Zilliax

Why isn't Zilliax being looked at for a nerf?

I think Hall of Fame was previously created because, among other things, Ragnaros was in nearly every deck, and it "limited design space." Then, they clarified that they only want to do that for Classic cards, not expansion cards.

Zilliax is in every deck, ever. Decks that don't run any mechs still run Zilliax for some heal.

I'm not arguing whether it is OP or not OP, but it's absolutely ubiquitous. Seems problematic when every deck is 29 cards now.

You have to consider that it isn't part of the Classic set. So it'll rotate out of Standard at some point without the need to be HoF'ed, while Ragnaros the Firelord and Sylvanas Windrunner (just to name a couples) were originally meant to remain into the format forever. Zilliax is one of the most balanced and flexible card ever printed, being Neutral grants its presence almost everywhere but it still far from being OP or overwhelmingly oppressive like Baku the Mooneater and Genn Greymane were.

Oh lord Genn Greymane and Baku the Mooneater: I still have PTSD because of those two little shits (despite having had a ton of fun with an Odd Beast Druid).

It's actually in a lot less decks since SoU dropped. Just look at the Standard Meta Report #2 article on the main page. 

Does it have Zilliax?

• Druid - no
• Hunter - yes
• Mage - yes
• Paladin - no
• Priest - no
• Rogue - no
• Shaman - no
• Warlock - no
• Warrior - yes

That's only 3 out of 9 classes that their top deck currently has Zilliax. 3/4 of the decks for those classes are Highlander decks. Zilliax makes sense to include in a highlander deck, and isn't at all surprising.

Zilliax is powerful, yes. In need of a nerf? no

I feel it should be pointed out that obviously Zilliax is a neutral and with neutral minions you run that delicate balance between good or decent and ran in most decks and just not cutting it, resulting in it not being played in almost any decks.

Also keep it mind Zilliax makes classes with little to no class healing to be a more bearable match-up against aggro decks. Do we want aggro more painful to queue into?

Why would they change the most balanced but not op card they ever made?

While he is run in more than 60% of decks his role in each one is different, so it makes the card more interesting, besides being a Swiss toolkit is great since new players can craft him and use him in every deck to have a chance vs aggro or play mechs better.

The card doesn't feel oppressive while played and can be played around, also I think most players really like the card, we got Siamat just now which is similar to zilliax in being a flexible legendary and I didn't saw salty comments about it. 

Good point. I guess he's similar to how Thalnos was in nearly every deck a short while ago (whether for draw, spell dmg, etc.)

Part of me would like it better if it wasn't a mech/magnetic (lol), but mostly because Warrior can discover multiples.  But then, that's Dr. Boom's problem, not Zilli's.

Quote From LyraSilvertongue

I feel it should be pointed out that obviously Zilliax is a neutral and with neutral minions you run that delicate balance between good or decent and ran in most decks and just not cutting it, resulting in it not being played in almost any decks.

Also keep it mind Zilliax makes classes with little to no class healing to be a more bearable match-up against aggro decks. Do we want aggro more painful to queue into?

I think part of the problem is that HS has way too many neutral cards compared to class cards (compared to MTG for example, which has very few colorless cards compared to colored cards). By rough count, Uldum has about 45 neutral cards and 90 class cards (10 per class), so 1/3 of the set is neutral. And when making a new deck for a class in Uldum, you have 4.5 times as many neutrals to choose from as class cards. This makes the risk WAY higher that certain cards will appear in a high percentage of decks. IMO, neutrals should be limited to tech cards, niche cards and filler. Zilliax has too many uses. 

To be fair I wonder why nearly no one (except some Shamans in the form of Earth Shock) doesn't run Silence.

Nerf is not necessary at all. It is a great card! Annoys me quite a bit actually, but it will rotate and all will be fine.

I realy do not see the need to Nerf Zilliax.

Good and balanced card but it also will rotate at some time !

Zilliax is balanced, so no nerf should occur.

The only solution to ubiquity, if that's a real problem, would be an early HoF.

But ubiquity doesn't seem to bother too many players, and with just 7months left of Standard life, it's probably not worth it to bother anyway.

I think silence cards will return when the meta has settled a bit. Now ppl are still experimenting with all the new goodies so rather play that shiny new card instead of putting in a boring silence card. Same for weapon removal; as soon as rogue is T1 again with that new weapon all decks will tech in a weapon removal again.

Quote From Avalon

To be fair I wonder why nearly no one (except some Shamans in the form of Earth Shock) doesn't run Silence.

 

Because there isn't a whole lot of magnetize synergy going on. Not enough to warrant running silence cards anyway.

And silencing Zilliax on its own is absolutely useless. By the time you get to interact with it it's already lost the majority of its perks (divine shield, rush and the first lifesteal). At that point you're silencing a 3/2 with lifesteal and taunt...

Quote From iWatchUSleep

Quote From Avalon

To be fair I wonder why nearly no one (except some Shamans in the form of Earth Shock) doesn't run Silence.

 

Because there isn't a whole lot of magnetize synergy going on. Not enough to warrant running silence cards anyway.

And silencing Zilliax on its own is absolutely useless. By the time you get to interact with it it's already lost the majority of its perks (divine shield, rush and the first lifesteal). At that point you're silencing a 3/2 with lifesteal and taunt...

You're not wrong, but there are actually a considerable number of cards that should push players to run Silence: Combo Priest in general, Crabby boy, Mech shenanigans in general, Quest Paladin,...

Zilliax is the current era's Azure Drake and Stonehill Defender (remember that card in almost every deck?).

Ultraflexible.

But not OP on its own, quite easy to remove and gives a heal or brief taunt (or in some cases a boost to a minion). It was statted just right

And he's not making the meta stale like Genn/Baku.

Now if Control Warrior landed Zilliax like mad in Dr. Boom's hero power or kept landing on them in minion generation, or some other major shenanigans ... yeah, Zilliax would be sent to Nerfhalla. 

But so far in a year, nothing other than he shows up in almost every deck (including some priest ones) and he'll probably be given a memorable send off when April comes.

Honestly wouldn't mind seeing Zilliax moved to standard at some point. It is one of the most flexible and best balanced cards in the game. I have lost many games because my opponent used one, but I can honestly say it has never felt oppressive or overpowered. It is a good tool and makes the game much more interesting.

Quote From EpicHercules

Honestly wouldn't mind seeing Zilliax moved to standard at some point. It is one of the most flexible and best balanced cards in the game. I have lost many games because my opponent used one, but I can honestly say it has never felt oppressive or overpowered. It is a good tool and makes the game much more interesting.

Please no. Azure Drake never felt oppressive or overpowered, but it was basically in every deck in all metas. Glad it's not anymore.

Its playrate dropped from 70% of all decks to 50% so it's fine. Also it will rotate out someday so it's fine. Also it's not too frustrating to play against so it's fine.