Hearthstone

[JTsyo]

Warlock is the only class specific legendary revealed a 6 mana 4/4 that reduces the cost of the cards you draw using your hero power to zero. That seems to be really good.

Like the warlock power wasn't broken enough.

 

[Vivendi]

Like the warlock power wasn't broken enough.

Actually, if you think about it, that card is too slow to be any good. It doesn't even work that well in handlock. Average card mana cost in a handlock deck is around 4.5 I think. So basically you play it on turn 8, tap, and save, let's say, 5 mana. Not worth it. It'd be good if this card could somehow survive to next turn but I don't see that happening. Emperor is much better and more consistent. And I don't think a handlock could afford to run both.

 

[Wardawg1001]

Shaman a lot of card have been revealed but I don't think a totem tribal deck is going to be effective.

I agree for now, but lets see what else gets revealed. Problem with Shaman has always been the lack of reliable card draw.

They don't have enough raw damage to do something like a face hunter deck, they run out of cards too quickly and their hero power is basically useless in that type of deck anyway.

They can't pull off a control deck for much same reason. A good control deck has the tools to deal with whatever gets thrown at them, and has the survivability to take a few hits in the early/midgame (this is why Warrior, Paladin, and Priest have always been able to do control decks). Shaman's don't have any good natural heals or taunts (the one exception being Feral Spirits).

With the sheer amount of possible burst from hand that Shaman has - rockbiter + rockbiter + lightning bolt + lightning bolt + crackle + crackle + thalnos = 22-28 damage for instance, and that's just with an empty board - you would think Shaman is naturally suited for a combo deck (think old miracle rogue, current oil rogue, miracle priest, ramp druid, malygos warlock, patron warrior). But there's the card draw problem again. All of these combo type decks rely on being able to either cycle through their deck quickly to find their combo cards, or simply survive long enough to draw through most of their deck naturally. Shaman can't do this because they don't have any reliable card draw mechanics and its simply unfeasible to try to consistently survive into late game without using some/all of your combo cards, rendering the whole concept of the deck ineffective.

The only real success Shaman has ever had is in midrange style decks. They have enough cheap removal spells to play the control role against aggro decks like face hunter and zoo, but they also have enough burst to play the aggro role against control and combo decks. You have the tools in your deck to handle almost any situation, but if you don't draw the right ones you will get run over, and so once again the lack of a decent card drawn mechanic makes this a pretty inconsistent deck.


Anyway, that's my view on the subject. Most people complain about overload being the biggest problem with Shaman (and I'll agree that some cards definitely have more overload than they warrant), but once you learn to really understand the overload mechanic and to always take it into consideration when making your decisions, you can start to play around it and even use it to your advantage. I love Shaman and I've tried a lot of different decks, but in the end its really the crappy card draw that breaks most decks.

 

[Madia]

I've also played Shaman a decent amount (I have every card except Al'akir) and the one I had the most success with was a mech dech. Powermace is a very good card with cards like whirling zapomatic, harvest golem, piloted shredder, arcane nullifier, etc. It was a midrange deck and I did have problems with card draw, especially when I got late game cards (hex, flametounge totem, etc) early on and can never get going. My only card draw was Neptulon which acts well since even with the overload you're usually able to play at least 2 cards the next turn. The deck doesn't work well anymore but I'll try Shaman again after the expansion.

I do think blizzard does need to address how the various expansions/adventures changed the dynamic of the game. The main barrier is those who pay vs. those who play for free. I think a good option would be a second constructed mode. Rather than limiting it to certain expansions I think it would be best to assign a number value to cards (common = 1 number, rare = another, etc.) and have it so you can't go over a certain number. That way you can't really pay to win since a bunch of legendaries would push you way over the maximum number.

The other is arena. With so many cards picking one out of three is way to random. I like the idea of one in four but I rather something like 2 out of 7. The other option would be running rotating arena drafts featuring different expansions. One week could be back to basics (only basic cards and expert cards) another could be goblins and gnomes etc. Or they could actually do both, the regular arena with all cards have you pick 2 out of 7 and the rotating league have you pick 1 out of 3. As it is right now the arena draft is way to random and what was once a fun mode I've pretty much stopped playing.

