But that's how you play current Zoo correctly anyway. It's going to get even worse tomorrow, Deathlord for example looks like a great anti-Zoo card until you realize they'll make much better use of it themselves, building a ridiculous army of Jugglers and buffers behind an almost unkillable minion.
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Hearthstone |OT| Why tap cards when you can roll need [Naxx final wing out now]
- Thread starter Minsc
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But that's how you play current Zoo correctly anyway. It's going to get even worse tomorrow, Deathlord for example looks like a great anti-Zoo card until you realize they'll make much better use of it themselves, building a ridiculous army of Jugglers and buffers behind an almost unkillable minion.
I don't see Deathlord working in zoo at all TBH.
You think it's too slow? I can see it replacing SSC and at the very least it'll be strong in the mirror without making the deck that much weaker in the other matchups.
Well it's a defensive card by nature and doesn't really synergise with zoo like the rest of its cards that either buff or act just a very resilient and efficient beaters. The stats are efficient for sure, but they are not offensive. And the deathrattle can lead to blowouts when it fetches a Belcher or a legendary fatty.
It's almost guaranteed to become or even hit the board as a 3/8 so it can get a lot of value but I see your point. At 3 mana it might put them behind too much in terms of board building.
Could make for a more defensive Zoo variant though, we'll see what people make of it.
Deathlord is no slower than Harvest Golem, which is the minion I predict it will replace. You are definitely rolling the dice somewhat with what it pulls for your opponent when it dies but the game becomes heavily weighted in Zoo's favour if the Deathlord even allows them a single turn to develop their board safely.
On the topic of bots they are real and this season they have hit the mainstream. They are good enough to hit rank 5 and with some luck can go significantly higher, even potentially reaching Legendary. At first I was impressed by the bots as an AI project but they are getting popular enough now that it's actually becoming detrimental to the ladder experience.
On the topic of bots they are real and this season they have hit the mainstream. They are good enough to hit rank 5 and with some luck can go significantly higher, even potentially reaching Legendary. At first I was impressed by the bots as an AI project but they are getting popular enough now that it's actually becoming detrimental to the ladder experience.
Yeah I'm curious whether Deathlord works in zoo. The problem for me is that you really don't want to trade with deathlord as zoo player that much and that contradicts with the zoo plan. I mean if you use deathlord to trade you make it easier for the opponent to kill it with damage. And if it becomes popular your early game is just wrecked by a single shadow word pain.
Mobius and pet octopus
Member
All I know is 8 damage is a lot to deal in a single turn on 4. I am guessing it won't be removed often when it is played on curve. Deadly poison + backstab + si7 agent is still only 7 damage. That is pretty crazy. Such a high stat per mana minion even though technically he brings about the same presence as a mukla + taunt.
Mobius and pet octopus
Member
two 1/1s and 2 specific cards that cost 9 mana total though.
Warlocks can do it with no board presence.
Doesn't have to be 1/1s and you're bound to have something on the board with all resilient minions you just shit on there all game, which also makes it relatively easy to get to 9 mana as your opponent is always the one who has to react and trade unfavorably. Druid is easy mode, no way around it.
was looking for some advice.
So I have been playing for a couple of months now, have opened quite a decent amount of packs but want to progress.
Should I focus on 3 heroes and disenchant all other cards from other classes?
I prefer priest, mage and druid but also like hunter and warlock. I wouldn't mind playing warrior too.
I also struggling to get past 3 wins in arena lol.
So I have been playing for a couple of months now, have opened quite a decent amount of packs but want to progress.
Should I focus on 3 heroes and disenchant all other cards from other classes?
I prefer priest, mage and druid but also like hunter and warlock. I wouldn't mind playing warrior too.
I also struggling to get past 3 wins in arena lol.
Just fought some weird Zoo guy trying to make Stoneskin Gargoyle work, and if that wasn't enough he soulfired his egg on turn 4 or 5... that's three cards for a 4/4.
