Quote from Asuryan »

You missed the point of my example.  In your example, the player using the Priest deck DID make decisions that cost him the game.  He could have chosen to play Zoo or Control Warrior etc instead of Priest.  My point is that the decision tree starts with deck choice and deckbuilding, which has 0% RNG, but players whine as though RNG is total.  There's only a chance of getting a CoH-CoH-Sylvanas hand if you play a deck that includes CoH, CoH, Sylvanas.

You see this a lot when people complain about Zoo or Facehunter.  They say they lost to RNG because they didn't draw their AoE.  However, they're not playing all the AoE options that are available.  (Explosive Sheep,Abomination, etc)  So they CHOSE to reduce their chances of drawing AoE.  They lost because of a decision, not because of RNG.

Obviously if you stuff your deck full of AoE effects you'll be strong against aggro but weak against other decks, but that's a choice you make about the metagame.  That's no different from the cheesy build order thing in SC2, where it's a rock-paper-scissors meta between aggression, safety, and greed.

Putting CoH, CoH, and Sylvanas in your deck is a conscious decision to be vulnerable to drawing a CoH-CoH-Sylvanas hand.  Zoo decks don't have that problem, because they have so much redundant consistency.  Any player who chooses not to play Zoo is making a conscious decision to risk losing to cheese.  _{(Disclaimer: I'm not a Zoo player.)}

What I am getting at, losing to cheese is not random. It's a conscious decision to be vulnerable to cheese and be stronger mid-game in case opponent is in fact, not cheesing.

This is simply absurd. By your argument, rock-paper-scissors is a NOT a luck-based game because a player makes a conscious decision to play rock, paper or scissors.

If a player's success is predominantly based on what deck he happens to queue into (because, as you pointed out, a deck that counters aggro will be weak against other decks, and vice-versa), then that is the very definition of randomness. 

Seriously? Best cards in GvG? The only class card that Control Warrior consistently uses from GvG is Shieldmaiden. Not many are running Iron Juggernaut (there is a thread complaining about it right here: http://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/class-discussion/warrior/25331-so-iron-juggernaut-sucks). The other GvG card that Warrior decks use is Dr Boom, but every control deck runs that now.

If anything, Warrior is probably the one class least changed by GvG.

Yeah, with Ragnaros you can clear off the smaller minions to ensure that it hits the targets you want. Can't do that with FL.

Usually my best Arena runs are those without legendaries. Those runs where I got 2-3 legendaries, I did pretty badly. I think it is because legendaries screw with your mana curve (they tend to be expensive).

Quote from Asuryan »

I'm betting on the next adventure or expansion being battlecry-themed. Nerub'ar Weblord seems to hint at a strong battlecry presence at some point.

I personally hope they DON'T just design themes by tribal types.  Mechs this year, Dragons next year, Pandas the year after that, bla bla.  So predictable, so linear and boring.  They could cater to casuals and lore-fans just as easily by using location-based themes overlaid onto bottom-up set designs, like Naxxramas was.

Is there really a need for an expansion focused on battlecry minions? We have so many of them already, and plenty came with GvG. What I would like to see are more battlecry counters apart from Nerub'ar Weblord which never sees play. Maybe a beefy minion that suppresses all battlecries while it is on board or one that deals damage to an enemy minion with battlecry each turn. That would give the game a greater layer of complexity because then minions with battlecries will actually have a serious downside that players have to consider instead of just being strictly better than their vanilla counterparts (e.g. Doctor Boom vs War Golem).

I don't think Blizzard will go with beasts, pirates or murlocs. It seems like Blizz's attitude towards these types is to steadily add a few cards each expansion (with dragon being the only exception). It would be boring to base an expansion on a pre-existing minion type and it is more likely that Blizz will create a whole new type for an expansion (like mechs for GvG).

Quote from Elemanzer »

Because going 7-0 is better than 7-3. 

It's like deal or no deal, let's make a deal or a vast amount of other game shows or contest where you look at risk vs reward.

If I quit now I get an ok prize, if I continue and win I get better, but if I continue and lose I get less.

The difference is that Hearthstone is a multiplayer game, not a single-player game show. You are rewarded for playing with other people and trying your best with the deck you have, rather than quitting early.

