I believe you are too optimistic on Paladin cards. Paladin will see play, and be very strong; but it will be the Odd variety with maybe Glowtron as a sometimes include.
The whole mech thing will be tried and dropped. They're too weak altogether.
Combo Druid's power will be absolutely ridiculous and consistent. In the hands of a good player, there will be no matchup with under 50% odds to beat; but at least it will be hard enough to pilot that most people won't get optimal results.
Hand destruction Control Warlock might become a thing. If they burn one right card, they win!
Zoo, Odd Paladin and Odd Rogue are going to be the speedbumps. If your theorycraft can't stand a chance against them, your theorycraft doesn't work.
Combo Priest will return and it's looking very strong. Combo shaman will fade with time but have some representation here and there. Combo Druid will dominate. Combo Warlock might be a meme, but with a Zoo or anti-combo (discard) shell, who knows?
I believe you are too optimistic on Paladin cards. Paladin will see play, and be very strong; but it will be the Odd variety with maybe Glowtron as a sometimes include.
The whole mech thing will be tried and dropped. They're too weak altogether.
Yeah - that's a pretty fair criticism. I am dangerously bullish on mech paladin. In part, it is because it's the only good looking mech deck.
Well, the deck is calledInner Fire, but the card might not even be needed or nearly as important as their new additions. Test Subject can get really out of control with all the copying mechanics, constantly generating more cards; four Divine Spirit would mean that any minion you leave in board can potentially mean lethal. Five or six Divine Spirit can mean any minion with charge can win the game.
In another note, how did you decide what to quote?
You hit "quote" then edit the quote!
I'm not sold on the Test Subject combo. Maybe I'll end up being wrong. I feel like it's asking you to run too many bad cards (Test Subject and Vivid Nightmare).
I agree it's probably better than mechs...but I don't feel like that's a very high bar to beat.
I'm not sold on the Test Subject combo. Maybe I'll end up being wrong. I feel like it's asking you to run too many bad cards (Test Subject and Vivid Nightmare).
I agree it's probably better than mechs...but I don't feel like that's a very high bar to beat.
Well, combo decks usually run bad or even useless cards, until it becomes the right time to use them and they win the game. The notable exception to it might be Shudderwock Shaman; which can drop its combo pieces anytime to heal or defend.
I also am not of the mind this Combo will break the game, or even approach Druid levels of power, but it is looking strong. The core of the combo can even be included with Shadowreaper AnduinMind Blast decks so they don't even need the 32 damage when the time comes.
I'm not hopeful, or looking forward to it. I hate combo. All that needs to be said is that the damn thing looks strong.
Great work. You know what you do :-). I would give more cards a 2 but thats not so important.
Some note: Beryllium Nullifier: That 1 is pretty low. I feel this one has potential in odd warrior being a strong control addition. If odd warrior is a thing thoug ... Maybe we won´t see it due to this :-).I will try but might fail. Tried odd warrior campared to normal warrior last days again and it just failed. Normal feels so much better .... Lets see if an odd mechwarrior will be more then meme ..
Great work. You know what you do :-). I would give more cards a 2 but thats not so important.
Some note: Beryllium Nullifier: That 1 is pretty low. I feel this one has potential in odd warrior being a strong control addition. If odd warrior is a thing thoug ... Maybe we won´t see it due to this :-).I will try but might fail. Tried odd warrior campared to normal warrior last days again and it just failed. Normal feels so much better .... Lets see if an odd mechwarrior will be more then meme ..
Thanks!!!
To me, Nullifier feels like one of those cards you're fine with Discovering or receiving off a random effect, but not something you actively put in your deck. The mana/stat ratio is just too weak.
Your rating system seems kind of safe, but at the same time I don't dislike it because in a way it's a pretty optimistic system. I like optimism. I do disagree on some cards though:
Tending Tauren: 1 star Mini-Cenarius doesn't seem very playable to me. High cost, choose one between win more or slow stats. Seems meh to me. I'd say it's mostly bad compared to Fungalmancer, but it is more flexible. I think the cost is what ruins this card.
Landscaping: 3 stars Good stats for its cost and synergizes with Mulchmuncher and other token druid cards. I don't think it deserves a 2 in your rating system.
