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The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
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Added to the OP.
Speaking of which, I'm going to look into a revamp of info hopefully sometime this weekend.
Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
Switch ID: MNC Dover SW-1154-3107-1051
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some are arguing it's because blade flurry was so strong in arena
my extremely hot take is that it should either cost 5 or not hit face but both is silly
speaking of which, most of the Old Gods cards are gonna suck balls for (EDIT: Speaking about the expansion, not just the legendaries)
huge giant donkey balls arena
Streaming 8PST on weeknights
C'thun and associated cards don't show up for arena. Y'sharj will probably be okay-ish in arena, maybe a bit too expensive. The other two will have the standard issue that all the spell or deathrattle synergy cards have in arena. They'll be good if you happen to have the right cards, and pretty bad otherwise.
what's all this then?
3 packs for logging in during the release period, then 2 quests for wins (?) in Standard for another 10.
Edit: Looks like it's "complete" Standard games, so probably don't even need to win.
Currently DMing: None
Characters
[5e] Dural Melairkyn - AC 18 | HP 40 | Melee +5/1d8+3 | Spell +4/DC 12
that's the best news i've received all week
Yeah it's so much info. I want to be able to take it all in at once and try to sort it out. The prospective landscape changes every few days so i'm thinking it's best to take a look at everything in one glance. For me anyway. The hype train is neat and all but not my style.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to craft allozaheals if I don't pull him.
Well it's a trick question, because nobody plays Rogue and says that, because nobody plays Rogue.
Rogue is now in release paladin territory
Worse, I think. Control Paladin at least had a good matchup against Control Warrior.
yeah I find I can't properly evaluate cards til I'm playing with them and watching them be played
the day it launches I expect to have multiple streams open at a given time and several decks in mid-concept as I open packs and put pieces together
and then eventually delete them all for the most popular net deck versions
I've been at least going over the shaman and neutral cards to see if there's anything I wanna try putting together. It's a lot since there's so many cards that could see usage. Which I don't mind given that the first few days of standard. I figure there's a lot I won't be able to immediately use but if I have to I'll use most of my dust for the shaman cards first if I haven't pulled the legend and epics yet.
I think CThun Rogue just might work.
Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198004484595
Grotesque Dragonhawk (7 mana) + Inner rage + Inner rage + Charge (3 mana).
5/5 (+2/-1) (+2/-1) (+2/-0) = 11/3 with windfury. 22 damage.
Seems like an auto-include in any Druid deck to me.
Dropping him on 4 by himself is okay, if not exactly what you want.
Any time you get value from him is going to be insane. 6 mana deal 4 damage to a minion, draw a card, summon a 3/5? Yes please.
Switch Friend Code: SW-1406-1275-7906
i think it's POSSIBLE a rogue deck comes together, but i think it's very dependent on the meta being friendly to it, there are so many places it's soft
Since the release of the game, druid has consistently possessed a tier-1 or tier-2 deck. Pretty much regardless of metagame swings or card printings. It has only gotten stronger as new cards have been added to its incredibly stable core. A core that is probably the most flexible (in terms of strategy) in the game. See unlike most classes which must build to fight aggro, or build to fight control, Druid's flexible suite of cards allows them to play comfortably against both. Against Aggro druid wants innervates and Keepers of the Grove, so they can fight over the board and out-tempo aggro decks. Except those same cards are potent weapons against control decks too; innervates allow you to power out early Shredders which give Priests and Warriors fits, and Keeper can be used to silence Acolytes or Taunts.
This is why druid is significantly less constrained than other classes. We classify the general druid strategy as mid-range, but to be more accurate - Druid is an aggro mid-range deck with a combo finish. This distinction is important, because it highlights just how many avenues of attack Druid has:
In the early game Druid can fight for tempo with the best decks out there. Innervate, Wild Growth, Wrath, and Living Roots form a potent backbone that allow the Druid to push for offense against control, or fight over the board against aggro. Then, once it reaches the mid-game it can use Shredders and Druids of the Claw for value. Either as just good stated minions that trade well, or as defensive resources to protect it's life total while it moves to the end game. Traditionally, both aggro and midrange decks tend to stall as they hit the later turns. All the resources they spent in the early game taper off, and they find themselves short on cards. This is typically where the reliable card draw engines and value plays of the control decks take over, and they can start to push ahead with card advantage.