You should definitely work towards one or two decks at most with your crafting, preferably with some overlap.
I'd strongly advise against dusting entire class sets. New decks will emerge that will make you look into a class you weren't interested in before, or you'll unpack the legendary you were missing for that cool control deck you always deemed too expensive. I guess you could disenchant utter trash cards for which I'm sure there are lists on reddit, and goldens of course.
You should definitely work towards one or two decks at most with your crafting, preferably with some overlap.
RumblingRosco
Member
Turn 8 fatigue kill against a Priest. The guy dropped 2x Northshire Clerics around turn 3 or 4 and then buffed them both with Power Word: Shield. I had played nothing until turn 4 or 5 and had a hand basically full of Pyromancer, Injured Blademaster, 2x Circle of Healing, 3x Holy Nova (Thoughtsteal!), and a cheap Mind Blast to help proc the Pyromancer, etc. So, I basically just dropped the hurt on him with Pyro --> Mind Blast --> Hero Power --> Circle of Healing --> Circle of Healing while he had the 2x Priests and another minion on the board. The next turn or two I just healed the Injured Blademaster plus added in a Holy Nova or two. He had drawn all his cards by turn 6. So much fun, he just spammed Threatens the entire time lol.
Mobius and pet octopus
Member
I'm not saying I disagree that druid is strong or easy or anything like that, but just saying for 1 additional mana and 0 additional cards, warlock hits for 20 without board. 20 damage from druid using FON + SR generally requires the two combo cards, and 1 or 2 minions to already be on board so the card total is higher than 2 generally speaking.
Never go double Clerics vs another Priest.
RumblingRosco
Member
At the very end he threw down a third Priest... I think he was just disgusted with it all.
Rage against the zoo.
It's boring to play, that's for sure.
Kolento'a control paladin(with some changes of my own) have shit on zoo. I still need tirion though
toadsworth
Banned
Ice mage is king of late game comebacks. Nothing more satisfying than dealing 20+ damage when you have less than 10 health!
I go back and forth on whether deathlord will work in zoo. As a 3 mana 2/8 taunt that is exactly what zoo wants to be playing on turn 3 to protect their board. So at first, I think you will see a lot of zoo playing it. We'll have to see how bad the drawback is.
It will make warlock absolutely terrible against warrior though. Suddenly execute is a great card to mulligan for because you want it against handlock, was ok-ish against zoo to deal with dwarfs and doomguards. But now executing a deathlord is like a 30% chance of instant win.
And as a side effect warrior will grow stronger against handlock because it can keep its starting executes.
So as someone who loves warrior... please play deathlord in zoo.
It will make warlock absolutely terrible against warrior though. Suddenly execute is a great card to mulligan for because you want it against handlock, was ok-ish against zoo to deal with dwarfs and doomguards. But now executing a deathlord is like a 30% chance of instant win.
And as a side effect warrior will grow stronger against handlock because it can keep its starting executes.
So as someone who loves warrior... please play deathlord in zoo.
Uh no that's terrible advice, Ice Block and Ice Armor are highly situational and only buy you an extra turn which isn't very useful in arena because games are all about board control. Those secrets are only good in constructed when you have a deck that capitalizes on them.
Aquavelvaman
Banned
I think im gonna craft golden loatheb because he is in all of my decks and is baaaaalin.
Minsc
Gold Member
Depends though. After being burned in Arena by killing a minion to have duplicate trigger, Ice Block may be able to bluff your opponent in to not killing your minions if they're high value like a water elemental.
Secrets are getting much harder to play around against a mage, and I think a single misplay from an opponent can win you an arena game. So that's to speak higher of counterspell/duplicate/vaporize/Mirror Entity/spellbender, etc, but Ice Block is great at messing with the opponent, while the rest are great at potentially winning arena matches.
Spectral Knight should be another favorite, and much cheaper... I expect to see quite a few golden spectral knights in ranked play.
I was going to spend the $20, but I blew through the first wing too quickly to make me feel comfortable doing it. So I spent gold on wing 2 (when it eventually let me 4 days later hah).
