Since the location is usable immediately, my guess is that you can buff a minion up to 8 times assuming the card itself can keep attacking and somehow not die.
Edit: Now confirmed by team5. The location will close after you use it. So you cant actually keep attacking and buffing in the same turn.
Raylla, Sand Sculptor - Comparable to vex crow, probably playable, though we should perhaps ask what is such a card that requires plenty of cheap spells doing in a deck that allows paladin cards to be played. So perhaps its an indicator that pally's identity relates to cheap spells. It would be interesting to see how this card can work because its kinda broken if it ends up working well.
Tide pools - Perhaps the most broken location, maybe just even with puppet theatre and will very likely be nerfed. Aside from the fact that you can easily just put this into big spell mage, it can potentially allow you to cast three spells immediately after playing this, and on top of that cheapens seaside giant by a massive 6 mana in one turn. Yeah, Id be surprised if this card isnt nerfed, assuming that mage can hold up in the meta, which I suspect it can.
Seabreeze Chalice - The best drink card so far, but we've only really seen one. Does the job of clearing board really well, or just strike 6 to face for 3 mana.
Marooned Archmage - Yes its mana cheat, but its only for one card and theres an exactly zero chance it lives till the next turn. So for me, its just shit really. Unless your opponents an idiot, you'll never reap anywhere near the potential of this card.
Now, let's address the archetype for mage, which is big spells. I think there is a world where it can work, but Im also a bit skeptical whether it'll ever take the meta as far as it seem. For one thing, it forces you to cram alot of expensive cards into your deck, where only three cards allowing you to cheat them out. And secondly, the moment you start playing your power cards, handbuff pally can have easily dropped 20/20 worth of stats and youre already at the brink of death. Sometimes you play Surfalopod on 5, then Under the Sea on 6 and drew Tsunami, putting such an incredible amount of stats on board. And then there are times where all those cards are in your hand, and you whiff your first three turns hard and die.
We'll see how well it'll go for mage next expansion.
Incindius - The eruptions will hit all enemies for 1 (in effect 2) damage, but if this card stays beyond one turn then they upgrade in damage every turn. Only thing I like about this card is that it really doesnt matter if incindius is dead, the eruptions will still exist in your deck to provide swing turns whenever you draw them. The problem is that its still a 6 mana card with no taunt/rush and whether you draw those eruptions is really down to the almight rnjesus. Most turns in hearthstone standard dont tend to last longer than 9 turns so in reality if you dont draw those eruptions in 2 turns you basically just played a oasis snapjaw for 6 mana. Still, good enough card to see play.
King Tide - Okay, so you get to play one big spell for 5 mana the next turn, or alternatively, play them both at turn 9. Your druid opponent instantly concedes. I guess for that reason it can work, depending on the big spells to be revealed this expansion.
Adaptive Amalgam - Signature card art excellent. Card however, not so much. Its a card you either build around or just not bother because what it is most of the time is just a tunneling weasel that'll likely screw you at a later turn.
Beached Whale - Its a card everyone would actively look to cheat out because 20 health with taunt is about as nuts as it gets. The most convincing is perhaps with thunderbringer, but I still dont think it sees much play. Red Herring is a 4/12 at the same cost and sees little to no play, and more to the point even if you managed to cheat it out, then what? Still need to win the game. And its not like hearthstone 2024 doesnt have a plethora of options to destroy minions anyway.
Terrible Chef - Nice concept. Just play the egg instead which is one mana less, it'll make more sense.
Hozen Roughhouser - Its innocent looking but its actually just rokara printed exclusively for pirate decks. It'll likely do well assuming that pirate decks actually are playable
Cryopractor - Cryostasis never saw any play. What makes anyone think this would?
Griftah, Trusted Vendor - Unlike its ill fated predecessor this card might actually see play in competitive, and is likely an auto include into reno decks because nearly all the amulets he gives you is useful, and the phony versions are pretty much shit cards, though not all of them. Imagine that the phony amulet of mobility even goes so far as to discard cards from your opponent.
Dread Deserter - This card is weird, because its completely and utterly useless to own as a card because the effect requires you to generate it. Maybe slot it into ETC but seriously, if you need a charge minion just play leeroy.
Bayfin Bodybuilder - No matter how interesting this card is it'll never see competitive play outside of discovers because its so dependent on the meta, is a slow card at 5, and its cost makes it difficult to combo out with anything like dirty rat. The only good thing this card does is its practically a counter to deathrattle decks and specifically the reborn virus zilliax. Still dont think anyone would bother with it.
