First of all, like the case with the obelisk I really appreciate the fantasy we can see in the design of this card. Performing some kind of an ancient ritual, where 7 cultists sacrifice their lives, in order to summon a deity, and then a drakkari enchantress steps in, who enhances the power of that god even further. I can't find words to express how fun it is seeing such mechanics in the game.
As far as gameplay goes, I have a hard time believing that this would be easier to activate than Mecha'thun, if we don't see more support for it. Since no one dared to asks questions regarding some mechanics, I would like to ask two:
- How would the cultis's battlecry interact with Heart of Vir'naal? Would we see two deities being summoned or only one, cuz the second battlecry would trigger after the first wave of cultists die.
First off, I want to apologize to the admins for posting a hearthpwn link, but the OOC "collectible cards" page and its filter options aren't really user-friendly yet:
So in the link above you can see all combo cards available to rogue in standard (+ the newly revealed Hooked Scimitar). As much as I'm impressed by the card generation, I don't really think this card would fit in a miracle list. If your deck doesn't run pirates, Raiding Party is either a dead spell or an expensive tutor for one of your weapons. Kidnapper is slow (especially against aggro); Headcrack is only useful if the opponent is dangerously low on health. And Defias Ringleader and Cutthroat Buccaneer are kinda meh. The wild combo cards are mostly bad (with a few exceptions like Elven Minstrel, Vilespine Slayer, but the chances of getting those from all other possible options are few), so I don't want to talk about them. The rest of the generated outcomes are mostly good (when looking at Edwin VanCleef, EVIL Miscreant and Eviscerate), but only few of them are spells, so, again, I don't think that Whirlkick Master would fit in a miracle deck. She's more likely to clog your hand with mediocre or situational stuff.
I'm eager to know where people would run this minion. Thief can generate you a lot of defensive spells and you can heal yourself with Spectral Cutlass (weak too ooze, but at least this has some direct synergies with other cards), so a value deck wouldn't be better than the Burgle archtype. As far as tempo decks go - the popular standard rogue lists are Hooktusk and Tempo, both of which should be satisfied with the Lackey generation, because it's faster and the outcome from it is cheap. So where else you play this in?
The reason they're an odd deck in the first place is for the 2/2 hero power. Adding a weapon kind of counters their own gameplan. Besides, with Hench-Clan Thug and Southsea Captain I'm pretty sure the 3 drop slot is competitive enough already.
This might see play in aggro rogue (wild) though, that deck already sees fringe play and seems pretty good.
In standard this also looks really good. A 4/2 weapon is nothing to scoff at, especially when it's only 3 mana.
A standard aggro rogue would like it (not the current one, which runs Waggle Pick). But I am just curious to know whether odd rogue would put this in their decks, but I think the weapon would be too slow - you have to play a 1-drop (a Lackey, Pirate or a Fire Fly) and then the 4/2 blade, which becomes a 4-mana combo, but isn't rogue already satisfied with their upgraded HP?
If something tips the balance or tips the scales, it is the thing that causes a particular situation to happen or a particular decision to be made, when other situations or decisions are possible:
e.g. She was a good candidate, but her lack of computer skills tipped the scales against her.
Building off of this, "scales" are a series of rigid plates on the body of a fish or reptile (which Murlocs resemble).
In addition to that, a "scale" can also be a device to measure the weight of an object, or to compare the weight of one object to another. If an object on one side is heavier than an object on the other side, the scale will "tip" towards the side of the heavier object. The idiom "tip the scales" refers to such a situation like this, as the events "tipped" towards one side, so to speak.
In the context of this card, the name "tip the scales" references the idiom, while also alluding to both of the above definitions of the word "scale" at the same time.
Lots of quotations in this post, lol.
Ahm, I was aware what fish scales mean and what a measuring scale is. In my previous post wanted to say, that I had never heard the aforementioned idiom before until I checked an English dictionary on the internet.
