I've tried a lot of different Things with Shaman over the last few Weeks: Quest, Dragons, a bit of Highlander and now Galakrond/Evolve. There's some Potential, but rn no Matter what you do, there's a Class that's better at it (except for stealing Games with an Evolve Highroll into Bloodlust).
Imo, Shamans biggest Weaknesses are early Removal and Healing. You have Things like Lightning Bolt or Lightning Storm but the Overload just kills any Tempo you gain from those Cards. And Witch's Brew is really inefficient. Sometimes you just sit there and think: „Did I really spend 6 Mana for 12 Health?". (Honestly, I think Shamans would kill to have a Card like Penance)
The Buffed Cards seem promising and I hope that they'll improve the Class' current State, or at least provide a solid Base for Shaman in future Expansions.
1. The Battlecry should be pretty reliable. Secret Mage, (Odd) DH and swarmy Decks like Even Shaman have a lot of 2 or 3 Health Minions. It might be a bit weak against Mech-Pally, if they're snowballing magnetic Stuff (and if they're smart enough to play around Positioning).
2. Turn 6 might be a bit too late against hyper aggressive Decks like Pirate-Warrior. But on the other Hand, Shaman has also some good early Game Removal and Healing.
3. I don't think Even Shaman will run this Card. Like, why spend 6 Mana to (maybe) clear the Opponent's Board when you could just, you know, kill'em?
I'm optimistic about this Buff. Excavated Evil is a good Card, and The Lurker Below does almost the exact same Thing AND gives you a 6/5 for only 1 Mana more.
Didn't expect any of these Changes, but they seem pretty interesting! Was already trying to make a Standard Control-Shaman work and these Buffs definitely help with that. Also the Buff to Libram Paladin seems nice. I don't play that Class, but I hope for Pally-Mains that they'll get an Archetype that'll stick around.
Shadowjeweler Hanar is my favorite Card of this Expansion, but I can see why they nerfed him. The Change to Blackjack Stunner is a more significant Nerf to Secret Rogue though. Still a good Card for Tempo, but it's now way harder to leave your Opponent with unplayable Cards behind in slower Matches (which is probably healthier fir the Game).
Sad to see Scavenger's Ingenuity getting hit. It's really good in Midrange and Combo. I'd assume the main Reason they nerfed it is Stonetusk Boar.
I doubt that they'll reward you with Cards upon Completion like they did in Galakrond's Awakening. Maybe something more like The Frozen Throne, where you got Packs, and one Card that's like Zayle, Shadow Cloak.
She was already a free Hero, but getting her was unnecessarily hard/annoying. So it's pretty cool from the Devs to make this Skin easily available to Everyone.
Shadowjeweler Hanar is imo the best Legendary of this Xpac. It's everything that you'd want from a Rogue Legendary: versatile and fun!
If you really wanna build a Secret-Rogue, I'd suggest to put in a Galakrond Package and to craft at least 1 Togwaggle's Scheme. Shuffling 5 or more Hanars usually crushes every slow Deck.
I'm a Control Player, so I practically dislike all Combo Decks. You pack your Deck full with Answers and Late Game Bombs just to lose because you didn't draw your Techs.
„Haha! Look at all my AoE, Resource Generation and Healing!"
I don't think that Even Shaman could take you to Legend as easily as it did some Time ago. DH and Mage should be pretty tough Match Ups and Control/Combo Decks can steamroll you (I've played against a Ton of Even Shamans with my pre-Buff Razakus, and I usually mopped the Floor with them).
I'd say your best Chances are with a Totem-Build. Drop Totem Golem on t2, buff it then copy it with Splitting Axe.
The only wild Deck that I'd consider broken rn is Quest-Mage. There are some that come close, but most of them can be at least reliably interacted with (Combo-Disruption, Aoe,...).
Here are my thoughts (Warning: Haven't played much Wild since AoO launched, so I might not be that up-to-date)
Druid: I've seen a lot of Decks that revolve around Kael'thas Sunstrider with the Possibility to kill you on t6 by cheating out Spells like Ultimate Infestation. But, like a lot of Combo-Druids, it's very susceptible to Dirty Rat.
Hunter: Haven't seen any in quite a While, but Mech-Hunter used to be a pretty successful Deck. They could rush you down easily with Magnetic-Stuff and constant Damage Output. The big Weakness though is that they run out of Cards very quickly. If you manage to clear the Board and heal up, you pretty much win. I won a lot of Games against them simply because I played Excavated Evil into Greater Healing Potion.
