I'm a Wild-exclusive player, and the meta has been solid so far. While I do play some jank shit mostly revolving around C'Thun, the Shattered, including my Araña mage, it's still has been not that bad. My only gripe is that Questline Druid is pipsqueak weak now. Too bad I have never faced Questline Warlock, but I do think it's overall good riddance even though it had the Jade Druid-eqsue gameplay that's hard to replicate now.
That also means I never have to face Questline Mage, which people seem to hate with passion. Watching games from guys like Rarran and FunkiMonki, and it seems the Quest endorses so much hatred because of seemingly forced lack of interactivity to not progress their gameplan.
What if... The Demon Seed, instead of having you take X amount of self-damage to progress, would instead track turns in which you dealt damage to yourself? This would affect Wild the most, since the critical mass of self-damage cards is there, and the change would slow it down massively while making it somewhat still solid in Standard - maybe stronger in Standard than in Wild, but it would balance out both worlds without implementing the ban to the Quest in Wild.
Pretty massive for Odd Mage, since you can level up Jan'ari with just one normal HP and one with Daring Fire-Eater. Even just three uses get there with Wildfire as opposed to four, saving you crucial Mana.
I agree that the Quest should have stayed, because it gave players something similar to Jade Druid to play with. However, the critical mass of self-damage cards in Wild, on top of Warlock itself being the top dog since Scholomance, AND possibly Rod, made it shatter Wild like no meta did, aside from maybe SN1P-SN4P Warlock.
It would've also been another patience game if they did not ban the Quest in Wild. The patch's nerfs would've already done quite a bit of damage because of slowed progress and less explosive turns. But again, this would've probably kept the community in outrage had the Questline stayed for even one more day.
Sure, IMO, the deck gave us a way to play something akin to Jade Druid to punish control decks without being a strict combo deck, but the power level of it, alongside of other cards like Rod, pushed it into the unhealthy state similar to SN1P-SN4P Warlock of old.
Pirate Warrior's probably the deck to beat now alongside Shadow Priest.
I actually think it will be Darkglare (or Runed Mithril Rod for others) who will be banned from Wild for one reason - one of Questlines is given for free after either logging in during this expansion or after buying a UiS pack, so it would be an immense hurdle for newer players who want to play Questline Warlock in Wild, as they would see their Quest banned, thus blocking the entry for the other mode, assuming they don't want to play Standard. Also Questline weekly quests.
Hex grid is actually used for Faeria, but I'd say sticking to the square grid gives me more design space for cards, since players could consider them for their ability to attack diagonally. It also gives Troops additional breathing room, because the game design feels pretty defense-heavy, and while Turrets can't attack immediately without Readiness, if the game was on a hex grid, it would become more of a stat-check contest since attacks would be available from every angle.
Turns follow the Hearthstone system, but once you play a Slow or Fast spell, your opponent can interact with it like in Runeterra. So for Turrets and Troops, you can play them as many as you want without passing the initiative to your opponent.
Either Turrets and Troops can initiate an attack on their own. On a player's turn, they can force an enemy troop on the board to attack your chosen Turret, and can force enemy Turrets to block with their Troops on the enemy board. There is a keyword called Shield, which works like Divine Shield, may implement an equivalent to Immune in the future.
Core cards would be ones to be released alongside the release of the game, thus such cards would be the only ones eligible for Basic as to create an environment for newer players to grind out rewards and new packs, or for people who want to jump back in time once new sets roll out. I'd also try to not split Virtue into two lobbies akin to Standard and Wild, as I'm a Wild player myself, so I know it's better to not create a split so that everyone has a chance to return to the game. But I also like the Brawl Blocks, so there could be a separate game mode for those who enjoy theorycrafting with limited resources.
I wish they nerfed Crystallizer for Wild, because she is so damn powerful for Questline Warlock specifically she's become the new Spawn of Shadows in terms of their rise from zero to hero. Somebody mentioned that she should conver Health into Armor instead of dealing damage to your hero, but I'd say she can become a 1/1 and deal only 2 to you, but still grant 5 Armor - to shift her focus to a defensive card. Alternatively, nerf her to 2 Mana 2/3 to make her less spammable with Raise Dead.
A few more ideas for cards, because I do have quite a lot of fun making them, which means the game could have a lot of potential in case it was in development. New keywords are explained in the document, aswell as further info.
