It's good but that's mostly because it has taunt. A RNG Mind Control (or Shadow Madness) minion wouldn't do a lot against swarm decks but since it has taunt it fills a nice early game defensive barricade role as well. It's strictly inferior to Convincing Infiltrator in Resurrect decks since it only works against minions with very low attack so i wouldn't expect it to be a big deal in that deck but it certainly is a decent option for other decks.
Well, this just seems to be the main theme for the DH class. Legendary cards that allow every character on their side do whatever they want. This card certainly feels like a push towards Control but that doesn't mean Tempo and Aggro DH won't find a way to abuse it. Oh, it's for Hunter as well... Infinite durability weapon and beefy dragons can now control the board without them suffering any punishment for it. Yay...
It's pretty good considering how easy it is for these two classes to change their health totals. But what is that thing supposed to be? It looks like a demon! Why it doesn't have a tag?
It's certainly not a very interesting card. The effect is fine enough and the stealth support is nice but without more deathrattle synergies this card will probably just become a filler option for Stealth Rogue. At least, she isn't a RNG Yeti anymore.
There's something wrong with this whole dual class stuff. This card is extremely powerful clearly but it benefits mainly Shaman. I'm sure that Druids aren't exactly excited to have overload on their cards. Ramping and gaining extra mana is something that Druids already do. The benefit feels kinda one sided. Druid gains nothing from this card. It's the same problem with Wand Thief. It's great for Rogue but Mage doesn't really gain anything from it. It doesn't provide an unique benefit and the combo aspect is a downside to Mages. This doesn't feel right in the slightest.
Okay, the card is great for Rogue. But for Mage it's actually not that good imo. It's a combo card which is fine for Rogue as it's their class mechanic and they have cards to support it (0-mana spells). But Mage doesn't really have that kind of support for this mechanic. It's a downside as it requires a card to be played first and that means it's not a 1 drop for Mage. Also, there's a problem with the flavor of the card. It makes sense for Rogue with all their burglary stuff but for Mage it's just a regular Discover a Spell. Nothing unique or special about it for them. Shouldn't this also discover Rogue spells for Mage? I don't get it. It looks extremely lame from the Mage's perspective.
The change is healthy for the game but the card itself is probably hot garbage now. It's highly likely that the meta won't slow down and now she requires a much slower meta to be played safely. She is pretty much going to become a 10 mana card that can't really be played if you are behind. She can't save from a bad position. She was designed as a swing card but she can't create swing turns effectively anymore. What's the point of playing a card with a restriction to your deck that doesn't produce big payoffs unless you are already winning? This is just my opinion and i may be playing the Doomsayer here but i think it's not worth using her in any deck after the change. Totally unplayable.
I think DQ Alex just sucks now. She is already a really slow card and the only worthwhile thing she has is the swing potential. Now she is so much worse at swinging games that she may just be too clunky to be played in any deck. Only the greediest and most defensive highlander decks will be able to play her and even those decks may have better options available. You simply can't play her if you are behind because it's almost impossible that just one dragon will be able to save you from a bad position. If she gives you a bad result that may set you behind so much in tempo that you will most likely just lose the game on the spot. If you can only play her when you are ahead then that screams pure win more to me. Seriously, the more i look at this change the more i think that she is just going to be way too clunky.
I just started playing wild and getting cards or packs from rotated expansions at the end of the season would help a lot since i missed at least 6 expansions and all adventures up to Karazhan. I'm having a good time so far but that's because i'm in the lower ranks (currently Gold 5). I'm sure i'll start to see those big meta decks soon and then i'll be able to tell if wild is better than standard or if the meta is just as stale and boring.
I climbed to Diamond this month with a Malygos Rogue that i adapted from J_Alexander's Galakrond Umbral Rogue. It did surprisingly well (11/1), but in Diamond things change dramatically. Too many Hyper Aggro Face decks. Currently, the winrate is 64% (14/8), but i haven't played the deck in a few days. Right now, i just do the daily quests and play Highlander Priest which is the only deck i have fun playing with. I really dislike the current meta. I'm not even gonna bother trying to get my first legend like last month. It's not worth it.
