Hearthstone Players!

Yes that brings up the notion of what I loosely term " the burgle paradox". When you burgle a thought steal which when played steals another thought steal. Then if your opponent thought steals a burgle. You could mind vision one of those if you had gotten a mind vision in either the previous burgle or thought steals. You could be sitting on a mountain of cards.

I got the LoE expansion this week and the first wing was really fun. The first boss has a 0 mana hero power he uses every turn to draw a card and give you a 0 mana Wish card that, when played, allows you to Discover a minion, a spell, or get 2 more Wish cards. He was pretty easy even though the Wish cards built up mid game and it milled my deck for a couple cards.

The second boss starts with a 0/5 scepter on his side of the field and he has a passive hero power that grants immunity to whichever player has it. To claim it you need only destroy it and I got lucky with an early Coghammer draw and won this match easily.

The third boss isn't a boss, per se, rather it's an "escape" from the temple where you have to survive against various minions and hazards for 10 turns and the enemy's 0 mana hero power is simply "Encounter new obstacles." This boss is really creative and there are a few clever surprises.

The only new card I've used extensively is the Explorer's Hat for Hunter, and it is so much fun. It's actually an excellent late game card; a few times I used it 3-4 time in one turn to clear my opponent's board or take out troublesome taunt minions. In the late game the Hat + Unleash the Hounds can swing the game, and even if you get one or two hounds out you can still stick the Hat on a different minion. It was surprisingly good for me in a Priest matchup where I held onto it for most of the game before using it to negate their annoying life gain cards.

I haven't played with the Hat yet, but I have plugged the Torch and Summoning Stone into my Freeze/Burn mage deck, and it's really fun and working well.

A late game Summoning Stone behind a taunt or two can give tremendous value - it basically doubles the mana value of all of your spells. It has basically won me several games outright, as all of a sudden I have a board full of creatures towards the end of the game from nowhere, and he needs to use some decent removal to get rid of a 6 defense critter.

Not liking the Reno guy much. Nothing like having a guy down to 5 life points and then have him pop back up to 30.

Yeah, he's a stinker. I am starting to see some Control Hunter decks that I just don't think can ever die. Between this and Justicar Trueheart they can get away for good. I had some Druid quest and made a highlander Reno deck of just the good stuff. Gained 18 or so and put them away. He's a house.

I have him in my Warlock Deck....he is a little bit ridiculous.

It's a really interesting card. I feel like Reno is going to bifurcate the meta a little bit. In a meta where a deck could run Reno, you either need to build a Control deck that can really GO the distance, like into fatigue (Grinder Mage, Control Warrior, Fatigue Druid). These decks will run Reno and take steps to avoid risks associated with him (i.e., a larger card base). Other decks need to focus on burst. Winning from, say 18-20 points out, to moot the impact of Reno gaining 15+ life. No one will want to play Reno to gain 6 life, (even if they could, given uniqueness in the deck). This is trouble for Face Hunter, that wins with ticking. And trouble for Oil Rogue, that wins from 10-15. I think decks like Midrange Hunter, Combolock, Aggro Druid, Mech Shaman would be able to transition to this most easily. I imagine there will be some Battlecry thing as other wings release (Bronzebeard), too. Aggro Druid is getting a solid 3-drop in Mounted Raptor, akin to the boon Demonlock got from Imp Gang Boss.

...like into fatigue (Grinder Mage, Control Warrior, Fatigue Druid).... I think decks like Midrange Hunter, Combolock, Aggro Druid, Mech Shaman would be able to transition to this most easily.

Some of this is already bearing out. Midrange Hunter is still a no show in the high ranks from what I see on streams, but there is a lot of Freeze Mage with Grinder Mage bolted on and Control Warriors that just never ever ever die. No Fatigue Druid that I've seen, but I've seen Fatigue PRIEST, which is as obnoxious as it sounds. Truly, you haven't lived until you see a Face Hunter try to kill a Deathlord that heals 4 points a turn. The one I missed calling was Renolock, which plays like a Zoo-into-Demonlock deck. Space Ghost knows what's up.

