Hearthpwn

Quote from FelyHS >>

Everyone is doing like the whole Naxx and GvG cards get removed from the game, but we still have wild mode. And why is everyone thinking that the Standard Mode is the only mode left, I don't think there will be a big difference between the Standard Mode and the Wild Mode and also think they will keep both modes balanced. You can still do everything in the Wild Mode. Think like there are two modes now, 1 with all cards and 1 with only the newest expansions, why would we only play the one second mode? I think I will play both modes.

Quote from rennuiHS >>

Important to remember that the developers are aware of what classes are losing, and new cards will fill the needed gaps.

Don't send my GvG and Naxx cards to purgatory.  Send them to hell and give me full dust.

My only complaint: non-Standard cards should give you more dust because Wild is where cards go to die.

Quote from MvonTzeskagrad >>

Another thing I noticed. They say they are reevaluating basic and classic cards. Will that mean they'll finally fix some cards like Windfury Harpy and Knife Juggler (fix in one way or another)?

Quote from 4wd >>

No Voidcaller, No Mal'Ganis, No Darkbomb - Demon Handlock is officially dead.

No Death Bite - Patron Warrior is finally dead.

No Shieldmaiden, No Belchers - Control Warrior is going to die.

And same for every other deck. Even Shammies are back to trash tier - no more Crackles.

Except Secret Pally which will continue to dominate meta.

 

Am I right that every year we'll be racing to collect cards that will eventually be unusable in Standard?  If so, why would anyone spend any money on card packs?

Imma let you finish, but Murloc Pally is going to rule the new meta.

kappa

The new ranked play reward system seems like a missed opportunity to me.  

Rather than getting a card and some dust, I'm much rather get an improved card back for the month of ranked play based on my highest rank.  For example, Rank 20-16 may get the basic card back for that month.  Rank 15-11 would get the basic card back with a bit of animation or gilding.  Etc etc.  And Legend players would get the most awesome version with crazy animation, etc.

It would be a great way to show - hey I kicked a$$ in Season X.  And it would motivate me more than the current system to really tryhard in ranked.  Plus it gives rank more flavor rather than try to just copy the arena's reward system.

What do you think? 

Guys, you're missing the point!  The skull has a ponytail!

Why doesn't it say "Adapt twice" ?

Potential for infinite value with Getaway Kodo

If you fill your hand with random murlocs, does that mean you can overdraw at the beginning of your next turn if you dont play any other card after filling your hand?

7 mana 4/4

They just had to

TL;DR - The nerfs destroyed Aggro Shaman, Pirate Warrior's only viable counter.

I am climbing the Wild ladder this month.  I had an easy run to Rank 10 in the first couple days with a fun Yogg Mage, and with the new "safety net" there, I decided to play around with some interesting decks.  I soon discovered that I was facing at least 50% Pirate Warriors, and I was losing with everything.  I began creating decks that had every anti-Pirate tech I could think of - Reno decks, double Sludge Belchers, double Deathlords, double Antique Healbots, double Doomsayers, etc.  Unless I drew the nuts, I kept losing.

So I switched to Pirate Warrior myself to see what it struggles against.  Basically, nothing.  I ran up to Rank 6 in little over an hour (before I had to leave for work this morning), and crushed everything other than the mirror, which is just a "who draws better" contest.  And it dawned on me - Shaman's loss of the Pirate Package and the underrated ping effect of  Spirit Claws destroys that class's early game.  Aggro Shaman was the best counter to Pirate Warrior, and without it, Pirate Warrior does not have a consistently bad matchup.

I have maintained all along that Patches has been the problem.  For games designed to end in five turns, a free 1/1 tribal charger is obscene.  Compare with Alleycat, a great card in a vacuum that can never compete with Southsea Deckhand, Small-Time Buccaneer (post-nerf), or N'Zoth's First Mate because of Patches.  That's a shame because it essentially eliminates Hunter from Wild.  And Patches will never leave Wild.

The reason the deck is so good is the consistency.  You have six exceptional turn 1 cards (two copies of each in the last paragraph), and they are only exceptional because of Patches.  Aggro Shaman used to have six itself but has lost four of them - double Tunnel Trogg is all that's left.  That's not consistent.  Anti-aggro techs are also inconsistent; how often can you expect to draw Mortal Coil, Doomsayer, Demonwrath and Reno Jackson?  Sure it's great when you do, but over the long haul the odds are against you.  I faced one Renolock back-to-back this morning and won both games by turn 5; in one he coined Antique Healbot, the other he coined Kazakus and pulled a dream 1-mana spell (+4 Armor, resummon Second-Rate Bruiser).  No matter.  Drawing Reno Jackson 50% of the time by turn 6 is irrelevant if you don't get there.

My suspicions were confirmed when I checked Vicious Syndicate's February report.  Yes it's Standard, but Pirate Warrior had exactly two bad matchups - Aggro Shaman and Control Warrior.  I tried Control Warrior a lot last month in Wild, and it gets blasted by Kazakus and can still get overrun by Ship's Cannon even in the "good" matchup.  In other words, Control Warrior is poor in Wild and Aggro Shaman is dead, leaving Pirate Warrior uncounterable by any reasonable deck.

Finally, this is not a salt thread, as I'm still riding a big win streak.  But I hate playing Pirate Warrior as much as I hate playing against it, and I think nerfing Patches by firing the cannon into your hand would probably solve the problem.  I don't know what Un'Goro could bring to fix Wild that wouldn't constitute disgusting power creep.  I hope I'm wrong.

Maybe for that next expansion (the ice-themed one) they'll make a keyword for the Water Elemental effect.

I'm thinking Frozenous.

because aviana kun is a very specific combo that you need all parts for, and it iused by a class notorious for having bad removal.

Freeze mage on the other hand has a bunch of ways to murder you,, even from 30 health (remember the kobold variant a while back) + all the benefits of making you unable to kill them via freeze, ice block and giant boardclears.

also, not every day can realistically run Eater of Secrets or a lot of healing. With that argument, beating c'thun druid is just as easy by playing heavy aggro

Hearthstone made SEVERAL HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS last year, and they have 4 people on the balance team? What the flying fuck?

Releasing more broken 1 drops every expansion, releasing Jade archetype which basically shuts out every other type of control deck... It's clear they need to improve how they balance this game, more regular balance updates and getting a Hearthstone pro on the balance team, even part-time, would be a step in the right direction.

I really love this game, but jesus christ Team 5 really need to rethink the way they do things.

"There are only 4 guys on the balance team?!"

That explains a lot.