Cards I'll be missing come rotation, not because they were great (many of them aren't) but the amount of smiles I get just from playing them;
Dollmaster Dorian - So many memories of me trying desperately to make this card work. Eventually plot twist warlock came along and for those brief happy moments I will be missing this card the most.
Tess Greymane - Never really saw the light of day. Such a shame.
Necrium Blade & Necrium Vial - For giving me endless hope that deathrattle rogue will be somewhere up the top. In a way, it did, but not the way I hoped it would be.
Zilliax - Perhaps the best and fairest legendary that will ever exist in hearthstone history. Top decking this card against a smug, bm-happy face hunter has and will always be the top 10 moments of my entire life.
Gonk, the Raptor - Had one of the best entrance lines in my opinion, and one of the most satisfying combos to pull off. Sadly, 90% of the time its just not happening.
Farraki Battleaxe - Spent hours trying to make this work. If only it was 4 mana instead of 5. When it does work, and assuming you're not dead, this I assure you is absolutely nuts
Captain Hooktusk - Its a real shame how this card didn't actually get much attention. Team5 should have printed at least one big pirate in DoD, but I can understand why they didn't.
I like your assessment of shaman. I would agree with the rest of the analysis, including that deft one about falling embiggen druid players. It is boring to play, especially if you don't get your wombo combo early.
Whip warrior is actually in good position, and potentially a sleeper in the meta. I think there's enough spot for bomb warrior to make a comeback too. If hunters do make a sharp rise, I can see warrior making a comeback. I've already been seeing a lot of galakrond warrior around the meta the last 2 days. I have to say, my first impression of Risky Skipper was bad, but after playing with it a while, I think there's something inherently wonderful about a cheaper Wild Pyromancer for warrior that's easier to trigger.
I am all for sending Malygos to the Hall of Fame. All of the direct damage spells that have been printed in the last two years or so have all been restricted to minions only because of malygos. We cannot have cheap face damage spells because malygos would turn them into an OTK. So, if we are going to stop printing cards that can be used with malygos, why is he even around?
Just about the only two classes that ever uses Malygos consistently is rogue and druid, mostly because they are the only two classes that cheats mana consistently.
Most spells dont allow face to be targeted not because of Malygos but because face targeting spells are innately good given that you can have two copies of the spell and there's only 30 health to chip off to victory. Nether Breath is a good example. Malygos is hardly the reason why this card sees consistent play.
He does cost 9 mana, so its not easy to use Malygos to begin with. One of the classes that can very well use him is hunter, and malyhunter is still a long way away from being tier 1-2.
Finally, I think team5 already addressed this earlier where they say Malygos tends to encourage creative deckbuilding. I don't think its going anywhere.
Amalgam will only be fair if you can't give it divine shield or poisonous. Hence, until that time, he should be kept far far away, never to be mentioned again.
Nerfing soul juggler might be a way to nerf demons, or increasing the tier for watcher.
I'm actually kinda in favour of HoFing Leeroy at this point. Don't get me wrong, I disagree with the OP - Leeroy really isn't as prevalent as is implied, at least at higher ranks.
But, as has been stated in the past, certain cards restrict the design space because potential new cards would be blatantly abusable. Leeroy, given his stats and charge, certainly fits that description. And removing him would, I feel, allow for more interesting aggro cards to be released (maybe even burn cards, since the automatic pseudo-fireball inclusion is gone).
That said, I'm not particularly fussed either way. Not an aggro player, and never really had an issue with Leeroy except when he's topdecked on an empty hand :P
I think any card that abuses Leeroy Jenkins at this point have already been printed in my opinion.
What other card can be created that abuses Leeroy, not create similar abuses on other cards, and does not already exists currently or in previous metas?
There were those days when handlock can unleash a 20 dmg Leeroy. I think if the plan was to get rid of him it would have already been done.
Leeroy Jenkins is probably impossible to remove at this point.
Removing it absolutely guts aggro and some combo decks. I would prefer if better taunt cards are designed to counter a prevalence of Leeroys. Besides which, the card itself presents a problem since it essentially does nothing if its not winning the game. No matter how powerful the finisher, if its stuck in your hand from turn 1, and you have to go off curve, that's a liability in of itself.
I don't really think its really that much of a problem in all honesty. Its been nerfed before, and generally it has to be tremendous problem like Crystal Core to warrant a second nerf, or game defining like Baku and Genn to get HoF. Leeroy is just good, but its not game defining.