Sailboat Captain - The kind of card that will be nerfed. Why? Because windfury has repeatedly shown itself as a fairly toxic keyword, and yet team5 persist in printing it before inevitably nerfing it down.
Lamplighter - Made for elemental focused decks like mage and shaman. What instead would happen is it'll be played in rogue. Nuff said.
Tidepool Pupil - Cute card. Love the flavour. But likely not as good as it seems to be. Comparable to Commander sivara, but that card was only good in mage because it existed in a deck that has both burn and stall, plus it gives you back three cards. This card only gives one. Still likely playable though.
Patches the pilot - Its a decent enough card that it'll see play and likely most dhunters would play it because why not? The only real downside is that it massively affects skull of guldan which isnt in standard. Otherwise, I cant see why wouldnt any deck play this. Good one drop that have the potential to highroll and each token deals 1 damage at least to face. I personally am always afraid of cards like these because its win rates are usually middling and yet its always in every deck forcing you to craft it just to play that class.
Mixologist - There is effectively no reason to not play this card. Only real downside is that stat to cost, of which the potion somewhat covers for you. OP as hell, and luckily it has a signature card that will very likely be available in the track.
Package dealer - Garbage card whenever, wherever, and whatever. At least its good stats for cost
Octo-Masseuse - Just a lol card that has little to no applications outside of arena. Because realistically team5 couldve just granted this at least rush/taunt and it would still probably not see any play. The only real niche it has is its incredibly high health and so might sometimes be useful to priest if inner fire is in standard. Otherwise its the sort of neverplayed gimmick card that is usually reserved for epics.
Its probably too slow, and in my opinion isnt really a winning play unless its full on attrition control being top meta again, which it probably wouldnt. Im not discounting that the grub could see play in a reno deck but I doubt its win rate is gonna be anywhere near spectacular. Most classes nowadays have better draw options that are cheaper.
But we'll see if there is in fact more options to do with the suitcase. For now, to me its only real application is in arena. Wouldnt be the first epic card to see absolutely zero play in constructed.
Cruise Captain Lora - Its really hard to evaluate this one because I dont think its poorly costed but at the same time, playing a 7 mana card that dumps two underwhelming locations is about as suicidal as it gets, even for druid. On the other hand, you can easily get puppet theater and completely roll your opponents to hell, which means this card will at least be viable should the meta turn greedy. Personally I think this card can only truly succeed in a reno deck because theres usually way more broken things that can be done for 7 mana. New marin, for instance.
Carry-on Grub - Its a strong card...for arena. In constructive, if you need card draw this would not be in the forefront of your mind. Its too expensive if you need options in a pinch, and in hearthstone nowadays even classes like hunter can generate/draw cards for days so this card has little to no niche. Arena boss though. Id be surprised if this wasnt an instant pick there.
Bumbling Bellhop - Its just a poor filler card for reno decks. Theres simply no reason to play this card unless youre very specifically playing loads of expensive spells. Not to mention that putting two 3/3s on board nowadays in hearthstone is about as laughable as it gets.
Customs Enforcer - Razorscale found some niche so this card will too. But really, this is a 5 star card by sole virtue of being an attempted counter to a much hated hearthstone play style. A card that some would argue should just be an inclusion into core sets, with a diamond skin sold at 50 bucks.
Just one card until two days later. But at least this card is playable.
Basically you play this in zarimi priest and gotten out on curve it just wins you the game. Depending on how consistent the combo works, it might actually get zarimi nerfed again or alternatively this card because that's just so much stats on one card.
The drawback is obviously the card gets substantially worse the later you play it off curve but that has never stopped players from putting cards in their deck. Im expecting good tidings from this card's viability.
New Marin is busted. Being able to choose wand at all times means its never redundant. A case where the reward is so overpowered that all other considerations (lack of rush, taunt etc.) are just secondary.
As for the tourist cards, its clearly just a gimmick because we've already seen this before in the form of dual class cards. And like dual class cards, Im saying the result will likely fall into two categories: either the cards are very specifically strong in one class but unplayable in the other, and if that is not the case it will likely get nerfed. I personally dont like the idea but that the flavour of the design is good cannot be denied
Other cards:
A. F. Kay - What this really does is simply giving your non-rush/charge minions a +2+2. As such its never likely to ever stay beyond the turn its played but at the cost of 5, its so unusually slow for something that supposed to work in tempo decks that I simply dont see where this card ever fits in. Just play and pray is about the only strat thats possible with this.
Corpsicle - This card is just frozen touch but without the possibility of firing twice a turn per card. A core card in any frost-tempo deck and might actually single handedly bring back that archetype.
