Rush essentially gave every class removal, and gave classes that had real removal (via spells or battelcries) even more. Too much removal means not a lot of board presence and minion battling, which is what HS used to be about. It seems HS tried to counter this by ramping up token mechanics to flood the board, so now games are just crazy swingy and overly match-up dependent. I do miss the days when it was acceptable---even worth---including vanillas in the deck.
It's the most broken and clearly in need of a nerf deck i've ever seen personally since i've started playing in witchwood. I'm curious if any other deck thats been nerfed in hearthstones history is more clearly erroneous out the gate than this. I seriously question their playtesting team that thought this was fine.
Yes. Undertaker Hunter way back in the day, but this is probably the worst since then, which was over 5 years ago.
I know this is technically not ramp Druid, but I have had a ton of fun with this deck and some decent success. The win condition is Ysera, Unleashed, and (if played right) the deck cycles very fast so you'll end up playing Ysera with few cards left in your deck which will summon you a whole lot of dragons quickly. All the attack cards are great at keeping the board clear while also amassing armor. Classic Deathwing is great after you play Ysera, Unleashed, since you'll be getting board presence from the portals. Plus this might be the only deck ever where I have found a solid use for Savagery.
And you don't have to do anything to get these overpowered cards. They are no-brainer includes. Al5so kind of pissed that my only remaining 500-win heros are mage and druid, so no Galakrond for me.
Does anyone know how your opponents are selected inside the match (not MMR)? It seems totally random (except no playing the same player twice in a row), but don't know if it's ever been stated. Recently I had match where all 8 players were alive and I played the same player 3 times in 6 matches. I feel like I sometime go an entire match without ever playing one of the players. The worst is facing AFK on turns 3 and 5. Seems crazy that there is not some sort of round-robin format
This is like Novice Engineer but without the card draw, and instead having a +4/+4 stats for only three more mana, plus it has a Flamestrike attached, but it deals 1 less damage and hits both players' minions and the heros. Oh, and it has the restriction like Weaponized Wasp, excepts its dragons and in hand instead of Lackeys on the board. Based on that, it seems good.
How is this not broken? What am I missing? If you play this on turn 4 against anything but another greedy deck, you win. Your opponent is going to have a hand full of garbage mid range. They are going to have to empty their hand to deal with the 8/8 you just dropped on TURN 4. Meanwhile, you have a hand full of bigs to throw down every turn. This card just seems like a terrible idea. It's like Astral Communion, except instead of throwing out your hand, you get an 8/8 minion. WTF? I really hope I'm wrong.
I've picked Sindra twice and finished #1 both times. The key is not to level up as quickly, but to amass stats on lower-tier minions and catch up later.
On turns where you have just enough coins to level up and buy one minion, you can get a minion from the new tier, rather than having to buy a minion from the old tier first
Next time you play, look how many minions you're offered from your current tier on each roll---at higher tiers its frequently 0 and almost never more than 1. Elise basically gives a roll of three minions all at your current tier, which is insane compared to what you are usually offered.
Not putting sold minions back in the pool would create a heavy 'first came first served problem' where who was offered key minions first would likely win the whole thing leaving no comeback mechanic.
Isn't this what happens now with later game cards like Mama Bear, Junkbot, and Soul Juggler? I agree maybe that when players are killed their cards should go back, but the big comeback cards are never being sold. The sold cards are buffs and early minions, and the early minions really dilute the late-game pool when they go back in.
I would't mind seeing one card per tribe that when on your board slightly increases your chance of rolling cards of (or relating to) that tribe. You would have to sacrifice buying and keeping an otherwise weak minion on your board to get the benefit, so it would be an interesting strategy choice.
I'd also like to see dragons added, especially since right now certain cards can only get full benefit with an amalgam (like Zoobot)
I also agree on poor mobile experience, though I also get that increasing the timer would just make it worse for everyone else. Not sure the solution there.
One final thing is that I'd like to see some slight preference for higher-tier minions at higher tiers. Nothing is worse than spending most of your gold to upgrade to tier 5, saving just enough to reroll once and get a sick minion, and then you roll five tier-1 minions. Maybe that's a little extreme, but I find often at higher tiers have a hard time actually getting offered decent minions. Maybe the solution is to not put sold minions back into the pool, so that end game rolls are not filled with Murloc Tidehunters and Alleycats
In my anecdotal experience of around 30 games, sure Amalgam is a strong card, but I RARELY go after it since almost always go full Beast Spawn (Pack Leader/Momma Bear, Hyena, and Infested Wolf/Rat Pack) and I've come in top 4 in 23 games, claimed 1st place in 7.
I think it's a "win plus" rather than a "win more." If you've got a weaker field then it can definitely help carry the load (especially with poison) but it isn't going to win the the game solo or really even help that much if you can put together a strong Beast or Mech Spawn set without it.
