Among the Blizzard’s announcement about the year of Mammouth as well as the nerfs, I was about to write a long post about them all, but then remembered my ongoing apathy with Hearthstone.
So I’ll just say this for now: Blizzard has, in a very blunt and forceful way, created a situation that has us heavily at mercy with what they comes up next. It’s no secret the current state Hearthstone is in is dire, as many people shares my apathy and disinterest towards the game after so many failed promises and botches. It’s also no secret that the current meta that lasted throughout most of the Year of Kraken can’t last if Hearthstone is to continue being interesting. No one wants a game that’s mired in the same archetypes.Â
By sinking long-used staples and customs, the Hearthstone team has created a “boom or bust” situation. Simply put, the immediate next expansion has to address the issues that’s plaguing the current meta. It has to give us new viable options if Blizzard is removing the old staples. Because otherwise, things will only go downhill, and people might not even wait for the one after.
Throughout the year, there have been many comments on how Team 5 has become stagnant and insular, refusing to listen to the community and continuing to stick to old formulas. While I can’t say I’m completely happy about the upcoming changes, I do like the attitude expressed here that the old staples needs to move away for the new to set in. If that’s what Team 5 has in mind when they implemented these changes, good for them.Â
With that said, now there is nothing we can do...but pray.
Or play Shadowverse. That’s game’s pretty fun.
Welcome back to Nefarious Lab, where I create cards and hope Ben Brode will hire me one day! Anyways, in this edition, we look at a concept I’ve long think wield great potential: cards that do different things depending on what class you and your opponent are. We saw this in cards like Nefarian, Burgle and some of the neutral Discover cards, and I just feel like this is a field that can be explored in so many new ways, far more than just “take your opponent’s class cards” or “Put a card from your class in your hand”.
But what am I babbling about, here they are, the new cards! Firstly, a Warrior epic:
And the weapon you get are the following: if you face Warriors, Rogues and Hunters (classes that are considered to rely on mostly physical attacks), you get Mithril Lance:
Against Paladins, Shamans and Druids, Morningstar:
Finally, Mages, Priests and Warlocks will face the wrath of Bane of Magicians:
“But what about Ragnaros?” You ask. Well, if you’re lucky enough to face Ragnaros, you get this:
Try to survive six turn, will you? (To be fair, Warriors can probably pull it off).
Against adventure bosses, you get a vanilla weapon with no texts. (Arcanite Reaper is a good option for that)
But we’re not done yet! Below the cut, we meet one of the Horde’s greatest hero!
Karazhan is about to see the most lavish and extravagant party of all time, and your name is on the guest list alongside the crème de la crème of Azeroth and beyond!
So...instead of losing against Midrange Shaman for FREE, you can pay 10 bucks/1000 gold and lose to three Midrange Shaman.
Gul’dan has repented against his past life of sin, and now works towards the greater good...or so he claims. Those who still got rekt by him in arena thinks otherwise...
Today we’ll see the release of another Hearthstone Adventure, One Night in Karazhan. So let’s talk about what I most look forward to: BOSS FIGHTS!
That’s right. Adventure Boss Fights are one of my favorite things about Hearthstone. I love to see what kind of crazy challenge Blizzard can throw at me, and how hard it will make me rage. The relief and accomplishment you feel beating a particularly nasty Heroic boss means more to me than stomping another hapless human on ladder with Aggro Shaman. Moreover, these adventures often act as a semi-”testing ground” for Blizzard to try out some of their newest designs.
So without further ado, my favorite Adventure Boss Fights in Hearthstone!
Curse of Naxxramas: The Four Horsemen
Looking back, The Curse of Naxxramas has a lot of flaws. But surely no one can forget the wonder as those stone gates to the infamous Necropolis opened. Among the enemies you fought, the most interesting one is The Four Horsemen, led by its leader Baron Rivendare. Rivendare only has 7 health (14 in Heroic), but is completely immune as long as any of his three fellow Horsemen-who are minions on board-is alive.
This boss fight is interesting just because of the various you can do to mess with it. Although two cards——Doomsayer and Equality——are banned, there are still many ways to just mess with Baron Rivendare, mostly involving stealing one of his horsemen and/or his spells.Â
Honorable Mentions: Maexxna; Loatheb; Gothik the Harvester.
Blackrock Mountain: Nefarian, First Fight
With Blackrock Mountain coming out, Blizzard started to add a lot more crazy things in the boss fights. One of the best examples of that is the first fight against Nefarian, whose hero power is this:
His own deck is nothing special, pretty much a standard Dragon synergy deck. But that hero power means every turn potential something crazy can, and WILL happen. And it only gets crazier as more expansions roll in, which actually gives Nefarian more spells in his arsenal. It also may have paved way for cards like Spellslinger and Burgle in later expansions. Of all Hearthstone’s boss fights, this one is one you’ll sure to want to return to.
League of Explorers is certainly a new height in terms of Boss Fights, with many crazy and original concepts. You have a “Choose Your Adventure” style fight in Temple Escape, A wild ride with pre-set decks in Minecart Fight, Lady Nzjar’s Evolve Powers, and Rafaam straight up stealing your deck! But my favourite LoE Boss Fight is actually the literal final boss, where you have to deal with Rafaam once and for all:
With the power of the Staff of Origination in his hands, Rafaam is near invincible. Not only is he immune when the staff charges up, he summons a powerful boss minion when he finishes charging, which happens to be the only window of opportunity for you to attack.
However, you are not without help, as your friends in the League will fight alongside you, using the artifacts the League collected over the years:
Needless to say, this is one heck of a boss fights, You’re constantly on edge, planning your next move and making sure you can survive, while taking Rafaam down bit by bit. This feels like a final boss fight, with all its pomp and hype. Truly amazing.
Honorable Mentions: Zinaar; Lady Naz’jar; Skelesaurus Hex
Well, that it on my favourite HS Boss Fights! With this expansion based on the infamous Karazhan raid, plus a party theme indicating some wild and unexpected encounters, just what kind of surprise are we in store here? Time to find out!