The following just occurred to me - maybe the weapon is a sign, that shaman is about to get more totems and totem synergies. If this becomes a reality, then I might have underrated this card too prematurely. But let's hope, that the SOU totem package isn't as bad as the K&C one - Kobold Hermit, Windshear Stormcaller, Primal Talismans.
Not to mention, they don't really utilize totem synergies other than running a couple of minions, which get slightly enhanced by totems.
Totem Carvener, Thing from Below?
I think I acknowledged those minions in my previous post. Sea Giant benefits from a wide board, which the weapon admittedly also offers, but unless you have a Totem Golem or two on the board, summoning copies of basics totems is a weak play on turn 4. Those can be easily answered by swarm decks and Draenei Totemcarver would be played on turn 5, making her more vulnerable to single-target removals.
Edit: Maybe even include that minions who eats totems.
Nuh uh - wild even shaman never included that minion, because it had anti-synergies with its deck and was extremely vulnerable to silence.
Why would an Even Shaman run this at all? The deck is already happy with its Jade Claws and it doesn't have board buffs, so there is no reason for them to include this weapon in their deck. The card is also extremely weak. Not to mention, they don't really utilize totem synergies other than running a couple of minions, which get slightly enhanced by totems.
But I must agree with what ThatFinn said. If Flametongue Totem weren't nerfed, the weapon would have had good targets to multiply - Totem Golem, FTT, maybe Wrath of Air Totem (if you have a lot of burst and you want to burn the opponent as much as possible).
I'm looking at this card and telling myself, that this is essentially a Fireball on a stick. But I have a question - what card would you cut, in order to include this in the current tempo mage deck? If we look at the deck-list in VS:
the whole deck tries to counter popular competitors like Big Priest (Potion of Polymorph) and other Tempo/Miracle Mages (Loatheb), while the rest of the cards build the well-known core of this archtype. I might be mistaken, but I don't think that a burn mage would run this 5 mana dude right now, just because he could be too slow in the current aggressive meta.
Did you also change something about the message box? I have a conversation going there and now it's completely topsy-turvy, all the replies in random order. Couldn't find a way to sort them by new or something...
I think the order there is the following one:
The original comment is located at the top, as if it's a sticky post, while the rest of them are sorted by the most recent ones being first. Though I must say, that it is also kinda inconvinient for me.
If something tips the balance or tips the scales, it is the thing that causes a particular situation to happen or a particular decision to be made, when other situations or decisions are possible:
e.g. She was a good candidate, but her lack of computer skills tipped the scales against her.
Nah, I don't think this would create a new Star Aligner druid simply because the damage is dealt to a random target. You might have 3 of those and a Drakkari Enchanter on the board, but unless the opponent's board is empty (somehow), the win is not guaranteed. That said, I would like to try this card out. I don't know what kind of deck I would play - Glinda Crowskin/Plot Twist warlock, Cube hunter (btw gratz for the creativity, guys) - but I would certainly try one of those combos, if I acquire both copies from packs.
Also, I adore the idea of having obelisks in hs. If you think about it, those add to the fantasy of the game. Because suddenly you don't force minions to kill the enemies, you build structures in a desert, which become active once they form a geometric shape (a triangle, square, pentagon....), and then a Drakkari Enchanter fulfills some kind of an ancient ritual and enhances their power even further.
I like it. This is another tool for control warlocks, if we get more healing tools.
I also think, that this demon could potentially fit in a zoolock deck. Maybe not in the current list, which consists of many 1-drops for Magic Carpet, but certainly in something more mid-rangy. Having the ability to answer a big threat while also developing one is a massive tempo swing. Back in the day, shamans used to run Fire Elementals for the exact same reason - now, I won't deny that those can also deal some face damage, but imho the ability to kill a big minion is greater than a 3-damage ping.
You're comparing a 6 drop that insta wins you the game against the most popular mage archetype on ladder right now (miracle mage). To a combo that not only requires you to play an awful 2-drop but you also have to have it be killed off whilst you have a specific card that you want to be duplicated in your hand. Just so that you can play said duplicated card twice which is usually a 10-drop. By the way, the popularity of miracle mage and other slower decks at legend is most likely the only reason GetMeowth runs Nerubian Unraveler in the first place. At any other bracket you just cut Loatheb and Nerubian Unraveler for healing or Doomsayer.
