Actually, it could be a 0/0 with +1/+1 as long as you control a pirate. This motivates trading instead of smorc, as killing the other pirates will kill Patches for free, and more people would trade for value.
About the brokenness of Patches: how much mana should "refresh and use your heropower" be? 2-2.5? Because you basically get a Jaina ping for free.
The reason patches is the blame is because he is the only card in the game that ACTUALLY gives FREE value.
Whenever blizzard designs a card they generally try to aim to where most cards have equal power for their cost. A card is worth a card. This includes pirates. In general, a pirate card is worth as much as any other card. But with patches, you also get a stonetusk boar on the board for free. That you didn’t have to draw, so it might as well have never been in your deck. Stonetusk boar is also a card with the intended value of a card. So just by putting patches in your deck, you get the value of two whole cards on turn one for just one card.
Nothing else in the game can compete with that as far as efficiency. The only hope is to get something more powerful later on to turn the tide, or to play patches yourself.
If you summon with Captain is 2 damage, the opponent have to do with or he give another damage in next turn for 0 manas and any buff you have increase insanely the value with this card.
Before this broken bullshit be release an aggro kill in turn 4 or 5 was almost impossible, after the release aggro druid and pirate warrior before nerfs do this easily.
When you think about it is hard to find something close to insane OP this card is, only pre-nerf cards like Leeroy for 4 manas or CotW for 8 manas or a perfect 5 secrets MC in turn 6 are.
This way, when you play a Captain and pull Patches out (as a 2/2) you are basically playing a half charged King Mukla, which instead of giving your opponent bananas, thins out your deck (which is amazing in any limited deck card game)
So, Patches is not really just a 1/1 charger, as the original post suggests, but instead a half charged deck thinning 5/5 for three mana, fitting any deck imaginable. There's your problem.
gabugga explained it perfectly in #14 (especially in the 2nd paragraph) and what SaltySimo says about even Priests running it just confirms the design flaw. Blizzard rotates cards that are omnipresent to the HoF and at the same time (well, almost) delivers Patches for 16 month (I think that's the only excuse Blizz didn't act, they probably said MSoG gets the shortest expansion lifetime span anyway, so let the players deal with it).
PS: never crafted Patches tho I'm sitting on 10k+ dust and never will ^^
The biggest blame for the abundance of aggro decks is how the game wants to make everyone have a ~50% win rate, and aggro decks have shorter average game duration. Shorter games => faster gold. Patches just takes the blame for now since he's so visible across so many decks. When he rotates out, another scapegoat will take his place; aggro is going nowhere.
The biggest blame for the abundance of aggro decks is how the game wants to make everyone have a ~50% win rate, and aggro decks have shorter average game duration. Shorter games => faster gold. Patches just takes the blame for now since he's so visible across so many decks. When he rotates out, another scapegoat will take his place; aggro is going nowhere.
Patches is a free 1/1, or even more with buffs from Keleseth or Southsea Captain. It can help control the board, it thins out your deck so you draw things you actually want, and Corridor Creeper. I feel like Patches is like Bloodmage Thalnos; it might look bad because it is a 1/1 legendary, but it actually has a lot of things rolled into one card.
Thalnos is one of best card in the game, useful but far from broken.
Patches is a terrible designed card who ruined this game and Blizzard never have the balls to accept they made a terrible mistake with this abomination and refuses to fix it, no, he will be a eternal play in Wild in any agressive or semi-agressive deck forever.
I think the fact that priest are playing a charge minion shows how broken it is. Nothing more annoying then turn 2: keleseth and turn 3: south sea with patches
I don't think it's bad designed, there's a clear downside in it: if you draw it, it's terrible.
Maybe if the cost was higher, like 4 manas, if the downside of drawing him was really terrible to balance the card is ok, but most of the time it is just broken, so broken even priest run it.
People who talk about about why patches is good, fail to grasp the reason for the thread. I think maybe like 3 of the responses, actually respond to the question asked. Aggro will be here long after patches, so give the little guy a break....lol.
Aggro was almost not existing in both Ungoro and KFT with the exception of Token Druid. People who cry about aggro these days must have not experienced really aggressive face decks who often topped at 3 or 4 mana (sometimes at 5 after Leeroy nerf).
There will always be aggressive decks, sometimes more of them or less. That's good, because they are integral parts of the meta. But it seems people do not enjoy uninteractive decks when their enemies play them. But they enjoy playing them theirselves.
Actually, it could be a 0/0 with +1/+1 as long as you control a pirate. This motivates trading instead of smorc, as killing the other pirates will kill Patches for free, and more people would trade for value.
About the brokenness of Patches: how much mana should "refresh and use your heropower" be? 2-2.5? Because you basically get a Jaina ping for free.
I don't think it's bad designed, there's a clear downside in it: if you draw it, it's terrible.
The reason patches is the blame is because he is the only card in the game that ACTUALLY gives FREE value.
Whenever blizzard designs a card they generally try to aim to where most cards have equal power for their cost. A card is worth a card. This includes pirates. In general, a pirate card is worth as much as any other card. But with patches, you also get a stonetusk boar on the board for free. That you didn’t have to draw, so it might as well have never been in your deck. Stonetusk boar is also a card with the intended value of a card. So just by putting patches in your deck, you get the value of two whole cards on turn one for just one card.
Nothing else in the game can compete with that as far as efficiency. The only hope is to get something more powerful later on to turn the tide, or to play patches yourself.
You don't know what oppressive means.
Everybody, I mean EVERYBODY, even friggin' Priests are Playing Patches at the moment, and here's why:
The standard "Patches pack" (in a non-weapon class) holds Patches the Pirate and 2xSouthsea Captain
This way, when you play a Captain and pull Patches out (as a 2/2) you are basically playing a half charged King Mukla, which instead of giving your opponent bananas, thins out your deck (which is amazing in any limited deck card game)
So, Patches is not really just a 1/1 charger, as the original post suggests, but instead a half charged deck thinning 5/5 for three mana, fitting any deck imaginable. There's your problem.
gabugga explained it perfectly in #14 (especially in the 2nd paragraph) and what SaltySimo says about even Priests running it just confirms the design flaw. Blizzard rotates cards that are omnipresent to the HoF and at the same time (well, almost) delivers Patches for 16 month (I think that's the only excuse Blizz didn't act, they probably said MSoG gets the shortest expansion lifetime span anyway, so let the players deal with it).
PS: never crafted Patches tho I'm sitting on 10k+ dust and never will ^^
don't blame patches, blame charge >:(
Op should look at patches like a 0 mana 1/1 draw a card charge, and if op doesnt see why this is insanely strong nobody can help here.
The biggest blame for the abundance of aggro decks is how the game wants to make everyone have a ~50% win rate, and aggro decks have shorter average game duration. Shorter games => faster gold. Patches just takes the blame for now since he's so visible across so many decks. When he rotates out, another scapegoat will take his place; aggro is going nowhere.
People who talk about about why patches is good, fail to grasp the reason for the thread. I think maybe like 3 of the responses, actually respond to the question asked. Aggro will be here long after patches, so give the little guy a break....lol.
"Just a 1/1".
That's a huge deal. Patches is getting the blame because it's OP and it's the main reason for the most current aggro decks being good.
Yes aggro was here before patches, it's gonna be here w/o him. But currently he is one of the main reason why aggro decks are dis gud
Don't see any problem with Patches. Spreading Plague, Raza the Chained that cards is real problem in game.
One day this game will stop existing. I can't wait.