Day 1: What works and what doesn't?

Submitted 3 years, 7 months ago by

I just played almost 5 hours straight after Scholomance Academy's release and I'd like to discuss our first impressions here. I'm aware of the fact that nothing is solved yet and it's probably way too early to judge the meta, but let's just put together our observations, shall we? 

For me, Beast Spell Druid was the most successful deck I played. I don't remember losing a game with it. I'm not even sure if this can be kept in line by aggro anymore. 

Soul Fragment Handlock was fun and looks promising, but needs some refinement. I don't own Kelidan, but I think he might be a good addition to this deck. 

Aggro Alura Paladin is meh. Sometimes I managed to snowball hard, but most of the time I got out valued. Haven't played Pure Alura yet and the games against that deck felt fair. 

Priest seems to be in a good place. I queued into lots of buff Priests and they are very hard to beat imho. Will probably try this out this weekend. 

Zoolock was very underwhelming. This needs much refinement. 

I tried a Deathrattle Hunter list for a few games, but it wasn't very exciting. Much depends on drawing Teron in time. 

Big Warrior appears to be a thing. Very hard to beat if you cant apply lots of pressure early. 

Demon Hunter looks cool. Not OP, just fun to play imho. I got Kreen as a golden legendary from the bundle and I'm really happy with that. 

What surprised me most was mage. I got all the legendarys and finally crafted Solarian and Kalecgos but neither the Spell Damage nor the Highlander archetype worked for me. I played Flux's Pew Pew Pew Mage for almost and hour and won only two games (one was a disconnect and the second a frustrated but unnecessary concede after a misplay). Can someone please explain to me how Mozaki is supposed to work? Either I don't draw her or I'm not able to hold on to enough cheap spells to do something significant. I wanted to make this work so badly, but I'm at a loss right now. Maybe I tried too many of the new cards at once. 

So what are your first impressions? I haven't seen much of Rogue, how are they doing? Have you made similar experiences like me? Where do you disagree? Any advice for mage? 

  • anchorm4n's Avatar
    Toybox Tactician 1895 2305 Posts Joined 03/13/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    I just played almost 5 hours straight after Scholomance Academy's release and I'd like to discuss our first impressions here. I'm aware of the fact that nothing is solved yet and it's probably way too early to judge the meta, but let's just put together our observations, shall we? 

    For me, Beast Spell Druid was the most successful deck I played. I don't remember losing a game with it. I'm not even sure if this can be kept in line by aggro anymore. 

    Soul Fragment Handlock was fun and looks promising, but needs some refinement. I don't own Kelidan, but I think he might be a good addition to this deck. 

    Aggro Alura Paladin is meh. Sometimes I managed to snowball hard, but most of the time I got out valued. Haven't played Pure Alura yet and the games against that deck felt fair. 

    Priest seems to be in a good place. I queued into lots of buff Priests and they are very hard to beat imho. Will probably try this out this weekend. 

    Zoolock was very underwhelming. This needs much refinement. 

    I tried a Deathrattle Hunter list for a few games, but it wasn't very exciting. Much depends on drawing Teron in time. 

    Big Warrior appears to be a thing. Very hard to beat if you cant apply lots of pressure early. 

    Demon Hunter looks cool. Not OP, just fun to play imho. I got Kreen as a golden legendary from the bundle and I'm really happy with that. 

    What surprised me most was mage. I got all the legendarys and finally crafted Solarian and Kalecgos but neither the Spell Damage nor the Highlander archetype worked for me. I played Flux's Pew Pew Pew Mage for almost and hour and won only two games (one was a disconnect and the second a frustrated but unnecessary concede after a misplay). Can someone please explain to me how Mozaki is supposed to work? Either I don't draw her or I'm not able to hold on to enough cheap spells to do something significant. I wanted to make this work so badly, but I'm at a loss right now. Maybe I tried too many of the new cards at once. 

    So what are your first impressions? I haven't seen much of Rogue, how are they doing? Have you made similar experiences like me? Where do you disagree? Any advice for mage? 

    I notice I am confused. Something I believe isn't true. How do I know what I think I know?
    Harry James Potter-Evans-Verres, hpmor.com

    4
  • BloodMefist's Avatar
    Old God Fanatic 850 804 Posts Joined 05/28/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    I was having a lot of success with self-damage and soul fragment zoo.  I didn't queue into anything super aggressive, which might counter the deck, but I was able to climb to plat pretty effectively.

    2
  • SLima's Avatar
    The Undying 560 415 Posts Joined 08/17/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    I tried to play Big Warrior but it failed hard for me. The new beast Druid deck cheats a ton of mana and they do that fast and consistently. I fought several and had a really bad time.