Reynad lit up Reddit with his Mech Shaman build that goes even more SMOrc. Aggro Druid is all over the place. Oil Rogue is in a tough spot, as suspected. It's still out there, but more because of inertia, I think. The meta is shifting to a Deathrattle Raptor Rogue (needs a better name) for folks committed to that Hero.

The Adventure's really fun too. I am poking through Heroic, having downed the first wing. The second one is stymieing me right now. I just through five games at the Trogg guy and it's not been close. He opens with a 2/3 and a 3/5 Trogg in play, 30 life/15 armor, and your spells or minions cost 11 each every other turn. I got him down to 23 once. That's the closest I have managed. I think Freeze Mage would rock this guy, but I lack Doomsayers.

jeb wrote: I think Freeze Mage would rock this guy, but I lack Doomsayers.

Doomsayers seem like they're insanely useful for a bunch of the Heroic bosses - including Blackrock which I'm working my way through now - and just useful for Mages in general. They're definitely on the short list of epics that I wish I had, others being Snake Trap and Dreadsteed.

I've been doing well with a variation (due to lack of a few cards) of this Shaman deck. Tunnel Trogg is pretty good and surprisingly easy to buff with the Overload in this deck and I'm used to playing around Overload so that aspect hasn't been a big deal to me. I added Mistcaller but I'm tempted to put in Justicar, I don't know. My Warlock zoo deck with Dark Peddler is a lot of fun, too, but I really need to craft a couple Doomguards because it's kind of ridiculous that I still don't have any of that staple.

I'm completely shocked that Reno turned out to be playable (for the moment, all disclaimers apply, etc.). I lost to a Rogue running Reno yesterday, but if I saw him played by a Priest that's an auto-concede right there. The only thing more annoying is a freeze Mage, IMO.

As for possible alternate names for Deathreattle Rapter Rogue:
Jurassic Rogue
Bone Rogue = BRogue

But I just saw it called "Raptor Rogue" on Hearthpwn so that'll probably stick.

Hm. If you were going to play an Overload deck, why would you use Boom instead of Neptulon? Turn 8, Neptulon, 4 cards, and a 4/3, Seems fair. Of course, I think Neptulon is drastically overrated because of the RNG factor in which Murlocs you pull, not to mention the 3 Overload, and the good Doctor's utility is far greater, but if the point is to have Overload in the first place... And, of course, it's far more likely that you'd have Boom, since he fits in, oh, almost every deck made since GvG, while Neptulon only fits in Shaman which, like, no one plays.

Still haven't bought LoE. I know everyone's raving about the quick turnaround from endless aggro to a wide variety of decks and that's very cool, since it's exactly what I wanted. Don't know. Feels like I've just lost my taste for the game or something. I did play the new Arena Brawl, with a Shaman for precisely the reason you cite (best 3s in the game, on average) even though the Brawl gives you ANY card, but trending toward class cards. Won with Al'Akir (Like swatting in-sects!) against a Rogue. Close game, though. I've just gotten started writing a series of longform essays on my former WoW toons and the roles they held for me personally, though, so I think I might spend a little time there, along with the excursions into Heroes (Just spend a bunch of gold on The Butcher, Tyrande, and Jaina.)

HotS heroes are all half-off man. I figured we'd never see you again.

Honestly, the game has never been healthier in my experience (I started right after Naxx was released). Minions rule, the games are swingy, but feel "fair." Topdecking is still a thing--a Control Warrior topdecked a Brawl to keep me at bay for an extra TEN TURNS today. Eventually I got them, but man, I earned it (I was Midramge Hunter). But it really does feel like a pretty even playfield for the most part. There are crazy decks, cool decks, brutal decks, and interesting ones. You never know how things are going to play out. I think that's what really helps. Reno Jackson makes folks play a lot of cards they normally wouldn't. I have seen Tournament Medics, Maiden of the Lake, piles of Yetis, Cairne! Cairne is everywhere, oh my god.

