As the 1-man-game-swinger that we all know and love, Loatheb is definitely a fantastic card if played at the right time against decks that win with an array of spells, such as the (old) Midrange Hunter, Miracle Rogue, Freeze Mage, and (kind of) Handlock, but I find that he doesn't always get his value, especially post Starving Buzzard and Leeroy Jenkins nerf, and often ends up being a vanilla 5/5 for 5, making him heavily contested in his mana slot to something like Sludge Belcher, which, is often run alongside Loatheb, but I often want to have room for just one more card in my decks to improve consistency. I've mostly come to this dilemma through many pro players having mixed opinions on the card, most notably Trump saying that it's not worth running in almost every deck as its effect is too situational, but I'd like to hear the Hearthpwn community's thoughts and whether it's really that great to still be running Loatheb in masses after two of its best/most popular targeted decks (Midrange Hunter and Leeroy Miracle) have been laid with the nerf hammer.
Well first of I'm pretty sure Loatheb is not in the baby making business so his gender doesn't matter. And as far as his viability in constructed, I would leave him out for now, not that many spell combos in the game atm, unless Maly Rouge becomes a thing he is probably in the reserve tech card shelf
Loatheb can be helpful against certain current builds (crusher mage, shaman, token druid, control pally) and he can help to lock in a win or prevent a board wipe but most times (in my experience at least) I find myself just playing him as a 5/5 body. He seems very meta dependant, if you're getting wrecked by a high amount of spell decks then he is useful, if you're playing against more aggro style decks he may be better replaced by something more useful.
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When life gives you lemons, trade'em for limes and get some Coronas!
I am happy that the meta is now steering away from using him, that way I can run Loatheb and win because I am using an OP card and my opponent's are not. Plus it's a 5/5 for 5 mana.
I am happy that the meta is now steering away from using him, that way I can run Loatheb and win because I am using an OP card and my opponent's are not. Plus it's a 5/5 for 5 mana.
I have nothing against playing Loatheb; this post was just a test to see what the popular opinion was. Clearly, from the poll, most people are voting towards still using him in most decks, which is all I needed to know. Making the assumption that meta players will stop running Loatheb just because one person might've made a disagreement doesn't necessarily reflect most people's opinion being that way.
Any card that disrupts your opponent's planned turn and causes them to deviate from what they want to do is worth playing. Loatheb and Sylvanas are the two primary legendaries for this, and it can lead to people making suboptimal plays (and even blatant mistakes) that could win you a game you wouldn't otherwise win.
I am happy that the meta is now steering away from using him, that way I can run Loatheb and win because I am using an OP card and my opponent's are not. Plus it's a 5/5 for 5 mana.
uhhh... Have you not found that there are about 10-12 great 5 slot cards just cartwheeling outside Loatheb's door saying "Look at me! I am better than you! Noone loves you, ya mutated freak." He is just too situational, and I would honestly rather run a simple Spectral Knight.
I am happy that the meta is now steering away from using him, that way I can run Loatheb and win because I am using an OP card and my opponent's are not. Plus it's a 5/5 for 5 mana.
uhhh... Have you not found that there are about 10-12 great 5 slot cards just cartwheeling outside Loatheb's door saying "Look at me! I am better than you! Noone loves you, ya mutated freak." He is just too situational, and I would honestly rather run a simple Spectral Knight.
Well they are pretty good, but not as good as Loatheb, the effect is just too powerful, it stops every unfair thing in Hearthstone for a turn. This game can seal the win, protect your board from AOE, prevent Gadgetzan shenanigans, prevent Savage Roar + Force of Nature combos (there are a lot less of them, but some druids still run one of each), innervated Yetis/Shieldmastas. FOR AN ENTIRE TURN This card is AMAZINGLY GOOD, the reason why some pros aren't running it is because Loatheb isn't perfect for all decks, Loatheb works best in slower decks with multiple win conditions OR heavy board control decks. Control Warrior, Handlock and Shaman make the most use out of this card.