Mage: I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that almost everyone hates current Quest-Mage. You either die because of Sorcerer's Apprentice/Flamewaker or because of Archmage Vargoth/Giants. And there's not much you can do about it. If you're Aggro, you have to deal with Freezes, Ice Block and in some Cases Reno Jackson. If you're Control, your only hope is Dirty Rat pulling a Combo Piece. (BTW the upcoming Nerf to Open the Waygate is a complete Joke. Mage has so much Spell Generation that raising the Requirement by 2 is almost nothing.)
The other strong Mage Deck in Wild is Secret-Mage. I don't think I have to explain that one. Play Secrets, go face with Minions, FireballFireball. I might be in the Minority, but imo Secret-Mage is fine the Way it is. If you can dodge early Minion Pressure and play around Secrets you have very good Chances. And Reno Jackson on an empty Board always seals the Deal.
Paladin: Same as Mech-Hunter, but with good draw. You have to clear the Board multiple Times, just to not get snowballed the next Turn. Mechwarper and Flying Machine are the biggest Threads because of Magnetic.
Odd-Pally is the same as Mech-Pally, just weaker.
Priest: Big Priest used to be the Bane of Wild's Existence, but that Deck hardly sees play anymore.Cheating out big Guys multiple Times isn't so pwerful if you're facing Combos that can kill you in the Mid-Game. And even if this Deck ever becomes Meta again, there's now much more Counterplay to deal with it (Transform Effects, messing with Res-Pool, AoE,...)
Razakus might seem pretty strong, but that Deck just gets outshined by other Combos.
Shaman: Haven't seen Shaman in a long Time, but Even is probably its strongest Archetype rn. They try to win th Game by flooding the Board and take Advantage of it, but that's quite hard if you're facing giant Mechs or Arcane Flakmage. I personally never had any Problems winning against that Deck, but that might be because I usually run a ton of AoE and Heal.
Warlock: Mecha'thun and Darkest Hour are the strongest Decks this Class has. Everything else is either a Meme (Dinomancer) or is no longer that powerful (Cubelock). Mecha'thun-lock has a ton of Card draw and heal accompanied by strong Removal. Dirty Rat is unreliable against them because of the Amount of Minions they play, but Mojomaster Zihi is very good. I wait till they run out of Cards and then play her with Coldlight Oracle. That usually gets them.
Darkest Hour-lock is way more inconsistent. You can win instantly on t4, 5 or 6. Or you can get screwed with an unplayable Hand and your big Guys getting AoE'd because you didn't pull Nerubian Unraveler. But still, thank God they'll nerf Bloodbloom.
Warrior: ... Who?
Jokes aside, Warrior is practically non-existent in Wild. You might see a Pirate here and there, but that Deck is just no longer the Thread it used to be. Most of my Opponents conceded, simply because I played one AoE on t5/6.
EDIT: I completely forgot about Rogue! But that might be because it's similar to Warrior. No Idea what that Class is doing in Wild rn.
Man, DH is getting hit hard, but that was probably to be expected. I bet the Devs put the Class out as it is to better figure out what Cards are actually problematic instead of just testing it internally and guess what needs to be worked on.
Anyways, my Predictions:
Battlefiend: Health decreased to 1. Still pretty aggressive but way more manageable for your Opponent.
Altruis the Outcast: Mana increased to 4 (maybe 5). This should limit its Combo-Potential enough where it's still a playable Card.
Kael'thas Sunstrider: Mana increased to 8. That should delay the Impact this Card has without losing what makes it so powerfull/unique.
Bad Luck Albatross: Health decreased to 2. I honestly don't know what they wanna change about this Card. In my Eyes it's fine as it is, and I play mainly Highlander.
Frenzied Felwing: Either Mana increased to 5 or Health decreased to 2.
...or change the Way Archmage Vargoth interacts with the Reward. That's imo the biggest Problem. Cheating out 2 Turns that easily is just fucking broken.
If you wanna change the Amount of Spells you have to play, you might as well nuke it from Orbit. I can't imagine it being less than 12 (or maybe 15) with the Ways that Mage can get Spells. Mana Cyclone generates random Spells. Evocation generates random Spells. Random Spells generate random Spells! And then there's also Sorcerer's Apprentice...