It would be kind of nice to have like a "Practice" mode where you could at least play against the A.I. with all the cards unlocked. That would give people a chance to try new and different mechanics to at least get a feel for how they play and if it's even reasonable to try in the meta.
Silly player, then how would Blizzard get you to spend your dust unwisel and encourage you to buy more packs?
But it would be beneficial for the people out there so they can make an informed decision when they...oh its ACTIVISION-blizzard
- 2 x Juicy Psychmelon: For the Hadronox + Dollmaster Dorian combo in the previous meta. Won some matches with plenty of hearty laughs (against odd paladin was a blast to win). Loss many many matches because I couldn't draw my combo, or just plain dead to aggro.
- 2x Muckmorpher: For the big shaman games. Really fun, except its inconsistent, and you get destroyed by shaman's bad draws, which is alot of the time. Oh, and I ended up opening a 3rd Muckmorpher later on. This, blizzard, is why we don't like to craft epic cards.
- 2x Stampeding Roar: Was to try out beast/egg druid. Was fun, but you tend to lose. Alot.
- Khadgar: Is a very good card right? But I crafted it midway in SoU to play cyclone mage with less than 50% win rate. Yes, I really really love playing poor decks.
- 2x Mana Cyclone: Wanted it Didn't get it in a pack. Didn't want to risk the duplicates. Ended up crafting midway in SoU when it sucks.
- 2x Umbral Skulker: Because I love rogue as a class and really really wanted to play maly rogue. Needless to say, its not been a successful craft
Highlights how expensive it is to have fun in hearthstone.
Slyvannas is still the leader of the horde in hearthstone? I don't know the current canon in WoW but surely she's no longer part of the horde right?
its a spongebob reference. From that episode where they get "superpowers"
Cards I'll be missing come rotation, not because they were great (many of them aren't) but the amount of smiles I get just from playing them;
Dollmaster Dorian - So many memories of me trying desperately to make this card work. Eventually plot twist warlock came along and for those brief happy moments I will be missing this card the most.
Dire Frenzy - I like value that keeps on giving
Juicy Psychmelon - Hadronox combo. When it works, everything works.
Tess Greymane - Never really saw the light of day. Such a shame.
Necrium Blade & Necrium Vial - For giving me endless hope that deathrattle rogue will be somewhere up the top. In a way, it did, but not the way I hoped it would be.
Zilliax - Perhaps the best and fairest legendary that will ever exist in hearthstone history. Top decking this card against a smug, bm-happy face hunter has and will always be the top 10 moments of my entire life.
Gonk, the Raptor - Had one of the best entrance lines in my opinion, and one of the most satisfying combos to pull off. Sadly, 90% of the time its just not happening.
Master's Call - for making Dire Frenzy really really scary
Zul'jin - For making just about any hunter spell really really scary
Jan'alai, the Dragonhawk - All those happy memories of summoning ragnaros.
Farraki Battleaxe - Spent hours trying to make this work. If only it was 4 mana instead of 5. When it does work, and assuming you're not dead, this I assure you is absolutely nuts
Captain Hooktusk - Its a real shame how this card didn't actually get much attention. Team5 should have printed at least one big pirate in DoD, but I can understand why they didn't.
I like your idea of Killroy Watkins and fully support Leeroy Jenkins to be HoF if this card takes its place.
What does it do? Does 6 damage to face, with 2 health and spawns two 1/1 worthless imps for your opponent.
Flavor text: "For every player that's bored of losing to a Leeroy, here's something else for a change until the next 6 years"
Boommaster Flark is better in my opinion, but you can still replace it with Shu'ma as long as you still have unleash + Leeroy to finish the game.
Otherwise flark is just too important to replace.
Its very strong when it gets going.
But it usually gets beaten hard before it even starts its engines. Coupled with shaman's poor draws, its really just a coin toss most of the time.
How do YOU win though?
And before you can crash your frost nova on turn 2-3, you'd be at a health disadvantage.
Also, there's a good chance you can't beat the other decks as well.
I like your assessment of shaman. I would agree with the rest of the analysis, including that deft one about falling embiggen druid players. It is boring to play, especially if you don't get your wombo combo early.
Whip warrior is actually in good position, and potentially a sleeper in the meta. I think there's enough spot for bomb warrior to make a comeback too. If hunters do make a sharp rise, I can see warrior making a comeback. I've already been seeing a lot of galakrond warrior around the meta the last 2 days. I have to say, my first impression of Risky Skipper was bad, but after playing with it a while, I think there's something inherently wonderful about a cheaper Wild Pyromancer for warrior that's easier to trigger.