Why should you be rewarded for quitting?

Pulling off a Shrinkmeister + Cabal combo is harder than you think. Priests tend to lack early game minions so they often have to play Shrinkmeister early without comboing him with anything (or at most reducing an enemy's attack to make a favourable trade). So honestly I don't think you should cut out these cards just because of the possibility of a Shrinkmeister combo.

Quote from Frostrush »

If u are going to craft him i suggest crafting him in gold, nothing worse than crafting a legendary and getting him in a pack later on.

This is terrible advice that makes no logical sense at all. If you craft a legendary in gold, you are guaranteed to waste an extra 1600 mana. If you craft a normal legendary and then open him in a pack later, you have wasted only 1200 mana (since you can dust the legendary you opened). This is even before we consider the vanishingly small odds of actually opening the same legendary in a pack (with so many legendaries in GvG chances are low that you will get the exact same legendary you crafted).

There is an in-built catch-up mechanism in Hearthstone - spending cash to buy cards. Just like how in WOW you can spend cash to boost your level 90.

Oh, you meant a free catch-up mechanism? But why should new players be immediately able to compete on the same level of veteran players who have put years of effort into the game?

Quote from Tahladnas »

The game is easier than you think. Trade one of your cards for two or more of your opponent's and you are well on your way to victory. So generally you should be playing cards that will cost your opponent to use two or more minions and/or spells to remove.

Well that's obvious and any player would do that, good or bad.
Tempo is the hard part of the game.

When is it correct to give up a 2 for 1 in favor of not wasting mana or in favor of putting a bigger thing on board? That is something that newer players probably struggle way more with. For instance, if your turn 3 consists of hero powering a leper gnome, you have gained a card, but lost a TON of tempo, which could later translate into you losing way more cards and ultimately the game.

It's very difficult now to know when it's right to take good trades and when it's not. It depends on your hand, your deck, your life total etc. and it's generally what separates good players from best players.

Another skill is knowing what the other player can play next. For instance, if you have a dark iron in hand, it's probably better to play a bloodfen raptor on turn 3 than a harvest golem, because the raptor can be buffed to kill a 3/5 or a 4/5, where the golem cannot. Then you'd just lose half your golem and your 4/4.

It's easy to figure out to buff a 3/2 into a 5/2 to kill a 4/5, but it's not as easy to know how to set it up so that'll happen most often.

There's other hard skills like knowing when to save a hard removal, when to save a fireball etc. etc. 

Just thinking about getting that 2 for 1 value right now on this turn can lead to you losing so much tempo you lose the game all the while wondering where you went wrong.

This review is just my opinion based on the current meta, expected changes from the new cards, and flat evaluation of the card as it stands alone for arena purposes. I will not give cards ratings or any sort of scale, because its almost impossible to accurately judge how the meta will shift and thus the cards true value, I will simply discuss potential pros and cons for each card. Cards will be listed and discussed by class, then rarity, then mana cost, with neutral minions appearing at the end. I would like to point out I find it odd each class only got 2 commons but 3 new rares, and 2 epics also. I'd have assumed more balance in that regard.

***UPDATE*** I am slowly adding updated reviews based on my interactions with cards as I have them. You can find currently updated cards simply by using the Find option (ctrl + f) and putting in ***UPDATE*** finding them in the posts with ease. 

Druid

Anodized Robo Cub - Well, this is one of the more impressive 2 drops made so far. Its perfectly flexible, cheap, and a mech, all of which seem like things that are good for druid. This seems likely to fit into just about any druid deck, unless a Beast focused version pops up because of Druid of the Fang, and even then is will probably still make the cut. Its about the perfect minion for Arena also, unless you are already heavy on 2 drops. This is slightly vulnerable to silence, and while you would probably be happy most of the time to have this catch a silence it could also randomly lead to a bad trade, most notably in Arena, where curve and tempo often matter most. ***UPDATE*** This has been about as good as I thought. Its not really seeing much play in constructed, but its been very good in Arena, sometimes just speedbumping a opponents large minion to give you that extra hit or the trade you wanted. The variable statline as also been great, and it has drawn a couple silences which is awesome for a druid as your 2drop.

