Hearthpwn

What's with the little black strip at the very top of the art? It looks like somebody made this with Hearthcards.

Quote from teh_axi >>

Quote from arrumph >>

And you think, what, they play him because they want a War Golem?

 Yes actually, a War Golem that comes with 2 Boombots, ie a huge amount of power that can't be dealt with easily.

Which is why Onyxia is so popular, right?

Quote from teh_axi >>

Quote from arrumph >>

Sylvanas has utility and combo potential that this card doesn't have (Brawl, Shadowflame, Shadow Word: Death, etc.).

 Also those Mage Sylvanis combo examples are "awesome" . . .

Necroknight from Naxxramas. Could help you clear an opponent's tough board, or build your own in a pinch. Could also go horribly, horribly wrong.

Deckbuilding is much more challenging and time-consuming than simply playing the game, and most players are terrible at it (just look at some of the threads announcing new cards and which ones posters here think will change the meta). So of course they'll get frustrated by their own efforts and look to somebody else's work, at least as a template to build on. That's the whole reason this site exists. And people like winning, so once they're already netdecking, they'll gravitate towards the most effective netdecks.

You can't really blame the players. It's up to the devs to balance the game well enough that many different archetypes are viable, so that even if most people are netdecking, the meta remains fresh and varied. I think the move to Standard format and the upcoming nerfs to basic/classic cards will be a step in the right direction, although I do worry that, unless they start releasing bigger expansions more often, the card pool in Standard is going to be too limited to allow for real diversity.

Quote from FortyDust >>

FUN FACT: Faceless Summoner has Sylvanas Windrunner stats, comes with its second minion up-front, does not rely on the opponent's deck for its value, cannot be played around, and cannot be silenced.

Quote from teh_axi >>

Quote from arrumph >>

You're so close to getting it.

 Runts have 2 attack which basically makes the rest of the stats worthless and opens it up things like Cabal. 

Cairne's yeti stats is what makes it weak, especially in the current meta, dies to basically everything and doesn't contest anything but small minions.

Skygolem is a card that does see some play and would see more if most of the current midrange decks didn't have class only 6 drops that are better than it (Challenger, Highmane, Fire Ele).

Also if you actually think people play Dr Boom because they want Boombots . . . . 

Quote from Komorebi3 >>

More importantly, you're forgetting Dr Boom. This card is not game changing ; It's just a big minion. But he's pure value, and almost no deck is afraid of putting him in, even as a 7 drop and with BGH being a mandatory card to anyone but the most low-cost ( mana-wise ) decks.

 

Yes, but Cho is hilarious and Flame Leviathan is just a gassy War Golem.

Also, everybody hating on Skeleton Knight needs to try it in a grindy shaman deck with no small minions. When you play it against a control warrior for the fifth turn in a row and he finally concedes, you'll be sorry you ever badmouthed it.

Well, it's interesting you say that, because I don't think it would be played much even if it were neutral. Ramp druid, maybe.

Look at it this way: There are only five class 6-drops that are ever played (Savannah Highmane, Cabal Shadow Priest, Mysterious Challenger, Shieldmaiden, Fire Elemental—okay, six if you count the occasional Iron Juggernaut fatigue deck). Is Faceless Summoner as strong as any of those? No.

How about neutrals? There are similarly few. Sylvanas Windrunner, Emperor Thaurissan, Justicar Trueheart, and Reno Jackson are most common. You also occasionally see Gadgetzan Auctioneer and The Black Knight. Most of these cards serve highly specific purposes that make them difficult to compare to Summoner (but that should be an extremely telling point about Summoner's viability—with very few exceptions, successful 6-drops have dramatic, game-changing effects). The most comparable card would probably be Sylvanas—solid body, scary deathrattle, usually played not for combo-wombo craziness but to establish board presence and threaten the opponent's board.

Is Faceless Summoner as good as Sylvanas? Hell no.

I think the worst legendaries are the ones that are not only unplayably terrible, but super-boring. These five aren't even worthy of being called legendary:

#5: The Beast. It's like Core Hound, but with an enemy 3-drop inside.
#4: Flame Leviathan. A War Golem that sometimes blows up your board. Great.
#3: Gruul. A very expensive Shade of Naxxramas without stealth. Bonus: It dies to BGH!
#2: Hemet Nesingwary. Needs no introduction.
#1: Maexxna. Yes, she's worse than Hemet. Emperor Cobra + 5 health + 3 mana = how is this a legendary?

I'm very curious about what direction they're taking with druid, since it seems like basic/classic druid stuff is getting hit hardest with the nerfbat. The existing druid legendaries are all pretty mediocre; hopefully this'll be a good one.

I'd be curious about hunter too except I'm pretty sure all hunter legendaries will be terrible forever.

Quote from teh_axi >>

Every single example in your "detailed explanation" are straight up low tier cards, most of them with significant draw backs. This card requires nothing but 6 mana and gives you good to huge power in two decent sized bodies.

Quote from Garlicnerd >>

[snip]

 

Quote from teh_axi >>

Quote from arrumph >>

 You cannot spend 6+ mana to just get some bodies on the board if they don't charge, or taunt, or deal damage, or draw cards or something. The game is too fast for that.

 Errr yes you can, in fact it happens quite often.

This guy is obviously very strong in arena.

It should also be obvious that he's unplayable for any class in constructed, but apparently it's not. Maybe I can do a better job explaining it than other people have.

Faceless Summoner gives you about 7.75/8 stats for 6 mana on average in Standard format. He will very rarely give you something special, like Flamewaker or Brann Bronzebeard, and (unlike Piloted Shredder) he will never give you anything that actively hurts you (the worst-case scenario is probably Alarm-o-Bot). However, the vast, vast majority of the time, you'll just get a 2-4/2-4 minion with no meaningful text. And you can't just play a pile of stats on turn 6 in a competitive deck.

This is especially true for mage (which has never played a minion-based game), but it's true for almost every class. Look at a list of minions that cost 6+. Practically nothing that merely puts a lot of stats on the board is played at a cost of 6 or higher. Not Varian Wrynn, not Onyxia (14/14 for 9 mana—even better than this Summoner guy!), not Gruul, not Fearsome Doomguard, not Boulderfist Ogre, not Drakonid Crusher, not Wobbling Runts. Not even Cairne Bloodhoof anymore—too slow, too low-impact. The only exception, really, is Savannah Highmane, which is a) super-sticky and b) statted way better, in total, than Summoner (note that the giants aren't an exception because, unless you're desperate, you're not going to pay 6+ for them—you're aiming for 4 or less; Dr. Boom is not an exception because his bots represent guaranteed damage).

You cannot spend 6+ mana to just get some bodies on the board if they don't charge, or taunt, or deal damage, or draw cards or something. The game is too fast for that.

Quote from mk572 >>

we've already seen most of the cards that are usually high impact, class epics and neutral legendaries