Hunter:
Goblin Prank: 1 star The card itself doesn't seem that bad in a vacuum. There are several scenarios I could think of where it's decent. But... I don't think it will realistically work and I don't think it's worth cutting cards for this.
Fireworks Tech: 2 stars If a hunter mech deck would work, this would be an easy fit imo. Considering how you rated other mechs, I think this should at least be 2 stars.
Secret Plan: 3 stars This has a lot of utility, because it basically allows you to play a third copy of any good secret in a spellstone or spell deck. This also allows you to choose a secret based on your current matchup. I think it's great!
Mage:
Stargazer Luna: 4 stars This card seems really solid to me. I might be overhyping it, but I think it has more applications than in tempo mage.
Astromancer: 1 star Whereas you don't believe in hand mage, I seem to really not believe in hand mage.
Kangor's Endless Army: 2 stars You gave it a very optimistic rating considering the rating you gave to other mech cards. I'm not even sure I would play this in a mech deck if I could. But there is a slight possibility, which is why I give it 2 stars (would need to make sure it doesn't get too many low-cost mechs without buffs).
Crystalsmith Kangor: 1 star I want to believe in this card, but I don't really see heal paladin working out since there are so many combo decks out there. Also it probably isn't good enough in control paladin if that deck is good.
Annoy-o-Module: 2 stars I'm not sure mech paladin is that great, but I think this card would be pretty good in that deck. This might be an optimistic rating though.
Crystology: 4 stars This is obviously a fantastic card, the only counterargument would be that the decks this card fits into could be bad. I believe this can find a home in at least one good deck.
Autodefense Matrix: 1 star Meh. I might play it just for fun in a Prince Liam deck or something and it could be a good option from Hydrologist, but otherwise I don't see this working out.
Glow-Tron: 4 stars This is an auto-include in mech paladin, but further than that I think it could also see play in a non-mech deck!
Priest:
Zerek's Cloning Gallery: 2 stars The potential I see in this card is probably in a quest priest deck, or a very high-rolly option in a big priest deck. Considering it's high cost and unreliability (you could draw your minions before you play this card) I don't see it as a good option in a combo deck. I think 3 stars is too high in your rating system, anyway.
Zerek, Master Cloner: 3 stars Ok, this might seem crazy and it's probably one of the ratings I believe in least, but: I saw this being played at the prerelease and holy moly. It seems much stronger than I initially thought. However, it is important to note that the prerelease only had basic and boomsday cards, which probably makes it much better in that meta. But I think this might be a sleeper card. Really good combo in quest priest with Reckless Experimenter and Vivid Nightmare.
Reckless Experimenter: 3 stars I think this needs more support than you say, but I still see its potential.
Extra Arms: 1 star I'm really not seeing this card working. It's only actually good in conjunction with Radiant Elemental, otherwise the cost is too high. If there's some kind of zoo priest with Radiant Elemental as a focal point, maybe, but that probably won't happen.
Test Subject: 2 stars I'm rating this 2 stars because of the combo (look it up), but. Eh, not entirely convinced by the combo.
Topsy Turvy: 3 stars Not only would this see play in the combo deck with Test Subject if it actually works, but it seems like a really good option in an Inner Fire combo deck. I don't see how it's a tech card.
Rogue:
Necrium Vial: 1 star Meh, what deck would you put this in? It seems fun but not that good.
Crazed Chemist: 1 star Arena card. Not really seeing it work in constructed.
Violet Haze: 2 stars It has a lot of variance, but the reason for my rating is that it possibly gives more fuel to Tess Greymane. But wait that's a meme deck. Violet Haze: 2 stars 1 star
Shaman:
Thunderhead: 3 stars This might also be one of the cards I rate too high, but man. I actually believe that some kind of token shaman deck could work, and this would be great in it.
Storm Chaser: 4 stars Just a really solid card that will easily fit into many decks. Often a 1-off probably, since there aren't that many 5- or more cost spells in shaman, but still a really good card.
Voltaic Burst: 3 stars Rating this high for the same reason as Thunderhead, I believe in token shaman (might still be hilariously wrong though).
Menacing Nimbus: 3 stars This also seems like a solid card to me and could probably see play in many different decks (even shaman, elemental shaman, token shaman?)