    Then i decided to play Aggro Stealth Rogue with Secret Passage and climbed to Gold 5 very quickly. I didn't even need Secret Passage in most games. The deck has a ton of damage and draw. Vulpera Toxinblade is great. Sometimes i still ran out of gas so i'll probably add Voracious Reader.

    I also tried Highlander Priest but i need to refine the list. I only added Mindrender Illucia and [Hearthstone Card (Onix Magescribe) Not Found]. It didn't feel very good but i managed to beat one of the Beast Druids using Murozond the Infinite and copying his big turn. That solidifies the card as my favorite. I should probably try a version without dragon synergy and see how it does. Not cutting Murozond though. NEVER.

    "True mastery takes dedication."

    4
  • Dermostatic's Avatar
    Eldritch Horror 535 228 Posts Joined 03/31/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    I received a golden Alura from my pre-order so I took her for a spin in a Pure Paladin deck with Braggarts and Divine Shields galore. I haven't lost a game so far BUT:

    a) I don't feel overpowered and my opponents (except for a one Mage) were able to counter me quite easily with single-target removal.

    b) In my games against Big Druids they either failed to draw their Survival of the Fittest or played it just a turn too late

    The deck has also been a lot of fun to play! I love seeing my Silverhand Knights turn into 9/9 monstrosities on turn 5 :P

     

    Big Druid seems, well, nuts. I don't know what makes this deck stronger: the ridiculous mana ramp, the +8/+8 buffs, the (0) mana Outland spells, the crazy Keleseth combos, you name it.

    Started playing HS in May, 2015. The bad news: I missed the excitement of 'Naxx out?' and GvG. The good news: I never met an Undertaker.

    2
  • dapperdog's Avatar
    Dragon Scholar 1890 5543 Posts Joined 07/29/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    Yet again we encounter what is known as the druid-o-syndrome where the entire deck lives and dies by ramp.

    Yes, druid is yet again a problem, cheating out massive amount of mana at turns where no one can possibly do anything about. Its not always consistent, but its more consistent than most aggro decks right now (probably because its not refined). Its kinda like the old spell druid where ramp on 4 into mountseller just closes most games, except now they get to do it even earlier thanks to Lightning Bloom.

    If this is the meta then I won't be surprised if next week's gm is druid, warrior, warlock and dhunters, with warrior banned. Maybe aggro rogue can squeeze in a bit.

    Aggro rogue feels fine, but a little too fair. The key is to mulligan hard for Secret Passage, At around 4-5 mana you can unleash with a good chance for a huge edwin against druid, assuming they didn't just pound you into the dirt with Lightning Bloom or ramp.

    Im having a good time with control dhunter. Feels just right, but I didn't open up Keymaster Alabaster so I wasn't able to test this in that deck. Still unrefined though.

    For some reason, giants mage feels really good. Firebrand's really strong, honestly.

    2
  • Tuscarora87's Avatar
    Face Collector 275 144 Posts Joined 06/02/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    Well, it seems that Druid isn't the only one busted. Other decks break the game with high-rolls of their own! :D I experienced many non-games, something like... 100 stats on turn 2... or turn 9 on turn 2... Things hardly ever seen in HS, not even in Wild. Sometimes some match-ups look like 0% and sometimes you beat the same deck like it's 100%.

    So, Druid is insane.

    Paladin with Alura even more so, it seems...

    Tempo - buff Priest, also with Alura, is crazy. Lucilia is disgusting as you could imagine.

    Some say no to Fragment Warlock, but Theo is doing really good.

    I'm 12-5 with aggro-tempo Rouge. Feels very smooth. That 1/2 Mage drop is nuts. Passage doesn't even feel that broken when compared with other op cards.

    I see some small aggro builds of Druid, DH, Shaman (totem) that i feel are okay, idk. Early blowouts.

    Nobody plays Hunter? If Hunter sees play it will be some old stuff, but players are probably trying new decks only now.

    Warrior... no idea, but will be fine once refined.

    I saw a lot of garbage Mage decks. Something must be refined there...

    So, ramp, mana-cheat, high-roll, disruption cards lead the way, as expected.

     

    4
  • Riffraff's Avatar
    755 370 Posts Joined 04/30/2020
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    I have only played Pure Paladin since the launch - maybe 10-15 games? I got High Abbess Alura as my free login legendary and she's been great. I climbed from high platinum to Diamond 8 after not playing much in the past few days due to a vacation. Whenever I have won, it's been a concede on the other side in the mid-game - people are staring down multiple large threats, buffed by Libram of Wisdom or Blessing of Authority, or multiple solid Argent Braggarts or Devout Pupil. First Day of School has improved the early game so much for Paladin, but it feels bad to cast it off Alura(!). 

