I'm surprised you didnt mention the stealth nerf to Jaina's hero art, which was made and done, if I remember correctly, without any mention or official statement. Maybe she felt it was a tad too drafty, those nasty hearthstone taverns can get really cold sometimes.
Tempo = good. And hunter cards dont do control very well, so its either start off good or not at all.
Face hunter is probably the only archetype that really hp on 2. But there's good reasons why dragon hunter destroys that deck, and hp on 2 is one of them.
Handlock, face hunter, egg warrior, spell druid, spell mage all have a good chance against tempo dhunters.
Just bear in mind that dhunters are in that unique position that if it draws really well, they can still pull a win from any position and against any deck. Also, decks that counter dhunters tend to suck against other archtypes, so there's that as well.
Its not a joke that the best deck to rank up right now is still just tempo dhunters. If you're making that final push, might as well succumb to the dark side just like the rest of us.
Have to say that the Imprison card is really neat and unique. But there's just so many ways to abuse this card especially with Archmage Vargoth. At some point you may have half your opponent's board filled with dormant minions giving you a massive advantage. I would adjust it so it has the same effect as Maiev Shadowsong, except it cost only 3 to play.
Other observations;
- Guardian of Kings buff is pretty nice. Its pretty much a weaker Libram of Hope, but as an evergreen card this is what I think paladin cards in expansions ought to measure up to.
- surprised that you didnt give Desperate Stand a second look considering that one of the key features listed is survivability. Personally I've always thought this card to be underappreciated, but that was a different meta.
- Why not include a card that generates a dude at the end of the turn. Silverhand Quartermaster, 2/2 that cost 2 and generates a 1/1 [Hearthstone Card (silverhand recruit) Not Found] at the end of the turn. It fits your description for flooding boards, and that's what I think paladin's core should be.
- I would perhaps buff Warhorse Trainer to cost 3 mana instead. At present, its just unplayable. Evergreen sets should be more than just basic stuff.
Egg warrior/nohandsgamer's warrior is probably the best choice for this, it has a good chance against the three decks listed, but be aware that this 'combo' deck is not easy to play. Its not a deck for the weak of heart.
You may have an easier time just playing dragon hunter, which can beat face hunter and rogues, but is about 49-51 with dhunters. Or if you're willing to just forget about face hunter entirely, spell druid destroys dhunters and rogues.
Res priest isn't good against galakrond rogues, and do not have a guarantee against face hunters and dhunters. Totem shaman gets wreaked hard by dhunters and rogue. Just cant keep up with tempo. Warglaives of Azzinoth just destroys totem shaman its not even funny.
But if you ask me, if you just want to rank up, just play dhunters. There's a good reason why they're dominating across all ranks. There's just no way to out-tempo dhunters without majorly teching against them, which will expose you to other matchups.
Overall, the tournament was pretty sad, a problem was the incentive money to the player with the highest winrate. At least this made clear that there is a problem with DH. Before this event I wasn't sure, but the amount of matches that were just the same or not fun at all were a lot.
I hope they take this event and the perception of DH matches as feedback for future changes.
The money incentive is only there to add to the stakes. Obviously the players are expected to bring along the best decks, or otherwise this entire innvitation would have been nothing more than memes.
I do agree in part with you, especially the part where both teams are forced into X vs Dhunters, since nearly everyone brought more or less the same tempo dhunter list. At least there wasn't a massacre, though dhunters still won 6 out of 10 at the last round, though all the opposing classes obviously knew and brought anti-dhunter lists.
Some players like grinding up ladder with one specific deck and play other decks in casual where there isnt any pressure to win. Doesnt have to matter if its tier 1 or not, if you're not comfortable with the deck and you dont want to lose stars, you play in casual.
I think most decks are and should be created with the meta in mind. If I'm building some meme deck, first thing to think about is if it even has a decent chance against what everybody else is playing at the moment.
Yet again its mystifying why they didnt at least include the current most relevant expansion into the deal.
Its a good number of packs for that price, but did any of us really waited till now, and haven't just crafted the cards we wanted? If there is at least 10 packs from AoO I might have been tempted, to be honest.