Travel agent - Its the sort of card that may actually get puppet theater the fking nerf it deserves. On its own unimpressive. But get puppet theater out of this card can easily flip games which means every reno deck would play it.
Volleymaul - Unless theres rogue cards that takes advantage of that sunscreen it'll never be played because why bother when you can just play painter's virtue and get your entire hand buffed without any extra costs.
Malted Magma - Its main purpose is to hit face. There's literally no reason to play this over aftershocks otherwise. Thankfully, its not a nature spell
Buttons - Its such a weird card because its only ever really powerful on its own in a rainbow shell. Its just not good value drawing any less than 3. You'd think a card like this should at least be useable in all DK archetypes since its obvious its main purpose is to allow shaman cards in your deck.
Perhaps the most concerning thing is the fact that bots are simply getting more sophisticated. Ive encountered legions of supposed players playing basic decks all over bronze wild, even as the core set allows them to play better decks.
Im not sure if all these measures actually discourages botting, more likely it just make botters do better.
Dust bunny - Probably too expensive. The only real thing you want here is coin and you can easily get it from greedy partner, so whats this suppose to do other than as bait?
Flikering Lightbot - Too few holy spells to make this realistically good. Only if makiroll is still in standard. A highlander card at best
Twisted pack - Best 'pack' card so far. But rogue already have tons of ways to generate them and every last one of them are more consistent than this card
Murloc growfin - Respectable card because the token has rush and two 1/1s on one is good
Rocket Hopper - Oh my, 5 mana 10/10. Unplayable. Next.
Wave of Nostalgia - 99% of the time bloodlust would be better. Here's the bigger problem, this card has a chance of screwing you over since it also affects the opponent's board.
Holy glowsticks - Would only be respectable if its possible to cram loads of cheap holy cards into an aggro paladin, and Im not seeing how thats possible.
Dubious purchase - Dangerous in combo rogue. Unfortunately for this card, the current meta is a rogue that piles so much shit in hand that a card like this is an active detriment
Whack-a-gnoll - Had this card been a holy spell it'll be the catalyst to seeing the other holy synergy cards work. Unfortunately it isnt, so this card is just acceptable but I cant see where it fits in paladin decks. Pally weapons tend to be expensive, and since you can tutor weapons, wouldnt it be better just to do that?
So murloc growfin wins this round because the other cards arent up to scratch in my opinion.
The Replicator-inator - A sort of card that I'll wait patiently for pros to completely abuse. However, I will say that it doesnt really impress me at first glance. Being able to copy a minion just like that is impressive, but the cost of this minion + the idea that you'll need to keep it in hand until the exact cards comes into your hand makes me a tad unoptimistic.
Building-block golem - Is it just me, or is this card looking broken? Probably not as OP as I would think but it does put plenty of stats on board plus a rush minion at the cost of 5. Either heartstone's power level has scaled to such heights that even cards like these are unplayable, or it really does look as powerful as I think it is.
Gibbering Reject - Now look here team5. Its not like youve never printed cards that put two 3/3s on board at 3, so why the hell is this card costing 4? As though as such a thing has any chance of surviving anyway, and you still need to have a weapon in hand to trigger it. This card is effectively worthless in competitive because look at it.
Part Scrapper - Its that card that makes you want to uninstall the game when it happens to you. Its purposefully made to be powerful because otherwise no one will bother to play it since reno warrior is just way better in any case. But that doesnt excuse the fact that a card like this is just toxic.
Product 9 - Probably wouldnt see much play in the current meta because hunters all about playing by tempo, and Im not seeing any possibility of secret hunter being good. Even if we assume this card is playable, its nearly never played on curve and relies very heavily on other cards being played (and triggered) first.
Darkmoon magician - Its yet another casino card that practically is unplayable in competitive but hell it'll make players try. At least there's little chance of it killing itself owing to the elusive tag but really, if such a card was viable then surely tentacle mage would have already been a thing.
Wilderness pack - No clue as to why the cards granted cant just stay in your hand because at its current iteration its practically useless. Once a while it grants you exactly what you need but 90% of the time you'd just play what is playable, end turn, and get your arse whipped. Would have been playable if the cards actually stick to your hand but as it stands its just a highlander card thats played for its own sake
And finally...pro gamer. The lastest of the miniset epics. Does this one suck as per tradition?
Well, I'll say its not shit but its not the 2nd coming of Christ neither. What it is, is simply an a draw option for a class/achetype that would otherwise not have any, like zarimi priest. Plus, there's always the chance of trapping your opponent into a lose-lose situation so there's that.