    In terms of what I've faced - aggro weapon/stealth rogue seems really strong. It felt like I had answers for everything else. I faced rogues and paladin the most in my few hours of play so far. One priest, one demon hunter, one hunter, a couple druids, one shaman, a solitary warrior, and one warlock. No mages, so far. Lots of new cards out there! So far, so fun.

    1
  • clawz161's Avatar
    The Undying 825 827 Posts Joined 07/16/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    Soul shard mechanic is a joke. Played it in control warlock trying out the new cards for it. The healing is a joke. Aggro outpaces removal so quickly it doesn't even matter anymore. 3 mana deal 2 to all minions does literally nothing. And when you're below 10 health and you're trying to draw the 6+ shards in your deck just to live another turn again demon hunter or mages, or rogues still playing the same decks from last expansion you never draw them. And even when you do the measley two health you get from them does literally nothing. It has sucked playing control in this game for a while now, and man it feels like it's going to continue sucking even more from now on. 

    Living like that.

    1
  • Riffraff's Avatar
    755 370 Posts Joined 04/30/2020
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    I saw in another forum that Lady Liadrin is feeling like a weak link for paladin, but in my limited experience she was a strong performer in every game. Goody Two-Shields is great so far, and Lightforged Zealot has been a great play on curve, as it was before - great stabilizing card.

    2
  • Tetsuo's Avatar
    Magma Rager 840 638 Posts Joined 05/29/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    I tried the HS deck recipe for Demon Hunter with the Soul Fragment package. It's pretty bad, it lacks early removal and it was hard to survive until the late game.

    I built my own Soul Fragment DH that's a bit aggro-heavy, but I stupidly forgot to include Voracious Reader and the Manafeeder minion. I still went 2-2, so I think it'll be even stronger one lists become optimized.

    Oh, and Glide seems like an awkward card to use. I tried it in an aggro deck as some sort of refill and hand disruption for the opponent, but it mostly sat as a dead card in hand. 

    1
  • GameTheory345's Avatar
    Island 475 386 Posts Joined 05/29/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    Druid seems to be the most solid deck so far, but I think there are definitely decks that can compete.

    This expansion actually seems quite bad for aggro: tons of late-game decks with strong control cards and buffs that overrun the aggro decks. Druid and Warrior can cheat stuff out super early, Paladin and Priest have a multitude of buffs and generally beefy minions and ways to outheal the damage from aggro. I played a few games of tempo DH, but it feels really quite weak. You have to rely on getting soul fragments shuffled early on and hitting the payoff cards to deal enough damage through their control cards and kill them before they stabilise. Weapon Rogue is fun, but the deck I've had the most success with is Galakrond Rogue with Polkelt, Jandice and Lilian. I think the only classes that aren't in a good spot are Mage, Hunter and Shaman. Mage was given a bunch of combo stuff that just doesn't seem to work well, while the other two classes felt like a hodgepodge of subpar cards thrown together.

    I just opened Alura and two copies of Guardian Animals, so I have to choose between Pure Paladin or Beast Druid as my next deck. 

    ???

    1
  • TheDycer's Avatar
    155 16 Posts Joined 03/31/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    I have only had time to play on my lower level account, and I took a list I titled Low Level Nightmare into gold with a 14-2 record. It's just basically Galakrond Priest with the annoying Scholomance cards. I knew Cabal Acolyte wasn't as bad as people said it would be; combine it with Wave of Apathy for some fun swings. I only recommend it if you wish to make people regret queuing. Educated Elekk is also a card that forces people to make hard decisions when there isn't a lot of silence/transform available for most classes. 

     

    I have yet to run into it personally, but I have heard plenty of stories about high roll Gibberling Druid destroying games by turn 3. 

    1
  • Zelgadis's Avatar
    Wizard 1060 846 Posts Joined 05/29/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    I tried Big Warrior, something similar to the deck recipe but with Scrapyard Colossus. It is playable at the moment, but there is very little margin to make it to Commencement (the cheapest of the Big cards), so as the other decks get refined it may end up being just too slow.

    I mostly played Warlock. Started with a Soul Fragments deck with dragons, which was OK but it had neither consistent pressure nor a reliable finisher. I got a win vs Priest because the opponent forgot how Zzeraku the Warped worked and gave me two 6/6s for no good reason, otherwise I might have lost in fatigue.

    However, one part of the Soul Fragments package is great: Void Drinker. So I made a different deck to maximize the potential of that card, which you can find in my signature.

    What also works very well is Raise Dead and Tour Guide to activate cards like Diseased Vulture, Brittlebone Destroyer and Zzeraku on the turn they are played. This makes a big difference in the power of those cards.