Warlock:
The Soularium: 4 stars This goes into every single zoo deck, right? So why 3 stars?
Nethersoul Buster: 1 star Hm... it reminds me a bit of Darkshire Councilman, so it could be dangerous to rate this 1 star. Actually, would this be good in heal zoo? Crystallizer could also work in heal zoo. There definitely is potential... but I'm just gonna go ahead and rate this 1 star anyway.
Soul Infusion: 2 stars This is better than something like Smuggler's Crate because 1. It works on all minions, and 2. You basically get to choose the target. Together with Doubling Imp and Saronite Chain gang, this has incredible potential. But, alas, it might be too slow for a zoo deck, and I'm unsure if 2 stars is a good rating for this card.
Warrior:
Omega Assembly: 3 stars This gives you a lot of value in the late game (well, it could also give you 3 1-drops but how likely is that anyway). It would probably be played very rarely before turn 10 but having the option is a bonus. However, that also makes it a dead card for the most of the game. But I still think it has really nice synergy with Dr. Boom, Mad Genius and is just straight up a nice value card in control warrior.
Weapons Project: 4 stars Great anti-aggro card, breaks weapons, amazing synergy with Harrison Jones. Do I need to say more?
When it comes to neutrals, I mostly agree. I think Wargear could possibly be a 3-star card, since it's one of the best neutral magnetic cards (if you rate Zilliax 3 stars, then this should also be 3 stars imo).
Am I the only one that thinks Dr. Boom Mad Genius is a bad card?
- 7 mana no immediate board impact. - Only works in a mech focused deck. Those appear to be midrange which is awful in the current meta. And with all the combo tools Druid got looks to be awful in the next meta. - Random hero power. Unreliable.
Just seems like a lump of crap to me. Unless you find a way to fit it into a control shell (which I'm not seeing) I don't see any use for this card. That being said, I'm pretty low on mech decks being that good to begin with. At least in Standard.
I think if there is a viable midrange Warrior mech deck this will be one of the first cards folks look to cut in favor of something less controlly and more game endy.
You give it 4 stars. I give it 1.
Vs. Combo they thank you for the extra free turn. Vs. Aggro you probably can't drop this on 7 without dying next turn. Vs. Control I don't think control cares a bit if your minions have rush. Vs. Midrange I don't think this makes midrange warrior better than midrange decks like Recruit/egg Hunter or Even Lock.
Warrior is one of the class that could afford to play a 7 mana gain 7 armor since he got some good board clear and a better HP after
- Only works in a mech focused deck. Those appear to be midrange which is awful in the current meta. And with all the combo tools Druid got looks to be awful in the next meta.
You don't even need mech to play Dr.Boom Mad Genius since you can discover mech or summon 3 1/1 with rush. In fact, this hero fit perfectly in a control deck.
- Random hero power. Unreliable.
The HP is random but all the choices are good. The value you can get for discovering a mech with rush, gaining 7 armor, summon 3 1/1 rush or deal 3 damage for only 2 mana is insane.
Warrior is one of the class that could afford to play a 7 mana gain 7 armor since he got some good board clear and a better HP after
- Only works in a mech focused deck. Those appear to be midrange which is awful in the current meta. And with all the combo tools Druid got looks to be awful in the next meta.
You don't even need mech to play Dr.Boom Mad Genius since you can discover mech or summon 3 1/1 with rush. In fact, this hero fit perfectly in a control deck.
- Random hero power. Unreliable.
The HP is random but all the choices are good. The value you can get for discovering a mech with rush, gaining 7 armor, summon 3 1/1 rush or deal 3 damage for only 2 mana is insane.
I said this might work in a control deck. If that becomes viable then this card works. I think that's a big if though.
I guess we will see. Either it will enable control warrior (or any warrior) into a tier 1 or 2 deck and I'll be COMPLETELY wrong, or it'll be used for 2-3 weeks in experimentation and not seen again for the rest of this rotation and I'll be completely correct.
I believe you are too optimistic on Paladin cards. Paladin will see play, and be very strong; but it will be the Odd variety with maybe Glowtron as a sometimes include.
The whole mech thing will be tried and dropped. They're too weak altogether.
Combo Druid's power will be absolutely ridiculous and consistent. In the hands of a good player, there will be no matchup with under 50% odds to beat; but at least it will be hard enough to pilot that most people won't get optimal results.