Solid removal, but extremely boring design. Prophet Velen was used for all sorts of unhealthy OTK combos, but he was also more flexible. He could be used for improved healing or to increase the damage of your AoE spells. But this card has no potential synergies or other applications. It's just a "kill one thing and that's it" card. She is as flexible as an iron bar. Good, but uninteresting.
I've been playing a lot the last couple days. I wanted to reach Diamond 5 before the nerfs hit. I tried to use Galalock, but it wasn't working so i switched to Big Druid and it finally worked. Now, i'm playing with Highlander Priest just for fun. I want to hit legend but i'm going to wait and see how the meta changes before i make any forced attempts. I don't play DH since release day. I'm not the biggest fan of aggro or combo decks so the class doesn't offer anything for me. I also don't have Metamorphosis or Kayn Sunfury and i'm not particularly interested in crafting them. The outcast mechanic is cool though.
I have been playing with this in a Deathrattle Priest and it's perfectly fine. The card is really slow and should never be played on curve (unless you are ahead). But combining it with Priest's many copying effects works really well. Grave Rune is really strong on Al'ar. Psyche Split and Shadowy Figure are fine as well. It won some games but even when my opponents managed to completely get rid of it they still had to waste quite a few attacks and spells on it. It's annoying. Just like Priest.
Al'ar is a niche card. It exists for very specific decks and does well in those (but sucks everywhere else). As long as there are synergies available, you can make good use of it. It's fun as well. It's similar to Shu'ma. That card also looked awful but it found a spot in Quest Hunter and proved its viability as a niche card for token decks.
Battlefiend: Correct nerf. Let's see how it performs now.
Altruis the Outcast: Solves absolutely nothing. The issue with this card is how it destroys your board AND obliterates your face simultaneously. Now it deals more damage if it sticks (unlikely but still...). The cost increase only makes it slightly worse for slower DHs who care more about controlling the board than the face damage. The card is less flexible now but it will still see play in every DH deck in standard. The cost increase is very significant for wild though. Now he can't be played in Odd DH.
Kael'thas Sunstrider: The most underwhelming one. Just one more mana isn't going to solve most of its comboing issues. It's just a tiny bit slower. Maybe it will be enough to help the fastest aggro decks kill combo players. But this surely was very disappointing.
Bad Luck Albatross: The increase to 4 mana is good. A tech card should never have good stats for its mana cost. Its purpose is to counter specific strategies. It should be situational. As it is right now, it's just a good 3 drop that also messes with your opponent's strategy/deck.
Frenzied Felwing: Easier to remove which is appreciated. Most likely, it will still see play.
Sacrificial Pact: Just as expected by everyone. Now it's still an inexpensive source of healing for Galakrond Warlock but not a free heal + removal. Lord Jaraxxus can finally see some play. People will certainly experiment. Is it going to work? Maybe. We will see.
Bloodbloom: As i expected. This should stop Darkest Hour Warlock but it will hurt other decks as well.
Open the Waygate: Probably not enough. Mages are too efficient at generating random spells and they have a ton of 1-cost spells. Sorcerer's Apprentice mana discount just makes it too easy to complete. There's also Primordial Glyph.
Libram of Justice: A simple 1 mana cost reduction. Just as expected. And i still think this isn't enough.
Some changes were expected but i have serious doubts about some of them (especially Kael'thas and Altruis).
Battlefiend: Probably changed to a 1/2. I never had any problems with this card because 2 health is easy to deal with but i can see it being highly frustrating if you have no answers. Btw, if this change happens and it works than it proves that the Mana Wyrm nerf was totally wrong. At 2 mana that card is completely unplayable.