The most likely Card to become a Rogue-Skin is imo Heistbaron Togwaggle. He already has a strong presence in the Class and a Ton of recorded Voicelines.
...And of course the best jiggle Physics in the Game
Priest is already pretty good at generating Cards, but some reliable Draw would be great.
When they talked about Class Identity, they said that they want Priests to be the ones with powerfull but situational Cards. So when it comes to drawing maybe they could bind it to a Condition? Like Cleric of Scales.
Kinda funny. Like, who would've thought that one Day Sacrificial Pact would become a problematic Card? But honestly, I think changing it is probably is for the better. They want to give DH an Archetype that relies on big Demons, and current Sac Pact just utterly destroys that.
Speaking of big DH Demons: I hope they change Imprisoned Antaen/Priestess of Fury. These Cards are just too OP imo. „Oh, you didn't flood the Board with Minions to be massacred? Well, sucks for you, I guess. Here's a huge Amount of Burst and some big Minions. Good Luck!"
I've tried a lot of different Things with Shaman over the last few Weeks: Quest, Dragons, a bit of Highlander and now Galakrond/Evolve. There's some Potential, but rn no Matter what you do, there's a Class that's better at it (except for stealing Games with an Evolve Highroll into Bloodlust).
Imo, Shamans biggest Weaknesses are early Removal and Healing. You have Things like Lightning Bolt or Lightning Storm but the Overload just kills any Tempo you gain from those Cards. And Witch's Brew is really inefficient. Sometimes you just sit there and think: „Did I really spend 6 Mana for 12 Health?". (Honestly, I think Shamans would kill to have a Card like Penance)
The Buffed Cards seem promising and I hope that they'll improve the Class' current State, or at least provide a solid Base for Shaman in future Expansions.
1. The Battlecry should be pretty reliable. Secret Mage, (Odd) DH and swarmy Decks like Even Shaman have a lot of 2 or 3 Health Minions. It might be a bit weak against Mech-Pally, if they're snowballing magnetic Stuff (and if they're smart enough to play around Positioning).
2. Turn 6 might be a bit too late against hyper aggressive Decks like Pirate-Warrior. But on the other Hand, Shaman has also some good early Game Removal and Healing.
3. I don't think Even Shaman will run this Card. Like, why spend 6 Mana to (maybe) clear the Opponent's Board when you could just, you know, kill'em?
I'm optimistic about this Buff. Excavated Evil is a good Card, and The Lurker Below does almost the exact same Thing AND gives you a 6/5 for only 1 Mana more.
Every Patch that nerfs Priestess of Fury is a good Patch.
Didn't expect any of these Changes, but they seem pretty interesting! Was already trying to make a Standard Control-Shaman work and these Buffs definitely help with that. Also the Buff to Libram Paladin seems nice. I don't play that Class, but I hope for Pally-Mains that they'll get an Archetype that'll stick around.
Shadowjeweler Hanar is my favorite Card of this Expansion, but I can see why they nerfed him. The Change to Blackjack Stunner is a more significant Nerf to Secret Rogue though. Still a good Card for Tempo, but it's now way harder to leave your Opponent with unplayable Cards behind in slower Matches (which is probably healthier fir the Game).
Sad to see Scavenger's Ingenuity getting hit. It's really good in Midrange and Combo. I'd assume the main Reason they nerfed it is Stonetusk Boar.
The Rest of the Changes are alright.
I doubt that they'll reward you with Cards upon Completion like they did in Galakrond's Awakening. Maybe something more like The Frozen Throne, where you got Packs, and one Card that's like Zayle, Shadow Cloak.
She was already a free Hero, but getting her was unnecessarily hard/annoying. So it's pretty cool from the Devs to make this Skin easily available to Everyone.
Shadowjeweler Hanar is imo the best Legendary of this Xpac. It's everything that you'd want from a Rogue Legendary: versatile and fun!
If you really wanna build a Secret-Rogue, I'd suggest to put in a Galakrond Package and to craft at least 1 Togwaggle's Scheme. Shuffling 5 or more Hanars usually crushes every slow Deck.
Edwin VanCleef is a good Card, but if you're on a Budget, I'd say Heistbaron Togwaggle has a higher Priority, followed up by Flik Skyshiv.
I'm a Control Player, so I practically dislike all Combo Decks. You pack your Deck full with Answers and Late Game Bombs just to lose because you didn't draw your Techs.
