Thats one of the type of decks I really enjoy playing. Any replacements for Benedictus and Zola? those are the only ones i'm missing.
Well, I made a small section regarding card replacements and recommendations:
Possible discounts and card recommendations: Zola the Gorgon - Look, ya can easily use Seance instead of her, but I don't be wantin' to ruin de outcome of Shadow Visions, when I desperately want ta search foh a specific spell (eithah an AoE against aggro or Entomb against Big Priest). Archbishop Benedictus - Good card versus control decks, which reach fatigue. Kinda hard to find a replacement, because no other card can delay fatigue like he does. I would suggest something else - ya can use Piloted Shredder or Rotten Applebaum, in order to speed up de quest completion process, to have bettah chances against aggressive strategies and to deny ya hand gettin overflooded with value from N'Zoth. But if ya aim ta have fun, den try to add some meme cards as a compensation.
Zola the Gorgon - as I said in the quoted paragraph, if you want to replace the copying card with a cheaper version, you could always use Seance. The reason why I don't use it is because I want Shadow Visions to be really picky, when it searches through my deck for spells. Against Big Priest for example I want to discover one specific spell - Entomb - and I don't want something to get in the way of me fetching it. It's all about numbers and the more different spells I have in my deck, the lesser the chances of finding something, which I desire at a given moment. That's why I would recommend doing something else like adding a deathrattle minion (a second Sludge Belcher, a Rotten Applebaum or a Bloodmage Thalnos) in your deck. Some people don't mind running Seance and if you care more about having fun and memeing your opponent, then you can use this instead. It also adds more flavour to the deck.
Archbishop Benedictus - Fortunately for you he is rarely useful (only when I face Big Priests, Renolocks and in some rare cases other control decks), so you can safely put something cheaper (preferably a deathrattle minion for N'zoth).
Not quite. You only get back the minions that died this turn, not all game. With the high cost it might be hard to do. But I could see wild Shaman running this with Elemental Destruction or Shudderwock. Warlocks could also use Corrupting Mist.
Tbh I don't think this legendary would be used in Shudderwock shaman just because you wouldn't want to resurrect weak bodies from his battlecry, but rather have room to summon extra copies of the 9-drop, which you would later bounce to your hand. Either that or in jade shaman's case you can instantly fill the board with larger and larger men and you wouldn't benefit from Whitemane's effect.
But I was also thinking of using this card in warlock due to the various "friendly minion" destruction tools there. The question arises where you would run this legendary and why not run Kel'Thuzad instead. I personally think Renolock wouldn't be that greedy to add this, but a theoretical deathrattle control build would consider it as an option.
Strong, but also fair at the same time. I could definitely see some mid-range dragon decks using this. If I could rate this, I would say, that this minion is a 3-star card and in some metas it could even reach 4 stars.
[edit] Dunno how relevant the following information would be, but since the little fella has an odd-cost, it could fit in some odd control dragon warriors on theory. I don't think that it would be good enough to make the cut there, since odd warriors are better off running the quest, but I wanted to point this out.
Imho 5 mana is a bit overcosted (the best price would be 4, see Evolving Spores). I know that in wild paladins have a lot of synergies with Divine Shield and with dudes (odd pala), but I am not really sure that they would run it in their decks. It's just too slow.
Thanks for sharing the news with us. It's really interesting to learn more about the devs' opinion on the state of the wild meta and the possible features they are thinking on including some day.
Btw I had a feeling, that the next expansion is going to be all about assembling a League of GOOD/PROTECTORS (aka Avengers). The first expansion is all about EVILdoers robbing the magical city and logically the next one would include gathering people to restore its lost glory.
I had a quest "Win 3 games as Priest", so obviously I chose to play my beloved Thief deck and goofed around on rank 5. I won some matches, lost others, but the games I had were exciting. For example I laughed when I met this mill rogue, who wasn't aware of my deck's main strategy:
I also met a Reno Priest, who decided to give up on their burn strategy and go for the memes:
I lost that game, because I couldn't draw my deathrattle minions fast enough and my quest got completed a turn too late, but it was still enjoyable seeing my opponent wanting to goof around as well. So thanks, Frau "Braut".
i didnot get where the vargoth gives u value? What is the go to move here..
While it may feel strange to see him without the usual support, I find Archmage Vargoth to be very useful in Control in general. I put him in the deck, in order to get an extra cast on Twilight's Call (especially if I'm in a tough situation and I want to complete the quest ASAP; I could summon additional Convincing Infiltrators and delay the opponent's aggression), Shadow Visions and Entomb (which is exceptionally valuable against Big Priests). In some cases he could be useful when casting a Spirit Lash, Mass Hysteria and Lightbomb twice. I use him in those cases, when I'm desperate for a clear and my initial AoE didn't destroy all minions on the board (I play Vargoth after casting the AoE).
