It doesn’t need to be nerfed or removed, you’re just mad you lost to it. Move on, grow up,
It's currently the 2nd most run card in the game and is in nearly 30% or decks. It's neutral burst which is something Blizzard have repeatedly told us they don't want.
I would say it's probably a good shout for a nerf.
To all the people saying "it used to do 15 or heal 14" (or similar) - that's kind of misrepresenting it and you know it. It used to do 15 to a hero if you were at 30 and it could heal up to 14 to a hero if they were at 1. It couldn't target minions. Sounds quite different doesn it?
I'm not saying it's OP or needs to be changed, but it does seem to feature in quite a few decks as a neutral pyroblast-like finisher. Maybe that's a problem (or maybe it isn't), but don't pretend it's not as good as it used to be. It's much more flexible now that it ever was.
Of all the cards in hearthstone, I didn't think this would be one to be complained about, to be honest.
That's nothing. In a thread a couple weeks ago, someone actually complained about Fireball. Still shaking my head at that one.
Well, at the very least that makes a lot more sense than Alex nerf. Fireball is a dangerous, polarized, scalable card, I can understand why some people think it's too powerful, especially in this standard environment where spell damage is at its best.
But, Alexstrasza... Like WTF, in what world is 9 mana deal 8 non-scalable damage problematic ?
I too was suprised when aggro (more like midrange to be fair) paladin was running it, but it makes perfect sense paladin always lacked direct damage, it's just a matter of learning the matchup, just don't be at 8 health against paladin.
I don't want to see this card nerfed but I'm beginning to lose count of the amount of times I've lost to and won with this card. Its in a lot of decks right now.
To all the people saying "it used to do 15 or heal 14" (or similar) - that's kind of misrepresenting it and you know it. It used to do 15 to a hero if you were at 30 and it could heal up to 14 to a hero if they were at 1. It couldn't target minions. Sounds quite different doesn it?
I'm not saying it's OP or needs to be changed, but it does seem to feature in quite a few decks as a neutral pyroblast-like finisher. Maybe that's a problem (or maybe it isn't), but don't pretend it's not as good as it used to be. It's much more flexible now that it ever was.
I wouldn't say it's more flexible, better or worse, it really is a completely different card.
Old Alex used to set up lethal for other cards. New alex needs other cards to set up lethal for her.
Anyway, it's not worthy of a nerf, even at 8 mana it still wouldn't break the game.
Like, seriously, they didn't nerf cards like Bloodreaver Gul'dan, Alex is nothing, a pretty simple and average card in the grand scheme of things.
As a sidenote I really loved the original Alex and Jaraxxus. The newer counterparts are more flexible and powerful but they lost a lot of what made the original cards unique. Now if you can afford to play a 9 mana card you just jam them down. They're both examples of powercreep making the game less interesting.
Honestly the new card is fine in the current game when you look at all of the other degenerate shenanigans that go on, I wouldn't be surprised if it gets the chop though.
I don't totally disagree with making an adjustment to this card, but no need to kill it. Neutral reach is something that they didn't want people to have when they HoF'd Leeroy (and more recently nerfed Pen Flinger, too).
Like, the other day I was at 8 health against a paladin, and I was like, "well, he has no minions on board, so I'm safe from lethal" because paladin is known to buff their stuff. That's what the game has taught me, and that's generally how the class is played.
Nope, Alex'd for lethal.
Guess that's on me for not expecting an aggro buff paladin to run this card?
Perhaps if they changed the text to read, deal 6 damage to an enemy or heal a friendly character for 10?
Look at cards like Renew, 1 mana heal 3 and Runed Orb, 2 mana deal 2 damage. I thought they wanted healing to be more mana efficient and have a greater effect. So why not Alex, too?
I get what you're saying and I think you've done a good job of St least presenting why you think it could need a change as well as proposed potential changes so fair play in that sense.
For me, I see this as something that I'm not preparing or planning for really and that's a me problem rather than a card problem. We've just had a huge change over in cards and the new pool is also smaller. The decks I'm facing are totally different and I'm not as good as some people at remembering each decks plays etc, it takes me longer for it to become natural. If I see someone like Dekkster playing, he'll consider things and I'll be like "ahhhh yeah, that's a wise move actually" and he'll make a totally different play to what I would have done. That's a skill gap, not a card/design issue.