Now, allow me to quote a comment of mine from a little while ago:
I would probably cut a Nerubian Unraveler, since most of the popular decks seem to be minion-based and Miracle Mage can be stopped with a bunch of sticky minions on the board (they don't run single-target removal).
Because it's true. I learnt from first hand, that miracle mage is hopeless against a sticky board. They don't utilize any single target removals for bigger minions and if you manage to stick a Voidlord or two on the board, it's practically GG. This can be done prior to turn 6 (before you would usually play the nerubian, if you actually manage to draw him that is), since you can summon those demons thanks to Voidcaller and Skull of the Man'ari and you can fetch them with Sense Demons. So even though this archtype is very popular, I explained in my previous replies why the nerubian is replaceable and the 2/1 has generally more applications in other MUs. If you don't agree, then that's fine - we both have different perspectives for the aforementioned cards. And, speaking for myself, I don't bother playing ranked once I reach legend. So miracle mage might be the most played deck in legend, but until then you are most likely to stumble upon an odd paladin, an even or a murloc shaman or a big priest, where the nerubian would feel weak. That said, I must agree with you, that a cubelock would rather run some Doomsayers or healing options than Expired Merchant in an aggressive meta like the current one. That's why I hope things would be different next expansion.
Btw Expired Merchant isn't part of any combo. You can play this minion as early as turn 2 and you can get your value later on. It becomes a combo only if you want to guarantee getting the profit next turn. Regarding the Defile example - I wanted to say, that if the opponent doesn't have any 1-health minions on the board, the merchant would speed up the domino effect.
Against which decks do you want a second/third Bloodreaver Gul'dan or N'Zoth, the Corruptor? Compare that to the number of decks against which you don't want to play a 2/1 beforehand and/or don't even have time to play a single 10 mana card.
And doesn't the same apply to Nerubian Unraveler? I would argue, that he is only useful against Miracle Mage, because Aluneth runs a lot of minions and in case they can't answer the nerubian with their board, they can sacrifice a single 6-mana Fireball to clear it. Big Priest needs to have one good minion to die, in order to spam resurrect spells and stop caring about that 6-drop. And he is a one-of in the cubelock list, so a big priest is more likely to cast Shadow Essence before the warlock gets to play the epic.
Now here are Expired Merchant's advantages - this can be combined with Defile, unlike the nerubian it doesn't ruin your gameplan and can enter the board as early as turn 2 (however I have to admit, that warlocks would prefer to spam their HP or play a Doomsayer over it, but the fact remains that the 2/1 is still more useful than the unraveler against minion-based decks). Multiplying N'Zoth, the Corruptor and/or Bloodreaver Gul'dan would be a game winning play against Big Priest, Jade Druid, Mecha'thun/Reno warlock (cuz' once you play one of those 10-drops, your board immediately gets answered). I am aware, that the examples aren't a lot, but if the meta slows down a bit some day, this strategy would have more good targets to prey upon. If you are playing this in cubelock, having a second chance in spamming chargers would always prove to be useful. And Renolock is the incarnation of value.
Not to mention, you don't always have to multiply the aforementioned 10-drops. You could generate a second copy of Lord Godfrey against aggro or Sylvanas Windrunner against big priest. You could multiply the big demons for Voidcaller or Skull of the Man'ari, so there could always be other uses for this 2/1. Lastly, I want to be clear that people would run a single copy of this minion at max, since having two would be an overkill.
Yeah the more I think about it the less I see this impact wild. It's just far too slow and value-oriented. With value barely being a thing in wild this is just not worth running.
Cutting Voidlord in cubelock is basically conceding against the entire meta, which mostly consists of aggressive decks. Doomguards aren't going to save you against those decks.