Druid of the Fang - This card is a bit of a conundrum. Druid only has two beasts, the Panther half of Power of the Wild and Druid of the Claw, which shares its cost of 5 mana, and many of the neutral beasts are somewhat less impressive than the current roster of neutral beasts. Druid used to play a bit of Oasis Snapjaw along with Mark of the Wild, and if you really want to try to make this card work that is likely one of the things you would look to run. Other decent neutral beast include Dire Wolf Alpha, Haunted Creeper, Ironbeak Owl, Jungle Panther, and Stranglethorn Tiger. Most of these cards push you towards aggro/midrange, but isn't that was 5 mana 7/7s are for? In Arena you'd need at least 4 beasts to think about picking this up, and if none of them are stealth you'd probably want at least 6.

Grove Tender - This is a tough one to decide on. It is an new ramp spell, but one that works both ways, because if druids had any more personal ramp it would be way too strong. This one also can let you draw a card, but you have to let your opponent have one. As a body this isn't totally terrible, but giving your opponent the first chance to use the ramp is likely bad for you. Ok, this does give you a full mana crystal, unlike Wild Growth, however this still costs 3 mana, meaning playing on turn 3 will likely result in you not being able to use that 1 mana. Playing it after 3 mana crystals means it effectively costs 2, but that doesn't always leave you with a good follow up. If this had been a beast somehow I think it might have had a chance to see play along side Druid of the Fang but as is I think even a decently efficient body isn't worth having to tack a symmetrical effect on. At 3/4 maybe it would just be good enough as is, but atm I don't see picking it all that often. You are getting a decent body for 3 but your opponent will have access to making the larger stronger play before you, instead of a decent tempo play. Obviously, druid has the highest number of 5+ mana minions, and most notably a number of strong 7+ drops, so ramping them does often mean access to those larger efficient bodies your opponent probably doesn't even have. ***UPDATE*** I still find this card to be mostly mediocre. Its done some good work making ramp decks hit those high mana turns, but I haven't noticed myself ever feeling bad on the other side of the table. I can certainly see why its being run, but I don't think its anything more than a necessary evil in the decks its in.

Mech-Bear-Cat - Very very interesting. This one seems very at odds with alot of what druid is doing atm, and that is good. GvG does seem to be pushing this somewhat, making cards that don't fit right into the molds of current decks. Its a very efficient minion for the cost, Boulderfist Ogre stat with upside. Now, in constructed its much more likely you could get set up to have a bunch of spare parts and over draw, but since this looks more like the top of your curve style finisher in an aggro/midrange deck its not as likely. In Arena unless they can kill this with one guy getting two spare parts of this could swing the game. Yes, most spare parts aren't dynamic, but getting free cards, even small impact cards can lead to dynamic shifts. Yes, its vulnerable to Big Game Hunter, and its only got 6 health, which makes it somewhat easier to kill, but you're mostly just hoping it takes them 2 hits and not one. In Arena at Rare this gives you a nice heavy hitter, though some of the other druid rares are useful picks, so its hard to say how often you'll want to take this, at least early.

Recycle - Hard removal must be a touchy subject for Druids. This spell will get rid on anything, at least the first go around, but its alot of mana to do that. Similarly to Polymorph or Hex this does avoid triggering Deathrattle, and avoids Divine Shield, but they do get the chance of drawing it again. In a control matchup its likely they'll have that chance to see it again, and this just costs a bit to much to be played in an aggressive deck. It is probably fine in Arena but you'd still probably rather have Starfall. 

Dark Wispers - Oh the punyness of this one. I assume they mostly made this cost 6 because Demonheart already exists and cost 5, but man this is another somewhat over cost lame spell. This buff will expose just about any minion not only to The Black Knight but also Big Game Hunter, and 5 1/1 wisps isn't exactly worth 6 mana. Its true Druid has a few buffs, and Savage Roar plays fairly well with this, but that is about the only thing making this even kind of interesting, and it certainly doesn't seem to make it reliable enough to be playable.