Probably playable, which is the most charitable thing you can say for miniset epics I guess. Not gonna be surprised if it neverplayed like all its predecessors.
Alright, mini set coming. At least we only need to deal with the current meta for likely another week or so. Here's my thoughts;
Gigantify - Probably not anywhere near as good as miniaturize, which if we have to be honest, isnt exactly making waves itself. So main problem to this keyword: its high cost makes it only really viable if it has taunt/rush, and its only really playable in midrange decks or otherwise decks that can afford to discount the costs.
Puppetmaster Dorian - Looks broken, especially with cards that tutor like caricature artist etc. But looking at the meta these days, I cant see a world where you wait until turn 8 with two cards in hand trying to scam a combo out, and not die in the process. That being said, mini set legendaries always tend to warp the meta around so Im fairly sure this card would be good, just not sure if it would stay good since its equally true most miniset legendaries tend to also get nerfed in their lifetime.
Puppet theater - The sort of card that would make you tear your hair off your scalp because it more or less means any strategy that involves a wincon attached to a minion will immediately be invalidated, unless the win comes immediately the turn after its played. The only mitigating circumstance I can see is the fact that this card virtually does nothing otherwise, so in most matches its fairly worthless.
Other cards perhaps not really that interesting. Snuggle bear looks okay, overgrown beanstalk is a build around card that may help drum druid but is perhaps too slow, and toyrantus is the sort of card that'll never see play.
I fully symphatize with your decision to let go of hearthstone because if I have to be perfectly honest the game has gone stale for quite some time now, and it always seem to me like its hanging on the edges of being let go. All that was needed was a slight nudge, and blizzard duly provided it when they raised the quest requirements for weeklies.
For my own part, Im staying for now. I play enough hearthstone that the increases in quest requirements dont really affect me, and if Im feeling particularly unmotivated to play hearthstone I'll play a few busted decks in wild (being in bronze rank, getting wins there is very nearly automatic) just to get the quests done quickly.
Just a small comment, I find it a bit surprising is how much stick that 'play 32 miniature cards' is getting when in reality playing 75 battlecry cards and 750 mana is far more time consuming than even the 'win 10 games' could ever muster.
But I do worry for hearthstone's future. Its not likely to get any better; the game is not really evolving so much as it is just repeating itself but at a higher power level. The game is getting progressively more expensive to have fun in, and hearthstone being what it is, its fairly time consuming even for aggro players.
In my opinion, hearthstone may need a reset button. Either retiring cards, scaling back the power level substantially, or simply just making hearthstone 2. All of those require great amounts of planning and manpower, and Im not optimitic that it'll ever happen. More likely hearthstone succumbs to a slow death, Im not exactly sure whether I'll be happy to be released or sad that one of my hobbies just go bust.
Shroomscavate and deputization aura effectively got nuked, because I cant see them see any play for their effects anymore. Its is really kind of funny, how shroomscavate doesnt really have any shaman connections anymore and is now just a vanilla exacavate card. Probably one of the weakest excavate card now.
Other nerfs are fine. Odyn needed a nerf because if it wasnt it'll probably continue to dominate warrior decks until it rotates. Im not exactly sure how anything can rock it off warrior's boat, except printing out more and more disgustingly powerful cards because at its base Odyn is just the perfect warrior card.
Aftershocks though, a bit of a hard nerf just because it does well with drawing. Effectively this card is just trash now, because there's simply much better clear tools than this.
Certain things shouldve been addressed, like ticking module which seems almost an auto pick for nearly any and all zilliax. But Im less happy about the nerfs for paladin. All they needed to do is just remove windfury from shroomscavate. Even the plushy nerf seems like a nerf candidate simply because it has been performing well but not in consideration for what it offers the class.
Other nerfs;
- Awakening tremors might see the tokens be 3/1s. Any mana nerf here will immediately nuke the card
- Thrall's gift will almost certainly remove lightning bolt from the list of selections. Its quite funny actually how easily shaman just OTK people with some of the cheapest deck ever because of the easy availability of damage spells.
- Odyn will be nerfed to 9. I cant see how team5 can balance it other than increasing its mana cost.
Its not and probably never have been curated lets be honest. The achievements from the very beginning is easily 95% grind, some of them being so egregious that its indefensible. The one that require us to use the locations 150 times is one of the worst I have in memory.
Far as Im concerned, this is 100% a good move from team5.
For anyone wondering about the location.
Since the location is usable immediately, my guess is that you can buff a minion up to 8 times assuming the card itself can keep attacking and somehow not die.
