Hearthpwn

I mean, I think people are sabotaging themselves if they think N'Zoth is irreplaceable in the list running the Quest. It's entirely possible the list really doesn't bother with that approach in the first place, and I'd argue it's probably only necessary in a super greedy meta.

People losing to Jade Druid with Priest are playing lists that are too slow or too light on minions, and while I'm sure that's a perfectly decent way to approach the ladder it's an awful way to expect to win that matchup. Keep in mind Druid got 0 extra removal (no Mulch/Living Roots) and 0 extra cycle (Azure Drake), which means it really hasn't gotten any better with the new set.

I'll be certainly trying to make this work. Hopefully there won't be many decks running Alexstrasza.

Quote from Tze >>

I mean, I think people are sabotaging themselves if they think N'Zoth is irreplaceable in the list running the Quest. It's entirely possible the list really doesn't bother with that approach in the first place, and I'd argue it's probably only necessary in a super greedy meta.

People losing to Jade Druid with Priest are playing lists that are too slow or too light on minions, and while I'm sure that's a perfectly decent way to approach the ladder it's an awful way to expect to win that matchup. Keep in mind Druid got 0 extra removal (no Mulch/Living Roots) and 0 extra cycle (Azure Drake), which means it really hasn't gotten any better with the new set.

Quote from Dystaxia >>

Quote from Tze >>

 

 I think N'zoth is critical because though the quest allows them to live for a long time, N'zoth is the win condition in these deathrattle decks.

While people are optimizing Deathrattle / Amara / N'Zoth Priest in the next few weeks, I will have fun with the Traditional Stealing Priest using Crystalline Oracle, Shifting Shade, Thoughtsteal, Mind Vision, Mirage Caller, Curious Glimmerroot, and with Shadow Visions, I think I could keep the stealing cycle ongoing. The big minions will probably be Arcane Giant and Yogg' Saron. 

I also expect Priest at least in T2 ! can't wait to test my deck so hyped for un goro !!!

On Wild highlander N'zoth Priest will probably be absolutly OP, but in Standard the class will be once again on the bottom tier until next expansion set.

With so much inconsistency on deathrattle minions in Standard, N'zoth is not even a winning condition and also Amanra can't win alone the match. The deck lack a real finisher (could hang in the good old Ysera maybe) and will probably struggle to survive against aggro (no new aoe removal) and also versus control (goodbye Entomb).

Just let em play their Tier M decks and get roflstomped. I don't know why everyone is still arguing about Priest. It's complete garbage this expansion, and if you think otherwise have fun trying to climb with it.

Also, Tier M is "Tier Meme"

The 2 new deathrattle minions that are coming with Un'goro are nothing special so I don't really know how an archetype like N'zoth Priest that already failed will be able to perform better after also losing Sylvanas Windrunner.

Except for Cairne Bloodhoof there is not a single minion that will ever be a real threat to any opponente. Those like 1/1 or 0/3 that will be back as 5/5 are something so anti-tempo with their awful mana cost that I don't really think they'll see play.

Maybe the meta will slow down a bit but aggro will not go extinct with Hunter coming back from the grave and Pirates already there. Also in the late game Jade still there and the new quests give a lot of classes new finisher that can outvalue poor N'zoth or Amanra.

I've been a Priest mainer since beta. I think Priest will be back to GVG bad. N'Zoth will not be anything close to win condition. In fact, it's hard to see any real win conditions in the class. Most I'm seeing people post are have these 3 cards and cast this and maybe get this type crap. No, I think Priest will struggle to find a tier 3 deck once the dust settles.

I don't want to ruin the fun for you who hope for the N'Zoth Priest but seriously, just take a look at what what minions N'Zoth bring back! Weak minions that draw cards and give health. No win condition at all.

ITT: Shaman players who aren't used to cards besides Tunnel Trogg.

So low tempo, minions around 1-6 attack from N'Zoth while Druid fill the table with 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 etc. Oh, well...

Quote from n3r0s1 >>

So low tempo, minions around 1-6 attack from N'Zoth while Druid fill the table with 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 etc. Oh, well...

Priest seems to have unfortunate spot in the upcoming Standard meta, but the class will find a great spot, very flexible with interesting mechanics and decks in Wild. Priest will be insane and at least Tier-2 in Wild.

