This card seems a bit nuts to me in terms of how much one standalone slot in your deck is able to accomplish, it's a neutral Pyros on steroids. The guy is in practically everything except DH, with a current HSreplay stat of 47% in all decks, beating out the next card (Brann) by 14%. I'd imagine DH is getting looked at in the upcoming patch which is inevitably going to reduce its playrate and skyrocket Astalor above 55%ish.
He fits into aggro, combo, midrange, control decks.. anything except no-minion DH. In one card you get curve minions to plop down when you have no other plays, some board control, some healing, and an omegalol burst win condition which often times checkmates people because they know it's in hand. The card gets exponentially dumb when you double it up via Brann, Shadowstep, Bolnar/Macaw, etc.
Personally I feel like this card is a bit over the top and it's very surprising it got printed after all the rage over Denathrius, and now Astalor is even better than Denathrius for face burst due to no infuse needed and easier combo potential. The final form needs some toning down, perhaps 6/12 damage or 8/16 damage to minions only? Thoughts?
I think there is little doubt in almost anyone's mind that Astalor is problematic and definitely something that needs looking at. As for the music, I only ever play with music off because I find it annoying and distracting, so I don't know what his "music" sounds like - thank goodness, apparently, lol.
Astalor's design is terrible, in my professional opinion. If its final form only hit minions, the card would still be played in some decks and might be a fun addition to the game. But in its current form? No. A card with such a high power level should've had a deck requirement at least. And in Druid and Rogue it's just frustrating to play against.
It is obvious that they wanted to add a card that would really sell the Manathirst keyword, but I doubt that Astalor really made anyone appreciate that mechanic.
Just as an aside on the card itself, I don't really understand how the battlecry/manathirst split interaction works (probably because no other manathirst battlecries are played)
On 5 mana, brann+astalor deals 2 damage and adds two to hand.
On 8 mana, brann+astalor gains 5 armor and adds two to hand.
On 10 mana, brann+astalor does 32 damage? Why does the manathirst suddenly also get doubled? Or is a double fire astalor doing 24 damage and I can't count?
Just as an aside on the card itself, I don't really understand how the battlecry/manathirst split interaction works (probably because no other manathirst battlecries are played)
On 5 mana, brann+astalor deals 2 damage and adds two to hand.
On 8 mana, brann+astalor gains 5 armor and adds two to hand.
On 10 mana, brann+astalor does 32 damage? Why does the manathirst suddenly also get doubled? Or is a double fire astalor doing 24 damage and I can't count?
Because the manathirst on 10 changes the actual battlecry from 8 to 16 and is then doubled by Brann. It was unclear on release (it just said manathirst: deal 8 more - which should not be affected by Brann but was) but the wording was then updated in a later patch.
The battlecry for the first two stages is of course only "add the next to your hand" with the manathirst being independent and therefore not doubled.
This card seems a bit nuts to me in terms of how much one standalone slot in your deck is able to accomplish, it's a neutral Pyros on steroids. The guy is in practically everything except DH, with a current HSreplay stat of 47% in all decks, beating out the next card (Brann) by 14%. I'd imagine DH is getting looked at in the upcoming patch which is inevitably going to reduce its playrate and skyrocket Astalor above 55%ish.
He fits into aggro, combo, midrange, control decks.. anything except no-minion DH. In one card you get curve minions to plop down when you have no other plays, some board control, some healing, and an omegalol burst win condition which often times checkmates people because they know it's in hand. The card gets exponentially dumb when you double it up via Brann, Shadowstep, Bolnar/Macaw, etc.
Personally I feel like this card is a bit over the top and it's very surprising it got printed after all the rage over Denathrius, and now Astalor is even better than Denathrius for face burst due to no infuse needed and easier combo potential. The final form needs some toning down, perhaps 6/12 damage or 8/16 damage to minions only? Thoughts?
Astalor would be an issue but the fact anyone can have him in their deck negates any arguments. The game is based on drawing a random card out of a deck Put the card into your deck and play the card if you draw it. This is the condition the game has been in since closed beta. My question is why does anyone care? You aren't playing the game for a job and you playing the game or not playing it doesn't matter at all. I play the game purely as a collection hobby. nobody would miss me if I was gone. I just play the game to D5 and max the reward track each season. I care about things that mean something in my life. I wish people could find happiness. What will be the next card everyone says nerf after astalor is nerfed? Play the game and enjoy it or don't but know that this issue will never go away. Those are my thoughts on it.
