Constructed is in a weird position, both im Standard and in Wild. There are a number of huge powerspikes, including some that feel like cheating, in various decks, yet the meta doesn't really feel warped towards a particular archetype, so far.
Got Mozaki, Master Duelist AND Instructor Fireheart!
I was hoping to pull Mozaki during the first week and play with spell damage mage, now I don't have to craft her.
the only other legendary I got was The BoomReaver, which I pulled a golden one during the ROS pack opening last year. Ah well, it's a free epic of my choice.
Not as many legendaries as some of the other members, but I did get a lot of golden cards, so I'll take those
You mentioned in your first point that you dropped HS completely yet included Scholomance Academy in one of your 'examples'.
It's unfortunate, but I agree that Ashes of Outland's Demon Hunter meta was dominating the ladder for at least the first half of Ashes of Outland. Anyway, Day 1 meta is not an accurate representation of what the meta would become. In your example, you mentioned that Big Druid (I'll assume you meant Guardian Animals Druid because Big Druid is a totally different archetype and has not seen play in Day 1 of Scholomance) was dominating the ladder. I wouldn't go as far as saying it dominated the ladder as the deck was far from optimized and it was a very 'all or nothing' deck. Highlander Priest and Pure /Libram Paladin were also very prevalent in Day 1. And if you are in the loop about the high legend meta (as early as Day 3, there were fewer players who were playing Guardian Animals Druid as it was hard countered by Tempo/Highlander Mage decks). Although it came back with some minor adjustments, like Living Dragonbreath and Animated Broomstick. And it will be culled with the upcoming Kaelthas nerf.
Your assumptions are true--I haven't actively played since AoO, so my data points were based solely off of what I recalled from browsing articles. I have edited in your corrections; thank you. To your point about hard countering: I would argue that would mean the original deck is still defining the meta which, while not as reprehensible as having high-played rate + high-win rate, is still a red flag for balance issues.
It's interesting to me--you specifically call out LoR's nerfs to the Deep and Nab as part of the reason why you left, but in my eyes both those archetypes are still alive and well. Conversely: if I compare to the last big HS balance patch I recall, the January 9 DoD patch (yeah I know; it's been a minute), that nerfed Ancharrr (Pirate Warrior), Necrium Apothecary (Deathrattle Rogue), and Dragon's Pack (Galakrond Shaman) to a degree that--in my eyes--killed those archetypes. I makes me wonder how much is in the eye of the beholder.
For my included legendaries, I got Shan'do Wildclaw and Disciplinarian Gandling. I didn't unpack any legendaries in the packs (I had recently hit legendaries in both types, so pity timers were very low). But I got 8 epics, so definitely above average in that regard. Congrats to everyone who got great pulls!
I'm growing bored with Runeterra. I don't play ladder, Labs is incredibly random, and Expedition mode is, IMO, like Arena but worse. That leaves Casual play, which is sometimes fun, but I have more Shards than I know what to do with and could craft enough Champions to have 3x of every existing one. I've max leveled every region, and I'm just growing bored and frustrated with the mechanics and how much decks rely on a single Champion.
How is HS these days? I haven't played in probably a year, but I've still watched my favorite streamers. Battlegrounds looks really fun - is it free or do you have to pay? How's the deck variety in regular play? I do like what they've done with Ranked. Playing LoR has made me really appreciate a lot of the mechanics of HS, believe it or not.
I stopped playing Hearthstone for two months so I could try LoR. I had fun, but I find some of the nerfs frustrating. They are pushing Midrange so bad they nerfed fun archetypes like Deep and Nab. They also nerfed the the only fun Control deck(Heimerdinger) and the only fast Aggro deck. Before I came back to HS, LoR meta was basically all Midrange(Freeze Ashe, Hecarim Ephemerals, Yasuo, Demacia Rally). It was about the time Mogwai took a break too. Every game just felt braindead to me.
I think you bring up a very interesting point here.
