Hearthstone V2

[Godot]

Pinned your guy's thread since it has been so popular.

[Dark Desire]

man why is when jelly makes a hearthstone thread it's immediately more popular then mine :[

also i went through all of new expansion cards showed so far and only the shaman ones look somewhat decent, but from looking at the inspire cards so far, there's no way a full inspire deck could ever work out, midrange/rush down decks would just face roll these without some more powerful gimmick inspire cards

[Godot]

I tried the game out and found it fun. Though I don't think it deserves my money. also as far as TCG goes, it is pretty damn random.

[Jelly]

list of all cards revealed so far. (if you dont feel like watching huk's vids.)

also i want to pose a question to you all: what do you think of stampeding kodo? it has plenty of great uses and many cards with >2 health can be taken out fairly easily just by playing the card and the 3/5 body can be useful in taking out various minions (shredder mostly). all that aside i feel that it's hugely situational and dependent on what deck your opp is running.

man why is when jelly makes a hearthstone thread it's immediately more popular then mine :[

also i went through all of new expansion cards showed so far and only the shaman ones look somewhat decent, but from looking at the inspire cards so far, there's no way a full inspire deck could ever work out, midrange/rush down decks would just face roll these without some more powerful gimmick inspire cards

ultimately i think it'll play out how dragons from brm did. they look amazing on paper but they wont completely dominate the meta in the way people think they will pre-release.

Edited July 27, 2015 by Jelly

[Dark Desire]

also i want to pose a question to you all: what do you think of stampeding kodo? it has plenty of great uses and many cards with >2 health can be taken out fairly easily just by playing the card and the 3/5 body can be useful in taking out various minions (shredder mostly). all that aside i feel that it's hugely situational and dependent on what deck your opp is running.

5 mana equals the value of about a 5/6 body so you're pretty dependent on getting usage of its ability with a 3/5 body, only deck that card is viable in is pally, being able to lower a cards attack into kodo range is really good removal and gives it value

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Stampeding Kodo is only really good in Paladin as Dark has said... though it does see use in some really weird Control Hunters... but Control Hunter doesn't really work yet. ((might with the new expansion cards... I guess we'll see.))

Paladin has the 3 cost Card Aldor Peacekeeper that combos with the Kodo by making something 1 attack and then destroying it, but it 1. Hard to rely on if they have a board of small guys... like if playing an opposing Paladin. 2. Kinda slow. To play all that in 1 turn it is 8 mana. You get a 3/3 and a 3/5 ((6/8 in stats if added up, which is what Kel-thuzad has.)), but that is sorta slow and might not help you much.

As such some Pally decks used to run the Humility Kodo Combo, which was only 6 mana, however Humility on it's on is sorta a weak card that doesn't do much. It's a light removal spell... as it doesn't really remove the target, it just makes it a lot less threatening. However, as it's still a target it can be buffed back up etc etc... so it a very incomplete solution without the Kodo. As this combo requires two slots for a somewhat weaker statline ((though Kodo is acceptable and honestly a more solid minion than half the 5 costers.)). Other Mid-Game Combos just take precedence these days such as the Quartmaster + Muster, or Muster + Juggler. Kodo just doesn't have enough an impact anymore so it usually isn't included. Especially since not a lot of minions in the format have 2 attack right now, most tend to have 3 or more and others that are lower are dangerous to risk popping such as the Haunted Creepers in Zoo etc... It jsut not a card that can see use because it doesn't bring enough for what it is worth.

Also, while it true DD, that a 5 Mana minion should be a 5/6 body to pass vanilla test, there's never been a 5/6 with no text printed as of yet. Most 5 drops tend to be utility drops or tool minions that do stuff. ((like Harrison Jones etc...)) hell... I can't really name a decently solid 5 drop minion that isn't some form of utility and isn't just played for its statline. Azure Drake funnily enough is the closest, but it's played for it's card draw. Otherwise it's stuff like Antique Heal Bots, Quartermasters, etc... that are all utility minions more so than big bodies. Their not horrid bodies mind you, but they definitely are played fro their effects not their stats.

Why I refer to the 5 mana slot as the Utility mana slot. Like there really isn't a card that is pure stats or played for it's stat there really. The only ones I can think of are either bad stat-wise since they are hyper offensive ((Salty Dog, and Stalagg.)) or tngs like Feugen who isn't played since well... he just doesn't do anything for you and there are much better bodies out there that have good effects. ((Like Sylvanas. She is a 5/5 so still is a lot of board pressure, but also forces you're opponent to play sub-optimal to get rid of her. She's also only one mana more and her Deathrattle might just net you extra stats that are make her better than Feugan anyway.))

