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Hearthstone
How Standard Format Affects Hearthstone's Top Decks
Yesterday we took a look at some of
the most impactful cards
that will be cycled out of Hearthstone when
the new Standard format
launches sometime this Spring. Today, we're going to be examining a few off the top archetypes, as selected by
our first Meta Review
, to see exactly which ones will be hit the hardest.
Hearthstone
The Non-Standard Cards You'll Miss the Most
With
the announcement of a Standard gametype
for Hearthstone came the news that Goblins vs. Gnomes and Naxxramas would be among the first sets cut from the block. When the new update launches, it would feasibly be possible for you to never see these cards again assuming you only play Standard.
Hearthstone
Revisiting Solo Adventures with Grand Tournament Cards
There's always something immensely enjoyable about taking newly released cards and bringing them back to a time to challenges that were created before they existed. We did exactly this for three of the more infamous encounters with a bunch of Grand Tournament cards and each time we ended up with the victory.
Heroic Naxxramas
You may remember the
Heroic Loatheb
challenge as the one with all the s. Dealing with early aggression and the consistent damage from his hero power is usually the biggest challenge. As such, we added TGT cards like , , and to keep you alive. Since all but two of his minions cost four or less mana, winning Jousts should really be no problem and they'll keep you alive in the Tempo game.
is a surprisingly good card in adventures so you'll probably see him in most future decks. In 's case, this forces him to decide between playing a bunch of cards or reducing his field presence for a hero power activation. is simply a way to get more of a board presence before you ping off his s.
We revisit a few Blackrock Mountain bosses after the jump.
Hearthstone
Users Credited for Naxxramas Store Issues, Goblins vs Gnomes Data
Remember back at Naxxramas release when there were some problems with purchasing Naxxramas wings? That problem has been ongoing for some players, but Blizzard has an update now, and they're even crediting accounts with a whopping
40 packs and 700 gold in addition to refunding their purchase
! Other users have reported
as much as 1500 gold
.
Here's Bilzzard's update on the issues:
Glaxigrav
Hey all,
Our development team has continuously been hard at work at investigating issues surrounding the Naxxramas launch that result in the in-game Shop being closed and other purchasing issues. In the course of this ongoing investigation, we have been able to steadily resolve issues over time, but we recognize not everyone is back to a working state yet. It’s past time for an update.
First, some good news. We recently applied a fix for many of those who have been affected by this issue. Emails with additional information will be sent to those affected by this fix.
With the release of the Goblins vs. Gnomes patch, we will also be rolling out fixes that will re-open the Shop for those who remain affected. Upon logging in once the upcoming Gobins vs Gnomes patch is applied, Shop access will be made available to this group of players.
Additionally, our engineers are continuing to work on improvements to our payment system to make sure that our players have a reliable experience when purchasing Hearthstone products. This is a top priority for our team and we are committed to continuously improving our services.
We recognize that having a closed Shop is unacceptable for even a short time, and we know that some of you have been in this stuck state for a very long while. We can do better, we will do better, and we apologize deeply for the long wait as we've worked to resolve these issues. We are close to resolving this for everyone and will be aggressively monitoring purchases to ensure that these issues will not occur again in the future.
----------
We are investigating and working on a known issue that is locking characters into the "Shop Closed" state after attempting a purchase. This state is affecting both gold and real money purchases.
Currently we have identified affected accounts and are working on creating a resolution. As updates become available, this thread will be updated with any new information.
Goblins vs Gnomes Data Added
Goblins vs Gnomes data has been
added to the site
, and you can now
start making decks
! You can look through all
new cards
, and even see their golden versions on
their pages
. This also updates the site to show the card nerfs to , , and !
Hearthstone
Hearthstone is Officially Naxxed Out
We did it, you guys. We killed all of the bosses in the Naxxramas solo adventure. We out-dpsed Patchwerk, charged through Thaddius and cooled off the Frostwyrm Lair. Now that Kel'Thuzad has been put down and all of the cards are in play it's time to review the last two sets we have earned. This is the moment we were all waiting for as now all of the exciting new combinations and decks are possible. The last weekend of tournaments and ladder play were a great example of the life that 30 new cards breathed into the meta game.
Winning decks featured plenty of s, s and s. The tournament scene is no longer being overrun with Zoo Warlocks and Miracle Rogues, although Hunters have stepped up to replace them. It is an exciting new era and now that this first major content expansion has completed we can start delving into specific decks again next week. For now let's look at the rest of the Naxx set and grade each card individually.
