Hearthpwn

I am playing my first arena run where I have a Deathwing, and I have to say:  I think he's the single most powerful card I've ever used in arena.  Complete game changer across the board (literally).  Knowing I can drop him changes how I play every other card, changes whether I go face or trade, and changes whether I hold my removal or use it early.  I can't think of another card that just flat out wins games like this guy, even when you're facing otherwise certain death on the next turn.

Anyone else have good deathwing experiences?  Got a different card you think is better?  I'm a hardcore arena player and I'm frankly stunned by his effectiveness, despite having been beaten by him in the past.

He is the kind of the card that is the best as long as your opponent cant answer it immediately. 

Ive lost a couple a games against unanswered DW, I've also won a couple when I insta Hex'd/Assassinate'd (etc) him. Havent gotten him ever unfortunately, in more than a year of arenas... 

I think Deathwing can be great, but you really have to play your hand around him.  This usually means holding him until your opponent has expended most of his cards as well and has used hard removal already.  Nothing is worse than dumping your hand, only to get your Deathwing turned into a frog or sheep.  

I have had him in 3 runs I can remember, and he won me multiple games in each run, but I don't think any of them went 12 for me.

As a previous poster said, I think Kel Thuzad, Ysera and Tirion (amongst others) are better options, but Deathwing has done pretty well for me, and is just fun to play.

Funny you bring this up because just yesterday I was way ahead on an opposing Warlock. I was playing as Mage and got really lucky that I had two Fireballs in my hand and that he had exactly 12 health left, because he dropped Deathwing and it would've sucked.

Funilly, I choose to play around deathwing in arena. So yeah, I guess it's saying something in terms of his strength.

I think deathwing's all or nothing gamble is much better in arena than constructed. You are much more likely to get into situations where both players are top decking and if that is the case deathwing is pretty much the best top deck you could get. There are still plenty of cards I'd rather have in my draft than deathwing but he is at least viable in the arena imo where as in constructed it's not really viable. Sure some decks play him for fun or because it's one of the few legendaries they have but it really isn't a viable card.

The answer is no, he's not the best card in arena by any means. There are a lot of cards better than him, like the ones Jappert84 mentions (I'd also add Foe Reaper 4000 to that list).

That doesn't mean it's bad. I think Deathwing can be really good, you just have to use him very carefully. Depending on the opponent, there are times when you can simply drop everything you have in hand to force him to do the same, creating a situation where both of you lose about the same amount of cards when casting Deathwing. Other times you just play your normal game and he sits in your hand offering you a reset button, a last resort for when you lose the board.

Quote from Turinn jump

The answer is no, he's not the best card in arena by any means. There are a lot of cards better than him, like the ones Jappert84 mentions (I'd also add Foe Reaper 4000 to that list).

That doesn't mean it's bad. I think Deathwing can be really good, you just have to use him very carefully. Depending on the opponent, there are times when you can simply drop everything you have in hand to force him to do the same, creating a situation where both of you lose about the same amount of cards when casting Deathwing. Other times you just play your normal game and he sits in your hand offering you a reset button, a last resort for when you lose the board.

 This is actually how I'm playing him in this run.  I just hold him in my hand and use him as a last-ditch board clear when all other options are available (why on earth would anyone play him any other way?).  It's true that he's easily removable, but if you're holding him until there's no other option, the odds are good that your opponent either has to rely on topdecking or is going to win anyway.  

For me, I have a very aggro-esque mage deck that seriously lacks in the late game, so I just try to get my opponent down as quickly as possible, let them make all the trades, and then bang!  Deathwing FTW.  I've been playing since the game's official release, and it's the first time I've ever had him in arena.  I honestly like him more than Ragnaros. Ysera has been a great card for me, but she doesn't turn losses into wins in the way that Deathwing does.  He's just so much swing for one card.

Deathwing is very situational, and when used it either wins you the game, or loses you the game. its kind of comparable to Deathlord in why its not regarded as the best. sure Deathlord might win you a game or two but it might make you lose 2 games as well, and typically you wanna aim for at least 7 wins in arena

I think some better options would be Sneed's Old Shredder, Kel'Thuzad, Tirion Fordring, Ysera, Foe Reaper 4000, Sylvanas Windrunner, and clearly the best, Majordomo Executus!

I used to think DW was good too.

Until I went up against an annoy-o-tron.