Hand destruction Control Warlock might become a thing. If they burn one right card, they win!
Zoo, Odd Paladin and Odd Rogue are going to be the speedbumps. If your theorycraft can't stand a chance against them, your theorycraft doesn't work.
Combo Priest will return and it's looking very strong. Combo shaman will fade with time but have some representation here and there. Combo Druid will dominate. Combo Warlock might be a meme, but with a Zoo or anti-combo (discard) shell, who knows?
Yeah - that's a pretty fair criticism. I am dangerously bullish on mech paladin. In part, it is because it's the only good looking mech deck.
Which combo priest do you think will be good?
Inner Fire, of course.
Well, the deck is calledInner Fire, but the card might not even be needed or nearly as important as their new additions. Test Subject can get really out of control with all the copying mechanics, constantly generating more cards; four Divine Spirit would mean that any minion you leave in board can potentially mean lethal. Five or six Divine Spirit can mean any minion with charge can win the game.
Topsy Turvy might surprise us all. One has to be very, very wary of 0 mana cards with combo potential. The card can effectively replace (or double) Inner Fire. Test Subject, one Radiant Elemental; and you can cast Power Word: Shield to draw, Vivid Nightmare and Topsy Turvy can be a potentially infinite draw engine.
I don't know how consistent it can be, but I expect it will be tried; it certainly looks much stronger than all mechs put together.
With so many buffs, the deck might have a natural fit of Zerek, Master Cloner; I saw some disgusting things made with him.
In another note, how did you decide what to quote?
You hit "quote" then edit the quote!
I'm not sold on the Test Subject combo. Maybe I'll end up being wrong. I feel like it's asking you to run too many bad cards (Test Subject and Vivid Nightmare).
I agree it's probably better than mechs...but I don't feel like that's a very high bar to beat.
Well, combo decks usually run bad or even useless cards, until it becomes the right time to use them and they win the game. The notable exception to it might be Shudderwock Shaman; which can drop its combo pieces anytime to heal or defend.
Priest might not be good for much, but they have insane draw engines. If they can combo some Acolyte of Pain, Wild Pyromancer and Northshire Cleric; they can draw their four-card combo to generate 5 Divine Spirit needing only 4 mana. That with a single Stonetusk Boar, Radiant Elemental and of course either Inner Fire or Topsy Turvy; they can close the game as early as turn 8 for 32 face damage; pretty unprecedented by combo decks.
I also am not of the mind this Combo will break the game, or even approach Druid levels of power, but it is looking strong. The core of the combo can even be included with Shadowreaper Anduin Mind Blast decks so they don't even need the 32 damage when the time comes.
I'm not hopeful, or looking forward to it. I hate combo. All that needs to be said is that the damn thing looks strong.
Great work. You know what you do :-). I would give more cards a 2 but thats not so important.
Some note: Beryllium Nullifier: That 1 is pretty low. I feel this one has potential in odd warrior being a strong control addition. If odd warrior is a thing thoug ... Maybe we won´t see it due to this :-).I will try but might fail. Tried odd warrior campared to normal warrior last days again and it just failed. Normal feels so much better .... Lets see if an odd mechwarrior will be more then meme ..
Thanks!!!
To me, Nullifier feels like one of those cards you're fine with Discovering or receiving off a random effect, but not something you actively put in your deck. The mana/stat ratio is just too weak.
Average ratings by class -
Druid - 2.1
Paladin - 2.0
Priest - 2.0
Shaman - 2.0
Rogue - 1.9
Warrior - 1.9
Warlock - 1.7
Hunter - 1.5
Mage 1.5
Your rating system seems kind of safe, but at the same time I don't dislike it because in a way it's a pretty optimistic system. I like optimism. I do disagree on some cards though:
Druid:
Mulchmuncher: 3 stars
This card needs some support, but with only Soul of the Forest and Living Mana the cost starts to decrease a lot. It's very reminiscent of Corridor Creeper.
Tending Tauren: 1 star
Mini-Cenarius doesn't seem very playable to me. High cost, choose one between win more or slow stats. Seems meh to me. I'd say it's mostly bad compared to Fungalmancer, but it is more flexible. I think the cost is what ruins this card.
