Mana increase on final Mercenaries is the best solution, and it could even be applied to just some mercenaries (Guff is already asymmetrical in body), like Tamsin and Tavish at the very least.
I don't think more nerfs would be necessary for Wild, at least on QLs, and mana nerfs would probably not be bad for Standard either.
I should add, and this is not secondary at all, that the bothersome component of current situation to me is that the powerlevel is crazy high in FROM-HAND synergies (REACH): very few decks rely heavily on going through the board to find lethal.
In Wild, we could say Shadow Priest is the fairest of the meta decks, and by far.
It also happened very rapidly, which made several decks simply unable to adjust. Rise in powerlevel was too fast and brutal, and this contributed a lot to the alienation of some part of the Wild playerbase, which was at least decently comfortable before Stormwind.
All this generates an "own thing" meta (it's not just a feeling) where interaction is indirect or concentrated into popoff turns for the most part. And I don't like it at all. Personally ofc, but it's fair to say this is pretty far from the old "fast&interactive" that I think made many of us fall in love with the game.
Anyway, I doubt any of them mercs will ever go beyond (6). We'd be lucky if Tamsin and Tavish did.
Finally, I'm afraid Wild just passed a threshold, even if we go back now, design policy is rampant on crazy levels right now, and more insane lightning-fast combo-ish stuff is bound to appear, at every release, especially on Druid, Mage, Warlock.
I think Wild reached its own 2.0 and there's no going back.
I certainly understand and respect silence from team5 ON THE LEGAL ISSUE.
But a public message from whatever department warning about the reveal stream being canceled and possibly giving a timing for the dump would have been more than feasible, and in a relatively short time too (it's just a message on a webpage, it takes more time to greenlight it to the final dev than actually posting it).
Not sure who's in charge for this kind of communications, but it was/is well due to their customers, independently of the ongoing legal issue.
Pre-purchase boycott una tantum is understandable, and arguably effective.
Full-blown boycott is honestly superficial and silly.
One is definitely entitled to whatever choice ofc, but one thing is keeping the limelight on important matters, including through some financial means, another is going for a crusade against something one liked till like two days ago.
Indeed the safest fix would be to add a card limit (first 3 each turn?) to its effect. It would actually destroy the card in Wild where it is broken, but that is exactly the purpose, while leaving Standard free to experiment with the new Pain engine.
And my disappointment goes to the devs who didn't add such a limit in the first place.
I hope they are fast with this one, I'm already kinda tired of the game on my own...
"turns where you can play a lot of cards are fun".
Yes, but only for 50% of players, eg the opponent is struggling to avoid smashing their phone or pc into the wall, while the Stealer players is having their silly "fun" OTK on turn 6-7.
Devs forget too often to take opponent's fun or at least non-saltiness into account, when designing new cards.
Even if Stealer lock is bound to be kept in check by Secret Mage, this situation is yet another silly point that Wild doesn't really need (while Standard gets only minor benefit).
I understand development cycle and scheduling is complicated, but really, looking at stats we're really in a degenerate situation, and it became clear after few days from release.
I'm sure they're doing their best rn, but this situation is not ok.
Same here. I jumped into his stream by chance, but soon I found him overreacting at some slightly critical chat comments with such an arrogance that I stopped immediately (while many viewers kept accomodating him like stereotypical cheerleaders, it felt pathetic to read as well).
I am usually cautious about these allegations, but I have few doubts about Zalae being an unstable person.
Definitely a juicy card, but I doubt it will be popular past its first week. In general, despite the apparent versatility, it's just too situational.
It's too unreliable against enemy minions, and Control decks have better options most of the time, while Aggro simply cannot afford a (5) 3/6 tech card.
Big Recruit decks are also better off without him for best consistency of summon from deck.
Either way, I'm trying it in Big Demon Hunter (with Felscreamer, Priestess of Fury and Overfiend as backup Midrange plan + big Naga and Colossus) and it's a nice card there, definitely a buff to the deck. It's just that the deck itself is still quite limited I think.
Rotating Core could bring more toxic cards, but if they design it cleverly they could also include smart cards to impact any given Wild meta in a beneficial way against a given mechanic.
Basically an additional chance to have Wild balance itself out.
Mana increase on final Mercenaries is the best solution, and it could even be applied to just some mercenaries (Guff is already asymmetrical in body), like Tamsin and Tavish at the very least.
I don't think more nerfs would be necessary for Wild, at least on QLs, and mana nerfs would probably not be bad for Standard either.
I should add, and this is not secondary at all, that the bothersome component of current situation to me is that the powerlevel is crazy high in FROM-HAND synergies (REACH): very few decks rely heavily on going through the board to find lethal.
In Wild, we could say Shadow Priest is the fairest of the meta decks, and by far.
It also happened very rapidly, which made several decks simply unable to adjust. Rise in powerlevel was too fast and brutal, and this contributed a lot to the alienation of some part of the Wild playerbase, which was at least decently comfortable before Stormwind.
