Hearthstone

[Metro]

Cards seem like shit. Just trying to force another gimmick.

 

[Grubba]

Just trying to force another gimmick.

Eh...sure but I think that's what Blizzard is aiming for with these adventure packs. Limited pool of cards, obviously you would choose certain things to focus on rather than just make random stuff that doesn't tie together. And it could be that dragon decks fail to catch on in the current meta but become stronger somewhere down the road with further expansions. Dragons are a fantasy staple, pretty much a sure bet that there will be more in the future.

I caved and paid the $25 pretty much just for that damn shaman card. They got me.

 

[Phage]

2 cards closer to having no reason to buy the adventure at all

 

[sser]

Dragon's Breath could be awesome as a Mage. There's a lot of low-cost minion mage decks running around lately, anyway.

 

[Phage]

Dragon's Breath could be awesome as a Mage. There's a lot of low-cost minion mage decks running around lately, anyway.

Why is it awesome in mage? Your absolute best case scenario is killing 5 minions with a flamestrike then casting the card for free to deal 4 to face or to finish off a big guy.

This is yet another card that theoretically could be AWESUM!! if the stars all align, but they won't align nearly enough to justify running this over a frostbolt/fireball/flame cannon/etc

 

[Metro]

There's probably going to be, at most, six necessary cards in the whole bunch. But just enough to require a purchase.

 

[sser]

Dragon's Breath could be awesome as a Mage. There's a lot of low-cost minion mage decks running around lately, anyway.

Why is it awesome in mage? Your absolute best case scenario is killing 5 minions with a flamestrike then casting the card for free to deal 4 to face or to finish off a big guy.

This is yet another card that theoretically could be AWESUM!! if the stars all align, but they won't align nearly enough to justify running this over a frostbolt/fireball/flame cannon/etc

Emphasis on the words 'could be.' I don't think every card needs to be able to go into every deck ever. I think Blizzard is basically making cards that contribute to the expansion of deck/play-styles. People who go THIS SUCKS!! don't seem to see that because they only see these cards in the context of what they already know.

 

[Phage]

Emphasis on the words 'could be.' I don't think every card needs to be able to go into every deck ever. I think Blizzard is basically making cards that contribute to the expansion of deck/play-styles. People who go THIS SUCKS!! don't seem to see that because they only see these cards in the context of what they already know.

But no. That's the thing. This mage card in particular is not something that will magically become good unless the fundamental components of hearthstone change. I think we can all agree that a mage only wants to spend 2, maybe 3 mana max to deal 4 damage, right? I think from a mathematical standpoint, this is not an unreasonable deduction to make. Would a mage actually put a card that reads "3 mana deal 4 damage" in their deck? No, not a single current moderately competitive mage can justify running that. Ok, so now we can all agree that for this card to be good, it needs to cost 2 for the 4.

The problem is that you are required to have 3 minions die before you can cast this card for 2. That means you have to make a trade, or you have to spend mana + cards killing things - only then can you get this card to reach the acceptable power level. If you fail to meet this criteria, you have an insanely overcosted card.

Even still, what do you take out for this independently shitty card? There's no room men.

So no, there isn't some magic deck of cuhrayzee cards that will make this fundamentally flawed card bad.

 

[Kattze]

Actually using this in conjunction with Flamestrike is I think the main reason for this card. What mage doesn't run flamestrike? I run both FS and Blizzard. Using either could result in this being either a free cost card or low cost. That's a-ok with me. Add in the fact is that unlike flamecannon, this can be targetted.

However, flamecannon's main value is the first couple of turns in a game for a low minion mage deck. It helps keep the enemy side of the board clear.

 

[Phage]

Again, that's the problem. In order to get your free/1 cost 4 damage spell you need:

Enemy's board to be full
For your flamestrike to kill 4/5 minions
Then you get this tiny little bonus on top. Until then, the card sits in your hand like a dead weight.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

I hate to say this, but Phage is spot on from where I'm sitting. Card is one of the worst cards they've introduced.

