My two favorite expansions are Knights of the Frozen Throne (yes I know) and Kobolds and Catacombs. Reasons are purely subjective, for me it is the blend of really good single player content (to this day I think KaC has the best PvE content of any expansion), backstory and new mechanics and cards (some of them were rather broken but that is another topic). Overall I tend to rate the older expansions higher, but that could just be me being nostalgic.
Odd Hunter: Losing one of its key card was a huge blow; now Tier 3 at best
Quest Pirate: If you look at it in a vaccum the nerf only resulted in a minor decrease in power level; however the deck now gets hard countered in a lot of matchups, especially Freeze Shaman, so the actual power level decreased quite significantly
Well this brings us to the new perpetrator. I only played for like 2 hours post-nerf but in this time around 50% of the matches were against Freeze Shaman, which is clearly the new Tier S deck. I could not win a single game. They can freeze your board for turns and just slam you in the face and if you should survive this well its Shudderwock. Not found a counter yet, I am thinking of some kind of Spell Mage but not sure yet. 100% sure this will get nerfed soon. So my first impression is that one obnoxious deck replaced the other.
Only seven years in IT under my belt, so I hope you accept me in your club :) Joke aside. Bugs happen at the best companies and to the most dedicated developers, so the occurence of bugs is nothing noteworthy per se. However if bugs continue to pile up and getting more embarassing that very well can be an indication of underlying problems. Blizzard has a lot of problems right now, apart from the big scandal I think they have been suffering from bad management and internal cost cuts for quite some time. And yes this shows in quality. But hey, I think they will get the grip again. All the best.
Back to the original topic: Just wait a bit, they will figure it out in a couple of days as always (or mostly).
It pretty much can only get better for Blizzard under Microsoft ownership, so this might be a good thing. On the other hand I don't expect any changes, as Activision Microsoft will aways put the dollar first and the player second (though they are a bit better with communications).
BTW: For Kotick this likely involves a huge payday (even for his standards). So mission accomplished for him I guess.
I'm not surprised at all. Microsoft has no incentive to get rid of him right away. Post-acquisition integration is a tricky thing and replacing management as first thing usually does not help. In the medium term he might have a harder time sticking to his job though, but then the dust might have already settled.
Welcome back and many thanks for the deck list. Good guide also. Odd mage has been a favorite of mine for quite some time. I messed around with a similar deck recently but unfortunately could not make it work. It's fun but overall much too weak. Might give it another try later though.
Is this really a huge problem in HS? I have been added and insulted after games a couple of times but overall this is a rather rare occasion for me. Not sure if the scale of the problem justifies putting effort into this. Also solutions like a 30 min cooldown have negative side effects as there are quite a few decent people around who might just ask for a deck code or similar.
I'm really not sold on this one yet, it smells like another money grab. My issue is: A curated format like Alchemy requires regular and meaningful balancing to remain fresh, which translates into some efforts and manpower needed on WotC side (especially as MTGA is quite a bit more complex than HS or LoR). I mean WotC significantly reduced the amount of effort and commitment it has put in the game in the recent past. Some examples: Forum first abandoned and then shut down entirely; Magic esports basically cancelled; technical problems getting worse from expansion to expansion; community engagement barely existing. If they don't even bother to keep a forum open can we trust them to put the effort into this mode which would be required to turn it into a success? I think not.
Edit: That the rebalanced cards will replace their paper variants in Historic is also a big middle finger to all historic players
Fond memories :) I was always more on the Jade Druid side. I would argue that Jade Idol is the strongest jade card, but overall Shaman is looking stronger (especially as it received much better support cards in the following expansions).
Is it just me or is this getting worse with every expansion? I have the impression that the amount of bugs and hotfixes has gone up substantially in the last years. Sure, with every expansion the game is getting a bit more complex but this can hardly be the only reason.
If you want statistical information there is none. Based on my end-of-season dash yesterday evening I have the impression that the Horde is outnumbering the Alliance a bit. Also on Reddit people made polls on what people chose which the Horde won but not by a huge margin.