If they had released all the wings at once I'd have burned the $20.
RumblingRosco
Member
I have had some strangely consistent success against Zoo recently. Almost entirely relies on getting Wild Pyromancer and some 1-cost spells (PW:S, Holy Smite) and/or Auchenai with Circle of Healing. If I can get either of those by turn 3 or so I can usually last long enough for a turn 5 Holy Nova and by then they've blown their initial load and my mid-to-late game cards can takeover.
Feels so good to stomp them down. I relish every win.
Feels so good to stomp them down. I relish every win.
partyphone
Banned
deathlord might be pretty good in zoo. it could force bad trades. or get bigger minions down to lower health so you can trade efficiently. the deathrattle could be very swingy. it would obviously be bad if you pulled a deathwing. but if you hit something with a battlecry like argus or black knight it would be amazing. or like an ancient of war. now it's just a 5/5.
As Minsc said I use it as a bluff too, if you play it at a crucial turn it usually makes them play around mirror. One of the games I managed to get a Fen Creeper duplicated which saved my ass too, secrets are all about mind games. If I recall the cards in the Ice Block draft were pretty bad, so I was kinda forced into picking it, but it's paid off, 7-2 my run so far.
partyphone
Banned
zombie chow seems more like a priest card. and undertaker seems underwhelming for the same reason secret keeper is underwhelming. dancing swords is probably a better candidate for zoo.
The Lamonster
Member
Have they said what time wing 3 is going up tomorrow?
Procarbine
Forever Platinum
Deathlord is going to be pretty rough for druids, especially token druids. Without an easy removal option we're going to be running minions into it for at least 4, and then when it pulls a minion it could actually be terrible. Getting a naked druid of the claw or an ancient would be crazy bad, even if it helps tempo.
I've been playing Hearthstone off and on since its official release and while I found it a fun time-waster before, I think I'm officially hooked now. Been playing what I guess would be considered a mid-range Hunter deck and have had a lot of success with it.
I haven't tried Arena or Ranked games yet. Just been playing through the single player campaign and then some Casual games to complete daily quests for the gold. Should I save up gold for an Arena key? Or is it better to just keep buying the 100g card packs at this stage? And is there any advantage to playing Ranked over Casual games? Just trying to figure out where I should be focusing my playtime to maximize my progress in the game.
Here is my current deck. Let me know if you have any changes or suggestions. I have tons of Arcane Dust right now, as I disenchanted a golden Loremaster Cho, so I can acquire just about any card in the game.
Hunter's Mark x2
Tracking x2
Stonetusk Boar x2
Timber Wolf x2
Snipe
Bloodfen Raptor
Dire Wolf Alpha
Ironbeak Owl
River Crocolisk
Scavenging Hyena x2
Starving Buzzard x2
Animal Companion x2
Kill Command x2
Unleash the Hounds x2
Jungle Panther
Multi-Shot
Houndmaster x2
Stampeding Kodo
Tundra Rhino
Savannah Highmane
Thanks!
I haven't tried Arena or Ranked games yet. Just been playing through the single player campaign and then some Casual games to complete daily quests for the gold. Should I save up gold for an Arena key? Or is it better to just keep buying the 100g card packs at this stage? And is there any advantage to playing Ranked over Casual games? Just trying to figure out where I should be focusing my playtime to maximize my progress in the game.
Here is my current deck. Let me know if you have any changes or suggestions. I have tons of Arcane Dust right now, as I disenchanted a golden Loremaster Cho, so I can acquire just about any card in the game.
Hunter's Mark x2
Tracking x2
Stonetusk Boar x2
Timber Wolf x2
Snipe
Bloodfen Raptor
Dire Wolf Alpha
Ironbeak Owl
River Crocolisk
Scavenging Hyena x2
Starving Buzzard x2
Animal Companion x2
Kill Command x2
Unleash the Hounds x2
Jungle Panther
Multi-Shot
Houndmaster x2
Stampeding Kodo
Tundra Rhino
Savannah Highmane
Thanks!