Then again, I don't know that much about tablet card games for children, so I might be wrong.

 

[Phage]

Then again, I don't know that much about tablet card games for children, so I might be wrong.

i've got a fuckin' PHD in children's tablet card games, son. that's Dr. Phage Phergeson to you!

 

[sser]

Again, that's the problem. In order to get your free/1 cost 4 damage spell you need:

Enemy's board to be full
For your flamestrike to kill 4/5 minions
Then you get this tiny little bonus on top. Until then, the card sits in your hand like a dead weight.

Do you play Arena by any chance...?

 

[Phage]

Again, that's the problem. In order to get your free/1 cost 4 damage spell you need:

Enemy's board to be full
For your flamestrike to kill 4/5 minions
Then you get this tiny little bonus on top. Until then, the card sits in your hand like a dead weight.

Do you play Arena by any chance...?

Yes, I have gone 'infinite' in arena both pre and post GVG and have hit 12 wins multiple times. And yes, I understand that this card isn't that terrible in arena, but it's not going to be a high pick by any means.

 

[Metro]

^ Lies. Every time I spectate him he sucks!

 

[Phage]

^ Lies. Every time I spectate him he sucks!

 

[UglyBastard]

YAY, more cards! Surprisingly they even look kind of playable compared to most of the other spoilers.

Biggest letdown is imo Nefarian. I expected him to be a really powerful finisher and the Blackrock purchase bait but he is decidedly mediocre. Again some inconsistent randomness that can be pretty broken in christmas wonderland but will fall flat most of the time. I'd rather play Ysera in his stead. To be honest, he just looks like a really sketchy Ysera replacement that can be BGHed. I doubt I will play him in tryhard mode. He is fun and flavorful though.

Drakonid Crusher looks solid as in 6/6 for 6 is not terrible and he has a possible upside that is achievable in the right deck. I'm not sure if huge vanilla dudes is what Hearthstone needs though. Can be decent, but not too hyped about it either. Pretty boring. At least it's not completely unplayable garbage.

Volcanic Drake looks most interesting as it can break the curve (not very likely though) and can provide a valuable tempo play later in the game. Definitely better use of the mechanic than that terrible Mage spell from the last reveal. Possible constructed material in the right deck.

 

[Kattze]

Nefarian is a good card. Consider that you are guaranteed to get him when you get the expansion. Furthermore unlike Ysera he adds 2 cards to your deck immediately.. They are spells, not creatures. Again, could be useful in some decks than minions. Ofcourse, there is a large pool it will draw from so yes, the unpredictable factor is high. But good for a fun deck, and also useful in constructed and arena. And BGH is super easy to play around, come on. My main problem with this card is the cost; you won't get to attack or play the spells you get in the turn you play him.

 

[UglyBastard]

Nefarian is decent, yes. But for 9 mana you want a card that wins you the game if it doesn't get dealt with immediately and Nefarian's outcomes are very variable and unlike for example Sneed's they aren't skewed towards the top end. Each class has lots of terrible and mediocre spells and a few select that you want to steal so I'm afraid that it falls relatively flat more often than not.

You get two cards immediately with Nefarian, but you are also guaranteed at least 1 Ysera card and unlike a random class spell all dream cards are naturally imbalanced (in cost/effect ratio) so on average she pulls way better stuff.

And how can you play around BGH if you run big minions in your deck? Unless you mean dropping a slightly smaller creature before and letting it eat the BGH to which I reply that getting BGHed is ALWAYS terrible so if you already got sniped your position in the game before playing Nefarian is probably at least challenged and you then devote a whole turn to develop him, so he should better win the game on the spot (which most of the time he will not do).

Ysera has better stat distribution, draws you better cards on average and has the potential to draw you more cards (as well as the potential to draw you 1 less if it gets dealt with immediately which is relatively hard to do if you don't have unconditional hard removal in hand).

His rarity/the guaranteed card drop from the adventure should not be considered when comparing it to high end alternatives imo. Of course he can be pretty decent for people who are looking for that kind of effect and don't have Ysera but in high level constructed card availability is usually no concern.

