Disclaimer:I am not a professional player. I am not even an above-average player, and I only made legend for the first time this season. What I am is someone who loves this game plays it a lot and above all else likes to play control, so I have played Zephrys hundreds if not thousands of times in his lifespan and in that time I have learned to use him and came to some conclusions based on my data.
The Card
How most people seem to think the card works:
Zephrys will analyse the board state and offer me the perfect card. He takes into account all cards currently on the board, their text, their stats and their minion type. He will provide me with 3 tailor-made solutions based on his assessment of the current situation. He knows all the cards in hearthstone, knows all keywords and knows how to deal with every single scenario in the perfect manner meaning I do not have to think about playing him, I can just jam him down, and he will give me the victory or at least clear the board.
How the card works:
Zephrys will analyse the board using a sophisticated algorithm. He only knows the classic set of cards off by heart including keywords and stat lines and when a new expansion is released the only tinkering to his algorithm is the inclusion of a new keyword or game mechanic and what potentially counters it. Zephrys has an internal value system that prioritises certain things above others when he does his board assessment.
These assumptions have not been confirmed anywhere by developers or any deep dive on his code just through my anecdotal evidence, but it is what I believe to be correct and has served me well when playing this "great" card.
How I think his algorithm works
Zephrys assesses a board by taking each element in a specific order and then running that through an internal value system to assign a threat level to each of the opponent's cards and how detrimental they are to his player's chances of winning the game or surviving the turn.
I also believe that Zephrys knowledge of hearthstone and its cards is limited only to the classic set of cards which he knows every single detail of and keywords from all other expansions which he only knows in general terms. The reason I believe this is because if Zephrys knew every single card on an individual basis there would be some poor code monkey on team 5 who had only one job and that would be coding Zephrys for 8 hours a day, and he would still be catching up on last years cards right now. So they gave him the classic set as the basis for his card knowledge, and now he uses that knowledge to assign threat levels based on the factors below.
Mana remaining - This is the number one thing Zephrys will assess because he will offer the optimal card in whatever mana bracket you have left.
Player health - He determines if there is a way for him to offer lethal to his player or if there is nothing else on board and his player is low he will provide healing as a priority card.
Stats - He looks at the opponent's board and the stats of each card and decides which card pose the highest threat base on health, damage, and mana cost
Keyword - Contrary to popular belief Zephrys can read he just doesn't bother reading everything unless its a classic card because he can't see that text because in his brain only the classic set and various new keywords exist
Minion Type - Hands up anyone who has killed the Demon hunter Murloc by Zephrys and crabbing it to death? Nuff said he knows minion types and knows how to counter them as long as the said counter is a classic card.
Other Board States - Weapons, frozen cards, etc. he will read the situation and offer a card based on these factors if they pose a more significant threat or stand in the way of lethal.
We know what factors he looks at and if we assume that he only has the classic set for base card knowledge what can we glean from this well the number one complaint about Zephrys is his inability to read card text usually concerning death rattle. Still, when we look at death rattle in the classic set, we can kind of see why Zephrys is prioritising a minion's stats over the death rattle.
Good Deathrattle classic Set
So let's examine these card they all have death rattles, and they are all worth silencing or transforming to remove. Still, none of them would be substantial game-changing gains for your opponent except arguably Tirion, and that's on these cards individually.
If your opponent has other factors in play Zephrys is going to prioritise removing the main body and not the rattle a lot more because in truth his knowledge of deathrattles is skewed by how weak the best deathrattles in the classic set are in comparison.
Bad Deathrattle classic Set
The Beast is partly responsible for Zephrys not prioritising deathrattles it has great stats for the cost, and the deathrattle is beneficial for you. He will use this criterion when looking at all other deathrattle minions and will assign good stats with a lousy death rattle.
Now when we take all of his information about deathrattle cards into account, you can probably see why he doesn't see the need to offer hex or a silence most of the time especially on boards that have other factors in play.
How to use Zephrys effectively
There are 3 rules that I use when playing Zephrys, and they have never let me down, nor have they left me disappointed with the options he provided.
Rule 1 - Know what you want before you play him.
Knowing what you want him to offer is crucial because you can then manipulate your mana and board state so that he is much more likely to provide it. If you wish to generate hex or polymorph to remove that death rattle minion, then remove as many other factors as you can and make sure that when you play Zeprys, you only have 4 mana remaining.