    On Twitch, I watched Alliestrasza building a Spell Power Shaman, which had moments when it worked great, but was a bit inconsistent overall. In particular, if you don't draw the weapon, you often end up with too few activators.

    Kibler was playing a Spell Power Mage with Mana Cyclone and that was doing very well. However, Kibler has lots of experience piloting decks that generate random cards, so I don't know if the success was due to the deck's strength or whether he just played it better than most people play day 1 decks.

     

    2
  • PLANETCRUNCH's Avatar
    E.V.I.L. Dragon 820 1248 Posts Joined 07/19/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    ArcWitch Willow doesn't work.

    Not because she has no minions to summon - but because of Warlocks draw you're more likely to draw your minions before you can play her.

    At least I didn't craft her

    1
  • sense124's Avatar
    Mavka 460 446 Posts Joined 07/22/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    For those who cared about wild, Odd Rogue is absolutely insane. I grinded from bronze 20 to legend today. Cutting Class, Vulpera Toxinblade, Secret Passage, Tour Guide, and Jandice Barov are all incredibly insane additions that shot this deck right back up to tier 1.

    I eat your fast food spare changes when you sleep.

    8
  • KingMicahhh's Avatar
    Banned 375 282 Posts Joined 11/30/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago
    Quote From anchorm4n

     

    Aggro Alura Paladin is meh. Sometimes I managed to snowball hard, but most of the time I got out valued. Haven't played Pure Alura yet and the games against that deck felt fair. 

     

     

    Yeah 2 12/13 minions on turn 6 is fair...

    Kenny's little poet. 😇

    0
  • anchorm4n's Avatar
    Toybox Tactician 1895 2305 Posts Joined 03/13/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago
    Quote From sense124

    For those who cared about wild, Odd Rogue is absolutely insane. I grinded from bronze 20 to legend today. Cutting Class, Vulpera Toxinblade, Secret Passage, Tour Guide, and Jandice Barov are all incredibly insane additions that shot this deck right back up to tier 1.

    Would you mind sharing the list? I haven't looked into wild yet but I'm running low on dust and will have to make difficult decisions soon. This sounds like something I might have all the cards for. 

    I notice I am confused. Something I believe isn't true. How do I know what I think I know?
    Harry James Potter-Evans-Verres, hpmor.com

    0
  • RavenSunHS's Avatar
    Refreshment Vendor 880 1487 Posts Joined 03/27/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    In Wild, Kingsbane is still inconsistent, despite Secret Passage.

    You can find lethals out of nowhere, but you lose the board too easily, and Reno decks can Control you pretty well. I'm afraid the good ol' Oil/Miracle days are over, forever.

    I think the same goes for generic hyper-Aggro.

    I'm sure good players can churn some extra winrates from Aggro Rogue, but in general it's too easy to out-Tempo.

    I'll try Secret Passage in Tempo Thief.

    1
  • Duke's Avatar
    205 82 Posts Joined 05/31/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago
    Quote From sense124

    For those who cared about wild, Odd Rogue is absolutely insane. I grinded from bronze 20 to legend today. Cutting Class, Vulpera Toxinblade, Secret Passage, Tour Guide, and Jandice Barov are all incredibly insane additions that shot this deck right back up to tier 1.

    I thought so. Might share your list? 

    0
  • Wolfric's Avatar
    90 4 Posts Joined 03/25/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    Trying spell mage with quest not reno looking what i face. It´s 50:50 so nothing too special but cool to play for me now. Ramp druids are disgusting and we all know that mana cheat/ramp was always bonkers and got nerved .... why bringing it back. Highroll was never fun and stable (crazy) ramp was always bad and landed S tier.

    0
  • griffior's Avatar
    925 330 Posts Joined 05/31/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    Big Warrior is really fun while still being highly effective on ladder. It beats Warlock since Warlocks don’t know when to stop drawing cards, Druids are hit and miss depending on who gets a good board faster, and everything else has been easy

    1
  • Sol's Avatar
    375 111 Posts Joined 05/29/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    Beast Druid, Spell Druid, or a combination of both are frustrating to play against.  Lightning Bloom is disgustingly strong in Druid.

    I usually play Rogue, but I got Turalyon, the Tenured in a pack and have been playing Big/Duel Paladin since. It's 50/50 so far, but really fun to play. I tried tinkering with Spell Damage Shaman using Lady Vashj, Lightning Bloom, Diligent Notetaker, etc. to make a OTK combo, but haven't successfully pulled off one yet.

    Well it's over

    1
  • Elfensilver's Avatar
    595 663 Posts Joined 03/14/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    Tried some tempo stealth secret passage  rogue, and as soon as I left casual after steamrolling three opponents, I lost the next 3 games due to bad starts and no comeback options.