Not surprised that Kotick knew, not the slightest. I doubt he will be forced out though. The pretty much only chance this will happen is if the stock price will dive further or he becomes a legal risk and the large shareholders start to perceive him as a liability. Only if Blackrock, Vanguard and their likes turn on him he will be fired. That being said I think it is wrong to pin the entire sorry state of Blizzard on him, but getting rid of him would be a start.
Edit: After reading a couple of articles I correct myself. I bet investors will force him out within the next month. That's simply too much. He has become a liability
In the end this is a really simple issue for me. You need to answer one question for yourself: Am I enjoying this game? If the answer is no, which is pretty clear in your case, then stop playing. No need to concern yourself with other people btw as you do as fun is entirely subjective. It does not matter if a game is grindy or full of what you call OCD rituals; if a person enjoys a game it is a good game. Everbody must be his / her own judge.
I concur, don't pick Jaina. I mean it. Her AI is an absolute desaster. My game went into fatigue despite my opponent having a full board and me being on one health for five or six turns. I would say that Rexxar and Garrosh are the least bad ones as their decks are rather minion based.
I get the idea and with a capable AI it could be fun for a couple of games. The problem is that the AI is so bad that this whole brawl seems more like a liability than a fun experience. Not a good one Blizz.
Edit: After having to endure this a couple of times I must say this is the single worst brawl in HS history. AI making bad plays all the time, missing lethal and winning is just luck. I mean I just survived on one health for five or six turn against Jaina with the AI not even bothering to HP me or go face once. Eventually I died from fatigue. That is just beyond bad.
What they actually mean is: We do not want to risk further bad press for holding BlizzCon amid the ongoing lawsuit and scandal. The one thing in the release that gets me a bit scared is this: "Potential events in the future need to feel safe, welcoming, and inclusive." Please do not overdo it.
You got to be more understanding guys. Bobby needs to buy his 37th Ferrari, which is not going to pay for itself. Especially not with current inflation levels.
My two favorite expansions are Knights of the Frozen Throne (yes I know) and Kobolds and Catacombs. Reasons are purely subjective, for me it is the blend of really good single player content (to this day I think KaC has the best PvE content of any expansion), backstory and new mechanics and cards (some of them were rather broken but that is another topic). Overall I tend to rate the older expansions higher, but that could just be me being nostalgic.
My impression so far:
Well this brings us to the new perpetrator. I only played for like 2 hours post-nerf but in this time around 50% of the matches were against Freeze Shaman, which is clearly the new Tier S deck. I could not win a single game. They can freeze your board for turns and just slam you in the face and if you should survive this well its Shudderwock. Not found a counter yet, I am thinking of some kind of Spell Mage but not sure yet. 100% sure this will get nerfed soon. So my first impression is that one obnoxious deck replaced the other.
Only seven years in IT under my belt, so I hope you accept me in your club :) Joke aside. Bugs happen at the best companies and to the most dedicated developers, so the occurence of bugs is nothing noteworthy per se. However if bugs continue to pile up and getting more embarassing that very well can be an indication of underlying problems. Blizzard has a lot of problems right now, apart from the big scandal I think they have been suffering from bad management and internal cost cuts for quite some time. And yes this shows in quality. But hey, I think they will get the grip again. All the best.
Back to the original topic: Just wait a bit, they will figure it out in a couple of days as always (or mostly).
It pretty much can only get better for Blizzard under Microsoft ownership, so this might be a good thing. On the other hand I don't expect any changes, as Activision Microsoft will aways put the dollar first and the player second (though they are a bit better with communications).
BTW: For Kotick this likely involves a huge payday (even for his standards). So mission accomplished for him I guess.
I'm not surprised at all. Microsoft has no incentive to get rid of him right away. Post-acquisition integration is a tricky thing and replacing management as first thing usually does not help. In the medium term he might have a harder time sticking to his job though, but then the dust might have already settled.