Rule 2 - Manipulate your Mana
Only Play zephrys when you have a specific amount of mana left so that you force him to prioritise cards that mana bracket, a great example of this is against Rez Priest he has played Vargoth on an empty board consider the two scenarios below.
Scenario 1
if you zephrys on 10 mana against Archmage Vargoth Zephrys would likely offer the following 3 options Shadow Word: PainNatalie Seline and Tirion Fordring. Shadow word pain is the most efficient method of dealing with the opponent's board. It leaves you 6 mana to work with, Seline allows you to destroy the opponent's board and develops a strong one of your own and finally, Tirion is just a tremendous proactive card to play as it is both defensive and offensive at the same time.
Scenario 2
This time you hero power or play a 2 mana card and then you play Zephrys against Archmage Vargoth you guarantee that you get a Cabal Shadow Priest as one of your options because you have forced Zephrys to prioritise a 6 mana option.
Rule 3 - Treat him like a discover card, but you control his card pool
Zephrys is a discover card except you control what card he can discover, so it is your job to make sure you limit his card pool to the optimal solutions. There is a reason Vulpera Scoundrel is in 1% of wild decks her discovery pool is so large there is no point in playing her but if you could limit her pool to a particular mana cost and knew which set she was limited too you would play her a lot more right? So treat Zephrys the same way, and you will not be disappointed.
Conclusion - aka TLDR
Zephrys is only coded to know the basic and classic set of cards and new keywords, he prioritises an option based on your remaining mana, and he doesn't read text outside of key words, stats and minion types oh and hex puts a taunt in the way so he will not offer hex that often because it denies face damage and we all know he is a big old smorcer at heart
Now stop complaining he didn't offer you the perfect solution and make his job easier by playing him correctly.
You left out one important detail. Zephrys does NOT know what's in your hand. So, if you're looking for Zephrys to provide you with a lethal option through burn, you first need to use the burn in your hand to lower your opponent's life total and then Zephrys can do the rest.
I'll give an example. Let's say you're playing hunter. Your opponent has 11 health and 4 minions in play (no taunts). Your board is empty but, you have 10 mana and in your hand you have Unleash the Hounds and Zephrys the Great.
In this scenario. If you jam Zephrys first, he is likely to give you options that help stabilize the board state since there is no card he can give you that does 11 damage to face. However, if you unleash and go face for 4, then hero power for 2 more. Your opponent will have 5 health remaining and you'll have 5 mana remaining. So, if you play Zephrys with this new board state, he will recognize that Kill Command or Lava Burst is lethal and he'll offer you one or both of them.
It's the same concept as manipulating your mana to affect the choices Zephrys gives you. From what I can tell, lethal is always his top priority; however, for best results, you must first spot the lethal yourself and then do the majority of the work before playing Zephrys to make his job as easy as possible.
Thanks for taking the time to write all that stuff down, very useful!
There's a scenario I can't explain with your logic tho: Zephrys often offered me Doomhammer while playing combo DH, even when I had no attack buffs on my face and/or it really didn't make a lot of sense considering the board state; but it was of course ridiculously good on the next few turns because of Twin Slice / Inner Demon being in my hand.
For him to make that kind of offer, he must at least take into account either some cards in your hand or recognize the incredible synergy Doomhammer has with the rest of the DH toolset...
When you played Zephrys was your opponent on lowish health say around 15?, Was there only 5 mana left after playing zephrys or was it turn 5 next turn?
Doom Hammer is an amazing card for any class, its proactive meaning it doesn't require any specific conditions for Zephrys to offer it. if there is a small or no board for him to deal with he will find the best tempo play for your mana bracket and 4-6 mana that's usually going to be doom hammer or earth elemental.
When you played Zephrys was your opponent on lowish health say around 15?, Was there only 5 mana left after playing zephrys or was it turn 5 next turn?
Doom Hammer is an amazing card for any class, its proactive meaning it doesn't require any specific conditions for Zephrys to offer it. if there is a small or no board for him to deal with he will find the best tempo play for your mana bracket and 4-6 mana that's usually going to be doom hammer or earth elemental.
15 to 20 health sounds about right, can't remember about the leftover mana.
However, I still find it "suspicious". I've never been offered Doomhammer even once playing Zephrys in Highlander hunter and mage, and at least 3 times with DH. I've also seen people reporting being offered Doomhammer when playing him turn 2 on an empty board as DH.
