Its just missing that one all encompassing board swipe like Volcano to make control shaman a thing, and Im convinced that there has to be a card like this in Barrens.
But even without it, Dunk Tank and Landslide are in my mind good enough to move on with a control archetype, especially since shaman is now going that spell damage route. As for healing, well, with so many classic cards leaving healing may not be all that important. It really depends heavily on what the meta will shape like.
Im not necessarily a fan of their core card choices, but its easy enough to see where they're going with this. Removing those classic cards have substantially reduced the power level and options available, which makes it easier to design expansion cards. How many more times must we see face hunter, or token druid? and in nearly every zoolock there's always that familiar 1/3 taunt that existed since forever. Its hard to avoid designing around something that's just good for way too long, like Kill Command and Savage Roar.
There are of course cards which I think its a mistake to remove from standard, like Arcane Missiles, Swipe and Shield Block, there being no obvious replacements. But until I've seen the cards from Barrens, Im willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Its fairly obvious why Lava Burst been axed, its because Bru'kan is simply too good a finisher, and with the much smaller spell pool its not entirely impossible to consistently amass a good deal of Lightning Bolts and lava burst for a burn finish.
Alternatively, we can always indulge a small conspiracy theory that nearly all viable cards and finishers from the classic/basic set has been conveniently removed so expansion cards becomes extremely important. So your average legendary/epic in an expansion is now twice as important because nearly every other good card from classic (which you're likely to already have) is no longer available. I myself wouldn't go this far, but its a thought.
But back to shaman. What's the best type of shaman without looking into Barrens? In my opinion, its midrange or control. Control in particular looks really good with either a Ysharaaj or Doomhammer finisher (now that stickyfingers will be gone, I can go back to this line without tearing my hair off) while midrange gets the better Feral Spirit, Menacing Nimbus, Fire Elemental and the now substantial Al'Akir the Windlord, which is honestly now a real deal; everything else having been axed, its finally now the windlord's turn to shine.
Its a small buff. But its still will not see any play. Part of the reason why BGH was a staple back then wasn't simply because it only costs 3, but also because Mountain Giants on 4 used to just end games. Now that that's no longer the case, BGH even at 4 is just not having any real targets to take down.
you underestimate how important removal will become now that the core set has eliminated a lot of flex cards. Druids can't really deal with big threats efficiently (even less than before) so this might just be necessary if there's a deck that runs big minions like that.
7 attack is a huge ask to be honest. Druid's game plan is switching to token tempo or just plain big minions + ramp, so I don't think they'd have any problems with big minions that aren't cheated out. Maybe if pain warlock takes the meta by storm, it might be a mandatory requirement but until then I'm not convinced.
Unless we start seeing a staple 7-8 attack minion that is nearly always guaranteed to be included into decks (Ragnaros the Firelord used to be that minion), BGH would have to sit on the sidelines.
From what we got in the core set for hunter, only 3 archetypes comes immediately to mind. Secret, midrange, and deathrattle hunter. All three, however, suffers from the same problem; establishing proper tempo. Headhunter's Hatchet is literally required to carry all hunter variants, because there are currently no follow up from a turn 1 play like Crackling Razormaw, and removal options for hunter are sketchy at best. With no Kill Command, even a spider tank (which incidentally would be part of standard) on 3 would threaten to sweep hunter off the midrange rug.
Barrens need to give hunter better 2 drops, or at least a rushing 3 drop because ignoring board is no longer possible for Rexxar. More draw/generation would be very helpful, or otherwise we'd have to start relying on stuff like Saddlemaster, and wouldn't that be pretty sad.
I have to be honest, I don't like the removal of charge from everything. Team5 could've just left at least one in standard, this one for instance, so the dream of pulling out some combo will still be possible. I remember the dead days of boar hunter, in AoO, made possible precisely because it had charge, and gave hunter a semblance of a chance in that trying tempo dhunter period. Guess we won't ever be seeing any more of that.
