While I see your point, there are a few things we should add to the equation here:
Tavern brawl will no longer reward classic packs, so you'll now get an additional 50 useful packs per year, possibly reducing the tax on your wallet by a full pre-order - or maybe reducing the need to buy additional packs in addition to the preorder.
I (and many other old players who don't really care for Wild/Classic) now have the option to dust massive amounts of classic cards. With the regular rewards track easily making it possible to get 80-odd packs and the mini-expac, the extra dust would be enough to craft pretty much everything most players would want for the coming year.
As far as I see, it's not Blizzard who said that they'd be "giving old players who have spent a great deal of money on the game a little break from opening their wallets." but the author of the article. Not even in the interview that the article references to do the Blizzard guys say anything along those lines. Even though I despise corporate PR from most companies, using this statement as an example of Activision's PR propaganda isn't fair.
Do we know card reveal timing/calendar for either Core or Barrens? I'm assuming a release date of March 23rd for both. They'd usually take this week off from reveals, but they have more than twice as many cards to reveal this season. I'm hoping they do something like release a class/day for the Core set.
I definitely agree. That locked-in quest has always seemed weird to me. No one should be forced to play any particular game mode to get weekly quest XP.
I would really like the idea of being able to opt out and reroll ALL quests.
I play every single game mode, I don't have a focus, I just play whatever I feel like playing (yeah... even Duels, though not ranked), except Arena.
And while I complete all my daily/weekly quests the moment I get them, I sometimes feel robbed of my time when I have to go Ranked... The main quest, the unrollable quest, should be "play 7 games" period, not "WIN 5 games of RANKED", it's like, forced to play the "main" mode blizzard wants, not the "main" mode the player wants.
So, yeah, you should be able to reroll/opt out of EVERY quest slot.
"A little break from opening their wallets"? In what way, exactly? After all, old players who have spent a great deal of money on the game already had complete Classic collections. Hell, even free players who have been around since launch probably had all the Classic cards they would ever need. This move to a Core set does absolutely nothing for veteran players in terms of saving money, and it's disturbing how often I see the lie repeated.
The primary purpose of the Core Set is to anchor class themes for the year and provide a fresh baseline for the play experience, but it has the added benefit of upping the baseline power level of the "base set" of Hearthstone's Standard format. The result should be a higher percentage of meta-relevant/competitive cards in the set relative to the current Evergreen Basic/Classic sets (e.g. even classically powerful cards like Al'Akir the Windlord and Lord Jaraxxus haven't seen play in ages.). Because the Core Set is free, and will be regularly refreshed, the net result should be a decrease in the "necessary annual spend" in order to get one or more meta decks constructed.
It's certainly true that this is a much bigger boon for new players and players who never had a full set of Classic cards, but it's being positioned as financially better for all players because of this "upping the baseline." Perhaps, once the full set is out and people get their hands on it, people will find that it does not have a higher percentage of "playable" cards, and therefore doesn't save veteran players any money. But Blizzard's intent on this is clear. From Celestalon's Q&A - "Since Core is refreshed each year, we can make Core cards more consistently impactful and relevant to the current meta." The Basic and Classic sets have seen a ton of hall-of-fames and nerfs to keep them from crowding out expansion cards year after year after year, but that doesn't have to happen any more, so we can expect these cards to be better/more relevant. Getting relevant cards for free drives down the cost of the game.
Blizzard didn't [create the Classic format] because they saw a demand for it…Classic mode had to happen because the Core set is about to remove the one very large chunk of every Standard player's assets they could always count on, and Blizzard would have looked fairly villainous if they'd relegated all those cards to Wild and given nothing back.
There's probably some truth to this, but I think it's also worth noting that this format is consistent with the promise of the wild format - namely, "you get to play the classic decks you loved, just like you remember them." This is why they'd been un-nerfing some cards when they got Hall-of-Famed, and the Classic mode offers an opportunity to make good on that promise without causing balance issues in Wild (or any future format that allows for Basic and Classic cards).
I recently stumbled across this passage in an InvenGlobal article, and it left me shaking my head:
By making the upcoming Core Set free to all players, Blizzard is looking to invite new players into their Hearthstone ecosystem while giving old players who have spent a great deal of money on the game a little break from opening their wallets.
"A little break from opening their wallets"? In what way, exactly? After all, old players who have spent a great deal of money on the game already had complete Classic collections. Hell, even free players who have been around since launch probably had all the Classic cards they would ever need. This move to a Core set does absolutely nothing for veteran players in terms of saving money, and it's disturbing how often I see the lie repeated.