I've never played Zephrys, but I remember from this Tavern Brawl with the 3 wishes some weeks ago that when there was nothing urgent going on with the board, my health or my opponent's health, Doomhammer would be frequently offered as a great tempo card in general. Same with Tirion when you have a bit more mana...
Disclaimer: I am not a professional player. I am not even an above-average player, and I only made legend for the first time this season. What I am is someone who loves this game plays it a lot and above all else likes to play control, so I have played Zephrys hundreds if not thousands of times in his lifespan and in that time I have learned to use him and came to some conclusions based on my data.
The Card
How most people seem to think the card works:
Zephrys will analyse the board state and offer me the perfect card. He takes into account all cards currently on the board, their text, their stats and their minion type. He will provide me with 3 tailor-made solutions based on his assessment of the current situation. He knows all the cards in hearthstone, knows all keywords and knows how to deal with every single scenario in the perfect manner meaning I do not have to think about playing him, I can just jam him down, and he will give me the victory or at least clear the board.
How the card works:
Zephrys will analyse the board using a sophisticated algorithm. He only knows the classic set of cards off by heart including keywords and stat lines and when a new expansion is released the only tinkering to his algorithm is the inclusion of a new keyword or game mechanic and what potentially counters it. Zephrys has an internal value system that prioritises certain things above others when he does his board assessment.
These assumptions have not been confirmed anywhere by developers or any deep dive on his code just through my anecdotal evidence, but it is what I believe to be correct and has served me well when playing this "great" card.
How I think his algorithm works
Zephrys assesses a board by taking each element in a specific order and then running that through an internal value system to assign a threat level to each of the opponent's cards and how detrimental they are to his player's chances of winning the game or surviving the turn.
I also believe that Zephrys knowledge of hearthstone and its cards is limited only to the classic set of cards which he knows every single detail of and keywords from all other expansions which he only knows in general terms. The reason I believe this is because if Zephrys knew every single card on an individual basis there would be some poor code monkey on team 5 who had only one job and that would be coding Zephrys for 8 hours a day, and he would still be catching up on last years cards right now. So they gave him the classic set as the basis for his card knowledge, and now he uses that knowledge to assign threat levels based on the factors below.
Mana remaining - This is the number one thing Zephrys will assess because he will offer the optimal card in whatever mana bracket you have left.
Player health - He determines if there is a way for him to offer lethal to his player or if there is nothing else on board and his player is low he will provide healing as a priority card.
Stats - He looks at the opponent's board and the stats of each card and decides which card pose the highest threat base on health, damage, and mana cost
Keyword - Contrary to popular belief Zephrys can read he just doesn't bother reading everything unless its a classic card because he can't see that text because in his brain only the classic set and various new keywords exist
Minion Type - Hands up anyone who has killed the Demon hunter Murloc by Zephrys and crabbing it to death? Nuff said he knows minion types and knows how to counter them as long as the said counter is a classic card.
Other Board States - Weapons, frozen cards, etc. he will read the situation and offer a card based on these factors if they pose a more significant threat or stand in the way of lethal.
We know what factors he looks at and if we assume that he only has the classic set for base card knowledge what can we glean from this well the number one complaint about Zephrys is his inability to read card text usually concerning death rattle. Still, when we look at death rattle in the classic set, we can kind of see why Zephrys is prioritising a minion's stats over the death rattle.
Good Deathrattle classic Set
So let's examine these card they all have death rattles, and they are all worth silencing or transforming to remove. Still, none of them would be substantial game-changing gains for your opponent except arguably Tirion, and that's on these cards individually.
If your opponent has other factors in play Zephrys is going to prioritise removing the main body and not the rattle a lot more because in truth his knowledge of deathrattles is skewed by how weak the best deathrattles in the classic set are in comparison.
Bad Deathrattle classic Set
The Beast is partly responsible for Zephrys not prioritising deathrattles it has great stats for the cost, and the deathrattle is beneficial for you. He will use this criterion when looking at all other deathrattle minions and will assign good stats with a lousy death rattle.
Now when we take all of his information about deathrattle cards into account, you can probably see why he doesn't see the need to offer hex or a silence most of the time especially on boards that have other factors in play.
How to use Zephrys effectively
There are 3 rules that I use when playing Zephrys, and they have never let me down, nor have they left me disappointed with the options he provided.
Rule 1 - Know what you want before you play him.
Knowing what you want him to offer is crucial because you can then manipulate your mana and board state so that he is much more likely to provide it. If you wish to generate hex or polymorph to remove that death rattle minion, then remove as many other factors as you can and make sure that when you play Zeprys, you only have 4 mana remaining.
