The more I look at this and think about it, the more I hate it. I actually can't believe they printed it. This will have to be banned from Arena it's so terrible. I am grumpy that it's taking up an epic spot in my packs. Purify was rightly mocked by everyone, but actually ended up working in a few decks after all. This is way worse from a design and set perspective, and is only getting a pass because it's neutral. I would take a no-text minion with a boring stat-line over this card because at least it would impact Arena.
Yeah, the best comparison is Star Aligner which 1) is a better stand alone card; 2) has an easier combo condition; 3) has a more powerful effect. If there are tools to support this card then there are tools to support Star Aligner decks which will be better. This is pack filler disguised as a meme card.
I'm trying to think of a likely punish to Wild Bloodstinger, and not coming up with a ton. I think at least a 1-of will become common in most Hunter decks. But, I'd be afraid to run one in Arena because of all the Dig Days.
Scarlet Webweaver needs some build-around, but I think it's strong enough to work in non-combo decks or non-OTK combo decks. 0-mana Tundra Rhino is enough to justify it in any deck you'd want to run a Tundra Rhino in.
Reno is great. It just doesn't feel as amazing as the original, or quite as cool as Brann. But it's the equivalent power level of Lord Godfrey or Vilespine Slayer. I'm not sure if it's strong enough to build a singleton deck around, but 1 or 2 other cards that support that concept will probably make it a solid tier-2 deck.
The mana/stat-line is good enough to be playable without losing too much tempo. I think this has to buff two targets to be worth it. Not the best card, but an entertaining-enough build-around.
Very cool card. I'm sure we'll see it in action a lot simply because of Hagatha spell generation. Combine with something common like Lightning Storm and you have a simple board clear combo. But I'm already envisioning surprise Bluegill Warrior lethals being featured on Trolden.
Not looking for a debate, but while I support Out Of Cards I also support the workers striking today due to horrible working conditions at Amazon. I won't be crossing the picket line today or tomorrow by ordering anything through them. Again, do what you will, but wanted to let others know about the strike if they weren't aware.
Sandwasp Queen is sort of nuts on its own. Compare it to Acorn Bearer. Paladin doesn't have the same kinds of buffs as Druid, but filling your hand with aggressive minions is really great. Brazen Zealot is also a guaranteed 3/1 if you need it to be. Truly excellent against classes without a ping. Salhet's Pride is the weakest by far, but could be a slightly better Arcane Intellect in the right kind of deck.
I'll post here rather than make a new thread. I played this for about two hours the last two nights. The first night I barely knew what I was doing. The second night it clicked, and I took second place in all of my matches. And I truly, genuinely think the game is terrible.
The game is so, so, so slow. Watching the battles play out, especially the loot battles, wastes so much time. But if you took away the visualization of literally just a bunch of math, there would barely be anything going on. Even when everyone's battles end early you have to wait the 5 - 10 extra seconds for the round to conclude. The whole game is down-time.
But at the same time, the matches are ENDLESS. 30 - 40 rounds if you last until the top 3, which takes 30 - 45 minutes. That's a bonkers level of time commitment for a casual game. And you spend nearly all of it watching essentially nothing while doing nothing!
All the strategy comes in the store. Save up your gold to earn interest. Be comfortable losing some battles/health in the early rounds, and then spend like crazy when the right units become available. I've simplified it a little bit, but not much.
I can't believe that this might be the next big thing. I was annoyed when Amaz, one of my favorite streamers, went full auto-chess. Part of the reason was every video was 40+ minutes long. I wanted some short clips to get me into the game. Now, having played it, I realize why it was so inaccessible. All I can say is that there isn't much difference between watching someone play the game and playing the game. The whole thing is a terrible passive experience.
The only change that really bothers me is Deadly Shot. Probably because it's the most played of all these cards (except Eviscerate which was barely changed). The new art has a ton of negative space, and just doesn't have the same flavor. The three ladies actually all look way better. Felstalker should only be referred to as Dana or Zuul.
That Radiance is a complete dud, but at least the other cards are all real cards even if some aren't that good. Plaguebringer is actually excellent, particularly in Arena. Whitemane will probably hit the meta. Kel'Thuzad triggering once was often enough to close out a game. Getting to play it a turn early seems like an excellent trade-off to the persistent effect. And the Infiltrator is good for the meta since it's in standard.
They can end the game. Zoo sometimes has to make a decision to go full aggro. At that point where you're running out of steam the Soulfires can give you the cover to stop worrying about value trades and board clears and just go face. Also, an early Soulfire with so many disposable minions in-hand can give you the tempo to fully take board control and never give it up. It's just a way more flexible card at every point in the game, and it's much easier to plan around drawing one than hoping the RNG from Rafaam can save you. But, I do recognize that the stats on HSReplay don't seem to back me up.
Had a lot of fun with this yesterday around Rank 10-9. Won 3/4 of my games for my quest, and most importantly, absolutely obliterated the Hunters I went up against. It's the Control Warrior deck I've been looking for. The game I lost was against another Control Shaman where I milled my own Shudderwok. There might be too much value in the deck. I want to play another dozen games or so and then think about substitutions. Great original concept though.
Tirion was sort of the gold standard for under-costed legendary, and then Tarim busts on the scene, and it still took me a couple months to realize that Tarim is always the best pick from Stonehill Defender. Stonehill Defender is what really made Tarim shine. 3 Tarim's was basically an auto-win.
Not saying it's the best use, but there's obvious synergy here with reborn cards.
Flavor-wise, the random beast should be low-stats because you can't fit more than a small poodle in a pack.
