The problem was not connected to the effect by itself (I don't understand what you're trying to say: if a single minion has more than one keyword, Countess Ashmore will always draw it because of the one no other unit in your deck has), but rather to the cost of the card: with 7 mana there are a quite a lot of better thing you can do. In other words: the card is (was and will always be) slow.
I understand your sadness since I own a copy myself and I've experienced the same deck building frustration, but in a meta where a 7 drop gives you an Arcanite Reaper and draws you 4 0-costed cards there isn't much place you our beloved Countess...
Let's take a moment and remember that this set originally included Baku the Mooneater and Genn Greymane, two of the most degenerate cards ever printed that warped last year's meta in a terrible way.
While those cards are slowly fading in popularity in Wild (only a couple decks are strong now, whereas one year ago most of the high tier lists were odd or even), it's still incredible that they were the first cards to ever be rotated before the usual lifespan.
I stopped getting hyped for no reason a very long ago, since it usually leaves a bad taste in your mouth when you don't get what you're waiting for.
Do the upcoming changes encourage the content creators? Cool, but as long as I don't know what's coming I'll keep my opinion on the game as it is now (which is not negative, but not as enthusiastic as Frodan).
I'm not saying the Devs won't do anything (God I hope they'll improve some aspects the community has been asking for a while), but rather that we should wait until an actual announcement comes out and see what's new before popping our bottles.
Losing ~400 card to the wild (minus 135 new cards) is going to shake meta nonetheless. Even if the first expansion doesn't balance it out, Maybe the 2nd will, or maybe the last one will.
This is my point: most list will lose only a card or two (one of them being Zilliax as you also mentioned), so there's no reason to say that the meta will shift massively. I hope to be wrong though.
Would you also have complained if there wasn't a Midrange deck on the list? A Combo deck? Aggro?
That is more of a personal preference.
My point was not "this deck-type isn't really competitive in this meta", but rather "Control decks, my favorite, aren't really viable because straight aggro is so consistent and Zephrys/Alex don't encourage you to go down that path".
It's quite sad that there isn't even one proper Control deck among the 5 best performing lists (and even more sad that on of the best, if not the best, Control deck is Highlander Mage, which costs over 20k dust).
I guess we can define Quest Druid like that, but... ehh... I don't know how to describe exactly how I feel about it. But it is indeed the one I appreciate the most among the 5.
To be honest I don't see the rotation changing this trend at all, since (based on what we know now), these 5 lists will only lose:
game-ending only for one archetype. What I'm trying say is that (again, given the information that we currently have: if by chance this year's rotation will bring chances to the evergreen set then all my comment may become extremely out of place) I'm afraid we're going to face another Year of the Raven (undewhelming sets which will be mostly overshadowed by the Year of the Dragon's ones) or we're gonna need a really impressive set in April in order to make the games last longer and punish aggressive lists (and then we're be all over again).
It's not that I hate the meta we're in (haven't played much Standard in the last week or so, but mainly due to personal duties), but I'd like to see some archetypes that haven't been on the radar for a long time (e.g.: an actual Control Priest that doesn't want neither of the two players to shoot themselves in the balls, a Control Warrior whose mirror isn't a pointless value shitshow that hits the turn limit, a DECENT Paladin deck that doesn't involve shooting your opponent from 25 to 0 or having nightmares about Hex and Polymorph,... I could go on, but I think I made my point).
I don't want to be a Doomsayer, but I'd rather like to read other users' opinion on the matter.
I'd also like to see more buffs. Despite some tragic results (Luna's Pocket Galaxy broke the game, Extra Arms reverted just before wreaking havoc and Crystology still making no sense till this day), I think it is a good idea to provide a slightly different meta and at the same time improve your own collection without the need of spending anything. That's a good feeling.
Do you have any idea about which cards/archetypes you'd like to see buffed?
I remember dusting all my copies of it back when they decided to nuke the card. However, despite not having bought any Boomsday packs since then, I happen to own 3 regular copies and a golden one lol
If this card will be able to make it to Wild, even in one deck, I'll be glad (or maybe not? Man the PTSD is quite strong here) to hear that entrance again
This hasn't aged very well not gonna lie
More than you think my friend.
That 2 health reduction was really necessary to tone down this powerhouse of a card.
The problem was not connected to the effect by itself (I don't understand what you're trying to say: if a single minion has more than one keyword, Countess Ashmore will always draw it because of the one no other unit in your deck has), but rather to the cost of the card: with 7 mana there are a quite a lot of better thing you can do. In other words: the card is (was and will always be) slow.