Except that doesn't happen. Instead, the druid can play it's own draw engine in Ancient of Lore to keep pace with the best control decks, and can even be used as a healing source if the situation is desperate. Not only that, but Lore allows the druid to keep digging through its deck searching for the combo pieces that will end the game immediately. Thus the control decks are forced into unfavorable situations where they have to expend resources keeping every minion off the board while simultaneously protecting their life total. This can be difficult for even the most refined decks.
Which leads us to the nerfs. I don't think it can be understated just how devastating the one-two punch of Ancient of Lore and Force/Roar nerfs are to this particular Druid strategy. Without the extra card from Ancient of Lore, it is much easier to exhaust the Druid's resources. And since they can no longer combo to end the game on the spot, the Druid actually needed those extra resources to win over multiple turns. The Druid's flexibility is compressed here - without the combo finish it is just an Aggressive Mid-Range deck, so it must choose - does it build to prey on other aggro decks or does it build to fight control decks?
To be honest, this is probably a much healthier place for Druid to be. Rather than being the "at least decent against everything" deck, Druid will actually have bad matchups. And not just from one particular class or build either! The faster Druid lists will struggle heavily against well equipped control decks, and the slower Druid decks (with cards like Rag) will have a more difficult time fighting well-tuned aggro decks.
This has the added benefit of freeing up up some important design space for druid. It is possible to print cards that are good for one of the archetypes but not the other which should lead to some much needed build diversity - rather than the Druid just being a patchwork of the most powerful cards in the class. Heck, maybe even ramp can make a comeback as an alternative option. Druids did get some help in that area with two great new printings.
I haven't really talked about the Keeper nerf yet, but I don't think its nearly as impactful as the Lore/Force nerf. Keeper will still be run in almost every list - it wasn't played for the body but for the utility it offered, which is still largely intact. The 2/4 was relevant in a world where combo could end the game in an instant, but with that gone, there's less pressure on Keeper to have a sticky body in the first place. So the nerf hurts, but probably brings it in line rather than making it unplayable. (yet the other keeper remains untouched *grumble*)
In conclusion, these are painful but needed nerfs. At the bare minimum, they should help with deck diversity within the class. The class will not be anywhere as strong as it was before these changes, but that is probably better for the game from a health standpoint. I think it's important to realize that Druid is not dead; these nerfs - while painful - do not destroy the class. The Aggro-Midrange-Combo strategy is gone, but there are competitive options that will replace it. I'm actually kind of excited to have the opportunity to refine some new Druid archetypes again. Should be fun!
Actually give other druid decks a chance to shine.
Trying miracle rogue (ish) with gadgetzan auctioneer. I need more + spell damage cards to pull it off but the wins that do happen are very satisfying.
As with every expansion, it looks like we're going to have to find our new power in the neutrals. There happens to be quite a few that will fit in nicely, we'll just have to see if we can make better use of them than the other classes.
If you are banking quests, you might want to make room just in case it overwrites an otherwise good gold value one.
Currently DMing: None
Characters
[5e] Dural Melairkyn - AC 18 | HP 40 | Melee +5/1d8+3 | Spell +4/DC 12
Druid: wild card, will have to find new decks, but has tools to do that.
Hunter: face will find a way, as it always does when the meta is right. Midrange will be solid. Control still won't work.
Mage: tempo still works, freeze will be quite good. As freeze can be hated on pretty easily, I don't expect it to take over the meta.
Paladin: I think they didn't get a single good card and with losing so many staples I actually think Pally is dead for now.
Priest: dragon will live, control will have a much harder time and might be back to obscurity.
Rogue: dead.
Shaman: Aggro will remain the best aggressive deck. People will try to make midrange work but it's gonna take a long time to refine an actual great deck.
Warlock: zoo will always stay relevant, it gets innovated all the time. Renolock loses the strongest variant (combo) but it will survive in some form. Vanilla handlock will be tried.
Warrior: control warrior will live, if only to keep freeze mage down. I think the loss of deaths bite will hit patron too hard and it won't recover even with the new whirlwind effects.
Obviously we can't really predict the meta so it's hard to see what the actual top decks will be and which of the options above will just be low tier due to an unfavorable meta.