No specifics, but I'd love to see corrupted versions of each Dragon Aspect (no including Deathwing). I have a strong suspicion that the neutral legendaries will be new versions of Nozdormu, Malygos, Ysera, Alexzstraza, and for the fifth a few people have thrown out Galakrond as a possible center piece of this expansion and I would honestly not mind seeing him come to Hearthstone if his resurrection is in fact the main aim of Rafaam, who then is likely being influenced by the Old Gods... which also explains why a previously unnamed fortuneteller was the chosen figure head from the Old Gods expansion to join the League of EVIL. Because she is helping to bring her master(s) evil plan to fruition by keeping Rafaam on task.
Because Rafaam is only a puppet to a larger evil at work here! The Old Gods are influencing these events to a greater end of their own design. Why else would a no-name fortune teller like Lazul suddenly become a fixture in Hearthstone if not for her masters being the real puppeteers in these affairs?!
I just wanted to express my hopes and wishes. Why do you assume something negative?
Because the internet?! A place where the majority of things posted are negative. And to be fair I wasn't necessarily trying to be negative either. Sorry if it came off that way. But yes, DRAGONS!!
She's bundled up for the cold weather, and the mask around the eyes was part of the League of EVIL theme when they were robbing Dalaran of their... well, of Dalaran. They all had them in the trailer while dropping into the city.
I actually speculated on that a LONG time back earlier this year when discussing the possible third expansion with a friend. But at that time I was thinking Caverns of Time and maybe a trip back in time to stop the early aspects from defeating him, at which point the Old Gods would try to corrupt him to do their bidding. Which was my reasoning for why Lazul was brought into this mess in the first place: she's the real puppeteer, pulling the strings to do the will of her masters, the Old Gods! Rafaam was simply played to think it was all his idea, but he too has been manipulated by the whispers from the shadows. I mean, how could a low level villain like Rafaam steal Dalaran in the first place, if some influence of other powerful beings wasn't already at play? The Old Gods look to try and return in WoW at the same time they try to return in Hearthstone!
That was my theory anyway, and some of it still may fit.
The location is Wyrmrest Temple in Northrend, you can see Dalaran floating near the temple. So the snow and clothing is definitely due to the location.
It would appear that the community's thoughts since the first teaser for the entire year in April were correct: Dragon themed expansion to end Year of the Dragon. But what? What will be the story of the third set? Personally, I want to see something with corrupted Dragon Aspects. As in an alternate reality where they were ALL corrupted by the Old Gods, not just Deathwing. Not sure what the effects could be, but could be pretty sweet! We've already seen some potential alternate versions in WoW. Norzdomu has his crazy alternate version Murozond, Malygos went mad and had to be killed so a Malygos the Mad could be possible, Ysera was plagued with the Emerald Nightmare before her death in WoW... All we'd need is an alternate version of Alexzstraza. Maybe a more Deathwing-like figure where she really only brings death as opposed to life and death (as her current voice line suggests when played).
Maybe the name of the year doesn't require all sets in that year to have Dragons? I know it's likely sarcasm, but these types of comments are a bit ridiculous as even if the first set had a lot of dragons, the second and third would likely not have. It would be terrible in a design sense to just push a ton of Dragon cards all year long.
That said, the name for the year was likely on purpose and leading to this final set. The community was mostly guessing something dragon themed in expansion three since the first teaser image for the entire year, and with Wyrmrest Temple in Lazul's crystal ball I'd say that a dragon-themed third set is all but certain now.
The main question to ask is what will we see? In the solo content for Uldum **SPOILER** there is a mention of a "final plague" that unleashes evil long since dead. In the solo content it puts the four old gods on the opponent's board, but could it be a reference to bringing Deathwing back to life? Elise already has three cards, why not Deathwing? He was serving the old gods in his attempts to destroy the world through the Cataclysm after all. Another option could be bringing the Crazed Aspect Malygos back to life. Or perhaps we'll get corrupted versions of all the dragon aspects!!!