On its own, its bad. Basically for a class that can't draw for shit, every card must count, and this one happily runs itself to its death the same turn you play him, with no obvious combo of either keeping him alive or doing some really powerful stuff. Is there any reason to not play say, Arcane Shot, or Backstab, or in fact any other card, instead of a 1 mana deal 2 to a minion? The only thing I can think of to justify a card slot would be Saddlemaster, an equally weak card in its own right.
Perhaps this signals that team5 is going to print something that will cheapen beasts in hand, in which case there's a sliver of an opportunity for new boar to actually see play. But until then, this is trash, topped only by new Bluegill Warrior.
There are other game modes other than Constructed, you know. It will be pretty good Arena card, probably Duels too, and can appear in Brawls. Definitely not a useless card by any means in the set.
By that reasoning, there are no 'bad' cards. The context of my review/rant is obviously standard constructed because that's where the decision to include into a deck is pertinent and I simply cannot see why anyone would want it. Paladin is the only class that comes closes because there's no 1 mana removal in that class currently, and even then I cannot see why boar would be taken over the deluge of other 1 drops.
Lakkari Felhound wasn't a buff, its likely a change to make it harder to get Hand of Gul'dan out since Expired Merchant would be rotating away. Discarding two cards is still significant so I don't expect this to ever be played in standard unless we start seeing something like Clutchmother Zavas. I'm more impressed with tiny knight. Its simply impossible to ignore and Wicked Whispers with this on 3 creates a 5/4, which is plenty of tempo.
My prediction is that zoo will still make it via pain warlock. Most of their core is still here, but losing Voidwalker might be just a tad too much for comfort. It'll likely be the best variation of warlock unless Barrens introduce yet more control cards.
I guess Anyfin Can Happen, and you'd think that removing Murloc Warleader from standard would at least mean that ol' bluegill here would be spared. Apparently not. I mean, is there any reason to not just spare the poor fish the embarrassment and remove this along with warleader away from standard so wild players can keep on dreaming?
As it stands, this card is 2 mana deal 3 to a minion. Not entirely bad given that 3 is that magic number most minion needs to even remotely be plausible. But outside of a dedicated murloc deck, which is made infinitely harder to build without warleader, it's simply not going to happen.
I have to be honest, I don't like the removal of charge from everything. Team5 could've just left at least one in standard, this one for instance, so the dream of pulling out some combo will still be possible. I remember the dead days of boar hunter, in AoO, made possible precisely because it had charge, and gave hunter a semblance of a chance in that trying tempo dhunter period. Guess we won't ever be seeing any more of that.
On its own, its bad. Basically for a class that can't draw for shit, every card must count, and this one happily runs itself to its death the same turn you play him, with no obvious combo of either keeping him alive or doing some really powerful stuff. Is there any reason to not play say, Arcane Shot, or Backstab, or in fact any other card, instead of a 1 mana deal 2 to a minion? The only thing I can think of to justify a card slot would be Saddlemaster, an equally weak card in its own right.
Perhaps this signals that team5 is going to print something that will cheapen beasts in hand, in which case there's a sliver of an opportunity for new boar to actually see play. But until then, this is trash, topped only by new Bluegill Warrior.
Its a small buff. But its still will not see any play. Part of the reason why BGH was a staple back then wasn't simply because it only costs 3, but also because Mountain Giants on 4 used to just end games. Now that that's no longer the case, BGH even at 4 is just not having any real targets to take down.
On the bright side, I think I've finally worked out why I just don't care about DH: the class doesn't encourage shenanigans in any form. Everything is very practical because everything revolves around drawing cards, surviving, building a board, and damaging the opponent. Even when individual cards are interesting, there's nothing creative to do with them.
Isn't that basically the idea for most if not all decks in the meta?
There's one meme dream you can pull with dhunters, of which Ive only managed a few times, Keymaster Alabaster + Glide, now made easier to pull off with voljin. I might be interested to go back to that at some point before barrens release.
