It benefits no one to be a Kibler parrot. The punishment was not over the top. They had every right to do what they did per the contract. Anything less and they jeopardize business with China.

Its not up to Blitzchung to determine whether Blizzard will take a HUGE political stance. They lose business with Chinese consumers, WE and blizzard employees will feel the repercussions.

The true enemy here is the oppressive Chinese government. Not Blizzard.

They can cave in because I don’t think anyone realizes how big China has become. They are a direct economic competitor to the U.S. and it has become in even more so in the last few years. You should not take a political stance against a country that is completely run by the government against the will of the people. Making that stance doesn’t help anyone, because the chinese government doesn’t lose anything from just noping Blizzard out of the country, but consumers (who Blizzard actually cares about) will feel the loss.

Think of China as two factions right now: government and consumer. Blizzard cares about Chinese consumers, but the government essentially dictates whether they have access to said consumers. Blizzard gains nor offers anything to the political movement happening there by allowing a player to speak up against the government. It is best for us, and Blizzard, to fight the Chinese government (in fiscal fashion most importantly!) in whatever way we can so that they cave to the populace’s demands.

This isn’t just about hearthstone. If China had a tiny notion that Blizzard had a political agenda they would ban all of their content from the region, which would ruin Blizzard. And then guess what? We don’t have the content (or a game in the worst case scenario) for this site we all love.

Blizzard made the right call. Blitzchung also made the right call. China is not making the right call.

I think the only unfair thing there is firing the casters. Unless it clearly states in their job description/contract to stop political commentary, I think that Blizzard is out of line on that call.

Blizzard, as per the contract the contestant signed, had every right to suspend and withdraw prize money. The repercussions were pretty clearly stated in the contract so none of this should be a surprise to anyone. Everyone can hate Blizzard all they want, but the contract is there to protect their money-making.

But Blitzchung is now an icon. He stood up against injustice on a public platform knowing that there would be serious repercussions. That is the best thing a person can do at this moment in China’s history.

Yeah thats a pretty huge discover nerf right out of nowhere… Sure it nerfs control warrior but its not exactly the go-to deck after boom’s nerf.

Am I alone here on being upset? That was one of the best parts of the discover mechanic!

I’m sorry that people have pushed you away from the old ways… Its frustrating because even some of these cards could be nerfed or HoF (Leeroy I think is long overdue…) and it would be nobody’s fault.

Thanks for all you do Stonekeep! Keep up the good work!

Now this isn’t a judgement on the validity of this updated list (I agree with every bit of it), but it seems like this guide since I first discovered it two years ago has become super…. “safe”.

There seems to be only a handful of cards (literally 10 hearthstone hand size lol) that are solid crafts for competitive play. Is this a result of the meta? Have you consciously tried to limit the “must-crafts” because of fear of misleading new players?

Even with the disclaimer at the beginning it seems like the list is trying to cover its a** in case changes are made in the near future. Would you say this is a true?

The concept of the Plague lords puts up a little red flag for me… an inevitable loss is not something that hearthstone players have enjoyed in the past (Rumble Run is the perpetrator of this). Other than that the adventure looks pretty promising.

I’ve been offered shadow madness a handful of times. The problem with that card is that it is most effective against cards with effects or deathrattles you don’t want your opponent to have. Since Zephrys doesn’t take card effects into consideration, it doesn’t offer it frequently.

It won’t demoralize. 2/18 of the cards buffed were deemed to powerful. Honestly, that’s a pretty good outcome for any buff patch.

I’m a little agitated about the Boom and Barnes nerf:

Boom’s cost isn’t going to greatly affect control warrior at all. Its passive ability and hps are the real issue.

The Barnes nerf comes at a time when Big priest is doing just ok in the wild meta. I would think a nerf would come at a time when the archetype was borderline oppressive, similar to star aligner druid way back before Aviana’s nerf. Thankfully, I don’t think it will ruin the decks viability since vargoth is still present.

Is it me or did they say in a recent statement (during the HoF patch before Uldum) that they were the most content with the priest’s basic/classic package in respect to their class identity?

I think they would really need to see some hard card statistics before they mess around with priest. And my gut says that the stats won’t justify a nerf or rotation. But that is just imo.

(Also Zephrys kind of ensures that they won’t touch classic or basic in a LONG time because they do NOT want to reprogram that. lol)

Boom’s “Gimmick” is 777. Its cost will never change. The passive rush effect or any/all of the hp’s would be the target.

Though Northshire Cleric is a fantastic turn 1, unlike mana wyrm, it won’t ensure you win the game by turn 4 or 5.

Mana wyrm was just insane. Cleric is solid and doesn’t ensure a win.

The combo could be nerfed but it would be unfair to hall of fame one or both of them. The cards go exactly with their class identity, and if they HoF them after that whole spiel, people will be pissed.

Secret Mage in wild is pretty insane too. A ton of people are playing it and its win rate has exceeded that of odd pally! Maybe not a target in this upcoming patch but I can imagine it will be addressed if its success continues.

I really don’t think you truly understand the implications of this card. If you are a few damage off lethal, it will give you that damage to finish. If you are overwhelmed on the board, it will give you the full board clear. If you have board advantage and they drop a taunt, it will give you a good single target removal.

Wishing for the perfect card based on an intelligent AI is going to shake up the meta. And I still believe that it won’t only be hero class singleton decks that stand out.

Plus, many classes have ways of bouncing this boy back into your hand, meaning you have several opportunities to receive the perfect card.

Also you saying that control warrior would use this is at the end of its deck is…. naive.

I honestly love everything about this card. It will probably be horrible to play, but the flavor and concept is just too good.

This effect is good enough to make a singleton deck of any class. Depending on the intelligence of the AI, this could seriously be a powerful play for any class in early, mid, or late game.