Why not? I mean, I also don't think that people would cut a whole Voidlord for the Expired Merchant, but imho the 2/1 could easily replace something else. If I have to look at GetMeowth's list:
I would probably cut a Nerubian Unraveler, since most of the popular decks seem to be minion-based and Miracle Mage can be stopped with a bunch of sticky minions on the board (hey don't run single-target removal). This is just my opinion ofc.
I would probably not cut anything from it, since all of the cards seem to be essential in the current meta, but if that slows down a bit in the next expansion, then another value generator wouldn't be a bad inclusion in that deck.
I like Prince Liam's inclusion very much. He reminds me of the reason why warlocks put Arch-Villain Rafaam in their zoo decks, although the latter minion comes with a Taunt and can also replace the cards in your hand.
But if you honestly ask me, I think your deck would be considered to be too fair against the current popular lists. Although I also believe, that Sir Finley of the Sands is powerful, his reward isn't game winning as Prince Keleseth's was and the highlander requirement would be too punishing for an aggro deck. I think having a single copy of Blessing of Kings and Truesilver Champion isn't something minor. Maybe the unrevealed highlander card would change things and make such builds desirable, so let's see what it would look like.
First of all, like the case with the obelisk I really appreciate the fantasy we can see in the design of this card. Performing some kind of an ancient ritual, where 7 cultists sacrifice their lives, in order to summon a deity, and then a drakkari enchantress steps in, who enhances the power of that god even further. I can't find words to express how fun it is seeing such mechanics in the game.
As far as gameplay goes, I have a hard time believing that this would be easier to activate than Mecha'thun, if we don't see more support for it. Since no one dared to asks questions regarding some mechanics, I would like to ask two:
- How would the cultis's battlecry interact with Heart of Vir'naal? Would we see two deities being summoned or only one, cuz the second battlecry would trigger after the first wave of cultists die.
- What does a full board mean? May I cheat the requirement with dormant creatures like The Darkness, Lucentbark or Sherazin, Corpse Flower?
First off, I want to apologize to the admins for posting a hearthpwn link, but the OOC "collectible cards" page and its filter options aren't really user-friendly yet:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/cards?filter-show-standard=y&filter-premium=1&filter-combo=1&display=3
So in the link above you can see all combo cards available to rogue in standard (+ the newly revealed Hooked Scimitar). As much as I'm impressed by the card generation, I don't really think this card would fit in a miracle list. If your deck doesn't run pirates, Raiding Party is either a dead spell or an expensive tutor for one of your weapons. Kidnapper is slow (especially against aggro); Headcrack is only useful if the opponent is dangerously low on health. And Defias Ringleader and Cutthroat Buccaneer are kinda meh. The wild combo cards are mostly bad (with a few exceptions like Elven Minstrel, Vilespine Slayer, but the chances of getting those from all other possible options are few), so I don't want to talk about them. The rest of the generated outcomes are mostly good (when looking at Edwin VanCleef, EVIL Miscreant and Eviscerate), but only few of them are spells, so, again, I don't think that Whirlkick Master would fit in a miracle deck. She's more likely to clog your hand with mediocre or situational stuff.
I'm eager to know where people would run this minion. Thief can generate you a lot of defensive spells and you can heal yourself with Spectral Cutlass (weak too ooze, but at least this has some direct synergies with other cards), so a value deck wouldn't be better than the Burgle archtype. As far as tempo decks go - the popular standard rogue lists are Hooktusk and Tempo, both of which should be satisfied with the Lackey generation, because it's faster and the outcome from it is cheap. So where else you play this in?
Agree.
A standard aggro rogue would like it (not the current one, which runs Waggle Pick). But I am just curious to know whether odd rogue would put this in their decks, but I think the weapon would be too slow - you have to play a 1-drop (a Lackey, Pirate or a Fire Fly) and then the 4/2 blade, which becomes a 4-mana combo, but isn't rogue already satisfied with their upgraded HP?
Ahm, I was aware what fish scales mean and what a measuring scale is. In my previous post wanted to say, that I had never heard the aforementioned idiom before until I checked an English dictionary on the internet.