First, I think there is not an inherent problem with the Quest's design itself. It's sort of a new Jade Druid, and when balanced properly, it can keep the anti-control niche. The problem is that it's not balanced right now, but also because I think people need more theorycrafters like Dane who can showcase creative counters in high Legend.
Like I feel like The Darkness can be legit good in this meta. While a 4 Mana play, because of how often Warlock draws, you can quite reliably dig for the Candles to summon a 20/20 minion that can easily take 3 Giants by itself or smack your opponent's face, and the Four Giants Questline variant runs no hard removal; too bad Combo ones does, but cards like Charge exist.
Dane has already shown the power of Miracle Priest against Warlock, and imo Mill Rogue has potential to do the same. They have cards like Evasion and Vanish, and can run either Vanessa VanCleef or Plagiarize to steal Blightborn Tamsin.
Bulwark of Azzinoth can also tank both Giant hits and Tamsin's Fatigue damage, provided you can create a win condition.
But otherwise the deck is meta warping. Either nerf Tamsin herself to 7 Mana, nerf some of the support cards or exclude Fatigue from triggering Tamsin, but the last option is probably something Blizz wants to avoid I assume. I'd bet on nerfing cards like Crystallizer, but I can't deny how cheap their cards can also become, though Azalina Soulthief/Mindrender Illucia let you get the taste of their cheap weed.
Beasts are fine, since Goldrinn, Macaw and Hydra are still there. Also, a key note is that Brittlebone accounts for any card you add to hand, so they can work with a lot of tribes. Even the new Bootlegger gives some mid-game scaling.
I don't think Pirates are SOLELY reliant on Hoggar, since Goldrubber exists and has recevied some support. But Hoggar will definitely be the best catalyst for Pirate builds, but that remains to be seen.
They still have Looter, Hoggar and Goldrubber, which will have even more support due to more Golden minions to collect. Brittlebone also solves some problems, because with the Hoggar build, you will add cards to your hand non-stop, thus getting TONS of buffs.
I feel like Menagerie got the shortest stick with the loss of Mythrax.
EDIT: Pirates may aswell turn to another Murloc-like tribe in a sense that you can easily stay on Tier 5 to scale up your units - Nosy Looter can generate tons of cards, but with Hoggar at your disposal, she will not be as necessary.
I'm a Wild-exclusive player, and the meta has been solid so far. While I do play some jank shit mostly revolving around C'Thun, the Shattered, including my Araña mage, it's still has been not that bad. My only gripe is that Questline Druid is pipsqueak weak now. Too bad I have never faced Questline Warlock, but I do think it's overall good riddance even though it had the Jade Druid-eqsue gameplay that's hard to replicate now.
That also means I never have to face Questline Mage, which people seem to hate with passion. Watching games from guys like Rarran and FunkiMonki, and it seems the Quest endorses so much hatred because of seemingly forced lack of interactivity to not progress their gameplan.
Is it me or is APAC just more fun to watch?
"Żółw Lamparci" (or Leopard Turtle) xd
What if... The Demon Seed, instead of having you take X amount of self-damage to progress, would instead track turns in which you dealt damage to yourself? This would affect Wild the most, since the critical mass of self-damage cards is there, and the change would slow it down massively while making it somewhat still solid in Standard - maybe stronger in Standard than in Wild, but it would balance out both worlds without implementing the ban to the Quest in Wild.
Why is everyone so rebelious against Quest Mage? Since I don't play Standard, I need enlightmenet on that topic.
Pretty massive for Odd Mage, since you can level up Jan'ari with just one normal HP and one with Daring Fire-Eater. Even just three uses get there with Wildfire as opposed to four, saving you crucial Mana.
I agree that the Quest should have stayed, because it gave players something similar to Jade Druid to play with. However, the critical mass of self-damage cards in Wild, on top of Warlock itself being the top dog since Scholomance, AND possibly Rod, made it shatter Wild like no meta did, aside from maybe SN1P-SN4P Warlock.
It would've also been another patience game if they did not ban the Quest in Wild. The patch's nerfs would've already done quite a bit of damage because of slowed progress and less explosive turns. But again, this would've probably kept the community in outrage had the Questline stayed for even one more day.
WILD IS SAVED!
