Would you believe it, it's halfway through the month already. Where does that time ever go... Everything's been marching along swiftly ever since the December 6th launch of Hearthstone's largest expansion to date. Which also means it's high time to pay our tribute to Dragon King Nozdormu the Eternal, marking this as the final occasion of 2022.
Since the arrival of Death Knights, many particular decks have observed their quick rise and fall, as the metagame continues to shift. Which means there should be a number of viable choices at our disposal; albeit some might be stronger than others. It's also always good to receive the bonus XP this early into the new Rewards Track, as for the vast majority of players that's one step closer towards the level 50 and owning another free Legendary card from March of the Lich King.
Currently active across all regions, the regular monthly Nozdormu quest also coincides with the final days of the Lich King's Call special event. If you've still got some tasks and rewards remaining there, it's very much possible to pursue both of these goals at once through specifically tailored Death Knight decks.
Do Dragons Even March?
Nozdormu the Eternal is an integral part of the Core set (currently with the 2022 tag), always there when you need to practice your 'Speed Hearthstone' skills:
- As long as you have one quest slot open come server reset in your region on the 15th of each month, the Nozdormu quest will replace your regular quest of the day. It grants a lot more bonus XP, thus making it a worthwhile pursuit!
- This special 'monthly' quest can also be rerolled away for a typical lesser one of ~900 XP category, if it's really not your thing. But Nozdormu will be very sad, and you will lose out on your precious Rewards Track XP.
- In order to be eligible, simply remove a non-crucial card from one of your favorite decks and replace it with Nozdormu the Eternal. It's not like anyone remembers to switch back after they're done.
- Queue up for a game with your 'new' deck in any relevant game mode of choice and hopefully encounter another player with Nozdormu on their side, then have fun playing 'Speedstone'!
- You don't necessarily have to complete the quest as soon as you get it (it will actually remain in your log until refreshed), but there will likely be far fewer people trying to do the same later on.
- Winning or losing doesn't really matter for the quest completion, and opponents don't need to have Nozdormu the Eternal in their decks for it to count on your side - but just like with any other 'Play 3 games' quests, instant conceding won't contribute to overall progress. Luckily, the game will give you a warning if you attempt to quit the match too soon!
If you're trying to take your blitzing semi-seriously and not just queue up and go AFK for a while as the quest "completes itself", then as usual we recommend settling for any decks that aren't reliant on long combos or performing multiple actions in a single turn. Simplicity is the key, as any flashy, slow animations or Discover choices aren't particularly desirable (unless you happen to have lighting speed reflexes). 15 seconds is all you get to work with here!
Finding somebody who has also put Nozdormu the Eternal into their deck isn't such a common occurrence nowadays, especially on Ranked ladders (it's only 3 games per month for most players, after all). You can consider yourself quite lucky when you do, and should enjoy those turns storming by - it's possible to tell whether the effect is in play as soon as the mulligan phase wraps up.
Current Tavern Brawl
Sure, you could choose Nozdormu the Eternal as one of your four special cards, and it's very unlikely anyone would ever choose to ban it. Just don't expect that strategy to end particularly well - unless you are after some very quick losses, in which case this Brawl might be a perfect fit.
Nozdormu Day Decks for December 2022
If you've been playing either Standard or Wild for the past week and a half, then you are undoubtedly familiar with the current boogeymen of the both formats. Not all of them are going to agree with our trusted Nozdormu the Eternal, however. After all, it's all about adapting - so pick one of those, or experiment with a choice of your own.
On the Wild side of things, Trimutius has been following the theme of Nozdormu and his Dragon companions more closely, with one particular inclusion from March of the Lich King. Plotting everybody's shadowy demise and all that.
Got any other good ideas for new expansion decks with Nozdormu the Eternal? Completing your quest as quickly as possible in Casual format, Tavern Brawling, or try-harding in Ranked? Let us know whether you've encountered any other Nozdormu fans in any game mode this month!
Comments
This could have been fun if people actually cared enough to participate. But nope, every month I just remove a card from my hyper-greedy Wild Taunt Druid which isn't good in the meta anyway and lose 2-3 games, to meta decks with no Noz in sight. At this point I'd rather have just a normal 1000 XP quest and not have to bother with this shit every month cause it seems every time I'm the fool of the day that actually goes through with it queuing some stupid Noz deck against Pirate Rogues and Discard Locks etc.
Essentially, you're better off just spending your daily reroll on this thing and playing the game as normal.
The harsh reality is that new nozdormu isn't good. In fact its quite terrible in constructed, which is why no one is playing it in any serious capacity. Yes, its fun and all memeing about, but where rank is concerned no one can blame anyone else for not deliberately gimping their game for extra xp and fluff points.
Team5 already shown how much they care by dedicating a day to old noz, giving us about 500 extra xp. If they really want noz to be an actual card, all they needed to do is to make him cost 5 (which honestly still wouldn't make him a staple even in most aggro decks) or extend the timer to 15 seconds and make it so it triggers if the opponent isn't also playing noz in their deck.
Played three games, lost all three, went back a rank. No Noz proc. Yay me.
Do people actually care about this quest? I have had the effect trigger maybe once.
Am I the only one that just drops in Nozdormu and clicks "Complete My Deck" every month? I also give it a name like "esdrctfvyguh" but that might be a stretch that someone out there does that as well.
actually any deck is good. Just remove the less useful card and replace with the dragon.