Altruis the Outcast: No longer deals damage to face. That's enough for this one.
Glaivebound Adept: Reduced stats. Probably 5/4. It should still be playable but not a big deal anymore.
Kael'thas Sunstrider: To be honest, i have no idea how they will change this without killing it. Bumping its cost to 8 mana surely slows it down but it doesn't stop its 0 cost spell nonsense so it doesn't help a lot. Changing the discount will certainly kill it as a combo tool though. Maybe, instead of 0, the spells should cost 1?
Bad Luck Albatross: Stats are good for its cost which allows it to be played in any type of deck without any drawbacks. It will either be changed to a 2/3 or have its cost increased to 4. That makes it bad outside of its purpose as a tech card.
Frenzied Felwing: Cost will be increased. Lowering its stats are going to kill it for sure. At 5 or 6 mana, it shouldn't be a big deal anymore and still be playable. Maybe...
Sacrificial Pact: Affects friendly demons only. This one is certain.
Open the Waygate: I don't play wild but i know how mages have a very easy time generating tons of spells (and many of them are really cheap) which makes completing this quest a no brainer. The requirement should be increased to 10 (minimum) or 12 (safest option).
Bloodbloom: A mana cheat card that enables another mana cheat card (Darkest Hour) that is borderline unplayable without a proper enabler. Both of these cards are relatively fine on their own but Bloodbloom could become an issue with other cards in the future so i believe they are targeting the right card. Probably changed to 4 mana. Btw, DHour also needs other enablers (like Rafaam's Scheme) because it's useless without targets to sacrifice. It's fine as long as there are no ways to use it too early.
Libram of Justice: The effect is perfectly fine so i believe they are reducing its cost to 5. Probably not enough to help Paladin though.
Hir'eek deserved a buff much more than Dr. Morrigan. I like the card but there isn't enough support available and some of the cards that are meant for the Handbuff archetype are terrible (Spirit of the Bat mainly). It annoys me deeply that they printed another Handbuff card in the new set when the core of the archetype is leaving permanently. Oh well... At least, this card gave me one of the most fun games i have played since i started playing this game: Hir'eek vs Lucentbark, the battle of the memes! A board of 11/11 Hir'eeks against my opponent's wall of Lucentbarks. I won after killing his wall three times and having a single bat left to hit face. Big shouts to Leeroy Jenkins for landing the finishing blow.
Cobalt was annoying to deal with but i kinda feel bad for him. He lost his only place in the spotlight, got replaced by an imposter and is now forever stuck in the wild pit of irrelevance. Btw, the new card came with a nerf to attack but two buffs: it starts with divine shield and it gains attack during combat. I don't think this is going to change anything. Maybe it will actually become worse.
Meh... Totally unreliable card because its power is dependent on a topdeck. With its base effect, its just a Siphon Soul with a body instead of a heal. Not the worst but not great either. Only Plot Twist Warlock will be able to make the most out of this and even so you still need a lot of luck. Replacement for Lord Godfrey? Not even close. Godfrey only loses to Psychic Scream and Plague of Death. This card is a luck based Twisting Nether that will be a Siphon Soul most of the time. Totally mediocre.
Removing Leeroy is a massive hit for all aggro decks. I was already expecting the removal of MC Tech. That card has always been the culprit of major RNG swings in the game. It's possible to play around but it generated too much frustration. Swarm decks win big with its rotation but the loss of Leeroy is going to counterbalance that.
I don't care too much about Mountain Giant as it was mostly a niche card that became extremely frustrating when Conjurer's Calling came out. I haven't played in two months so i don't know if it's causing any issues at the moment, but, after the nerf to CC, it wasn't that much of a problem anymore.
Acolyte and Spellbreaker are a big surprise, but it shouldn't be a big deal as long as they print similar cards to compensate for their rotation.