There is a Youtube Channel called Tolarian Community College, where a guy talks about MtG. He has a video about each different archetype, Aggro, Control, Combo, Midrange, and Tempo. When he was talking about Midrange, he said that many players feel like it is the most "pure" way to play. People get frustrated when their opponent clears the board every other turn, people also get frustrated when their opponent barfs out their hand and kills them on turn 4, and people also get frustrated when their opponent does nothing but stall and then deal 100 damage in a single turn. Midrange encourages smart trading, which is interactive but not as annoying as a board clear. And it also closes out the game late enough that your opponent feels like they did something, but not so late that it gets boring.
I am not saying Midrange is the best archetype and that the only viable deck should be Midrange, but I think this is the manner of thinking that a lot of players have. Midrange 'feels' fair to play against because it doesn't lean too far into any kind of extreme like Aggro or Control. I think the result of constant balance changes is sooner or later going to result in a lot of Midrange decks.
I am not trying to make a specific point, I just think this is an interesting thing to think about.
Note that the text is "attacked with 5+ Nightfall allies", not activating Nightfall.
I'm not 100% confident I understand exactly nightfall works. If you watch the video from Riot's twitter, it shows little moon icons on units implying that all you need to do is attack with a unit that had the nightfall text, irregardless of whether you proc'ed nightfall when it was summoned or not. That said, there are some inconsistencies with that video--e.g., at 0:32 just before the level-up the Stygian Onlooker on the far right is just a 2/1, but at 0:42 post level-up its now a 4/1--so I'm not sure how representative it is of final product.
You mentioned in your first point that you dropped HS completely yet included Scholomance Academy in one of your 'examples'.
It's unfortunate, but I agree that Ashes of Outland's Demon Hunter meta was dominating the ladder for at least the first half of Ashes of Outland. Anyway, Day 1 meta is not an accurate representation of what the meta would become. In your example, you mentioned that Big Druid (I'll assume you meant Guardian Animals Druid because Big Druid is a totally different archetype and has not seen play in Day 1 of Scholomance) was dominating the ladder. I wouldn't go as far as saying it dominated the ladder as the deck was far from optimized and it was a very 'all or nothing' deck. Highlander Priest and Pure /Libram Paladin were also very prevalent in Day 1. And if you are in the loop about the high legend meta (as early as Day 3, there were fewer players who were playing Guardian Animals Druid as it was hard countered by Tempo/Highlander Mage decks). Although it came back with some minor adjustments, like Living Dragonbreath and Animated Broomstick. And it will be culled with the upcoming Kaelthas nerf.
--
I stopped playing Hearthstone for two months so I could try LoR. I had fun, but I find some of the nerfs frustrating. They are pushing Midrange so bad they nerfed fun archetypes like Deep and Nab. They also nerfed the the only fun Control deck(Heimerdinger) and the only fast Aggro deck. Before I came back to HS, LoR meta was basically all Midrange(Freeze Ashe, Hecarim Ephemerals, Yasuo, Demacia Rally). It was about the time Mogwai took a break too. Every game just felt braindead to me.
yep, I think it's good for players to know the pack worth. Good idea!
btw I just bought the bundle and got 2 legendaries + 2 legendaries from packs (which is super good). I dusted one of the legendaries and extra + golden cards which gave me enough dust to craft a legendary I needed. Very happy :)
Khartut is great! Gives you 2 ticks on the quest, 6 heals, and stops a lot of aggression. He is slow, but usually worth it.
Regarding your previous comment, you are totally right. Hunter as a class has NEVER had enough draw (god help us all if Rexxar could pull through his deck the way Illidan does!). But between the Diving Gryphons and Tracking, I tend to actually draw pretty fast. What I like about the deck is that assembling the combo pieces is only one way to win. In many of the longer control match-ups, you can take your time and put the combo together (thanks again to Khartut, among other things). In other matches, you have enough minion generation and rush to maintain the board.
Thanks for trying it out anyway! What else did you add besides the second Cult Master? (EDIT: just noticed I took out mine, there was one in there originally).
Earn 2 Free Scholomance Academy Packs Through Twitch Drops Next Week During the Hearthstone Inn-vitational
I can't wait to watch this.
and by watch, I mean login to twitch and have it play in the BG while I work from home.
Tell me about the current state of Hearthstone - Good time to return?
BG's still free.
Constructed is in a weird position, both im Standard and in Wild. There are a number of huge powerspikes, including some that feel like cheating, in various decks, yet the meta doesn't really feel warped towards a particular archetype, so far.
