Still runaway aggro they refuse to nerf or print cards to buff control style play and in recent expansion they have starting printing tech cards against control to make it even worse which have premium stats, still busted rez mechanic they refuse to nerf since forever and even printing more ways to continuously play the same minion that has taunt on deathrattle destroy a minion.
I made legend again! In Standard mode this time :D
I was playing Bomb Warrior, which was already emerging before the nerfs, but bloomed into an unstoppable force after Druid was hit. This was one of my favorite decks in RoS, and to reach legend with it makes me really happy.
Had some luck too, as I somehow managed to outlast several Pure Paladins along the way. I was playing a decklist with a pirate package, but switched to a control-heavy one because I kept losing in the mirror matches (had to craft Kargath Bladefist to complete the deck, dust well spent). Shuffling endless bombs into your opponents' decks still gives me unspeakable joy.
I'm probably going to be in the minority here but I feel like a lot of the cards being introduced seem a little under the power level required to be playable.
To your and Hellcopter's points about the cards being underwhelming - I don't entirely disagree. I think there are some pretty good cards in the new set - Lulu seems like a powerful Champion for a token deck, Risen Mists is very interesting since it generates a Mistwraith at burst speed, etc. But I agree that there are some cards and mechanics that seem underwhelming. As I mentioned above, the Behold mechanic seems pretty weak. You'd probably have to run something like six to ten 8 drops to consistently get value out of your synergies on curve, but the ramp tools in the game are so weak running that many expensive cards will often just ruin your game plan. If Riot decides they don't see enough Behold on ladder after a few weeks, I'd expect them to change it. This is entirely in line with their dev process. "We wanted people to latch on to this new thing we added, but they didn't because it wasn't well implemented, so we're giving it a buff to make it more appealing to players." This is basically the reasoning behind the buffs to Monkey Idol and Slotbot.
Honestly, if I have any complaint at all about LoR, it's quite the opposite of the OP. I would say the game is TOO balanced. What do I mean by that?
Basically this - when I play a session of, say, 5 games (I'm a casual player), I often don't see the same deck twice. The variance among the decks I come up against is absolutely massive. The result of this is that I don't really learn how to play against specific decks very well. Sometimes, I don't even have the slightest clue what my opponent's deck is even trying to do.
The variety in the meta is insanely huge. There must be upwards of 20-30 decks that are competitively viable, if not more. While it makes it quite hard for me to get a read on the "meta" and optimize my plays, this can only be interpreted as a good thing.
I think we should be careful not to conflate variety with balance - the two are deeply related, but they're not the same. A balanced game features a wide variety of decks, but in my mind the kinds of wild variance you're describing reflects less a balanced metagame and more a lack of a metagame (at least outside of top ranked play). In that way, this is a different symptom of the same chaotic design process. The development of the metagame never really slows because nerfs and buffs come in so frequently, and new content is so varied in power and consistency that it is inherently imbalanced from the start.
Typically meta shifts would slow down as pro players (who have the earliest useful datasets on match-ups) start to determine what they think the best decks are. As players in lower ranks and more casual forms of play start to net-deck those "best decks" and learn how to play them, you will in turn start to see a fairly consistent metagame across ranks. The order here is really baked into CCGs - the people who play the most will always set the meta because they have the most data and they spend the most time iterating on strategies. The more casual a player you are, the less time you have to spend playing the game, so the more stable the meta needs to be to make deckbuilding meaningful.
But the nerf/buff cycle means the players at the top tier rarely settle into an idea of what the best deck is - what's best today will not be in a couple of weeks. Those problems are exacerbated as your go down to lower ranks and casual play, where keeping up with those changes is expensive (in a temporal sense); if you're playing more casually then you have less time to learn the new top decks and how they interact with other top decks. If the decks don't trickle down in a bigger way from top tiers to lower tiers, then there's even more chaos at those lower tiers of play.
Hm, Faceless looks pretty good here. Overwhelm could be too, as long as you combine with a Locust Swarm or something.