Thanks for the notifications, Flux. <3
The following just occurred to me - maybe the weapon is a sign, that shaman is about to get more totems and totem synergies. If this becomes a reality, then I might have underrated this card too prematurely. But let's hope, that the SOU totem package isn't as bad as the K&C one - Kobold Hermit, Windshear Stormcaller, Primal Talismans.
I think I acknowledged those minions in my previous post. Sea Giant benefits from a wide board, which the weapon admittedly also offers, but unless you have a Totem Golem or two on the board, summoning copies of basics totems is a weak play on turn 4. Those can be easily answered by swarm decks and Draenei Totemcarver would be played on turn 5, making her more vulnerable to single-target removals.
Edit: Maybe even include that minions who eats totems.
Nuh uh - wild even shaman never included that minion, because it had anti-synergies with its deck and was extremely vulnerable to silence.
Why would an Even Shaman run this at all? The deck is already happy with its Jade Claws and it doesn't have board buffs, so there is no reason for them to include this weapon in their deck. The card is also extremely weak. Not to mention, they don't really utilize totem synergies other than running a couple of minions, which get slightly enhanced by totems.
But I must agree with what ThatFinn said. If Flametongue Totem weren't nerfed, the weapon would have had good targets to multiply - Totem Golem, FTT, maybe Wrath of Air Totem (if you have a lot of burst and you want to burn the opponent as much as possible).
I'm looking at this card and telling myself, that this is essentially a Fireball on a stick. But I have a question - what card would you cut, in order to include this in the current tempo mage deck? If we look at the deck-list in VS:
https://www.vicioussyndicate.com/aluneth-mage-4/
the whole deck tries to counter popular competitors like Big Priest (Potion of Polymorph) and other Tempo/Miracle Mages (Loatheb), while the rest of the cards build the well-known core of this archtype. I might be mistaken, but I don't think that a burn mage would run this 5 mana dude right now, just because he could be too slow in the current aggressive meta.
Seriously? This is one of the most bs cards I have ever seen. Imagine how good this would be in the current wild tempo mage deck.
I think the order there is the following one:
The original comment is located at the top, as if it's a sticky post, while the rest of them are sorted by the most recent ones being first. Though I must say, that it is also kinda inconvinient for me.
Same here, but according to some dictionaries the idiom means the following:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/tip-the-balance-scales
If something tips the balance or tips the scales, it is the thing that causes a particular situation to happen or a particular decision to be made, when other situations or decisions are possible:
This can fit in the current lackey zoolock. Nice.
And the token being a demon might be relevant some day.
Nah, I don't think this would create a new Star Aligner druid simply because the damage is dealt to a random target. You might have 3 of those and a Drakkari Enchanter on the board, but unless the opponent's board is empty (somehow), the win is not guaranteed. That said, I would like to try this card out. I don't know what kind of deck I would play - Glinda Crowskin/Plot Twist warlock, Cube hunter (btw gratz for the creativity, guys) - but I would certainly try one of those combos, if I acquire both copies from packs.
Also, I adore the idea of having obelisks in hs. If you think about it, those add to the fantasy of the game. Because suddenly you don't force minions to kill the enemies, you build structures in a desert, which become active once they form a geometric shape (a triangle, square, pentagon....), and then a Drakkari Enchanter fulfills some kind of an ancient ritual and enhances their power even further.
I like it. This is another tool for control warlocks, if we get more healing tools.
I also think, that this demon could potentially fit in a zoolock deck. Maybe not in the current list, which consists of many 1-drops for Magic Carpet, but certainly in something more mid-rangy. Having the ability to answer a big threat while also developing one is a massive tempo swing. Back in the day, shamans used to run Fire Elementals for the exact same reason - now, I won't deny that those can also deal some face damage, but imho the ability to kill a big minion is greater than a 3-damage ping.
