Encroaching Insanity is an interesting, if risky, way to add nitro to the Fatigue package from FoL. The three damage it does to the enemy is nice but not the point; the point is to add three to, say, your next Crescendo. Could be fun.
Looking at the actual cards rather than just debating their syntax:
-Starstrung Bow is a lot of reach, a good payoff for a secret-heavy deck to take as its finisher. Probably won't be discounted all the way down, but getting it for even three or four-- in such a way that you can weave another secret or even a hero power into it-- seems potent. I believe the rule is "never underestimate a card you can play for free"-- I won't.
-Speaking of, Bait and Switch is a new secret to add to the pile, but I'm not sure about it. There are whole archetypes, or even classes, that don't really remove minions by trading into them-- Spooky Mage, Big Warlock, any Priest deck-- and it's a big whiff against them. Could be murder in Arena.
-Titanforged Traps I like more. Secret Plan saw a lot of play, and this card skips a step and saves a mana compared to that, and *with* a later-game upgrade option. Sounds good.
Mimiron also is a mech himself, the progenitor of the mecha-gnomes, and his area of Ulduar is all mech mobs. He built both Flame Leviathan and V-07-TR-0N. It's a thing.
That's not dissimilar from what I was talking about. The Titans were responsible for creating many things on Azeroth, and certain areas remain very Titan-ish-- anywhere that starts with "Uld", basically. Uldaman, Ulduar, Uldum...
There are strong connections between the dwarves and the Titans. The dwarves' original forms were the Earthen, crafted by the Titans to help shape Azeroth, and some still serve in that role. The dwarves have become extremely interested in uncovering all they can about what the Titans left behind, with the foremost scholar/explorer amongst them being the intrepid Brann Bronzebeard. (If you thought we were getting away from this guy... nope!)
Creations of the Titans are all throughout the two areas I mentioned above (Storm Peaks and Stormheim), so either of those would qualify.
Looks pretty dwarven. My instinct would be not Ironforge given that we did Stormwind last year, and we've been to Blackrock Mountain several times. There is another dwarf-heavy area, though-- albeit Iron Dwarves-- Northrend! The Storm Peaks and beyond, the realm of the Keepers, with possibly an Ulduar mini-set.
Alternative: Stormheim, in the Broken Isles. Lots of runes there, too, and for similar reasons (both areas have Titanic heritages, Vrykul, Valkyr, Titan Keepers, etc.). However, WotLK Classic is running now, and Ulduar is (rightfully!) fondly remembered, so the brand synergy is stronger with the Storm Peaks. Various trials, or possibly the fight against Hela, would work for the mini-set.
It was "criminally underplayed" for its win rate. As people realized this, they started including it in more and more decks, leaving it on a clear trajectory to become That Card. Hence, Blizzard trying to get ahead of that trajectory.
Thoughts now that the changes have arrived, reposted in this more official place:
S'theno: Wowow, that's harsh. Upping her mana cost would have reduced her combo potential some, but they opted instead to smash her offense. Now you basically have to find her attack buffs to use her as anything more than anti-minion tech. Decks that relied on her for killpower are sad.
Pozzik: instead of messing with his deathrattle or the bots, they kept his effect intact and just reduced how dire a threat he is. I think I actually like that; it's still a strong card, but not so much so that all action revolves around it when it drops.
Purator, Disco Maul, Feast or Famine: all basically expected. -The Feast or Famine nerf is more impactful than it seems, I think, because the card served two purposes: it helped remediate Pure Paladin's disadvantage when behind on board, and it gave burst/reach when combined with Horn of the Windlord. At two mana it won't help Paladin with its tempo problem any more, and it changes the rhythm of its bursty finishes. -Slowing down Disco Maul is huge because a large part of its power came from dropping before you start chucking out your minions. At three mana, it comes down *after* you want your board to be built and attacking. Oof. -The Purator nerf is mild by comparison. Still a great card. It'll still let you drop Lightrays alongside it, probably, since you'll have gone a little longer before dropping Purator and typically will have played another few cards.