Secretkeeper is underwhelming because Secrets are rare. Deathrattles are not. Beyond that, it grows as you develop the board with minions so it's a lot better. Secrets, even with them being a bit more playable now, still don't make Secretkeeper all that viable.
partyphone
Banned
that deck seems okay. although i would drop the multishot for a deadly shot. you don't really want to kill small minions because it makes your unleash worse but you definitely want to be able to clear a big threat. and you probably want to fit two highmanes in there. it's probably the best card in mid-range hunter. i'd probably rather have two crockalisks rather than the raptor. the 3 health is more important, i think. also snipe is questionable. it's great when it nails an auctioneer but other than that it's not doing too much. i think freezing trap is much better. especially when your deck doesn't focus on a lot traps.
as for buying packs versus arena it all depends on how much time you want to spend playing the game. you can theoretically get more cards if you get good at arena. but that takes time playing and studying the game. if you just want to fart around for a bit here and there it's probably not worth the investment.
and i'd say ranked is better to play than casual since you're almost always going to get better opponents. you start hitting real decks around rank 18 or so(really depends on how recently the ladder was reset).
as for buying packs versus arena it all depends on how much time you want to spend playing the game. you can theoretically get more cards if you get good at arena. but that takes time playing and studying the game. if you just want to fart around for a bit here and there it's probably not worth the investment.
and i'd say ranked is better to play than casual since you're almost always going to get better opponents. you start hitting real decks around rank 18 or so(really depends on how recently the ladder was reset).
Professor Lich
Member
I really wish Mad Scientist and Secret Keeper worked together. I can understand why they don't, but it would be awesome synergy if they did. And I even hate playing against secrets.
partyphone
Banned
Egg and Creeper are the big ones here too since they're turn 2 plays; you get to grow Undertaker without sacrificing tempo. Secretkeeper's big gimmick is it grows on enemy secrets but that's not really all that reliable :/
Cool! Thanks for the deck suggestions. You make some good points, especially with multi-shot vs. deadly shot.
I think I will hold off on trying arena for now. I need more time with the game. It sounds like ranked is basically casual but with better opponents, so I'll probably dip my toe in there and see how I do.
If you want to have a more conistent win rate, rotate between causal and ranked. Your casual is gonna make you try to win 50% no matter what. Ranked will be (generally) easier the higher you are. So if you play Ranked TOO much then you get lower. Helps you get those quests done as a newer player.
Also zombie chow. And believe me, zombie chow isn't just for priests. 1 mana 2/3 is a great card for any deck that cares about early board control.
Imagine turn 1 undertaker + zombie chow. Turn 2 haunted creeper. At the end of turn 2 zoo has a 3/4, a 2/3, and a 1/2 that spawns two 1/1s. They've spent 4 mana and achieved what should be 7 mana worth of stats. And done 5 damage to you.
Follow that up with deathlord and unless you had a 2 mana answer to the 2/3 undertaker, he is now a yeti and protected by a 2/8 taunt.
turn 1 undertaker + zombie chow will be an even stronger opening than double flame imp
post naxx zoo is going to be a scary force. We may even soon come to a future where knife juggler is not good enough to be in zoo.
Yeah Zoo is going to be uglier and uglier, but it looks like this could benefit all the aggro decks as well. Let's see if it balances out.
I think we're more likely seeing Egg cut from Zoo just to speed the deck up.
I actually wouldn't be too surprised at seeing Flame Imp cut too since there's enough upside 1cc minions to warrant skimping on a big downside one like Imp. Which may start pushing closer to non-Warlock Zoo variants.
IDK, I don't play zoo so I maybe wrong but I think egg is a perfect card for that deck. With the amount of damage buff that deck runs its a perfect target to use as a sacrifice, it a perfect target to taunt AND its an anti AOE.
Youre never more than 1 or 2 turns away from activating it.
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