Don't get me wrong: I think the Core set is a great move, a necessary move, for the game. I'm definitely looking forward to a meta that will get refreshed on an annual basis, adding even more meaning to the "Year of ..." paradigm. But can we please stop pretending this is some kind of cost savings for those of us who have actually supported the game for nearly seven years?
Now let's talk about Classic mode. Yes, some people are excited about it. How long that excitement can continue in a mode that is static by definition remains to be seen. But make no mistake: Blizzard didn't do this because they saw a demand for it. Basically no one was asking for anything like Classic mode, and if they were, it was a very tiny minority. Classic mode had to happen because the Core set is about to remove the one very large chunk of every Standard player's assets they could always count on, and Blizzard would have looked fairly villainous if they'd relegated all those cards to Wild and given nothing back. So now we have yet another "apology" game mode that requires no upkeep at Blizzard's end and that will see only a small fraction of the play Standard gets. But hey, at least they did something, right?
Again, I'm not even mad at the business decisions. They did what they had to do to move forward. I'm just pointing out the reality behind Activision's PR propaganda as they try to spin this in a more celebratory direction. The Core set, in and of itself, is worthy of celebration. The virtual removal of 373 cards from your collection is not. It is a necessary evil, and I think it's important to remember that 240 of those cards were not free. Making the Core set free to all isn't generosity; it's actually the very least Blizzard can do.
I think DapperDog made a better deck, however that it still isn't perfect imo. What is the goal of Arbor Up in the deck? Is to an Anubisath Defender trigger? I'd personally put at least one more dragon into the deck, and this seems to be the perfect card to cut.
More dragons means more stuff to dump before pulling your Vol'jin combo. I initially experimented with Alex and Ysera but then later found out that after something like overflow I got stuck with too many minions in my hand. I intentionally left breath of dreams there because of the draw over, say, wild growth. Ramp is important, but in this deck its less important than draw.
Arbor up is a nice card that gives you board, and it triggers anubisath defender, which is another plus. Its also somewhat of a secondary win condition, since you can easily get umbral owl and multiple 0 mana minions (assuming you'd get it off resizing pouch, because its aggro) to make up a nice little board out of nowhere. My list can be considered 'combo' not strictly OTK. You can easily switch win conditions depending on the matchup. How you choose to use resizing pouch is the real deal here.
If you don't like arbor up, then I'd recommend replacing it with 1x germinate and 1x forest warden omu, to make it a genuine OTK or bust druid. Just try it. Arbor up is not too bad a card even in decks like this.
I think DapperDog made a better deck, however that it still isn't perfect imo. What is the goal of Arbor Up in the deck? Is to an Anubisath Defender trigger? I'd personally put at least one more dragon into the deck, and this seems to be the perfect card to cut.
I agree, but we have to be careful not to put too many minions into the deck. Evasive Drakonid might be a good choice.
I think DapperDog made a better deck, however that it still isn't perfect imo. What is the goal of Arbor Up in the deck? Is to an Anubisath Defender trigger? I'd personally put at least one more dragon into the deck, and this seems to be the perfect card to cut.
Gotta give big props to Riot once again for being so open to community feedback. I personally didn't really mind the differences in art and voice but I get why other people were bothered by it. I just hope the artist(s) and voice actress don't take it personally, but from what I've seen on the subreddit people seemed pretty nice about the issues they had so it's probably fine.
Yeah, I guess I latched onto the OTK possibility. You're right that this would be an entirely different deck. I just threw it together and will playtest later today.
I wonder if it might be stronger in Rogue, who can draw faster and discount spells (plus you could Shadowstep Vol'jin the turn before to get another discount).
I mean [Hearthstone Card (Murozond, the Infinite) Not Found] exists. There are a handful of similarities between the two. People wouldn't complain too much if this were a priest card (obviously with combo replaced).
It's arguably the biggest expansion so far, not only do we get new cards and region but also mastery system and an event similar to Spirit Blossom (not much info about it yet though).
Why would I ever put the original Deathwing to my deck when this one is just strictly better? With Ysera re-work one can argue, that sometimes the original is better, but here we have a buffed version of the existing card.
It has less/more unreliable discard synergie, so it's not a 100% buff
Chadd Nervig & Ben Lee Talk Core Set, Spell Schools in Mini Set, Battlegrounds Cosmetics, and More!