Hope: minus one attack is... fine? I don't think it really changes what makes Hope good, which is snowballing wide boards and pre-buffing big beasts, particularly Hound. You just don't get premium attacks in the bargain now.
BUFFS
Rhythmdancer: combined with the nerfs to the most aggressive deck, maybe the reduced cost will allow Risa to function as anti-aggro tech as designed.
Fiddlefire Imp: sure.
Dispense-o-bot: I wonder if it could fit into mech mage now, as it's not too big of a tempo hit, and it can give you either reload or some coins to facilitate your burst turns... or it could spend all game alternating between secrets and frost spells. Oof.
S'theno: Wowow, that's harsh. Upping her mana cost would have reduced her combo potential some, but they opted instead to smash her offense. Now you basically have to find her attack buffs to use her as anything more than anti-minion tech. Decks that relied on her for killpower are sad.
Pozzik: instead of messing with his deathrattle or the bots, they kept his effect intact and just reduced how dire a threat he is. I think I actually like that; it's still a strong card, but not so much so that all action revolves around it when it drops.
Purator, Disco Maul, Feast or Famine: all basically expected. -The Feast or Famine nerf is more impactful than it seems, I think, because the card served two purposes: it helped remediate Pure Paladin's disadvantage when behind on board, and it gave burst/reach when combined with Horn of the Windlord. At two mana it won't help Paladin with its tempo problem any more, and it changes the rhythm of its bursty finishes. -Slowing down Disco Maul is huge because a large part of its power came from dropping before you start chucking out your minions. At three mana, it comes down *after* you want your board to be built and attacking. Oof. -The Purator nerf is mild by comparison. Still a great card. It'll still let you drop Lightrays alongside it, probably, since you'll have gone a little longer before dropping Purator and typically will have played another few cards.
Hope: minus one attack is... fine? I don't think it really changes what makes Hope good, which is snowballing wide boards and pre-buffing big beasts, particularly Hound. You just don't get premium attacks in the bargain now.
BUFFS
Rhythmdancer: combined with the nerfs to the most aggressive deck, maybe the reduced cost will allow Risa to function as anti-aggro tech as designed.
Fiddlefire Imp: sure.
Dispense-o-bot: I wonder if it could fit into mech mage now, as it's not too big of a tempo hit, and it can give you either reload or some coins to facilitate your burst turns... or it could spend all game alternating between secrets and frost spells. Oof.
The thought might be that nerfing Hope indirectly nerfs the Hound. It does make a huge difference when Hunter, a class normally notable for a lack of defensive tech, suddenly gets defensive tech.
I'm starting to see some Big Control Paladin featuring Kangor pop up here and there. Pretty resilient, if slow as heck to actually win the game. I don't know what its matchup spread is because I've hit it mostly with my achievement farming decks, but it looks like it has potential.
Queen Azshara's always been a weird one in my memory. Don't forget that one of her adds has the passive effect that freezes anyone who attacks Azshara. The good news is that, as with all add-summoning bosses, her orbs don't get the mythic multipliers, so you give the orb a harsh glare and it's done.
On an unrelated note, my favorite Naga turn out to have zero chance in the Balinda-centric final encounters, so I've had to do those at lower levels with the never-bad Nature build. Ugh. (Timemistress Athissa is a great ringer for the nature build, kek.)
The Harp heals *instead* of you taking the damage, so the effective healing done by the Harp per proc is two *plus* the damage prevented. Overall, it's worth a minimum of nine, it's proactive, it's fire-and-forget. Good stuff.
I love the Forged artwork for Muscle-o-Tron. He's giving some poor Faceless a noogie. Good for him!
