Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron without a doubt. Some people hate the randomness that is present in every Hearthstone game, but I love it. It is one of the reasons I fell in love with the game and I'm always excited for these crazy random cards. I can't wait to build a deck around it! :D
I would like to elaborate a little more on why I am getting more and more excited about this expansion. See, like already mentioned by some of you, the rotation is a very big thing this time around. The Year of the Mammoth brought us so much amazing cards and powerful effects and combos, that we got too saturated and therefore felt unimpressed with the expansions from the Year of the Raven. This even led to the fact that Hearthstone started losing a lot of players and even key members from the community. But when you take a bird's-eye view on the game as a whole, actually the powerful cards were the problem, not the 'underwhelming' expansions from the Year of the Raven.
Of course the Witchwood brought us the Odd and Even cards and I think that was a very interesting mechanic, but one year in Standard was definitely long enough. Let's take the dust and move on. But next to that, we got the Echo, Rush, and Worgen mechanics, which were very well executed and fitted the theme perfectly. But meanwhile, everyone was fed up with Shudderwock, so we forgot to play with these new mechanics.
The Boomsday Project brought us Mecha'thun, but let's look past that card. We got a lot of very fun mechs, as well as the Legendary spells. Some of those have been played in some meta decks, but I think/hope that the rotation of the Death Knights will lead to the need for some other expensive cards with cool effects, like Kangor's Endless Army, Luna's Pocket Galaxy, The Boomship and The Storm Bringer.
And then, most recently, we got Rastakhan's Rumble. I don't know what your experience is, but I heard a lot of complaints and even heard several players declare it the worst HS expansion ever. Although I do not necessarily like the theme, definitely not compared to the previous two expansions, the Spirits and Loa as well as the mechanic Overkill can really bring different decks to the table, as long as they're not outclassed by those super powerful decks from the Year of the Mammoth. And let's not forget the Troll champions, which could serve as weaker versions of the Death knights, since they invite you to build a deck around them.
Of course we will still keep three hero cards in Standard after rotation, being Hagatha the Witch, Dr. Boom, Mad Genius and Zul'jin, but two of those will play a role in the Year of the Dragon (or at least their characters), and as far as I know none of those have proven to be as powerful as the Death Knights. We wil see how this will develop though the year.
But now, to conclude and finally make my point, I think that less powerful (and therefore hopefully more balanced) expansions will only keep our beloved cardgame interesting. This makes it easier for new players to get into this game and have fun with it, makes it more fun for current players to experiment with decks, and will hopefully result in a more diverse meta. As more and more cards of the Rise of Shadows expansion are being revealed, I am getting the idea that Blizzard has had this plan all along and was working towards this rotation to finally bring more balance to the game and make it more enjoyable again for everyone. Think about it this way: when the most powerful cards are removed, the next most powerful cards become way more interesting. And I think since that 'second' pool of cards is much larger, we will see a lot more diversity. Of course it's cool to have super powerful or ridiculous cards in a new expansion, but after a few weeks or months everyone will be begging for nerfs and start complaining about the lack of balance and boring meta. Unfortunately I can't look into the future, but the recent developments definitely have awoken this feeling of joy and excitement for me that I can't seem to put aside. So let's hope the game will be the best version of itself for years to come! :)
I think this is going to be a lot stronger than most of us currently realise. Especially when combined with some other Paladin secrets in a well constructed deck, because a lot of board clears will be countered by it.
Almost every card that was revealed today has something to it that makes me want to try it! I think that is the best we can wish for. Still very excited for this expansion! :D
First, expressing happiness is not useless. Go to town.
Secondly, I would have a hard time not being hyped for standard about a rotation set just because of the rotation component. Haven't really seen enough to have feels about the environment but you're definitely right that the idea of story across expansions is an interesting design change. I don't actually feel that the level of developer care has really waxed and waned over time, just their ability to implement changes and the sophistication of same. I do think they're getting better at it, but it really isn't fair to imply that previous iterations of the team necessarily cared less.
Thanks for the clear and thoughtful reply, I guess your opinion is a lot more balanced than my rush of happiness when I created this thread. Let's just wait and see what will happen. As of yet they have not disappointed me with anything they announced or implemented in the past few weeks. I love the new deck-autocomplete. It got me to play fun decks that I would not even have considered to build without it.
Let's appreciate the fact that Blizzard has admitted they messed up and take full responsibility for it. I think they are right to let Roger hold his title, but I hope they will act more adequately next time something like this happens.
Lazul's Scheme seems like the sort of card that turns out to be way too powerful and will get nerfed in the not so distant future. But a very fun card nonetheless, especially in a well crafted deck. I really like mech Hunter and Oblivitron will definitely make me want to try to build a mech deck around it. This expansion still gets me more excited with every card that gets revealed :D
Ok, maybe not a very useful thread, but I really want to express my happiness! Finally, after more than a year (at least in my case) I am super excited about the expansion to come and Hearthstone in general again. Not only do I really like the concept of the expansion and the fact that it will be a theme for the entire year, but the game as a whole is heading in a great direction in my opinion. I feel like the game creators have started caring again about the game itself, as well as the community. Of course we will have to wait and see what the Year of the Dragon will bring, but you have to admit that it's all looking very promising (:
This is awesome! I really like this guide, it's so detailed. And I can't wait for the other cards of the expansion to be revealed. I'm actually very hyped about it and I think the last time I felt like that was before the Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion. So let's hope it's as fun and gamechanging as that expansion has been. Keep up the good work with this site, I'm really loving it, thanks :)
To me this is an instant craft! It just feels like a card that you can have so much fun with and is really powerful and possibly game-changing at the same time :)
My favorite moment was actually a period. It was in the beginning when so many players didn't understand how to use Zephrys. XD
Battletag: TheDude#22455
Region: EU
Trade only: Yes, you go first
DONE
35!
