Let's have a discussion on the 19.2 patch after having some time to review. I will start with a collection of my thoughts.
Embrace the taunt. The tribeless taunt mechanics are viable in multiple builds and Elistra the Immortal is an excellent card. The downside is that pure single tribe builds like Pirates take a pretty big hit incorporating any of these as they need many of the same tribe. The upside is that having these tribeless core cards allows you to more easily pivot in different directions when the winds change.
New Heros (I haven't watched any streams yet so if there are ways to better use these out there I'd love to hear them)
C'Thun is probably the best of the Old Gods. You have to use his power almost every turn, particularly early. The boosted stats stick permanently so it's not so bad having only a few minions early game due to spending on the hero power since they will each get significantly boosted. I have only played him twice so far and liked him, but I don't know that he's a top 5 hero but likely top 10.
N'Zoth I am not quite sure on yet. I have only played with him twice. The first didn't go well but the second I got 2nd place. I think he probably needs Mechs in the game to be viable. He also has a really weak body, so consider ways of boosting him (I put the +2/+2 every turn spell on him and divine shield). When I finished 2nd he was dropping a legendary, a 8/8 and 3 pirates near the end of the game. Though from the wording, I must say I was very dissapointed that he didn't keep them turn to turn.
Y'Shaarj is a weird one. I want to think he has promise but I think my best is 4th. Early game I like him but once I have a full board of boosted minions he is less usable. I am thinking once at tier 6 and maybe 5 he may be worth it again. Clearing the space for the summoned minion does enable an extra tavern refresh. But I am not certain he's worth playing yet.
Heros that improved
George the Fallen is pretty awesome right now. The divine shield for 2 in this meta is very strong. I play him almost every chance I get and have won with him with multiple builds including Elementals. This is a good hero to shoot for first with.
The Great Akazamzarak is back and is kicking serious butt. In this meta, when the difference between 6&7 and 3&4 is often1 turn, even just the Ice Block secret can get you from a losing spot to a winning spot. He is best early game before your board fills up but is still useful throughout the game. I am not sure how often he will get you to first, but he's going to get you into the top 4 often.
Patches gets a strong boost with his hero power reducing to 3 from 4. This is enabling early game and can get you a good pirate build early to carry you for a while. But I think that Pirates really struggle late game now so I don't think you will finish 1st a lot with him but you should be top 4.
Zephyrs got a little better but I am not sure yet whether it's enough. Though I am intrigued to hold on to some of the activations for late game combo'd with Faceless Taverngoer for any triple from a single T6 in Bob's tavern. But I have not played him yet so I don't yet have a good feel for how good he is now.
I'm sitting at 5,800 currently so I am doing decent but lots of room to improve.
Spells have to go. Every time you think you are very strong, there comes some high roller with golden Kalesgos or Ragnaros turn 10... And you just die. Right now its almost no skill involved. Its just who highrolles first, wins. Elistra is too strong. If they sometimes make Tier 7 in tavern, Elistra and Amalgadon have to move there.
I liked meta before this patch, it was kind of balanced
Spells have to go. Every time you think you are very strong, there comes some high roller with golden Kalesgos or Ragnaros turn 10... And you just die. Right now its almost no skill involved. Its just who highrolles first, wins. Elistra is too strong. If they sometimes make Tier 7 in tavern, Elistra and Amalgadon have to move there.
I liked meta before this patch, it was kind of balanced
I agree, especially with the new treasures, it is just more and more lucky game
Spells have to go. Every time you think you are very strong, there comes some high roller with golden Kalesgos or Ragnaros turn 10... And you just die. Right now its almost no skill involved. Its just who highrolles first, wins. Elistra is too strong. If they sometimes make Tier 7 in tavern, Elistra and Amalgadon have to move there.
I liked meta before this patch, it was kind of balanced
Wait until the spells are only available with the battle pass.
Akaza-whatsit is... not as good as you suggest, IMO. Earlygame is pretty much no HP, so can't compete with stupid earlygame HPs. You're better off with a 2/1 than a secret, because the secret is for one turn, and not enough to do much. He's not bad, but he's not earlygame powerhouse. I'd probably say tier 2-3, so autopick most of the time without the pass. Lots of tempo lost, generally, though if you don't get a good turn 1 you can get one secret on turn three.
Turn three? Elemental synergies with a nearly full board (thanks, treasures and sellemental, paired with party!). Turn 6? Full board of decent-sized murlocs that I stole a 0.7% win from (0.7/1.7/97.6). That is what you have to compete with to be earlygame, and... you can't. Realistically, you get the block because you're bleeding health early, like every hero that isn't earlygame focussed. Of the non-earlygame focussed heros it's on the better end. Splitting et al are actually useful lategame as extra protection for your important/synergystic stuff after your taunts get shredded; they only lose strength in that they lose most DR synergies, which is fine, IMO. They only trigger if your board has space, though they trigger before DRs. I'll take an extra golden Eliza to replace the one getting smacked.
Some of the real annoyance is that you get both turn 10 and top4 are well settled and you get turn 13 and top4... aren't fixed. Really hard to plan for how long it's going to last. Mainly due to the variance in the spells. The free minion of your tier is strong, as it lets you drop tempo and tier to 5 before cashing it in (similar to Alex's HP). The 'evolve'... meh. You're unlikely to hit a TT5 minon when you've just upgraded, so not a huge chance of getting smacked by TT6 minions that turn. If you're a hero that can power-level, though, it's scary. High variance spell, that one.