I understand your sadness since I own a copy myself and I've experienced the same deck building frustration, but in a meta where a 7 drop gives you an Arcanite Reaper and draws you 4 0-costed cards there isn't much place you our beloved Countess...
Let's take a moment and remember that this set originally included Baku the Mooneater and Genn Greymane, two of the most degenerate cards ever printed that warped last year's meta in a terrible way.
While those cards are slowly fading in popularity in Wild (only a couple decks are strong now, whereas one year ago most of the high tier lists were odd or even), it's still incredible that they were the first cards to ever be rotated before the usual lifespan.
For what concerns current Witchwood, I think I'll miss Dire Frenzy, Houndmaster Shaw and Earthen Might, all cards I really enjoyed toying with.
To be honest I thought you were play Highlander Discolock, which sounds incredibly cool but incredibly inconsistent at the same time.
Too bad for the loss, hope you'll find more luck skill in the future!
Battletag: beppe946#2807
Region: EU
Trade Only?: Yes
Done
I stopped getting hyped for no reason a very long ago, since it usually leaves a bad taste in your mouth when you don't get what you're waiting for.
Do the upcoming changes encourage the content creators? Cool, but as long as I don't know what's coming I'll keep my opinion on the game as it is now (which is not negative, but not as enthusiastic as Frodan).
I'm not saying the Devs won't do anything (God I hope they'll improve some aspects the community has been asking for a while), but rather that we should wait until an actual announcement comes out and see what's new before popping our bottles.
This is my point: most list will lose only a card or two (one of them being Zilliax as you also mentioned), so there's no reason to say that the meta will shift massively. I hope to be wrong though.
He's never played Combo: like most of those who play the class, he only want(ed)s board control and value games.
Edit: replied to the wrong comment
That is more of a personal preference.
My point was not "this deck-type isn't really competitive in this meta", but rather "Control decks, my favorite, aren't really viable because straight aggro is so consistent and Zephrys/Alex don't encourage you to go down that path".
This comment aged well
It's quite sad that there isn't even one proper Control deck among the 5 best performing lists (and even more sad that on of the best, if not the best, Control deck is Highlander Mage, which costs over 20k dust).
I guess we can define Quest Druid like that, but... ehh... I don't know how to describe exactly how I feel about it. But it is indeed the one I appreciate the most among the 5.
To be honest I don't see the rotation changing this trend at all, since (based on what we know now), these 5 lists will only lose:
game-ending only for one archetype.
What I'm trying say is that (again, given the information that we currently have: if by chance this year's rotation will bring chances to the evergreen set then all my comment may become extremely out of place) I'm afraid we're going to face another Year of the Raven (undewhelming sets which will be mostly overshadowed by the Year of the Dragon's ones) or we're gonna need a really impressive set in April in order to make the games last longer and punish aggressive lists (and then we're be all over again).
It's not that I hate the meta we're in (haven't played much Standard in the last week or so, but mainly due to personal duties), but I'd like to see some archetypes that haven't been on the radar for a long time (e.g.: an actual Control Priest that doesn't want neither of the two players to shoot themselves in the balls, a Control Warrior whose mirror isn't a pointless value shitshow that hits the turn limit, a DECENT Paladin deck that doesn't involve shooting your opponent from 25 to 0 or having nightmares about Hex and Polymorph,... I could go on, but I think I made my point).
I don't want to be a Doomsayer, but I'd rather like to read other users' opinion on the matter.
That would happen only together with a general overhaul of the evergreen set
I'd also like to see more buffs. Despite some tragic results (Luna's Pocket Galaxy broke the game, Extra Arms reverted just before wreaking havoc and Crystology still making no sense till this day), I think it is a good idea to provide a slightly different meta and at the same time improve your own collection without the need of spending anything. That's a good feeling.
Do you have any idea about which cards/archetypes you'd like to see buffed?
I'm curious to see if 3 mana Raiding Party will be enough to allow a resurgence of Kingsbane Rogue.
In a meta full of Combo decks (Quest Mage, Mecha'thun Warlock above all) I think it could fit nicely.
I remember dusting all my copies of it back when they decided to nuke the card.
However, despite not having bought any Boomsday packs since then, I happen to own 3 regular copies and a golden one lol
If this card will be able to make it to Wild, even in one deck, I'll be glad (or maybe not? Man the PTSD is quite strong here) to hear that entrance again
Time has passed since those times, but winning because of a Deathwing board-wipe still feels incredibly satisfying.
I guess Serpent Egg will be the next in line, but who knows.
I definitely doubt they'll give us a free golden Chromatic Egg but hey, one can dream.