Tree of Life - Well, if some form of uber control Druid comes into being this could be a card they want. It full heals you and your opponent, but also all minions, meaning if you've got a few good taunts up could make use of this. Mostly it costs too much and eats your entire turn. Now its true that gaining 15-29 health is likely to keep you alive for another turn, its not likely to help you kill your opponent/stabilize the game. Very niche, and will probably show up in some tournament decks, but not likely to see alot of play otherwise.

Malorne - The stat line and Deathrattle on this aren't bad, but I can see some games where this dies and its not the card you want to draw again. It is a great threat if they don't have a silence/morph effect, and Druids have needed a nice offensive finisher that wasn't a two card combo. In Arena this is likely a nightmare for your opponent, its huge and will potentially come back to keep being huge.

Hunter

Glaivezooka - This is an odd weapon. Considerably worse than Fiery War Axe, but it has a bit of upside. Giving a random minion permanent attack could be more valuable than the extra weapon attack but its not likely, however this could still see play over Eaglehorn Bow in a deck that isn't playing traps, and obviously its got consideration in Arena, though I'm not sure its a snap take like the other common weapons. ***UPDATE*** I do think this card is much better in Arena than I thought. The play I've seen of it in constructed hasn't been impressive, but Arena hunter tends to generally be even more aggressive, and this suits it well. Plus you opponents more often have targets you can get value with off it in Arena.

Cobra Shot - I'm beginning to think Blizzard didn't want to make all these cards constructed viable on purpose. For its cost this doesn't deal nearly enough to either target. Yes it deals a total of 6, and Spell Power gets to double dip, but 5 is alot to pay. This can be used to hit your Gahz'rilla and still hit the opponent for 3, but that is very narrow and against over cost. In Arena this is probably playable, but its not going to make you jump for joy when you pick it. I'd probably take Multi-shot over this most of the time, but this won't be totally awful and I'm sure it will win a fair few games, and catch people off guard.

Call Pet - A card that has already stirred heaps of debate. Much like Webspinner, the ever offensive Undertaker, or Unstable Portal, this is a card that can lead to some disgusting games, but also much like those cards is can also just be a bad cycle. This requires you to run alot more actual Beasts than any of the current Hunter decks, but that is the point, to push a different hunter strategy. In Arena this is likely unplayable, which is pretty bad for a rare. I'm not sure this generates a new beast specific deck, but I could see at least the lower/middle ladder ranks still seeing people playing this where is misses more than it hits but when it hits blows the game open.

Metaltooth Leaper - The class only class Mech for Hunter is a pretty spicy one. 3/3 for 3 aren't exactly what they use to be, but having just one other Mech makes this a 5/3, which is pretty crazy, and having more than that leads to some seriously nasty burst power. If any card makes Mechunter a deck, this is it from the look of it its going to make people even more annoyed by hunter.

King of Beasts - Hunter needed another interesting new non-Deathrattle beast and they certainly got one. Its pretty bad on a blank board, but having just 2 beasts makes this a Bear form Druid of the Claw. Call Pet does make this pretty nice, as its easy to fit this into play with some other beasts and playing this after an Unleash the Hounds for 3+ Hounds could make this really mean. Its not always going to be the best card to get off Webspinner but its probably not bad. I certainly like the overall presentation. You'll want a decent beast count to pick this in Arena, but having it reliably almost always be Fen Creeper, sometimes be Druid of the Claw and on that rare occasion be 5/6 or 6/6 is sweet. ***UPDATE*** I haven't seen this more than 1 time in Constructed and it came off a Webspinner, but it wasn't super impressive. I mean nothing wrong with a Druid of the Claw in taunt form, but the current deathrattle hunter isn't sticking heaps of cheap beasts. It has been ok in Arena, but its been Fen Creeper most of the time, as expected.

