Hello everyone,

as you might have heard, Mogu Fleshshaper will be changed soon (in less than 24 hours to be precise), moving its cost from 7 up to 9.
To be honest I was ok with this balance change, but I've read more than one person saying that this should be a buff instead of a nerf. It is true?

Let's look at it closely.

I'll now list every single 8 and 10 drops currently available in Standard, dividing them in 3 categories: potentially game ending (you definitely highballed), good (nice upgrade) and bad (worse or not much better). In order to give this rates I'll take in consideration a scenario in which the game isn't already decided. Consider also that some minions are in the middle ground between two tiers, so you may not agree about some decisions, but you should be able to see the logic behind all.
Let's start with the 8 drops:
POTENTIALLY GAME ENDING (8): Al'Akir the Windlord, Deathwing, Mad Aspect, Mosh'Ogg Enforcer, Tirion Fordring, Walking Fountain, Zzeraku the Warped, Grommash Hellscream, Batterhead.

GOOD (20): Akali, the Rhino (it would be in a lower tier if not for the effect), Catrina Muerte, Deranged Doctor, Fel Lord Betrug, Gruul, Da Undatakah, Gilnean Royal Guard, Ironbark Protector (maybe higher), Jepetto Joybuzz, Lucentbark, Mana Giant, Murozond the Infinite, Octosari (double edged blade but still an 8/8), Princess Talanji, Splintergraft, Tess Greymane (on the edge of being lower), Tomb Warden (not lower just for the taunt), Twin Tyrant, Whirlwind Tempest (see Tess), Cauldron Elemental.

BAD (8): Arcane Devourer, Captain Hooktusk, Heroic Innkeeper, Hex Lord Malacrass, Hir'eek, the Bat, Pit Crocolisk, Splitting Festeroot (maybe higher), Tortollan Pilgrim.

In the end we have 8 really good outcomes, 20 decent ones and 8 bad ones, with the average result being a 5,5/7, with an 11% chance to have Rush (4/36), a 6% chance to have Charge or Windfury (2/36 in both cases), a 19,4% chance to have Taunt (7/36), an 11% chance to have a somewhat useful deathrattle (again 4/36) and finally a 61% chance to get more than a simple vanilla minion (22/36).

Let's do the same thing for the 10 drops too

POTENTIALLY GAME ENDING (4): Colossus of the Moon, Big Bad Archmage, Kalecgos, Deathwing.

GOOD (8): Emeriss, Jumbo Imp, Hakkar, the Soulflayer, Sea Giant, Nozari, The Boom Reaver, Living Monument, Mecha'thun.

BAD (1): King Phaoris.

This time we have 4 really good outcomes, 8 good ones and just a bad one, with a 1/12 chance to get taunt and roughly a 50% chance (5/12) to get something more than a vanilla minion, with an average result of a 7,8/8,9.

Now, from what gathered here we can draw these conclusions:

• none of the two pools is bad (no shit Sherlock).
• while the 10 drops pool has a higher chance to get a really good minion, the 8 drops pool will get you something that will immediately affect the board with a much higher frequency.
• the average minion you'll get from the 10 drops pool has +2/+2 compared to the one you'd get from the 8 drops pool, which is fair if you consider the vanilla test.

That being said, why and when do you play Mogu Fleshshaper (followed by and evolve card, of course)? The answer is simple: the faster the better. You want to get the most possible out of you mana cheating effect. That's why even Murloc builds used to run him since they didn't want to play for value/control.

Imagine this average scenario: 1 drop + totem + enemy minion + other minion (second totem, second enemy minion, lackey, Faceless Lackey shenanigans,...) will discount Mogu for 4 and thus you'll be able to play it on turn 3, with (like I said before) 28 in 36 chances to get a well statted 8 drop that your opponent will have to answer in one or two turns.