Edit: Now confirmed by team5. The location will close after you use it. So you cant actually keep attacking and buffing in the same turn.
Raylla, Sand Sculptor - Comparable to vex crow, probably playable, though we should perhaps ask what is such a card that requires plenty of cheap spells doing in a deck that allows paladin cards to be played. So perhaps its an indicator that pally's identity relates to cheap spells. It would be interesting to see how this card can work because its kinda broken if it ends up working well.
Tide pools - Perhaps the most broken location, maybe just even with puppet theatre and will very likely be nerfed. Aside from the fact that you can easily just put this into big spell mage, it can potentially allow you to cast three spells immediately after playing this, and on top of that cheapens seaside giant by a massive 6 mana in one turn. Yeah, Id be surprised if this card isnt nerfed, assuming that mage can hold up in the meta, which I suspect it can.
Seabreeze Chalice - The best drink card so far, but we've only really seen one. Does the job of clearing board really well, or just strike 6 to face for 3 mana.
Marooned Archmage - Yes its mana cheat, but its only for one card and theres an exactly zero chance it lives till the next turn. So for me, its just shit really. Unless your opponents an idiot, you'll never reap anywhere near the potential of this card.
Now, let's address the archetype for mage, which is big spells. I think there is a world where it can work, but Im also a bit skeptical whether it'll ever take the meta as far as it seem. For one thing, it forces you to cram alot of expensive cards into your deck, where only three cards allowing you to cheat them out. And secondly, the moment you start playing your power cards, handbuff pally can have easily dropped 20/20 worth of stats and youre already at the brink of death. Sometimes you play Surfalopod on 5, then Under the Sea on 6 and drew Tsunami, putting such an incredible amount of stats on board. And then there are times where all those cards are in your hand, and you whiff your first three turns hard and die.
We'll see how well it'll go for mage next expansion.
Incindius - The eruptions will hit all enemies for 1 (in effect 2) damage, but if this card stays beyond one turn then they upgrade in damage every turn. Only thing I like about this card is that it really doesnt matter if incindius is dead, the eruptions will still exist in your deck to provide swing turns whenever you draw them. The problem is that its still a 6 mana card with no taunt/rush and whether you draw those eruptions is really down to the almight rnjesus. Most turns in hearthstone standard dont tend to last longer than 9 turns so in reality if you dont draw those eruptions in 2 turns you basically just played a oasis snapjaw for 6 mana. Still, good enough card to see play.
King Tide - Okay, so you get to play one big spell for 5 mana the next turn, or alternatively, play them both at turn 9. Your druid opponent instantly concedes. I guess for that reason it can work, depending on the big spells to be revealed this expansion.
Adaptive Amalgam - Signature card art excellent. Card however, not so much. Its a card you either build around or just not bother because what it is most of the time is just a tunneling weasel that'll likely screw you at a later turn.
Beached Whale - Its a card everyone would actively look to cheat out because 20 health with taunt is about as nuts as it gets. The most convincing is perhaps with thunderbringer, but I still dont think it sees much play. Red Herring is a 4/12 at the same cost and sees little to no play, and more to the point even if you managed to cheat it out, then what? Still need to win the game. And its not like hearthstone 2024 doesnt have a plethora of options to destroy minions anyway.
Terrible Chef - Nice concept. Just play the egg instead which is one mana less, it'll make more sense.
Hozen Roughhouser - Its innocent looking but its actually just rokara printed exclusively for pirate decks. It'll likely do well assuming that pirate decks actually are playable
Cryopractor - Cryostasis never saw any play. What makes anyone think this would?
Hits all enemies
Finally some interesting cards to look at;
Griftah, Trusted Vendor - Unlike its ill fated predecessor this card might actually see play in competitive, and is likely an auto include into reno decks because nearly all the amulets he gives you is useful, and the phony versions are pretty much shit cards, though not all of them. Imagine that the phony amulet of mobility even goes so far as to discard cards from your opponent.
Dread Deserter - This card is weird, because its completely and utterly useless to own as a card because the effect requires you to generate it. Maybe slot it into ETC but seriously, if you need a charge minion just play leeroy.
Bayfin Bodybuilder - No matter how interesting this card is it'll never see competitive play outside of discovers because its so dependent on the meta, is a slow card at 5, and its cost makes it difficult to combo out with anything like dirty rat. The only good thing this card does is its practically a counter to deathrattle decks and specifically the reborn virus zilliax. Still dont think anyone would bother with it.