Alongside this deck I play a pure meme one, where I run Mind Control. I don't recommend running this 10-mana spell, because aggro decks like mech hunter and odd pala are way too dominant and can punish you hard for running a dead and situational card. If you want to give more value for Vargoth, I suggest running a second Spirit Lash (you would increase your winrate against faster decks) and/or maybe a Divine Hymn instead of a Greater Healing Potion. If you aren't convinced by those examples, then I'd suggest you replace him with either a taunt deathrattle minion - a second Sludge Belcher or a Rotten Applebaum - or Bloodmage Thalnos for extra cycle.
[edit] I can't believe I forgot to write the most obvious interaction. In addition to what I said above, you can also use Vargoth in combination with the spells you stole from your opponent for extra sspicy memes. ;)
Man, I don't ever play wild nor even a lot of priest in standard, but that guide was so much fun to read! Thanks for the time and the dedication you invested there, I truely appreciate it.
Thanks for your kind words, but imho it would be a good idea to give wild a try. Back when I was a devoted standard player, I came in wild occasionally just to play some fun decks (either in casual or in the lower ranks) and to chill out. I played Steal Priest (ofc), Randuin (feat. Yogg), Dane's Factory Rogue, Jade Rogue, Jade Shudderwock Shaman, Shudder-Yogg Shaman, Reno Mage, Renolock (out of nostalgia) and Dane's Reno hunter. So if you don't feel like laddering in wild, that's ok; you could always give casual a try. I recommend watching Roffle and Dane, because you might get an inspiration to try out something wacky.
Naxxramas and League of explorers have quite a few good cards that see play in today's meta. The other two... Not so much.
My advice would be to buy those two, if you really need those cards, and craft specific cards from the other two remaining adventures.
^ Basically this. It really depends on the type of decks you want to play. If you share your personal preferences with us, we can give you more specific tips on what to craft/buy.
I wish there were a poll in this thread, so that we could see which alternative hero skin ends up being the community's beloved pick.
If I have to be honest with you, I would welcome ALL of them. I don't see why there should be a single alternative hero being implemented in the game, because this would sadden the majority of players, who don't play that specific class. But anyway, if I have to choose my own favourites, I would go with Squeamlish (she's the cutest one), Ol' Barkeye (I love his voice lines) and Tekahn (I'm a warlock fan and I don't have other skins for that class).
Shufflelock (feat Plot Twist is a fun deck I would suggest you try. I didn't play that much with it and I didn't bring it to the ladder, but the games I had were exciting. How big is your wild collection btw?
If you care about being competitive, then I suggest crafting the Mountain Giants for Evenlock or Magic Carpet for zoo (wild and standard), since both of them are safe crafts and used in various other decks.
Wow, big thanks for including my deck here. I didn't know you guys scroll through newly made decks.
Btw, yes, the priest deck I propose has a really strong control basis. I'm not denying that. But the copying cads (Madame Lazul, Crystalline Oracle + Twilight's Call, Archbishop Benedictus and Entomb) should be enough to build a good theft package, so that this deck would be considered as a representative of this archtype.
Dis be da main reason foh someone ta play it. De fun part, mon. De stronk control basis allows anyone ta reach rank Legend, but de thieving cards make da experience moh' satisfyin' and da grind bearable.
Ever since I was a kid, I've always enjoyed playing RPGs and I wanted to give my characters a proper, cool sounding name. I randomly fixxed on ковачът, which in Bulgarian means "the forger".
I don't play hs that frequently atm (I'm enjoying Heroes 3 HotA a lot more), but here are some pics I would like to share with you guys:
Against Murloc Shaman
I don't remember much from that game, since it took place a couple of days ago. But I remember, that I struggled a lot back then - the opponent had a really aggressive start and put me dangerously low on health, before I managed to exhaust them and to heal myself with a Greater Healing Potion.
The reason why I found that match to be funny was the fact, that I almost died by the opponent's stupid murlocs and at the end, after I stabilized, I gave them a taste of their own medicine. Unfortunately for me, the shaman player hit the concede button, before I could kill them with Bloodlust. If only I could!
Against Pocket Galaxy Value Mage
Picture this - the opponent managed to cast Luna's Pocket Galaxy on turn 5. And...
... I don't know what to say...
about that, except...