It'll be interesting to see where they'll be pushing dhunters towards, since they would be losing a good deal of their usual cards. Token dhunter, while being somewhat unamazing, has now lost some of its best cards (Nethrandamus, Wrathscale Naga, and Command the Illidari) and it remains to be seen how they intend to work better without it.
Going big might be good enough now, mostly because the other classes have had most of their best removal options taken away from them. I look forward to this taking the meta by storm and then the inevitable nerf.
But ultimately, given that dhunters is likely to be pushed as the new aggro class along with rogue, ever since hunters lost some of their best cards like Eaglehorn Bow and Kill Command, I wouldn't be surprised if we'll be seeing the usual tempo dhunter from AoO again, subject to the reveals in Barrens. Getting warglaives back at 5 is the right choice even without the slight nerf to its durability, but only time will tell if this card will still be good enough without the usual staples like Glaivebound Adept.
To be honest, I do think that the artwork left alot to be desired. Its not bad, but it's not epic. Compare both versions of Alexstrasza, old Alex looked like the real stuff (the golden animation is to die for) and this one just looks like she stubbed her tail mid flight.
Even old Deathwing looked real mean, staring down at us worthless mortals. New deathwing looks more like he's spewing lava after a particularly bad episode of chilli.
Its a small point to be sure, and I do not doubt the talent involved, but something looks suppressed here. Its as though that its entirely deliberate, a struggle to get an artform that's neither realistically epic and yet not downright cartoony.
With the exception of Fireball, none of those core spells have or will see inclusion into the current iteration of burn mage. And since I rate Imprisoned Phoenix higher than Aegwynn, that should more or less settle this debate.
Since these are core cards granted for free, I'd assume you can't craft/disenchant them. Does that mean we should disenchant all those copies and golden cards before this goes live?
Its not entirely clear what will happen and I'd much rather not lose out on dust.
Too slow. And since the original never saw play what makes anyone think this one will?
Yes, we can fantasize about this card generating 6 damage worth of whelps with charge. But if your opponent decides to leave this one alive, what makes you think you're not already going to win?
Its good, but since its not better than Ysera, its too little healing too late, and its too slow for aggro, its just going to be in midrange decks that for some reason have to play dragons.
Edit: I should perhaps add that rogue is the best class to make use of this version of Alex, priest being perhaps second best class to use her. Mostly because rogue can't heal and has shadowstep, and priest can cheapen dragons and usually in need for finishers more so than other classes. I still think Ysera is the better card, but it might be meta dependent.
Had this read "if this is only in one player's deck, turns are now only 15 seconds long" it would've have been the greatest card to ever be printed.
Unfortunately, its basically a card for a double screwing session down a seedy massage parlor, with both players playing 'Guess who's going to start laughing first'
Its condition is not good and the body is only passable. I can't see it. Basically if you have a weapon there's a good chance Toxicologist is the better card 90% of the time
Its just missing that one all encompassing board swipe like Volcano to make control shaman a thing, and Im convinced that there has to be a card like this in Barrens.
But even without it, Dunk Tank and Landslide are in my mind good enough to move on with a control archetype, especially since shaman is now going that spell damage route. As for healing, well, with so many classic cards leaving healing may not be all that important. It really depends heavily on what the meta will shape like.
Im not necessarily a fan of their core card choices, but its easy enough to see where they're going with this. Removing those classic cards have substantially reduced the power level and options available, which makes it easier to design expansion cards. How many more times must we see face hunter, or token druid? and in nearly every zoolock there's always that familiar 1/3 taunt that existed since forever. Its hard to avoid designing around something that's just good for way too long, like Kill Command and Savage Roar.
There are of course cards which I think its a mistake to remove from standard, like Arcane Missiles, Swipe and Shield Block, there being no obvious replacements. But until I've seen the cards from Barrens, Im willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
I think its just taking away something iconic like wrath of air totem might take some time to get used to
Its fairly obvious why Lava Burst been axed, its because Bru'kan is simply too good a finisher, and with the much smaller spell pool its not entirely impossible to consistently amass a good deal of Lightning Bolts and lava burst for a burn finish.