Keep reading for a full evaluation of the Construct Quarter and Frostwyrm Lair cards.
Hearthstone
Go Ahead, I Riven-Double-Deathrattle-Dare You!
The Military Quarter has marched in and with it comes another 6 cards. The boss fights in this wing are actually some of the toughest so far and are a lot of fun and challenging. That being said I think this might have be the smallest shift in the meta we have seen from a single wing so far. While some really cool cards were added this week they have not yet broken through and made waves in the meta game. That's not to say that changes didn't happen. They did. This set of cards, however, has some interesting choices and some cards that only apply to specific decks.
We are getting close to having the full set and that is when the meta game will really start to accelerate as all of the new combinations will be available. For now we will discuss each of the cards that were introduced this week and some decks that have been changed to include them. I’ll assign a letter grade to each one as well based on my current evaluations. The value will change as new cards come out and offer new synergy and combo potential. Let’s get started.
The Cards
Of course, a 4/4 for 3 is strong but the downside is only really worth it for aggro decks which are willing to sacrifice card advantage for tempo and damage. That leaves this card in an awkward spot in a meta that has become very tough for aggro. The Shockadin (Aggro Paladin) can make great use of this card, however, as the deathrattle actually helps get more value from , so this card fits very well into that deck. As far as other aggro decks I don't believe this card will replace any of the charge and damage dealing deathrattles and battlecries that already exist often enough times to make a huge dent in the meta.
Constructed: C+
The decks it does work in will make great use of this card but for the most part it will be rare to see in my opinion.
Arena: C
This is a pickable card but there are many common cards that will get picked ahead of it. It's mediocre at best as you will need to get at least 2 for 1 to get a 2 for 2.
The 5-drop slot is getting crowded with , , and now Spectral Knight but that's a good thing. This was once a tough slot to fill after the nerf and now the options abound. Decks that have trouble against Miracle Rogue can make great use of this card as well as classes without their own 5-drops. So far I'm seeing this card in Shaman the most but all midrange decks can make use of this card as it is a on steroids. Plus its 6 health increases the odds of getting a 2 for 1 as the opponent is forced to trade minions into it. The downside of course is that your own buff spells cannot target it so to buff it requires minion battlecries and proximity buffs.
Constructed: B
I don't feel this card belongs in very many decks but the ones it does belong in are vastly improved with its inclusion. It's tough for a lot of classes to deal with and when played onto an empty board can take over a game.
Arena: B+
This will be a great pick in arena since beating Mage and Rogue is such a big deal. This card doesn't die to Fireball and cannot be Sapped or Eviscerated meaning it will stick and get value in almost every situation.
Ah, Deathlord. What do we do with you? This card has a lot of upside but will sometimes lose you the game so be careful. It has been used in a lot of decks to counter those pesky Zoolocks but against other decks it can be hard to get enough value to make up for the awful deathrattle. That said this card does have its uses. In a Priest deck you can heal the huge health pool and get a lot of value by trading and drawing cards as you heal outweighing the drawback with positive value. Sometimes the deathrattle can actually benefit you as the opponent loses out on battlecries. This is fairly rare, however, and the times it pulls a Ragnaros for free makes that a wash. Play this card at your own risk.
Constructed: B-
Very good in one deck and possibly very bad in others. It does counter Zoo fairly well so I predict you will see it in tournament play fairly often.
Arena: C
It is so hard to get value out of a card like this in arena. Sure, it will annoy the opponent while it's out there but the tempo will swing back once a free minion hits the board and so it's kind of like blowing your nitro boost too early. The other guy just catches up and passes you and you lose.
This guy is supposed to make all those deathrattle decks everyone has been dreaming of a reality. Unfortunately, I don't think we're going to see this very often in high level ladder or tournament decks as the end result is just a bunch of gimmicks and cool combos that don't happen enough to win games. This is coming from a guy who has already experienced the Rivendare + Cairne + Reincarnate dream. While that was incredibly fun to do and very satisfying it happened maybe twice over the course of about a dozen games and that is just not consistent enough to climb the ladder. I recommend you try for yourself but until we get the I think this will remain a gimmick that you will get crushed by on occasion. That said, come on, this is just a damn fun card.
Constructed: C+
It can work. It just won't work often enough to make it worth building a deck around.
Arena: C-
There is no way to know that you will draft enough deathrattles to take this so I recommend staying away in arena. In the Legendary slot there will often be a much better option anyway.
