I am not saying that the metagame is settled, but it's settling to a point where certain trends seem like they'll exist until the end of the format.
Many versions of Priest are very good and will flip back and forth as to which is the best in deck in the game. Warlock is the best anti-aggo deck. Paladin has the best aggro decks. Tempo Rogue is the best tempo/midrange deck.
The other 5 classes are niche or overall disappointing.
Last metagame, the nerfs really served to mix up what the rest of the format looked like. There were incredibly obvious culprits in Druid. This time, I'm not sure what card changes could make a meaningful change to the format.
Psychic Scream stands out to me as the only card that if changed (say to 9 or 10 mana like it probably should be) that would allow other decks (like Big decks) to compete meaningfully against Priest.
i think call to arms could get nerfed (to five mana?), in which case, token druid would be the best aggro deck, and some decks that suffer from aggro might rise up a bit - perhaps some big decks or control decks with good raza/cubelock matchups but bad aggro ones?
creeper could see a nerf which would hurt...everybody? but mostly aggro and tempo would be taken down a notch.
i think call to arms could get nerfed (to five mana?), in which case, token druid would be the best aggro deck, and some decks that suffer from aggro might rise up a bit - perhaps some big decks or control decks with good raza/cubelock matchups but bad aggro ones?
creeper could see a nerf which would hurt...everybody? but mostly aggro and tempo would be taken down a notch.
Call to Arms is definitely a candidate. Good call!
Call to arms is not too powerful. It's a balanced, strong card. I would argue Possessed Lackey is way more powerful because of Warlock's ridiculous statted demons. Combined with Doomguard or Voidlord it's way more game-breaking than a single Call to Arms.
I also got really tired of the current staleness of the meta, even though we are only at the second month of this expansion. Yes, some cards can really be too powerful and influential, but I don't think there are any real responsible causers for this one. I think it's the opposite, I think, that it's because there aren't many good cards in the card pool, in order for the meta to become more diverse, or better said, I think, that the high-quality card distribution is yet poorly made. Some of the classes got a lot of good cards in the previous 3/4 expansions than others. While I don't want to shame the obvious benefitor (priest), I wouldn't have had something against it, if ALL classes constantly got influential cards, which will be good enough to form competitive decks out of them. I would have been quite pleased, that we see 4-5 serious decks from a single class, because everyone could have come up with at least 3.
Now, I don't mean, that every class can come up with a high tier-1 or even a tier-S deck, BUT all I want to see are new cards, which will bring NEW decks into life. I'm looking at shaman, when saying all of this (also hunter back in MSOG) - why do the devs give them meme or just weak cards, which can't compete with the other's power level. Totemic synergy, really? Purify - it was laughed at from the very start, people made a (semi)-viable deck in Un'Goro and it was never heard of again. But it's ok, because priest's card pool was renewed with each expansion and this should be the case for all other classes. In shaman's case - they still play an old deck, which has added a single card in their disposal in KOFT (maybe +2 if we count Bonemares), now some use that 1 mana Unstable Evolution (+2 Corridor Creepers). But adding neutral cards, which are popular among other classes is imho not much of an achievement. Now they even "lost" Hex without getting something to help them fill their weaknesses (card draw, stronger AoEs, early-game and mid-game minions...).
So once again, the problem imho is how the good cards are poorly and unfairly split. I really think, that some classes deserve the good cards more than the others. Warrior, shaman, in some ways hunter too. Because if Blizzard were to nerf some of the popular cards atm, which are imho far from being oppressive or design-space limiting, will do nothing to make the meta fresh. It will get even worse, because some of the underwhelming tier 3 decks will possibly climb a tier higher and that will be it.
Inb4 quick review of the strong cards, people complain that much about:
Call to Arms - perfect card for aggro decks. This is wouldn't have been that good, if people didn't have Knife Juggler, who btw I haven't seen for a long time, maybe lastly in WOTG, and he doesn't even break the card, he just makes it good. The other good scenario is with the murloc internal synergy. I really like this card, although I don't play paladin at all, it will be broken only then, if paladin were to get stupid cards like Tunnel Trogg and Totem Golem.