It's good but that's mostly because it has taunt. A RNG Mind Control (or Shadow Madness) minion wouldn't do a lot against swarm decks but since it has taunt it fills a nice early game defensive barricade role as well. It's strictly inferior to Convincing Infiltrator in Resurrect decks since it only works against minions with very low attack so i wouldn't expect it to be a big deal in that deck but it certainly is a decent option for other decks.
Well, this just seems to be the main theme for the DH class. Legendary cards that allow every character on their side do whatever they want. This card certainly feels like a push towards Control but that doesn't mean Tempo and Aggro DH won't find a way to abuse it. Oh, it's for Hunter as well... Infinite durability weapon and beefy dragons can now control the board without them suffering any punishment for it. Yay...
Zoo support with discard synergy. Good for those archetypes but not very interesting or new.
It's pretty good considering how easy it is for these two classes to change their health totals. But what is that thing supposed to be? It looks like a demon! Why it doesn't have a tag?
It's certainly not a very interesting card. The effect is fine enough and the stealth support is nice but without more deathrattle synergies this card will probably just become a filler option for Stealth Rogue. At least, she isn't a RNG Yeti anymore.
There's something wrong with this whole dual class stuff. This card is extremely powerful clearly but it benefits mainly Shaman. I'm sure that Druids aren't exactly excited to have overload on their cards. Ramping and gaining extra mana is something that Druids already do. The benefit feels kinda one sided. Druid gains nothing from this card. It's the same problem with Wand Thief. It's great for Rogue but Mage doesn't really gain anything from it. It doesn't provide an unique benefit and the combo aspect is a downside to Mages. This doesn't feel right in the slightest.
Okay, the card is great for Rogue. But for Mage it's actually not that good imo. It's a combo card which is fine for Rogue as it's their class mechanic and they have cards to support it (0-mana spells). But Mage doesn't really have that kind of support for this mechanic. It's a downside as it requires a card to be played first and that means it's not a 1 drop for Mage. Also, there's a problem with the flavor of the card. It makes sense for Rogue with all their burglary stuff but for Mage it's just a regular Discover a Spell. Nothing unique or special about it for them. Shouldn't this also discover Rogue spells for Mage? I don't get it. It looks extremely lame from the Mage's perspective.
The change is healthy for the game but the card itself is probably hot garbage now. It's highly likely that the meta won't slow down and now she requires a much slower meta to be played safely. She is pretty much going to become a 10 mana card that can't really be played if you are behind. She can't save from a bad position. She was designed as a swing card but she can't create swing turns effectively anymore. What's the point of playing a card with a restriction to your deck that doesn't produce big payoffs unless you are already winning? This is just my opinion and i may be playing the Doomsayer here but i think it's not worth using her in any deck after the change. Totally unplayable.
I think DQ Alex just sucks now. She is already a really slow card and the only worthwhile thing she has is the swing potential. Now she is so much worse at swinging games that she may just be too clunky to be played in any deck. Only the greediest and most defensive highlander decks will be able to play her and even those decks may have better options available. You simply can't play her if you are behind because it's almost impossible that just one dragon will be able to save you from a bad position. If she gives you a bad result that may set you behind so much in tempo that you will most likely just lose the game on the spot. If you can only play her when you are ahead then that screams pure win more to me. Seriously, the more i look at this change the more i think that she is just going to be way too clunky.
I just started playing wild and getting cards or packs from rotated expansions at the end of the season would help a lot since i missed at least 6 expansions and all adventures up to Karazhan. I'm having a good time so far but that's because i'm in the lower ranks (currently Gold 5). I'm sure i'll start to see those big meta decks soon and then i'll be able to tell if wild is better than standard or if the meta is just as stale and boring.
I climbed to Diamond this month with a Malygos Rogue that i adapted from J_Alexander's Galakrond Umbral Rogue. It did surprisingly well (11/1), but in Diamond things change dramatically. Too many Hyper Aggro Face decks. Currently, the winrate is 64% (14/8), but i haven't played the deck in a few days. Right now, i just do the daily quests and play Highlander Priest which is the only deck i have fun playing with. I really dislike the current meta. I'm not even gonna bother trying to get my first legend like last month. It's not worth it.