There is a point to having cards that set the meta for each expansion, just like Denathrius and Renathal set the vibes before and so on. It makes the playing experience stand out a lot from earlier and keeps some feeling of novelty, but it gets old after a month and it requires eventual nerfs. I already feel that Astalor has played his role, but appreciate what he did.
Btw: Astalor works just fine in "no"-minion DH. I never checked the popular list, but my (probably also made by others) list had a 65% WR in top diamond before the last nerfs.
This card seems a bit nuts to me in terms of how much one standalone slot in your deck is able to accomplish, it's a neutral Pyros on steroids. The guy is in practically everything except DH, with a current HSreplay stat of 47% in all decks, beating out the next card (Brann) by 14%. I'd imagine DH is getting looked at in the upcoming patch which is inevitably going to reduce its playrate and skyrocket Astalor above 55%ish.
He fits into aggro, combo, midrange, control decks.. anything except no-minion DH. In one card you get curve minions to plop down when you have no other plays, some board control, some healing, and an omegalol burst win condition which often times checkmates people because they know it's in hand. The card gets exponentially dumb when you double it up via Brann, Shadowstep, Bolnar/Macaw, etc.
Personally I feel like this card is a bit over the top and it's very surprising it got printed after all the rage over Denathrius, and now Astalor is even better than Denathrius for face burst due to no infuse needed and easier combo potential. The final form needs some toning down, perhaps 6/12 damage or 8/16 damage to minions only? Thoughts?
I think there is little doubt in almost anyone's mind that Astalor is problematic and definitely something that needs looking at.
As for the music, I only ever play with music off because I find it annoying and distracting, so I don't know what his "music" sounds like - thank goodness, apparently, lol.
Astalor's design is terrible, in my professional opinion. If its final form only hit minions, the card would still be played in some decks and might be a fun addition to the game. But in its current form? No. A card with such a high power level should've had a deck requirement at least. And in Druid and Rogue it's just frustrating to play against.
It is obvious that they wanted to add a card that would really sell the Manathirst keyword, but I doubt that Astalor really made anyone appreciate that mechanic.
He's the reason I hit OVER NINEEE THOUSAAAAND for the first time in BGs.
My comments refer mostly to the wild format.
Just as an aside on the card itself, I don't really understand how the battlecry/manathirst split interaction works (probably because no other manathirst battlecries are played)
On 5 mana, brann+astalor deals 2 damage and adds two to hand.
On 8 mana, brann+astalor gains 5 armor and adds two to hand.
On 10 mana, brann+astalor does 32 damage? Why does the manathirst suddenly also get doubled? Or is a double fire astalor doing 24 damage and I can't count?
Because the manathirst on 10 changes the actual battlecry from 8 to 16 and is then doubled by Brann.
It was unclear on release (it just said manathirst: deal 8 more - which should not be affected by Brann but was) but the wording was then updated in a later patch.
The battlecry for the first two stages is of course only "add the next to your hand" with the manathirst being independent and therefore not doubled.
I'd personally bump each by one mana, making them a 3,6, and 9 mana "bomb". I'd also prematurely retire Brann from core. Just to be safe.
If evolution is outlawed, only outlaws will evolve.

I’m hearing the astalor music so much that there is lyrics to the song. They go “hey loser”.
I dont hear it. Because I play mostly duels and because I play muted.
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Astalor would be an issue but the fact anyone can have him in their deck negates any arguments. The game is based on drawing a random card out of a deck Put the card into your deck and play the card if you draw it. This is the condition the game has been in since closed beta. My question is why does anyone care? You aren't playing the game for a job and you playing the game or not playing it doesn't matter at all. I play the game purely as a collection hobby. nobody would miss me if I was gone. I just play the game to D5 and max the reward track each season. I care about things that mean something in my life. I wish people could find happiness. What will be the next card everyone says nerf after astalor is nerfed? Play the game and enjoy it or don't but know that this issue will never go away. Those are my thoughts on it.
There is a point to having cards that set the meta for each expansion, just like Denathrius and Renathal set the vibes before and so on. It makes the playing experience stand out a lot from earlier and keeps some feeling of novelty, but it gets old after a month and it requires eventual nerfs. I already feel that Astalor has played his role, but appreciate what he did.
Btw: Astalor works just fine in "no"-minion DH. I never checked the popular list, but my (probably also made by others) list had a 65% WR in top diamond before the last nerfs.
I pray it becomes a deathrattle.
That way it's still playable and still good but mostly in control decks .