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Zephrys cant see what secrets your opponent's got, and will only offer flare if there are multiple secrets up. Otherwise he will just offer you SI:7 Infiltrator.

It might be that:

- Your board is full so offering infiltrator isn't an option. The way the code prioritizes secrets is a bit weird since it will not offer up flare if there aren't multiple secrets on board.

- Your opponent is threatening lethal, so he gives you a board clear

- Your board is not frozen, so the AI thinks you can win with your board, not understanding that an ice block is in the way. So it offers you something like bloodlust

- There is a taunt in the way so it offers you removal

- And lastly, you didn't narrow your mana to at least 4, so indirectly you allowed the AI to offer you more options. Zep will always try to offer you something to do the same turn he's played.

Zephrys is not perfect, I think its safe to say that the number of follies from this card is enough to spawn several meme videos on its own. Funnily enough I seem to remember something similar happening on grandmasters when the player was obviously fishing for frost nova but didn't get it. Best thing you can do now is to screenshot it, post it up reddit and hope some dev sees it.

Had to look back at an old story about the previous Mage Bundle, but I though the packs looked a little different.  Only real difference is the color of the gem and middle ribbon going horizontally across the pack.  I'm guessing they updated the look because it's a different Standard year?  Or did they just not like the color of those elements from before?

The amount of dialogue is literally the scariest thing here. Imagine losing to one of these guys and having to restart the ENTIRE dialogue all over again.

Also, I like how the second portrait matches the censorship of the one we got now. Wonder if blizz will actually retcon all of Jaina's appearances in WoW so her fronts are properly covered too.

You can download the updated deck tracker from here: https://github.com/HearthSim/Hearthstone-Deck-Tracker

People seem to like my card. Though the art isn't ideal and I haven't been able to find anything better. I am going to put that idea on ice for now and come up with something new.

I am not too sure about the ability, but I like the idea of a corrupt mage turning to darker powers.

I will get more feedback out tomorrow.

Adventure doesn't rhyme, 0/10.

I hope they let us choose between the portraits after the adventure!

I'd assume they give us a deck for this.

I also assume you get a different pack for every different book - Like Jaina's gives you Mage, Malfurions will give you Druid, etc.

So...can we take this as a preview to the supposed skin rewards from the battlepass?

Without any new voicelines this is nothing more than a glorified entrance with a new portrait. If I wanted a new portrait so badly blizz, I would've just drawn my own and paste it on my desktop screen.

It's baffling why they choose to do this, I highly doubt it's laziness given that they're putting so much effort into Book of Heroes as a concept, so it must be an intentional decision on their part. Would love a developer statement about this one, to at least clear up the why

I dunno. The Darkness?

Give me original Jania back before her portrait was nerfed!

oh what hot garbage

what's the point of a new vanity portrait for a character if there isn't something new to add to their flavor?

Especially one you have to buy?

Ok, thank you for all replies. I have now three diferent versions to show you:

The first one is the original - no change

The second one is the alternate suggestion version

and the third one is a completely diferent version that represents the Battlecries of Shaman and the Deathrattles of Hunter.

I've tried to edit the color palette of the art a little bit in each one (according to TheHoax91 (Unique, but welcomed feedback)- since you've used BasilAnguis name twice in your review I guess that the first one refered to my card.) I would like to also hear an opinion on that posible colorchange.

Now for some feedback:

SOOO LAZY!!!!  I would never buy something so obviously a rip off.  How hard is it to add new hero skins to the game?!

Atrocity has no good targets in this deck, though. The highest attack unit has only 4 attack. And all of the units are vulnerable to just being killed off if you try to Atrocity on them (since nothing has more than 3 health). I'd consider putting 2x They Who Endure in place of 2x ... something. Hapless Aristocrat is not a good thing to replace, nor is Elise. Those are both way too important for the early game curve. But I've found Doombeast to be pretty lackluster, so maybe 2x TWE could replace the 2x Doombeast.