...bless the patch, which allowed copying cost reduced cards to be played with their new cost. You don't know how excited I was, when the mage opponent cast that spell on turn 5, while I had a Thoughtsteal in hand and drew Crystalline Oracles and Twilight's Call later on. I was like a child in a sweetshop. My first stolen minion was Medivh, the Guardian and in the first pic I top-decked Mind Control just when the mage played The Lich King.
It was very satisfying to turn the opponent's deck against them and, luckily for me, they were a fighter. They stood almost throughout the entire match and managed to deal with my BS, which made the game even more enjoyable for me. So thank you, kind stranger.
I think the random nature of thief cards is where it has a hard time gaining traction. You just can't create a concrete game plan. Sometimes you get lucky but others you might just get a random card. If they made thief cards that were more deliberate and targeted this might change.
I don't think this is the reason why the thief package can't take off atm. I don't want to brag, but back in RR I had a lot of success with two wild Thief Priest decks - one faster (that utilized a lot of cheap deathrattle minions) and one slower (that ran some meme cards like Chameleos). And the reason why I managed to win a lot of games and even reach Legend was due to the amazing control basis and the presence of Shadow Visions, which the class provides in that format. Priest's AoEs are massive, relatively cheap and can clear almost every board - Mass Hysteria, Lightbomb, Psychic Scream and Shadowreaper Anduin. As for healing I used Amara, Warden of Hope and some Greater Healing Potions. All of those things helped me survive the opponent's aggression.
Exactly this is missing in standard. Priests can't afford to run a defensive, value-oriented deck; otherwise they would easily die. The fact, that the cards, which could be generated from Thoughtsteal or Madame Lazul, are random and "can't create a concrete gameplan", isn't that big of an issue. I remember the time back in LoE, when Control priests used to prolong the whole game and win just by outvaluing the opponent.
"Thief" is a terrible misnomer. They are copies; you are not actually stealing anything.
Well, plagiarism is also considered as a theft, because you are "stealing" someone else's ideas and representing them as your own. It's not important, if you physically take the original document and just replace the author's name with your own or you just write down whole paragraphs without making changes to the original work. Or the case with online piracy - downloading an illegal copy of someone's creation (video game, music video, movie....) and taking advantage of it without the author's permission, so I don't think thief is a misnormer.
In fact, I personally think this is a great way to express a certain in-game thematic. You have to admit, that if the rogue's and priest's thieving archtypes were called with their proper names, they wouldn't sound that exciting - Copy your opponent's cards Priest/Copy random cards from another class Rogue.
Oh dear God, Yes. I'm a big fan of the Steal archtype and I always hope to see more cards supporting this archtype. Regarding the question whether we will see this happening NEXT EXPANSION, well, I can't really predict based on the "evidence" we have right now. If I do, it would be me speculating as you said.
And the chances of this lowrolling are even greater. Imagine summoning a 1- or a 2-cost beast; the risk is not worth the inclusion.
Well, I made a small section regarding card replacements and recommendations:
Possible discounts and card recommendations:
Zola the Gorgon - Look, ya can easily use Seance instead of her, but I don't be wantin' to ruin de outcome of Shadow Visions, when I desperately want ta search foh a specific spell (eithah an AoE against aggro or Entomb against Big Priest).
Archbishop Benedictus - Good card versus control decks, which reach fatigue. Kinda hard to find a replacement, because no other card can delay fatigue like he does. I would suggest something else - ya can use Piloted Shredder or Rotten Applebaum, in order to speed up de quest completion process, to have bettah chances against aggressive strategies and to deny ya hand gettin overflooded with value from N'Zoth. But if ya aim ta have fun, den try to add some meme cards as a compensation.
Zola the Gorgon - as I said in the quoted paragraph, if you want to replace the copying card with a cheaper version, you could always use Seance. The reason why I don't use it is because I want Shadow Visions to be really picky, when it searches through my deck for spells. Against Big Priest for example I want to discover one specific spell - Entomb - and I don't want something to get in the way of me fetching it. It's all about numbers and the more different spells I have in my deck, the lesser the chances of finding something, which I desire at a given moment. That's why I would recommend doing something else like adding a deathrattle minion (a second Sludge Belcher, a Rotten Applebaum or a Bloodmage Thalnos) in your deck. Some people don't mind running Seance and if you care more about having fun and memeing your opponent, then you can use this instead. It also adds more flavour to the deck.
Archbishop Benedictus - Fortunately for you he is rarely useful (only when I face Big Priests, Renolocks and in some rare cases other control decks), so you can safely put something cheaper (preferably a deathrattle minion for N'zoth).
Tbh I don't think this legendary would be used in Shudderwock shaman just because you wouldn't want to resurrect weak bodies from his battlecry, but rather have room to summon extra copies of the 9-drop, which you would later bounce to your hand. Either that or in jade shaman's case you can instantly fill the board with larger and larger men and you wouldn't benefit from Whitemane's effect.
