Quest warlock is so bad it may require renounce darkness. Holly molly.
Plus i would say the best warlock right now is Tempo Nzoth Lackey zoolock. Yeah u heard it right. None of that zephyr rag greedy. Pure zoo without too many 1 drops so u can slot in some death rattles that heal u a sylvanas Nzoth and u good to go
The return of N'Zoth and Sylvanas shows that the control archetype lacks a strong combo disrupter and a finisher. I really hope they invent something stronger for the next expansion. Otherwise the tomb weeks will be missed deeply. There needs to be a balance between the 3 big forces. (I feel like Splinter from TMNT right now oO)
Best idea I got is to fill your hands with 1 cost spells and then reduce them with Emperor Thaurissan like rapid-fire, arcane shot, secret plan, the beast within or bestial wraith. Since they all cost 1 now 0 from Emperor Thaurissan you can lock and load to refill your hand with new cards, but yeah it's mostly just a meme.
Don't be ridiculous. China censorship does not care about sexualized characters or gore. Have you seen Chinese games? They changed Secretkeeper because it was literally an ass, and that's dumb. Why do you think they changed Mistress of Pain but not Silver Hand Regent's very visible nipples? You can't argue that it's a Wild card no one uses, because so is MoP. It was for the same reason they changed Succubus - because they don't want an actual sex demon in their game.
The thing that gets censored is bones. That's the #1 thing that gets changed.
I've been saying this since the announcement - the art changes were only for the reasons Blizzard gave. That art didn't fit the game anymore.
That's false. Yes, bones are the most common thing chinese censors take issue with, but violence/gore and sexual imagery are also regularly censored, albeit less consistently:
In light of Blizzard blatantly lying about how their decision to kick Blitzchung had nothing to do with China, I think it's all the more reason to second-guess Blizzard's motives for censoring these cards: Do you really think they would admit it was to comply with chinese censorship it that were the main reason? No, obviously they'd try to sell it as their own decision ("think of the children!") rather than admit they're kowtowing to Beijing.
The eight mana slot has been the sweet spot for evolves and such for ages, but this is probably one of the strongest pools ever. I say probably only because The Lich King is no longer in standard. It's a fair point to raise that Mogu probably would be considerably weaker as a 6 mana 3/3 or 8 mana 4/4 even if it kept the discount mechanic simply because it'd roll into considerably worse minion pools.
Another solution would be to consider just friendly minions for its discount effect: it will still evolve into an 8 drop, but it will come much later and its cost won't be reduced below 2
---
//Sinti: banned the bot and removed the external link from this quote.
If Mogu fleshshaper is to be changed, I'd rather have it keep its functionality as a cheap rusher and nerf the evolve highroll aspect than vice versa. I think the cheesy highroll potential is what makes the card/combo problematic, whereas the discountable rusher aspect is the core thing the card does (by itself).
I'd rather not have the card be nothing more than an evolve target.
Exactly. What they should have done is change the rules going forward, adding a specific rule against political statements, and maybe, MAYBE give blitzchung a warning. After all, he broke no rule that Blizzard can cite beyond the "we can kick you out for any reason at our discretion" clause.
But I am incredibly amused at the china shills inadvertently admitting that they think stifling political speech is a good thing unto itself, a goal to be pursued. Really gets that noggin joggin'.
Yea i never got to see that! But Kripp had it for years before he pressed his disenchant button. Probably allmost the only guy who ever had duplicate golden legendarys ;
Ha ha - dupe GOLD legendaries! 6400 dust to craft two gold ones from scratch - that's more than my entire deck!!
I mean, the guys buys ~200 packs per expansion, and plays an obscene amount of arena. I would do anything to have a collection that's a fifth of that size, but as someone that has once made some pretty financially irresponsible choices on Hearthstone, I think I'll settle with what I have.
Anyone able to explain how to use Lock and Load well? Seems like quite a risky card. You need a lot of mana and luck to wait out for some RNG? And you spend a bunch of your own cards? Basically I don't know how to use it properly.
It's a trash tier meme card. It was never good and it's been completely outclassed since by EG Mana Cyclone.
I was genuinely puzzled when I saw this card and Renounce Darkness among the cards to be brought back from wild because I thought it was obvious, especially to the designers of the game, that these were poorly designed cards.
but then why do they have china-only card art version for stuff like Skeletons?