For most Shaman decks, Loatheb really is all the hype your money can buy. filling the board with minions and dropping loatheb on ur 6 mages 7 gives you one whole turn to do lots of damage, the same against hunters, other shamans, paladins, warlocks, priests, and druids, so basically everyone else. in the words of ReapyIrrwish when you force a hunter to drop a highmane because they can no longer play UTH combo, and you just happen to be holding a hex for that highmane...its a way to for Shamans to force unfavorable plays in our favor. Loatheb really works as a tempo master for shaman. I wouldnt put him on any reserve card shelf.
I was going to make a post about how Loatheb is great because he can't be dealt with immediately with spells, but then I realized that Spectral Knight is the same thing, just different stats. I guess the added bonus you get with Loatheb is that he keeps your other minions from eating those spells, and of course he's a 5/5 instead of a 4/6 which is probably better.
Im pretty sure loatheb has won me several games against mage and druid. By making it impossible for them to play pyroblast, flamestrike or the forceofnature/savage roar combo. In these situations the game couldve gone either way. I couldve been pyroblasted into oblivion. I couldve lost my board to flamestrike. and I couldve been wiped out by force of nature/savage roar. I dont know if those cards were in my opponents hand. However, loatheb bought me the extra turn I needed for lethal.
I am happy that the meta is now steering away from using him, that way I can run Loatheb and win because I am using an OP card and my opponent's are not. Plus it's a 5/5 for 5 mana.
uhhh... Have you not found that there are about 10-12 great 5 slot cards just cartwheeling outside Loatheb's door saying "Look at me! I am better than you! Noone loves you, ya mutated freak." He is just too situational, and I would honestly rather run a simple Spectral Knight.
Well they are pretty good, but not as good as Loatheb, the effect is just too powerful, it stops every unfair thing in Hearthstone for a turn. This game can seal the win, protect your board from AOE, prevent Gadgetzan shenanigans, prevent Savage Roar + Force of Nature combos (there are a lot less of them, but some druids still run one of each), innervated Yetis/Shieldmastas. FOR AN ENTIRE TURN This card is AMAZINGLY GOOD, the reason why some pros aren't running it is because Loatheb isn't perfect for all decks, Loatheb works best in slower decks with multiple win conditions OR heavy board control decks. Control Warrior, Handlock and Shaman make the most use out of this card.
I must disagree. It's not THAT powerful. Many decks are using spell in reaction to something and loatheb himself isn't such a threat that it couldnt be dealt with wothout spells. And even so, 5 "almost certian" damage to the face it's "that powerful"
I believe it's really, really hard to get value of it's battlecry. 1) opponent can just do what he wanted later. 2) still can boadwipe you since you had to commit with minions turn earlier or later (hard to do along with loatheb) 3) still can eliminate single threat like rag or ysera - he just pays more mana which of course is an impact but is it THAT powerful? 4) The olny time I feel i messed up is when I play Loatheb turn after Gatgetzan or Malyogs. Sadly, the gatgetzan can be payed followed by spell on the same turn and Maly is just too rare to face againts...
Overall I think Loatheb is powerful but bit overrated by community.
This. I'm going to quote you on this because you said it the best out of this thread. Loatheb is great but he is a very high-meta card. It is hard to decide if he did anything or not, and your opponent can always just use their spells the next turn. And as a primary zoo player? I love when people play loatheb. :) Easy to take out, sucked most of their mana for one turn, and if I happen to have a spell I'll just use it next turn.
XanderCat, I do refuse to believe that zoo can just easily take care of Loatheb and that he only slightly inconveniences your tempo. I beat the breaks off of zoo players. yes there is bad RNG, yes some zoo players outplay me, but on the whole My deck holds up very well against zoolocks. and the one of the things I love doing is slowing the tempo down so much that on turns 5-7 I am usually within Lethal or you are already dead by then. be advised I run a Shaman deck. I run a variant of ReapyIrrwishs' deck.