Patches the Pirate - I also don't have him, but imho he is fine in this meta, actually since KOFT. Now, some people will debate and I won't disagree, but imho we don't see those scenarios from MSOG, where you could die at turn 4 just because a dude had an explosive start, and maybe in Un'goro in QR and token dudu. Right now we don't really abuse his mechanic, unless in the few situations in Keleseth decks (mainly in Tempo Rogue).
That's why I can't wait for the next rotation to come. I really enjoyed my games back in Un'Goro and in WOTG, there were so many popular decks at that time, you could see all sorts of classes (except my favourite warlock). So this is the best time in a certain hs year.
Control is way more of a problem then Aggro/Tempo. Voidlord needs a nerf and possessed lackey. Anduin could be 10 mana as well.
As much as everyone knows DK Anduin wrecks the meta, I don't believe this card should be nerfed. Razakus Priest's power level comes from many other cards combined, most of which will rotate shortly. It's just to close to rotation to nerf it - you'll see after Raza and Kazakus rotate out. Generally it's Raza's fault that Razakus is so strong, besides DK Anduin could easily find a spot in Control Priest decks after new expansion hits.
That said, if the card would cost 9 mana it wouldn't be bad. You're still getting a new, decent hero power, 5 armor and good removal.
The more I've thought about it, I feel pretty certain that Possessed Lackey will receive some kind of nerf. He is just too overpowered compared to all the other Recruit cards. Compared to Silver Vanguard or Kathrena Winterwisp, he cheats significantly more mana at an earlier stage of the game.
For my YGO friends, it's Sangan vs. Witch of the Black Forest. Both were eventually banned, but Witch was banned ages before Sangan.
I could see Possessed Lackey being changed to cap the cost of the demon he recruits to something like 6 or 7. Heck, they could drop the cost of him to 4 at that point. He wouldn't be too above curve compared to what other classes can already achieve by turn 4. Skull of the Man'ari is powerful, but at least it forces the player to have drawn the demons for it to do anything.
I could also see some kind of change to Doomguard to prevent its combo burst potential. Tying the charge effect to the battlecry perhaps, or making the discard of two cards happen when summoned, so it's not a good target to cheat into play.
Part of the issue with Cubelock is that it loses basically no cards at rotation, which means it will get even stronger as theoretically all the other decks will be weakened or disappear with the reduction of the card pool. Yes, other cards will be introduced to the card pool, but if Cubelock is already overpowered compared to every other deck when the card pool at its biggest (when seemingly all the other classes/decks have as much to work with as they ever will), that will be magnified when the card pool is smaller.
I believe Corridor Creeper sees some kind of change, even though I don't think it is nearly as big of a deal as it's made out to be. The format has adjusted to its existence for the most part, but I think either it gets dropped to a 4/4 or it gets changed to only count your own minions.
Other than those I don't see anything else changing at this time. They seem content to let Highlander Priest ride it out to rotation unchanged (although Psychic Scream being upped to at least cost 8 should be on the table). Rogue is good, but fair. Paladin is also very good, but still fair in my opinion, even with Call to Arms powering them. The rest of the classes have OK to mediocre decks at best. There will always be top decks and not every class will be on equal footing, but right now I think Priest and Warlock are so far ahead of every other class something will change.
Another qq threat about Priest just get better m8 .)
Maybe have you ever thought that lots of threads complaining about the same thing might mean there is a problem? And not just a “Qq l2p noob” issue.
If you have noting constructive to add maybe don’t add anything at all.
The problem with Razakus isn’t Raza or Anduin individually, it’s the combo of the 2. Just making the hero power cost 0 isn’t an issue on its own. A 8 mana card that just gives a stronger refreshable shadowform and some removal isn’t overpowered by itself.
Putting them both in the same class at the same time was the problem.
With the rotation around the corner I can’t see them nerfing it.
My guesses. Considering they want less basic/classic cards being played. I don’t want patches in wild but hey ho, maybe they’ll pretend to care.