Just about the only two classes that ever uses Malygos consistently is rogue and druid, mostly because they are the only two classes that cheats mana consistently.
Most spells dont allow face to be targeted not because of Malygos but because face targeting spells are innately good given that you can have two copies of the spell and there's only 30 health to chip off to victory. Nether Breath is a good example. Malygos is hardly the reason why this card sees consistent play.
He does cost 9 mana, so its not easy to use Malygos to begin with. One of the classes that can very well use him is hunter, and malyhunter is still a long way away from being tier 1-2.
Finally, I think team5 already addressed this earlier where they say Malygos tends to encourage creative deckbuilding. I don't think its going anywhere.
Maybe Divine Spirit, although I really think a nerf will do instead of a HoF
Other than that, I think it might be one of those years where there isn't any to HoF.
Amalgam will only be fair if you can't give it divine shield or poisonous. Hence, until that time, he should be kept far far away, never to be mentioned again.
Nerfing soul juggler might be a way to nerf demons, or increasing the tier for watcher.
I think any card that abuses Leeroy Jenkins at this point have already been printed in my opinion.
Just some cards on top of my head: Faceless Manipulator, Seance, Grave Rune, Embalming Ritual, Vivid Nightmare, Carnivorous Cube, Shadowstep, Waggle Pick, any minion buff etc.
What other card can be created that abuses Leeroy, not create similar abuses on other cards, and does not already exists currently or in previous metas?
There were those days when handlock can unleash a 20 dmg Leeroy. I think if the plan was to get rid of him it would have already been done.
Leeroy Jenkins is probably impossible to remove at this point.
Removing it absolutely guts aggro and some combo decks. I would prefer if better taunt cards are designed to counter a prevalence of Leeroys. Besides which, the card itself presents a problem since it essentially does nothing if its not winning the game. No matter how powerful the finisher, if its stuck in your hand from turn 1, and you have to go off curve, that's a liability in of itself.
I don't really think its really that much of a problem in all honesty. Its been nerfed before, and generally it has to be tremendous problem like Crystal Core to warrant a second nerf, or game defining like Baku and Genn to get HoF. Leeroy is just good, but its not game defining.
Pogo-Hopper rogue, with double Sap and Vanish beats this most of the time. Just be prepared with Zilliax. In most cases Spirit of the Shark into Pogo-Hopper makes like a 1 mana 30 minion.
I noticed that he will trade into the pogos if he doesn't have lethal. Mostly as long as you have over 15 hp, you're well on your way to win.
But it would be beneficial for the people out there so they can make an informed decision when they...oh its ACTIVISION-blizzard
I'll see myself out.
Just on top of my head I crafted:
- 2 x Juicy Psychmelon: For the Hadronox + Dollmaster Dorian combo in the previous meta. Won some matches with plenty of hearty laughs (against odd paladin was a blast to win). Loss many many matches because I couldn't draw my combo, or just plain dead to aggro.
- 2x Muckmorpher: For the big shaman games. Really fun, except its inconsistent, and you get destroyed by shaman's bad draws, which is alot of the time. Oh, and I ended up opening a 3rd Muckmorpher later on. This, blizzard, is why we don't like to craft epic cards.
- 2x Stampeding Roar: Was to try out beast/egg druid. Was fun, but you tend to lose. Alot.
- Khadgar: Is a very good card right? But I crafted it midway in SoU to play cyclone mage with less than 50% win rate. Yes, I really really love playing poor decks.
- 2x Mana Cyclone: Wanted it Didn't get it in a pack. Didn't want to risk the duplicates. Ended up crafting midway in SoU when it sucks.
- 2x Umbral Skulker: Because I love rogue as a class and really really wanted to play maly rogue. Needless to say, its not been a successful craft
Highlights how expensive it is to have fun in hearthstone.
I won mine with pogos, against parachutes. Must admit though, for a split second on turn 2 I thought I had lost.
Then I won, with literally no effort from my side, turn 3.
They should honestly just ban Pogo-Hopper in this. There's no counter to this and not get countered by everything else at the same time.
I got my pack, with pogo of course, and left while I still had my dignity. See you guys next week.
lol. Great job. Unfortunately the whole tavern is taken over by pogos.
I've got my pack, dirty as it is, and left. Until next week then.
Blizzard is tanking hard these days. This oversight does not help things.
Still, at least it has been acknowledged early.