Hey Wizards of the Coast reprints older cards into new sets for MtG all the time, no reason Blizzard can't do the same with HS.
This is basically Kibler's argument for having a rotating "Core" set rather than a forever in standard Classic/Basic set. It allows old stuff to come back, change it up from time to time, keeps the Standard meta feeling more fresh! It's an idea I'm all for, even if it becomes a whole new constructed mode as opposed to just the new Standard mode.
It could be something like "The last four or five card sets PLUS a mix of Classic, Basic, and Cards from older sets to make up a "core" of cards. They could even offer "core packs" in the store, with the current mix of Core cards available to pull from the packs... Could be dope! A good name for this mode? "Modern"? Since it's a newer type of Standard game? Or maybe it becomes the new Standard format and current Standard becomes "Legacy"?
I'm just itching for any change to the game that continues to make it feel fresh and new. Maybe bringing small Wild sets in like this on a regular basis can be that change.
I guess that would be helpful if you're looking for cards with small or no effects... Normally when I'm searching for a card with a specific effect I just name the effect. Like "draw" or "destroy", and other things that both start with "D". I sometimes even search for effects that don't start with the letter "D"!
But I digress, I usually am searching for a card with an effect I want to include, and want to see all options I have regardless of how many text lines they have. Which can be done by searching a specific word/term.
I tend to get roped more than this one friend of mine (who rarely does) so I told him once "I just do it back when they do it". I'm often watching something while playing anyway, so who cares! But he told me that's immature and I'm just adding to the issue. When I told him it actually gets them to start playing faster because they are annoyed that roping isn't annoying me. He was almost shocked that it works that way.
And also, thank you! I appreciate you and the good you do for this community! LOL!!!
Awesome write up! I'm hoping to get into the next preview and plan to play BOTH card games, personally. How much of one over the other is still to be determined, but I will probably never leave Hearthstone completely due to the investment of both time and money I've put into it (dear God, the money...).
EDIT: I should add that one of the coolest features to me is the way you can decide which factions you earn cards in. Since you don't have random packs in the game, the option to earn xp, have that xp unlock cards, and you get to choose which faction you're trying to level up makes it easier to get all the cards you want if you're only interested in a single play style, or trying to earn cards for a specific deck.
I think what MisterFerro means is that LoR is made by Riot, which is owned by Tencent, a Chinese company. Riot also came out in with their own statement not really in support of either party involved, but as a reminder to their players that political statements would not be tolerated because they want to keep personal and political views separate from their games due to serving many different countries and cultures. So in essence, switching to show you are not for China and for a Free Hong Kong might actually be a counter-intuitive move. As a side note, Epic Games made a statement that they would not punish someone for something like Blitzchung's statements. Tencent owns about 40% of Epic, but the majority is still owned by one of the founders.
Yes, Blizzard acted way too quickly and too harshly without considering the backlash. Even if they were only acting according to the rules in the GM agreements and not thinking of their profits from the Chinese market, as they said in their updated statement, there is NO WAY people will believe it because of the speed and severity of the first ruiling. I think if they had first released a statement that he knowingly violated the rules, slapped him with a warning or a three month suspension, this would have all blown over by now.
I'm happy that they gave him back his prize money, and while I still think the 6 month ban is still too long, it's actually a LOT better than the 1 year they originally gave him. I say that because if GM follows the same format next year in terms of dates, etc, he could actually end up missing no time at all in GM as the ban would end before May, and May is when GM started this year.
I will also add, while what you do is up to you, you don't have to completely leave HS unless you're also just really bored with it. You could play both! I personally am thinking of just playing both. And if this matters to you at all... Kibler was still playing HS today on his stream. Just saying! :)
I've seen a lot of Shaman-Mage builds as I got higher into the 7+ wins area the other day. I think it is a popular choice because while Mage is missing the classic damage spells like Fireball, as well as classic board clears like Blizzard and Flamestrike, wild Shaman has some powerful damage spells and board clears. So if you're lucky you can supplement the missing Mage classic cards with those wild Shaman cards.