If it was only a chinese issue they would have just given the chinese versions different artwork.
Probably because commissioning alternate art for china is extremely overt and obvious. Changing it for all regions gives them some plausible deniability that they're not just doing it to impress Winnie the Pooh, which would have resulted in a wave of criticism similar to what we're seeing now with Blitzchung.
Acting like the US hasn't fought against censorship hard in regards to sexuality and violence in children's entertainment doesn't dismiss the fact that there are also obvious factors other than #somethingsomethingbuzzwordschinesecensorship
Or would you like me to direct you towards Yu-Gi-Oh? Although I'm sure I'll be told China caused that as well right?
So your argument is whataboutism then. That's spiffy. Clearly one instance of misguided western censorship twenty years ago completely negates decades of chinese pressure to alter games, which continues unabated to this day. Bra-vo. This isn't the first time chinese censorship has affected game art. It isn't even the first time it has affected blizzard game art: WoW is famous for having had to alter undead designs considerably for their chinese servers.
But sure, chinese censorship is a buzzword.
Care to provide solid evidence then that China is exactly what is causing such a censorship then? I ask because all too often people on the internet tend to like saying something causes another thing without evidence and just assume everyone else won't challenge their claims
If you want a signed confession from Blizzard that they did what they did because of Chinese censorship, then no, you're probably not going to find it, for the same reason Blizzard lied to us and said the decision to ban Blitzchung had nothing to do with china (while telling Chinese players that it was done to defend the honour of m'lady China). Unfortunately developers and designers aren't nearly as candid about it as they used to be a decade or more ago. I remember when "Chinese alternate card art" was a recurring article type over at Magic: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/alternate-chinese-art-guildpact-part-1-2006-02-23
The eight mana slot has been the sweet spot for evolves and such for ages, but this is probably one of the strongest pools ever. I say probably only because The Lich King is no longer in standard. It's a fair point to raise that Mogu probably would be considerably weaker as a 6 mana 3/3 or 8 mana 4/4 even if it kept the discount mechanic simply because it'd roll into considerably worse minion pools.
Another solution would be to consider just friendly minions for its discount effect: it will still evolve into an 8 drop, but it will come much later and its cost won't be reduced below 2
---
//Sinti: banned the bot and removed the external link from this quote.
then you would have to reduce its cost by at least (2) or else it'd never hit the field. Not to mention that would remove it's original purpose of being a strong tempo tool in a token deck that works especially well against other token decks (or just board presence in general). If anything the total cost should go up so it's still a playable card even if you can't maintain a large board presence.
You can kinda look at this as a Mana Cyclone for hunter. But it is harder to pull off since there is no sorc apprentice. It is not a good card tbh, but you can have some fun with it.
Really enjoying the shake up, loads of variations of each "new" archtype currently making matches less predictable. I've found evolve shaman to be insane, you can highroll and win on turn four.
Control warlock is fun, but can't keep up with ressurect priest in the long game even with 3 n'zoths. Has potential but I'd like to find a good closer for that matchup.
Strangely I've found big shaman to still be decent, might have been good matchups but it can out heal tempo mage, hex karhut defenders and pressure through control's removal.
I'd like to see deathrattle rogue do something, it's time in the sun has dissappeared but Anka is a hell of a card. I'd love it see a meta with it in.
And big warrior needs to come back - I've tried a few variants, you'd think with so many ways to cheat out minions that it'd be decent. I'm finding that there's to many clunky draws and cant figure a good minion recipe yet. Please let me know if you find any success with big warrior!
Hi OP, I think I will try your deck, looks really fun and fresh! I have one question though, as I miss the good old control pally Aldor + Kodo combo. (I guess Aldor could be replaced with Subdue now). Kodo is also a beast, so could be an extra draw with Curator.
Have you tested it? Which cards would you cut for including them? My guess is to remove Vulpera and BGH.
good decks, I already made most of these, but one I have is missing here, that is New taunt warrior with Varian Wrynn, Bloodhoof, Ragnaros, Gromash and Armagedillo...probably not top tier but working fine :)
Used this deck to climb to Legend one week ago, it's legit strong and Team Rankstar has Cubelock in Tier 1 in their october report for a reason.