I really want cool Demon decks to become all the rage and some have started to pop up. Until that perfect mix of Demons and good neutral cards is found, however, this card will be rare on the ladder.
Realz
did play a cool Demon deck in the latest
VGVN Tournament
with some success. The drawback is that the stats are weak for 4 mana so if there is no Demon in your hand when the Voidcaller dies you basically just played a worse Yeti.
Constructed: B-
The Demon decks will be coming and when they do this will be the MVP. For now there hasn't been enough play time to know its true power but this is a very cool card.
Arena: C-
Unless you have already drafted a bunch of Demons this card will be a pass. The problem is that most of the Demons are already weak in arena so you will be passing on them anyway. I don't see this card being a strong arena pick.
Everyone looked at this card and though of all of the crazy combos and awesome plays that can be done. After playing with it for a while I can confirm that awesomeness can be achieved with this card. The issue is that the awesomeness is inconsistent and requires some setup to pull off but if you can get there just once during a game then you will likely win. An example of this is the Earth Elemental/Cairne + Ancestral Spirit + Reincarnate play. The problem I ran into was that I spent the game fighting for the board and by the time a play like this made sense it felt as though I could have just pushed for damage with other cards instead of waiting for one big turn. That said, I did get the combo off a few times and there was no coming back for the opponent. Don't give up, dear reader. This card will find its way into competitive decks.
Constructed: B
It can shine and shine brightly but it can also lay dormant in your hand. I believe in this card though. The potential is through the roof.
Arena: C-
This card is akin to Ancestral Healing in arena. You will find it difficult to make work without cards around it that are meant to take advantage of what it does well which is exploit deathrattles.
Final Thoughts
I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the Priest is having a bit of a renaissance lately as some of the new cards have really allowed the class to shine in a control heavy meta. The bad news...Miracle Rogue is back and back with a vengeance. It's just too hard to counter this deck even with some of the new Naxx cards like and Spectral Knight. Ultimately it's okay that one deck is just really powerful since the new wings will shake up the meta again but for the time being it can be very frustrating to play against. The best advice to those having a hard time dealing with Miracle Rogue is to save that Loatheb for the turn you think they are about to go off. Sometimes it is tempting to slam it down on turn 5 but then you miss the chance to disrupt the big drawing turn.
This week's Military Quarter did bring some fun new cards and has added to the already rich nature of the current state of the game but this was an incremental shift at most. We should see some interesting changes next week with the addition of and but for now we're inching along as things have stabilized a touch. A lot of creative decks are right around the corner and I'll bet some of you have concocted some already. If you have some decks that have made use of the new cards feel free to link them in the comments section. I will also be streaming the release of the construct quarter at midnight on Tuesday so check out
my Twitch channel
to see me make attempts at the new Heroic bosses.
The construct wing includes one of my favorite bosses ever,
Thaddius
, so I look forward to streaming the fun.
Until then, job’s done!
Hearthstone
The Plague is Here…and its Name is Loatheb
The Plague Quarter hit last week with a bit of a whimper as many players could not participate for about 72 hours due to some issues with the purchase process when using gold. Luckily for me I was able to play it the first day as I purchased all of the wings with real money as a package. The boss fights were quite fun in this wing and the Heroic versions did offer a bit of a challenge. Here are links to the decks I used for each Heroic boss if anyone is still having issues:
We’ll discuss each of the cards that were introduced this week and some decks that have been changed to include them. I’ll assign a letter grade to each one as well based on my current evaluations. The value will change as new cards come out and offer new synergy and combo potential. Let’s get started.
Keep reading for a breakdown of each new card and it's place in the current meta.
Hearthstone
An Itsy-Bitsy Meta Shift
The heavily anticipated first wing of Naxxramas finally hit last week and with it came 6 new cards to shake up the meta game of Hearthstone. Many people have been complaining that the meta had been stale for some time so Naxx is here just in time. While there are 30 cards coming in the Naxx expansion eventually we only got 6 this week and the cards will be introduced over the next 5 weeks in smaller groups which means the meta will evolve each week by a smaller amount.
Let’s go over each of the cards that were introduced this week and what decks have started to utilize them. We’ll also grade the cards based on what we’ve seen so far. Keep in mind that even though these cards are out now their value will change each week as new cards come out and the meta shifts again. For now we are only worried about how these cards have affected the existing meta game.
Keep reading for a breakdown of each new card and it's place in the current meta.
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