The full combo is actually 36 if you draw Krush with Scavenger's. I would not cut Tracking if you're hoping to combo ever. Best way to thin the deck AND draw pieces.
I'm very intrigued by Professor Slate, and I did unpack him. Let me know if you go that route.
I just hit the pity timer for Outland packs so I didn't expect much, but they were pretty generous with epics: two Pit Commanders, a Marsh Hydra and a Bladestorm.
Agreed that mindrender feels really bad to play against. Its perhaps the greatest mistake made by team5 since Patches the Pirate and Jade Idol, but since its printed we all have to just live with it.
Priest is good, but far from the best. That class is most likely warrior
Its only the most banned because everyone is targeting druid. Since kael'thas is effectively gone, we will likely see more hunter, aggro druid, or even shaman, so warrior will most likely be the class to ban next.
Average outcome for me, only 1 legendary in the 20 packs.
That said, deal is still good though. $20 for 2 guaranteed legendaries is good value. In contrast, It took me 106 packs just to get my 3rd Legendary in scholomance lol.
Sadly there are still some toxic streamers on Twitch. Calling Feno one of them cheapens the word inexcusably. You may have got a wrong first impression there.
The pairings are going to be unfair no matter who is on the teams simply because some classes are stronger than others. It is intended to be entertainment.
What a wonderful bundle this was for me. My two free Scholomance legendaries were Vectus and Professor Slate, then the Year of the Dragon packs yielded me a Reno the Relicologist and Arch-Villain Rafaam! The Reno legendary is more than welcome, now I can try out a Highlander Mage since I have almost all of the legendaries needed (just need to craft Astromancer Solarian). Good deal!
I eventually realized that my own idea of Zixor spam just wasn't enough and at the end of the day just as slow as yours (even if less clunky at times). I'm currently trying to make it work as a flexible Quest build but I'm also considering inserting a Professor Slate package (Slate + Rapid Fire and the already included Overwhelm, both of which have synergy with Veranus and Hunter's Mark anyways).
At the end of the day your combo is 30 damage at full and 20 damage halfway through,, which is actually stronger than the old Leeroy, even if you have more dead cards in your deck.
Decided not to use Khartut because the decks where it mattered the most (aggro and burn) are the ones that have easy bypass (such as Sap and Devolving Missiles)
I'm also seriously considering just dropping Zixor for another Faceless (or just some more early game stuff) because he actively extends the deck and isn't really the win condition anyways.
Alright, after now being beaten by Priests even I have decided to give up on this type of deck. Apparently 5 Zixors isn't enough if they can just copy 3 of them out of your deck and spam about 6 Cabal Acolytes.
Since going full value isn't working out against the decks it's supposed to I guess full combo might just work better, so I'm gonna try again to adopt Pezman's Krush build and try to make it work as a legit lategame 30-damage combo with the early game focussed on full defense.
Tell me about the current state of Hearthstone - Good time to return?
Still runaway aggro they refuse to nerf or print cards to buff control style play and in recent expansion they have starting printing tech cards against control to make it even worse which have premium stats, still busted rez mechanic they refuse to nerf since forever and even printing more ways to continuously play the same minion that has taunt on deathrattle destroy a minion.
So basically nothing has changed.
The Pepper Thread - Share Some Good Vibes!
I made legend again! In Standard mode this time :D
I was playing Bomb Warrior, which was already emerging before the nerfs, but bloomed into an unstoppable force after Druid was hit. This was one of my favorite decks in RoS, and to reach legend with it makes me really happy.
Had some luck too, as I somehow managed to outlast several Pure Paladins along the way. I was playing a decklist with a pirate package, but switched to a control-heavy one because I kept losing in the mirror matches (had to craft Kargath Bladefist to complete the deck, dust well spent). Shuffling endless bombs into your opponents' decks still gives me unspeakable joy.
Tell me about the current state of Hearthstone - Good time to return?