Encroaching Insanity is an interesting, if risky, way to add nitro to the Fatigue package from FoL. The three damage it does to the enemy is nice but not the point; the point is to add three to, say, your next Crescendo. Could be fun.
"And **** that guy in particular."
Looking at the actual cards rather than just debating their syntax:
-Starstrung Bow is a lot of reach, a good payoff for a secret-heavy deck to take as its finisher. Probably won't be discounted all the way down, but getting it for even three or four-- in such a way that you can weave another secret or even a hero power into it-- seems potent. I believe the rule is "never underestimate a card you can play for free"-- I won't.
-Speaking of, Bait and Switch is a new secret to add to the pile, but I'm not sure about it. There are whole archetypes, or even classes, that don't really remove minions by trading into them-- Spooky Mage, Big Warlock, any Priest deck-- and it's a big whiff against them. Could be murder in Arena.
-Titanforged Traps I like more. Secret Plan saw a lot of play, and this card skips a step and saves a mana compared to that, and *with* a later-game upgrade option. Sounds good.
Mimiron also is a mech himself, the progenitor of the mecha-gnomes, and his area of Ulduar is all mech mobs. He built both Flame Leviathan and V-07-TR-0N. It's a thing.
Hey, my guess was pretty close!
That's not dissimilar from what I was talking about. The Titans were responsible for creating many things on Azeroth, and certain areas remain very Titan-ish-- anywhere that starts with "Uld", basically. Uldaman, Ulduar, Uldum...
There are strong connections between the dwarves and the Titans. The dwarves' original forms were the Earthen, crafted by the Titans to help shape Azeroth, and some still serve in that role. The dwarves have become extremely interested in uncovering all they can about what the Titans left behind, with the foremost scholar/explorer amongst them being the intrepid Brann Bronzebeard. (If you thought we were getting away from this guy... nope!)
Creations of the Titans are all throughout the two areas I mentioned above (Storm Peaks and Stormheim), so either of those would qualify.
Looks pretty dwarven. My instinct would be not Ironforge given that we did Stormwind last year, and we've been to Blackrock Mountain several times. There is another dwarf-heavy area, though-- albeit Iron Dwarves-- Northrend! The Storm Peaks and beyond, the realm of the Keepers, with possibly an Ulduar mini-set.
Alternative: Stormheim, in the Broken Isles. Lots of runes there, too, and for similar reasons (both areas have Titanic heritages, Vrykul, Valkyr, Titan Keepers, etc.). However, WotLK Classic is running now, and Ulduar is (rightfully!) fondly remembered, so the brand synergy is stronger with the Storm Peaks. Various trials, or possibly the fight against Hela, would work for the mini-set.
(Emphasis added.)So... it's the ladder version of Tavern Brawl.
It was "criminally underplayed" for its win rate. As people realized this, they started including it in more and more decks, leaving it on a clear trajectory to become That Card. Hence, Blizzard trying to get ahead of that trajectory.
Thoughts now that the changes have arrived, reposted in this more official place:
S'theno: Wowow, that's harsh. Upping her mana cost would have reduced her combo potential some, but they opted instead to smash her offense. Now you basically have to find her attack buffs to use her as anything more than anti-minion tech. Decks that relied on her for killpower are sad.
Pozzik: instead of messing with his deathrattle or the bots, they kept his effect intact and just reduced how dire a threat he is. I think I actually like that; it's still a strong card, but not so much so that all action revolves around it when it drops.
Purator, Disco Maul, Feast or Famine: all basically expected.
-The Feast or Famine nerf is more impactful than it seems, I think, because the card served two purposes: it helped remediate Pure Paladin's disadvantage when behind on board, and it gave burst/reach when combined with Horn of the Windlord. At two mana it won't help Paladin with its tempo problem any more, and it changes the rhythm of its bursty finishes.
-Slowing down Disco Maul is huge because a large part of its power came from dropping before you start chucking out your minions. At three mana, it comes down *after* you want your board to be built and attacking. Oof.
