Hearthstone Players!

I can only pray to the gods that I can someday ascend to Jeb's level.

Blade Flurry makes me moist.

That's one of my favorites...love gettin' stabby with a poisoned up, Goblin Barbered up Perdition's Blade or whatever and then just throwing the damn thing at everybody when it's down to 1 durability.

I really like Rogue, I think my deck is pretty good...mostly based around powered-up weapons and a couple of Dreadsail Corsairs on the cheap. Also have a couple of Gang Ups in there, which are great to get like three Doctor Booms that you don't actually own into your deck. That's one of those cards that wouldn't possible in a real CCG.

That deck is really aggressive, you've got to go buck wild early and often. When it works, it's surprising how fast it runs. When it doesn't, it sucks just like my other builds. Wah waaaaah!

Hah. I still haven't bought the Blade Flurries for my Oil rogue deck.

I call it "hard mode".

In my defense, I'm hovering right around 1600 dust and pondering what I should buy.

(I tuned into Jeb's Arena run this morning at just the right time to get a spectator deck, with about two plays left. It had a Twisting Nether, which I didn't already have. Woop.)

Wait a minute....you get shit for watching?

stormseeker75 wrote: Wait a minute....you get shit for watching?

This is newish, but there's a daily quest called "watch and learn", which rewards a classic pack for watching a friend win a game.

Normally all you get is a creepy feeling, and maybe some transferred rage.

Ha. Yeah. It's a quest they added when they completed the phone tech. It's kinda cool.
And I engage in HS voyeurism all the time and don't feel creepy at all. I was peeping on Stormy, Barnes, and another friend yesterday in between games of Dragon Justice . My friend has a regular Control Warrior deck and was hammering this Shaman player around rank 12. Had him at 5 life when he started stabilizing with a couple totems and some crap minions... and then the Bloodlust came out. When someone ragequits while you're watching, the game says they've stopped spectating YOU. I guess that's kind of a creepy feeling...

i watched my neighbour change yesterday and all I got was a semi

Hey, jeb, on that Priest deck, I noticed a couple things:

First off: Faerie Dragons. I know they're in there because they're dragons and they help with curve and aggro, but they're the WORST possible card for Priest, since they're no better than Bloodfen Raptors since you can't heal them or target them with PW:S. Are they working?

By the same token: Dragon Whelp. I realize that Faerie Dragon helps with this, but I'll never be able to see the rationale over Zombie Chow because the latter is always a 2/3, regardless of your hand, and it becomes a 5 damage weapon to your opponent if you're playing Auchenai. Is it working?

Finally, the Sorcerers. You're only playing 3 spells in the whole deck that can activate their ability. Otherwise, they're a vanilla 3/5 for 4 mana (i.e. worse than the, IMO, overrated Blackwing Technician.) Same question as before.

I finally updated my Dragadin list on Hearthpwn yesterday, even though I've been playing it as is since last Thursday when the Lab came out. As you'll note, it's very mid-gamey and completely lacks taunts other than whatever gets blessed by the Coghammer. Even so, I've been wrecking Face Hunters (Fuck. Those. Guys.) and other aggro decks because they can't keep up with the fatties when they start coming down, turn after turn. The tech is the two Blessings, the Seal, and the Coghammer, all of which have been incredibly useful. The Blessings are good uses of the one mana that I'm frequently left with and grant Super-Taunt to whatever they're on (which also occasionally helps with aggro) and the Seal has been key both in boosting the weapons to take out larger things and/or filling in gaps when I don't have a weapon or need the heal boost. I kept one Muster in place of another Coghammer largely because Muster is such an excellent card and it often fools people into thinking they're playing against typical Paladin (although I'm sure that's fading now that Dragon decks are everywhere.)

Jackwraith wrote: Hey, jeb, on that Priest deck, I noticed a couple things:

First off: Faerie Dragons. I know they're in there because they're dragons and they help with curve and aggro, but they're the WORST possible card for Priest, since they're no better than Bloodfen Raptors since you can't heal them or target them with PW:S. Are they working?