To me the main issue is that poison is a bit OP, since a single poison minion can bring down anything. I think the designers realized that, which is why there are only two poison cards in the game: (1) Maexxna (which does not see a ton of play because it is not easily buff-able) and (2) Toxfin, which only works on murlocs. I like the idea of only giving murlocs the option to grant any board member poison, but with Nightmare Amalgam, you can get a crazy buffed poison minion in any strategy. Amalgam is also the only card capable of receiving dragon buffs, which get more value from Zoobot and Menagerie Magician, and it can be used with magnetic cards. In my opinion, Amalgams are just too good and should be offered some other way apart from RNG, like maybe as a reward for leveling up or doing well early, or something else.
I know there are a ton of times when I get a triple and would rather have an amalgam than any of the three next-level cards I'm offered. Maybe always make Amalgam one of the three choices for a triple bonus and let player choose if they want it
I was actually excited about Battlegrounds, but having played it for a day I must agree with other players. Here is a quote I made in another thread in response to it:
So, having played early access battlegrounds, I wanted to share my thoughts. While overall a fun mode, there isn't enough dimensions to keep most players entrained past initial week in my opinion. Already in 1 day of playing I started seeing the same end-game patterns over and over. The main end-game strategies are very repetitive (I really hope the complexity of this mode increases to keep it enjoyable long-term):
1. Go all in on beasts: Get Mama Bear and beasts that spawn more beasts (i.e. Rat Pack) and a cleaver or 2 (Cave Hydra)
2: Go all in on mechs: Get Junkbot and mechs that spawn more mechs (magnetize them) and a cleaver or 2 (Foe Reaper 4000), sound familiar?
3: Go all in on demons: Get Wrathweaver and rotate a bunch of demons between rounds to buff him, eventually get Annihilan Battlemaster with ~200 health (optionally get Malganis temporarily so Wrathweaver stops hurting you)
4: Go all in on murlocs: Try to discover poison + divine shield from Gentle Megasaur for every minion on board, or give it manually to your murlocs through other battlecries.
Oh, and of course, regardless of which of the only 4 endgame strategies you pick, buff/max out your Nightmare Amalgam, giving it a ton of health, poison, divine shield, etc. and magnetizing anything you come in contact with.
In my opinion, the Co-Op mode (2 players fighting a rogue minion, similar to some Brawls - but more variety and ability to use the entire card sample space) would have been a more interesting addition. Don't get me wrong, I'm still enjoying the mode, but I doubt I still will a week from now.
I disagree slightly. Due to RNG in re-rolls, going all in on a specific tribe is risky. When it works (which it usually does for at least 1/8 players), it is hard to beat, which is why you usually see one of the strategies you mentioned in the finals of the round. But more often, you can't roll the pieces you need and then it fails hard. The best strategy for always having a decent (top-four) finish is to mix tribes and strategically use buffs and selling minions to create a solid board. That strategy is pretty fun, because its always a little different and requires many tough choices.
I have noticed one disturbing trend though---which is that my finishing position, no matter what strategy I use, is usually wholly dependent on how many Nightmare Amalgams I'm offered in the game. If I get offered 1 or none, I'm almost always finishing at the bottom. If I get offered 4-5, I almost always finish at the top. I've started tracking (will post results after 50 runs or so) but so far after tracking for 10 runs its worked out exactly as I thought: More amalgams always equals better finish.
If that ends up true, it reduces the mode to rolling for 1 card, which is pretty terrible design.
I don't understand why people are too cowardly to "test" netdecks on ladder. You have nothing to lose at tiers 5, 10 and 15. Get to one of those tiers and play whatever you want. Leave casual to people who are playing casually.
Thoughts on this one?
Rush essentially gave every class removal, and gave classes that had real removal (via spells or battelcries) even more. Too much removal means not a lot of board presence and minion battling, which is what HS used to be about. It seems HS tried to counter this by ramping up token mechanics to flood the board, so now games are just crazy swingy and overly match-up dependent. I do miss the days when it was acceptable---even worth---including vanillas in the deck.
This is sad. Guess I'll keep playing Battlegrounds until nerf round 2
Yes. Undertaker Hunter way back in the day, but this is probably the worst since then, which was over 5 years ago.
Shaman nerfs:
Other nerfs:
Parachute Brigand from 2/2 to 2/1
I know this is technically not ramp Druid, but I have had a ton of fun with this deck and some decent success. The win condition is Ysera, Unleashed, and (if played right) the deck cycles very fast so you'll end up playing Ysera with few cards left in your deck which will summon you a whole lot of dragons quickly. All the attack cards are great at keeping the board clear while also amassing armor. Classic Deathwing is great after you play Ysera, Unleashed, since you'll be getting board presence from the portals. Plus this might be the only deck ever where I have found a solid use for Savagery.
I've played a day and I'm ready to go back to battlegrounds. Shaman's Galakrond is stupid powerful. Every invoke card they play has insane value.