But I was also thinking of using this card in warlock due to the various "friendly minion" destruction tools there. The question arises where you would run this legendary and why not run Kel'Thuzad instead. I personally think Renolock wouldn't be that greedy to add this, but a theoretical deathrattle control build would consider it as an option.
True, but then someone would ask themselves why they would run this spell, when they could use Divine Hymn instead.
Strong, but also fair at the same time. I could definitely see some mid-range dragon decks using this. If I could rate this, I would say, that this minion is a 3-star card and in some metas it could even reach 4 stars.
[edit] Dunno how relevant the following information would be, but since the little fella has an odd-cost, it could fit in some odd control dragon warriors on theory. I don't think that it would be good enough to make the cut there, since odd warriors are better off running the quest, but I wanted to point this out.
Imho 5 mana is a bit overcosted (the best price would be 4, see Evolving Spores). I know that in wild paladins have a lot of synergies with Divine Shield and with dudes (odd pala), but I am not really sure that they would run it in their decks. It's just too slow.
It reminds me of Iron Hide with less synergies.
@ OP
Thanks for sharing the news with us. It's really interesting to learn more about the devs' opinion on the state of the wild meta and the possible features they are thinking on including some day.
Btw I had a feeling, that the next expansion is going to be all about assembling a League of GOOD/PROTECTORS (aka Avengers). The first expansion is all about EVILdoers robbing the magical city and logically the next one would include gathering people to restore its lost glory.
I had a quest "Win 3 games as Priest", so obviously I chose to play my beloved Thief deck and goofed around on rank 5. I won some matches, lost others, but the games I had were exciting. For example I laughed when I met this mill rogue, who wasn't aware of my deck's main strategy:
I also met a Reno Priest, who decided to give up on their burn strategy and go for the memes:
(they played Seance on my Archbishop Benedictus and soon after the 7-drop before drawing Raza the Chained)
I lost that game, because I couldn't draw my deathrattle minions fast enough and my quest got completed a turn too late, but it was still enjoyable seeing my opponent wanting to goof around as well. So thanks, Frau "Braut".
While it may feel strange to see him without the usual support, I find Archmage Vargoth to be very useful in Control in general. I put him in the deck, in order to get an extra cast on Twilight's Call (especially if I'm in a tough situation and I want to complete the quest ASAP; I could summon additional Convincing Infiltrators and delay the opponent's aggression), Shadow Visions and Entomb (which is exceptionally valuable against Big Priests). In some cases he could be useful when casting a Spirit Lash, Mass Hysteria and Lightbomb twice. I use him in those cases, when I'm desperate for a clear and my initial AoE didn't destroy all minions on the board (I play Vargoth after casting the AoE).
Alongside this deck I play a pure meme one, where I run Mind Control. I don't recommend running this 10-mana spell, because aggro decks like mech hunter and odd pala are way too dominant and can punish you hard for running a dead and situational card. If you want to give more value for Vargoth, I suggest running a second Spirit Lash (you would increase your winrate against faster decks) and/or maybe a Divine Hymn instead of a Greater Healing Potion. If you aren't convinced by those examples, then I'd suggest you replace him with either a taunt deathrattle minion - a second Sludge Belcher or a Rotten Applebaum - or Bloodmage Thalnos for extra cycle.
[edit] I can't believe I forgot to write the most obvious interaction. In addition to what I said above, you can also use Vargoth in combination with the spells you stole from your opponent for extra sspicy memes. ;)
Thanks for your kind words, but imho it would be a good idea to give wild a try. Back when I was a devoted standard player, I came in wild occasionally just to play some fun decks (either in casual or in the lower ranks) and to chill out. I played Steal Priest (ofc), Randuin (feat. Yogg), Dane's Factory Rogue, Jade Rogue, Jade Shudderwock Shaman, Shudder-Yogg Shaman, Reno Mage, Renolock (out of nostalgia) and Dane's Reno hunter. So if you don't feel like laddering in wild, that's ok; you could always give casual a try. I recommend watching Roffle and Dane, because you might get an inspiration to try out something wacky.
^ Basically this. It really depends on the type of decks you want to play. If you share your personal preferences with us, we can give you more specific tips on what to craft/buy.
I wish there were a poll in this thread, so that we could see which alternative hero skin ends up being the community's beloved pick.
If I have to be honest with you, I would welcome ALL of them. I don't see why there should be a single alternative hero being implemented in the game, because this would sadden the majority of players, who don't play that specific class. But anyway, if I have to choose my own favourites, I would go with Squeamlish (she's the cutest one), Ol' Barkeye (I love his voice lines) and Tekahn (I'm a warlock fan and I don't have other skins for that class).
