Hearthpwn

Really fun deck win or lose. I only have 1 Call of the Wild, so +1 Explosive Trap is a good substitute if facing a lot of aggro, particularly zoo. 

I think the deck is stronger because Lock and Load got better too. GvG had too many situational Hunter cards and the rotation gives us a higher chance of getting solid value cards from the lottery. 

This and Master of Disguise are the unexpected nerfs for me. But good given the way we're seeing slower cards be released for the classes. 

Quote from uWillOnTilt >>

Quote from storminmike >>

 

Calling for an Owl nerf disproportionately punishes new, FTP players thereby stunting community growth. I get that people with lots of money invested hate seeing their 6000+ dust decks beaten by a bunch of commons, but that is just variance. Most of the time you win easily and forget about it 30 secs after the game is over. People need to stop shitting on Owl, and by extension the FTP players. 

Lol, I'm F2P and I play Freeze Mage and have enough dust to build, for example, Renolock or Control Warrior (just don't want to spend it until WOG release). I'm F2P and I say fck this Owl. Silence is ok (see Spellbreaker or Silence, nobody plays it), Owl isn't. Too much value for fking neutral 2-drop. There are so ubiquitous low cost cards, fck it. Nerf fcking Abusive, Knife Juggler, Leper Gnome to fcking hell. Use your fcking class cards, dear zoo fckers.

This week was a lazy application of Kripp's original idea. The Odds & Evens restriction is a trivial guideline to cut the card pool down by ~50% (weapons aside).  No rules were actually changed! Just assumed to have a lower power level when most ladder archetypes have missing pieces. Kripp made the original Challenge stone the way he could without access to changing major rules like Blizzard could.  

I'm not surprised why this week was apparently a netdeck-fest, if that's what folks saw. When the rules stay the same, it's easier to relate back to the ladder format that has netdecking in its roots. I home-brewed a trap/beast hunter deck to complete a 3-win hunter quest. Lost a bunch, tweaked it, got the wins, got out. 

If netdecking is to truly be avoided, more TBs need to have fundamental rule changes or new decision making in-game. On the other hand, card restrictions (or requirements!) caters to the competitive players who simply want to see a different meta than the current ladder. That's all. It will change next week. That's the best part!   

What is this release come to? Will cause too many unwanted swings in arena (from the opponent's (my) perspective). God only knows what Casino Mage will look like at this rate. Perhaps a Reno deck can come out of it. A slower deck that's itching for value out of any random spell. Reno can heal if stuff accidentally hits yourself. 

The randomness isn't too bad if you have Elise. Say you get 2 of 3 spells that aren't worth too much value in a control match-up (ex. Arcane blast & Ice Barrier). You'd have 2 more cards in hand to make legendary from the Golden Monkey.  Situational, but hopefully making some lemonade out of lemons. ...If you're that guy who got Captain's Parrot too often from Webspinner. 

... when Tournament Attendee is enough to protect your lead on the board ... "best, tempo deck, EVER!"

I agree top tier decks should require higher skill than others. MC currently makes SP too simple. 1) It's an all-at-once battlecry, not a deathrattle or passive effect. Even Mad Scientist is jealous. 2) It thins the deck too much, so players are more likely top deck a better late game when needed. 3) The 6-mana slot is too convenient of a spot on curve. The only 6-slot competitor for aggro is avenging wrath, but since its rarely seen we can write it off. 

This is a 'defense of SP' thread so I will admit I'd rather this Paladin archetype over ebola-din. But MC needs to be nerfed. Consider making MC cost 4 with a passive effect "at the end of each turn play 1 secret from your deck", and adj. the stats accordingly. Makes it more like mana tide totem, potentially a win condition, but gives the opp a chance to respond. It won't thin the deck too quickly. And it makes other 4-drops (shredder, truesilver etc.) compete for the slot. It might make the deck more like ebola-din, but it's worth a try.