Sailboat Captain - The kind of card that will be nerfed. Why? Because windfury has repeatedly shown itself as a fairly toxic keyword, and yet team5 persist in printing it before inevitably nerfing it down.
Lamplighter - Made for elemental focused decks like mage and shaman. What instead would happen is it'll be played in rogue. Nuff said.
Tidepool Pupil - Cute card. Love the flavour. But likely not as good as it seems to be. Comparable to Commander sivara, but that card was only good in mage because it existed in a deck that has both burn and stall, plus it gives you back three cards. This card only gives one. Still likely playable though.
Patches the pilot - Its a decent enough card that it'll see play and likely most dhunters would play it because why not? The only real downside is that it massively affects skull of guldan which isnt in standard. Otherwise, I cant see why wouldnt any deck play this. Good one drop that have the potential to highroll and each token deals 1 damage at least to face. I personally am always afraid of cards like these because its win rates are usually middling and yet its always in every deck forcing you to craft it just to play that class.
Mixologist - There is effectively no reason to not play this card. Only real downside is that stat to cost, of which the potion somewhat covers for you. OP as hell, and luckily it has a signature card that will very likely be available in the track.
Package dealer - Garbage card whenever, wherever, and whatever. At least its good stats for cost
Octo-Masseuse - Just a lol card that has little to no applications outside of arena. Because realistically team5 couldve just granted this at least rush/taunt and it would still probably not see any play. The only real niche it has is its incredibly high health and so might sometimes be useful to priest if inner fire is in standard. Otherwise its the sort of neverplayed gimmick card that is usually reserved for epics.
Its probably too slow, and in my opinion isnt really a winning play unless its full on attrition control being top meta again, which it probably wouldnt. Im not discounting that the grub could see play in a reno deck but I doubt its win rate is gonna be anywhere near spectacular. Most classes nowadays have better draw options that are cheaper.
But we'll see if there is in fact more options to do with the suitcase. For now, to me its only real application is in arena. Wouldnt be the first epic card to see absolutely zero play in constructed.
Card review on day 2:
Cruise Captain Lora - Its really hard to evaluate this one because I dont think its poorly costed but at the same time, playing a 7 mana card that dumps two underwhelming locations is about as suicidal as it gets, even for druid. On the other hand, you can easily get puppet theater and completely roll your opponents to hell, which means this card will at least be viable should the meta turn greedy. Personally I think this card can only truly succeed in a reno deck because theres usually way more broken things that can be done for 7 mana. New marin, for instance.
Carry-on Grub - Its a strong card...for arena. In constructive, if you need card draw this would not be in the forefront of your mind. Its too expensive if you need options in a pinch, and in hearthstone nowadays even classes like hunter can generate/draw cards for days so this card has little to no niche. Arena boss though. Id be surprised if this wasnt an instant pick there.
Bumbling Bellhop - Its just a poor filler card for reno decks. Theres simply no reason to play this card unless youre very specifically playing loads of expensive spells. Not to mention that putting two 3/3s on board nowadays in hearthstone is about as laughable as it gets.
Customs Enforcer - Razorscale found some niche so this card will too. But really, this is a 5 star card by sole virtue of being an attempted counter to a much hated hearthstone play style. A card that some would argue should just be an inclusion into core sets, with a diamond skin sold at 50 bucks.
Just one card until two days later. But at least this card is playable.
Basically you play this in zarimi priest and gotten out on curve it just wins you the game. Depending on how consistent the combo works, it might actually get zarimi nerfed again or alternatively this card because that's just so much stats on one card.
The drawback is obviously the card gets substantially worse the later you play it off curve but that has never stopped players from putting cards in their deck. Im expecting good tidings from this card's viability.
New Marin is busted. Being able to choose wand at all times means its never redundant. A case where the reward is so overpowered that all other considerations (lack of rush, taunt etc.) are just secondary.
As for the tourist cards, its clearly just a gimmick because we've already seen this before in the form of dual class cards. And like dual class cards, Im saying the result will likely fall into two categories: either the cards are very specifically strong in one class but unplayable in the other, and if that is not the case it will likely get nerfed. I personally dont like the idea but that the flavour of the design is good cannot be denied
Other cards:
A. F. Kay - What this really does is simply giving your non-rush/charge minions a +2+2. As such its never likely to ever stay beyond the turn its played but at the cost of 5, its so unusually slow for something that supposed to work in tempo decks that I simply dont see where this card ever fits in. Just play and pray is about the only strat thats possible with this.
Corpsicle - This card is just frozen touch but without the possibility of firing twice a turn per card. A core card in any frost-tempo deck and might actually single handedly bring back that archetype.