The way Zephrys' AI interprets the game is different from ours. I believe he doesn't know what secrets the opponent has. And he most likely doesn't believe that a single secret is enough of a threat or enough of a defense mechanism for the opponent that he has to give you a way to remove it. He will prioritize pretty anything else. This behavior is very common when it comes to secrets. The times that he let me down were mostly caused by he not really caring about enemy secrets as much as the other stuff that's on the board. He almost always won't offer Flare unless your opponent has 3 or more secrets and the board is pretty much empty because in this scenario he doesn't really have any better immediate options. He is that stingy when it comes to secrets. He likes to offer SI:7 Infiltrator way more because it's also a decent tempo minion.

Quote From CursedParrot

I think that your posts might come across as mean because what you’re essentially saying is “I blame the player base for being too casual and ruining the game design”

Thats exactly where i didn´t make myself clear enough. Blaming people for what they are or enjoy is exactly the opposite of what i was trying to say. I am well aware that different people enjoy different things. And what i want is not better for the game by default or superior to what others enjoy. I do sympathize both with casual players and with gamedesigners appealing to them. It is the OP that claimed Aurelion Sol is the result of failed game design.

What i was trying to say is that, without knowing what Riot wanted to design we can not say if they failed. I do not like Aurelion, but i can see why it exists. And it is one of the most played cards of the expansion. In terms of keeping people engaged it probably is a success (if that is what Riot designed it for).

In terms of game balance you might argue for or against it. It is not OP for sure. But vs. Aurelion decks i simply had too many games i personally consider a waste of time, because what i did in the game did not matter at all, whether i lost to some random invoked card or played vs an unbeatable draw (draw RNG is something else i do not like about Runeterra, in comparison to Gwent i might add, i know it is part of every cardgame).

Again, that is a personal thing. You can argue for RNG (keeps games fresh and different, creates memorable moments) and against it (reduces player agency over the outcome of the game, cannot be played around). I can only say that RNG does not float my boat.

I do appreciate the effort you made to showcase that the focus of Call of the Mountain is not only on RNG but more strategy. That is the way way to go in healthy discussions. And i partially agree with your point. But some newly introduced mechanics are combined with fairly swingy RNG again :

1. Nightfall

- Lunari Priestess (invokes a card)

- Unspeakable Horror (creates a random Nightfall card)

- Nocturnes unspeakable Horror (same)

2. Daybreak

- Rahvun (create a random Daybreak card)

- Solari Priestess (invokes Celestial card costing 4, 5 or 6 mana)

6. Behold

- Behold the Infinite (invoke)

From where i stand, the RNG factor is featured at least prominently in the expansion, and from my point of view it devaluates the strategic aspect of the game. Yet i am aware that people might enjoy exactly that and Riot might simply be delivering. Whether i like it or not.

I was considering buying it but without custom voices it's not good enough even with the packs.

Welp, that's a bit disappointing, but on the other hand, we don't have to buy it.

Zephrys the Great has been so incompetent to me lately. I'm trying to get to 1k wins with priest so ofc I'm playing raza priest in wild. Now this little wanker didn't give me any form secret removal of any sort when i had about 22 damage on board and lethal but opponent has iceblock. Instead he offers me high mana minions that deal only one damage and things like that. Can't he fucking see I've got so much damage, why do I need more?? I've lost exactly 4 games so far against quest mage because of this bs.  

In 2 other cases he offers me 5 mana Brawl, a 2 mana Shadow Word: Death and a 7 mana minion when I got only 3 mana left and opponent has 7 minions on board. Logically he should offer me Frost Nova because I'm dead next turn lad, there is over 30 damage on opponent's side of the board. But nope, i'm forced to take the Death and lose another 2 games.

More like Zephrys the bugged...

Well, if it is just a portrait and 5 decks for 5 bucks or, say the same costing as a card back 3 bucks or 500 gold... that would make since.

Just a different picture to look at like a card back.

That I may go for $5. But not for $10.

This is disappointing.

Edit: disappointing that there's no new voicelines, not the investigative journalism that makes OoC great!