„Haha! Look at all my AoE, Resource Generation and Healing!"
„Cool... Do you also have Dirty Rat?"
I don't think that Even Shaman could take you to Legend as easily as it did some Time ago. DH and Mage should be pretty tough Match Ups and Control/Combo Decks can steamroll you (I've played against a Ton of Even Shamans with my pre-Buff Razakus, and I usually mopped the Floor with them).
I'd say your best Chances are with a Totem-Build. Drop Totem Golem on t2, buff it then copy it with Splitting Axe.
At least Totem Shaman lasted longer than Freeze Shaman.
I've got a good Winrate with Highlander Priest against DH. Breath of the Infinite, Holy Nova and often Times Shadow Madness are great against their early Turns (especially Satyr Overseer), Soul Mirror or Galakrond, the Unspeakable are perfect to counter Priestess of Fury, and then there's also generally good Cards like Penance or Convincing Infiltrator.
I really hope that the Nerf to Open the Waygate will be enough to make Quest-Mage less frustrating to play against.
But honestly, I can see this turn out like The Caverns Below.
I, too, have to confess a Sin...
I've played some Version of Scumbag-Res Priest up till D5. But, after hitting a Wall I switched to Highlander and got to Legend (30k+).
Got the Warrior Legendary, which sucks cause I don't play that Class. But I guess I deserve that for playing Res!
The only wild Deck that I'd consider broken rn is Quest-Mage. There are some that come close, but most of them can be at least reliably interacted with (Combo-Disruption, Aoe,...).
Here are my thoughts (Warning: Haven't played much Wild since AoO launched, so I might not be that up-to-date)
Druid: I've seen a lot of Decks that revolve around Kael'thas Sunstrider with the Possibility to kill you on t6 by cheating out Spells like Ultimate Infestation. But, like a lot of Combo-Druids, it's very susceptible to Dirty Rat.
Hunter: Haven't seen any in quite a While, but Mech-Hunter used to be a pretty successful Deck. They could rush you down easily with Magnetic-Stuff and constant Damage Output. The big Weakness though is that they run out of Cards very quickly. If you manage to clear the Board and heal up, you pretty much win. I won a lot of Games against them simply because I played Excavated Evil into Greater Healing Potion.
Mage: I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that almost everyone hates current Quest-Mage. You either die because of Sorcerer's Apprentice/Flamewaker or because of Archmage Vargoth/Giants. And there's not much you can do about it. If you're Aggro, you have to deal with Freezes, Ice Block and in some Cases Reno Jackson. If you're Control, your only hope is Dirty Rat pulling a Combo Piece. (BTW the upcoming Nerf to Open the Waygate is a complete Joke. Mage has so much Spell Generation that raising the Requirement by 2 is almost nothing.)
The other strong Mage Deck in Wild is Secret-Mage. I don't think I have to explain that one. Play Secrets, go face with Minions, Fireball Fireball. I might be in the Minority, but imo Secret-Mage is fine the Way it is. If you can dodge early Minion Pressure and play around Secrets you have very good Chances. And Reno Jackson on an empty Board always seals the Deal.
Paladin: Same as Mech-Hunter, but with good draw. You have to clear the Board multiple Times, just to not get snowballed the next Turn. Mechwarper and Flying Machine are the biggest Threads because of Magnetic.
Odd-Pally is the same as Mech-Pally, just weaker.
Priest: Big Priest used to be the Bane of Wild's Existence, but that Deck hardly sees play anymore.Cheating out big Guys multiple Times isn't so pwerful if you're facing Combos that can kill you in the Mid-Game. And even if this Deck ever becomes Meta again, there's now much more Counterplay to deal with it (Transform Effects, messing with Res-Pool, AoE,...)
Razakus might seem pretty strong, but that Deck just gets outshined by other Combos.
Shaman: Haven't seen Shaman in a long Time, but Even is probably its strongest Archetype rn. They try to win th Game by flooding the Board and take Advantage of it, but that's quite hard if you're facing giant Mechs or Arcane Flakmage. I personally never had any Problems winning against that Deck, but that might be because I usually run a ton of AoE and Heal.