And you don't have to do anything to get these overpowered cards. They are no-brainer includes. Al5so kind of pissed that my only remaining 500-win heros are mage and druid, so no Galakrond for me.
They should rename this expansion "Wild Nerf."
Does anyone know how your opponents are selected inside the match (not MMR)? It seems totally random (except no playing the same player twice in a row), but don't know if it's ever been stated. Recently I had match where all 8 players were alive and I played the same player 3 times in 6 matches. I feel like I sometime go an entire match without ever playing one of the players. The worst is facing AFK on turns 3 and 5. Seems crazy that there is not some sort of round-robin format
This is like Novice Engineer but without the card draw, and instead having a +4/+4 stats for only three more mana, plus it has a Flamestrike attached, but it deals 1 less damage and hits both players' minions and the heros. Oh, and it has the restriction like Weaponized Wasp, excepts its dragons and in hand instead of Lackeys on the board. Based on that, it seems good.
What ladder? You mean Shamanville? 40% at legend right now. Disgusting.
This. Don't like this card for that reason. What happened to sticking to Class core themes? Priest always had conditional removal...
How is this not broken? What am I missing? If you play this on turn 4 against anything but another greedy deck, you win. Your opponent is going to have a hand full of garbage mid range. They are going to have to empty their hand to deal with the 8/8 you just dropped on TURN 4. Meanwhile, you have a hand full of bigs to throw down every turn. This card just seems like a terrible idea. It's like Astral Communion, except instead of throwing out your hand, you get an 8/8 minion. WTF? I really hope I'm wrong.
I've picked Sindra twice and finished #1 both times. The key is not to level up as quickly, but to amass stats on lower-tier minions and catch up later.
Elise is great for two reasons:
Isn't this what happens now with later game cards like Mama Bear, Junkbot, and Soul Juggler? I agree maybe that when players are killed their cards should go back, but the big comeback cards are never being sold. The sold cards are buffs and early minions, and the early minions really dilute the late-game pool when they go back in.
I would't mind seeing one card per tribe that when on your board slightly increases your chance of rolling cards of (or relating to) that tribe. You would have to sacrifice buying and keeping an otherwise weak minion on your board to get the benefit, so it would be an interesting strategy choice.
I'd also like to see dragons added, especially since right now certain cards can only get full benefit with an amalgam (like Zoobot)
I also agree on poor mobile experience, though I also get that increasing the timer would just make it worse for everyone else. Not sure the solution there.
One final thing is that I'd like to see some slight preference for higher-tier minions at higher tiers. Nothing is worse than spending most of your gold to upgrade to tier 5, saving just enough to reroll once and get a sick minion, and then you roll five tier-1 minions. Maybe that's a little extreme, but I find often at higher tiers have a hard time actually getting offered decent minions. Maybe the solution is to not put sold minions back into the pool, so that end game rolls are not filled with Murloc Tidehunters and Alleycats
To me the main issue is that poison is a bit OP, since a single poison minion can bring down anything. I think the designers realized that, which is why there are only two poison cards in the game: (1) Maexxna (which does not see a ton of play because it is not easily buff-able) and (2) Toxfin, which only works on murlocs. I like the idea of only giving murlocs the option to grant any board member poison, but with Nightmare Amalgam, you can get a crazy buffed poison minion in any strategy. Amalgam is also the only card capable of receiving dragon buffs, which get more value from Zoobot and Menagerie Magician, and it can be used with magnetic cards. In my opinion, Amalgams are just too good and should be offered some other way apart from RNG, like maybe as a reward for leveling up or doing well early, or something else.
I know there are a ton of times when I get a triple and would rather have an amalgam than any of the three next-level cards I'm offered. Maybe always make Amalgam one of the three choices for a triple bonus and let player choose if they want it
I disagree slightly. Due to RNG in re-rolls, going all in on a specific tribe is risky. When it works (which it usually does for at least 1/8 players), it is hard to beat, which is why you usually see one of the strategies you mentioned in the finals of the round. But more often, you can't roll the pieces you need and then it fails hard. The best strategy for always having a decent (top-four) finish is to mix tribes and strategically use buffs and selling minions to create a solid board. That strategy is pretty fun, because its always a little different and requires many tough choices.
I have noticed one disturbing trend though---which is that my finishing position, no matter what strategy I use, is usually wholly dependent on how many Nightmare Amalgams I'm offered in the game. If I get offered 1 or none, I'm almost always finishing at the bottom. If I get offered 4-5, I almost always finish at the top. I've started tracking (will post results after 50 runs or so) but so far after tracking for 10 runs its worked out exactly as I thought: More amalgams always equals better finish.
If that ends up true, it reduces the mode to rolling for 1 card, which is pretty terrible design.
I don't understand why people are too cowardly to "test" netdecks on ladder. You have nothing to lose at tiers 5, 10 and 15. Get to one of those tiers and play whatever you want. Leave casual to people who are playing casually.