I've always got this one selected, but I never actually got it as my cardback in a game :( Are you sure there is a chance to get it?
Oh man, I hope I open this tonight! :D
Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron without a doubt. Some people hate the randomness that is present in every Hearthstone game, but I love it. It is one of the reasons I fell in love with the game and I'm always excited for these crazy random cards. I can't wait to build a deck around it! :D
Thanks for the heads up. I'll definitely start a run ;)
I'm going to have so much fun playing Mage again! :)
This could possibly be the first card to be nerfed. I know I am keeping every copy i get ;)
Can't wait to craft this!
Thanks for taking the time to write a great April fools joke, loved every second of reading it :)
I would like to elaborate a little more on why I am getting more and more excited about this expansion. See, like already mentioned by some of you, the rotation is a very big thing this time around. The Year of the Mammoth brought us so much amazing cards and powerful effects and combos, that we got too saturated and therefore felt unimpressed with the expansions from the Year of the Raven. This even led to the fact that Hearthstone started losing a lot of players and even key members from the community. But when you take a bird's-eye view on the game as a whole, actually the powerful cards were the problem, not the 'underwhelming' expansions from the Year of the Raven.
Of course the Witchwood brought us the Odd and Even cards and I think that was a very interesting mechanic, but one year in Standard was definitely long enough. Let's take the dust and move on. But next to that, we got the Echo, Rush, and Worgen mechanics, which were very well executed and fitted the theme perfectly. But meanwhile, everyone was fed up with Shudderwock, so we forgot to play with these new mechanics.
The Boomsday Project brought us Mecha'thun, but let's look past that card. We got a lot of very fun mechs, as well as the Legendary spells. Some of those have been played in some meta decks, but I think/hope that the rotation of the Death Knights will lead to the need for some other expensive cards with cool effects, like Kangor's Endless Army, Luna's Pocket Galaxy, The Boomship and The Storm Bringer.
And then, most recently, we got Rastakhan's Rumble. I don't know what your experience is, but I heard a lot of complaints and even heard several players declare it the worst HS expansion ever. Although I do not necessarily like the theme, definitely not compared to the previous two expansions, the Spirits and Loa as well as the mechanic Overkill can really bring different decks to the table, as long as they're not outclassed by those super powerful decks from the Year of the Mammoth. And let's not forget the Troll champions, which could serve as weaker versions of the Death knights, since they invite you to build a deck around them.
Of course we will still keep three hero cards in Standard after rotation, being Hagatha the Witch, Dr. Boom, Mad Genius and Zul'jin, but two of those will play a role in the Year of the Dragon (or at least their characters), and as far as I know none of those have proven to be as powerful as the Death Knights. We wil see how this will develop though the year.
But now, to conclude and finally make my point, I think that less powerful (and therefore hopefully more balanced) expansions will only keep our beloved cardgame interesting. This makes it easier for new players to get into this game and have fun with it, makes it more fun for current players to experiment with decks, and will hopefully result in a more diverse meta. As more and more cards of the Rise of Shadows expansion are being revealed, I am getting the idea that Blizzard has had this plan all along and was working towards this rotation to finally bring more balance to the game and make it more enjoyable again for everyone. Think about it this way: when the most powerful cards are removed, the next most powerful cards become way more interesting. And I think since that 'second' pool of cards is much larger, we will see a lot more diversity. Of course it's cool to have super powerful or ridiculous cards in a new expansion, but after a few weeks or months everyone will be begging for nerfs and start complaining about the lack of balance and boring meta. Unfortunately I can't look into the future, but the recent developments definitely have awoken this feeling of joy and excitement for me that I can't seem to put aside. So let's hope the game will be the best version of itself for years to come! :)
I think this is going to be a lot stronger than most of us currently realise. Especially when combined with some other Paladin secrets in a well constructed deck, because a lot of board clears will be countered by it.
Almost every card that was revealed today has something to it that makes me want to try it! I think that is the best we can wish for. Still very excited for this expansion! :D
Thanks for the clear and thoughtful reply, I guess your opinion is a lot more balanced than my rush of happiness when I created this thread. Let's just wait and see what will happen. As of yet they have not disappointed me with anything they announced or implemented in the past few weeks. I love the new deck-autocomplete. It got me to play fun decks that I would not even have considered to build without it.
Let's appreciate the fact that Blizzard has admitted they messed up and take full responsibility for it. I think they are right to let Roger hold his title, but I hope they will act more adequately next time something like this happens.
Lazul's Scheme seems like the sort of card that turns out to be way too powerful and will get nerfed in the not so distant future. But a very fun card nonetheless, especially in a well crafted deck. I really like mech Hunter and Oblivitron will definitely make me want to try to build a mech deck around it. This expansion still gets me more excited with every card that gets revealed :D
Ok, maybe not a very useful thread, but I really want to express my happiness! Finally, after more than a year (at least in my case) I am super excited about the expansion to come and Hearthstone in general again. Not only do I really like the concept of the expansion and the fact that it will be a theme for the entire year, but the game as a whole is heading in a great direction in my opinion. I feel like the game creators have started caring again about the game itself, as well as the community. Of course we will have to wait and see what the Year of the Dragon will bring, but you have to admit that it's all looking very promising (:
This is awesome! I really like this guide, it's so detailed. And I can't wait for the other cards of the expansion to be revealed. I'm actually very hyped about it and I think the last time I felt like that was before the Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion. So let's hope it's as fun and gamechanging as that expansion has been. Keep up the good work with this site, I'm really loving it, thanks :)
To me this is an instant craft! It just feels like a card that you can have so much fun with and is really powerful and possibly game-changing at the same time :)