Landscaping: 3 stars
Good stats for its cost and synergizes with Mulchmuncher and other token druid cards. I don't think it deserves a 2 in your rating system.
Hunter:
Goblin Prank: 1 star
The card itself doesn't seem that bad in a vacuum. There are several scenarios I could think of where it's decent. But... I don't think it will realistically work and I don't think it's worth cutting cards for this.
Fireworks Tech: 2 stars
If a hunter mech deck would work, this would be an easy fit imo. Considering how you rated other mechs, I think this should at least be 2 stars.
Secret Plan: 3 stars
This has a lot of utility, because it basically allows you to play a third copy of any good secret in a spellstone or spell deck. This also allows you to choose a secret based on your current matchup. I think it's great!
Mage:
Stargazer Luna: 4 stars
This card seems really solid to me. I might be overhyping it, but I think it has more applications than in tempo mage.
Astromancer: 1 star
Whereas you don't believe in hand mage, I seem to really not believe in hand mage.
Meteorologist: 1 star
^
Paladin:
Kangor's Endless Army: 2 stars
You gave it a very optimistic rating considering the rating you gave to other mech cards. I'm not even sure I would play this in a mech deck if I could. But there is a slight possibility, which is why I give it 2 stars (would need to make sure it doesn't get too many low-cost mechs without buffs).
Crystalsmith Kangor: 1 star
I want to believe in this card, but I don't really see heal paladin working out since there are so many combo decks out there. Also it probably isn't good enough in control paladin if that deck is good.
Annoy-o-Module: 2 stars
I'm not sure mech paladin is that great, but I think this card would be pretty good in that deck. This might be an optimistic rating though.
Crystology: 4 stars
This is obviously a fantastic card, the only counterargument would be that the decks this card fits into could be bad. I believe this can find a home in at least one good deck.
Autodefense Matrix: 1 star
Meh. I might play it just for fun in a Prince Liam deck or something and it could be a good option from Hydrologist, but otherwise I don't see this working out.
Glow-Tron: 4 stars
This is an auto-include in mech paladin, but further than that I think it could also see play in a non-mech deck!
Priest:
Zerek's Cloning Gallery: 2 stars
The potential I see in this card is probably in a quest priest deck, or a very high-rolly option in a big priest deck. Considering it's high cost and unreliability (you could draw your minions before you play this card) I don't see it as a good option in a combo deck. I think 3 stars is too high in your rating system, anyway.
Zerek, Master Cloner: 3 stars
Ok, this might seem crazy and it's probably one of the ratings I believe in least, but: I saw this being played at the prerelease and holy moly. It seems much stronger than I initially thought. However, it is important to note that the prerelease only had basic and boomsday cards, which probably makes it much better in that meta. But I think this might be a sleeper card. Really good combo in quest priest with Reckless Experimenter and Vivid Nightmare.
Reckless Experimenter: 3 stars
I think this needs more support than you say, but I still see its potential.
Extra Arms: 1 star
I'm really not seeing this card working. It's only actually good in conjunction with Radiant Elemental, otherwise the cost is too high. If there's some kind of zoo priest with Radiant Elemental as a focal point, maybe, but that probably won't happen.
Test Subject: 2 stars
I'm rating this 2 stars because of the combo (look it up), but. Eh, not entirely convinced by the combo.
Topsy Turvy: 3 stars
Not only would this see play in the combo deck with Test Subject if it actually works, but it seems like a really good option in an Inner Fire combo deck. I don't see how it's a tech card.
Rogue:
Necrium Vial: 1 star
Meh, what deck would you put this in? It seems fun but not that good.
Blightnozzle Crawler: 1 star
Meh, again. Vilespine Slayer is in most situations better.
Crazed Chemist: 1 star
Arena card. Not really seeing it work in constructed.
Violet Haze: 2 stars
It has a lot of variance, but the reason for my rating is that it possibly gives more fuel to Tess Greymane. But wait that's a meme deck.
Violet Haze:
2 stars1 starShaman:
Thunderhead: 3 stars
This might also be one of the cards I rate too high, but man. I actually believe that some kind of token shaman deck could work, and this would be great in it.