I've been done over a few times by Alex and assuming I'm alright, usually against Paladin as well because they don't have much direct damage. But I'm slowly starting to anticipate it and maybe not trade with a minion using my hero because that 3 damage will come back to haunt me in a couple of turns. Planning ahead to have 8 damage hit your face will help. Fireball has been a thing for ages and I remember when I first stayed playing, slapping taunt minions down and thinking it was outrageous that something can just bypass it and hit my face. It felt really unfair.
Truth is I was a rank 15 level player at that time. As I got better and learned decks, cards, planned turns ahead etc, I got done over by that fireball less and less. Sure, it still finished me from time to time but that's normal. Now I can generally hit diamond 5 nice and early and I don't typically play strong decks, if I want to hit legend I can, I just don't always bother because it usually means playing a more effective deck than what I enjoy. I can totally see how someone who takes the game more seriously than me learns and makes smarter plays which mean they get slapped by things like Alex less than I do.
I see an awful lot of what I assume are silver/gold/platinum level players who complain about cards, unfairness etc when in reality, they probably lose a lot of these games turns earlier because they've made the wrong decision or not kept removal etc. I've chucked removal out before and said to myself "bah, if they have the clowns in screwed now but fuck it" and surprise surprise, the clowns come down and I lose. I know that is a me issue though, my impatience and my poor decisions have lost me that game.
People need to be a little more humble, it would go a long way to easing the frustrations I see posted here on a daily basis. Most people simply aren't as good as they like to tell themselves they are.
I don't totally disagree with making an adjustment to this card, but no need to kill it. Neutral reach is something that they didn't want people to have when they HoF'd Leeroy (and more recently nerfed Pen Flinger, too).
Like, the other day I was at 8 health against a paladin, and I was like, "well, he has no minions on board, so I'm safe from lethal" because paladin is known to buff their stuff. That's what the game has taught me, and that's generally how the class is played.
Nope, Alex'd for lethal.
Guess that's on me for not expecting an aggro buff paladin to run this card?
Perhaps if they changed the text to read, deal 6 damage to an enemy or heal a friendly character for 10?
Look at cards like Renew, 1 mana heal 3 and Runed Orb, 2 mana deal 2 damage. I thought they wanted healing to be more mana efficient and have a greater effect. So why not Alex, too?
I get what you're saying and I think you've done a good job of St least presenting why you think it could need a change as well as proposed potential changes so fair play in that sense.
For me, I see this as something that I'm not preparing or planning for really and that's a me problem rather than a card problem. We've just had a huge change over in cards and the new pool is also smaller. The decks I'm facing are totally different and I'm not as good as some people at remembering each decks plays etc, it takes me longer for it to become natural. If I see someone like Dekkster playing, he'll consider things and I'll be like "ahhhh yeah, that's a wise move actually" and he'll make a totally different play to what I would have done. That's a skill gap, not a card/design issue.
I've been done over a few times by Alex and assuming I'm alright, usually against Paladin as well because they don't have much direct damage. But I'm slowly starting to anticipate it and maybe not trade with a minion using my hero because that 3 damage will come back to haunt me in a couple of turns. Planning ahead to have 8 damage hit your face will help. Fireball has been a thing for ages and I remember when I first stayed playing, slapping taunt minions down and thinking it was outrageous that something can just bypass it and hit my face. It felt really unfair.
Truth is I was a rank 15 level player at that time. As I got better and learned decks, cards, planned turns ahead etc, I got done over by that fireball less and less. Sure, it still finished me from time to time but that's normal. Now I can generally hit diamond 5 nice and early and I don't typically play strong decks, if I want to hit legend I can, I just don't always bother because it usually means playing a more effective deck than what I enjoy. I can totally see how someone who takes the game more seriously than me learns and makes smarter plays which mean they get slapped by things like Alex less than I do.
I see an awful lot of what I assume are silver/gold/platinum level players who complain about cards, unfairness etc when in reality, they probably lose a lot of these games turns earlier because they've made the wrong decision or not kept removal etc. I've chucked removal out before and said to myself "bah, if they have the clowns in screwed now but fuck it" and surprise surprise, the clowns come down and I lose. I know that is a me issue though, my impatience and my poor decisions have lost me that game.