I read somewhere that the core set will be revealed at March february 25, but I can't remember the source.
Reality check: Core isn't saving everyone money
While I see your point, there are a few things we should add to the equation here:
Chadd Nervig & Ben Lee Talk Core Set, Spell Schools in Mini Set, Battlegrounds Cosmetics, and More!
Do we know card reveal timing/calendar for either Core or Barrens? I'm assuming a release date of March 23rd for both. They'd usually take this week off from reveals, but they have more than twice as many cards to reveal this season. I'm hoping they do something like release a class/day for the Core set.
My wish for weekly quests
I definitely agree. That locked-in quest has always seemed weird to me. No one should be forced to play any particular game mode to get weekly quest XP.
My wish for weekly quests
Yes! And no!
I would really like the idea of being able to opt out and reroll ALL quests.
I play every single game mode, I don't have a focus, I just play whatever I feel like playing (yeah... even Duels, though not ranked), except Arena.
And while I complete all my daily/weekly quests the moment I get them, I sometimes feel robbed of my time when I have to go Ranked... The main quest, the unrollable quest, should be "play 7 games" period, not "WIN 5 games of RANKED", it's like, forced to play the "main" mode blizzard wants, not the "main" mode the player wants.
So, yeah, you should be able to reroll/opt out of EVERY quest slot.
Let's say that at least, you can reroll them.
Reality check: Core isn't saving everyone money
The primary purpose of the Core Set is to anchor class themes for the year and provide a fresh baseline for the play experience, but it has the added benefit of upping the baseline power level of the "base set" of Hearthstone's Standard format. The result should be a higher percentage of meta-relevant/competitive cards in the set relative to the current Evergreen Basic/Classic sets (e.g. even classically powerful cards like Al'Akir the Windlord and Lord Jaraxxus haven't seen play in ages.). Because the Core Set is free, and will be regularly refreshed, the net result should be a decrease in the "necessary annual spend" in order to get one or more meta decks constructed.
It's certainly true that this is a much bigger boon for new players and players who never had a full set of Classic cards, but it's being positioned as financially better for all players because of this "upping the baseline." Perhaps, once the full set is out and people get their hands on it, people will find that it does not have a higher percentage of "playable" cards, and therefore doesn't save veteran players any money. But Blizzard's intent on this is clear. From Celestalon's Q&A - "Since Core is refreshed each year, we can make Core cards more consistently impactful and relevant to the current meta." The Basic and Classic sets have seen a ton of hall-of-fames and nerfs to keep them from crowding out expansion cards year after year after year, but that doesn't have to happen any more, so we can expect these cards to be better/more relevant. Getting relevant cards for free drives down the cost of the game.
There's probably some truth to this, but I think it's also worth noting that this format is consistent with the promise of the wild format - namely, "you get to play the classic decks you loved, just like you remember them." This is why they'd been un-nerfing some cards when they got Hall-of-Famed, and the Classic mode offers an opportunity to make good on that promise without causing balance issues in Wild (or any future format that allows for Basic and Classic cards).
Riot Commits to Reworking Taliyah's Artwork in Legends of Runeterra
So people just making fuzz over nothing again. Got it.
BlizzConline Hearthstone Developer Q&A Panel Live Recap
No shit?
Reality check: Core isn't saving everyone money
I recently stumbled across this passage in an InvenGlobal article, and it left me shaking my head:
"A little break from opening their wallets"? In what way, exactly? After all, old players who have spent a great deal of money on the game already had complete Classic collections. Hell, even free players who have been around since launch probably had all the Classic cards they would ever need. This move to a Core set does absolutely nothing for veteran players in terms of saving money, and it's disturbing how often I see the lie repeated.
Don't get me wrong: I think the Core set is a great move, a necessary move, for the game. I'm definitely looking forward to a meta that will get refreshed on an annual basis, adding even more meaning to the "Year of ..." paradigm. But can we please stop pretending this is some kind of cost savings for those of us who have actually supported the game for nearly seven years?
Now let's talk about Classic mode. Yes, some people are excited about it. How long that excitement can continue in a mode that is static by definition remains to be seen. But make no mistake: Blizzard didn't do this because they saw a demand for it. Basically no one was asking for anything like Classic mode, and if they were, it was a very tiny minority. Classic mode had to happen because the Core set is about to remove the one very large chunk of every Standard player's assets they could always count on, and Blizzard would have looked fairly villainous if they'd relegated all those cards to Wild and given nothing back. So now we have yet another "apology" game mode that requires no upkeep at Blizzard's end and that will see only a small fraction of the play Standard gets. But hey, at least they did something, right?