Sure, IMO, the deck gave us a way to play something akin to Jade Druid to punish control decks without being a strict combo deck, but the power level of it, alongside of other cards like Rod, pushed it into the unhealthy state similar to SN1P-SN4P Warlock of old.
Pirate Warrior's probably the deck to beat now alongside Shadow Priest.
Sorry, I meant from progressing the Tavern Pass and getting that free Legendary.
I actually think it will be Darkglare (or Runed Mithril Rod for others) who will be banned from Wild for one reason - one of Questlines is given for free after either logging in during this expansion or after buying a UiS pack, so it would be an immense hurdle for newer players who want to play Questline Warlock in Wild, as they would see their Quest banned, thus blocking the entry for the other mode, assuming they don't want to play Standard. Also Questline weekly quests.
Hex grid is actually used for Faeria, but I'd say sticking to the square grid gives me more design space for cards, since players could consider them for their ability to attack diagonally. It also gives Troops additional breathing room, because the game design feels pretty defense-heavy, and while Turrets can't attack immediately without Readiness, if the game was on a hex grid, it would become more of a stat-check contest since attacks would be available from every angle.
Finally it's there. :D
I can do an AMA under this comment to answer some questions.
I wish they nerfed Crystallizer for Wild, because she is so damn powerful for Questline Warlock specifically she's become the new Spawn of Shadows in terms of their rise from zero to hero. Somebody mentioned that she should conver Health into Armor instead of dealing damage to your hero, but I'd say she can become a 1/1 and deal only 2 to you, but still grant 5 Armor - to shift her focus to a defensive card. Alternatively, nerf her to 2 Mana 2/3 to make her less spammable with Raise Dead.
A few more ideas for cards, because I do have quite a lot of fun making them, which means the game could have a lot of potential in case it was in development. New keywords are explained in the document, aswell as further info.
Umm... my two cents.
First, I think there is not an inherent problem with the Quest's design itself. It's sort of a new Jade Druid, and when balanced properly, it can keep the anti-control niche. The problem is that it's not balanced right now, but also because I think people need more theorycrafters like Dane who can showcase creative counters in high Legend.
Like I feel like The Darkness can be legit good in this meta. While a 4 Mana play, because of how often Warlock draws, you can quite reliably dig for the Candles to summon a 20/20 minion that can easily take 3 Giants by itself or smack your opponent's face, and the Four Giants Questline variant runs no hard removal; too bad Combo ones does, but cards like Charge exist.
Dane has already shown the power of Miracle Priest against Warlock, and imo Mill Rogue has potential to do the same. They have cards like Evasion and Vanish, and can run either Vanessa VanCleef or Plagiarize to steal Blightborn Tamsin.
Bulwark of Azzinoth can also tank both Giant hits and Tamsin's Fatigue damage, provided you can create a win condition.
But otherwise the deck is meta warping. Either nerf Tamsin herself to 7 Mana, nerf some of the support cards or exclude Fatigue from triggering Tamsin, but the last option is probably something Blizz wants to avoid I assume. I'd bet on nerfing cards like Crystallizer, but I can't deny how cheap their cards can also become, though Azalina Soulthief/Mindrender Illucia let you get the taste of their cheap weed.
Beasts are fine, since Goldrinn, Macaw and Hydra are still there. Also, a key note is that Brittlebone accounts for any card you add to hand, so they can work with a lot of tribes. Even the new Bootlegger gives some mid-game scaling.
I don't think Pirates are SOLELY reliant on Hoggar, since Goldrubber exists and has recevied some support. But Hoggar will definitely be the best catalyst for Pirate builds, but that remains to be seen.
Arm and Champion were already the mainstays of the Taunt builds, and cards like Qiraji were not as mandatory. Too bad Security Rover is removed.
I wonder if Demon/Elemental hybrids would work, using Dazzling Ligthspawn and Nomi to buff Elementals for Demons to consume.
They still have Looter, Hoggar and Goldrubber, which will have even more support due to more Golden minions to collect. Brittlebone also solves some problems, because with the Hoggar build, you will add cards to your hand non-stop, thus getting TONS of buffs.
I feel like Menagerie got the shortest stick with the loss of Mythrax.
EDIT: Pirates may aswell turn to another Murloc-like tribe in a sense that you can easily stay on Tier 5 to scale up your units - Nosy Looter can generate tons of cards, but with Hoggar at your disposal, she will not be as necessary.