For those who main Priest, just play Wild, because you feel much better there than in Standard. 

I mean, I guess we'll see here in a few weeks. I imagine people like me are probably too optimistic for Priest, and people saying Priest won't compete are being overly pessimistic about it. Right now we have no idea what the meta is even going to resemble, which probably causes both ends to be more extreme and it's somewhere in between.

Priest got awesome cards this expansion though, so I guess to me it doesn't feel absurd to predict at least a low tier 2 list coming out of the expansion. They're not quite Shaman levels of critical mass with consecutive sets giving them awesome cards, but they're getting there.

@ancor3; I'll be honest, I don't think I have an incomplete portrayal at all. That's the kind of curve that does actually deal with Jade Druid at least somewhat efficiently, and tack in the Elemental packages and that gets a bit better. Druid is rarely going to be able to remove and develop, keep putting things on the board and they're either ignoring it while you murder their board via Shadow Words or trading or they'll be removing your dudes and still in a bad spot in the mid-game. 

So for your core options in Deathrattles you have Crystalline (1/1), Shifting Shade (4/3), Tortollan (2/6), and Cairne (4/5). This is assuming you're not trying to tech for Aggro (where you wouldn't care about N'Zoth anyway and want something like Infested Tauren for early defense), or do something tricky with Mirage Caller and Bishop. If your concern is a Control Matchup you can get a little greedier with stuff like Cairne, and N'Zoth makes more sense; in Control games you're also not as concerned about completing the quest quickly at all and it's more of a passive benefit. This is also assuming you don't do something wonky like 2x Corrupted Healbot or the new 5/7 that summons a bunch of Murlocs when it dies. I'll be honest, if I get Cairne and Shifting Shades back with N'Zoth, that's fine. If I get N'Zoth and a couple of 2/6 taunts I'm still pretty fine with it, because that's a decent defensive play.

4 of your deathrattles are value cards with okay bodies, one is a defensive taunt that has a pretty good deathrattle, and one is Cairne who's pretty much always decent in slower metas where you'd care about Jade Druid. Stuff like Corrupted Healbot just brings back giant bruisers for you to contest the board with.

At that point you can start filling your curve with Elementals and whatever removal is relevant. Basically you're a slightly worse Dragon Priest against a slightly worse Jade Druid (and yes, they will be worse). You're pretty favored if you don't just sit back and let them masturbate to Jade Golem sounds. This is also assuming that Jade Druid is even relevant, which I think is likely not to be the case.

So, this is the very rough draft of what I'd expect to see from a Quest Priest that would be good against Jade Druid. Keep in mind Lyra is a card I think is optional in this list, and keep in mind this list is a lot greedier than it should be if the meta is super aggressive. Also keep in mind building your deck to beat Jade Druid is probably not a good meta call in an expansion where you have the cards for Zoo on steroids.

Quote from Leadrock >>

I've noticed that of the cards that have been released, most are susceptible to Shadow Words and Potion of Madness. The amount of 2/6 taunts is crazy, and Pain counters this easy. Now, in conjunction with the Priest quest Awaken the Makers, N'Zoth will have obvious synergy. I don't think enough people are realizing just how potent Priest will be, especially with the broken MsG 3 drop. How are we going to counter our adapted dinos being Deathed, and our taunts from being Pained and/or stolen via Potion? How are we going to compete with a 40 health hero? How are we going to compete with a turn 10 resurgence of deathrattle minions, most of which provide cards for Priest?

Slow decks beating Jade isn't actually as much of an issue in my experience as just making sure you have things to play in the mid-game. That list is also why I'm kind of on the fence about N'Zoth vs going all-in on Elementals and calling it a day, because I don't disagree that list is a bit too sluggish for my own liking and Elise + Lyra are questionable inclusions I just think are going to help win Control games. It's even questionable if the Quest itself is worth doing (I think it is, but not as a main focus). And with all of those questions I'm still very certain I'll be able to maintain a 50/50 matchup against Jade Druids because it has all the tools to punish where Druid is weak. I guess I'd have to find out how fast of a list you think is required to beat Jades, because it's generally more about threat density than speed.

If it's an Aggro meta though, Priest is going to be in great shape. Between the neutral taunts, their class taunt, and stuff like Binding Heal I think we have potential for old school Control Priest to see play.