People need to be a little more humble, it would go a long way to easing the frustrations I see posted here on a daily basis. Most people simply aren't as good as they like to tell themselves they are.
Couldn´t have said it better (or written it). If we lose, perhaps we need more learning to do.
I don't totally disagree with making an adjustment to this card, but no need to kill it. Neutral reach is something that they didn't want people to have when they HoF'd Leeroy (and more recently nerfed Pen Flinger, too).
Like, the other day I was at 8 health against a paladin, and I was like, "well, he has no minions on board, so I'm safe from lethal" because paladin is known to buff their stuff. That's what the game has taught me, and that's generally how the class is played.
Nope, Alex'd for lethal.
Guess that's on me for not expecting an aggro buff paladin to run this card?
Perhaps if they changed the text to read, deal 6 damage to an enemy or heal a friendly character for 10?
Look at cards like Renew, 1 mana heal 3 and Runed Orb, 2 mana deal 2 damage. I thought they wanted healing to be more mana efficient and have a greater effect. So why not Alex, too?
I get what you're saying and I think you've done a good job of St least presenting why you think it could need a change as well as proposed potential changes so fair play in that sense.
For me, I see this as something that I'm not preparing or planning for really and that's a me problem rather than a card problem. We've just had a huge change over in cards and the new pool is also smaller. The decks I'm facing are totally different and I'm not as good as some people at remembering each decks plays etc, it takes me longer for it to become natural. If I see someone like Dekkster playing, he'll consider things and I'll be like "ahhhh yeah, that's a wise move actually" and he'll make a totally different play to what I would have done. That's a skill gap, not a card/design issue.
I've been done over a few times by Alex and assuming I'm alright, usually against Paladin as well because they don't have much direct damage. But I'm slowly starting to anticipate it and maybe not trade with a minion using my hero because that 3 damage will come back to haunt me in a couple of turns. Planning ahead to have 8 damage hit your face will help. Fireball has been a thing for ages and I remember when I first stayed playing, slapping taunt minions down and thinking it was outrageous that something can just bypass it and hit my face. It felt really unfair.
Truth is I was a rank 15 level player at that time. As I got better and learned decks, cards, planned turns ahead etc, I got done over by that fireball less and less. Sure, it still finished me from time to time but that's normal. Now I can generally hit diamond 5 nice and early and I don't typically play strong decks, if I want to hit legend I can, I just don't always bother because it usually means playing a more effective deck than what I enjoy. I can totally see how someone who takes the game more seriously than me learns and makes smarter plays which mean they get slapped by things like Alex less than I do.
I see an awful lot of what I assume are silver/gold/platinum level players who complain about cards, unfairness etc when in reality, they probably lose a lot of these games turns earlier because they've made the wrong decision or not kept removal etc. I've chucked removal out before and said to myself "bah, if they have the clowns in screwed now but fuck it" and surprise surprise, the clowns come down and I lose. I know that is a me issue though, my impatience and my poor decisions have lost me that game.
People need to be a little more humble, it would go a long way to easing the frustrations I see posted here on a daily basis. Most people simply aren't as good as they like to tell themselves they are.
Good post, and honestly the card being played more sort of works in our favour. If we KNOW out opponent has a card, regardless of how powerful, we play around it. If the cards play rate was still low, like it was a week ago, there's always the nagging feeling that it MAY be in their hand, but likely isn't - so you don't play around it and get burned. That's something that would have been happening more and more to people over the last few days, and it is irritating.
I used to feel like this whenever I was up against Shaman decks that could run Bloodlust. Like they could have a board of 0/2 totems that were doing nothing, but maybe they're that 1 guy who runs the card? If they do I'm dead? So do I assume they have it and waste mana clearing the board or do I assume they don't and risk dying next turn? It's a choice that is far easier to make when the card is an autoinclude.
It doesn’t need to be nerfed or removed, you’re just mad you lost to it. Move on, grow up,
It's currently the 2nd most run card in the game and is in nearly 30% or decks. It's neutral burst which is something Blizzard have repeatedly told us they don't want.