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
This is what I thought of their previous nerfs when druid was an issue.... we'll nerf the non-problematic cards to address the issue. As laughable as the suggestions are.
I don't think southsea needs a nerf... he's super lame as is... only usable with patches. I miss old pirates day when ship's cannon was viable.
As for items... I don't quite understand the durability on the legendary weapons. I felt that the durability would be how many times it could proc... yet it ends up being pointless- just to prevent a one mana card from destroying it yet a 2 mana card will.
One of Raza or Shadowreaper Anduin has to change. Maybe making Raza reduce cost of the hero power by 1, or voidform can only be refreshed once per turn, or something. It also pains me that DK Anduin has made Shadowform completely obsolete.
Corridor Creeper. Something's got to change on him. 4/4 costing 8? Only triggers on one player's minions instead of both? (not sure which one would be better) Reduction only works for 1 turn, a la Volcanic Dragon?
Patches. Yeah, he leaves Standard, but he'll be in Wild forever, and that's a problem. Removing charge might be one thing to do. Requiring 2 pirates to trigger him could be another, or perhaps a pirate and a weapon; the latter would prevent splashing pirates in every aggro deck regardless of class.
Jade Idol - Needs some sort of rework. Rather than shuffling 3 Jade Idols into the deck, it could shuffle 3 Jade Blossoms, preventing going infinite. (or a new card that just summons a jade golem and does nothing else, but the Blossom way gives it a bit of compensation for losing the other part, and simplifies things by not having to create a new sub-card for it)
Branching Paths - I *LOVE* the design of this card, but 4 mana is probably too cheap. 5 or even 6 mana might be better suited.
Oaken Summons - Should probably cost 5. I might be able to be convinced this one's not necessary, but you get a 4 mana minion and 6 armour for 4 mana... and you can design the deck such that it's always a minion that's already OP for 4 mana on its own.
Malfurion the Pestilent - Considering most other deathknights cost a lot more, and several do less, he could probably stand to cost another 1 mana.
Ultimate Infestation - Maybe change all 5s to 4s on this card?
Stitched Tracker - I can't believe Hunters aren't using this more; it's so strong. Only the ones abusing Naga Sea Witch with Giants are playing it, though. It should probably cost 1 more mana.
Primordial Glyph - Cost 3 or change the reduction to 1 mana perhaps?
Call to Arms - Cost 5 mana. Simply too efficient at 4. (I'm just glad nobody's figured out Millhouse is a 4/4 for 2 mana yet :p Though drawing him without Call to Arms is bad enough that it probably prevents its viability)
Kingsbane - Something ought to be done with this as well, though I'm not sure exactly what. It's definitely too strong as is, but I'm not sure how to change it and not just ruin either its viability or its theme.
Sonya Shadowdancer. Another one that I have absolutely no idea why Rogues aren't using it more. I mean, it synergizes with literally ANY card that has a battlecry, deathrattle, charge, or some sort of end of turn effect. Again, I'm not sure how to change this without ruining either the flavour or viability of the card.
Unstable Evolution - This is just nuts. Maybe make it cost 2 mana, or make it so you can't use it on the same minion more than once in a turn, so you have to spread it out amongst various minions, so you can't just keep 'rerolling' the same one.
Bloodreaver Gul'Dan. This is probably too OP as well, but since I've been playing a ton of Warlock lately, I'm too biased to suggest a nerf.
Bonemare - Reduce it to 4/4 and reduce the buff to +3/+3 -might- be enough to balance it.
Cobalt Scalebane - Gives out +2 attack rather than +3 attack.
General things:
Charge is getting to be a problem in some designs. For instance, Doomguard/Carnivorous Cube/Dark Pact, or Doomguard/Bloodreaver Gul'Dan, or Patches, or even Leeroy. There are a few possible solutions. One could be that charge only works if played from hand (essentially put charge into the battlecry, if any, though this unfortunately complicates the keyword) Another could be that you can't go face on the first turn with a charge, like how Charged Devilsaur works, but that might not work as well; charge minions going face isn't a problem in and of itself; it's that it is now possible to have completely uninteractive combos that rely on charge and allow for little to no counterplay.
