Hearthpwn

I actually love counterspell as a mage because you face so many mirror matches in the higher win columns. There's no better feeling than counterspelling a flamestrike or fireball. Makes such a huge difference. Sapper is fine though as an early 3 drop.

I have Chow in almost every deck to counter early aggro dumps so that I can transition more smoothly to my control nature. In control warrior, it can be harder to fit in, but you'll be dead by Geddon anyway, so I'd lose him. 

I had someone in arena windfury + rockbiter an ogre for 18 damage on turn 7. My face felt that it was viable :P

Salt aside, i think there's some experimentation to be had with it. It just hasn't been popularized by a streamer, so it hasn't happened.

Lightning storm definitely needs a tweak. In most cases b/c of the random 2-3, you have to hope for spell totem, and with the overload you are actually paying 7 mana (due to totem) for a 2.5 damage aoe. And when facing aggro your next turn is also dead if you have to play it early. It's vastly overcosted compared to other aoe in the game.  With this change, i could be onboard with the rest of the overload costs, we'll just never see earth elemental as playable.

Cool idea. One of my favorite legacy wow zones. 

Bourbon.

I'm tempted to concede when playing against priest. It gets so freaking boring and annoying to have your minions yanked on turn six and turn 10+. Then inevitably it comes down to fatigue and they've outhealed you by 4 hp. It's the tax return of matchups. 

So I totally get what you are saying OP. 

Far Sight and Frost Shock

I've played him in  shaman deck with frostshock, which is hilarious in its own right. Your opponent will give you an epic side-eye when you play frostshock, but I did have it win some games. Think he'd also be solid in mechmage, which I've never tried.

In my shammy deck, admittedly at low ranks, it's really fun to drop rivendare behind boom bots. You nearly always clear the whole board. Have you had much luck summoning Thaddius? Or does he immediately eat BGH? 

In my first game of arena the other day, I had a druid naturalize my mana wyrm on turn 1. I felt pretty bad about that win. 

I don't track a ton, but overall, my win numbers are down since GvG was intro'd. Rogue used to be one of my best performing classes, and I believe it's shifted to near my worst. As noted - all of the RNG make a huge difference, plus the larger card pool makes pulling together a well-rounded deck more difficult. It also seems aggro trend has hit arena as well, which doesn't fit my preferred playstyle very well. I should adapt but lean toward more of a control game. 

I'm pretty patient with putting it on the board, but I agree, usually it's 1-2 cards. The later you wait, there's usually some better opportunities. Alternatively, with the unstable portal hype, I've been using far sight for card draw. It's a little annoying when you yank a 1 or 2 mana card, but it's essentially the same effect as totem and sometimes you get to make an immediate golem play or a 3 mana fire ele. Put another way, you are investing 3 mana to draw a card that applies to the drawn card if it's 3 mana or higher. Worth considering as an alternative. 

I de'd a golden doomsayer for dust at one point to craft BGH or some other epic. I now regret it since the card looked so bad ass. Even though i'd have never used it.

Opened this in my first freebie pack yesterday. Wasn't sure what to do with him, but thanks for the ideas on this thread.