Pirates ain't bad, I'm finding - mainly because they are often so wide open. Suffer hard from APM isssues, though, as you need to go for as many Hoggarrs as possible. Can't handle george+poison or beasts, but should be decent for top 3-4. Hard avoid if you see patches, obv. Most of my games are going menagerie - mythrax as well as lightfang gives you a decent chance of seeing one with enough time to build into it.
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Let's have a discussion on the 19.2 patch after having some time to review. I will start with a collection of my thoughts.
Embrace the taunt. The tribeless taunt mechanics are viable in multiple builds and Elistra the Immortal is an excellent card. The downside is that pure single tribe builds like Pirates take a pretty big hit incorporating any of these as they need many of the same tribe. The upside is that having these tribeless core cards allows you to more easily pivot in different directions when the winds change.
New Heros (I haven't watched any streams yet so if there are ways to better use these out there I'd love to hear them)
C'Thun is probably the best of the Old Gods. You have to use his power almost every turn, particularly early. The boosted stats stick permanently so it's not so bad having only a few minions early game due to spending on the hero power since they will each get significantly boosted. I have only played him twice so far and liked him, but I don't know that he's a top 5 hero but likely top 10.
N'Zoth I am not quite sure on yet. I have only played with him twice. The first didn't go well but the second I got 2nd place. I think he probably needs Mechs in the game to be viable. He also has a really weak body, so consider ways of boosting him (I put the +2/+2 every turn spell on him and divine shield). When I finished 2nd he was dropping a legendary, a 8/8 and 3 pirates near the end of the game. Though from the wording, I must say I was very dissapointed that he didn't keep them turn to turn.
Y'Shaarj is a weird one. I want to think he has promise but I think my best is 4th. Early game I like him but once I have a full board of boosted minions he is less usable. I am thinking once at tier 6 and maybe 5 he may be worth it again. Clearing the space for the summoned minion does enable an extra tavern refresh. But I am not certain he's worth playing yet.
Heros that improved
George the Fallen is pretty awesome right now. The divine shield for 2 in this meta is very strong. I play him almost every chance I get and have won with him with multiple builds including Elementals. This is a good hero to shoot for first with.
The Great Akazamzarak is back and is kicking serious butt. In this meta, when the difference between 6&7 and 3&4 is often1 turn, even just the Ice Block secret can get you from a losing spot to a winning spot. He is best early game before your board fills up but is still useful throughout the game. I am not sure how often he will get you to first, but he's going to get you into the top 4 often.
Patches gets a strong boost with his hero power reducing to 3 from 4. This is enabling early game and can get you a good pirate build early to carry you for a while. But I think that Pirates really struggle late game now so I don't think you will finish 1st a lot with him but you should be top 4.
Zephyrs got a little better but I am not sure yet whether it's enough. Though I am intrigued to hold on to some of the activations for late game combo'd with Faceless Taverngoer for any triple from a single T6 in Bob's tavern. But I have not played him yet so I don't yet have a good feel for how good he is now.
I'm sitting at 5,800 currently so I am doing decent but lots of room to improve.
This patch is disgusting. Playing on 11k now.
Spells have to go. Every time you think you are very strong, there comes some high roller with golden Kalesgos or Ragnaros turn 10... And you just die. Right now its almost no skill involved. Its just who highrolles first, wins. Elistra is too strong. If they sometimes make Tier 7 in tavern, Elistra and Amalgadon have to move there.
I liked meta before this patch, it was kind of balanced
I agree, especially with the new treasures, it is just more and more lucky game
Wait until the spells are only available with the battle pass.
Akaza-whatsit is... not as good as you suggest, IMO. Earlygame is pretty much no HP, so can't compete with stupid earlygame HPs. You're better off with a 2/1 than a secret, because the secret is for one turn, and not enough to do much. He's not bad, but he's not earlygame powerhouse. I'd probably say tier 2-3, so autopick most of the time without the pass. Lots of tempo lost, generally, though if you don't get a good turn 1 you can get one secret on turn three.
Turn three? Elemental synergies with a nearly full board (thanks, treasures and sellemental, paired with party!). Turn 6? Full board of decent-sized murlocs that I stole a 0.7% win from (0.7/1.7/97.6). That is what you have to compete with to be earlygame, and... you can't. Realistically, you get the block because you're bleeding health early, like every hero that isn't earlygame focussed. Of the non-earlygame focussed heros it's on the better end. Splitting et al are actually useful lategame as extra protection for your important/synergystic stuff after your taunts get shredded; they only lose strength in that they lose most DR synergies, which is fine, IMO. They only trigger if your board has space, though they trigger before DRs. I'll take an extra golden Eliza to replace the one getting smacked.
Some of the real annoyance is that you get both turn 10 and top4 are well settled and you get turn 13 and top4... aren't fixed. Really hard to plan for how long it's going to last. Mainly due to the variance in the spells. The free minion of your tier is strong, as it lets you drop tempo and tier to 5 before cashing it in (similar to Alex's HP). The 'evolve'... meh. You're unlikely to hit a TT5 minon when you've just upgraded, so not a huge chance of getting smacked by TT6 minions that turn. If you're a hero that can power-level, though, it's scary. High variance spell, that one.
Pirates ain't bad, I'm finding - mainly because they are often so wide open. Suffer hard from APM isssues, though, as you need to go for as many Hoggarrs as possible. Can't handle george+poison or beasts, but should be decent for top 3-4. Hard avoid if you see patches, obv. Most of my games are going menagerie - mythrax as well as lightfang gives you a decent chance of seeing one with enough time to build into it.