'Resurrect effects'. Barnes into a 1/1 into resurrect produces a 1/1, not a 10/10 or whatever, since it started as a 1/1, rather than 10/10. (I realize this is VERY poorly defined, but I think the concept is there; it just doesn't make sense the way it is)
Fix the giants interaction with Naga Sea Witch in Wild so that giants cost 5 when the Naga is in play, which is far more intuitive, and, more importantly, not completely imbalanced.
Where I see potential for a nerf is Dark Pact. I believe that this is the card that makes Cubelock problematic, because in many cases it's just 15 Damage + 8 life in turn 6. Cube itself is fine, it can be handled by silence effects, or other stuff, but what really needs to be nerfed is a 1 mana card that destroys one of your minions to gain 8 life. Make it 2 mana and it will be fine.
I they were smart then it's never too late to nerf Patches and Jade Idol. But they are not smart/have to much pride invested in these cards...poor wild, infected forever.
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I am not saying that the metagame is settled, but it's settling to a point where certain trends seem like they'll exist until the end of the format.
Many versions of Priest are very good and will flip back and forth as to which is the best in deck in the game.
Warlock is the best anti-aggo deck.
Paladin has the best aggro decks.
Tempo Rogue is the best tempo/midrange deck.
The other 5 classes are niche or overall disappointing.
Last metagame, the nerfs really served to mix up what the rest of the format looked like. There were incredibly obvious culprits in Druid. This time, I'm not sure what card changes could make a meaningful change to the format.
Psychic Scream stands out to me as the only card that if changed (say to 9 or 10 mana like it probably should be) that would allow other decks (like Big decks) to compete meaningfully against Priest.
Any others?
i think call to arms could get nerfed (to five mana?), in which case, token druid would be the best aggro deck, and some decks that suffer from aggro might rise up a bit - perhaps some big decks or control decks with good raza/cubelock matchups but bad aggro ones?
creeper could see a nerf which would hurt...everybody? but mostly aggro and tempo would be taken down a notch.
Control is way more of a problem then Aggro/Tempo. Voidlord needs a nerf and possessed lackey. Anduin could be 10 mana as well.
Call to arms is not too powerful. It's a balanced, strong card. I would argue Possessed Lackey is way more powerful because of Warlock's ridiculous statted demons. Combined with Doomguard or Voidlord it's way more game-breaking than a single Call to Arms.
I also got really tired of the current staleness of the meta, even though we are only at the second month of this expansion. Yes, some cards can really be too powerful and influential, but I don't think there are any real responsible causers for this one. I think it's the opposite, I think, that it's because there aren't many good cards in the card pool, in order for the meta to become more diverse, or better said, I think, that the high-quality card distribution is yet poorly made. Some of the classes got a lot of good cards in the previous 3/4 expansions than others. While I don't want to shame the obvious benefitor (priest), I wouldn't have had something against it, if ALL classes constantly got influential cards, which will be good enough to form competitive decks out of them. I would have been quite pleased, that we see 4-5 serious decks from a single class, because everyone could have come up with at least 3.
Now, I don't mean, that every class can come up with a high tier-1 or even a tier-S deck, BUT all I want to see are new cards, which will bring NEW decks into life. I'm looking at shaman, when saying all of this (also hunter back in MSOG) - why do the devs give them meme or just weak cards, which can't compete with the other's power level. Totemic synergy, really? Purify - it was laughed at from the very start, people made a (semi)-viable deck in Un'Goro and it was never heard of again. But it's ok, because priest's card pool was renewed with each expansion and this should be the case for all other classes. In shaman's case - they still play an old deck, which has added a single card in their disposal in KOFT (maybe +2 if we count Bonemares), now some use that 1 mana Unstable Evolution (+2 Corridor Creepers). But adding neutral cards, which are popular among other classes is imho not much of an achievement. Now they even "lost" Hex without getting something to help them fill their weaknesses (card draw, stronger AoEs, early-game and mid-game minions...).