But so far my favorite is the free run on an alt account I have going that is Paladin-Rogue. It's a midrange deck with a few heavy hitters for later in the game when I've established a pretty clear control of the board. Sitting 8-2 currently. I have a Brann Bronzebeard and 2x Jade Spirit, Fungalmancer and a few other minion buffing battlecries.
I played this game a lot when I first downloaded it, but have gotten away from it. Would love to eventually see it added to OoC list of games it covers somewhere down the line. But I know it isn't a super popular game so I'm sure it's not a priority anytime soon.
I am all for it! This new game actually looks really fun, and before I saw your post the other day addressing the fact that you were not just a Hearthstone site, or not trying to be, I was already thinking this could be a huge boost for this site if you become an early adopter of the game and start creating a lot of quality content for it now to draw in some of that audience.
And more users, even if their not here for (just) Hearthstone only helps you guys gain more Patreon support, meaning more employees, more content, new features, etc.
This guy saying he's leaving must have also not seen your post or he'd know that game filtering in the feed is something you said you guys are working on.
Just a thought, have you tried reaching out to Riot to see if they could somehow "partner" with you guys? For example... if you and a few others all had early access and were doing some experimenting, etc, or even just watching some streamers and analyzing their plays and decks, start compiling a type of "early meta report". Basically providing insights that no one else is doing right now, they could drive people to your site to check out the articles. And on your dev side, maybe focus on integrating the game more, a deck builder for LoR, all that good stuff. Maybe even a "pack opener" similar to the Hearthstone one, even though LoR doesn't have random pack openings. Early adoption of features like this could gain a large following as the place to go for LoR info and community.
I'm sure this is all stuff you've thought of before, but I'm just spit balling a little here. And if you do try to compile some early content like a meta report or decks to try I would be glad to help whenever I get access, which I registered for the day it was announced.
I'm mostly looking forward to the Dragon Ball references in future Trolden videos...
"This isn't even my final form!"
Or specific to the priest version highlights before the battlecry goes off... "GALAK-GUN!!!" :D
No specifics, but I'd love to see corrupted versions of each Dragon Aspect (no including Deathwing). I have a strong suspicion that the neutral legendaries will be new versions of Nozdormu, Malygos, Ysera, Alexzstraza, and for the fifth a few people have thrown out Galakrond as a possible center piece of this expansion and I would honestly not mind seeing him come to Hearthstone if his resurrection is in fact the main aim of Rafaam, who then is likely being influenced by the Old Gods... which also explains why a previously unnamed fortuneteller was the chosen figure head from the Old Gods expansion to join the League of EVIL. Because she is helping to bring her master(s) evil plan to fruition by keeping Rafaam on task.
Maybe it just came out now that they left??? I didn't even notice the date, I just went straight to the section talking about who these guys are.
Because Rafaam is only a puppet to a larger evil at work here! The Old Gods are influencing these events to a greater end of their own design. Why else would a no-name fortune teller like Lazul suddenly become a fixture in Hearthstone if not for her masters being the real puppeteers in these affairs?!
Because the internet?! A place where the majority of things posted are negative. And to be fair I wasn't necessarily trying to be negative either. Sorry if it came off that way. But yes, DRAGONS!!
She's bundled up for the cold weather, and the mask around the eyes was part of the League of EVIL theme when they were robbing Dalaran of their... well, of Dalaran. They all had them in the trailer while dropping into the city.
I actually speculated on that a LONG time back earlier this year when discussing the possible third expansion with a friend. But at that time I was thinking Caverns of Time and maybe a trip back in time to stop the early aspects from defeating him, at which point the Old Gods would try to corrupt him to do their bidding. Which was my reasoning for why Lazul was brought into this mess in the first place: she's the real puppeteer, pulling the strings to do the will of her masters, the Old Gods! Rafaam was simply played to think it was all his idea, but he too has been manipulated by the whispers from the shadows. I mean, how could a low level villain like Rafaam steal Dalaran in the first place, if some influence of other powerful beings wasn't already at play? The Old Gods look to try and return in WoW at the same time they try to return in Hearthstone!