Now, allow me to quote a comment of mine from a little while ago:
Because it's true. I learnt from first hand, that miracle mage is hopeless against a sticky board. They don't utilize any single target removals for bigger minions and if you manage to stick a Voidlord or two on the board, it's practically GG. This can be done prior to turn 6 (before you would usually play the nerubian, if you actually manage to draw him that is), since you can summon those demons thanks to Voidcaller and Skull of the Man'ari and you can fetch them with Sense Demons. So even though this archtype is very popular, I explained in my previous replies why the nerubian is replaceable and the 2/1 has generally more applications in other MUs. If you don't agree, then that's fine - we both have different perspectives for the aforementioned cards. And, speaking for myself, I don't bother playing ranked once I reach legend. So miracle mage might be the most played deck in legend, but until then you are most likely to stumble upon an odd paladin, an even or a murloc shaman or a big priest, where the nerubian would feel weak. That said, I must agree with you, that a cubelock would rather run some Doomsayers or healing options than Expired Merchant in an aggressive meta like the current one. That's why I hope things would be different next expansion.
Btw Expired Merchant isn't part of any combo. You can play this minion as early as turn 2 and you can get your value later on. It becomes a combo only if you want to guarantee getting the profit next turn. Regarding the Defile example - I wanted to say, that if the opponent doesn't have any 1-health minions on the board, the merchant would speed up the domino effect.
And doesn't the same apply to Nerubian Unraveler? I would argue, that he is only useful against Miracle Mage, because Aluneth runs a lot of minions and in case they can't answer the nerubian with their board, they can sacrifice a single 6-mana Fireball to clear it. Big Priest needs to have one good minion to die, in order to spam resurrect spells and stop caring about that 6-drop. And he is a one-of in the cubelock list, so a big priest is more likely to cast Shadow Essence before the warlock gets to play the epic.
Now here are Expired Merchant's advantages - this can be combined with Defile, unlike the nerubian it doesn't ruin your gameplan and can enter the board as early as turn 2 (however I have to admit, that warlocks would prefer to spam their HP or play a Doomsayer over it, but the fact remains that the 2/1 is still more useful than the unraveler against minion-based decks). Multiplying N'Zoth, the Corruptor and/or Bloodreaver Gul'dan would be a game winning play against Big Priest, Jade Druid, Mecha'thun/Reno warlock (cuz' once you play one of those 10-drops, your board immediately gets answered). I am aware, that the examples aren't a lot, but if the meta slows down a bit some day, this strategy would have more good targets to prey upon. If you are playing this in cubelock, having a second chance in spamming chargers would always prove to be useful. And Renolock is the incarnation of value.
Not to mention, you don't always have to multiply the aforementioned 10-drops. You could generate a second copy of Lord Godfrey against aggro or Sylvanas Windrunner against big priest. You could multiply the big demons for Voidcaller or Skull of the Man'ari, so there could always be other uses for this 2/1. Lastly, I want to be clear that people would run a single copy of this minion at max, since having two would be an overkill.
Why not? I mean, I also don't think that people would cut a whole Voidlord for the Expired Merchant, but imho the 2/1 could easily replace something else. If I have to look at GetMeowth's list:
https://www.vicioussyndicate.com/getmeowths-cube-warlock-5/
I would probably cut a Nerubian Unraveler, since most of the popular decks seem to be minion-based and Miracle Mage can be stopped with a bunch of sticky minions on the board (hey don't run single-target removal). This is just my opinion ofc.
Regarding the current popular Reno list:
https://www.vicioussyndicate.com/ksrs-reno-warlock-2/
I would probably not cut anything from it, since all of the cards seem to be essential in the current meta, but if that slows down a bit in the next expansion, then another value generator wouldn't be a bad inclusion in that deck.
I like Prince Liam's inclusion very much. He reminds me of the reason why warlocks put Arch-Villain Rafaam in their zoo decks, although the latter minion comes with a Taunt and can also replace the cards in your hand.
But if you honestly ask me, I think your deck would be considered to be too fair against the current popular lists. Although I also believe, that Sir Finley of the Sands is powerful, his reward isn't game winning as Prince Keleseth's was and the highlander requirement would be too punishing for an aggro deck. I think having a single copy of Blessing of Kings and Truesilver Champion isn't something minor. Maybe the unrevealed highlander card would change things and make such builds desirable, so let's see what it would look like.