I think it's more for specific decks now than before. Decks that rely on board control and/or a strong early/midgame (Token Druids, Shamans, Deathrattle Priests, etc) definitely benefit more, but it's a (somewhat situationally) powerful legendary regardless of the deck. Of course, there are a lot of powerful legendary (and other) cards, so maybe rather than thinking of whether or not you can justify Loatheb, consider what it's replacing and if it's generally more valuable than that card.
It's also worth noting that while (and because) Rogues and Hunters are falling out of favour, Mages are on the rise.
I always try to find room for him, but I can never find a card worth replacing for him. As far as the other 5 drops go, I prefer Sludge Belchers and Azure Drakes (as well as Druid of the Claw obviously, in my druid deck).
Is it a huge favourable tempo swing? Against a few decks, absolutely. Is it necessary? No, I don't think so. Most decks just play huge minions late game now anyways, and Loatheb does not slow this down at all.
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Twitch name: Anatak15 NA Legend Season 48, 49, 52, 53, 54, 74
He is still a 5/5 that generally has to be removed that turn with Minions as spells are generally not an option. Meaning he can be a psudo board clear vs a rush deck or be a guaranteed 5/5 on board if they ignore it. If you can find room I would always include it.
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As the 1-man-game-swinger that we all know and love, Loatheb is definitely a fantastic card if played at the right time against decks that win with an array of spells, such as the (old) Midrange Hunter, Miracle Rogue, Freeze Mage, and (kind of) Handlock, but I find that he doesn't always get his value, especially post Starving Buzzard and Leeroy Jenkins nerf, and often ends up being a vanilla 5/5 for 5, making him heavily contested in his mana slot to something like Sludge Belcher, which, is often run alongside Loatheb, but I often want to have room for just one more card in my decks to improve consistency. I've mostly come to this dilemma through many pro players having mixed opinions on the card, most notably Trump saying that it's not worth running in almost every deck as its effect is too situational, but I'd like to hear the Hearthpwn community's thoughts and whether it's really that great to still be running Loatheb in masses after two of its best/most popular targeted decks (Midrange Hunter and Leeroy Miracle) have been laid with the nerf hammer.
3x Legend | 2 Gold Heroes
Well first of I'm pretty sure Loatheb is not in the baby making business so his gender doesn't matter. And as far as his viability in constructed, I would leave him out for now, not that many spell combos in the game atm, unless Maly Rouge becomes a thing he is probably in the reserve tech card shelf
Loatheb can be helpful against certain current builds (crusher mage, shaman, token druid, control pally) and he can help to lock in a win or prevent a board wipe but most times (in my experience at least) I find myself just playing him as a 5/5 body. He seems very meta dependant, if you're getting wrecked by a high amount of spell decks then he is useful, if you're playing against more aggro style decks he may be better replaced by something more useful.
When life gives you lemons, trade'em for limes and get some Coronas!
Loatheb is an auto-include in almost all of my decks. As long as there are decks that uses spells, I think you can't go wrong with him.
I am happy that the meta is now steering away from using him, that way I can run Loatheb and win because I am using an OP card and my opponent's are not. Plus it's a 5/5 for 5 mana.
I have nothing against playing Loatheb; this post was just a test to see what the popular opinion was. Clearly, from the poll, most people are voting towards still using him in most decks, which is all I needed to know. Making the assumption that meta players will stop running Loatheb just because one person might've made a disagreement doesn't necessarily reflect most people's opinion being that way.
3x Legend | 2 Gold Heroes
Any card that disrupts your opponent's planned turn and causes them to deviate from what they want to do is worth playing. Loatheb and Sylvanas are the two primary legendaries for this, and it can lead to people making suboptimal plays (and even blatant mistakes) that could win you a game you wouldn't otherwise win.
uhhh... Have you not found that there are about 10-12 great 5 slot cards just cartwheeling outside Loatheb's door saying "Look at me! I am better than you! Noone loves you, ya mutated freak." He is just too situational, and I would honestly rather run a simple Spectral Knight.