Travel agent - Its the sort of card that may actually get puppet theater the fking nerf it deserves. On its own unimpressive. But get puppet theater out of this card can easily flip games which means every reno deck would play it.
Volleymaul - Unless theres rogue cards that takes advantage of that sunscreen it'll never be played because why bother when you can just play painter's virtue and get your entire hand buffed without any extra costs.
Malted Magma - Its main purpose is to hit face. There's literally no reason to play this over aftershocks otherwise. Thankfully, its not a nature spell
Buttons - Its such a weird card because its only ever really powerful on its own in a rainbow shell. Its just not good value drawing any less than 3. You'd think a card like this should at least be useable in all DK archetypes since its obvious its main purpose is to allow shaman cards in your deck.
Perhaps the most concerning thing is the fact that bots are simply getting more sophisticated. Ive encountered legions of supposed players playing basic decks all over bronze wild, even as the core set allows them to play better decks.
Im not sure if all these measures actually discourages botting, more likely it just make botters do better.
Quick reviews;
Dust bunny - Probably too expensive. The only real thing you want here is coin and you can easily get it from greedy partner, so whats this suppose to do other than as bait?
Flikering Lightbot - Too few holy spells to make this realistically good. Only if makiroll is still in standard. A highlander card at best
Twisted pack - Best 'pack' card so far. But rogue already have tons of ways to generate them and every last one of them are more consistent than this card
Murloc growfin - Respectable card because the token has rush and two 1/1s on one is good
Rocket Hopper - Oh my, 5 mana 10/10. Unplayable. Next.
Wave of Nostalgia - 99% of the time bloodlust would be better. Here's the bigger problem, this card has a chance of screwing you over since it also affects the opponent's board.
Holy glowsticks - Would only be respectable if its possible to cram loads of cheap holy cards into an aggro paladin, and Im not seeing how thats possible.
Dubious purchase - Dangerous in combo rogue. Unfortunately for this card, the current meta is a rogue that piles so much shit in hand that a card like this is an active detriment
Whack-a-gnoll - Had this card been a holy spell it'll be the catalyst to seeing the other holy synergy cards work. Unfortunately it isnt, so this card is just acceptable but I cant see where it fits in paladin decks. Pally weapons tend to be expensive, and since you can tutor weapons, wouldnt it be better just to do that?
So murloc growfin wins this round because the other cards arent up to scratch in my opinion.
The Replicator-inator - A sort of card that I'll wait patiently for pros to completely abuse. However, I will say that it doesnt really impress me at first glance. Being able to copy a minion just like that is impressive, but the cost of this minion + the idea that you'll need to keep it in hand until the exact cards comes into your hand makes me a tad unoptimistic.
Building-block golem - Is it just me, or is this card looking broken? Probably not as OP as I would think but it does put plenty of stats on board plus a rush minion at the cost of 5. Either heartstone's power level has scaled to such heights that even cards like these are unplayable, or it really does look as powerful as I think it is.
Gibbering Reject - Now look here team5. Its not like youve never printed cards that put two 3/3s on board at 3, so why the hell is this card costing 4? As though as such a thing has any chance of surviving anyway, and you still need to have a weapon in hand to trigger it. This card is effectively worthless in competitive because look at it.
Part Scrapper - Its that card that makes you want to uninstall the game when it happens to you. Its purposefully made to be powerful because otherwise no one will bother to play it since reno warrior is just way better in any case. But that doesnt excuse the fact that a card like this is just toxic.
New cards, let's have a look;
Product 9 - Probably wouldnt see much play in the current meta because hunters all about playing by tempo, and Im not seeing any possibility of secret hunter being good. Even if we assume this card is playable, its nearly never played on curve and relies very heavily on other cards being played (and triggered) first.
Darkmoon magician - Its yet another casino card that practically is unplayable in competitive but hell it'll make players try. At least there's little chance of it killing itself owing to the elusive tag but really, if such a card was viable then surely tentacle mage would have already been a thing.
Wilderness pack - No clue as to why the cards granted cant just stay in your hand because at its current iteration its practically useless. Once a while it grants you exactly what you need but 90% of the time you'd just play what is playable, end turn, and get your arse whipped. Would have been playable if the cards actually stick to your hand but as it stands its just a highlander card thats played for its own sake
And finally...pro gamer. The lastest of the miniset epics. Does this one suck as per tradition?
Well, I'll say its not shit but its not the 2nd coming of Christ neither. What it is, is simply an a draw option for a class/achetype that would otherwise not have any, like zarimi priest. Plus, there's always the chance of trapping your opponent into a lose-lose situation so there's that.