    Then tried some spelldamage mage, but I never had enough spells- although I once had 8spelldamage.

    Questhunter is to slow in this meta, you lose too fast, I could never-in 6 games- use my finished quest.

    But tempo priest seems to be finally strong enough, a lot of resurrection, copys, buffs, lost every game against them. Frazzled Freshman,Psyche Split, Grave Rune, Devout Pupil,Apotheosis and Dragonmaw Overseer form a strong package, especially with a good start.

    Now I'll try highlander hunter and highlander paladin.

    1
  • Tetsuo's Avatar
    Magma Rager 840 638 Posts Joined 05/29/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    High Abbess Alura looks busted. I'm trying out this Aggro Paladin, and playing Alura + First Day of School on turn 4 is often a game-deciding play. Even if you just hit her with a Hand of A'dal, she'll still balloon into a 5/8. The dream is to hit her with Blessing of Authority, and most opponents won't be able to deal with an 11/15 on turn 4 or 5 lol.

     

    3
  • shaveyou's Avatar
    415 198 Posts Joined 06/08/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    I've been playing a tempo buff Priest, mainly feeding on the ramp druids. On a good curve it feels unbeatable. So far, Devout Pupil and Gift of Luminance are feeling like I massively underrated them.

    Devout Pupil due to it being able to be discounted, which then allows you to Grave Rune and Gift of Luminance/Psyche Split on the same turn, creating a really stubborn wall. Gift of Luminance because there are so many good targets for it, Sethekk Veilweaver, Alura and Dragonmaw Overseer being the best targets

    2
  • anchorm4n's Avatar
    Toybox Tactician 1895 2305 Posts Joined 03/13/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    A friend of mine is playing Quest Soul Fragment Warlock with Rafaam as a late game thread. Looks pretty strong, the Fragment cards make for a good early game. 

    Can anyone say if sphere is any good? 

    I notice I am confused. Something I believe isn't true. How do I know what I think I know?
    Harry James Potter-Evans-Verres, hpmor.com

    0
  • SLima's Avatar
    The Undying 560 415 Posts Joined 08/17/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago
    Quote From anchorm4n

    A friend of mine is playing Quest Soul Fragment Warlock with Rafaam as a late game thread. Looks pretty strong, the Fragment cards make for a good early game. 

    Can anyone say if sphere is any good? 

    Sphere is is highly dependent on your deck. It's insane in decks that don't want to draw specific cards. My OTK Miracle Priest in wild always had the problem of drawing my big minions before i could play Zerek's Cloning Gallery and the weapon negates this completely which improved its consistency a lot. Big Warrior and Big Paladin also want to keep their big minions in the deck so they can cheat them out. In the right deck Sphere of Sapience is a complete game changer. I don't know how good it is for regular control and other combo decks. It needs more testing.

    "True mastery takes dedication."

    1
  • meisterz39's Avatar
    925 1200 Posts Joined 06/03/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    I've been trying to make the self-harm/heal cards work in Priest, and the combination of Soulbound Ashtongue and Apotheosis is pretty nuts - each attack you make with him decreases the cost of Flesh Giant by at least 2 mana, as he harms and then immediately heals you.

    1
  • economicaooc's Avatar
    460 464 Posts Joined 03/04/2020
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    Been having a lot of fun with the new tour guide-enabled beardo OTK.

    It seems pretty consistent, but it's probably not as reliable as mecha'thun warlock.

    EDIT: I also love polkelt and sphere of sapience. They are the kind of cards I really hope they start printing instead of filling leftover neutral legendary slots with chaff.

    This post is discussing the wild format.

    2
  • Dermostatic's Avatar
    Eldritch Horror 535 228 Posts Joined 03/31/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    Has anyone found a good place for Headmaster Kel'Thuzad yet? I'd like to play him in a deck but can't seem to slot him in. I feel like he belongs in Priest but that class already has so much AoE removal. Any advice welcome :)

    Started playing HS in May, 2015. The bad news: I missed the excitement of 'Naxx out?' and GvG. The good news: I never met an Undertaker.

    1
  • Riffraff's Avatar
    755 370 Posts Joined 04/30/2020
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago
    Quote From sense124

    For those who cared about wild, Odd Rogue is absolutely insane. I grinded from bronze 20 to legend today. Cutting Class, Vulpera Toxinblade, Secret Passage, Tour Guide, and Jandice Barov are all incredibly insane additions that shot this deck right back up to tier 1.