Since its done via MMR algorithm that is not revealed to us, we can never confirm this. Also meta fluctuates quite astonishingly fast. One day its face hunter, then later its dragon hunter. Its rarely ever stable as decks get refined, or gets countered hard as times go.
Its probably just coincidence. I myself like to believe that there's a higher percentage chance of meeting aggro decks around weekends since that's when most people would probably want to try ranking up, and the most efficient way of ranking up is to play the highest win rate aggro deck around.
I tend to find more diversity on afternoon weekdays. But again, its more likely to be a coincidence than anything else.
isnt the token variant essentially the same as spell druid? Token plays Force of Nature + The Forest's Aid instead of Moonfire but they both have the mountseller and kael'thas combo.
From looking at all the comments, it does seem like my idea would be far too powerful. Would 2 Mana “add 2 silver hand recruits to your hand” be better? It might make the Hero Power less flexible.
Hearthstone hero powers are specifically designed to be inefficient compared to playing cards. We've seen what happens when they are no longer that, and I think the Baku/Genn era is one of the most boring metas I've encountered in a while. Your suggestion is alright, but I think its too weak. 2 mana do nothing is hardly something anyone will be wanting to do.
Though I dont like the dhunter hero power design, I have to admit I'm at loss as to how to replace it so it doesnt suck or become overpowered. Goes to show how hard it is to design new classes and not make its hp nearly identical to the current classes available.
The paladin hp is well designed to be honest. So you're up for a difficult task trying to redesign it without making paladin completely op or unplayable.
Too random for my taste. Miss out on your ramp, and you're in for a bad day. Also, if Strength in Numbers dont get you your big taunts, you're also in for a bad day.
Its not surprising to see dhunters up there on the top, but the nerfs will serve only to slow down their game against control and do nothing to reduce its ability to outright tempo out nearly every other deck that requires a board to succeed, except perhaps egg warrior. Surprisingly the real culprit here is Warglaives of Azzinoth, which when paired with Twin Slice can single handedly destroys any aggro-midrange shaman, hunter, rogue, paladin, and other dhunters.
Also, the real reason for removing the Glaivebound Adept for Blazing Battlemage is so the outcast mech, specifically Skull of Gul'dan, dont get blocked out by an expensive card. So many games can be decided by whether you play skull on curve or not. I'd keep skull in my hand whenever possible, and when its at outer left side of my mulligan I didnt even need to think.
Maybe the hit to Altruis the Outcast will slow down its winrate, but I doubt it.
Res priest is good, very annoying to face, and with dhunters being so good at its job we're not likely to see anything that can take on a late game galakrond priest, whatever the version. Mostly its because it outvalues just about every deck listed, and when it doesnt that deck will face a poor matchup against dhunters. The nerf to sacrificial pact means warlock can play Lord Jaraxxus now, which can outvalue priest, so there's still hope somewhere for a pure handlock deck to be tier 1.
Paladin...well, the buff will do nothing. I've been losing all my ranks playing paladin this weekend, and man its weak. Like very weak. I've tried nearly everything short of removing the librams, but paladin's extremely poor early game and draw just can't be papered over with amazing healing and its late game is atrocious versus priest and druid. So no. Even with the buffs, I'm afraid its too late for poor Uther. I'd go so far as to say that quest paladin has a better chance, if only because its late game is less bad.
Galakrond evolve shaman may be a better choice. Totem shaman is a little 50-50 for me. Absolutely crushes druid, but loses badly to dhunters, warlock and rogue. Too bad the totems themselves have no attack until buffed, so your opponent will take endless value trades against you while you struggle to build up a decent threat.
I have to say, that though the meta game is hardly as polarizing as it was early on, this meta is surprisingly a bit stale for me. I'm off for some big dhunters, and perhaps even tank my ranks with paladin again like the masochist I am.
I'm surprised you didnt mention the stealth nerf to Jaina's hero art, which was made and done, if I remember correctly, without any mention or official statement. Maybe she felt it was a tad too drafty, those nasty hearthstone taverns can get really cold sometimes.
I think the only way into grandmasters right now is winning the masters tour, which only high legend players (top 10 or 15) are eligible to compete.