To me, it's a weird situation of odi et amo.
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
FANTASTIC!
Got Mozaki, Master Duelist AND Instructor Fireheart!
I was hoping to pull Mozaki during the first week and play with spell damage mage, now I don't have to craft her.
the only other legendary I got was The BoomReaver, which I pulled a golden one during the ROS pack opening last year. Ah well, it's a free epic of my choice.
Not as many legendaries as some of the other members, but I did get a lot of golden cards, so I'll take those
Does Riot really have a plan for this game?
Your assumptions are true--I haven't actively played since AoO, so my data points were based solely off of what I recalled from browsing articles. I have edited in your corrections; thank you. To your point about hard countering: I would argue that would mean the original deck is still defining the meta which, while not as reprehensible as having high-played rate + high-win rate, is still a red flag for balance issues.
It's interesting to me--you specifically call out LoR's nerfs to the Deep and Nab as part of the reason why you left, but in my eyes both those archetypes are still alive and well. Conversely: if I compare to the last big HS balance patch I recall, the January 9 DoD patch (yeah I know; it's been a minute), that nerfed Ancharrr (Pirate Warrior), Necrium Apothecary (Deathrattle Rogue), and Dragon's Pack (Galakrond Shaman) to a degree that--in my eyes--killed those archetypes. I makes me wonder how much is in the eye of the beholder.
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
For my included legendaries, I got Shan'do Wildclaw and Disciplinarian Gandling. I didn't unpack any legendaries in the packs (I had recently hit legendaries in both types, so pity timers were very low). But I got 8 epics, so definitely above average in that regard. Congrats to everyone who got great pulls!
Tell me about the current state of Hearthstone - Good time to return?
I'm growing bored with Runeterra. I don't play ladder, Labs is incredibly random, and Expedition mode is, IMO, like Arena but worse. That leaves Casual play, which is sometimes fun, but I have more Shards than I know what to do with and could craft enough Champions to have 3x of every existing one. I've max leveled every region, and I'm just growing bored and frustrated with the mechanics and how much decks rely on a single Champion.
How is HS these days? I haven't played in probably a year, but I've still watched my favorite streamers. Battlegrounds looks really fun - is it free or do you have to pay? How's the deck variety in regular play? I do like what they've done with Ranked. Playing LoR has made me really appreciate a lot of the mechanics of HS, believe it or not.
New Shadow Isles Champion - Nocturne
YAWN.
Boring effect and Nocturne dies to a lot of stuff.
Does Riot really have a plan for this game?
I think you bring up a very interesting point here.
There is a Youtube Channel called Tolarian Community College, where a guy talks about MtG. He has a video about each different archetype, Aggro, Control, Combo, Midrange, and Tempo. When he was talking about Midrange, he said that many players feel like it is the most "pure" way to play. People get frustrated when their opponent clears the board every other turn, people also get frustrated when their opponent barfs out their hand and kills them on turn 4, and people also get frustrated when their opponent does nothing but stall and then deal 100 damage in a single turn. Midrange encourages smart trading, which is interactive but not as annoying as a board clear. And it also closes out the game late enough that your opponent feels like they did something, but not so late that it gets boring.
I am not saying Midrange is the best archetype and that the only viable deck should be Midrange, but I think this is the manner of thinking that a lot of players have. Midrange 'feels' fair to play against because it doesn't lean too far into any kind of extreme like Aggro or Control. I think the result of constant balance changes is sooner or later going to result in a lot of Midrange decks.
I am not trying to make a specific point, I just think this is an interesting thing to think about.
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
I think @HULKbiceps is referencing the Cost, not necessarily the pack to $ ratio I believe (though I might be wrong?)
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
I got Jandice and the 3/12 Paladin dude, plus another warrior legendary. Worth it.
New Shadow Isles Champion - Nocturne
Note that the text is "attacked with 5+ Nightfall allies", not activating Nightfall.
I'm not 100% confident I understand exactly nightfall works. If you watch the video from Riot's twitter, it shows little moon icons on units implying that all you need to do is attack with a unit that had the nightfall text, irregardless of whether you proc'ed nightfall when it was summoned or not. That said, there are some inconsistencies with that video--e.g., at 0:32 just before the level-up the Stygian Onlooker on the far right is just a 2/1, but at 0:42 post level-up its now a 4/1--so I'm not sure how representative it is of final product.