    Awesome work! That sounds like a crazy fast climb

    2
  • meisterz39's Avatar
    925 1200 Posts Joined 06/03/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago
    Quote From Dermostatic

    Has anyone found a good place for Headmaster Kel'Thuzad yet? I'd like to play him in a deck but can't seem to slot him in. I feel like he belongs in Priest but that class already has so much AoE removal. Any advice welcome :)

    I've liked him in Highlander Priest, since you tend to have a wide variety of cheap removal spells, but can also pick up things like Shadow Word: Ruin from Zephrys the Great to steal a bunch of big stuff all at once in the late game.

    2
  • Tetsuo's Avatar
    Magma Rager 840 638 Posts Joined 05/29/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    So far, there's been a good variety of decks in the meta. I haven't faced anything that's broken. Maybe the Guardian Animals Druid, but it just so happens that they really can't answer this Aggro Paladin deck I've been piloting. A couple of other observations after playing the whole day:

    1) Aggro/Tempo Paladin looks really strong right now. I'm playing a really fast version with Tour Guide and some really sticky minions with divine shield and reborn, to guarantee I'll have a board to buff. I went 7-0 against Druids, 15-3 overall that took me up to Diamond 3. It's a joy to play, and if done right you can go wide and tall on your board at the same time. High Abbess Alura is devastating. 

    2) I've faced a number of Tempo/Inner Fire Priests. Power Word: Feast is super annoying to deal with, and it's mostly game over once they stick it on a high-health minion. 

    3) I haven't faced a lot of Demon Hunters, which is...great? I fully expect an aggro DH deck to resurface any day now though.

    4) Spell Damage Mage looks pretty slow. Not sure if it's an OTK deck, because all they seem to do is stall. I got killed by Mozaki, Master Duelist with +10 spell damage though lol. Once she hits the board, she needs to be removed

    5) I haven't seen Headmaster Kel'Thuzad used anywhere yet, which is weird. 

    1
  • RavenSunHS's Avatar
    Refreshment Vendor 880 1487 Posts Joined 03/27/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago
    Quote From RavenSunHS

    In Wild, Kingsbane is still inconsistent, despite Secret Passage.

    You can find lethals out of nowhere, but you lose the board too easily, and Reno decks can Control you pretty well. I'm afraid the good ol' Oil/Miracle days are over, forever.

    I think the same goes for generic hyper-Aggro.

    I'm sure good players can churn some extra winrates from Aggro Rogue, but in general it's too easy to out-Tempo.

    I'll try Secret Passage in Tempo Thief.

    PS: Kingsbane rogue is not really dead. You can probably reach legend thanks to the new cards. But it's basically a YOLO deck, very hard to pilot, and very vulnerable to both swarm and Control. I'll eat a shoe™ if it turns out to be any better than t3 in the average meta.

    Here's a possible build:

    ### Reader Kingsbane#

    #Class: Rogue

    # Format: Wild
    #
    # 2x (0) Preparation
    # 2x (1) Buccaneer
    # 2x (1) Deadly Poison
    # 1x (1) Kingsbane
    # 2x (1) Secret Passage
    # 2x (1) Southsea Deckhand
    # 2x (2) Cavern Shinyfinder
    # 2x (2) Eviscerate
    # 2x (2) Parachute Brigand
    # 2x (2) Sap
    # 2x (2) Voracious Reader
    # 2x (3) Raiding Party
    # 2x (4) Dread Corsair
    # 2x (4) Tinker's Sharpsword Oil
    # 1x (5) Captain Greenskin
    # 2x (5) Cutting Class
    #
    AAEBAaIHAsgDu+8CDssDzQPUBe4GiAeGCa8QmxXl0QLVjAPpsAOqywPG0QP31AMA
    #
    # To use this deck, copy it to your clipboard and create a new deck in Hearthstone

    1
  • Madaf's Avatar
    140 8 Posts Joined 04/08/2020
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    I've had a ton of success with highlander mage featuring some of the new cards as the neutral weapon (incredibly good in this deck), new 1 1/3, new 3 3/4 spell burst deal 4, 1 1/2 combo, new 3 mana removal... With all this new cheap cards early turns doesn't feel awkward anymore and this deck crushes druid so hard. I won 9/10 games against druid and the game I lost I had a terrible hand. So bad against aggro decks as always in mage.

    Also tried spell damage mage hybridyzed with dragons in order to include malygos and 1 mana spell. I had relative success but have to try out in depth.

    Tried super aggro rogue and also crushes druid and to me it seems incredibly strong. It's a shame I don't like super aggro decks.

    Also tried galakrond warlock with soul fragments and had a ton of success against druid, paladin and aggro decks in general. Even I won vs quest lock with zero new cards. So, to me that's the direction of warlock.