By the same token: Dragon Whelp. I realize that Faerie Dragon helps with this, but I'll never be able to see the rationale over Zombie Chow because the latter is always a 2/3, regardless of your hand, and it becomes a 5 damage weapon to your opponent if you're playing Auchenai. Is it working?

Finally, the Sorcerers. You're only playing 3 spells in the whole deck that can activate their ability. Otherwise, they're a vanilla 3/5 for 4 mana (i.e. worse than the, IMO, overrated Blackwing Technician.) Same question as before.

I played the deck during my streak from 19 to 15, losing a close one to a spell mage when I started with a hand of 5+ cards, so I am cool with how it goes thematically. Then I switched to a bad Druid build for quests and got wrecked, so I'll probably get back to this soon. There will be some changes. The points you make card-for-card are valid, but they might not take the gestalt into account correctly.

The key to the deck in my play is Blackwing Corrupter. This card is fucking great. I think Shaman's Fire Elemental is better (better butt, bigger damage, not conditional), but for other classes, this junior version is a bomb if you can get it out there. Priest especially, because it can shoot one guy, hit another, and possibly be healed. Ideas in my head about this with Shrinkmeister are cooking up. It's as good a 5-mana spell as Azure Drake.

And that informs a couple of the other choices: Dragon Whelp, Faerie Dragon, and Dragonkin Sorcerer. These have analogues you argue may be better (Zombie Chow, some other 2-drop, and hell, even Chillwind Yeti > Dragonkin Sorcerer is better by your logic), but these analogues are not dragons, and that means they don't activate Corrupter. The Whelp was always a 2/3--maybe I was lucky. The Sorcerer was only once dressed up (4/8), but that's not that big a deal--he's a decent enough drop, especially in a Priest deck that can heal that big ass and keep him going, and he's a dragon.

I disagree with your assessment that Zombie Chow-is-better-because-he's-always-2/3. In the late game, 1 vs 3 health is a dubious distinction, but I have found that giving the opponent 5 extra life is not. We're all used to Turn 1 Chow, Rogue blades up and takes 2 to 6 to face to get 5 back. I get that with Twilight Whelp except I don't give any life back.

Faerie Dragon is a hassle for decks that need to remove small creatures with spells. Warlock, Shaman, Druid, Mage, Priest to varying degrees all struggle with removing the Faerie Dragon. The drawback of me not being able to targeted heal is unlikely to come up, because unless he's killing a 1-power dude, he's dead regardless. The drawback of him not being a target for PW:Shield or Velen's isn't that big a deal either, because there are enough other small targets for these I never felt hamstrung. And it activates Corrupter.

What's going to come out is the Blackwing Technician. 3/5 is good. It's really good against Face Hunter, but it's so meh against everyone else. Late-game Technician is kind of shitty. I might put Echoing Ooze in here for more ChOozen fun. This slot would go to Cabal Shadow Priest if I had them.

Jackwraith wrote: I finally updated my Dragadin list on Hearthpwn yesterday, even though I've been playing it as is since last Thursday when the Lab came out. As you'll note, it's very mid-gamey and completely lacks taunts other than whatever gets blessed by the Coghammer. Even so, I've been wrecking Face Hunters (Fuck. Those. Guys.) and other aggro decks because they can't keep up with the fatties when they start coming down, turn after turn. The tech is the two Blessings, the Seal, and the Coghammer, all of which have been incredibly useful. The Blessings are good uses of the one mana that I'm frequently left with and grant Super-Taunt to whatever they're on (which also occasionally helps with aggro) and the Seal has been key both in boosting the weapons to take out larger things and/or filling in gaps when I don't have a weapon or need the heal boost. I kept one Muster in place of another Coghammer largely because Muster is such an excellent card and it often fools people into thinking they're playing against typical Paladin (although I'm sure that's fading now that Dragon decks are everywhere.)