I would say it's probably a good shout for a nerf.
Zilliax was in 50% of decks and wasn't nerfed, because it was a fair card.
Alex is a fair card, guess what will happen. Yep, no nerf.
Also, when was the last time blizzard told us they don't want neutral burst ?
It doesn’t need to be nerfed or removed, you’re just mad you lost to it. Move on, grow up,
It's currently the 2nd most run card in the game and is in nearly 30% or decks. It's neutral burst which is something Blizzard have repeatedly told us they don't want.
I would say it's probably a good shout for a nerf.
Zilliax was in 50% of decks and wasn't nerfed, because it was a fair card.
Alex is a fair card, guess what will happen. Yep, no nerf.
Also, when was the last time blizzard told us they don't want neutral burst ?
I mean you don't know this, I'm not sure why you think it's a good idea to act as though you do? It adds absolutely nothing to your point.
Blizzard over the years have mentioned plenty of times in patch notes about burst damage being an issue and usually restrict it to certain classes. They've completely removed Charge from the Neutral set because it was giving classes too much reach. They may be fine with Alex, they may not, but if it becomes an auto include finisher for too many decks going forward I would not be surprised in the slightest if they nerf it and release their patch notes explaining that it was unintentionally giving too many decks too much reach.
Zilliax is more comparable to Taelan Fordring, which I would be very surprised to see nerfed.
The current deck building algorithm starts with "add Alex" as step 1. She fits and belongs in almost every deck. I'm not saying that's good or bad, just that it's there. It's a very good card.
It doesn’t need to be nerfed or removed, you’re just mad you lost to it. Move on, grow up,
It's currently the 2nd most run card in the game and is in nearly 30% or decks. It's neutral burst which is something Blizzard have repeatedly told us they don't want.
I would say it's probably a good shout for a nerf.
Zilliax was in 50% of decks and wasn't nerfed, because it was a fair card.
Alex is a fair card, guess what will happen. Yep, no nerf.
Also, when was the last time blizzard told us they don't want neutral burst ?
I mean you don't know this, I'm not sure why you think it's a good idea to act as though you do? It adds absolutely nothing to your point.
Blizzard over the years have mentioned plenty of times in patch notes about burst damage being an issue and usually restrict it to certain classes. They've completely removed Charge from the Neutral set because it was giving classes too much reach. They may be fine with Alex, they may not, but if it becomes an auto include finisher for too many decks going forward I would not be surprised in the slightest if they nerf it and release their patch notes explaining that it was unintentionally giving too many decks too much reach.
Zilliax is more comparable to Taelan Fordring, which I would be very surprised to see nerfed.
I mean of course I don't know this, that's the point of having an opinion isn't it ? I think Alex won't be nerfed for being in 30% of decks, because Zilliax was in 50% of decks and wasn't nerfed. I am not saying that Zilliax is comparable to Alex as a card.
But Taelan is also a good point, it is also in many many decks, yet you would be surprised to see it nerfed. Why is that ? Because you feel like it's a fair card, regardless of its play rate.
They nerf cards for this reason when they are in 90% of decks, like 2 mana Fiery War Axe. I don't think 30% or 50% is a problem, especially for a neutral card.
I don't totally disagree with making an adjustment to this card, but no need to kill it. Neutral reach is something that they didn't want people to have when they HoF'd Leeroy (and more recently nerfed Pen Flinger, too).
Like, the other day I was at 8 health against a paladin, and I was like, "well, he has no minions on board, so I'm safe from lethal" because paladin is known to buff their stuff. That's what the game has taught me, and that's generally how the class is played.
Nope, Alex'd for lethal.
Guess that's on me for not expecting an aggro buff paladin to run this card?
Perhaps if they changed the text to read, deal 6 damage to an enemy or heal a friendly character for 10?
Look at cards like Renew, 1 mana heal 3 and Runed Orb, 2 mana deal 2 damage. I thought they wanted healing to be more mana efficient and have a greater effect. So why not Alex, too?
I get what you're saying and I think you've done a good job of St least presenting why you think it could need a change as well as proposed potential changes so fair play in that sense.
