We all know it's coming. But historically I think Blizzard does a decent job of nipping things in the bud in terms of anticipating overpowered decks that may fill the vacuum post-nerf.
Obvious targets for nerfs that we've beaten to death: Lunacy Mage, Secret Paladin, Pen Flinger, Watch Posts, Tickatus... But my questions are:
1) Which less prevalent cards will get preemptively nerfed?
2) Which decks will see a significant tier/play rate increase?
Warrior and priest are dead classes right now and the nerfs alone don't look to change that but maybe shaman, DH and hunter can do a comeback to action.
My dark horse anticipatory nerf: Celestial Alignment. I don't think anybody else is running enough big stuff to hang with Druid once it's played. Guardian Animals package is still one of the most powerful swing turns in the game. It doesn't play small minions, so anti-aggro decks are going to have a wasted hand full of cheap removal. It's gonna take finely tuned face decks to beat it, I think, and those may not be all that common post-nerf.
I hope they have the foresight to not just nerf mage and paladin, but actually boost class's like shaman and priest that will need help no matter what or they will be bottom of the totem poll until the next expansion.
My dark horse anticipatory nerf: Celestial Alignment. I don't think anybody else is running enough big stuff to hang with Druid once it's played. Guardian Animals package is still one of the most powerful swing turns in the game. It doesn't play small minions, so anti-aggro decks are going to have a wasted hand full of cheap removal. It's gonna take finely tuned face decks to beat it, I think, and those may not be all that common post-nerf.
That deck can go crazy currently if the right cards are in hand. It turns into infinite draw and huge boards.
I don't see much hope for Priest and Shaman this expansion.
Shaman have a early game of minions and weapons really good now, if broken of the charts stuff like paladin and mage being nerfed the deck have a chance, priest is out of the meta until something really broken in next expansion bring they back from the tomb.
100% Rogue. On day 1, before people discovered Lunacy Mage, Rogue was running rampant. Even if it loses Pen Flinger, there is still the 2 mana Thaurissan, 2 mana Fireball and 3 mana Auctioneer, among many others (for God's sake why did they not rotate Shadowstep!?).
We all know it's coming. But historically I think Blizzard does a decent job of nipping things in the bud in terms of anticipating overpowered decks that may fill the vacuum post-nerf.
Obvious targets for nerfs that we've beaten to death: Lunacy Mage, Secret Paladin, Pen Flinger, Watch Posts, Tickatus... But my questions are:
1) Which less prevalent cards will get preemptively nerfed?
2) Which decks will see a significant tier/play rate increase?
Aggro. It will be needed because no minion mage optimized for without DoL is still busted. Also, the hero damage watchpost spell mage is also busted. Weapon rogue will be the clear winner because it's actually unbeatable without taunts loads of taunts or drawing into ooze (and they run four weapons). Paladin is all that keeps them in check right now.
I don't see much hope for Priest and Shaman this expansion.
Shaman have a early game of minions and weapons really good now, if broken of the charts stuff like paladin and mage being nerfed the deck have a chance, priest is out of the meta until something really broken in next expansion bring they back from the tomb.
Shaman had good aggro and burst but no consistency. If they would give 1 draw card from Rogue or Mage to Shaman, it would T1.
100% Rogue. On day 1, before people discovered Lunacy Mage, Rogue was running rampant. Even if it loses Pen Flinger, there is still the 2 mana Thaurissan, 2 mana Fireball and 3 mana Auctioneer, among many others (for God's sake why did they not rotate Shadowstep!?).
Which variant, do you think? I'm wondering if the more miracle-oriented deck has the reach without Pen Flinger. It can certainly cycle, but doesn't create particularly sticky boards and may struggle to get in minion damage. Sounds like rogue will be getting a class-specific nerf, too.
Weapon rogue can definitely dish out some pain, but could struggle if we end up with a taunt-heavy meta.
I think Warlock is gonna rise if Pen Flinger, Rogue, Mage and Paladin get nerfed.
I think honestly besides Warlock, Paladin and Mage the meta is... pretty balanced. A lot of the aggro classes don't have the same burst and longevity they used to until the late game. I honestly like the Watch Posts. They're irritating, but they're kind supposed to force you to play more early game in order to stay competitive.
