Claws are still playable in Mid-Jade, and STB nerf makes Maelstrom Portal even better.
I'm not sure that they are still worth playing in Mid-Jade.
I'm actually on the fence about that... I think they're still probably worth running since Bloodmage/Azure Drake aren't going anywhere anytime soon probably, and you're still rolling totems all game. At 2 mana it's still awkward but I think it's like Rockbiter and still usable.
I'm curious what post-nerf pirates will look like, I don't hate the STB nerf (I think Pirates will still be playable) but I think this bodes extremely well for classes like Priest who didn't have a lot of solid options before. Potion of Madness now kills Patches and STB, Northshire Cleric at the very least trades evenly... it just irons out a lot of awkward situations.
Between the two nerfs and the ladder changes I'm actually pretty excited to see the impact next month.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Articles I suggest every player reads to improve at the game;
Claws are still playable in Mid-Jade, and STB nerf makes Maelstrom Portal even better.
I'm not sure that they are still worth playing in Mid-Jade.
I'm actually on the fence about that... I think they're still probably worth running since Bloodmage/Azure Drake aren't going anywhere anytime soon probably, and you're still rolling totems all game. At 2 mana it's still awkward but I think it's like Rockbiter and still usable.
I'm curious what post-nerf pirates will look like, I don't hate the STB nerf (I think Pirates will still be playable) but I think this bodes extremely well for classes like Priest who didn't have a lot of solid options before. Potion of Madness now kills Patches and STB, Northshire Cleric at the very least trades evenly... it just irons out a lot of awkward situations.
Between the two nerfs and the ladder changes I'm actually pretty excited to see the impact next month.
Yeah. I'm not completely sure either. However, I suspect that the Pirate Package is no longer worth playing in Mid-Jade. Therefore, I think Spirit Claws (which was already being dropped to 1 in a lot of lists) may no longer be played.
But you're right, Blood Mage and Azure Drake will still make appearances, if for no other reason than to buff Portal. So maybe I'm wrong.
I do think we'll still be playing Shamanstone until the next set.
Sometimes i'm sad that you can't downvote comments in the forums...
In general I don't know why people expected anything more than these two nerfs tbh... STB makes sense because it's legitimately problematic for the game, and this was less of an adjustment and more of a reaction to exactly that. Spirit Claws was a little surprising, but I know in a past interview Brode had mentioned being dissatisfied with how it panned out so I guess it makes sense.
Every other card in the game is probably not even being remotely considered for a nerf/rotation until the next Standard year, because they're either problems that resolve themselves or currently not issues at all. Jade Idol is not an issue. Kazakus is an issue... that dies in rotation. All of the Standard cards contributing to a lack of change over the years are not problems in the sense that they're unbalanced, and can easily wait until the Spring.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Articles I suggest every player reads to improve at the game;
Sometimes i'm sad that you can't downvote comments in the forums...
In general I don't know why people expected anything more than these two nerfs tbh... STB makes sense because it's legitimately problematic for the game, and this was less of an adjustment and more of a reaction to exactly that. Spirit Claws was a little surprising, but I know in a past interview Brode had mentioned being dissatisfied with how it panned out so I guess it makes sense.
Every other card in the game is probably not even being remotely considered for a nerf/rotation until the next Standard year, because they're either problems that resolve themselves or currently not issues at all. Jade Idol is not an issue. Kazakus is an issue... that dies in rotation. All of the Standard cards contributing to a lack of change over the years are not problems in the sense that they're unbalanced, and can easily wait until the Spring.
Not only that, they are probably already testing a set of nerfs for the spring expansion, it would be kind of redundant to test a bigger set of nerfs than the main problem right now.
Yeah. I'm not completely sure either. However, I suspect that the Pirate Package is no longer worth playing in Mid-Jade. Therefore, I think Spirit Claws (which was already being dropped to 1 in a lot of lists) may no longer be played.
But you're right, Blood Mage and Azure Drake will still make appearances, if for no other reason than to buff Portal. So maybe I'm wrong.
I do think we'll still be playing Shamanstone until the next set.
I'd agree, Pirates will probably get dropped in Mid-Shaman. It's probably fine in Aggro Shaman, but even then I don't think it quite fits... and Spirit Claws certainly won't have an easy time fitting in that list. My prediction is we probably see Pirates in the hyper-aggressive variant of Aggro Shaman, and then everything else just ignores them; Spirit Claws is still too good to write off and ignore, but it won't fit Aggro anymore.
So while I agree I think we're playing Shamanstone until next expansion (Mid-Jade is just absurdly good), the lists Shaman will be using will hopefully be more diverse. Post-rotation I'm still holding out hope that it thins out the "good stuff" cards Shaman has now enough to end its reign as the ultimate all-around competitor. Another upside is that the Pirate package getting knocked down a notch is that decks and classes can deal with it easier; if they can deal with it easier, they can probably engineer better ways to stabilize and become more viable than they were prior. So while Shaman will be solid after the patch, someone might take its place after all.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Articles I suggest every player reads to improve at the game;
Spirit claws was outrageously overpowered. It's still a good card at 2 mana, although it is now redundant with Jade claws, so it will see very little play.
The only problem I could see arising is that this could possibly be a huge indirect buff to jade decks.
We are getting rid of retardely overpowered deck to let being rolled over by another retardely OP deck, but slightly weaker than one before. One step forward, after long run back...
Something new to cry about! Something new to take us down the road of stupid nerfs that make me regret spending moneys.
The ladder change is GREAT. I get bored playing the same decks over and over again, but i also hate playing casual because when i win a game i feel its a wasted win. Now when i hit lvl 10 i can start running crazy decks without worry of falling back, and start climbing again when im ready.
I'm so glad they nerfed spirit claws.
Articles I suggest every player reads to improve at the game;
MTG/Hearthstone biases to avoid
Reframing negative Hearthstone experiences to improve at the game
Who's the Beatdown?
Still no nerf to Alexstrasza :(
Custom cards :
CLASSES : Alchemist (CCC#5 | Phase V) | Chef (CCC#4)
EXPANSIONS : Year of the Scorpion (Year Comp)
Articles I suggest every player reads to improve at the game;
MTG/Hearthstone biases to avoid
Reframing negative Hearthstone experiences to improve at the game
Who's the Beatdown?
Articles I suggest every player reads to improve at the game;
MTG/Hearthstone biases to avoid
Reframing negative Hearthstone experiences to improve at the game
Who's the Beatdown?
is Patches still playable without Buccaneer?
Omg wait guys...
You notice which 2 cards they nerfed specifically? Yes STB was a problem but why of all Shaman cards do Spirit Claws first?
"Because it's broken Zence -_-"
Yes... AND
Now people will be usingJade Claws instead. Which means more Midrange Jade Shaman. Which means more rock-paper-scissors...
ugh...
Spirit claws was outrageously overpowered. It's still a good card at 2 mana, although it is now redundant with Jade claws, so it will see very little play.
Anger is the punishment we give ourselves for someone else's mistake.
The ladder change is GREAT. I get bored playing the same decks over and over again, but i also hate playing casual because when i win a game i feel its a wasted win. Now when i hit lvl 10 i can start running crazy decks without worry of falling back, and start climbing again when im ready.
http://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/185871-discuss-the-nerf-small-time-buccaneer
http://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/185870-discuss-the-nerf-spirit-claws