Storm Chaser: 4 stars
Just a really solid card that will easily fit into many decks. Often a 1-off probably, since there aren't that many 5- or more cost spells in shaman, but still a really good card.
Voltaic Burst: 3 stars
Rating this high for the same reason as Thunderhead, I believe in token shaman (might still be hilariously wrong though).
Menacing Nimbus: 3 stars
This also seems like a solid card to me and could probably see play in many different decks (even shaman, elemental shaman, token shaman?)
Warlock:
The Soularium: 4 stars
This goes into every single zoo deck, right? So why 3 stars?
Nethersoul Buster: 1 star
Hm... it reminds me a bit of Darkshire Councilman, so it could be dangerous to rate this 1 star. Actually, would this be good in heal zoo? Crystallizer could also work in heal zoo. There definitely is potential... but I'm just gonna go ahead and rate this 1 star anyway.
Soul Infusion: 2 stars
This is better than something like Smuggler's Crate because 1. It works on all minions, and 2. You basically get to choose the target. Together with Doubling Imp and Saronite Chain gang, this has incredible potential. But, alas, it might be too slow for a zoo deck, and I'm unsure if 2 stars is a good rating for this card.
Warrior:
Omega Assembly: 3 stars
This gives you a lot of value in the late game (well, it could also give you 3 1-drops but how likely is that anyway). It would probably be played very rarely before turn 10 but having the option is a bonus. However, that also makes it a dead card for the most of the game. But I still think it has really nice synergy with Dr. Boom, Mad Genius and is just straight up a nice value card in control warrior.
Weapons Project: 4 stars
Great anti-aggro card, breaks weapons, amazing synergy with Harrison Jones. Do I need to say more?
When it comes to neutrals, I mostly agree. I think Wargear could possibly be a 3-star card, since it's one of the best neutral magnetic cards (if you rate Zilliax 3 stars, then this should also be 3 stars imo).
damn!
Interesting break down! Thank you for that.
I'd say it looks about right. Most classes are close to a 2.0. Druid got some great stuff, Mage got some bad stuff.
Very nice review and a fun read! My only complain is not enough! Lol. All I mean is there were a couple of neutrals I would have wanted to read about.
And don't bother feeding (replying to) the trolls.
When you click on this post expecting some Ben Brode stuff and you get some fan made card reviews
Dreampetal Florist: 2 stars
Stopped reading after this
One day this game will stop existing. I can't wait.
Thanks for the post
Am I the only one that thinks Dr. Boom Mad Genius is a bad card?
- 7 mana no immediate board impact.
- Only works in a mech focused deck. Those appear to be midrange which is awful in the current meta. And with all the combo tools Druid got looks to be awful in the next meta.
- Random hero power. Unreliable.
Just seems like a lump of crap to me. Unless you find a way to fit it into a control shell (which I'm not seeing) I don't see any use for this card. That being said, I'm pretty low on mech decks being that good to begin with. At least in Standard.
I think if there is a viable midrange Warrior mech deck this will be one of the first cards folks look to cut in favor of something less controlly and more game endy.
You give it 4 stars. I give it 1.
Vs. Combo they thank you for the extra free turn.
Vs. Aggro you probably can't drop this on 7 without dying next turn.
Vs. Control I don't think control cares a bit if your minions have rush.
Vs. Midrange I don't think this makes midrange warrior better than midrange decks like Recruit/egg Hunter or Even Lock.
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Warrior is one of the class that could afford to play a 7 mana gain 7 armor since he got some good board clear and a better HP after
You don't even need mech to play Dr.Boom Mad Genius since you can discover mech or summon 3 1/1 with rush. In fact, this hero fit perfectly in a control deck.
The HP is random but all the choices are good. The value you can get for discovering a mech with rush, gaining 7 armor, summon 3 1/1 rush or deal 3 damage for only 2 mana is insane.
I said this might work in a control deck. If that becomes viable then this card works. I think that's a big if though.
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I'm not sure it's that big an if - Control Warrior was really only lacking a way to compete with other Death Knights. Now it can.
I guess we will see. Either it will enable control warrior (or any warrior) into a tier 1 or 2 deck and I'll be COMPLETELY wrong, or it'll be used for 2-3 weeks in experimentation and not seen again for the rest of this rotation and I'll be completely correct.
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