-The Purator nerf is mild by comparison. Still a great card. It'll still let you drop Lightrays alongside it, probably, since you'll have gone a little longer before dropping Purator and typically will have played another few cards.
Hope: minus one attack is... fine? I don't think it really changes what makes Hope good, which is snowballing wide boards and pre-buffing big beasts, particularly Hound. You just don't get premium attacks in the bargain now.
BUFFS
Rhythmdancer: combined with the nerfs to the most aggressive deck, maybe the reduced cost will allow Risa to function as anti-aggro tech as designed.
Fiddlefire Imp: sure.
Dispense-o-bot: I wonder if it could fit into mech mage now, as it's not too big of a tempo hit, and it can give you either reload or some coins to facilitate your burst turns... or it could spend all game alternating between secrets and frost spells. Oof.
Thoughts now that the changes have arrived:
S'theno: Wowow, that's harsh. Upping her mana cost would have reduced her combo potential some, but they opted instead to smash her offense. Now you basically have to find her attack buffs to use her as anything more than anti-minion tech. Decks that relied on her for killpower are sad.
Pozzik: instead of messing with his deathrattle or the bots, they kept his effect intact and just reduced how dire a threat he is. I think I actually like that; it's still a strong card, but not so much so that all action revolves around it when it drops.
Purator, Disco Maul, Feast or Famine: all basically expected.
-The Feast or Famine nerf is more impactful than it seems, I think, because the card served two purposes: it helped remediate Pure Paladin's disadvantage when behind on board, and it gave burst/reach when combined with Horn of the Windlord. At two mana it won't help Paladin with its tempo problem any more, and it changes the rhythm of its bursty finishes.
-Slowing down Disco Maul is huge because a large part of its power came from dropping before you start chucking out your minions. At three mana, it comes down *after* you want your board to be built and attacking. Oof.
-The Purator nerf is mild by comparison. Still a great card. It'll still let you drop Lightrays alongside it, probably, since you'll have gone a little longer before dropping Purator and typically will have played another few cards.
Hope: minus one attack is... fine? I don't think it really changes what makes Hope good, which is snowballing wide boards and pre-buffing big beasts, particularly Hound. You just don't get premium attacks in the bargain now.
BUFFS
Rhythmdancer: combined with the nerfs to the most aggressive deck, maybe the reduced cost will allow Risa to function as anti-aggro tech as designed.
Fiddlefire Imp: sure.
Dispense-o-bot: I wonder if it could fit into mech mage now, as it's not too big of a tempo hit, and it can give you either reload or some coins to facilitate your burst turns... or it could spend all game alternating between secrets and frost spells. Oof.
The thought might be that nerfing Hope indirectly nerfs the Hound. It does make a huge difference when Hunter, a class normally notable for a lack of defensive tech, suddenly gets defensive tech.
I'm starting to see some Big Control Paladin featuring Kangor pop up here and there. Pretty resilient, if slow as heck to actually win the game. I don't know what its matchup spread is because I've hit it mostly with my achievement farming decks, but it looks like it has potential.
One Hit Wonder
The flavor of this set continues to be so on-point.
Queen Azshara's always been a weird one in my memory. Don't forget that one of her adds has the passive effect that freezes anyone who attacks Azshara. The good news is that, as with all add-summoning bosses, her orbs don't get the mythic multipliers, so you give the orb a harsh glare and it's done.
On an unrelated note, my favorite Naga turn out to have zero chance in the Balinda-centric final encounters, so I've had to do those at lower levels with the never-bad Nature build. Ugh. (Timemistress Athissa is a great ringer for the nature build, kek.)
Slays me.
The Harp heals *instead* of you taking the damage, so the effective healing done by the Harp per proc is two *plus* the damage prevented. Overall, it's worth a minimum of nine, it's proactive, it's fire-and-forget. Good stuff.
Purator just keeps getting better...