What about 9 mana Mogu? In these case, you'll have to wait at least two more turns, in order to

1. play more minions in order to get more discount
2. keep the board spread out against your opponent's trades
3. get more mana in order to be able to actually play the card

Given these premises, the surprise/game breaking effect of Mogu would be less impacting on the board, to the point where a +2/+2 couldn't be enough to compensate the turns spent in order to set up an appropriate table.
I'll say it again: the Mogu Fleshshaper + Mutate combo's main goal is not to put as much stats as possible on the board, but do it the fastest you can, in order to have more chances for your big drop to stick.
Therefore, I can affirm that Mogu Fleshshaper's balance change is meant to be a nerf and not a buff.

TLDR: answering an 8 drop on turn 4 is much more difficult than dealing with a 10 drop on turn 6/7 - it's a nerf, not a buff.

Thanks for reading, I hope you've found this post interesting and insightful.
I'm really looking forward to read your own opinions!

From what I've heard we should be seeing this expansion drop this week (I believe tomorrow, actually), but we've still got a couple of new spoilers.

Revealed by Scarlatch on Discord. This one is a token and created by something else.

Revealed by Scarlatch on Discord.

Sludge Slurper is having its attack decreased to 1, from 2, in the December 19 Patch.

How do you feel about this change?

Once these changes are live, players will be able to disenchant the adjusted cards for their full Arcane Dust value for two weeks.

Faceless Corruptor is having its attack decreased to 4, from 5, in the December 19 Patch.

How do you feel about this change?

Once these changes are live, players will be able to disenchant the adjusted cards for their full Arcane Dust value for two weeks.

Mogu Fleshshaper is having its mana cost increased to 9, from 7, in the December 19 Patch.

How do you feel about this change?

Once these changes are live, players will be able to disenchant the adjusted cards for their full Arcane Dust value for two weeks.

Corrupt Elementalist is having its mana cost increased to 6, from 5, in the December 19 Patch.

How do you feel about this change?

Once these changes are live, players will be able to disenchant the adjusted cards for their full Arcane Dust value for two weeks.

Didn't see it posted yet, so I thought I'd mention it here.  

https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/hearthstone/t/16-0-5-balance-update-december-19/20934

Prayers have been answered!!!

Was just playing the brawl and used Witchy Lackey on a Lord Godfrey that was played at 2 mana since it came out of the holiday chest. The Evolve mechanic turned it into a Dragonslayer - 1 mana more than the PLAYED COST, not the real cost.

Has anyone else experienced this?!

Seems like the nerfs may be delayed, according to this source

https://twitter.com/neon31hs/status/1207366763924664320

:(

In the midst of the current Shaman-dominated meta, what other decks have you been experimenting with and which ones do you think could shine after nerfs?

Since opening Zephrys the Great, I've been having fun with making Highlander versions of Galakrond decks, specifically Highlander Warlock and Highlander Priest.

With the few games I played, Highlander Warlock seems to win against Pirate Warrior, but is absolutely decimated by Deathrattle Rogue. I also played one game with a hybrid of Quest/Highlander/Galakrond Priest and it was fun.

Admittedly, I'm one of the players who uses Galakrond Shaman to ladder, but I've been using an Overload version of it that looks like it might survive the nerf.

Post-nerf Edit: The nerfs surprisingly stifled Galakrond Shaman a bit, though it's still strong. I've been running into Deathrattle Rogue more often though.

I haven't expierimented with any of my Thief decks yet so I might give Control Thief Priest a try, but it might be too slow in this meta

The new event starts this Friday in TESL. Here are the details.

Take a chance this weekend with the newest event in The Elder Scrolls: Legends: the Lucky Gauntlet!

Lucky Gauntlet: December 20 - 23

In the Lucky Gauntlet, the usual Field and Shadow Lanes are swapped out for a larger, five-creature Field Lane and a special three-creature Lucky Lane. Creatures summoned into the Lucky Lane gain a random keyword, which could lead to all kinds of serendipitous plays!

Will that last-minute Guard or Charge creature come to save the day? Only one way to find out! Entry in the Lucky Gauntlet costs three (3) Event Tickets or 500 Gold, with up to three runs allowed.

The Lucky Gauntlet begins Friday, December 20 at 12pm ET and closes at 12pm ET on Monday, December 23. Events in The Elder Scrolls: Legends change regularly, so check in often to see what new challenges await!