    1
  • Helios's Avatar
    The Cake Is A Lie 625 319 Posts Joined 06/03/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    Umbra + Vectus doesn't work. really sad :(

    Helios#22419

    2
  • Khaostheory1980's Avatar
    Enjoys Cake 355 224 Posts Joined 05/28/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    I'll tell you what doesn't work (and I have seen it more than once) is druids playing Embiggen and then wondering why Guardian Animals doesn't work. Makes me giggle :)

    7
  • DelkoHS's Avatar
    Child of Galakrond 485 481 Posts Joined 05/28/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    Magehunter has been so good for me in Soul Fragment Demon Hunter. Strong vs Druid and Paladin, where Silence is MVP. 

    6
  • DescentOfDragonsOp's Avatar
    530 353 Posts Joined 12/02/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    after  a bit of playing with pure palidan i can say its a really good deck allura and the blessing of authority are really good cards to include blessing of authority especialy becuase an +8/+8 buff is insane and alot of decks dont really have ways to remove it like hex or polymorph just today i went on a really long winstreak to silver 6 ( the reason why im a silver 6 is becuase i didnt play last season) only to be beaten by a spell damage shaman who lightning bloomed his way to a Squallhunter on turn 1

     

    on the other hand  Lightning Bloom is insane

    TOTAL CORRUPTION

    TOTAL POWAAAAAAA

    1
  • Tetsuo's Avatar
    Magma Rager 840 638 Posts Joined 05/29/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago
    Quote From DelkoHS

    Magehunter has been so good for me in Soul Fragment Demon Hunter. Strong vs Druid and Paladin, where Silence is MVP. 

    You're right about that. I've always thought Magehunter was going to be a useful card, better than most silences because it's got a body that can potentially remove the thing it's silencing because of rush (I think it's even better than Consume Magic, which is just 1-mana silence if you don't trigger its outcast). A 2/3 body with rush for 3-mana is very solid. 

    I think most DH decks will run Magehunter as a tech card, given how most game plans right now involve dropping big threats. You mentioned Druid and Paladin, but Priest and Big Warrior would hate to see this card as well. 

     

    2
  • KANSAS's Avatar
    Old God Fanatic 1745 2912 Posts Joined 03/25/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    I opened Rattlegore, so I decided to give Big Warrior a go and I cannot really say how good the deck is, but I can say that Rattlegore is an absolute beast. There was not a single game where I played Rattlegore and he wasn't alive at the end. He can deal a ton of damage since he is basically guaranteed to survive to attack next turn, and he poses a huge threat to your opponent. He gives you a lot of card advantage since he is 9 minions in one, and he is just all around a crazy strong card. The only issue is that he is 9 mana and he doesn't have Taunt or Rush or anything like that to make him relevant the turn you play him. However, if you can cheat him out turn 6 or 7 you will probably win.

    I also tried some Odd Shaman in wild with some of the Spell Damage stuff. I can say that the deck has potential, though I am sure my list needs refining. Usually I have between 2-4 extra damage whenever I cast a burn spell, and most games I have won it was because I had multiple burn spells and several Wrath of Air Totems to deal 12-16 damage in one turn.

    I also added some of the new cards to my Spiteful Summoner Hunter, though I want to test out the new cards more before I update the list on my profile.

    Carrion, my wayward grub.

    1
  • SLima's Avatar
    The Undying 560 415 Posts Joined 08/17/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    Today i opened Professor Slate from the legendary quest packs. I was a bit upset but i decided that i should test him before i judge. So, i tried to create a meme Malygos Hunter with Vereesa Windrunner to see if he could provide some much needed hard removal. Just as people thought he works very well with Rapid Fire and can destroy any giant minion easily. The deck itself is still not good (i tried a lot to make Vereesa work so far) but he proved to be good with the right cards.

    After that i switched to Dragon Hunter. After a few games i gave up on Rapid Fire. It's not good enough on its own and Slate isn't enough to justify it. I added Cobalt Spellkin for the needed card generation. He was okay but nothing great. I beat a Libram Paladin after getting ahead on the board with an early Primordial Explorer. I dropped Slate around turn 6 and he never managed to get on the board from that point. I just used Arcane Shots and Rapid Fires from Spellkin to destroy all his stuff and he didn't draw his weapon guy. His hand was probably absolutely terrible. Slate doesn't have enough support in standard. He really need spells that can damage multiple minions but the only ones available are Multi-Shot, Rapid Fire and Explosive Shot. These are not good enough. I'll test him in Wild and i have high hopes because the arsenal of spells is much better.

    TL, DR: Professor Slate is a good card that lacks support in Standard but can easily become great with a single decent AoE/Multi-hit spell.

    "True mastery takes dedication."