 

[AgentUnknown]

Starting at rank 20 again in a new season and every battle has been close. I learned my lesson on waiting.

 

[Fallen Kell]

What was the lesson on waiting?

 

[quikah]

What was the lesson on waiting?

Wait a few days for all the good people to rank up so you don't have to play them.

 

[Aikouka]

I started playing right after the new season started (I was trying to go from R24 -> R20 in 30 minutes before the close 😛), and I didn't have too much trouble. I did actually lose one or two games, which isn't that common at low ranks, but I won far more than that. I also won a game against a dirty Patron Warrior, which always gives me a nice feeling inside. I'm sure he loved it when I stole his first Warsong Commander and then stole his 3/2 Grim Patron, killed the 1/3 Ghoul, got a 3/3 Grim Patron, the ghoul's explosion killed the 3/1 Patron that would've gone back to the Warrior, and got me another 3/3 Grim Patron. :awe:

 

[AgentUnknown]

Ranking up in the beginning of month is harder. Lots of close battle.

 

[waggy]

I enjoy the game. I just don't have any good cards. No i haven't purchased any either though.

the new cards look great though.

 

[AgentUnknown]

Stick with basic decks. Play arena and you can get some legendaries.

 

[JTsyo]

Was there any more details on the release date of the next expansion or is August all we know?

 

[Fallen Kell]

I thought today's downtime to be honest.

 

[AgentUnknown]

I thought it was Aug 25th?

 

[Vivendi]

"...to explore the tournament grounds before everything really kicks off later this month."

No definite date yet, all they've said so far is that it will be released sometime in August.

 

[AgentUnknown]

I am in the no buying packs crowd. Will we be able to earn packs in arena? Or just buy with gold or cash?

 

[Vivendi]

Here's something from a recent interview with Eric Dodds:

"People don't always want the latest pack," Hearthstone game director Eric Dodds told Polygon in an interview following the expansion announcement earlier today. "We're actually changing it so that going forward it's not always the same type of pack from arena."
Here's how it will work once The Grand Tournament goes live: When you finish an arena run, the game will determine how many packs you're awarded — this is usually just one, but skilled players with a high number of wins always have a chance of winning multiple packs. Each of these packs will be assigned a type at random. You're still guaranteed at least one pack each time you complete an arena run, but there's a chance for it to be a classic pack, a Goblins vs. Gnomes pack or a The Grand Tournament pack.
It's unclear if this will be totally random or if the likelihood will be weighted in favor of newer packs like The Grand Tournament."

 

[Vivendi]

Lots of new things and changes announced today.

Blizzard link

1. Lots of new cards
2. New Mechanic - Joust: Reveal a random minion from each deck. The card who initiated the Joust must reveal a minion with a higher mana cost. It's a battlecry effect. If the card wins the joust, it gets a bonus.
3. But most importantly: Highest Rank Bonus
"Beginning this month, each player’s Quest Log will display the highest rank they have reached during the month and recognize their accomplishment. Additionally, we’ll be awarding players who progress past rank 20 with some minor rewards as a way of congratulating them for their achievements. Eligible players will receive a treasure chest at the end of each season containing the season’s Ranked Play card back, one or more golden cards, and some Arcane Dust. What’s in the chest is determined by your highest rank over the course of the season."

 

[Wardawg1001]

3. But most importantly: Highest Rank Bonus
"Beginning this month, each player’s Quest Log will display the highest rank they have reached during the month and recognize their accomplishment. Additionally, we’ll be awarding players who progress past rank 20 with some minor rewards as a way of congratulating them for their achievements. Eligible players will receive a treasure chest at the end of each season containing the season’s Ranked Play card back, one or more golden cards, and some Arcane Dust. What’s in the chest is determined by your highest rank over the course of the season."

That's pretty cool. Ranked play has always been lacking in incentive in my opinion. Golden cards and arcane dust as rewards are a great way to help new players build up decent decks much quicker (just dust the goldens and make multiple useful cards from it). Much more so than regular card packs bought with gold (which rarely contain more than a single non-golden rare, and usually contain cards you don't have any use for). Granted this is only a once a month bonus, but if the rewards are decent enough even at the lower ranks (12-19ish), I think this is a good program.