The Cubelock core cards are naturally strong against Controldecks and the eggs are strong against Secret Mage's Explosive Runes and with Plague of Flames they're a huge tempo swing on the board.
Standard Meta Report #8 - October 8, 2019 - October 13, 2019
Quest warlock is so bad it may require renounce darkness. Holly molly.
Plus i would say the best warlock right now is Tempo Nzoth Lackey zoolock. Yeah u heard it right. None of that zephyr rag greedy. Pure zoo without too many 1 drops so u can slot in some death rattles that heal u a sylvanas Nzoth and u good to go
Honest Hearthstone Cards (Game)
Next,
Standard Meta Report #8 - October 8, 2019 - October 13, 2019
The return of N'Zoth and Sylvanas shows that the control archetype lacks a strong combo disrupter and a finisher. I really hope they invent something stronger for the next expansion. Otherwise the tomb weeks will be missed deeply. There needs to be a balance between the 3 big forces. (I feel like Splinter from TMNT right now oO)
Paper Magic
I know paper magic but it's been a long time. I do that to the kids because they are easy to believe haha
[Doom in the Tomb] Locked and Loaded - how to play it?
Best idea I got is to fill your hands with 1 cost spells and then reduce them with Emperor Thaurissan like rapid-fire, arcane shot, secret plan, the beast within or bestial wraith. Since they all cost 1 now 0 from Emperor Thaurissan you can lock and load to refill your hand with new cards, but yeah it's mostly just a meme.
Standard Meta Report #8 - October 8, 2019 - October 13, 2019
Timely article - and well written. Bonus points for using the word "bifurcated" - thumbs up :)
Blizzard President J. Allen Brack Issues Statement on Grandmasters China Controversy
That's false. Yes, bones are the most common thing chinese censors take issue with, but violence/gore and sexual imagery are also regularly censored, albeit less consistently:
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/arcana/chinese-skeletons-2002-03-13
In light of Blizzard blatantly lying about how their decision to kick Blitzchung had nothing to do with China, I think it's all the more reason to second-guess Blizzard's motives for censoring these cards: Do you really think they would admit it was to comply with chinese censorship it that were the main reason? No, obviously they'd try to sell it as their own decision ("think of the children!") rather than admit they're kowtowing to Beijing.
Fleshshaper + Mutate is a problem
If Mogu fleshshaper is to be changed, I'd rather have it keep its functionality as a cheap rusher and nerf the evolve highroll aspect than vice versa. I think the cheesy highroll potential is what makes the card/combo problematic, whereas the discountable rusher aspect is the core thing the card does (by itself).
I'd rather not have the card be nothing more than an evolve target.
Blizzard President J. Allen Brack Issues Statement on Grandmasters China Controversy
Exactly. What they should have done is change the rules going forward, adding a specific rule against political statements, and maybe, MAYBE give blitzchung a warning. After all, he broke no rule that Blizzard can cite beyond the "we can kick you out for any reason at our discretion" clause.
But I am incredibly amused at the china shills inadvertently admitting that they think stifling political speech is a good thing unto itself, a goal to be pursued. Really gets that noggin joggin'.
Learnt something new: Golden Disenchant
I mean, the guys buys ~200 packs per expansion, and plays an obscene amount of arena. I would do anything to have a collection that's a fifth of that size, but as someone that has once made some pretty financially irresponsible choices on Hearthstone, I think I'll settle with what I have.
[Doom in the Tomb] Locked and Loaded - how to play it?
It's a trash tier meme card. It was never good and it's been completely outclassed since by EG Mana Cyclone.
I was genuinely puzzled when I saw this card and Renounce Darkness among the cards to be brought back from wild because I thought it was obvious, especially to the designers of the game, that these were poorly designed cards.
Blizzard President J. Allen Brack Issues Statement on Grandmasters China Controversy
Probably because commissioning alternate art for china is extremely overt and obvious. Changing it for all regions gives them some plausible deniability that they're not just doing it to impress Winnie the Pooh, which would have resulted in a wave of criticism similar to what we're seeing now with Blitzchung.
