Cracks me up that people whine about Reno so much when only *1* Reno deck has ever managed to make it to tier1 (warlock). Meanwhile, aggro decks have topped tier 1 for just about every meta. Aggro decks do not exist because of Reno decks -- Reno decks exist because of aggro. Aggro was around *loooooooooooong* before Reno ever existed.
Aggro is extremely appealing to people who want to ladder quickly because of the brevity of the games. Trying laddering with reno warlock (which takes some of the most skill to win with)... you spend 20 minutes battling out an amazing win against another midrange or control deck and then turn around and lose in 2 minutes to a pirate warrior. It makes you want to chew through leather. The game lengths make it difficult to ladder because of how long the matches are. Aggro, on the hand, can hammer through many, many games in a short period of time.
Having a balance between aggro and control is extremely important for the health of the game. Arguably control should have a slight edge to account for the average length of each game, but I do not think that is the reality in this particular meta. That's fine, but I wish they would nerf certain cards when it's obvious that aggro has the edge.
14
hmm aside from the OP cost reduction, I also can't help but wonder how thematically they made Guldan's skull a rare...
I mean yes there were 2 Guldan's on Azeroth thanks to Garrosh, but still, only 1 of his heads was linked to Illidan...
This should totally be a legendary card... Thematically and effect wise.
4
In retort to this wonderful post. I didn't add anything because the statement I so liked was rather straight forward and obvious in my mind.
However, considering your view shows otherwise let me elaborate.
Zephrys has become the next card to recieve direct contention due to the effects the card produces, in a direct relation to how the community felt about Barnes. There are a large number of people who are 'angry' with the card.
This comes quickly with and after the Barnes nerf which lends to the statement that the new card to reach the forefront of the salt threads seems to be Zephrys.
And this onslaught of threads against Zephrys is a direct reflection that no matter the state of Hearthstone there will always be someone and/or something to complain about.
I hope this alleviates the notion that anyone who doesn't make an elaborate response is a weeb and a blizzard footsoldier.
4
So this!!! I think this comment alone needs to be posted on all Zephrys threads.
6
Last round of nefs complete - start asking for more! Nerf everything!
Though I must say, this is the first thread I remember asking for Obsidian Statue nerf.
3
Bloodmage is nice for spell damage and card draw, so you could replace it with either a card draw minion or a spell damage minion depending on your flavor choice.
Madam Lazul is a bit niche so direct replacement so I don't have a great idea there but you could always toss in Catarina or Amet or a taunt minion.
2
Glad I could provide insight, and I have no qualms with your deck list, I just wanted to show a variant for those who may not have all the cards available.
If you can share your results rom the Tourny that would be awesome!
1
Well to quote blizzard "Mind Blast gives Priests the ability to inflict a large amount of direct Face damage. We want to limit the amount of damage that Priests are able to deal from their hand, which will allow us to make cards that better emphasize their strengths in controlling the game."
With that mentality shadow is doomed because it would require Priests to deal damage from hand and they feel controlling the game as a priest is better.
Oh and lets not forget:
Priest: Priests balance holy light and shadow magic to defeat their opponents. They control a battle’s outcome using powerful spells with situational applications. While not the most aggressive, they are able to generate, copy, and use combinations of cards to create a powerful army.
So - again they hold to the idea of control and combos with little aggro.
I still get the feeling they have no idea what to do with class identities and priest is just the punching bag at this point.
3
Alterations due to not having certain cards - works pretty good so far.
- Topsy Turvy (situational and I see it's value but I'm not a fan)
- Catrina Muerte (need to craft)
- Plague of Death x1 (such a late game card I've had it as a dead card too often with 2 in the deck)
- Archmage Vargoth (situational card hasn't provided me enough value but I see it's worth)
- Chef Nomi (don't have him, so I don't know it's value yet)
+ Bone Wraith (holder until I can craft Catrina Muerte)
+ Holy Nova x2 (More board clear and quest completion)
+ Khartut Defender x2 (Defense and quest completion)
2
I created a version of this deck when Clockwork Automaton was released.
Depending on match up and RNG this type of deck is really fun, though it has a big priest feel when you draw horribly.
CA and Velen combined will get you a grand total of
4/8/16/32/64/128/256 damage from your combo so it is quite capable of killing a full armored warrior - under the right conditions.
To play this out for the ones questioning it:
Hero power is 2
CA makes it 4
Velen makes it 8
The power doubles from the previous minion, this includes Velen.
If done appropriately you will have 2 CA and Velen on board with 2 Vivid Nightmare in hand.
Play Vivid Nightmare x2 then Hero power for a total of 8 mana and 256 damage
I would like to also point out that if you don't want to use Shadowform you can replace it with Auchenai Phantasm, though this pushes the combo later in the game.
0
I posted this on the blizzard threads as well:
There are so many things missing or misrepresented here.
TL;DR Blizzards Hearthstone team still has a minimal grasp of class identities and the game needs a rework from the ground up, release a full game update when this is done.
Druids: Built to work with aggressive decks that can also have a great defensive backing. As shown in your own list there are no limitations which means neutral cards are just for flavor. And only 2 weaknesses.
Hunter: pure aggression class that has the ability to create a board presence with spells AND minions with control to back it up. The limitations and weaknesses are supplemented with neutral cards except board clear.
Mage: the spell repertoire is so versatile they can handle any situation. it's only limitation is easily fixed by neutral cards as well as it's weaknesses.
Paladin: they do everything aggro, control, tempo, otk and their only limitation is fixed with neutral cards. True minimal direct damage spells, but do say "destroy big minions" is semantics. The fact they can clear an entire board of 6+ health minions with 2 cards on a single turn or render them obsolete by converting their stats to 1 or 3.
Priest: Intended to have a mix of 'powerful' healing and damage spells. Situational control and manipulation. Card draw is fixed with neutral cards as well as multi-minion buffs. And the fact that you state face damage (which you hof'd) is a weakness you directly contradict the explanation of the class. And the community has stated for years that the only way this class wins is if the neutral cards are strong enough.
Rogue: for a class that is supposed to be calculating and patient they seem to fit the aggro, tempo better than control. The fact you are removing control from them also contradicts the patience factor. They don't have any limitations and the only thing not addressed with neutral cards is board clear (which you hof'd). Oh and you only glossed over the fact that rogues are every class in one through "burgle" cards.
Shaman: Another all around class with no limitations and their only weaknesses are fixed with neutral cards.
Warlock: Probably the only class that has such a unique and specialized class identity. But also has the ability to fit any deck style with no limitations. And it's weaknesses directly reflect the class identity but can also be lessened with neutral cards.
Warrior: The wall class with aggro to push through, similar to druids but a step up this class has better chances of using attrition tactics. But who wants to think like that? This class is aggro, tempo sometimes otk with heavy defense to back it. it's limitations and weaknesses are supplemented by neutral cards except DD spells.
Neutral cards: These are flavor of the month creations, which class can break them faster and easier benefit here. As well after a short time the majority of them get left to be dusted because they don't do enough or don't fit enough of the classes identities.
So many class strengths are shared making individuality moot
Limitations and weaknesses are meaningless for many classes thanks to specifically created neutral cards.
This attempt to give a better understanding of "Class Identity" doesn't give me much faith in the game designers currently. With what I see here I don't know that you guy even do know what the "Class identities" should be after so many nerfs and hofs...
You have the ability as a corporation to get enough resources and you already have the financial backing to create a Hearthstone 2.0 update.
Find real class identities, rework the Class cards and Classic cards to fit those identities. Once that is done BUFFING neutral cards to match those identities will be easier. Nerfing will only be necessary if there is an unintended interaction at a later date.