Huh I actually didn't think about that at all. I really like your post, YourPersonalGuru.
I guess that's how they would sell the expansion and it was awfully convenient of them to nerf Sire Denathrius right before the World Championship that was supposed to showcase the newest expansion (Death Knight decks being unbannable).
I also loved how you mention the other expansions because I've forgotten about how older neutral legendaries were powerful at the time and created discourse among players on their power level. The only two (or three) neutral legendaries that I'd argue against would be Patches the Pirate, The Lich King, and maybe Zilliax.
I don't think Patches the Pirate was meant to be the dominant star of the Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, I believed it was meant to be the three gang leaders: Kazakus, Aya Blackpaw, and Don Han'Cho who all were supposed to show off their respective themes. But regardless, he became a troublesome card that offered so much tempo only when you didn't draw him which made some games feel like a coin flip.
The Lich King is a card that I both hate and love. He is basically a better Ysera that generates cards that lean towards swinging games. While he was meant to be a powerful value-generating card, I think he was balanced out by a few things. First, the cards he gave are dependent on RNG which means that he could give you generally decent cards like Death and Decay or ones that could be more costly than beneficial like Doom Pact. Second point is that some of the more powerful cards like the previously mentioned Doom Pact and Army of the Dead were balanced out by essentially thinning your deck.
Lastly, Zilliax is a card that I didn't find to be very problematic despite his high usage. I always thought of him as reminiscent of Bloodmage Thalnos. He's a decent pick to put in your deck if you don't have anything else but he won't flat out win you games by himself. He's flexible in being removal, healing, taunt, as well being a sticky minion thanks to Divine Shield. One way I would see him being problematic is the Magnetic mechanic which was basically give a cost-effective buff to your mechs on board. Other than that, he wasn't really winning games by himself.
Basically I think that while the past neutral legendaries were powerful in their own respective eras, they have a check and balance to their inclusion in your deck. These come in the form of RNG like The Lich King and Dr. Boom; there were deck restrictions for Patches the Pirate and Baku the Mooneater; these legendaries were flexible and provide board swings but they could not end games immediately such as Zilliax and Dr. Boom.
Ultimately, I agree that Astalor will get nerfed eventually for the sake of not making the meta stale or trying to make the next expansion more appealing. I wouldn't mind if they tried making another Rastakhan's Rumble where they tried making more flavorful cards and unique archetypes but if they really want to go through that route then they should print more support for it like how they gave more support for Discardlock in Wild unironically. For now, I'll be waiting until next week to see what the balance patch has to offer.
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Was friends with Paladin, now Death Knights are my homies.
I agree that patches wasn't a real flavor card, I just mentioned him because he was bonkers ;) I also think that lich king was rather fair even thou he was super strong at the time. A big taunt with "at end of turn...etc.) is far from as problematic as a 16dmg BC. I do still think that Xilliax was one of the best cards ever. Maybe even better than Astalor, although Xilliax isn't a win con. Astalor leaves a warning and takes at least 1 turn before the.... less surprising outcome. I'm fine with a mild nerf at least :)
I wish that they could make a good but weak expansion. I think it's difficult since there's always a deck that just needs a single support card or two to go off, while other classes are left pretty useless. Like kingsbane rogue just used one card from Rastakhan and still got nerfed. If they work out a set that brings forth the previous sets in a balanced way I'd be amazed. I think and hope at least. Sometimes we overestimate our knowledge of game design despite spending more time on the game than the devs :p
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Huh I actually didn't think about that at all. I really like your post, YourPersonalGuru.
I guess that's how they would sell the expansion and it was awfully convenient of them to nerf Sire Denathrius right before the World Championship that was supposed to showcase the newest expansion (Death Knight decks being unbannable).
I also loved how you mention the other expansions because I've forgotten about how older neutral legendaries were powerful at the time and created discourse among players on their power level. The only two (or three) neutral legendaries that I'd argue against would be Patches the Pirate, The Lich King, and maybe Zilliax.
I don't think Patches the Pirate was meant to be the dominant star of the Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, I believed it was meant to be the three gang leaders: Kazakus, Aya Blackpaw, and Don Han'Cho who all were supposed to show off their respective themes. But regardless, he became a troublesome card that offered so much tempo only when you didn't draw him which made some games feel like a coin flip.
The Lich King is a card that I both hate and love. He is basically a better Ysera that generates cards that lean towards swinging games. While he was meant to be a powerful value-generating card, I think he was balanced out by a few things. First, the cards he gave are dependent on RNG which means that he could give you generally decent cards like Death and Decay or ones that could be more costly than beneficial like Doom Pact. Second point is that some of the more powerful cards like the previously mentioned Doom Pact and Army of the Dead were balanced out by essentially thinning your deck.
Lastly, Zilliax is a card that I didn't find to be very problematic despite his high usage. I always thought of him as reminiscent of Bloodmage Thalnos. He's a decent pick to put in your deck if you don't have anything else but he won't flat out win you games by himself. He's flexible in being removal, healing, taunt, as well being a sticky minion thanks to Divine Shield. One way I would see him being problematic is the Magnetic mechanic which was basically give a cost-effective buff to your mechs on board. Other than that, he wasn't really winning games by himself.
Basically I think that while the past neutral legendaries were powerful in their own respective eras, they have a check and balance to their inclusion in your deck. These come in the form of RNG like The Lich King and Dr. Boom; there were deck restrictions for Patches the Pirate and Baku the Mooneater; these legendaries were flexible and provide board swings but they could not end games immediately such as Zilliax and Dr. Boom.
Ultimately, I agree that Astalor will get nerfed eventually for the sake of not making the meta stale or trying to make the next expansion more appealing. I wouldn't mind if they tried making another Rastakhan's Rumble where they tried making more flavorful cards and unique archetypes but if they really want to go through that route then they should print more support for it like how they gave more support for Discardlock in Wild unironically. For now, I'll be waiting until next week to see what the balance patch has to offer.
Was friends with Paladin, now Death Knights are my homies.
I agree that patches wasn't a real flavor card, I just mentioned him because he was bonkers ;) I also think that lich king was rather fair even thou he was super strong at the time. A big taunt with "at end of turn...etc.) is far from as problematic as a 16dmg BC. I do still think that Xilliax was one of the best cards ever. Maybe even better than Astalor, although Xilliax isn't a win con. Astalor leaves a warning and takes at least 1 turn before the.... less surprising outcome. I'm fine with a mild nerf at least :)
I wish that they could make a good but weak expansion. I think it's difficult since there's always a deck that just needs a single support card or two to go off, while other classes are left pretty useless. Like kingsbane rogue just used one card from Rastakhan and still got nerfed. If they work out a set that brings forth the previous sets in a balanced way I'd be amazed. I think and hope at least. Sometimes we overestimate our knowledge of game design despite spending more time on the game than the devs :p