Looking at this deck, the only thing I squint at is singleton Seal of Light. Gotta be something better there. I'd rather play Earthen Ring Farseer than a single Seal of Light. Or, dare I say it: Faerie Dragon. Is it just to kill the Hungry Dragon 1-drop? I think even a singleton Knife Juggler works better as a 2-drop.

jeb wrote: The key to the deck in my play is Blackwing Corrupter. This card is fucking great. I think Shaman's Fire Elemental is better (better butt, bigger damage, not conditional), but for other classes, this junior version is a bomb if you can get it out there. Priest especially, because it can shoot one guy, hit another, and possibly be healed. Ideas in my head about this with Shrinkmeister are cooking up. It's as good a 5-mana spell as Azure Drake.

No argument there. The decks only became viable when he came out of the Lab. That's why I started running my Paladin deck when I did because he's amazing. I've played double Corrupter on a turn to knock out something sizable before. That's the one advantage he does have over FE: you can play him in multiples on the same turn.

jeb wrote: And that informs a couple of the other choices: Dragon Whelp, Faerie Dragon, and Dragonkin Sorcerer. These have analogues you argue may be better (Zombie Chow, some other 2-drop, and hell, even Chillwind Yeti > Dragonkin Sorcerer is better by your logic), but these analogues are not dragons, and that means they don't activate Corrupter.

Fair enough. My problem is this: Do I want to be playing a host of subpar cards because I want to activate one good one? If you never see Corrupter in the game and keep dropping Sorcerers and Faeries that just get eaten by whatever you're facing, how good is that? This is precisely why I dropped Faeries from my list as soon as I was through the Lab and why I still don't play Volcanic. They're average cards (at best) and I want to play good ones. Strictly my opinion, but I think you're banking too much on the presence of Corrupter to make the deck really viable. Fair criticism of the late game utility of Whelp compared to Chow. No one wants to get an opponent to single digits and then give them 5 back. But the point of your example (Rogue using two turns of dagger to moot the board) is that if I can convince the Rogue to a) spend two mana and b) use up both charges of his dagger to get rid of a 1-drop, I've won that exchange and the 5 life is irrelevant. If he doesn't do that and I get to wipe out his early minions while my bigger ones come into my hand, I've still won. My point is that Chow can do that no matter what else is in my hand, whereas Whelp can't. But, again, all of this is said with the understanding that I haven't played 1 second of Dragon Priest (albeit I have played a ton of Priest; was just sneaking in a game at the office an hour ago...)

jeb wrote: Looking at this deck, the only thing I squint at is singleton Seal of Light. Gotta be something better there. I'd rather play Earthen Ring Farseer than a single Seal of Light. Or, dare I say it: Faerie Dragon. Is it just to kill the Hungry Dragon 1-drop? I think even a singleton Knife Juggler works better as a 2-drop.

No. Like I said, it's often better as an enhancement to cards I'm already playing. It means I can kill Thaurissan with a Coghammer and a dude and only take 1 damage doing it. It means I could kill anything with a 6-ass with a Silverlight and often take no damage doing it. In games that are often decided on 1 or 2 points of damage, Seal has turned out to be really useful in both directions. Even more importantly, it happens THAT TURN, as opposed to, say, the Earthseer (who certainly does have his upside, without question.)

But Drake as 1-drop 2/3 is strictly better than the Zombie Chow in that Rogue-wasting-dagger situation. That's when it's important to play Drake. If I draw a Drake on turn 9 or whatever, it'll probably stay in my hand. Like a Chow might. The Chow stays because it kind of sucks late game yielding 5 life and probably not earning it back. The Drake stays because it activates Corrupter and won't add much to the board.