Alternatively, we can always indulge a small conspiracy theory that nearly all viable cards and finishers from the classic/basic set has been conveniently removed so expansion cards becomes extremely important. So your average legendary/epic in an expansion is now twice as important because nearly every other good card from classic (which you're likely to already have) is no longer available. I myself wouldn't go this far, but its a thought.
But back to shaman. What's the best type of shaman without looking into Barrens? In my opinion, its midrange or control. Control in particular looks really good with either a Ysharaaj or Doomhammer finisher (now that stickyfingers will be gone, I can go back to this line without tearing my hair off) while midrange gets the better Feral Spirit, Menacing Nimbus, Fire Elemental and the now substantial Al'Akir the Windlord, which is honestly now a real deal; everything else having been axed, its finally now the windlord's turn to shine.
7 attack is a huge ask to be honest. Druid's game plan is switching to token tempo or just plain big minions + ramp, so I don't think they'd have any problems with big minions that aren't cheated out. Maybe if pain warlock takes the meta by storm, it might be a mandatory requirement but until then I'm not convinced.
Unless we start seeing a staple 7-8 attack minion that is nearly always guaranteed to be included into decks (Ragnaros the Firelord used to be that minion), BGH would have to sit on the sidelines.
From what we got in the core set for hunter, only 3 archetypes comes immediately to mind. Secret, midrange, and deathrattle hunter. All three, however, suffers from the same problem; establishing proper tempo. Headhunter's Hatchet is literally required to carry all hunter variants, because there are currently no follow up from a turn 1 play like Crackling Razormaw, and removal options for hunter are sketchy at best. With no Kill Command, even a spider tank (which incidentally would be part of standard) on 3 would threaten to sweep hunter off the midrange rug.
Barrens need to give hunter better 2 drops, or at least a rushing 3 drop because ignoring board is no longer possible for Rexxar. More draw/generation would be very helpful, or otherwise we'd have to start relying on stuff like Saddlemaster, and wouldn't that be pretty sad.
By that reasoning, there are no 'bad' cards. The context of my review/rant is obviously standard constructed because that's where the decision to include into a deck is pertinent and I simply cannot see why anyone would want it. Paladin is the only class that comes closes because there's no 1 mana removal in that class currently, and even then I cannot see why boar would be taken over the deluge of other 1 drops.
Lakkari Felhound wasn't a buff, its likely a change to make it harder to get Hand of Gul'dan out since Expired Merchant would be rotating away. Discarding two cards is still significant so I don't expect this to ever be played in standard unless we start seeing something like Clutchmother Zavas. I'm more impressed with tiny knight. Its simply impossible to ignore and Wicked Whispers with this on 3 creates a 5/4, which is plenty of tempo.
My prediction is that zoo will still make it via pain warlock. Most of their core is still here, but losing Voidwalker might be just a tad too much for comfort. It'll likely be the best variation of warlock unless Barrens introduce yet more control cards.
I guess Anyfin Can Happen, and you'd think that removing Murloc Warleader from standard would at least mean that ol' bluegill here would be spared. Apparently not. I mean, is there any reason to not just spare the poor fish the embarrassment and remove this along with warleader away from standard so wild players can keep on dreaming?
As it stands, this card is 2 mana deal 3 to a minion. Not entirely bad given that 3 is that magic number most minion needs to even remotely be plausible. But outside of a dedicated murloc deck, which is made infinitely harder to build without warleader, it's simply not going to happen.
I have to be honest, I don't like the removal of charge from everything. Team5 could've just left at least one in standard, this one for instance, so the dream of pulling out some combo will still be possible. I remember the dead days of boar hunter, in AoO, made possible precisely because it had charge, and gave hunter a semblance of a chance in that trying tempo dhunter period. Guess we won't ever be seeing any more of that.