Feign Death - What a funny thing. This card seems like it fits right into the current hunter deck, but what card do you really think you want to cut for this? Paying 2 mana to trigger Leper Gnome, Webspinner, Mad Scientist, Haunted Creeper, or Sludge Belcher is mediocre at best. Triggering Savannah Highmane is pretty good, but you have to be getting at least 2 triggers out of this if not 3 for it to be worth the time, and agains, what card did you cut for this? Lists are already so tight and constantly adjusting one-ofs like Hunter's Mark, Ironbeak Owl, Knife Juggler, and Dire Wolf Alpha, that I'm not sure what you have to give up to find a spot for a card that doesn't always impact the game. In the case of a new more control/late game style, this plus Cairne Bloodhoof or Sylvanas does have some interesting play, but its a slow situational card. In Arena, like most epics this is super situational and likely garbage. ***UPDATE*** Well, this one has been pretty absurd in some constructed decks. I haven't seen it show up in the old school deathrattle hunter, but I've seen a few modified deathrattle hunters that have a couple extra late game guys, and when this goes off with 2 6mana+ deathrattle minions you win the game almost every time. When this works it makes Reincarnate look like crap.

Steamwheedle Sniper - Now, this is a spicy one. Again, I don't think this fits well into the current hunter deck, it is neither a Beast nor a Deathrattle minion, and spending time controlling your opponents board also isn't really what your power is meant to do, its meant to give you inevitability. In a control deck however this could be awesome. Yes, its easy to kill, but that is the point. This is a small cheap minion, that requires an answer, and thus is easy to answer. Unlike Shadowform, or Auchenai Soulpriest this doesn't turn off the original function of your hero power, it only adds the ability to target minions, meaning your opponent can't gain anything from leaving this on the board, which I think is important distinction. Even control decks run some low drops, and getting a hard removal spell or silence because your opponent can't deal with is exactly the kind of thing you hope for as a control player. In Arena this seems awesome. Removal is at a much higher premium and sticking this guy for a few turns probably means you win the game, and unlike the other Hunter and most of the neutral epics, this is always going to be good.

Gahz'rilla - Yikes! The cost, stat line and ability text on this are all amazing. Its the first 7 mana 15 stat minion in the game, that alone is pretty sweet, and the ability on this is just nasty. Yes it require work, because your opponent is only ever damaging this if he's killing it, but in a control hunter deck with Arcane Shot, Wild Pyromancer, and maybe even Elven Archer this only needs 2 pumps to likely be lethal. Also, obviously you also have interactions with pump spells and effects, like Abusive Sergeant, Dire Wolf Alpha, Dark Iron Dwarf, Leokk, or Houndmaster. As almost everyone has probably already figured out you can Kill Command and Arcane Shot this guy yourself without killing him to just wreck your opponent, or in a pinch just Kill Command it to deal 6 instead of 5. Stick on top of that, Steamwheedle Sniper letting you ping your own Gahz'rilla and you have some serious fun. This probably fits into every hunter deck no matter what, is an easy pick in Arena and makes Webspinner the best common in the game.

Mage

Flamecannon - Well, Mage already had too much direct damage, so to make a new one they had to go into the tank pretty hard. Its a bummer there isn't some actual Mage spell they could come up with, this more of an engineered device than a spell. The effect is also pretty odd. It can only hit minions which is smart of Blizzard, but the fact its random and 4 damage puts this in an odd spot. Against rush decks you might have to gamble, and that seems pretty bad. Against control decks this is pretty strong in the midgame but still doesn't do much against big late game minions. In Arena this is probably pretty nice, you're already trading alot and they likely only have 1-2 targets anyway, and outside of the couple of late game minions this rules almost all mid game minions, especially when combo'd with your hero power. I'm not sure if this will find a home, but we'll see. Its not awful but its tipped toward being worse than Frostbolt, but maybe some deck wants 2 extra effects like this. ***UPDATE*** This card certainly isn't bad, and I hate seeing it in Arena, mage just has tons of removal, and this does play slightly more proactive in Arena board clear. I haven't seen heaps of it in Constructed, but its seen a bit of use and its not awful, but I'd love to know what people aren't playing to run it.