So once again, the problem imho is how the good cards are poorly and unfairly split. I really think, that some classes deserve the good cards more than the others. Warrior, shaman, in some ways hunter too. Because if Blizzard were to nerf some of the popular cards atm, which are imho far from being oppressive or design-space limiting, will do nothing to make the meta fresh. It will get even worse, because some of the underwhelming tier 3 decks will possibly climb a tier higher and that will be it.
Inb4 quick review of the strong cards, people complain that much about:
Call to Arms - perfect card for aggro decks. This is wouldn't have been that good, if people didn't have Knife Juggler, who btw I haven't seen for a long time, maybe lastly in WOTG, and he doesn't even break the card, he just makes it good. The other good scenario is with the murloc internal synergy. I really like this card, although I don't play paladin at all, it will be broken only then, if paladin were to get stupid cards like Tunnel Trogg and Totem Golem.
Patches the Pirate - I also don't have him, but imho he is fine in this meta, actually since KOFT. Now, some people will debate and I won't disagree, but imho we don't see those scenarios from MSOG, where you could die at turn 4 just because a dude had an explosive start, and maybe in Un'goro in QR and token dudu. Right now we don't really abuse his mechanic, unless in the few situations in Keleseth decks (mainly in Tempo Rogue).
That's why I can't wait for the next rotation to come. I really enjoyed my games back in Un'Goro and in WOTG, there were so many popular decks at that time, you could see all sorts of classes (except my favourite warlock). So this is the best time in a certain hs year.
I've no clue what I'm doing...
The more I've thought about it, I feel pretty certain that Possessed Lackey will receive some kind of nerf. He is just too overpowered compared to all the other Recruit cards. Compared to Silver Vanguard or Kathrena Winterwisp, he cheats significantly more mana at an earlier stage of the game.
For my YGO friends, it's Sangan vs. Witch of the Black Forest. Both were eventually banned, but Witch was banned ages before Sangan.
I could see Possessed Lackey being changed to cap the cost of the demon he recruits to something like 6 or 7. Heck, they could drop the cost of him to 4 at that point. He wouldn't be too above curve compared to what other classes can already achieve by turn 4. Skull of the Man'ari is powerful, but at least it forces the player to have drawn the demons for it to do anything.
I could also see some kind of change to Doomguard to prevent its combo burst potential. Tying the charge effect to the battlecry perhaps, or making the discard of two cards happen when summoned, so it's not a good target to cheat into play.
Part of the issue with Cubelock is that it loses basically no cards at rotation, which means it will get even stronger as theoretically all the other decks will be weakened or disappear with the reduction of the card pool. Yes, other cards will be introduced to the card pool, but if Cubelock is already overpowered compared to every other deck when the card pool at its biggest (when seemingly all the other classes/decks have as much to work with as they ever will), that will be magnified when the card pool is smaller.
I believe Corridor Creeper sees some kind of change, even though I don't think it is nearly as big of a deal as it's made out to be. The format has adjusted to its existence for the most part, but I think either it gets dropped to a 4/4 or it gets changed to only count your own minions.
Other than those I don't see anything else changing at this time. They seem content to let Highlander Priest ride it out to rotation unchanged (although Psychic Scream being upped to at least cost 8 should be on the table). Rogue is good, but fair. Paladin is also very good, but still fair in my opinion, even with Call to Arms powering them. The rest of the classes have OK to mediocre decks at best. There will always be top decks and not every class will be on equal footing, but right now I think Priest and Warlock are so far ahead of every other class something will change.
One of Raza or Shadowreaper Anduin has to change. Maybe making Raza reduce cost of the hero power by 1, or voidform can only be refreshed once per turn, or something. It also pains me that DK Anduin has made Shadowform completely obsolete.
Corridor Creeper. Something's got to change on him. 4/4 costing 8? Only triggers on one player's minions instead of both? (not sure which one would be better) Reduction only works for 1 turn, a la Volcanic Dragon?
Patches. Yeah, he leaves Standard, but he'll be in Wild forever, and that's a problem. Removing charge might be one thing to do. Requiring 2 pirates to trigger him could be another, or perhaps a pirate and a weapon; the latter would prevent splashing pirates in every aggro deck regardless of class.