That was my theory anyway, and some of it still may fit.
It's probably not a tavern, but her little cart we first saw in the trailer(s) for Rise of Shadows.
The location is Wyrmrest Temple in Northrend, you can see Dalaran floating near the temple. So the snow and clothing is definitely due to the location.
It would appear that the community's thoughts since the first teaser for the entire year in April were correct: Dragon themed expansion to end Year of the Dragon. But what? What will be the story of the third set? Personally, I want to see something with corrupted Dragon Aspects. As in an alternate reality where they were ALL corrupted by the Old Gods, not just Deathwing. Not sure what the effects could be, but could be pretty sweet! We've already seen some potential alternate versions in WoW. Norzdomu has his crazy alternate version Murozond, Malygos went mad and had to be killed so a Malygos the Mad could be possible, Ysera was plagued with the Emerald Nightmare before her death in WoW... All we'd need is an alternate version of Alexzstraza. Maybe a more Deathwing-like figure where she really only brings death as opposed to life and death (as her current voice line suggests when played).
Maybe the name of the year doesn't require all sets in that year to have Dragons? I know it's likely sarcasm, but these types of comments are a bit ridiculous as even if the first set had a lot of dragons, the second and third would likely not have. It would be terrible in a design sense to just push a ton of Dragon cards all year long.
That said, the name for the year was likely on purpose and leading to this final set. The community was mostly guessing something dragon themed in expansion three since the first teaser image for the entire year, and with Wyrmrest Temple in Lazul's crystal ball I'd say that a dragon-themed third set is all but certain now.
The main question to ask is what will we see? In the solo content for Uldum **SPOILER** there is a mention of a "final plague" that unleashes evil long since dead. In the solo content it puts the four old gods on the opponent's board, but could it be a reference to bringing Deathwing back to life? Elise already has three cards, why not Deathwing? He was serving the old gods in his attempts to destroy the world through the Cataclysm after all. Another option could be bringing the Crazed Aspect Malygos back to life. Or perhaps we'll get corrupted versions of all the dragon aspects!!!
Only a few days to find out at BlizzCon!!!
This is basically Kibler's argument for having a rotating "Core" set rather than a forever in standard Classic/Basic set. It allows old stuff to come back, change it up from time to time, keeps the Standard meta feeling more fresh! It's an idea I'm all for, even if it becomes a whole new constructed mode as opposed to just the new Standard mode.
It could be something like "The last four or five card sets PLUS a mix of Classic, Basic, and Cards from older sets to make up a "core" of cards. They could even offer "core packs" in the store, with the current mix of Core cards available to pull from the packs... Could be dope! A good name for this mode? "Modern"? Since it's a newer type of Standard game? Or maybe it becomes the new Standard format and current Standard becomes "Legacy"?
I'm just itching for any change to the game that continues to make it feel fresh and new. Maybe bringing small Wild sets in like this on a regular basis can be that change.
I guess that would be helpful if you're looking for cards with small or no effects... Normally when I'm searching for a card with a specific effect I just name the effect. Like "draw" or "destroy", and other things that both start with "D". I sometimes even search for effects that don't start with the letter "D"!
But I digress, I usually am searching for a card with an effect I want to include, and want to see all options I have regardless of how many text lines they have. Which can be done by searching a specific word/term.
I tend to get roped more than this one friend of mine (who rarely does) so I told him once "I just do it back when they do it". I'm often watching something while playing anyway, so who cares! But he told me that's immature and I'm just adding to the issue. When I told him it actually gets them to start playing faster because they are annoyed that roping isn't annoying me. He was almost shocked that it works that way.
And also, thank you! I appreciate you and the good you do for this community! LOL!!!
I like the tie in to Hearthstone lore at the end. :)
Awesome write up! I'm hoping to get into the next preview and plan to play BOTH card games, personally. How much of one over the other is still to be determined, but I will probably never leave Hearthstone completely due to the investment of both time and money I've put into it (dear God, the money...).