Solid removal, but extremely boring design. Prophet Velen was used for all sorts of unhealthy OTK combos, but he was also more flexible. He could be used for improved healing or to increase the damage of your AoE spells. But this card has no potential synergies or other applications. It's just a "kill one thing and that's it" card. She is as flexible as an iron bar. Good, but uninteresting.
I've been playing a lot the last couple days. I wanted to reach Diamond 5 before the nerfs hit. I tried to use Galalock, but it wasn't working so i switched to Big Druid and it finally worked. Now, i'm playing with Highlander Priest just for fun. I want to hit legend but i'm going to wait and see how the meta changes before i make any forced attempts. I don't play DH since release day. I'm not the biggest fan of aggro or combo decks so the class doesn't offer anything for me. I also don't have Metamorphosis or Kayn Sunfury and i'm not particularly interested in crafting them. The outcast mechanic is cool though.
I have been playing with this in a Deathrattle Priest and it's perfectly fine. The card is really slow and should never be played on curve (unless you are ahead). But combining it with Priest's many copying effects works really well. Grave Rune is really strong on Al'ar. Psyche Split and Shadowy Figure are fine as well. It won some games but even when my opponents managed to completely get rid of it they still had to waste quite a few attacks and spells on it. It's annoying. Just like Priest.
Al'ar is a niche card. It exists for very specific decks and does well in those (but sucks everywhere else). As long as there are synergies available, you can make good use of it. It's fun as well. It's similar to Shu'ma. That card also looked awful but it found a spot in Quest Hunter and proved its viability as a niche card for token decks.
Well, that was underwhelming...
Battlefiend: Correct nerf. Let's see how it performs now.
Altruis the Outcast: Solves absolutely nothing. The issue with this card is how it destroys your board AND obliterates your face simultaneously. Now it deals more damage if it sticks (unlikely but still...). The cost increase only makes it slightly worse for slower DHs who care more about controlling the board than the face damage. The card is less flexible now but it will still see play in every DH deck in standard. The cost increase is very significant for wild though. Now he can't be played in Odd DH.
Glaivebound Adept: Weak nerf. Still too threatening on curve.
Kael'thas Sunstrider: The most underwhelming one. Just one more mana isn't going to solve most of its comboing issues. It's just a tiny bit slower. Maybe it will be enough to help the fastest aggro decks kill combo players. But this surely was very disappointing.
Bad Luck Albatross: The increase to 4 mana is good. A tech card should never have good stats for its mana cost. Its purpose is to counter specific strategies. It should be situational. As it is right now, it's just a good 3 drop that also messes with your opponent's strategy/deck.
Frenzied Felwing: Easier to remove which is appreciated. Most likely, it will still see play.
Sacrificial Pact: Just as expected by everyone. Now it's still an inexpensive source of healing for Galakrond Warlock but not a free heal + removal. Lord Jaraxxus can finally see some play. People will certainly experiment. Is it going to work? Maybe. We will see.
Bloodbloom: As i expected. This should stop Darkest Hour Warlock but it will hurt other decks as well.
Open the Waygate: Probably not enough. Mages are too efficient at generating random spells and they have a ton of 1-cost spells. Sorcerer's Apprentice mana discount just makes it too easy to complete. There's also Primordial Glyph.
Libram of Justice: A simple 1 mana cost reduction. Just as expected. And i still think this isn't enough.
Some changes were expected but i have serious doubts about some of them (especially Kael'thas and Altruis).
Battlefiend: Probably changed to a 1/2. I never had any problems with this card because 2 health is easy to deal with but i can see it being highly frustrating if you have no answers. Btw, if this change happens and it works than it proves that the Mana Wyrm nerf was totally wrong. At 2 mana that card is completely unplayable.