Warlock: Mecha'thun and Darkest Hour are the strongest Decks this Class has. Everything else is either a Meme (Dinomancer) or is no longer that powerful (Cubelock). Mecha'thun-lock has a ton of Card draw and heal accompanied by strong Removal. Dirty Rat is unreliable against them because of the Amount of Minions they play, but Mojomaster Zihi is very good. I wait till they run out of Cards and then play her with Coldlight Oracle. That usually gets them.
Darkest Hour-lock is way more inconsistent. You can win instantly on t4, 5 or 6. Or you can get screwed with an unplayable Hand and your big Guys getting AoE'd because you didn't pull Nerubian Unraveler. But still, thank God they'll nerf Bloodbloom.
Warrior: ... Who?
Jokes aside, Warrior is practically non-existent in Wild. You might see a Pirate here and there, but that Deck is just no longer the Thread it used to be. Most of my Opponents conceded, simply because I played one AoE on t5/6.
EDIT: I completely forgot about Rogue! But that might be because it's similar to Warrior. No Idea what that Class is doing in Wild rn.
Open the Waygate now requires 8 Spells...
I'm sorry, but did the Devs forget that Mana Cyclone, Primordial Glyph, Magic Trick, Ray of Frost, Banana Buffoon, Licensed Adventurer and Evocation are actual Cards that exist?
Like, what's this supposed to be? A minor Inconvenience?
I wish I'd face that Kind of Quest-Mage. You can at least hope to pull one of the Pieces with Dirty Rat or sometimes survive by having a Taunt up.
But every Time I decide to play it out, I get greeted with a „Free from that blasted Tower!" followed up with a smug „Hello!"
Idk. I just want this unfair Interaction to be gone.
Man, DH is getting hit hard, but that was probably to be expected. I bet the Devs put the Class out as it is to better figure out what Cards are actually problematic instead of just testing it internally and guess what needs to be worked on.
Anyways, my Predictions:
Battlefiend: Health decreased to 1. Still pretty aggressive but way more manageable for your Opponent.
Altruis the Outcast: Mana increased to 4 (maybe 5). This should limit its Combo-Potential enough where it's still a playable Card.
Glaivebound Adept: Health decreased to 3.
Kael'thas Sunstrider: Mana increased to 8. That should delay the Impact this Card has without losing what makes it so powerfull/unique.
Bad Luck Albatross: Health decreased to 2. I honestly don't know what they wanna change about this Card. In my Eyes it's fine as it is, and I play mainly Highlander.
Frenzied Felwing: Either Mana increased to 5 or Health decreased to 2.
Bloodbloom: Mana increased to 4. That should pretty much take Care of Darkest Hour.
Sacrificial Pact: Only targets friendly Minions. Sad, but has to be done if you want a Class that has big Demons as a Part of their Identity.
Open the Waygate: Deleted from Game.
...or change the Way Archmage Vargoth interacts with the Reward. That's imo the biggest Problem. Cheating out 2 Turns that easily is just fucking broken.
If you wanna change the Amount of Spells you have to play, you might as well nuke it from Orbit. I can't imagine it being less than 12 (or maybe 15) with the Ways that Mage can get Spells. Mana Cyclone generates random Spells. Evocation generates random Spells. Random Spells generate random Spells! And then there's also Sorcerer's Apprentice...
I'm just glad they finally address this Card.
The most likely Card to become a Rogue-Skin is imo Heistbaron Togwaggle. He already has a strong presence in the Class and a Ton of recorded Voicelines.
...And of course the best jiggle Physics in the Game
I've played only a couple of Times against DH in Wild, but I'm pretty sure I've lost the Majority of those Games.
But that was on my Part. It's easy to fall into that „They don't have any Cards in Wild, this'll be a safe Win! "-Mindset and become too confident.
Priest is already pretty good at generating Cards, but some reliable Draw would be great.
When they talked about Class Identity, they said that they want Priests to be the ones with powerfull but situational Cards. So when it comes to drawing maybe they could bind it to a Condition? Like Cleric of Scales.
Kinda funny. Like, who would've thought that one Day Sacrificial Pact would become a problematic Card? But honestly, I think changing it is probably is for the better. They want to give DH an Archetype that relies on big Demons, and current Sac Pact just utterly destroys that.
Speaking of big DH Demons: I hope they change Imprisoned Antaen/Priestess of Fury. These Cards are just too OP imo. „Oh, you didn't flood the Board with Minions to be massacred? Well, sucks for you, I guess. Here's a huge Amount of Burst and some big Minions. Good Luck!"