If you're a competitive player, or if you just want to see what the pros are using, be sure and take a look at the Top 16 Decks for the recent Promises by Firelight Qualifier.

You can also catch the full replay below!

There will some downtime with a patch hitting tomorrow. Keep an eye out for patch notes to follow after it concludes.

Mythgard will be down for a patch update tomorrow, 12/18, from 9am to 1pm PST (5pm-9pm UTC). Patch Notes will be posted when server downtime starts at 9am PST.

Added patch notes.

Patch Notes v0.17.3 - Holiday Edition

12/18/2019 5:31:40 PM

Mythgard Patch 0.17.3 - Holiday Edition

Tis the season of Axolotls! One ranked season is ending and another is about to begin. Between them, we’re running a special 2v2 Holiday’s event. Play with crazy Highlander decks and earn a Christmas card back, courtesy of the King of Axolotls himself, foxfire_kadrpg. There are also new elite missions that each award an animated axolotl emote (you know who to thank for that one too). Collect all 23! Speaking of emotes, you can now choose a custom set of emotes in the player profile.

Ranked Beta Season I ends Dec 21st,  2019 and Beta Season II starts Jan 3rd, 2020. Players will start the new season at the bottom of the next lower tier. For example, if you finished Beta I at G04, you’ll enter Beta II at S01. Don’t forget to pick up your Beta I rewards in the ranked panel, which include card packs and a fancy portrait trim.

Have fun, and have a wonderful, joyous, holidays everyone!

Features & Bug Fixes

• There is a new 8-turn tutorial mission for those who opt out of the story on their first login
• This mission explains the basic rules but gives far fewer rewards than the story
• Those who wish can play through this tutorial for 100 xp and 400 coin. We’re not saying it’s worth it if you already know how to play, but you have the option!
• Winter Holiday’s 2v2 event
• Random 75 card, 3 color, highlander decks (you still need to queue with a legal deck)
• Random power, no path
• 6 card starting hand
• Draw 2 cards per turn
• This event runs until January 8th
• Event mission
• Draw 250 cards in the 2v2 event to get a special Christmas Axolotl card trim, courtesy of foxfire_kadrpg

• Festive Winter holiday game boards
• And Santa hats or other holidays accoutrement if you equip any of the winter card backs or trims!
• Animated emotes
• If you’re on our Discord, you know them well. Thanks foxfire - you are the best!
• Everyone starts out with “blush”. We’ll be giving out a code for “flex” via our mailing list and the rest you can win via a new set of elite missions
• Emote customization
• Players can now select their emotes via a panel in the player profile
• End of Beta Season I
• Season rewards: 1/3/5/7/10 packs and a special portrait flair depending on rank tier
• The ranked panel now shows your past season record in the medals panel
• Added 3 new puzzles (see Known Issues)
• Fixed missing “Next Pack” button in the pack opening screen
• We will be experimenting with a different matchmaking algorithm that will be more friendly to players at the very high and low ends of the spectrum. Let us know if you notice better or worse results. We can flip back to the old algorithm if the new one has problems
• You can now burn cards by dragging them straight down, even if they are at the sides of the hand
• Fixed another bug that caused zoomed cards to get stuck in some rare cases (there will be more, please report them as you find them!)
• Improved scaling of some parts of the UI for phones (there’s still a lot of work to do here, but this should help make some of the buttons a bit more pressable to start)
• Entry VO for the following cards removed: Dashing Ringmaster, Howling Abyssal, Panic Raider, Strigoi Familiar
• Ranked points for Champion level players is awarded in the same way as Mythril players as a temporary band-aid for not having gotten something better in place in time for next season
• Various other bug fixes

Known Issues

• Guilds are NYI
• Tournaments are NYI
• The puzzle Minmaxer’s Coup is broken on iOS. We also had to change the puzzle slightly at the last minute due to fixing an issue with one of the cards. Since none of us were able to solve the puzzle anyway, we can’t guarantee that it’s solvable period. Have fun!

Cards/Tuning

Minor balance changes. Full refunds available on Master of Shadows, Scourge of Serpents, Shadhavar Beast, and Volition™ if made or unmade in the past 3 weeks.