Again, I'm not even mad at the business decisions. They did what they had to do to move forward. I'm just pointing out the reality behind Activision's PR propaganda as they try to spin this in a more celebratory direction. The Core set, in and of itself, is worthy of celebration. The virtual removal of 373 cards from your collection is not. It is a necessary evil, and I think it's important to remember that 240 of those cards were not free. Making the Core set free to all isn't generosity; it's actually the very least Blizzard can do.
Vol'jin Druid OTK Druid
More dragons means more stuff to dump before pulling your Vol'jin combo. I initially experimented with Alex and Ysera but then later found out that after something like overflow I got stuck with too many minions in my hand. I intentionally left breath of dreams there because of the draw over, say, wild growth. Ramp is important, but in this deck its less important than draw.
Arbor up is a nice card that gives you board, and it triggers anubisath defender, which is another plus. Its also somewhat of a secondary win condition, since you can easily get umbral owl and multiple 0 mana minions (assuming you'd get it off resizing pouch, because its aggro) to make up a nice little board out of nowhere. My list can be considered 'combo' not strictly OTK. You can easily switch win conditions depending on the matchup. How you choose to use resizing pouch is the real deal here.
If you don't like arbor up, then I'd recommend replacing it with 1x germinate and 1x forest warden omu, to make it a genuine OTK or bust druid. Just try it. Arbor up is not too bad a card even in decks like this.
Vol'jin Druid OTK Druid
I agree, but we have to be careful not to put too many minions into the deck. Evasive Drakonid might be a good choice.
Vol'jin Druid OTK Druid
I think DapperDog made a better deck, however that it still isn't perfect imo. What is the goal of Arbor Up in the deck? Is to an Anubisath Defender trigger? I'd personally put at least one more dragon into the deck, and this seems to be the perfect card to cut.
Taliyah Champion Reveal and More Shurima Cards for Runeterra's Empires of the Ascended Expansion
Gotta give big props to Riot once again for being so open to community feedback. I personally didn't really mind the differences in art and voice but I get why other people were bothered by it. I just hope the artist(s) and voice actress don't take it personally, but from what I've seen on the subreddit people seemed pretty nice about the issues they had so it's probably fine.
Dragon Spell Damage Vol'Jin OTK Hunter
Yeah, I guess I latched onto the OTK possibility. You're right that this would be an entirely different deck. I just threw it together and will playtest later today.
Wild · Combo Hunter · by Pezman · 5 years, 7 months ago
I wonder if it might be stronger in Rogue, who can draw faster and discount spells (plus you could Shadowstep Vol'jin the turn before to get another discount).
C'thun Zai the Incredible Bug!
"C'Thun Zai" sounds like a blessing on would say to someone who just sneezed.
New Rogue Minion - Vanessa VanCleef
I mean [Hearthstone Card (Murozond, the Infinite) Not Found] exists. There are a handful of similarities between the two. People wouldn't complain too much if this were a priest card (obviously with combo replaced).
Forged in the Barrens
Thanks for clarifying! Do we know if the Raptor keeps growing (3/4 then 5/5 then 7/6 etc.)?
New Rogue Minion - Vanessa VanCleef
What would have been nice, would be if she gave you one of 5 possible poison cards. One that gives your next attack poisonous, freeze, lifesteal etc.
Taliyah Champion Reveal and More Shurima Cards for Runeterra's Empires of the Ascended Expansion
We didn't predict that
Empires of the Ascended
It's arguably the biggest expansion so far, not only do we get new cards and region but also mastery system and an event similar to Spirit Blossom (not much info about it yet though).
New Neutral Minion - Deathwing the Destroyer
It has less/more unreliable discard synergie, so it's not a 100% buff
[Game] Card Treasure Hunt (The Resurrection Attempt)
Yes :)
[Game] Card Treasure Hunt (The Resurrection Attempt)
Zilliax then
[Game] Card Treasure Hunt (The Resurrection Attempt)
DestroyerR, you're very close, think about the fact that Dr Boom is trying to combine these minions and what the key thing is about each of them.
Also me being very stupid has just realised that I got the wrong card for number 4, it should have been Acolyte of Agony.
FitB launch?
You can be certain I'm pronouncing it Fit Bee!