All this generates an "own thing" meta (it's not just a feeling) where interaction is indirect or concentrated into popoff turns for the most part. And I don't like it at all. Personally ofc, but it's fair to say this is pretty far from the old "fast&interactive" that I think made many of us fall in love with the game.
Anyway, I doubt any of them mercs will ever go beyond (6). We'd be lucky if Tamsin and Tavish did.
Finally, I'm afraid Wild just passed a threshold, even if we go back now, design policy is rampant on crazy levels right now, and more insane lightning-fast combo-ish stuff is bound to appear, at every release, especially on Druid, Mage, Warlock.
I think Wild reached its own 2.0 and there's no going back.
It's gonna be a mana up on Stealer and Touch, and Wild will be doomed for another month at the very least.
I just brought this deck to Legend.
In the end I abandoned token build in favor of maximum feral damage: much better in a QL Warlock and QL Hunter meta.
Updated the deck with Questline, Squirrel and Fangbound. Included Bees for an extra defensive kick, given the slower QL start.
Alexstrasza and Albatross are still interesting options.
I certainly understand and respect silence from team5 ON THE LEGAL ISSUE.
But a public message from whatever department warning about the reveal stream being canceled and possibly giving a timing for the dump would have been more than feasible, and in a relatively short time too (it's just a message on a webpage, it takes more time to greenlight it to the final dev than actually posting it).
Not sure who's in charge for this kind of communications, but it was/is well due to their customers, independently of the ongoing legal issue.
Pre-purchase boycott una tantum is understandable, and arguably effective.
Full-blown boycott is honestly superficial and silly.
One is definitely entitled to whatever choice ofc, but one thing is keeping the limelight on important matters, including through some financial means, another is going for a crusade against something one liked till like two days ago.
imo
Plot Twist is perfectly ok, Stealer is not.
Indeed the safest fix would be to add a card limit (first 3 each turn?) to its effect. It would actually destroy the card in Wild where it is broken, but that is exactly the purpose, while leaving Standard free to experiment with the new Pain engine.
And my disappointment goes to the devs who didn't add such a limit in the first place.
I hope they are fast with this one, I'm already kinda tired of the game on my own...
"turns where you can play a lot of cards are fun".
Yes, but only for 50% of players, eg the opponent is struggling to avoid smashing their phone or pc into the wall, while the Stealer players is having their silly "fun" OTK on turn 6-7.
Devs forget too often to take opponent's fun or at least non-saltiness into account, when designing new cards.
Even if Stealer lock is bound to be kept in check by Secret Mage, this situation is yet another silly point that Wild doesn't really need (while Standard gets only minor benefit).
Is APM Mage still popular?
I find way more Secret than APM.
And I daresay the tilting part of both decks is actually the f3cking Ice Block.
Updated for Barrens! I just reached Legend with this list (from 10 stars).
I understand development cycle and scheduling is complicated, but really, looking at stats we're really in a degenerate situation, and it became clear after few days from release.
I'm sure they're doing their best rn, but this situation is not ok.
A bit too long this time tbh.
You can't stay for 2 weeks with a clearly broken meta.
Same here. I jumped into his stream by chance, but soon I found him overreacting at some slightly critical chat comments with such an arrogance that I stopped immediately (while many viewers kept accomodating him like stereotypical cheerleaders, it felt pathetic to read as well).
I am usually cautious about these allegations, but I have few doubts about Zalae being an unstable person.
Not really. I didn't think of it either, but it requires turn 10 and unlocks on turn 12, which is typically too late.
Dragon on turn 10 usually means 8-12 damage on its own, and it should be enough if things went as they should.
But admittedly the combo with Maiev prepares an inevitable otk-ish. It might be worth it against slower decks!
Still entirely sure of the Post + Defender package, but it's been working well so far. I've beaten also some Aggro Paladin, Big Priest, QRogue.
On the other hand, the meta I encountered felt weird tbh, some junk decks and some Standard lists as well.
Overall, the archetype might be around t3.
Definitely a juicy card, but I doubt it will be popular past its first week. In general, despite the apparent versatility, it's just too situational.
It's too unreliable against enemy minions, and Control decks have better options most of the time, while Aggro simply cannot afford a (5) 3/6 tech card.
Big Recruit decks are also better off without him for best consistency of summon from deck.
Either way, I'm trying it in Big Demon Hunter (with Felscreamer, Priestess of Fury and Overfiend as backup Midrange plan + big Naga and Colossus) and it's a nice card there, definitely a buff to the deck. It's just that the deck itself is still quite limited I think.
Problem is surviving long enough.
Wait, I didn't realize that the Core is rotating!
Well, this is definitely intriguing for Wild now.
Rotating Core could bring more toxic cards, but if they design it cleverly they could also include smart cards to impact any given Wild meta in a beneficial way against a given mechanic.
Basically an additional chance to have Wild balance itself out.
Serpents is by far my favourite.
Look at those colours! Perfect for Rogue.
Winner is cool but I'd never use it.
What about Polkelt for post-quest optimization?