Halcyon Decree

• Enemy minions in three adjacent lanes get -2/-0 → permanently and are [Suppressed] until your next turn

This strength debuff has always needed to be immune its own dang suppression to function; making it permanent is a small buff, but also feels closer to a good reason this doesn’t thwart itself.

Master of Shadows

• 4[P]P → 5[P]P

 

• Stealth → Removed

 

Bringing the Master out into the light of day here; needing a slightly higher cost is a bit of a giveaway, but it’s always been possible to figure out when he was around based on his effect on other incoming minions anyway.

[ed. - if you’ve been to our Discord recently you know that Purple has a less than stellar win rate. We’ll look to buff other cards in the faction sometime soon]

Scourge of Serpents

• 4[Y]Y → 5[Y]Y

Shadhavar Beast

• 3/3 → 2/3

Storied Martyr

• 1/1 → 2/2
• Demise: Give all your other minions +1/+1 and Overrun until the end of the next turn → Give all your other Rebel minions +1/+1

Volition™

• 3[Y] → 2[Y]
• Give a friendly minion a standard action → and 'is Stunned until end of turn after attacking' until end of turn

Art

• Card art updated for Salt the Fields, Scourge of Serpents, Fossegrim, and Muttonmorphosis.

Ok, to preface, I haven't been playing Hearthstone more than about a year. I started shortly after Boomsday released so I'm not familiar with a lot of the older broken and ridiculous decks that have come and gone. That being said, I really feel like the meta over the last several sets has increasingly given Aggro more and more tools whiles starving Control decks for answers to those tools. When I first started, I stuck with the Mage deck after the tutorial. I played other classes, but Mage became my favorite. And of course, Big Spell Mage was a powerful force at that time. It was a fun and interesting deck that I really enjoyed as it challenged me to find answers to my opponents' board state, but also contained enough tools to handle most anything. The two areas it faltered, was of course, OTK's and extremely aggressive decks when you had poor draw.

So I really, really like Control decks. I like to run more than half my deck and hell, I'm all for going to fatigue. I want to spend time playing a game. I want to feel like the moves I make, the timing in which I play my cards is critical to whether I win or lose. Forgetting Shaman for the moment, the last couple of expansions has seemed to give Aggro decks so many tools for summoning wide and/or tall boards that there are almost no control decks that can keep up any more. Hunter in particular has been one of those. The current iteration of Quest Hunter basically punishes any deck that either can't beat them down fast, or clear a board full of small minions ever single turn. Paladin has been that way too. They snowball so fast, that you really have little option in terms of counters if they have a decent draw. Rush Warrior has been crazy with all the  rush minions, and Pirate Warrior looks to be so much worse. Rogue has always excelled at keeping their hand filled, and going face again and again while controlling the board with spells and minion effects. Warlock is the traditional board flood/zoo class, and even they are having a hard time keeping up with all the minion generating and Mana cheating effects given to other classes of late. 

I'm just at the point I'm tired of so many of my games being decided by turn four or five. I'm tired of broken decks with little or no interaction. I want to feel like I actually have a chance when I queue up with a slower deck. Maybe I'm just not that good a player, but I'd like to think as much time and money as I've invested into Hearthstone that I'm at least halfway decent.

Anyway, end of rant. What are your thoughts? Does control have any real chance in the current state of the game? Or is Aggro the only real way to go any more? (Shaman not withstanding.)

We've got a couple of new reveals for today. The first comes from Scarlatch on Discord.

Next we've got one from Telemokos on Twitch.

Hey everyone, just want to share my favorite deck of the new expansion so far. Give it a spin! Let me know if you have ideas for improvement.

https://outof.cards/hearthstone/decks/10789-mc-kronx-feat-big-g

EDIT: Restarting fixed the problem

---------------------------------------------------

Hey, just checking if anyone else encountered this bug: I'm currently missing all basic cards except for Mark of the Wild. This results in me not being able to play any of my decks in standard... (It shows them missing and gives replacement options, I can't find them with the collection manager search or by reducing the set to basic cards)

Pretty sure this bug was introduced with the latest patch?