For me, I see this as something that I'm not preparing or planning for really and that's a me problem rather than a card problem. We've just had a huge change over in cards and the new pool is also smaller. The decks I'm facing are totally different and I'm not as good as some people at remembering each decks plays etc, it takes me longer for it to become natural. If I see someone like Dekkster playing, he'll consider things and I'll be like "ahhhh yeah, that's a wise move actually" and he'll make a totally different play to what I would have done. That's a skill gap, not a card/design issue.
I've been done over a few times by Alex and assuming I'm alright, usually against Paladin as well because they don't have much direct damage. But I'm slowly starting to anticipate it and maybe not trade with a minion using my hero because that 3 damage will come back to haunt me in a couple of turns. Planning ahead to have 8 damage hit your face will help. Fireball has been a thing for ages and I remember when I first stayed playing, slapping taunt minions down and thinking it was outrageous that something can just bypass it and hit my face. It felt really unfair.
Truth is I was a rank 15 level player at that time. As I got better and learned decks, cards, planned turns ahead etc, I got done over by that fireball less and less. Sure, it still finished me from time to time but that's normal. Now I can generally hit diamond 5 nice and early and I don't typically play strong decks, if I want to hit legend I can, I just don't always bother because it usually means playing a more effective deck than what I enjoy. I can totally see how someone who takes the game more seriously than me learns and makes smarter plays which mean they get slapped by things like Alex less than I do.
I see an awful lot of what I assume are silver/gold/platinum level players who complain about cards, unfairness etc when in reality, they probably lose a lot of these games turns earlier because they've made the wrong decision or not kept removal etc. I've chucked removal out before and said to myself "bah, if they have the clowns in screwed now but fuck it" and surprise surprise, the clowns come down and I lose. I know that is a me issue though, my impatience and my poor decisions have lost me that game.
People need to be a little more humble, it would go a long way to easing the frustrations I see posted here on a daily basis. Most people simply aren't as good as they like to tell themselves they are.
You've made a very good point and honestly, I'm not too bothered by the way the card is now. Once people start to feel out decks a bit more they will have a better idea of what health total they are safe at, or what they need to play around. So my example where I lost the game is definitely on me.
I guess the only problem that could be here is that the card is neutral and could potentially be in every deck, and I just assumed an auto include card was against Blizzard's design philosophy. But, Zilliax was a thing, so... I really don't know. A burst finisher and a defensive tool are not really fair to compare with each other, either. That's also not to say that currently every deck is using the new Alex.
Time will tell how many decks actually use the new Alex and whether or not they need really to make changes to it.
Here's a link from a few years back where they openly discuss class identity. Now some of these things may have changed, I'm not posting this as some ultimate gotcha, just as an example of how Alex could be a problem.
Here are the class weaknesses from that time.
Paladin: Direct damage spells, destroying big minions - Alex in essence does both of these things from hand Druid:Destroying big minions, board clear - Alex allows Druids to destroy big minions from hand Warlock: Face damage spells, big healing - Alex allows Warlock both of these things from hand Warrior: Face damage spells, multi-minion buffs, minion swarms - Alex allows warrior face burst from hand and to speed things up... Hunter: Healing Mage: Healing Rogue: Healing Priest: Face Damage
Neutral: Neutral cards allow classes to extend their strengths to reach a specific goal with their deck or to make up for some of their weaknesses. For example, a Paladin can add Neutral Murlocs to help them round out their deck, or a Hunter may use a Neutral card that gives them a small amount of healing so they can stay in the fight longer. These cards are generally lower in power level so a class can never completely overcome their weaknesses.
There are exceptions, cards like Big Game Hunter allows any class to deal with big minions for example, but Alex gives every class a great option for burst damage, minion removal, and healing (both to the hero and to minions).
I was playing Monopoly yesterday. Got two fives and went to jail. I´m asking Hasbro to nerf or remove the number 5 from dice...
It's currently the 2nd most run card in the game and is in nearly 30% or decks. It's neutral burst which is something Blizzard have repeatedly told us they don't want.
I would say it's probably a good shout for a nerf.
You could do it yourself with a bit of tape and a pen.