Tempo = good. And hunter cards dont do control very well, so its either start off good or not at all.
Face hunter is probably the only archetype that really hp on 2. But there's good reasons why dragon hunter destroys that deck, and hp on 2 is one of them.
Handlock, face hunter, egg warrior, spell druid, spell mage all have a good chance against tempo dhunters.
Just bear in mind that dhunters are in that unique position that if it draws really well, they can still pull a win from any position and against any deck. Also, decks that counter dhunters tend to suck against other archtypes, so there's that as well.
Its not a joke that the best deck to rank up right now is still just tempo dhunters. If you're making that final push, might as well succumb to the dark side just like the rest of us.
Have to say that the Imprison card is really neat and unique. But there's just so many ways to abuse this card especially with Archmage Vargoth. At some point you may have half your opponent's board filled with dormant minions giving you a massive advantage. I would adjust it so it has the same effect as Maiev Shadowsong, except it cost only 3 to play.
Other observations;
- Guardian of Kings buff is pretty nice. Its pretty much a weaker Libram of Hope, but as an evergreen card this is what I think paladin cards in expansions ought to measure up to.
- surprised that you didnt give Desperate Stand a second look considering that one of the key features listed is survivability. Personally I've always thought this card to be underappreciated, but that was a different meta.
- Why not include a card that generates a dude at the end of the turn. Silverhand Quartermaster, 2/2 that cost 2 and generates a 1/1 [Hearthstone Card (silverhand recruit) Not Found] at the end of the turn. It fits your description for flooding boards, and that's what I think paladin's core should be.
- I would perhaps buff Warhorse Trainer to cost 3 mana instead. At present, its just unplayable. Evergreen sets should be more than just basic stuff.
Egg warrior/nohandsgamer's warrior is probably the best choice for this, it has a good chance against the three decks listed, but be aware that this 'combo' deck is not easy to play. Its not a deck for the weak of heart.
You may have an easier time just playing dragon hunter, which can beat face hunter and rogues, but is about 49-51 with dhunters. Or if you're willing to just forget about face hunter entirely, spell druid destroys dhunters and rogues.
Res priest isn't good against galakrond rogues, and do not have a guarantee against face hunters and dhunters. Totem shaman gets wreaked hard by dhunters and rogue. Just cant keep up with tempo. Warglaives of Azzinoth just destroys totem shaman its not even funny.
But if you ask me, if you just want to rank up, just play dhunters. There's a good reason why they're dominating across all ranks. There's just no way to out-tempo dhunters without majorly teching against them, which will expose you to other matchups.
best part is the fact that we know its Bamboozle but its so awkward to play around it that it effectively has little to no counters.
Pretty sure the best dhunter list is the one with 2x Warglaives of Azzinoth, which will pretty much wreak all the other lists available here.
The money incentive is only there to add to the stakes. Obviously the players are expected to bring along the best decks, or otherwise this entire innvitation would have been nothing more than memes.
I do agree in part with you, especially the part where both teams are forced into X vs Dhunters, since nearly everyone brought more or less the same tempo dhunter list. At least there wasn't a massacre, though dhunters still won 6 out of 10 at the last round, though all the opposing classes obviously knew and brought anti-dhunter lists.
Played AoO zoo with a sprinkling of wild cards, won easily. 1 random spell per turn vs 5-6? well, that's just not really fair.
Some players like grinding up ladder with one specific deck and play other decks in casual where there isnt any pressure to win. Doesnt have to matter if its tier 1 or not, if you're not comfortable with the deck and you dont want to lose stars, you play in casual.
I think most decks are and should be created with the meta in mind. If I'm building some meme deck, first thing to think about is if it even has a decent chance against what everybody else is playing at the moment.
Its been offered up previously, though I cant remember when. I think it was in Jan 2020.
Year of the dragon packs are RoS, SoU, and DoD
Its a concept introduced last year. Kinda nice to be honest, since it should* also have the 10 cards to legendary pity timer.
Yet again its mystifying why they didnt at least include the current most relevant expansion into the deal.