    1
  • sense124's Avatar
    Mavka 460 446 Posts Joined 07/22/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    Here's my odd rogue list, sorry for being so slow I was quite busy yesterday.

    Pro tip when climbing wild: You'll encounter some reno priests and reno warlocks. Don't lose hope.

    I eat your fast food spare changes when you sleep.

    2
  • Tetsuo's Avatar
    Magma Rager 840 638 Posts Joined 05/29/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    Looks interesting, I'll try it out. Thanks for sharing. 

    The only legendary I'm missing is Patches. I've always been hesitant to craft that guy :P

    1
  • Synnr7's Avatar
    Winter Whisperer 1040 624 Posts Joined 07/19/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago
    Quote From SLima

    TL, DR: Professor Slate is a good card that lacks support in Standard but can easily become great with a single decent AoE/Multi-hit spell.

    Awesome, glad to see he felt good. I got Professor Slate as my freebie but wasn't sure how to use him. I too tried to make Vereesa Windrunner work back around Uldum. Enjoyed the deck but wasn't consistant. I'll see what I can conjure up in wild.

    I also got Speaker Gidra, love this card.  Even small spells (2-3 mana) really feel good. In combination with the spell Gidra is almost guarenteed to kill two things AND live because of her high health. So the opponent is forced to deal with her on their turn or take a good hit. My deck isn't perfect by any means but Gidra has left her mark. Side note Diligent Notetaker is amazing.

    Also played a bit of Rogue. Plagiarize makes for some clever plays even without the rest of the secret package. Got some real fun wins off of this card. I don't even own Secret Passage and stealth rogue still feels really good. Cutting Class is easily brought to 1-2 mana and can reload you after a strong turn.

    Pen Flinger is my new best friend. What a silly card and I love it.

    Casual Dragon Cardgame enthusiast. 

    1
  • anchorm4n's Avatar
    Toybox Tactician 1895 2305 Posts Joined 03/13/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago
    Quote From sense124

    Here's my odd rogue list, sorry for being so slow I was quite busy yesterday.

    Pro tip when climbing wild: You'll encounter some reno priests and reno warlocks. Don't lose hope.

    Works like a charm, thank you!

    I notice I am confused. Something I believe isn't true. How do I know what I think I know?
    Harry James Potter-Evans-Verres, hpmor.com

    0
  • KANSAS's Avatar
    Old God Fanatic 1745 2912 Posts Joined 03/25/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago
    Quote From Tetsuo

    Looks interesting, I'll try it out. Thanks for sharing. 

    The only legendary I'm missing is Patches. I've always been hesitant to craft that guy :P

    Craft Patches. As long as you play wild and you play aggro decks, you will want patches. Especially if you own Ancharrr. I understand certain cards being intimidating to craft, but trust me, patches is worth it.

    Carrion, my wayward grub.

    3
  • SigTrent's Avatar
    125 11 Posts Joined 06/03/2019
    Posted 3 years, 7 months ago

    Stuff that worked and how much based on my play so far

    + Soul Shard Zoo - It's quite decent. You can now play minions while trying to pull scrap imp as there are many more ways that you can re-stock your hand that synergizes with the deck. The soul shards also help offset all the self-damage you can do. I didn't have the zombie giants yet but the deck was working nicely. The raise dead 0 cost spell works great in this deck. It can blow out unrefined decks.

    - Soul Shard Agro Demon Hunter - It's not good, but it doesn't gell as the soul shard cards slow its early game too much and it lacks finishing power. 

    + Pure paladin - It was good and it's been boosted. It is versatile and powerful with strong offense, healing, and removal.

    + Buff paladin- If blessings of authority hit unopposed, it's game over. You have to have an answer for this play or you are in deep trouble. This is a scary good deck but might be easy for other decks to target in the meta.

    + Buff Priest - It snowballs like mad if you can't stop it. It has a deeper bench than a paladin, but it also feels like a deck you can target to beat and be successful in denying it because it's a bit limited in its deck building.

    + Spell Druid - It's stronger and more consistent than ever before, but I think people need to adjust their old builds. I've seen many fail to take good advantage of the new card selection.

    I think the early meta will center around paladin and priest buff decks along with druid (which variant I'm not sure yet as I don't have the cards for the beast ramp deck).

    Control decks will need some time to formulate the best reaction to these decks but I think control could still find a way. Shaman may have the best tooks to but a hard block on priest/paladin. Warrior needs a shift in perspective I think. The defenses from the last meta are not well suited to this meta but I think they have all the tools they need to find a way, it just need to find a way to close out the game while staying alive.

    Catch me Streaming at:  SigTrent Plays Games

    2
  • Leave a Comment

    You must be signed in to leave a comment. Sign in here.

    ODYN
    0 Users Here