 

[Wardawg1001]

Anyway, that's my view on the subject. Most people complain about overload being the biggest problem with Shaman (and I'll agree that some cards definitely have more overload than they warrant), but once you learn to really understand the overload mechanic and to always take it into consideration when making your decisions, you can start to play around it and even use it to your advantage. I love Shaman and I've tried a lot of different decks, but in the end its really the crappy card draw that breaks most decks.

Quoting myself here just for reference. It looks like Blizzard is finally doing something about the shitty card draw options for Shaman. New card revealed - 2 mana, draws 2 cards, comes with 2 overload. Granted it's basically a poor version of Mages Arcane Intellect, but its consistent card draw nonetheless. With all of the new totem synergies coming as well, there may be some hope that Mana Tide Totem could become viable in certain decks also. Pretty excited about the Shaman changes so far for this expansion, but I'm still holding judgement until everything is released and we've had a chance to figure out the new meta.

 

[Wardawg1001]

2. New Mechanic - Joust: Reveal a random minion from each deck. The card who initiated the Joust must reveal a minion with a higher mana cost. It's a battlecry effect. If the card wins the joust, it gets a bonus.

I wasn't all that excited initially, but this actually looks like a pretty important new mechanic. Hearthstone has long been dominated by aggro decks filled without low cost cards to just spam the board and go straight for the face. With this mechanic, aggro face decks will practically be guaranteed to lose a lot of jousts, which can be the edge that many mid-range and control decks need in order to become viable again. I'll need to see some more of the cards with this mechanic but if Blizzard does it right, this could be a great way to shift the meta a bit so that hardcore aggro decks aren't running an 85% win rate vs everything but other aggro decks.

This could also be a great way to 'spy' on your opponents deck, especially if there are a number of these cards with lower mana costs. Some classes are starting to get pretty diverse in the different number of decks they could be running, so being able to see that a Warrior is running Alextrasza on turn 2 can tip you off right away that this is a Control or Dragon Warrior, not a Patron Warrior. I could also see it being useful mid-late game - knowing what card isn't/I] in your opponents hand yet can be extremely useful. Like does that Warrior have his Grommash yet? Has that Paladin drawn his second consecration? Or lets say you just see something like Mind Control Tech - now you know to expect it at some point and need to be careful about what minions you put on the board and when.

Altogether a pretty interesting mechanic I think.

 

[lupi]

For this amazon coin trick, do you need to buy the enitre amount of coins new or can you just get how many you need?. I've got cose to 1000 free from various things so that would cut the price a bit if I could use those.

 

[JTsyo]

For this amazon coin trick, do you need to buy the enitre amount of coins new or can you just get how many you need?. I've got cose to 1000 free from various things so that would cut the price a bit if I could use those.

You have a balance of coins. You can just buy using that balance. If you need more I think you have to buy it in set amounts. But you would only have to buy what you needed to the closest set amount. To get the 20% off you need to buy 5000 coins. 500 is the smallest amount.

 

[Aikouka]

This new Tavern Brawl seems incredibly skewed toward Handlock. In the Brawl, when your minion dies, you get a random minion that costs 2 less than the one that died. Handlock can play a Mountain Giant (12 cost) on turn 4 or 5 (depending). If that dies, you get one of two 10-cost cards: Deathwing or Sea Giant. Now, to be fair, this same tactic also includes the anti-Handlock card, Clockwork Giant (12-cost, reduced -1 for each card in your opponent's hand). Although, if we end up with Handlock vs. Handlock often, having both in your deck might not be a bad idea. :hmm:

 

[HumblePie]

This new Tavern Brawl seems incredibly skewed toward Handlock. In the Brawl, when your minion dies, you get a random minion that costs 2 less than the one that died. Handlock can play a Mountain Giant (12 cost) on turn 4 or 5 (depending). If that dies, you get one of two 10-cost cards: Deathwing or Sea Giant. Now, to be fair, this same tactic also includes the anti-Handlock card, Clockwork Giant (12-cost, reduced -1 for each card in your opponent's hand). Although, if we end up with Handlock vs. Handlock often, having both in your deck might not be a bad idea. :hmm:

Pretty much. Not worth playing if you don't have a handlock perfected deck beyond the first win if you can get it. Took me several tries to get that first win and then I was out.