Yeah, I was a bit worried when I saw no planned Warlock nerfs. But if the meta change brings more decks like weapon rogue and face hunter, maybe that'll sort itself out.
It's a tough class to pin down, though. I know Tickatus gets a lot of attention, but to me it's just the synergy and massive amount of removal & healing they have (soul shards are a big part of that). And yet, individually I don't think any of those cards warrant a nerf.
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We all know it's coming. But historically I think Blizzard does a decent job of nipping things in the bud in terms of anticipating overpowered decks that may fill the vacuum post-nerf.
Obvious targets for nerfs that we've beaten to death: Lunacy Mage, Secret Paladin, Pen Flinger, Watch Posts, Tickatus... But my questions are:
1) Which less prevalent cards will get preemptively nerfed?
2) Which decks will see a significant tier/play rate increase?
Jandice Barov. That card is completely busted for 5 mana. It should summon 4 drops. Hunter and priest will rise up after nerfs.
probably mage
Warrior and priest are dead classes right now and the nerfs alone don't look to change that but maybe shaman, DH and hunter can do a comeback to action.
My money is partly on DH, it just has too many good cards.
My dark horse anticipatory nerf: Celestial Alignment. I don't think anybody else is running enough big stuff to hang with Druid once it's played. Guardian Animals package is still one of the most powerful swing turns in the game. It doesn't play small minions, so anti-aggro decks are going to have a wasted hand full of cheap removal. It's gonna take finely tuned face decks to beat it, I think, and those may not be all that common post-nerf.
If only Mage and Paladin gets nerfed then Rogue will be very strong, not that it isn't already. That 3 mana auctioneer is just too broken.
Warrior, Warlock, DH and Hunter should also be pretty good.
I don't see much hope for Priest and Shaman this expansion.
Priest
I hope they have the foresight to not just nerf mage and paladin, but actually boost class's like shaman and priest that will need help no matter what or they will be bottom of the totem poll until the next expansion.
I'm sure the Shaman and Warrior will be boosted when the mini-expansion arrives.
That deck can go crazy currently if the right cards are in hand. It turns into infinite draw and huge boards.
Shaman have a early game of minions and weapons really good now, if broken of the charts stuff like paladin and mage being nerfed the deck have a chance, priest is out of the meta until something really broken in next expansion bring they back from the tomb.
Warrior will rise from bottom for sure(or stay as NO 10).
100% Rogue. On day 1, before people discovered Lunacy Mage, Rogue was running rampant. Even if it loses Pen Flinger, there is still the 2 mana Thaurissan, 2 mana Fireball and 3 mana Auctioneer, among many others (for God's sake why did they not rotate Shadowstep!?).
Aggro. It will be needed because no minion mage optimized for without DoL is still busted. Also, the hero damage watchpost spell mage is also busted. Weapon rogue will be the clear winner because it's actually unbeatable without taunts loads of taunts or drawing into ooze (and they run four weapons). Paladin is all that keeps them in check right now.
Depends on the nerfs, also, no one knows.
Shaman had good aggro and burst but no consistency. If they would give 1 draw card from Rogue or Mage to Shaman, it would T1.
Which variant, do you think? I'm wondering if the more miracle-oriented deck has the reach without Pen Flinger. It can certainly cycle, but doesn't create particularly sticky boards and may struggle to get in minion damage. Sounds like rogue will be getting a class-specific nerf, too.
Weapon rogue can definitely dish out some pain, but could struggle if we end up with a taunt-heavy meta.
I think Warlock is gonna rise if Pen Flinger, Rogue, Mage and Paladin get nerfed.
I think honestly besides Warlock, Paladin and Mage the meta is... pretty balanced. A lot of the aggro classes don't have the same burst and longevity they used to until the late game. I honestly like the Watch Posts. They're irritating, but they're kind supposed to force you to play more early game in order to stay competitive.
Yeah, I was a bit worried when I saw no planned Warlock nerfs. But if the meta change brings more decks like weapon rogue and face hunter, maybe that'll sort itself out.
It's a tough class to pin down, though. I know Tickatus gets a lot of attention, but to me it's just the synergy and massive amount of removal & healing they have (soul shards are a big part of that). And yet, individually I don't think any of those cards warrant a nerf.