Probably playable, which is the most charitable thing you can say for miniset epics I guess. Not gonna be surprised if it neverplayed like all its predecessors.
Alright, mini set coming. At least we only need to deal with the current meta for likely another week or so. Here's my thoughts;
Gigantify - Probably not anywhere near as good as miniaturize, which if we have to be honest, isnt exactly making waves itself. So main problem to this keyword: its high cost makes it only really viable if it has taunt/rush, and its only really playable in midrange decks or otherwise decks that can afford to discount the costs.
Puppetmaster Dorian - Looks broken, especially with cards that tutor like caricature artist etc. But looking at the meta these days, I cant see a world where you wait until turn 8 with two cards in hand trying to scam a combo out, and not die in the process. That being said, mini set legendaries always tend to warp the meta around so Im fairly sure this card would be good, just not sure if it would stay good since its equally true most miniset legendaries tend to also get nerfed in their lifetime.
Puppet theater - The sort of card that would make you tear your hair off your scalp because it more or less means any strategy that involves a wincon attached to a minion will immediately be invalidated, unless the win comes immediately the turn after its played. The only mitigating circumstance I can see is the fact that this card virtually does nothing otherwise, so in most matches its fairly worthless.
Other cards perhaps not really that interesting. Snuggle bear looks okay, overgrown beanstalk is a build around card that may help drum druid but is perhaps too slow, and toyrantus is the sort of card that'll never see play.
I fully symphatize with your decision to let go of hearthstone because if I have to be perfectly honest the game has gone stale for quite some time now, and it always seem to me like its hanging on the edges of being let go. All that was needed was a slight nudge, and blizzard duly provided it when they raised the quest requirements for weeklies.
For my own part, Im staying for now. I play enough hearthstone that the increases in quest requirements dont really affect me, and if Im feeling particularly unmotivated to play hearthstone I'll play a few busted decks in wild (being in bronze rank, getting wins there is very nearly automatic) just to get the quests done quickly.
Just a small comment, I find it a bit surprising is how much stick that 'play 32 miniature cards' is getting when in reality playing 75 battlecry cards and 750 mana is far more time consuming than even the 'win 10 games' could ever muster.
But I do worry for hearthstone's future. Its not likely to get any better; the game is not really evolving so much as it is just repeating itself but at a higher power level. The game is getting progressively more expensive to have fun in, and hearthstone being what it is, its fairly time consuming even for aggro players.
In my opinion, hearthstone may need a reset button. Either retiring cards, scaling back the power level substantially, or simply just making hearthstone 2. All of those require great amounts of planning and manpower, and Im not optimitic that it'll ever happen. More likely hearthstone succumbs to a slow death, Im not exactly sure whether I'll be happy to be released or sad that one of my hobbies just go bust.
My take on the changes;
Shroomscavate and deputization aura effectively got nuked, because I cant see them see any play for their effects anymore. Its is really kind of funny, how shroomscavate doesnt really have any shaman connections anymore and is now just a vanilla exacavate card. Probably one of the weakest excavate card now.
Other nerfs are fine. Odyn needed a nerf because if it wasnt it'll probably continue to dominate warrior decks until it rotates. Im not exactly sure how anything can rock it off warrior's boat, except printing out more and more disgustingly powerful cards because at its base Odyn is just the perfect warrior card.
Aftershocks though, a bit of a hard nerf just because it does well with drawing. Effectively this card is just trash now, because there's simply much better clear tools than this.
Certain things shouldve been addressed, like ticking module which seems almost an auto pick for nearly any and all zilliax. But Im less happy about the nerfs for paladin. All they needed to do is just remove windfury from shroomscavate. Even the plushy nerf seems like a nerf candidate simply because it has been performing well but not in consideration for what it offers the class.
Other nerfs;
- Awakening tremors might see the tokens be 3/1s. Any mana nerf here will immediately nuke the card
- Thrall's gift will almost certainly remove lightning bolt from the list of selections. Its quite funny actually how easily shaman just OTK people with some of the cheapest deck ever because of the easy availability of damage spells.
- Odyn will be nerfed to 9. I cant see how team5 can balance it other than increasing its mana cost.
- Aftershocks will likely cost 3 after discounts.
Prob the same as double brann on board. Literally just trigger twice.
Its not and probably never have been curated lets be honest. The achievements from the very beginning is easily 95% grind, some of them being so egregious that its indefensible. The one that require us to use the locations 150 times is one of the worst I have in memory.
Far as Im concerned, this is 100% a good move from team5.