This kind of power level is to be expected in Wild at this point. I don't agree with it but I'm sure you understand why it exists.
Does Riot really have a plan for this game?
To your and Hellcopter's points about the cards being underwhelming - I don't entirely disagree. I think there are some pretty good cards in the new set - Lulu seems like a powerful Champion for a token deck, Risen Mists is very interesting since it generates a Mistwraith at burst speed, etc. But I agree that there are some cards and mechanics that seem underwhelming. As I mentioned above, the Behold mechanic seems pretty weak. You'd probably have to run something like six to ten 8 drops to consistently get value out of your synergies on curve, but the ramp tools in the game are so weak running that many expensive cards will often just ruin your game plan. If Riot decides they don't see enough Behold on ladder after a few weeks, I'd expect them to change it. This is entirely in line with their dev process. "We wanted people to latch on to this new thing we added, but they didn't because it wasn't well implemented, so we're giving it a buff to make it more appealing to players." This is basically the reasoning behind the buffs to Monkey Idol and Slotbot.
I think we should be careful not to conflate variety with balance - the two are deeply related, but they're not the same. A balanced game features a wide variety of decks, but in my mind the kinds of wild variance you're describing reflects less a balanced metagame and more a lack of a metagame (at least outside of top ranked play). In that way, this is a different symptom of the same chaotic design process. The development of the metagame never really slows because nerfs and buffs come in so frequently, and new content is so varied in power and consistency that it is inherently imbalanced from the start.
Typically meta shifts would slow down as pro players (who have the earliest useful datasets on match-ups) start to determine what they think the best decks are. As players in lower ranks and more casual forms of play start to net-deck those "best decks" and learn how to play them, you will in turn start to see a fairly consistent metagame across ranks. The order here is really baked into CCGs - the people who play the most will always set the meta because they have the most data and they spend the most time iterating on strategies. The more casual a player you are, the less time you have to spend playing the game, so the more stable the meta needs to be to make deckbuilding meaningful.
But the nerf/buff cycle means the players at the top tier rarely settle into an idea of what the best deck is - what's best today will not be in a couple of weeks. Those problems are exacerbated as your go down to lower ranks and casual play, where keeping up with those changes is expensive (in a temporal sense); if you're playing more casually then you have less time to learn the new top decks and how they interact with other top decks. If the decks don't trickle down in a bigger way from top tiers to lower tiers, then there's even more chaos at those lower tiers of play.
Tell me about the current state of Hearthstone - Good time to return?
You make it sound like it's a common deck while it's actually a deck by Meme OTK Master MarkMcKz.
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
Astromancer is a solid craft as it fits into a bunch of mage decks.
[Game] Card Treasure Hunt (The Resurrection Attempt)
Or possibly The Lurker Below
(pardon the salt, my life stinks)
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
I got Lord Barov and Infiltrator Lilian as my free Legendaries. Not super happy with either as I don't play Rogue and Lord Barov is... OK?
As for the packs no Legendaries there but I did get three Golden Epics. So yeah.... Not bad at all.
Tell me about the current state of Hearthstone - Good time to return?
It's just an example. There are a lot of broken cards that allows uninteractive otk combos.
And the same OTK combo still possible with the nerf.
Tell me about the current state of Hearthstone - Good time to return?
You missed that they nerfed Kael
Krush's Quest
Hm, Faceless looks pretty good here. Overwhelm could be too, as long as you combine with a Locust Swarm or something.
The full combo is actually 36 if you draw Krush with Scavenger's. I would not cut Tracking if you're hoping to combo ever. Best way to thin the deck AND draw pieces.
I'm very intrigued by Professor Slate, and I did unpack him. Let me know if you go that route.
Tell me about the current state of Hearthstone - Good time to return?
https://youtu.be/83vL1PEWIJY
You can see the state here.
Totally broken cards that allows OTK on turn 1 spending 50 mana.
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
So I got Speaker Gidra and Lord Barov, not on the very top of my wishlist but decent enough!
