There are 14 decks listed in the HSTD tier list, more than that on HSReplay. Only one of them changed significantly. And that may not be permanent, as people find better ways to play it.

Since Blizzard is a for-profit company, everything it does is about making money. But why does that have to be a bad thing? Doesn’t a game company make money by making its games fun over the long term?

I’d say that if you’re trying squeeze people, nerfing a bunch of Epics and a Legendary and giving them a lot of dust is not the way to do it.

I enjoy playing in a settled meta, also. I like having a good feel for what a deck can do, what its possibilities are, and trying to match that against the known capacities of the other common decks.

That being said, I’d like to mention a few points:

a) There needed to be some adjustments this time. Maybe not quite so many, but there were definitely some overpowered cards that needed to be tuned down.
b) These changed haven’t resulted in overturning the entire meta. The range of decks available is pretty similar throughout. So there isn’t as much change and inconsistency as you would think from the amount of complaining there is.
c) I think the developer made some really great points in his discussion of the philosophy behind the balance changes. First, they want to be willing to take risks, and sometimes, your risks aren’t going to work out (Evolve, Galakrond Shaman). I think that’s a great approach. Second, he said they are trying out different strategies and seeing how they work, how people like them. That’s also a great approach. They aren’t just doing the same old thing because that’s what’s always been done.

Long story short, I think these changes are the result of a good process. Sometimes a good process, one that’s experimental and not risk-averse, comes out with things people don’t like. But that’s life! I don’t really think it’s as bad as some people seem to think it is.

I agree. They’re doing some small changes now to see how it affects things, with more to come if it’s not enough.

I think you have to look at this in the context of the nerfs to Mage back in Uldum. While Mage had some ridiculous plays before the changes (5 mana Pocket Galaxy, Conjuror’s Calling combos), the nerfs were too strong and basically made the class non-existent. I think it’s good that they’re trying to bring Shaman back in line with the other classes without destroying it.

I don’t think they should nerf the Galakrond hero power, because that would change the character of the deck altogether. I think it’d be enough to make the Shaman Invoke cards a bit more expensive and maybe make Dragon’s Pack +2/+2. Don’t kill the deck, because it is fun; just make it more in line with the power level of other options.

As for people complaining about them nerfing a deck you spent dust crafting: If you’re FTP, you just need to be smart about your resource management. I’m FTP but I usually have 2-3 meta decks available, with some other playable partials. You have to be patient, and _don’t_ craft a legendary until things are settled enough that you can be sure you can use it.

Why can’t video games be political? Video games are a way (really, one of the only ways) to reach and unite people from all parts of the world, to share ideas and get messages across. I know a lot of people want to see them as pure escapism but nothing in life is truly apolitical–everything we do contains and expresses values that we live by and use to guide our lives together. So the question is, will you stand on the side of authoritarianism and oppression, or individual freedom and human dignity? Looks like the Blizzard management made their choice.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome!

Here’s a Hyena Hunter deck that worked pretty well. 5 wins no losses before I stopped playing.

### Brawl Deck
# Class: Hunter
# Format: Wild
#
# 1x (2) Scavenging Hyena
# 1x (2) Vicious Scalehide
# 1x (3) Animal Companion
# 1x (3) Kill Command
# 1x (3) Unleash the Hounds
# 1x (4) Dire Frenzy
#
AAEBAR8GqAK1A9sJgQr27ALJ+AIAAA==
#
# To use this deck, copy it to your clipboard and create a new deck in Hearthstone

Khadgar says specifically “your cards that summon minions…”. It is worded to rule out applying to cards played. The wording here is like Knife Juggler, so it should work the same way–affecting minions summoned by playing cards, deathrattle, battlecry, whatever!

What do you think of Da Undatakah? Is that ever going to work?

Hahahahahahahaha! Awesome reply!

For all of the talk of lower power levels after the rotation, the meta seems really fast! Fewer AOE spells and fewer versatile taunts (like Stonehill Defender and Tar Creeper) means that decks that put out a lot of minions fast are hard to deal with, so it’s harder for a slow deck to get to its key turns.

I am sad about the Genn-Baku rotation–I liked the Odd/Even decks! Looking forward to seeing what the new expansion offers, though.

Is there any evidence that cards are weaker because of these? Or do the cards from recent expansions just seem weaker because of how ridiculously powerful some of the expansions from last year were?

How many cards have gotten nerfed specifically because of Genn/Baku? I don’t think it’s more than 5 or 6. As many have been nerfed for other reasons.

How is that different from any strong card, though? Cards always need to be designed in the context of the existing environment, taking into account interactions with other powerful cards.

I don’t see any clear evidence that certain classes are getting worse cards because they have strong even/odd archetypes. There’s still plenty of “design space”.

Finally, while I am sympathetic with the idea that it is problematic to nerf cards to target specific archetypes too often, it happens and it’s been happening for a long time. The fact is, despite all of the hand-wringing, it doesn’t happened that often (there almost wasn’t a Boomsday nerf at all!), and the nerfs have targeted just as many non-even/odd archetypes.

I’ve been thinking about this, and I think the problem is overblown. First, odd/even decks are not the only good ones. Hunter, Priest, and (until recently) Druid have been dominant this year and none of them have strong odd/even archetypes. Second, a problematic odd/even archetype can be nerfed in the usual way (as with Odd Rogue) by changing the cost of key cards. And third, even persistently strong decks (Odd Paladin) can be countered. You just have to be thoughtful and figure out a strategy. It has weaknesses.

Are Genn and Baku really more dominant in their effect on the meta than the Death Knight heroes? Those really did change how you have to play. You have to have an answer to Deathstalker Rexxar or FL Jaina. Odd and even decks are just an additional option.

Moreover, they’re a great option for FTP and budget players to build a competitive deck. Good Odd decks are pretty cheap! My first strong decks were Odd Rogue and Odd Paladin, and they gave me my first chance to not lose constantly!