The more I look at this and think about it, the more I hate it. I actually can't believe they printed it. This will have to be banned from Arena it's so terrible. I am grumpy that it's taking up an epic spot in my packs. Purify was rightly mocked by everyone, but actually ended up working in a few decks after all. This is way worse from a design and set perspective, and is only getting a pass because it's neutral. I would take a no-text minion with a boring stat-line over this card because at least it would impact Arena.
Yeah, the best comparison is Star Aligner which 1) is a better stand alone card; 2) has an easier combo condition; 3) has a more powerful effect. If there are tools to support this card then there are tools to support Star Aligner decks which will be better. This is pack filler disguised as a meme card.
I'm trying to think of a likely punish to Wild Bloodstinger, and not coming up with a ton. I think at least a 1-of will become common in most Hunter decks. But, I'd be afraid to run one in Arena because of all the Dig Days.
Scarlet Webweaver needs some build-around, but I think it's strong enough to work in non-combo decks or non-OTK combo decks. 0-mana Tundra Rhino is enough to justify it in any deck you'd want to run a Tundra Rhino in.
Reno is great. It just doesn't feel as amazing as the original, or quite as cool as Brann. But it's the equivalent power level of Lord Godfrey or Vilespine Slayer. I'm not sure if it's strong enough to build a singleton deck around, but 1 or 2 other cards that support that concept will probably make it a solid tier-2 deck.
How is this going to be covered? Are they streaming the ComicCon session. Is an OoC mod going to be in attendance? Looking forward to it!
The mana/stat-line is good enough to be playable without losing too much tempo. I think this has to buff two targets to be worth it. Not the best card, but an entertaining-enough build-around.
Very cool card. I'm sure we'll see it in action a lot simply because of Hagatha spell generation. Combine with something common like Lightning Storm and you have a simple board clear combo. But I'm already envisioning surprise Bluegill Warrior lethals being featured on Trolden.
Not looking for a debate, but while I support Out Of Cards I also support the workers striking today due to horrible working conditions at Amazon. I won't be crossing the picket line today or tomorrow by ordering anything through them. Again, do what you will, but wanted to let others know about the strike if they weren't aware.
Sandwasp Queen is sort of nuts on its own. Compare it to Acorn Bearer. Paladin doesn't have the same kinds of buffs as Druid, but filling your hand with aggressive minions is really great. Brazen Zealot is also a guaranteed 3/1 if you need it to be. Truly excellent against classes without a ping. Salhet's Pride is the weakest by far, but could be a slightly better Arcane Intellect in the right kind of deck.
BEEEES!!! has to be one of the best removal spells ever printed. It's going to be an autoinclude.
I'll post here rather than make a new thread. I played this for about two hours the last two nights. The first night I barely knew what I was doing. The second night it clicked, and I took second place in all of my matches. And I truly, genuinely think the game is terrible.
The game is so, so, so slow. Watching the battles play out, especially the loot battles, wastes so much time. But if you took away the visualization of literally just a bunch of math, there would barely be anything going on. Even when everyone's battles end early you have to wait the 5 - 10 extra seconds for the round to conclude. The whole game is down-time.
But at the same time, the matches are ENDLESS. 30 - 40 rounds if you last until the top 3, which takes 30 - 45 minutes. That's a bonkers level of time commitment for a casual game. And you spend nearly all of it watching essentially nothing while doing nothing!
All the strategy comes in the store. Save up your gold to earn interest. Be comfortable losing some battles/health in the early rounds, and then spend like crazy when the right units become available. I've simplified it a little bit, but not much.
I can't believe that this might be the next big thing. I was annoyed when Amaz, one of my favorite streamers, went full auto-chess. Part of the reason was every video was 40+ minutes long. I wanted some short clips to get me into the game. Now, having played it, I realize why it was so inaccessible. All I can say is that there isn't much difference between watching someone play the game and playing the game. The whole thing is a terrible passive experience.
The only change that really bothers me is Deadly Shot. Probably because it's the most played of all these cards (except Eviscerate which was barely changed). The new art has a ton of negative space, and just doesn't have the same flavor. The three ladies actually all look way better. Felstalker should only be referred to as Dana or Zuul.
I played meta Zoo Warlock against a Murloc Shaman for a quick win. I'm sure there are some fun combos, but there's also just face.
That Radiance is a complete dud, but at least the other cards are all real cards even if some aren't that good. Plaguebringer is actually excellent, particularly in Arena. Whitemane will probably hit the meta. Kel'Thuzad triggering once was often enough to close out a game. Getting to play it a turn early seems like an excellent trade-off to the persistent effect. And the Infiltrator is good for the meta since it's in standard.
They can end the game. Zoo sometimes has to make a decision to go full aggro. At that point where you're running out of steam the Soulfires can give you the cover to stop worrying about value trades and board clears and just go face. Also, an early Soulfire with so many disposable minions in-hand can give you the tempo to fully take board control and never give it up. It's just a way more flexible card at every point in the game, and it's much easier to plan around drawing one than hoping the RNG from Rafaam can save you. But, I do recognize that the stats on HSReplay don't seem to back me up.
I recently opened Rafaam, but I was running double Soulfire in my Zoolock before that, and I think I liked that better.
Had a lot of fun with this yesterday around Rank 10-9. Won 3/4 of my games for my quest, and most importantly, absolutely obliterated the Hunters I went up against. It's the Control Warrior deck I've been looking for. The game I lost was against another Control Shaman where I milled my own Shudderwok. There might be too much value in the deck. I want to play another dozen games or so and then think about substitutions. Great original concept though.
Tirion was sort of the gold standard for under-costed legendary, and then Tarim busts on the scene, and it still took me a couple months to realize that Tarim is always the best pick from Stonehill Defender. Stonehill Defender is what really made Tarim shine. 3 Tarim's was basically an auto-win.