Dragon packs were disappointing, Fel Lord Betrug and two epics including Desert Obelisk...
I just hit the pity timer for Outland packs so I didn't expect much, but they were pretty generous with epics: two Pit Commanders, a Marsh Hydra and a Bladestorm.
I think I fixed Quest Hunter
Agreed that mindrender feels really bad to play against. Its perhaps the greatest mistake made by team5 since Patches the Pirate and Jade Idol, but since its printed we all have to just live with it.
Priest is good, but far from the best. That class is most likely warrior
Its only the most banned because everyone is targeting druid. Since kael'thas is effectively gone, we will likely see more hunter, aggro druid, or even shaman, so warrior will most likely be the class to ban next.
Nocturne is the Newest Legends of Runeterra Shadow Isles Champion Coming in Call of the Mountain (5 New Cards Revealed!)
And nightfall is hearthstone combo...
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
Average outcome for me, only 1 legendary in the 20 packs.
That said, deal is still good though. $20 for 2 guaranteed legendaries is good value. In contrast, It took me 106 packs just to get my 3rd Legendary in scholomance lol.
[Game] Card Treasure Hunt (The Resurrection Attempt)
Once again I scour my collection both owned and unowned and flavor texts trying to solve one of these riddles to no avail.
Really doubt I’m going to agree with the answer when I see it. Again.
Earthquake??
I think I fixed Quest Hunter
Can blame ya for losing to Priests. Priest is OP right now.
Even pros agree, as priest is currently the most banned class in GM.
I personally find that class toxic, especially Mindrender Illucia.
Earn 2 Free Scholomance Academy Packs Through Twitch Drops Next Week During the Hearthstone Inn-vitational
Sadly there are still some toxic streamers on Twitch. Calling Feno one of them cheapens the word inexcusably. You may have got a wrong first impression there.
Earn 2 Free Scholomance Academy Packs Through Twitch Drops Next Week During the Hearthstone Inn-vitational
The pairings are going to be unfair no matter who is on the teams simply because some classes are stronger than others. It is intended to be entertainment.
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
What a wonderful bundle this was for me. My two free Scholomance legendaries were Vectus and Professor Slate, then the Year of the Dragon packs yielded me a Reno the Relicologist and Arch-Villain Rafaam! The Reno legendary is more than welcome, now I can try out a Highlander Mage since I have almost all of the legendaries needed (just need to craft Astromancer Solarian). Good deal!
Krush's Quest
Deck ID Not Found
This is what I'm currently doing.
I eventually realized that my own idea of Zixor spam just wasn't enough and at the end of the day just as slow as yours (even if less clunky at times). I'm currently trying to make it work as a flexible Quest build but I'm also considering inserting a Professor Slate package (Slate + Rapid Fire and the already included Overwhelm, both of which have synergy with Veranus and Hunter's Mark anyways).
At the end of the day your combo is 30 damage at full and 20 damage halfway through,, which is actually stronger than the old Leeroy, even if you have more dead cards in your deck.
Decided not to use Khartut because the decks where it mattered the most (aggro and burn) are the ones that have easy bypass (such as Sap and Devolving Missiles)
I'm also seriously considering just dropping Zixor for another Faceless (or just some more early game stuff) because he actively extends the deck and isn't really the win condition anyways.
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
Too bad it's Outland packs and not Scholomance... Otherwise I would not hesitate since I don't even have all the good rares yet. #sadface
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
Willow and Selina were my two first opened legendaries från Scholomance, so I feel you. ;) But nice haul from the packs! :D
I think I fixed Quest Hunter
Alright, after now being beaten by Priests even I have decided to give up on this type of deck. Apparently 5 Zixors isn't enough if they can just copy 3 of them out of your deck and spam about 6 Cabal Acolytes.
Since going full value isn't working out against the decks it's supposed to I guess full combo might just work better, so I'm gonna try again to adopt Pezman's Krush build and try to make it work as a legit lategame 30-damage combo with the early game focussed on full defense.