To all the people saying "it used to do 15 or heal 14" (or similar) - that's kind of misrepresenting it and you know it. It used to do 15 to a hero if you were at 30 and it could heal up to 14 to a hero if they were at 1. It couldn't target minions. Sounds quite different doesn it?
I'm not saying it's OP or needs to be changed, but it does seem to feature in quite a few decks as a neutral pyroblast-like finisher. Maybe that's a problem (or maybe it isn't), but don't pretend it's not as good as it used to be. It's much more flexible now that it ever was.
Well, at the very least that makes a lot more sense than Alex nerf. Fireball is a dangerous, polarized, scalable card, I can understand why some people think it's too powerful, especially in this standard environment where spell damage is at its best.
But, Alexstrasza... Like WTF, in what world is 9 mana deal 8 non-scalable damage problematic ?
I too was suprised when aggro (more like midrange to be fair) paladin was running it, but it makes perfect sense paladin always lacked direct damage, it's just a matter of learning the matchup, just don't be at 8 health against paladin.
I don't want to see this card nerfed but I'm beginning to lose count of the amount of times I've lost to and won with this card. Its in a lot of decks right now.
LOL....yep, you are right, but I just needed to rant about it in a forum....
I wouldn't say it's more flexible, better or worse, it really is a completely different card.
Old Alex used to set up lethal for other cards. New alex needs other cards to set up lethal for her.
Anyway, it's not worthy of a nerf, even at 8 mana it still wouldn't break the game.
Like, seriously, they didn't nerf cards like Bloodreaver Gul'dan, Alex is nothing, a pretty simple and average card in the grand scheme of things.
As a sidenote I really loved the original Alex and Jaraxxus. The newer counterparts are more flexible and powerful but they lost a lot of what made the original cards unique. Now if you can afford to play a 9 mana card you just jam them down. They're both examples of powercreep making the game less interesting.
Honestly the new card is fine in the current game when you look at all of the other degenerate shenanigans that go on, I wouldn't be surprised if it gets the chop though.
I get what you're saying and I think you've done a good job of St least presenting why you think it could need a change as well as proposed potential changes so fair play in that sense.
For me, I see this as something that I'm not preparing or planning for really and that's a me problem rather than a card problem. We've just had a huge change over in cards and the new pool is also smaller. The decks I'm facing are totally different and I'm not as good as some people at remembering each decks plays etc, it takes me longer for it to become natural. If I see someone like Dekkster playing, he'll consider things and I'll be like "ahhhh yeah, that's a wise move actually" and he'll make a totally different play to what I would have done. That's a skill gap, not a card/design issue.
I've been done over a few times by Alex and assuming I'm alright, usually against Paladin as well because they don't have much direct damage. But I'm slowly starting to anticipate it and maybe not trade with a minion using my hero because that 3 damage will come back to haunt me in a couple of turns. Planning ahead to have 8 damage hit your face will help. Fireball has been a thing for ages and I remember when I first stayed playing, slapping taunt minions down and thinking it was outrageous that something can just bypass it and hit my face. It felt really unfair.
Truth is I was a rank 15 level player at that time. As I got better and learned decks, cards, planned turns ahead etc, I got done over by that fireball less and less. Sure, it still finished me from time to time but that's normal. Now I can generally hit diamond 5 nice and early and I don't typically play strong decks, if I want to hit legend I can, I just don't always bother because it usually means playing a more effective deck than what I enjoy. I can totally see how someone who takes the game more seriously than me learns and makes smarter plays which mean they get slapped by things like Alex less than I do.
I see an awful lot of what I assume are silver/gold/platinum level players who complain about cards, unfairness etc when in reality, they probably lose a lot of these games turns earlier because they've made the wrong decision or not kept removal etc. I've chucked removal out before and said to myself "bah, if they have the clowns in screwed now but fuck it" and surprise surprise, the clowns come down and I lose. I know that is a me issue though, my impatience and my poor decisions have lost me that game.
People need to be a little more humble, it would go a long way to easing the frustrations I see posted here on a daily basis. Most people simply aren't as good as they like to tell themselves they are.
TRANSLATION OF THE ORIGINAL POST: Whine whine whine whine card whine whine whine whine Blizzard whine whine whine whine.