Is the new performance update out already? What are the changes?

ALL THINGS HOLY!

I'm a F2P and have been mostly playing Arena. Got a golden Legendary and thought I would have a see what I could swap it for, if there were any decks I could build. Turns out I have just enough dust to build Galakrond Shaman. I'm probably not playing it very well, but even so, it smashes all over other decks.

I can see why the more regular/invested players are calling this out. It'll be a couple of days of fun for me, but no doubt a real PITA for most people.

Wowzah. Glad that there is a balance patch coming.

Wouldn't it be better, to show just threads in the latest deck discussions and not single posts?

As it is now, every new post is displayed, which leads to the section being full with posts for one deck. 

I think, that it would be better and more diverse, if more decks could be shown there.

So just the threads/deck discussions with the latest posts, not the latest posts itself. 

BR, kramerofboandls 

Here are the results for the latest Gauntlet event in TESL (yes, there are still players showing up).

Congratulations to the top 100 players from this weekend's Allegiance Gauntlet!

1	EveKaufman	27	1
2	Macmilanov	27	2
3	milkSensha	27	3
4	MattOblivium	27	3
5	Wargamer_DE	27	3
6	DeuceCaboose	27	3
7	guyaverage	27	3
8	Risinhigh	27	3
9	Shinobuu	27	3
10	RegurKenaid	27	4
11	Risinhigher	27	4
12	xXTheBigOneXx	27	4
13	iDarkImmortal	27	4
14	SHADOWSandSILENCE	27	5
15	Laffigata	27	5
16	Brutuus	27	5
17	eyenie	27	6
18	Borshik	27	6
19	ElAlumbrao	27	6
20	New_Orlean	26	5
21	abybob	26	5
22	Nick_Shadow	26	5
23	citoplazma	26	7
24	Grefven	25	4
25	sergei2326	25	4
26	Brianr529	25	5
27	CalmSassarShow	25	5
28	Flash_86	25	5
29	vekstr	25	6
30	GusTheSafetyBus	25	6
31	Germanas	25	7
32	Panazee33	25	7
33	Renaldo876	25	7
34	Geldis_Sadri	25	7
35	Jimbo28	25	7
36	CasualSamurai	25	8
37	gumchoo	24	4
38	iCarnag3	24	5
39	Leshelm	24	6
40	elderscrollsandrei	24	6
41	MikeHuntJR	24	6
42	GeorgeBJJ	24	6
43	Elendar27	24	6
44	riman2012	24	7
45	qwimby	24	7
46	TOP7781	24	7
47	TheBobBilly	24	7
48	GoodJob	24	7
49	Emrysthemage	24	9
50	gyrocptn	23	3
51	Tradingwok	23	4
52	MysteriousMoss	23	4
53	Máni	23	5
54	Ikarus.	23	5
55	FireSoul1991	23	5
56	realdju	23	6
57	Keisha230	23	6
58	Charmeon	23	6
59	AinzOoalGawn	23	6
60	MaximusZH	23	6
61	Nitrochaos	23	7
62	inveson13	23	7
63	SergioLetsLive	23	7
64	earstring	23	7
65	MaxLees	23	7
66	restartedretard	23	7
67	ll_phoenix	23	7
68	Edvard18	23	8
69	IronPegasus_	22	3
70	simetra24	22	5
71	Sartrixa	22	5
72	tmo306	22	5
73	Avhust	22	5
74	Xer_20	22	5
75	noorcstoday	22	6
76	Grelor	22	6
77	Swictor	22	6
78	Akrot_NS	22	7
79	GrandTorpedowski	22	7
80	Ethosnet	22	7
81	tobeedog	22	7
82	KorbenDalas	22	7
83	BaronThane	22	7
84	Spurlos	22	7
85	Mandanga	22	7
86	ShortySA	22	7
87	Nijjaro-AZZ	22	8
88	daus_switch	22	8
89	Raccoonrider	22	8
90	eotinb	22	8
91	Yourockcancelthat	22	8
92	fenir	22	8
93	Zeyphyr	22	9
94	CygnusTerminal	21	4
95	Elboy	21	4
96	siralexsey32167	21	5
97	Propagandastyle87	21	5
98	ZAK77RU	21	5
99	G3RMANATOR	21	5
100	BamboGT	21	6

Wizards of the Coast just published a cool article that gives us some background on the characters we'll be seeing in Theros: Beyond Death.