Welcome back and many thanks for the deck list. Good guide also. Odd mage has been a favorite of mine for quite some time. I messed around with a similar deck recently but unfortunately could not make it work. It's fun but overall much too weak. Might give it another try later though.
Is this really a huge problem in HS? I have been added and insulted after games a couple of times but overall this is a rather rare occasion for me. Not sure if the scale of the problem justifies putting effort into this. Also solutions like a 30 min cooldown have negative side effects as there are quite a few decent people around who might just ask for a deck code or similar.
I'm really not sold on this one yet, it smells like another money grab. My issue is: A curated format like Alchemy requires regular and meaningful balancing to remain fresh, which translates into some efforts and manpower needed on WotC side (especially as MTGA is quite a bit more complex than HS or LoR). I mean WotC significantly reduced the amount of effort and commitment it has put in the game in the recent past. Some examples: Forum first abandoned and then shut down entirely; Magic esports basically cancelled; technical problems getting worse from expansion to expansion; community engagement barely existing. If they don't even bother to keep a forum open can we trust them to put the effort into this mode which would be required to turn it into a success? I think not.
Edit: That the rebalanced cards will replace their paper variants in Historic is also a big middle finger to all historic players
Fond memories :) I was always more on the Jade Druid side. I would argue that Jade Idol is the strongest jade card, but overall Shaman is looking stronger (especially as it received much better support cards in the following expansions).
Is it just me or is this getting worse with every expansion? I have the impression that the amount of bugs and hotfixes has gone up substantially in the last years. Sure, with every expansion the game is getting a bit more complex but this can hardly be the only reason.
If you want statistical information there is none. Based on my end-of-season dash yesterday evening I have the impression that the Horde is outnumbering the Alliance a bit. Also on Reddit people made polls on what people chose which the Horde won but not by a huge margin.
Btw: For the Alliance!
Ok, I'm out then (without any additional honor gains). 10 games per day is too much for a casual player like myself. I have to work and have a RL :)
Shaman with Desert Hare and Revolve to farm all the Patches Druids and Pogo Rogues. They can't do anything :)
Not surprised that Kotick knew, not the slightest. I doubt he will be forced out though. The pretty much only chance this will happen is if the stock price will dive further or he becomes a legal risk and the large shareholders start to perceive him as a liability. Only if Blackrock, Vanguard and their likes turn on him he will be fired. That being said I think it is wrong to pin the entire sorry state of Blizzard on him, but getting rid of him would be a start.
Edit: After reading a couple of articles I correct myself. I bet investors will force him out within the next month. That's simply too much. He has become a liability
I'm adding artists to the score. It's certainly a thing that MTGA is doing better.
In the end this is a really simple issue for me. You need to answer one question for yourself: Am I enjoying this game? If the answer is no, which is pretty clear in your case, then stop playing. No need to concern yourself with other people btw as you do as fun is entirely subjective. It does not matter if a game is grindy or full of what you call OCD rituals; if a person enjoys a game it is a good game. Everbody must be his / her own judge.
I concur, don't pick Jaina. I mean it. Her AI is an absolute desaster. My game went into fatigue despite my opponent having a full board and me being on one health for five or six turns. I would say that Rexxar and Garrosh are the least bad ones as their decks are rather minion based.
I get the idea and with a capable AI it could be fun for a couple of games. The problem is that the AI is so bad that this whole brawl seems more like a liability than a fun experience. Not a good one Blizz.
Edit: After having to endure this a couple of times I must say this is the single worst brawl in HS history. AI making bad plays all the time, missing lethal and winning is just luck. I mean I just survived on one health for five or six turn against Jaina with the AI not even bothering to HP me or go face once. Eventually I died from fatigue. That is just beyond bad.
What they actually mean is: We do not want to risk further bad press for holding BlizzCon amid the ongoing lawsuit and scandal. The one thing in the release that gets me a bit scared is this: "Potential events in the future need to feel safe, welcoming, and inclusive." Please do not overdo it.
You got to be more understanding guys. Bobby needs to buy his 37th Ferrari, which is not going to pay for itself. Especially not with current inflation levels.