Altruis the Outcast: No longer deals damage to face. That's enough for this one.
Glaivebound Adept: Reduced stats. Probably 5/4. It should still be playable but not a big deal anymore.
Kael'thas Sunstrider: To be honest, i have no idea how they will change this without killing it. Bumping its cost to 8 mana surely slows it down but it doesn't stop its 0 cost spell nonsense so it doesn't help a lot. Changing the discount will certainly kill it as a combo tool though. Maybe, instead of 0, the spells should cost 1?
Bad Luck Albatross: Stats are good for its cost which allows it to be played in any type of deck without any drawbacks. It will either be changed to a 2/3 or have its cost increased to 4. That makes it bad outside of its purpose as a tech card.
Frenzied Felwing: Cost will be increased. Lowering its stats are going to kill it for sure. At 5 or 6 mana, it shouldn't be a big deal anymore and still be playable. Maybe...
Sacrificial Pact: Affects friendly demons only. This one is certain.
Open the Waygate: I don't play wild but i know how mages have a very easy time generating tons of spells (and many of them are really cheap) which makes completing this quest a no brainer. The requirement should be increased to 10 (minimum) or 12 (safest option).
Bloodbloom: A mana cheat card that enables another mana cheat card (Darkest Hour) that is borderline unplayable without a proper enabler. Both of these cards are relatively fine on their own but Bloodbloom could become an issue with other cards in the future so i believe they are targeting the right card. Probably changed to 4 mana. Btw, DHour also needs other enablers (like Rafaam's Scheme) because it's useless without targets to sacrifice. It's fine as long as there are no ways to use it too early.
Libram of Justice: The effect is perfectly fine so i believe they are reducing its cost to 5. Probably not enough to help Paladin though.
Hir'eek deserved a buff much more than Dr. Morrigan. I like the card but there isn't enough support available and some of the cards that are meant for the Handbuff archetype are terrible (Spirit of the Bat mainly). It annoys me deeply that they printed another Handbuff card in the new set when the core of the archetype is leaving permanently. Oh well... At least, this card gave me one of the most fun games i have played since i started playing this game: Hir'eek vs Lucentbark, the battle of the memes! A board of 11/11 Hir'eeks against my opponent's wall of Lucentbarks. I won after killing his wall three times and having a single bat left to hit face. Big shouts to Leeroy Jenkins for landing the finishing blow.
Cobalt was annoying to deal with but i kinda feel bad for him. He lost his only place in the spotlight, got replaced by an imposter and is now forever stuck in the wild pit of irrelevance. Btw, the new card came with a nerf to attack but two buffs: it starts with divine shield and it gains attack during combat. I don't think this is going to change anything. Maybe it will actually become worse.
Meh... Totally unreliable card because its power is dependent on a topdeck. With its base effect, its just a Siphon Soul with a body instead of a heal. Not the worst but not great either. Only Plot Twist Warlock will be able to make the most out of this and even so you still need a lot of luck. Replacement for Lord Godfrey? Not even close. Godfrey only loses to Psychic Scream and Plague of Death. This card is a luck based Twisting Nether that will be a Siphon Soul most of the time. Totally mediocre.
Removing Leeroy is a massive hit for all aggro decks. I was already expecting the removal of MC Tech. That card has always been the culprit of major RNG swings in the game. It's possible to play around but it generated too much frustration. Swarm decks win big with its rotation but the loss of Leeroy is going to counterbalance that.
I don't care too much about Mountain Giant as it was mostly a niche card that became extremely frustrating when Conjurer's Calling came out. I haven't played in two months so i don't know if it's causing any issues at the moment, but, after the nerf to CC, it wasn't that much of a problem anymore.
Acolyte and Spellbreaker are a big surprise, but it shouldn't be a big deal as long as they print similar cards to compensate for their rotation.