Well they are pretty good, but not as good as Loatheb, the effect is just too powerful, it stops every unfair thing in Hearthstone for a turn. This game can seal the win, protect your board from AOE, prevent Gadgetzan shenanigans, prevent Savage Roar + Force of Nature combos (there are a lot less of them, but some druids still run one of each), innervated Yetis/Shieldmastas. FOR AN ENTIRE TURN
This card is AMAZINGLY GOOD, the reason why some pros aren't running it is because Loatheb isn't perfect for all decks, Loatheb works best in slower decks with multiple win conditions OR heavy board control decks. Control Warrior, Handlock and Shaman make the most use out of this card.
For most Shaman decks, Loatheb really is all the hype your money can buy. filling the board with minions and dropping loatheb on ur 6 mages 7 gives you one whole turn to do lots of damage, the same against hunters, other shamans, paladins, warlocks, priests, and druids, so basically everyone else. in the words of ReapyIrrwish when you force a hunter to drop a highmane because they can no longer play UTH combo, and you just happen to be holding a hex for that highmane...its a way to for Shamans to force unfavorable plays in our favor. Loatheb really works as a tempo master for shaman. I wouldnt put him on any reserve card shelf.
Humperdink Humperdink Humperdink!!!
Agreed
Humperdink Humperdink Humperdink!!!
I was going to make a post about how Loatheb is great because he can't be dealt with immediately with spells, but then I realized that Spectral Knight is the same thing, just different stats. I guess the added bonus you get with Loatheb is that he keeps your other minions from eating those spells, and of course he's a 5/5 instead of a 4/6 which is probably better.
Im pretty sure loatheb has won me several games against mage and druid. By making it impossible for them to play pyroblast, flamestrike or the forceofnature/savage roar combo. In these situations the game couldve gone either way. I couldve been pyroblasted into oblivion. I couldve lost my board to flamestrike. and I couldve been wiped out by force of nature/savage roar. I dont know if those cards were in my opponents hand. However, loatheb bought me the extra turn I needed for lethal.
This. I'm going to quote you on this because you said it the best out of this thread. Loatheb is great but he is a very high-meta card. It is hard to decide if he did anything or not, and your opponent can always just use their spells the next turn. And as a primary zoo player? I love when people play loatheb. :) Easy to take out, sucked most of their mana for one turn, and if I happen to have a spell I'll just use it next turn.
XanderCat, I do refuse to believe that zoo can just easily take care of Loatheb and that he only slightly inconveniences your tempo. I beat the breaks off of zoo players. yes there is bad RNG, yes some zoo players outplay me, but on the whole My deck holds up very well against zoolocks. and the one of the things I love doing is slowing the tempo down so much that on turns 5-7 I am usually within Lethal or you are already dead by then. be advised I run a Shaman deck. I run a variant of ReapyIrrwishs' deck.
Humperdink Humperdink Humperdink!!!
I think it's more for specific decks now than before. Decks that rely on board control and/or a strong early/midgame (Token Druids, Shamans, Deathrattle Priests, etc) definitely benefit more, but it's a (somewhat situationally) powerful legendary regardless of the deck. Of course, there are a lot of powerful legendary (and other) cards, so maybe rather than thinking of whether or not you can justify Loatheb, consider what it's replacing and if it's generally more valuable than that card.
It's also worth noting that while (and because) Rogues and Hunters are falling out of favour, Mages are on the rise.
I always try to find room for him, but I can never find a card worth replacing for him. As far as the other 5 drops go, I prefer Sludge Belchers and Azure Drakes (as well as Druid of the Claw obviously, in my druid deck).
Is it a huge favourable tempo swing? Against a few decks, absolutely. Is it necessary? No, I don't think so. Most decks just play huge minions late game now anyways, and Loatheb does not slow this down at all.
Twitch name: Anatak15
NA Legend Season 48, 49, 52, 53, 54, 74
He is still a 5/5 that generally has to be removed that turn with Minions as spells are generally not an option. Meaning he can be a psudo board clear vs a rush deck or be a guaranteed 5/5 on board if they ignore it. If you can find room I would always include it.