My Midrange Hunter is basically a Beast Hunter. I am looking at a 4-drop other than Piloted Shredder and Houndmaster. That's how cool the game is right now. I played Dark Iron Skulker on purpose. Power Word: Glory has made an appearance. it's a crazy world.

Heh, Yeah, I saw the sale. I haven't spent any money on heroes, though. I have plenty to play already and the gold gain is rapid enough that by the time I really feel like playing something new, I probably have the gold for it (as noted above; total gold price on those three was 21K.)

I like the sound of the current environment, even though I feel like Reno Jackson was a bit of a dodge. They don't want to address the problem of aggro, so they just give everyone access to an OP card that completely negates the point of playing aggro. That's not control. That's a dodge, like Evasion was in Fury of Dracula (i.e. you didn't outwit the Investigators, you just got a get-out-jail-free card.) Plus, it helps solve their problem of accessibility, since people are compelled to build decks of one-offs, instead of needing two of each card to be competitive. It's slick, but I still don't think it addresses the game's real problems. But if it's fun, it's fun.

I attacked with Thaddius. Things are crazy right now.

Reno's not a dodge. It's a development. And aggro is still crazy good. It's just not so crazy good that it's pointless to play anything else. That was the unhealthy meta--now if you want to go Aggro, instead of the calculus being Win A Lot of Games and Maybe Win Some I Shouldn't, it's now Win a Bunch of Games and Die Like A Dog Sometimes. You are just going to stone lose to some of these new decks if you just go full aggro and don't draw the nuts. The game has sloooowed up a little more. It was Dragon Priest and Handlock that made folks pause about a fully aggro strategy. Now they need to weigh all kinds of other stuff while things are so new.

But if you think it's pointless, try that SMOrc Shaman. It is legit. And Aggro Druid is good. I think Aggro Paladin could come back too, that Uldaman guy is pretty awesome.

I'd rather Blizzard release aggro-countering cards and combos rather than nerf aggro altogether simply because I think aggro is important for easing new players into the game, especially those with little to no previous CCG or MTG experience. The combos are simple and playing them is straightforward, and playing against aggro is a good way to teach new players about the importance of mulligans, efficient removal, tempo, card advantage, etc. Looking back to when I started playing in April I think I would have progressed more quickly as a player by netdecking a basic aggrodin just to see what a good, consistent deck looks like as well as experiencing how one can function.

jeb wrote: The Adventure's really fun too. I am poking through Heroic, having downed the first wing. The second one is stymieing me right now. I just through five games at the Trogg guy and it's not been close. He opens with a 2/3 and a 3/5 Trogg in play, 30 life/15 armor, and your spells or minions cost 11 each every other turn. I got him down to 23 once. That's the closest I have managed. I think Freeze Mage would rock this guy, but I lack Doomsayers.

I actually ran a Hunter for that one. I kept all odd spells (including animal companion) and even costed minions. Weapons are good too because they aren't affected by the Trogg hero power at all. I put in Deadly Shot and Hunter's Mark to deal with the early high-health guys and went from there.

The staff one was the funniest. I ran a mix of silences and brewmasters to deal with the staff. It's great to have it in your hand! I've got the first two wings done on Heroic so far. I want to get that card back ASAP, just so I can have it early. Since I just started playing, I only have two "monthly" card backs.

I've been working on heroic Naxx- I've just got three bosses left to go: Thaddius, Sapphiron, and Kel-thuzad. Sapphiron seems like a pain in the butt.* I start out most bosses trying to win with a basic Mech Mage (worked great against patchwerk with 2x Snowchugger, lol) or Grim Patron just because they're good decks. But almost every time what ends up working is a poor man's freeze mage with 2x CoC, Frost Nova, Blizzard, and Flamestrike. Annoy o trons and belchers for some stable taunts and then sprinkle in Acidic Swamp Ooze and/or silences as the boss requires. Grim Patron was hilarious and fun against Gluth (does 2 damage to all of your guys and makes slimes when something dies) though.

*Alexstrazsa would make him easy!