Snowchugger - Mini-Water Elemental seems like a sweet card. This thing is kind of a trading nightmare for your opponent. Doing anything other than trading 1 for 1 with this still leaves you with a slight sour taste. Getting half a weapon, but still locking up your opponent that one turn, or getting a couple health off a larger minion and locking it down a turn is great. You can start locking weapon classes out way sooner with this, and following it up with another is dirty. This also makes Ice Lance much better. This being a Mech is also pure value. I can't see any non-class 2 drop seeing play over this in Arena, and most constructed decks. This card is going to annoy a lot of people.  ***UPDATE*** Yes, this card is just nasty. Its not a game winning card, because its a 2drop, but man does it lead to some really strong opening plays, and can stall larger minions in the late game just long enough to reach someone out. So far the most played of the new class mechs I've seen, and its had a very impressive showing.

Unstable Portal - Let the variance begin. I feel like Webspinner has nothing on this for tilting not only you but your opponents. This is a card that will almost always be played in any non-freeze Mage, and it will be good much more often that its bad. Getting a 1 cost minion is the nightmare, and the couple of totally unplayable 2 and 3 drops, but even some of those 3 drops become pretty sweet when they only cost 2 mana. The only total blanks/disaster 2 cost minions are Captain's Parrot, maybe Ancient Watcher, and Millhouse Manastorm. In the 3 cost stuff you have Felguard (only bad in the early game), Alarm-o-Bot (which could be a total blank), Magma Rager (maybe the worst), and variance minions like Coldlight Oracle, Dancing Swords, and Deathlord. Normally bad minions are still coming in for 2 mana instead of 3 making them all at least even on value even with subpar bodies. Any 4 drop or higher is still worth its newly reduced mana cost, even if some of them won't be nearly as good as you'd like. In Arena I'm not sure what rares this random effect is better than, but there are enough that you'll probably see this card from mage alot. ***UPDATE***As everyone knows this card is pretty crazy. I've seen it miss completely very few times and I've seen it just blow out games so often. I almost feel like this could catch a bit of a nerf if it continues to be the biggest reason mage is winning games, which it every well could be.

Soot Spewer - I'm not sure if Mech mage is super thrilled by this, but a Spell Power deck might have more potential with the first reasonable bodies Spell Power minion. This one isn't anything super special, but its got nice upsides for Mage. Nothing super notable, just a nice almost standard minion.

Goblin Blastmage - In the world of 4 cost minions Mage was already the winner, now its just unfair. You have to be able to turn this on, which obviously won't be that hard to do, there will be plenty of Mechs, and you get the amazing Snowchugger as a base. This may not fit in with most other Mage minions, but you can easily still play some of mages non-Mech minions and have enough to make this guy work. Even as just a 5/4 for 4 he's not bad, but when you also get that free 4 random damage its pretty nice. Its certainly not game breaking, and as we all know these sorts of effects can be worthless, but a value 4 drop with random upside is more than enough to see play. In Arena this is going to be harder to turn on, and the effect may not always even be worth turning on, but that doesn't mean you'd pass it if you just need a value 4 drop, since you aren't losing any stats. ***UPDATE*** I've seen alot of this guy, but I haven't been super impressed. Everyone loves value guys, but the best case for this most of the time is it just burns your opponent for 4. I've seen it do plenty of the class stuff like hit all the wrong guys the right amount of times and leave you still losing all your trades. Its a fine card, but hasn't proven to be outstanding to me personally.

Echo of Medivh - I'm not totally sure if this sees play. Its a very situationally powerful card. Copying a Legendary of giving you a new set of cheap guys to rebuild with on the next turn, but 4 is a fair amount of mana, and you've got to be getting a strong single minion or multiple decent cheaper ones. Getting a heap of crap minions probably won't help you, since you gave up a bit of tempo to get it. I most specifically see this being good in an aggro deck as a reload spell, but this is one horrendous top deck sometimes, similar to Divine Favor. 

Wee Spellstopper - This has a really interesting ability, but its got that Ancient Mage stat line which is pretty bad, especially now. This does allow you to try to protect a minion or 2 from spells but it only really seems viable in control against control. In a minion based match up this is just too weak to make an real impact. This plays ok with Taunts, and you're probably happy if they burn a spell or silence on this, but I just don't see it having enough impact atm.

Flame Leviathan - The fact that you can only draw this one time is a bummer. If this had the same Deathrattle as Malorne it could be really sweet, otherwise, even though the effect is nice in a control deck, not knowing when its going to happen, and then just being a War Golem isn't the most impressive.