The story of Theros is a tale for the ages, and one not to be missed. So, as we move through Theros Beyond Death previews, certain cards will come with a bit of flavor, worldbuilding, or important story moments. We'll collect those story moments right here. 

Note that for Theros Beyond Death, there are currently no plans for an ebook, so make sure to check out this page throughout preview season.

PREVIOUSLY, ON THEROS . . .

To fight the sun god Heliod, the forge god Purphoros created a sword capable of damaging the divine. The two gods battled, disrupting the celestial resting place of an ancient and powerful hydra: Polukranos, World Eater. Enraged, the hydra stormed through the mortal realm of Theros until it was sealed by Heliod and the hunt god Nylea.

The Planeswalker Elspeth arrived in Theros during the climax of Heliod and Purphoros's battle. She saw Purphoros' sword flung from his hands, and planeswalked away with it. She returned to Theros fifteen years later and faced an angry Heliod. But the god regained his bearings and realized Elspeth could help him, so he reforged the sword into the spear Godsend. Wielding this weapon, Elspeth was able to defeat the newly awakened Polukranos.

Meanwhlie, the satyr Planeswalker Xenagos had hatched a plan to ascend to godhood. By cultivating belief and devotion among his followers, he was able to transcend mortality and join the other gods in their home of Nyx. Xenagos planned to use his new status for ill, so Elspeth vowed to stop him. She journeyed to Nyx and stabbed Xenagos with Godsend, destroying him once and for all.

Fearful of her power and knowledge of the multiverse, Heliod stabbed Elspeth with her very own weapon, which shattered afterwards. Dying, Elspeth's soul became trapped in the Underworld of Erebos where it remains . . . for now.

NOW, WE RETURN TO THEROS . . .

New spoiler from Scarlatch on Discord!

New Eternal event starting Friday 12/20!

The giant Ixtol was the ancient Champion of Grodov, and built the arena that still stands in Xulta today. Prove your skill in single combat during this special event!

Bring a 75-card deck and prepare to battle with this special boss rule:

Your deck can only contain a single copy of all non-power cards! Each player starts with +3 Max Power.

Here’s what you need to know:

• This event uses the Throne format.
• You must select your deck when you join, and you cannot change decks between games in a run.
• The event costs 2,500 Gold or 200 Gems to enter.
• Each run is 7 games, win or lose.
• You may enter as many times as you like.
• There is no leaderboard.
• The Ixtol’s Challengers Event will run from Friday 12/20 at 10:00 AM MST (17:00 UTC) to Monday 12/23 at 4:00 PM MST (23:00 UTC)
• Note: This event does not grant QCP.

Run Rewards

Wins	Prizes
7	5 packs, 1 Silver Chest, 1 premium Rare
6	4 packs, 1 Silver Chest, 1 premium Rare
5	4 packs, 1 Bronze Chest, 1 premium Rare
4	4 packs, 1 Bronze Chest, 1 Rare
3	3 packs, 1 Bronze Chest, 1 Rare
2	3 packs, 1 Bronze Chest
1	2 packs, 1 Bronze Chest
0	2 packs of The Flame of Xulta

Take on the challenge starting this Friday!

I'm not gonna lie I've been very annoyed this expansion which is unusual for me and have actually thought about quitting for good. This is not one of "those" threads but I do feel that the tempo of this game is causing problems and whatever nerfs are made will just push something with better tempo to the top. 

Now tempo is a key part of this game, I remember 1 mana Mana Wyrm and I'm not trying to push out aggro at all but I mean even some control  and midrange have a strong aggro presence these days. The only thing I think that would slow down general tempo is to increase the deck size.  Then maybe we might see some more interesting decks, Aggro may have to include more draw to keep their tempo but I really feel something has to be addressed. What are your thoughts?