Does Riot really have a plan for this game?
You mentioned in your first point that you dropped HS completely yet included Scholomance Academy in one of your 'examples'.
It's unfortunate, but I agree that Ashes of Outland's Demon Hunter meta was dominating the ladder for at least the first half of Ashes of Outland. Anyway, Day 1 meta is not an accurate representation of what the meta would become. In your example, you mentioned that Big Druid (I'll assume you meant Guardian Animals Druid because Big Druid is a totally different archetype and has not seen play in Day 1 of Scholomance) was dominating the ladder. I wouldn't go as far as saying it dominated the ladder as the deck was far from optimized and it was a very 'all or nothing' deck. Highlander Priest and Pure /Libram Paladin were also very prevalent in Day 1. And if you are in the loop about the high legend meta (as early as Day 3, there were fewer players who were playing Guardian Animals Druid as it was hard countered by Tempo/Highlander Mage decks). Although it came back with some minor adjustments, like Living Dragonbreath and Animated Broomstick. And it will be culled with the upcoming Kaelthas nerf.
--
I stopped playing Hearthstone for two months so I could try LoR. I had fun, but I find some of the nerfs frustrating. They are pushing Midrange so bad they nerfed fun archetypes like Deep and Nab. They also nerfed the the only fun Control deck(Heimerdinger) and the only fast Aggro deck. Before I came back to HS, LoR meta was basically all Midrange(Freeze Ashe, Hecarim Ephemerals, Yasuo, Demacia Rally). It was about the time Mogwai took a break too. Every game just felt braindead to me.
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
yep, I think it's good for players to know the pack worth. Good idea!
btw I just bought the bundle and got 2 legendaries + 2 legendaries from packs (which is super good). I dusted one of the legendaries and extra + golden cards which gave me enough dust to craft a legendary I needed. Very happy :)
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
Well then! I got a golden Murgur Murgurgle, a Magtheridon, and an Elise the Enlightened from the packs! And the legendaries from Scolomance were Soulciologist Malicia and High Abbess Alura!
No I do NOT regret this purchase! Holy sh*t! :D
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
With a pack on averaging giving you ~103 Dust, it's worth closer to $16 per legendary!
I probably should include that in the main post.
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
And potentially at least a third if you have not yet gotten a legendary from the "year of the dragon" packs.
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
the way I've always measured the price is 15$ for one legendary. If you only want the legendaries here, then you are getting a deal 10$ cheaper.
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
And it is totally worth it! This is without a doubt the best bundle we've seen from Hearthstone.
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
This is definitely one of the best deals.
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
So... I'm paying for 2 legendaries....
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
It is a similar price range especially if you take the bigger bundle...
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
I feel like this is the price range in which the prepurchase bundles should be like. Especially if you look at how luck dependend your outcome is.
Anyway its a great bundle and you cant rly go wrong with it.
Krush's Quest
Khartut is great! Gives you 2 ticks on the quest, 6 heals, and stops a lot of aggression. He is slow, but usually worth it.
Regarding your previous comment, you are totally right. Hunter as a class has NEVER had enough draw (god help us all if Rexxar could pull through his deck the way Illidan does!). But between the Diving Gryphons and Tracking, I tend to actually draw pretty fast. What I like about the deck is that assembling the combo pieces is only one way to win. In many of the longer control match-ups, you can take your time and put the combo together (thanks again to Khartut, among other things). In other matches, you have enough minion generation and rush to maintain the board.
Thanks for trying it out anyway! What else did you add besides the second Cult Master? (EDIT: just noticed I took out mine, there was one in there originally).
The Felosophy Bundle - Get 2 Scholomance Legendaries, 10 Year of the Dragon Packs, and 10 Ashes of Outland Packs for $20
You cant go wrong with this bundle!
New Shadow Isles Spell - Stalking Shadows
Normally 2 mana for drawing a single card won't be that good, but
I think it will be 3x for Nocturne decks. I'm less certain about other SI decks--e.g., would Endure rather have this card or just another minion?