I feel like that Dragon Pally shouldn't be decided by 1 or 2 points. I feel like this deck should be romping against a bunch of decks. Yeah, you'll lose to the occasional bursty Rogue or FaceHunter, but Paladins do best in a tempo game and those shouldn't be hair-raising. Is it just the meta? Grim Patron Warrior must be a pain in the ass because your hero power becomes a liability. What else is a struggle?

---

Had an 8-3 Mage in Arena, losing some heartbreakers. Got 170 gold, and a Gold Conceal to grind up and get me to 1600 dust. Hellooooo Sylvanas! I might have to go back to my Reincarnate deck to get her out there winning me games.

---

If folks want to just get wins, and don't care if folks hate them, check out the FaceHunter build from this link . It's 1080 dust. 1080 dust! It does assume you've bought the Adventures and counts those as "free" from a dust perspective, but if you want to make Legend, then the Adventures are a must anyway. 1080 dust and you could be Rank 1. Crazy.

Eh. Seal is a situational card, but it's useful in a lot of situations that I'm currently finding myself in as a midrange deck between unremitting aggro (Face Hunter) and the control decks that are loaded to stop them. The healing is a benefit from all the time I spend hitting things with my face in the early game. The attack value is good for the reasons I mentioned. It's versatile and, so far, it fits that slot against everything including, say, a Grim Patron that's just split itself against a Dude. I haven't had a problem with Patron. The couple I've faced haven't been able to get their combo off the way they'd like because I have a 4/4, 5/5, and 5/6 staring them down and they need to resolve it or die.

Had a good game today at the office with my Priest deck. I Thoughtstole a Fiery Win Axe and Ysera on turn 3 against a Control Warr. We got to turn 9 and I dropped Ysera (which I don't run in my deck, in favor of MC.) He chose that moment to drop half his hand, including an Armorsmith, an Acolyte, a Taskmaster, and an Owl to silence Ysera. Of course, the card I'd gotten from my one turn with Ysera was Dream. So I killed the Armorsmith, Holy Novaed the board, dropped a Shredder, Shielded it, and bounced Ysera back to my hand. Then he played Alex and put me to 15. So I played Vol'jin, Novaed again, and hit him with the Shredder. Then he dropped Ysera and I MC'd it alongside my 4/5 Shredder and 6/8 Vol'jin. That was a concede.

1080 dust? I already have most of that stuff. Looks like the Quick Shot is the only thing I really don't have (haven't bought Blackrock yet).

Maybe I'll go be an asshole for a while.

Looking at those top Warlock decks it seems like I play something weirdly in-between Zoolock and Handlock, but with even more suiciding. Part of that is not having Mal'Ganis or Jarraxxus, so I use Baron Geddon, one of my few Legendaries.

(let me reiterate, nobody should ever take advice from me in this game, because I suck.)

edit: Huh, I guess I never got the Eaglehorn Bows. I never really played a Secret Hunter. So it would be 320 to pick up five cards, and then I'd need to fill in the Quick Shots with something else. My hunters were usually focused on Hounds+Hyena and Rhino+"big beasts"

I crafted an Eaglehorn Bow for my Beast Hunter deck , NotSure. Totally worth it, that is a sweet weapon. I run one Eaglehorn and 1 Glaivezooka. Same idea, beast synergies galore. I am tempted to go Madder Bomber + Gahzrilla for the lulz. BeastHunter is respectable. I have no complaints there, because at least there's a game. FaceHunter isn't fun to play against. They are so unconcerned with the board that it's like I am playing a bad AI.

If you want to go face, I would get at least one bow. You can play a Stonetusk Boar or Loot Hoarder in the Quickshot slot, but obviously not as good. Or just another Worgen and Ironbeak works too. I prefer having two Ironbeaks because Taunts are a pain in the ass and a lot of folks run Unstable Ghoul now.

@Jackwraith: I have all these awesome fun cards, but I never get to play them... you do, you filthy Priest.

Is anyone here playing on the European Server? I've been playing on and off since the official release. My ID is Kailes#2176.