Rule 2 - Manipulate your Mana
Only Play zephrys when you have a specific amount of mana left so that you force him to prioritise cards that mana bracket, a great example of this is against Rez Priest he has played Vargoth on an empty board consider the two scenarios below.
Scenario 1
if you zephrys on 10 mana against Archmage Vargoth Zephrys would likely offer the following 3 options Shadow Word: Pain Natalie Seline and Tirion Fordring. Shadow word pain is the most efficient method of dealing with the opponent's board. It leaves you 6 mana to work with, Seline allows you to destroy the opponent's board and develops a strong one of your own and finally, Tirion is just a tremendous proactive card to play as it is both defensive and offensive at the same time.
Scenario 2
This time you hero power or play a 2 mana card and then you play Zephrys against Archmage Vargoth you guarantee that you get a Cabal Shadow Priest as one of your options because you have forced Zephrys to prioritise a 6 mana option.
Rule 3 - Treat him like a discover card, but you control his card pool
Zephrys is a discover card except you control what card he can discover, so it is your job to make sure you limit his card pool to the optimal solutions. There is a reason Vulpera Scoundrel is in 1% of wild decks her discovery pool is so large there is no point in playing her but if you could limit her pool to a particular mana cost and knew which set she was limited too you would play her a lot more right? So treat Zephrys the same way, and you will not be disappointed.
Conclusion - aka TLDR
Zephrys is only coded to know the basic and classic set of cards and new keywords, he prioritises an option based on your remaining mana, and he doesn't read text outside of key words, stats and minion types oh and hex puts a taunt in the way so he will not offer hex that often because it denies face damage and we all know he is a big old smorcer at heart
Now stop complaining he didn't offer you the perfect solution and make his job easier by playing him correctly.
You left out one important detail. Zephrys does NOT know what's in your hand. So, if you're looking for Zephrys to provide you with a lethal option through burn, you first need to use the burn in your hand to lower your opponent's life total and then Zephrys can do the rest.
I'll give an example. Let's say you're playing hunter. Your opponent has 11 health and 4 minions in play (no taunts). Your board is empty but, you have 10 mana and in your hand you have Unleash the Hounds and Zephrys the Great.
In this scenario. If you jam Zephrys first, he is likely to give you options that help stabilize the board state since there is no card he can give you that does 11 damage to face. However, if you unleash and go face for 4, then hero power for 2 more. Your opponent will have 5 health remaining and you'll have 5 mana remaining. So, if you play Zephrys with this new board state, he will recognize that Kill Command or Lava Burst is lethal and he'll offer you one or both of them.
It's the same concept as manipulating your mana to affect the choices Zephrys gives you. From what I can tell, lethal is always his top priority; however, for best results, you must first spot the lethal yourself and then do the majority of the work before playing Zephrys to make his job as easy as possible.
Great guide though.
Thanks for taking the time to write all that stuff down, very useful!
There's a scenario I can't explain with your logic tho: Zephrys often offered me Doomhammer while playing combo DH, even when I had no attack buffs on my face and/or it really didn't make a lot of sense considering the board state; but it was of course ridiculously good on the next few turns because of Twin Slice / Inner Demon being in my hand.
For him to make that kind of offer, he must at least take into account either some cards in your hand or recognize the incredible synergy Doomhammer has with the rest of the DH toolset...
When you played Zephrys was your opponent on lowish health say around 15?, Was there only 5 mana left after playing zephrys or was it turn 5 next turn?
Doom Hammer is an amazing card for any class, its proactive meaning it doesn't require any specific conditions for Zephrys to offer it. if there is a small or no board for him to deal with he will find the best tempo play for your mana bracket and 4-6 mana that's usually going to be doom hammer or earth elemental.
15 to 20 health sounds about right, can't remember about the leftover mana.
However, I still find it "suspicious". I've never been offered Doomhammer even once playing Zephrys in Highlander hunter and mage, and at least 3 times with DH. I've also seen people reporting being offered Doomhammer when playing him turn 2 on an empty board as DH.
I've never played Zephrys, but I remember from this Tavern Brawl with the 3 wishes some weeks ago that when there was nothing urgent going on with the board, my health or my opponent's health, Doomhammer would be frequently offered as a great tempo card in general. Same with Tirion when you have a bit more mana...
Here You go. =)