EDIT: On Inspire Effects. I highly doubt there will ever be a deck that only runs inspire effect only. Remember using your Hero Power Greatly slows you down since it is 2 mana for what is projected to be be a 1 mana effect... 1.5 at best. So... You're doing something in-optimal to get a boost to make it Optimal... However... the Inspire Minions need to stick etc. We Just don't know enough of the cards and just how much they can do yet. This mechanic is pretty hard to judge until it actually releases and we can mess with it ourselves.

Thunder Bluff Valiant is one of the better looking Inspires right now because of 2 reasons. It has a decent body, and it has an effect that targets more than just itself. It has a condition yes, but it is a pretty big buff and and can really get something rolling. To be fair... the thing I am most concerned about is if the Totems are good enough to stick around long enough since the hero power ones have trouble doing so sometimes. ((it should also be noted that because the Inspire Triggers after the Hero Power, that the Totem that comes out gets the buff. It goes fro being a pretty useless 0/2 to a 2/2.)) I guess one could argue that it's a bit board reliant... but so is Bloodlust and that still sees some play. We'll see I suppose.

Saraad is another Inspire that might see some play as it has decent body as it's a 4/5 for 5... basically it's ability is costed at one mana up to essentially "Pay 2 mana, draw a Spell" is effectively what's it's text reads. Think of it this way. Inspires are Future Investments. A deck full of them would never get working. I think Inspires will be used like Saraad and Thunder Bluff that can stand on their own as a minion and their Inspire is truly an upside that you can use multiple times. A lot of others of Inspire don't make enough use of this imo, as it buffs their own stats ((Lowly Squire.)), or are heavily costed fro their effect ((Kodo Rider.)) therefore making them way too slow. There needs to be some sorta balance between how easily you can use the Inspire Effect and if one use balances out their cost, or 2. Most don't do that so far. Other than Saraad's ((which I will admit can horribly back fire by pulling like... Eye for an Eye or some shit like Totemic Might when you're a Mage.)) or Thunder Bluff Valiant which can buff Shaman totems ((such as the Totem Golem a 3/4 for 2 Overload 1.)) and extend their use. I'm going to say now people are like always going to remove our poor little Shammy Totems now XD FOr fear of Thunder Bluff Buffing the hell out of them. We'll see who this pans out. Cause if you guys forget... Everyone thought that Mad Scientist was a trash card, as well as Undertaker. Then Deathrattle Hunter and DeathRattle Zoo happened. ((and Mad Scientist is still used to this day in a lot of Hunter and Mage Decks..))

Also Rank 10 Boys!!! I'm moving up in the world XD. I'M COMING FOR YOU LEGEND RANK!!!!!!!!!

[Jelly]

hmm yea if i could get everyone to screenshot/write downtheir usernames on hearthstone i could put them in the op for safekeeping

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Oh...yea that was kinda a side effect of that XD. I wasn't actually sharing my Username... but it's there fi you folks want it it I suppose.

[Flux]

Mine's Fluxator#1279 for anyone interested.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

...so anyone else think that Coliseum Manager should have Charge or some Battlecry so it's Inspire bringing it back to the hand actually has a purpose? ((I only just saw the card and am sitting here like... "Blizz the potential that is lost right now."))

Like 3 mana 2/5... it's basically that one Druid Card but it can be returned to your hand to like Psuedo-Heal it I guess. but that is maaaaad slow.

I think the better question is... will there ever be a good Inspire Effect? The only ones that can really be said to be are Saraad's or Thunder Bluff Valiant. ((and both can be argued to be not as good as they look lol.))

[Jelly]

i think that's the point tbh. if they added a new mechanic that completely overshadowed all the other cards we have then why even use the ones we do get? most of the inspire cards get value 2-3 turns in the future so i think only a handful of them will be used. most are not exactly sticky minions a la belchers or creepers. if widespread use of them does occur, however, i feel like the meta would swing even more toward aggro so players can clear cards.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

I suppose. Maybe it's just due to the meta being so fast at the moment that they look heeeeella unappealing at the moment. Like They are invests towards the future that get value as they are used ((and most need to be used at least twice to gain value other than Saraad's if you have even decent luck [basically... if it isn't a 1 mana spell ala a shitty paladin secret lol.] and Thunder Bluff Valiant's Inspire. TBV's technically is if you have like 1 totem on board and activate it with the second. Any more than that is pure upside.

I might do my own impressions on the cards in kinda like that video I posted, but eh those are mostly how I feel XD.

Also... looking a Coliseum Manager again... he might be decent in arena. If you think about it, he can remove a 2/3 minion and be at 2/2 ((out of hero power range.)) and then be ported back to your hand. However... that might be a bit too slow. Arena tends to be a slow format however so it might be just fine there as it has the stats to be considered pretty good. a 2/5 for 3 is very solid as it's pretty hard to efficiently remove. His Inspire is basically entirely upside at that point. It an upside that might be a bit bleh looking at first but it has uses.