On its own, its bad. Basically for a class that can't draw for shit, every card must count, and this one happily runs itself to its death the same turn you play him, with no obvious combo of either keeping him alive or doing some really powerful stuff. Is there any reason to not play say, Arcane Shot, or Backstab, or in fact any other card, instead of a 1 mana deal 2 to a minion? The only thing I can think of to justify a card slot would be Saddlemaster, an equally weak card in its own right.
Perhaps this signals that team5 is going to print something that will cheapen beasts in hand, in which case there's a sliver of an opportunity for new boar to actually see play. But until then, this is trash, topped only by new Bluegill Warrior.
Its a small buff. But its still will not see any play. Part of the reason why BGH was a staple back then wasn't simply because it only costs 3, but also because Mountain Giants on 4 used to just end games. Now that that's no longer the case, BGH even at 4 is just not having any real targets to take down.
Isn't that basically the idea for most if not all decks in the meta?
There's one meme dream you can pull with dhunters, of which Ive only managed a few times, Keymaster Alabaster + Glide, now made easier to pull off with voljin. I might be interested to go back to that at some point before barrens release.
It'll be interesting to see where they'll be pushing dhunters towards, since they would be losing a good deal of their usual cards. Token dhunter, while being somewhat unamazing, has now lost some of its best cards (Nethrandamus, Wrathscale Naga, and Command the Illidari) and it remains to be seen how they intend to work better without it.
Going big might be good enough now, mostly because the other classes have had most of their best removal options taken away from them. I look forward to this taking the meta by storm and then the inevitable nerf.
But ultimately, given that dhunters is likely to be pushed as the new aggro class along with rogue, ever since hunters lost some of their best cards like Eaglehorn Bow and Kill Command, I wouldn't be surprised if we'll be seeing the usual tempo dhunter from AoO again, subject to the reveals in Barrens. Getting warglaives back at 5 is the right choice even without the slight nerf to its durability, but only time will tell if this card will still be good enough without the usual staples like Glaivebound Adept.
To be honest, I do think that the artwork left alot to be desired. Its not bad, but it's not epic. Compare both versions of Alexstrasza, old Alex looked like the real stuff (the golden animation is to die for) and this one just looks like she stubbed her tail mid flight.
Even old Deathwing looked real mean, staring down at us worthless mortals. New deathwing looks more like he's spewing lava after a particularly bad episode of chilli.
Its a small point to be sure, and I do not doubt the talent involved, but something looks suppressed here. Its as though that its entirely deliberate, a struggle to get an artform that's neither realistically epic and yet not downright cartoony.
With the exception of Fireball, none of those core spells have or will see inclusion into the current iteration of burn mage. And since I rate Imprisoned Phoenix higher than Aegwynn, that should more or less settle this debate.
Since these are core cards granted for free, I'd assume you can't craft/disenchant them. Does that mean we should disenchant all those copies and golden cards before this goes live?
Its not entirely clear what will happen and I'd much rather not lose out on dust.
Too slow. And since the original never saw play what makes anyone think this one will?
Yes, we can fantasize about this card generating 6 damage worth of whelps with charge. But if your opponent decides to leave this one alive, what makes you think you're not already going to win?
Its good, but since its not better than Ysera, its too little healing too late, and its too slow for aggro, its just going to be in midrange decks that for some reason have to play dragons.
Edit: I should perhaps add that rogue is the best class to make use of this version of Alex, priest being perhaps second best class to use her. Mostly because rogue can't heal and has shadowstep, and priest can cheapen dragons and usually in need for finishers more so than other classes. I still think Ysera is the better card, but it might be meta dependent.
Had this read "if this is only in one player's deck, turns are now only 15 seconds long" it would've have been the greatest card to ever be printed.
Unfortunately, its basically a card for a double screwing session down a seedy massage parlor, with both players playing 'Guess who's going to start laughing first'
Basically Southsea Deckhand died so this one can live.
Its condition is not good and the body is only passable. I can't see it. Basically if you have a weapon there's a good chance Toxicologist is the better card 90% of the time