Get good. Whining won't get you to legend.
Everyone started at bronze 10, do you really think those who reached legend play on a different MMR than you? They have access to the same cards as you do. There are stronger players on high ranks that's all it is. You felt you were good because of those star bonuses, you weren't. Anyone with enough star bonus can reach Diamond with a negative winrate. What a dummy.
Big talk from someone who doesn't understand the game. Once you reach a certain skill level, it doesn't matter how good you are, just what cards you run. How do you know what cards I have? You assume everyone has the same collection. I can't spend hundreds of dollars on virtual cards. Maybe you can, and that's why you think you think you can talk trash. Star bonuses don't have to do with shit, cause it's meant to help higher rank players go through the ranks faster. Mine ran out at plat 10, so I guess my negative win rate got me all the way to diamond 5. Maybe I should ask advice from you so I can gEt GoOd.
You didn't even understand my point. I'm saying you have access to the same cards Legend players use. There are no 'special OP cards' reserved for legend players, this is not Yugioh (anime). Anyone can craft a Tier 1 deck. It's how you use the cards, how you play.
You can craft any Legend viable deck and get it to legend. If you are saying you don't even have access to at least one complete Tier 1 deck, then quit dreaming for Legend. I reached legend while I was still F2P so maybe you should ask advise from me to get good, Angry Chicken boy.
19
Dear god, they're worse than the cable companies -.-
1
The card isn't broken(1), the class is(2).
(1) You can't just add up mana of other smaller cards and compare that. Card power curve shouldn't be linear, it should be exponential, at least above 5 mana. Why? Because only these kind of cards warrant you waiting so many turns with useless card in your hand. Ragnaros, Tirion, Dr. Boom - all "op". But notice that only these op cards get to be played in standard. Yes, the effect of The infestation is slightly over the top, they could have made it slightly weaker - the thing is...
(2) This card wouldn't be even remotely as powerful in any other class as it is in Druid. Because Druid can cheat out mana. They can get this card out faster and then reload their hand. Essentially because of ramp, druids aren't punished because of the high mana cost, and because this card draws 5 cards while having a relevant board influence, they aren't punished for ramping. These two mechanics simply negate each other's bad sides while amplifying the good sides and since both mechanics are good to begin with, we see an insane power spike for the class. Add to that, that it is in fact one of the dominant classes of the previous meta and that the class got new powerful tools this expansion and there you have it - DruidStone.
1
My take on this - the meta will slow down a bit, mid-range will be the new standard tempo, mainly due to Shaman.
What are the go to aggro decks this (KFT) expansion?
- Fast Token Druid
- Token Shaman
- Pirate Warrior
- Murlock Paladin
- Divine Shield Paladin
- ZOO Paladin
- Face Paladin
These decks will define the meta as they will be initially the most succesful and everybody will build their decks around countering them. Because of the synergetick and buff nature of all Paladin Aggro decks and the fast Token Druid deck and their shared weakness to devolve, they will all fall prey to Shaman builds, especially those slower. At the same time Shaman is getting a lot of mid-range tempo tools - add that with their burst and board control and you'll have 2-3 mid-range lists and at least one control.
Most of the abovementioned decks fall victim to Freeze Mage, so that's going to be still strong. What's the counter to Freeze Mage? Control Warrior - we'll see several builds of that - classic control, N'Zoth control, Dragon control (maybe with the taunt quest) and if the meta is slow enough probably a C'Thun control deck (also possibly with the taunt quest). There's also the counter in Jade Druid and Control Priest, and ultimately the DK Control Paladin.
However all of these decks will have trouble keeping up with their faster versions like Mid-Range Paladin and Secret Mage. Overall we will be seeing lots of lists very similar to the current decks, with some small tech changes, most new additions will come from Shaman, Paladin and Druid, while other classes will rehash old archetypes. At the end fast midrange decks will dominate the meta just because of two factors - people prefer to play the fastest and the most reliable decks available. Control decks aren't fast and they won't be reliable in a control environment as it's pretty much rock-paper-scissors in the control world. Aggro decks are fast, but all 3 main aggro classes have tools to build slower versions of these decks that are heavily favoured against aggro (Shaman, Paladin, Druid) and fair better against heavy board control.
8
5
Wow, this can shake up the meta for the weeks to come.
Not only a nerf to the control-punishing Quest Rogue, but also a buff to slower mid-range or even control elemental builds of Shaman and Priest.
1
It's too early to say if this will be played, but it's certainly a promising (or even dangerous) card design.
1. It has charge.
2. It's a charge card in
a buff classTHE buff class.3. Paladin core set has the potential to be aggressive.
Now imagine this hits the board in the mid-game buffed by +3 attack (1 mana card) and goes face. You've dealt 6 damage, healed for 6 and they need a card to remove it. If it's removed by a minion, you gain additional 6 health. If they decide to take it out with a weapon, they lose 12 health total and you gain total of 12 health - 2 cards by turn 5 can swing the game for you even by 24 health points. This card may be a great tool for swinging back games in mid-game.
3
"Oh, not quite what you asked for?"
The effect is pretty powerful, but the downside can be even greater. This card doesn't win games on its own, quite the contrary, but with the right tools could be a game changer.
It's a combo / control oriented card. On 10 mana you can combo this with Lord Jaraxxus for an immediate health stabilization, you can also combo this with cards giving immunity to your hero.
It's pretty interesting that discarding cards can actually help you lower the overall life cost.
5
In terms of design:
Bittertide Hydra - it's well balanced, goes well with the original design of Hearthstone and it's highly interactive for both players thus amplifying good decision making and general player skill.
In terms of power:
Crackling Razormaw - highly versatile 2-drop with an effect on board, playable on curve and of high value at any stage of the game - as long as you haven't lost the board.
Stonehill Defender - a defensive low-drop that fuels your mid to late game, gives you options and value while helping you survive.
1
It's an ultimate control card. It expands the volume of your deck, provides unforeseen threats and moreover assures that your opponent won't have enough removals to clear everything. In a control vs control match-up it's a dream card - a formidable body that gives you a lot of value.
But it has one weakness it can corrupt your draw - playing control is all about having answers at the right time. And when you do not have them, you have cards that help search for the answers. It's a crucial part of the archetypes overall strategy - both against aggro and control. This card hinders that effort. Elise is good because you can control when and what cards will change into legendaries - you have a strategic choice. With this card you control nothing.
And actually - it's great that it's not a battlecry effect - think about it. That wouldn't make that much difference to control classes and it would make a world of difference to aggro decks. If this was a battlecry card, it would instantly become a ZOO staple.
1
Pretty strong, has potential but It's semi-redundant with other powerful cards that already aren't seeing that much play due to their cost (Cabal and Kodo).
Yes, the fact that it's not random and can target 3 attack minions means a lot, but it's also a conditional card that costs a lot of mana. Preferably you want to kill mid-range cards with it, not aggro, cause aggro is all about tokens and very cheap stuff.
Unless meta becomes all about mid-range decks like Dragon Warrior (this card kills "itself" and kills the taunt dragon), this card will probably become limited to being a tech choice for tournaments / higher ladder tiers. It's definitely powerful but it's applications are pretty narrow, unless...
Dragon Paladin becomes a thing. This is a strictly better Kodo for a control Paladin, but needs several dragons to be consistent. At the other hand a consistent Kodo isn't the only thing that Control Pally misses, so it's not up to this single card to make the deck work.
Finally due to Tirion, control pallies are skewed towards N'zoth, not drakes. Ideally they'd need a card that fits both the dragon and deathrattle theme - like Chillmaw, only smaller.