EU 11/2015+ , f2p 03/2021+: DK 63 / DH 205 /Dr 277 / Hu 733 / Ma 6666 / Pa 1072 / Pr 1165 / Ro 1791 / Sh 1303 / Wl 707 / Wr 664
Couldn´t have said it better (or written it). If we lose, perhaps we need more learning to do.
Good post, and honestly the card being played more sort of works in our favour. If we KNOW out opponent has a card, regardless of how powerful, we play around it. If the cards play rate was still low, like it was a week ago, there's always the nagging feeling that it MAY be in their hand, but likely isn't - so you don't play around it and get burned. That's something that would have been happening more and more to people over the last few days, and it is irritating.
I used to feel like this whenever I was up against Shaman decks that could run Bloodlust. Like they could have a board of 0/2 totems that were doing nothing, but maybe they're that 1 guy who runs the card? If they do I'm dead? So do I assume they have it and waste mana clearing the board or do I assume they don't and risk dying next turn? It's a choice that is far easier to make when the card is an autoinclude.
Zilliax was in 50% of decks and wasn't nerfed, because it was a fair card.
Alex is a fair card, guess what will happen. Yep, no nerf.
Also, when was the last time blizzard told us they don't want neutral burst ?
I mean you don't know this, I'm not sure why you think it's a good idea to act as though you do? It adds absolutely nothing to your point.
Blizzard over the years have mentioned plenty of times in patch notes about burst damage being an issue and usually restrict it to certain classes. They've completely removed Charge from the Neutral set because it was giving classes too much reach. They may be fine with Alex, they may not, but if it becomes an auto include finisher for too many decks going forward I would not be surprised in the slightest if they nerf it and release their patch notes explaining that it was unintentionally giving too many decks too much reach.
Zilliax is more comparable to Taelan Fordring, which I would be very surprised to see nerfed.
If you think Alex is too strong, it’s not the game’s problem, it’s yours.
The current deck building algorithm starts with "add Alex" as step 1. She fits and belongs in almost every deck. I'm not saying that's good or bad, just that it's there. It's a very good card.
I mean of course I don't know this, that's the point of having an opinion isn't it ? I think Alex won't be nerfed for being in 30% of decks, because Zilliax was in 50% of decks and wasn't nerfed. I am not saying that Zilliax is comparable to Alex as a card.
But Taelan is also a good point, it is also in many many decks, yet you would be surprised to see it nerfed. Why is that ? Because you feel like it's a fair card, regardless of its play rate.
They nerf cards for this reason when they are in 90% of decks, like 2 mana Fiery War Axe. I don't think 30% or 50% is a problem, especially for a neutral card.
You've made a very good point and honestly, I'm not too bothered by the way the card is now. Once people start to feel out decks a bit more they will have a better idea of what health total they are safe at, or what they need to play around. So my example where I lost the game is definitely on me.
I guess the only problem that could be here is that the card is neutral and could potentially be in every deck, and I just assumed an auto include card was against Blizzard's design philosophy. But, Zilliax was a thing, so... I really don't know. A burst finisher and a defensive tool are not really fair to compare with each other, either. That's also not to say that currently every deck is using the new Alex.
Time will tell how many decks actually use the new Alex and whether or not they need really to make changes to it.
Developer Insights: Class Identity, Hall of Fame, and New Cards - Hearthstone (playhearthstone.com)
Here's a link from a few years back where they openly discuss class identity. Now some of these things may have changed, I'm not posting this as some ultimate gotcha, just as an example of how Alex could be a problem.
Here are the class weaknesses from that time.
Paladin: Direct damage spells, destroying big minions - Alex in essence does both of these things from hand
Druid: Destroying big minions, board clear - Alex allows Druids to destroy big minions from hand
Warlock: Face damage spells, big healing - Alex allows Warlock both of these things from hand
Warrior: Face damage spells, multi-minion buffs, minion swarms - Alex allows warrior face burst from hand
and to speed things up...
Hunter: Healing
Mage: Healing
Rogue: Healing
Priest: Face Damage
There are exceptions, cards like Big Game Hunter allows any class to deal with big minions for example, but Alex gives every class a great option for burst damage, minion removal, and healing (both to the hero and to minions).