would have been quite the support for the control arch-type - weaker, but a permanent Bloodlust (not to forget we spam bodies with the HP), card draw, which the class strongly lacks, and health gain. But in druid - I think you already have the needed tools, adding extra ones instead of the missing ones, like comeback tools (I know a strong AoE hasn't been introduced yet, you would have also included it), just doesn't improve the deck that much.
I didn't deny, that Branching Paths is a flexible card, but I just don't see the need for it. I'm going to use the following decks as an example:
I expressed my opinion above about the board buff. As drawing options you already have: Wrath (cycle, but still), Nourish, Ultimate Infestation and Wild Growth (as another cycle option). Yes, jade druid doesn't run Feral Rage anymore and thus I see the reason for you including Branching Paths (for that extra health gain). But since we can't overcome the 30-card deck limitation, the natural question comes - Which card(s) should be replaced? And I am willing to tolerate the inclusion of this card, but only the single copy of it - I would replace the second copy of Mire Keeper or Feral Rage (from the second deck list). Or maybe two copies as you wish, but like I said instead of Mire Keeper.
Zola the Gorgon - I understood why you put her in the deck, but she doesn't act similarly to Brann Bronzebeard. And I have to apologize for saying this and the following, which you were already aware of, but the good part about him was the tempo he enabled - extra big bodies on the board, i.e. he impacts it faster. Now, Innervate is long gone and you can't even combo more than one battlecry minion with him in wild, unless you decide to use the coins anyway, but he would have still been a better value enabler than Zola. If jade druid had the good removals as priest does, then I would have probably agreed with this inclusion. Probably. But I feel like the only strong outcome you can get from her is either from Aya or Medivh. Copying another jade spawning minion is not something bad on its own, but I don't think this justifies the need you are describing. She is not that impactful, you druids have better ways to get value out of something. Quick statements:
- I'm one of those people, who plays Skulking Geist in their decks. Yes, I'm happy, when I stop your infinite value, but this doesn't mean the end of the world for you: a) you can spam two jade minions (three with a coin) in a single turn, you have the DK and Swipes to burn me down. You have, like I said, Medivh and expensive spells.
- Your real win-condition lies in the card draw (UI). Imagine playing against a slow deck - your opponent might spend some resources to gain a temporary board control - you play Kun, followed by UI. Now you are far from being out of steam. You are prepared to play even more bodies and thus to exhaust the opponent or to take down theirs.
And as for Zola, I feel like you are making the draws worse by yourself. You have to have a minion on the board, which then you have to play the full price of.
About the druid weapon - the combo sounds good, but it doesn't feel secure or consistent. That's what I wanted to say in the previous posts.
I will end with the following - I just want to thank you for reading my novels. Sometimes I can get carried away.
I also think that the twig is useless in this deck. It costs a LOT of tempo to play it. Potentially, you get it back with interest, but you might have to wait 5 turns. That can cost you the game. Unlike wild growth, jade blossom or nourish, you will not have the ramp on your next turn. I.e. you ramp without ramping and I don’t think jade Druid can afford that. And being able to make 2 damage instead of one just means that you will hero power the next turn as well ( more tempo loss). A slow start (no minions, no immediate ramp)with jade Druid is often the beginning of the end.
I also tried medivh. And while he is really strong in slower matchups, he is too slow in the matchups when you are under pressure. But if there are more slower decks, the he is a great card. Presently, I’d cut him.