Jade Idol - Needs some sort of rework. Rather than shuffling 3 Jade Idols into the deck, it could shuffle 3 Jade Blossoms, preventing going infinite. (or a new card that just summons a jade golem and does nothing else, but the Blossom way gives it a bit of compensation for losing the other part, and simplifies things by not having to create a new sub-card for it)
Branching Paths - I *LOVE* the design of this card, but 4 mana is probably too cheap. 5 or even 6 mana might be better suited.
Oaken Summons - Should probably cost 5. I might be able to be convinced this one's not necessary, but you get a 4 mana minion and 6 armour for 4 mana... and you can design the deck such that it's always a minion that's already OP for 4 mana on its own.
Malfurion the Pestilent - Considering most other deathknights cost a lot more, and several do less, he could probably stand to cost another 1 mana.
Ultimate Infestation - Maybe change all 5s to 4s on this card?
Stitched Tracker - I can't believe Hunters aren't using this more; it's so strong. Only the ones abusing Naga Sea Witch with Giants are playing it, though. It should probably cost 1 more mana.
Primordial Glyph - Cost 3 or change the reduction to 1 mana perhaps?
Call to Arms - Cost 5 mana. Simply too efficient at 4. (I'm just glad nobody's figured out Millhouse is a 4/4 for 2 mana yet :p Though drawing him without Call to Arms is bad enough that it probably prevents its viability)
Kingsbane - Something ought to be done with this as well, though I'm not sure exactly what. It's definitely too strong as is, but I'm not sure how to change it and not just ruin either its viability or its theme.
Sonya Shadowdancer. Another one that I have absolutely no idea why Rogues aren't using it more. I mean, it synergizes with literally ANY card that has a battlecry, deathrattle, charge, or some sort of end of turn effect. Again, I'm not sure how to change this without ruining either the flavour or viability of the card.
Unstable Evolution - This is just nuts. Maybe make it cost 2 mana, or make it so you can't use it on the same minion more than once in a turn, so you have to spread it out amongst various minions, so you can't just keep 'rerolling' the same one.
Bloodreaver Gul'Dan. This is probably too OP as well, but since I've been playing a ton of Warlock lately, I'm too biased to suggest a nerf.
Bonemare - Reduce it to 4/4 and reduce the buff to +3/+3 -might- be enough to balance it.
Cobalt Scalebane - Gives out +2 attack rather than +3 attack.
General things:
Charge is getting to be a problem in some designs. For instance, Doomguard/Carnivorous Cube/Dark Pact, or Doomguard/Bloodreaver Gul'Dan, or Patches, or even Leeroy. There are a few possible solutions. One could be that charge only works if played from hand (essentially put charge into the battlecry, if any, though this unfortunately complicates the keyword) Another could be that you can't go face on the first turn with a charge, like how Charged Devilsaur works, but that might not work as well; charge minions going face isn't a problem in and of itself; it's that it is now possible to have completely uninteractive combos that rely on charge and allow for little to no counterplay.
'Resurrect effects'. Barnes into a 1/1 into resurrect produces a 1/1, not a 10/10 or whatever, since it started as a 1/1, rather than 10/10. (I realize this is VERY poorly defined, but I think the concept is there; it just doesn't make sense the way it is)
Fix the giants interaction with Naga Sea Witch in Wild so that giants cost 5 when the Naga is in play, which is far more intuitive, and, more importantly, not completely imbalanced.
Where I see potential for a nerf is Dark Pact. I believe that this is the card that makes Cubelock problematic, because in many cases it's just 15 Damage + 8 life in turn 6. Cube itself is fine, it can be handled by silence effects, or other stuff, but what really needs to be nerfed is a 1 mana card that destroys one of your minions to gain 8 life. Make it 2 mana and it will be fine.
when the nerf is supposed to happen?
HS addicted
they wont nerf those cards lol
Ya, Psychic Scream but also Corridor Creeper.
I they were smart then it's never too late to nerf Patches and Jade Idol. But they are not smart/have to much pride invested in these cards...poor wild, infected forever.