Its a good number of packs for that price, but did any of us really waited till now, and haven't just crafted the cards we wanted? If there is at least 10 packs from AoO I might have been tempted, to be honest.
Since its done via MMR algorithm that is not revealed to us, we can never confirm this. Also meta fluctuates quite astonishingly fast. One day its face hunter, then later its dragon hunter. Its rarely ever stable as decks get refined, or gets countered hard as times go.
Its probably just coincidence. I myself like to believe that there's a higher percentage chance of meeting aggro decks around weekends since that's when most people would probably want to try ranking up, and the most efficient way of ranking up is to play the highest win rate aggro deck around.
I tend to find more diversity on afternoon weekdays. But again, its more likely to be a coincidence than anything else.
C'Thun
C'Thun's least favorite Hearthstone card: Eye for an Eye.
Lost in the Jungle
George and Karl were never heard from again.
Arch-Villain Rafaam
Minions must wash hands before being LIQUIDATED AND REPLACED BY SOMEONE BETTER.
Swampqueen Hagatha
Rafaam mainly enjoys working with Hagatha because she never laughs at Dr. Boom's jokes.
isnt the token variant essentially the same as spell druid? Token plays Force of Nature + The Forest's Aid instead of Moonfire but they both have the mountseller and kael'thas combo.
Hearthstone hero powers are specifically designed to be inefficient compared to playing cards. We've seen what happens when they are no longer that, and I think the Baku/Genn era is one of the most boring metas I've encountered in a while. Your suggestion is alright, but I think its too weak. 2 mana do nothing is hardly something anyone will be wanting to do.
Though I dont like the dhunter hero power design, I have to admit I'm at loss as to how to replace it so it doesnt suck or become overpowered. Goes to show how hard it is to design new classes and not make its hp nearly identical to the current classes available.
The paladin hp is well designed to be honest. So you're up for a difficult task trying to redesign it without making paladin completely op or unplayable.
Too random for my taste. Miss out on your ramp, and you're in for a bad day. Also, if Strength in Numbers dont get you your big taunts, you're also in for a bad day.
Its not surprising to see dhunters up there on the top, but the nerfs will serve only to slow down their game against control and do nothing to reduce its ability to outright tempo out nearly every other deck that requires a board to succeed, except perhaps egg warrior. Surprisingly the real culprit here is Warglaives of Azzinoth, which when paired with Twin Slice can single handedly destroys any aggro-midrange shaman, hunter, rogue, paladin, and other dhunters.
Also, the real reason for removing the Glaivebound Adept for Blazing Battlemage is so the outcast mech, specifically Skull of Gul'dan, dont get blocked out by an expensive card. So many games can be decided by whether you play skull on curve or not. I'd keep skull in my hand whenever possible, and when its at outer left side of my mulligan I didnt even need to think.
Maybe the hit to Altruis the Outcast will slow down its winrate, but I doubt it.
Res priest is good, very annoying to face, and with dhunters being so good at its job we're not likely to see anything that can take on a late game galakrond priest, whatever the version. Mostly its because it outvalues just about every deck listed, and when it doesnt that deck will face a poor matchup against dhunters. The nerf to sacrificial pact means warlock can play Lord Jaraxxus now, which can outvalue priest, so there's still hope somewhere for a pure handlock deck to be tier 1.
Paladin...well, the buff will do nothing. I've been losing all my ranks playing paladin this weekend, and man its weak. Like very weak. I've tried nearly everything short of removing the librams, but paladin's extremely poor early game and draw just can't be papered over with amazing healing and its late game is atrocious versus priest and druid. So no. Even with the buffs, I'm afraid its too late for poor Uther. I'd go so far as to say that quest paladin has a better chance, if only because its late game is less bad.
Galakrond evolve shaman may be a better choice. Totem shaman is a little 50-50 for me. Absolutely crushes druid, but loses badly to dhunters, warlock and rogue. Too bad the totems themselves have no attack until buffed, so your opponent will take endless value trades against you while you struggle to build up a decent threat.
I have to say, that though the meta game is hardly as polarizing as it was early on, this meta is surprisingly a bit stale for me. I'm off for some big dhunters, and perhaps even tank my ranks with paladin again like the masochist I am.