Hearthpwn

It's not a bug, it's a feature.  I am of the opinion that the new MMR system is poorly designed and or executed.

Looks like the same experience for me this season in wild. 

I am using my own home brew Mage deck.  I quit playing ranked early last season in gold so I have limit d bonus stars.  This is 3 seasons in a row now if the exact same formula playing out.

I start the new season strong, barely losing any games rising up to the top half of gold. I see a good variety of decks on the way, quite balanced. 

As soon as I get top half of gold everything changes. This is a night and day difference. I see no variety anymore and my win rate drops to 50%. All I face now are great Priest and Rogue decks, at least 8 out of 10 are one of these two classes.  Maybe the odd demon Warlock and pirate Warrior. 

The previous 2 seasons this is where I quit out of principle.  I went back to casual matches and found variety and a good winrate again. 

I hate this.  Nothing gets gradually harder as you climb. A switch is flipped for me early in gold and it's like I'm fighting at diamond level 1 to try to hot legend. Nonsense.  They believe this will drive me to invest more in the game, but instead, knowing I am being manipulated, it drives me away. 

I'd much rather have an equal bucket system knowing the first week of each season will be a bit tougher and the last a bit easier. 

Maybe the timing of the switch is linked to when your bonus stars run out. 

I see people talking about the rank of their opponents. How do you see this?  On my phone and laptop all I see is their names.   Without knowing who I am playing how am I to determine how good my homebrew deck is now?

Ignore this. 

I had a Highlander Mage deck variant that got me to rank 6.  The very first day of the first season of this new format, the same deck that was holding it's own at that level around 50% up to the final night of that season, started the new season 0 for 10.  I had never lost 10 matches in a row before.  Not the best first impression.  I switched to a new deck from a new class and began to climb again.  But that was total BS.  Even this new season I started 1 for 7 with Mage (I play 90%+ of my matches as Mage).  It eventually goes back to normal but something isn't right.

Imho people who play <=50 matches over a season and don't care about hitting legend should never play vs those in legend rank.   Maybe the MMR opponent adjustment should be limited in range to decks in your rank or perhaps your rank +/- 1.

I am a new paying player (since August) that has decided to switch to f2p mostly because of this.  I have largely disengaged and mostly just play casual to kill time now.  The gains they see from this new tactic will likely offset my loss and I am fine with that.  I will find another hobby.

I forgot, I also rope people who refuse to use any punctuation at all.

As a poker player I understand perception bias.  I also have a basic understanding of statistics.

Knowing that they can, I have a hard time trusting that they never influence RNG without full disclosure to us. This bothers me a great deal.  If I am to engage in a game and build decks, I expect all odds to be clear to me.  When I play poker I make money because I understand the probabilities as well as one can and plan around them. If there were someone behind the scenes inside the deck manipulating outcomes so that they were invisibly different from what one could determine... I simply would not play. 

I would appreciate a clear statement from the Devs as to any case of manipulated RNG from cards or a statement that it never occurs.

Theoretically you could minimize the effect of intentional manipulation by reducing the RNG in your deck and leaning on aggro to reduce the played RNG events of your opponent. 

There have been a lot of claims made here, particularly in the salt thread, that random odds are being manipulated by the Devs in an effort to maintain balance and a 50% winrate.  

Is there any actual proof that this is true?   Or has anyone done any proper statistical analysis that suggests it may be true?

Braindead nonsense.  The Devs are poking the bear with the text on this one. Show me one post here where people said they like random. 

To me Mage is exactly this, but I have been only playing 9 months so don't have the historical view.  People complain about the big Mage RNG swings late game because they had the game in the bag up until then.  But the game was only in the bag because Mage is so deficient early game and always has to climb out of a hole.  Late game Mage comes out swinging with big punches like the Amazing Reno... if it survives that long.  It definitely seems designed into Mage that you must struggle early and then get rewarded later with some massive plays with some variance which balances out in the end.  And that this is intentional by the Devs to make outcomes less determined by early play.

I got to Legend for the first time in my 5 years of playing Hearthstone! Thanks Spell Druid!

Highlander mage is great against it. Arcane Breath into Poly, Zephrys into Poly, Evocation into Poly, Malygos into Poly, regular Poly, Counterspell or Spellbender for their Grave Ward or CS for Massrez. Solarian or Box into extra removal, or just remove them when your board is clear. 

Or if you're having THAT much trouble tech in an Owl or something.

Oppenent is highlander rogue and I am highlander mage I used everything including reno and only three card left and I have nothing at deck opponent have 4 hp one khartut and lackey on his board and I have nothing he plays dq alex finds kaleckos plays a trap and other 0 mana drakonid have 5 minion on board at this point I think I lose the game but damn I have dq alex on my hand I might find a deathwing right I wait patiently than he presses to the end the turn button and gets a Nether Breath directly to his face because dear reno decided to end his whole career as rogue.