He IS a fun card and the flavor is nice (if I understood it right, Nefarian uses your magic against you in the WoW bossfight so the ability is quite fitting), so I'll probably give him a try when doing some friendly dueling but I doubt I'll bother with him when tryharding on the ladder, where I play to win.
So yea, as a mainly "competetive" constructed player I'm a bit disappointed. Being allright is just not enough with all the broken shit on the ladder.

 

[Phage]

Have to agree with UglyBastard here on pretty much every point. (responding to his earlier post, the post above this was written while I was writing this one, lol)

Would like to point out that the spells for Nefarian are "From your opponent's class" which, honestly, makes it even worse imo. If you're facing, say, Warlock, there's now a really decent chance of getting something actually useless like Sense Demons / Sacrificial Pact, and on top of that you also have a chance of getting something very unimpactful like mortal coil. You can run into a similar situation with rogue, getting something literally useless like deadly poison / oil or a very low impact backstab (a good card in itself, but for 9 mana you want spells that make it worth) - same deal with Hunter and its beast cards and Warrior with the armor related cards.

The fact that he's below the curve for 9 mana just makes it even sadder. Honestly think Nefaran is just garbage. At least Ysera is very durable AND every dream card is incredibly strong AND she dodges BGH.

I think Drakanoid crusher is p. strong really, but, unless you're going to run the other dragon synergy cards he isn't really worth the slot in constructed. He's very very good for Arena.

Also agree that Volcanic Drake is the most interesting, but the fact that he only has 4 HP is pretty rough. Best use for Drake would be something where you Fan of Knives a bunch of silver hand recruits, then play him for like 1 mana... but I don't think it's consistent enough to be worth it unless you need a critical mass of dragons in your deck.


All in all, still not convinced to buy the adventure

 

[UglyBastard]

If you're facing, say, Warlock, there's now a really decent chance of getting something actually useless like Sacrificial Pact

That one is actually pretty broken with all the demon stuff going on lately. Removing Mal'Ganis for 0 mana and healing yourself in the process or casually oneshotting the enemy Jaraxxus hero.



Would have been nice if you stole from the opponents deck, that way you are pretty much guaranteed at least some decent cards.

 

[Phage]

If you're facing, say, Warlock, there's now a really decent chance of getting something actually useless like Sacrificial Pact

That one is actually pretty broken with all the demon stuff going on lately. Removing Mal'Ganis for 0 mana and healing yourself in the process or casually oneshotting the enemy Jaraxxus hero.

Would have been nice if you stole from the opponents deck, that way you are pretty much guaranteed at least some decent cards.

Oh, that's a decent point. My statement still stands for the other synergy related cards. There's also just far too many low-impact spells in general. Even against mage, who has the strongest class spells (imo) there's a pretty solid chance you just get arcane missiles, arcane explosion or a shitty secret. If he had a strong body, like 6/10 or whatever he could be decent.

 

[UglyBastard]

Yea, we are pretty much on the same page here. I just felt like pointing out the hilarious Pact/Jaraxxus interaction. :D

 

[Metro]

In theory Nefarian looks good but, yeah, for 9 mana to risk drawing shit like mirror image or deadly poision (if you're a non weapon class) is a huge downside. You're probably better off playing Onyxia. You're definitely better off playing Ysera that dodges BGH and has four more health (and is also a dragon for dwaaaaaagon deck synergy). The common cards are pretty good. Volcanic Drake could be a nightmare in an aggro or paladin deck that trades a lot. Great with Muster. Crusher seems to be an anti-handlock card but they have plenty of ways to deal with big minions. As a finisher it's... kind of mediocre. There are a lot of good options at 6 mana versus a conditional 9/9.

This launches in about a week and I've yet to see more than one or two cards that would be useful in constructed but... who knows... the meta shifts in funny ways.

 

[Explorerbc]

Today I finally had a good arena after two weeks of shitty drafts, went 12-1. Here are some highlights :

Spoiler