EDIT: I should add that one of the coolest features to me is the way you can decide which factions you earn cards in. Since you don't have random packs in the game, the option to earn xp, have that xp unlock cards, and you get to choose which faction you're trying to level up makes it easier to get all the cards you want if you're only interested in a single play style, or trying to earn cards for a specific deck.
I think what MisterFerro means is that LoR is made by Riot, which is owned by Tencent, a Chinese company. Riot also came out in with their own statement not really in support of either party involved, but as a reminder to their players that political statements would not be tolerated because they want to keep personal and political views separate from their games due to serving many different countries and cultures. So in essence, switching to show you are not for China and for a Free Hong Kong might actually be a counter-intuitive move. As a side note, Epic Games made a statement that they would not punish someone for something like Blitzchung's statements. Tencent owns about 40% of Epic, but the majority is still owned by one of the founders.
Yes, Blizzard acted way too quickly and too harshly without considering the backlash. Even if they were only acting according to the rules in the GM agreements and not thinking of their profits from the Chinese market, as they said in their updated statement, there is NO WAY people will believe it because of the speed and severity of the first ruiling. I think if they had first released a statement that he knowingly violated the rules, slapped him with a warning or a three month suspension, this would have all blown over by now.
I'm happy that they gave him back his prize money, and while I still think the 6 month ban is still too long, it's actually a LOT better than the 1 year they originally gave him. I say that because if GM follows the same format next year in terms of dates, etc, he could actually end up missing no time at all in GM as the ban would end before May, and May is when GM started this year.
I will also add, while what you do is up to you, you don't have to completely leave HS unless you're also just really bored with it. You could play both! I personally am thinking of just playing both. And if this matters to you at all... Kibler was still playing HS today on his stream. Just saying! :)
That's a pretty impressive feat, especially since I'm not sure how you would Hex Hakkar while playing a Warlock deck...
:)
I've seen a lot of Shaman-Mage builds as I got higher into the 7+ wins area the other day. I think it is a popular choice because while Mage is missing the classic damage spells like Fireball, as well as classic board clears like Blizzard and Flamestrike, wild Shaman has some powerful damage spells and board clears. So if you're lucky you can supplement the missing Mage classic cards with those wild Shaman cards.
But so far my favorite is the free run on an alt account I have going that is Paladin-Rogue. It's a midrange deck with a few heavy hitters for later in the game when I've established a pretty clear control of the board. Sitting 8-2 currently. I have a Brann Bronzebeard and 2x Jade Spirit, Fungalmancer and a few other minion buffing battlecries.
I played this game a lot when I first downloaded it, but have gotten away from it. Would love to eventually see it added to OoC list of games it covers somewhere down the line. But I know it isn't a super popular game so I'm sure it's not a priority anytime soon.
But thanks for this post! Very nice.
I am all for it! This new game actually looks really fun, and before I saw your post the other day addressing the fact that you were not just a Hearthstone site, or not trying to be, I was already thinking this could be a huge boost for this site if you become an early adopter of the game and start creating a lot of quality content for it now to draw in some of that audience.
And more users, even if their not here for (just) Hearthstone only helps you guys gain more Patreon support, meaning more employees, more content, new features, etc.
This guy saying he's leaving must have also not seen your post or he'd know that game filtering in the feed is something you said you guys are working on.
Just a thought, have you tried reaching out to Riot to see if they could somehow "partner" with you guys? For example... if you and a few others all had early access and were doing some experimenting, etc, or even just watching some streamers and analyzing their plays and decks, start compiling a type of "early meta report". Basically providing insights that no one else is doing right now, they could drive people to your site to check out the articles. And on your dev side, maybe focus on integrating the game more, a deck builder for LoR, all that good stuff. Maybe even a "pack opener" similar to the Hearthstone one, even though LoR doesn't have random pack openings. Early adoption of features like this could gain a large following as the place to go for LoR info and community.
I'm sure this is all stuff you've thought of before, but I'm just spit balling a little here. And if you do try to compile some early content like a meta report or decks to try I would be glad to help whenever I get access, which I registered for the day it was announced.