@ OP
Shufflelock (feat Plot Twist is a fun deck I would suggest you try. I didn't play that much with it and I didn't bring it to the ladder, but the games I had were exciting. How big is your wild collection btw?
If you care about being competitive, then I suggest crafting the Mountain Giants for Evenlock or Magic Carpet for zoo (wild and standard), since both of them are safe crafts and used in various other decks.
@ FrostyFeet
Wow, big thanks for including my deck here. I didn't know you guys scroll through newly made decks.
Btw, yes, the priest deck I propose has a really strong control basis. I'm not denying that. But the copying cads (Madame Lazul, Crystalline Oracle + Twilight's Call, Archbishop Benedictus and Entomb) should be enough to build a good theft package, so that this deck would be considered as a representative of this archtype.
Dis be da main reason foh someone ta play it. De fun part, mon. De stronk control basis allows anyone ta reach rank Legend, but de thieving cards make da experience moh' satisfyin' and da grind bearable.
Ever since I was a kid, I've always enjoyed playing RPGs and I wanted to give my characters a proper, cool sounding name. I randomly fixxed on ковачът, which in Bulgarian means "the forger".
I don't play hs that frequently atm (I'm enjoying Heroes 3 HotA a lot more), but here are some pics I would like to share with you guys:
Against Murloc Shaman
I don't remember much from that game, since it took place a couple of days ago. But I remember, that I struggled a lot back then - the opponent had a really aggressive start and put me dangerously low on health, before I managed to exhaust them and to heal myself with a Greater Healing Potion.
The reason why I found that match to be funny was the fact, that I almost died by the opponent's stupid murlocs and at the end, after I stabilized, I gave them a taste of their own medicine. Unfortunately for me, the shaman player hit the concede button, before I could kill them with Bloodlust. If only I could!
Against Pocket Galaxy Value Mage
Picture this - the opponent managed to cast Luna's Pocket Galaxy on turn 5. And...
... I don't know what to say...
about that, except...
...bless the patch, which allowed copying cost reduced cards to be played with their new cost. You don't know how excited I was, when the mage opponent cast that spell on turn 5, while I had a Thoughtsteal in hand and drew Crystalline Oracles and Twilight's Call later on. I was like a child in a sweetshop. My first stolen minion was Medivh, the Guardian and in the first pic I top-decked Mind Control just when the mage played The Lich King.
It was very satisfying to turn the opponent's deck against them and, luckily for me, they were a fighter. They stood almost throughout the entire match and managed to deal with my BS, which made the game even more enjoyable for me. So thank you, kind stranger.
I don't think this is the reason why the thief package can't take off atm. I don't want to brag, but back in RR I had a lot of success with two wild Thief Priest decks - one faster (that utilized a lot of cheap deathrattle minions) and one slower (that ran some meme cards like Chameleos). And the reason why I managed to win a lot of games and even reach Legend was due to the amazing control basis and the presence of Shadow Visions, which the class provides in that format. Priest's AoEs are massive, relatively cheap and can clear almost every board - Mass Hysteria, Lightbomb, Psychic Scream and Shadowreaper Anduin. As for healing I used Amara, Warden of Hope and some Greater Healing Potions. All of those things helped me survive the opponent's aggression.
Exactly this is missing in standard. Priests can't afford to run a defensive, value-oriented deck; otherwise they would easily die. The fact, that the cards, which could be generated from Thoughtsteal or Madame Lazul, are random and "can't create a concrete gameplan", isn't that big of an issue. I remember the time back in LoE, when Control priests used to prolong the whole game and win just by outvaluing the opponent.
Well, plagiarism is also considered as a theft, because you are "stealing" someone else's ideas and representing them as your own. It's not important, if you physically take the original document and just replace the author's name with your own or you just write down whole paragraphs without making changes to the original work. Or the case with online piracy - downloading an illegal copy of someone's creation (video game, music video, movie....) and taking advantage of it without the author's permission, so I don't think thief is a misnormer.
In fact, I personally think this is a great way to express a certain in-game thematic. You have to admit, that if the rogue's and priest's thieving archtypes were called with their proper names, they wouldn't sound that exciting - Copy your opponent's cards Priest/Copy random cards from another class Rogue.
Oh dear God, Yes. I'm a big fan of the Steal archtype and I always hope to see more cards supporting this archtype. Regarding the question whether we will see this happening NEXT EXPANSION, well, I can't really predict based on the "evidence" we have right now. If I do, it would be me speculating as you said.