EDIT

2 new legends were released now as well the first of which

Fjola Lightbane: Looks... interesting. a 3/4 for 3 mana is definitely fair. And it's ability is pretty sweet as it gives it a divine shield which allows it to remove something for free. I assume it is intended to activate off a buff spell which aren't overly run right now to be honest. Though you could also activate it by targeting it with a low damage removal to "extend" it's damage though that be a bit bad and well... kinda risky. It might see some play in Paladin as they still run Blessing of Kings... but I dunno if 1 minion is an include for that... especially since it is reliant on another card to be more than unfair. ((though a 7/8 with Divine Shield is fucking insane on turn 4 with Blessing XD>)). It might be run in Priest as Velen's Target as well... but I dunno as much in that either. I don't think she'll see a crazy amount of use but maybe ya never know... I think she definitely has more prospects then her sister card.

Eydis Darkbane: Not as exciting. The idea is the same as Fjola, but it's random. It's hard to make it 100% ((unless you are going for face.)) and it trigger is a little obtuse to get the damage effect. At least she's a decent Minion. It might see some use, but I don't imagine much.

The coolest part here really is that we are getting some lower Legends. Most Legends are super costly or if they are low cost have like some nasty drawbacks or are utility things like Bloodmage and Cho. So It's nice to see some more low cost Legends joining the fray.

[Jelly]

buff paladin could work really nicely with these two imo. blessing of kings or might and they get megavalue!!

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Yea, it where they'd fit best. I can't help but wonder if it is too slow... but it's interesting.

All the testing in decks and stuff that is going to happen once this launches is going to be nuts can't wait XD.

also tfw in the new Tavern Brawl you get Archmage and have all the Fireballs in the world.

[Jelly]

speaking of testing, ive been doing a massive amount of testing with midrange hunter decks. it's surprising how quickly the games go as compared to the very very old midrange deck. ive also been intrigued by hybrid hunter. a sort of aggro-oriented midrange deck. it's fun but i havent exactly nailed the decklist yet.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Hybrid Hunter's decklist tends to be a little up in the air. It having some issues in the meta just since it tends to have a really awkward tendency to run out of draw or have stranded cards etc...It has that problem of it not quite fast enough versus Fast Aggro paced decks ((though it is much better off against Fact Hunter than Mid Range is.)) and trouble finding the damage to pick off some of the higher control based decks. It's certianly worth messing with but the lists definitely need some Tinkering.

[Jelly]

moar cards!!!!!!

NOW we're finally seeing some very nice cards in this expansion!!

[JudasKiss]

I've been itching to try this game out does anyone have any tips or recommended guides to help me get going? I hear the RNG can be a little frustrating and that it's hard to get good cards without paying

[Jelly]

i'd recommend looking at trumps vids on youtube! he's doing a teaching series right now so watchign those would be good :>

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

It's not hard at all if you keep on your quests. SO don't worry about that. If you try and have the info and go for the deck you want to play it will certainly work out fro you lol. I'll try and scrape up a bunch of the stuff if I get the time so you don't have to look but Trumps channel definitely has a lot of good starter things on it.

[Kiroen]

Saved in bookmarks from back when I still played HS: https://imgur.com/a/czNzP#eU6y7Je

[Dark Desire]

So all of the expansion cards have been released and I'm honestly not impressed, some classes got a few buffs with minor cards but the only game changing cards mostly came in the form of legends, I also doubt some of the new archetypes builds with some of the classes will actually stick to being viable

Still pre-ordering the packs though, easy dust with all that value

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

I think we'll see. A lot of these are sorta hard to evaluate without watching them in action. ((One thing I've noticed is that every single Hunter Card for the most part... Pushes Control Hunter. Literally... every single card they got. I don't think it's enough support to make it a deck mind you but it's definitely pushing it closer as an archetype.))

I'm just going to say that we will see where it goes. 100 some odd cards coming out are veeeeery hard to evaluate without playing them. Fencing Coach, the 3 Mana 2/2 that makes your next Hero Power usage Free... literally pushed Inspires to being a lot more usable. Because it sets up the combo to work on the turn you summon the Inspire Minion rather than the turn after or having to wait until you have the mana to play it and Hero power at the same time. I think we might see some new things be played around with cause there is a lot of good in the Expansion it's just a lot of good for decks that might not exist or have the support needed to exist quite yet.

Kinda wished they added a few more dudes with the Totem Tribe though just to make Tuskar Totemic more interesting and to give Shammy some more fun Minions to play with. ((also... damn does that Card Draw Card in Shammy still hurt... why does it ahve to be Overload 2!?!?!?!?!? Why you do dis Blizz?))

[Flux]

Flame Lance. Because all mages needed was more instant minion removal.

[Jelly]

i figure it'll be better in arena than in regular play since a lot of mage decks are beginning to forego fireball anyway