Blizzard President J. Allen Brack Issues Statement on Grandmasters China Controversy
List of chinese cennsored magic cards: http://squt.tripod.com/error8.html
Various altered WoW models on CN servers: https://www.reddit.com/r/wow/comments/49x7m0/chinese_wow_censorship_comparisonlots_of/
Skeleton Knight art in china:
If you want a signed confession from Blizzard that they did what they did because of Chinese censorship, then no, you're probably not going to find it, for the same reason Blizzard lied to us and said the decision to ban Blitzchung had nothing to do with china (while telling Chinese players that it was done to defend the honour of m'lady China). Unfortunately developers and designers aren't nearly as candid about it as they used to be a decade or more ago. I remember when "Chinese alternate card art" was a recurring article type over at Magic: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/alternate-chinese-art-guildpact-part-1-2006-02-23
Singleton control dragon paladin.
You could probably remove BGH like you said and vulpera or bronze herald for it. I just like BGH
[Doom in the Tomb] Locked and Loaded - how to play it?
Well I made this deck that utuilizes it well. It is all about the timing with this card and should always be used as a refill
Deck ID Not Found
Standard Meta Report #8 - October 8, 2019 - October 13, 2019
One control Warrior deck I play is Dragon Warrior. I have a solid winrate against most decks listed here and it is extremely fun to play.
Fleshshaper + Mutate is a problem
then you would have to reduce its cost by at least (2) or else it'd never hit the field. Not to mention that would remove it's original purpose of being a strong tempo tool in a token deck that works especially well against other token decks (or just board presence in general). If anything the total cost should go up so it's still a playable card even if you can't maintain a large board presence.
Blizzard President J. Allen Brack Issues Statement on Grandmasters China Controversy
but then why do they have china-only card art version for stuff like Skeletons?
If it was only a chinese issue they would have just given the chinese versions different artwork.
[Doom in the Tomb] Locked and Loaded - how to play it?
You can kinda look at this as a Mana Cyclone for hunter. But it is harder to pull off since there is no sorc apprentice. It is not a good card tbh, but you can have some fun with it.
Standard Meta Report #8 - October 8, 2019 - October 13, 2019
Gonna try most of these, nice meta report! I‘m a little behind on the meta so this post was super usefull!
A little annoying that deck codes don’t work propperly with the wild cards though
Standard Meta Report #8 - October 8, 2019 - October 13, 2019
Really enjoying the shake up, loads of variations of each "new" archtype currently making matches less predictable. I've found evolve shaman to be insane, you can highroll and win on turn four.
Control warlock is fun, but can't keep up with ressurect priest in the long game even with 3 n'zoths. Has potential but I'd like to find a good closer for that matchup.
Strangely I've found big shaman to still be decent, might have been good matchups but it can out heal tempo mage, hex karhut defenders and pressure through control's removal.
I'd like to see deathrattle rogue do something, it's time in the sun has dissappeared but Anka is a hell of a card. I'd love it see a meta with it in.
And big warrior needs to come back - I've tried a few variants, you'd think with so many ways to cheat out minions that it'd be decent. I'm finding that there's to many clunky draws and cant figure a good minion recipe yet. Please let me know if you find any success with big warrior!
Singleton control dragon paladin.
Hi OP, I think I will try your deck, looks really fun and fresh! I have one question though, as I miss the good old control pally Aldor + Kodo combo. (I guess Aldor could be replaced with Subdue now). Kodo is also a beast, so could be an extra draw with Curator.
Have you tested it? Which cards would you cut for including them? My guess is to remove Vulpera and BGH.
Cheers!
Standard Meta Report #8 - October 8, 2019 - October 13, 2019
good decks, I already made most of these, but one I have is missing here, that is New taunt warrior with Varian Wrynn, Bloodhoof, Ragnaros, Gromash and Armagedillo...probably not top tier but working fine :)
Meta Breaker #3- Demon Handbuff Zoo
It says format: Wild, but this looks like a Standard deck.
Hijo's Egg Cubelock
Used this deck to climb to Legend one week ago, it's legit strong and Team Rankstar has Cubelock in Tier 1 in their october report for a reason.
The Cubelock core cards are naturally strong against Controldecks and the eggs are strong against Secret Mage's Explosive Runes and with Plague of Flames they're a huge tempo swing on the board.