On August 6, Hearthstone released perhaps the best addition in at least the last year – Scholomance. There have not been so many new synergies, deck variations, and deckbuilding potential in the game for a long time. Cybersport.ru understands what vector of development the CCI has taken, which class has benefited the most from this and what will happen next.
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New mechanics
Even before the official announcement of the add-on, Blizzard showed reporters the first cards, among which was the “Exchange Student”, which has a different effect depending on the field. Everyone was surprised, but, as it turned out, this was just the tip of the iceberg.
Perhaps the coolest innovation was cards for two classes – because of this, the potential for the emergence of new archetypes or simply interesting decks has grown significantly. Take at least the “Wand Thief” (mage / rogue) – a creature for one mana, which, when performing a combo, unearths a mage’s spell. This is an example of a card that allows you to both maintain the tempo and increase value, and at the same time it does not manipulate mana, which many have blamed the game for the past six months or a year.
Of course, not all Dual Class Cards have yet found themselves in the decks of both classes for which they are intended, but do not forget that Scholomance cards will be in the standard for more than a year and a half – their potential is simply huge.
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And this is possible – “Ysera” is placed on the second (!!!) move
In terms of the early stage of the match, the winner was of course the paladin. This is a midrange class, which is now almost impossible to crush on the first turns, because it has the “Aldor Servant”, and with the “Scholomance” there was also an insanely strong spell for zero mana “First School Day”, which gives two creatures to hand for one mana. Well, one cannot but say about the “Bouncer from the Vanguard” – this creature costs two mana and copies the characteristics of the “fattest” creature on the table. In a word, you play as a warlock, you lose an insane amount of health in order to put on the “Fleshy Giant” early, and the paladin simply copies it. For two mana.
As you understand, in terms of value, the paladin also won. And, apparently, only he – no other class can compete with him. Even a druid should still be lucky enough to go crazy with expensive spells and Prince Kael’thas. The warrior who received the extremely sticky “Thunderclin” is still underperforming – in the middle of the game, both the paladin and the druid crush him.
What decks are currently being played?
Only four days have passed since the release of the update – players continue to experiment and look for optimal builds, but the leaders, of course, are already known. However, so far I do not recommend crafting anything: firstly, nerfs are definitely not far off, and secondly, we have no idea how Blizzard will fix the balance: both new ones and, unfortunately, some classic ones can nerf cards.
The main imba in Hearthstone right now is the paladin. As we have already noted, he received insanely strong cards to start the game, and given that this is a midrange class, it is easy to guess that by the fourth or fifth turns the paladin not only completely seizes the initiative on the table, but also kills slower opponents. Considering the mechanics of reducing the cost of manuscripts, the paladin can put up the “Diligent Apprentice” quite early, and then, for example, play the “Master’s Blessing” and finish off the opponent (in every sense) with the same “Vanguard Braggart”. Well, do not forget about the ultimate cleansing combination “Manuscript of Justice” + “Consecration”, which destroys almost any table. In addition, with the generation of resources, the paladin is also in full order – largely thanks to the “Lightforged Paladin”, which itself is a strong 7/7 carcass, and also supplies, as a rule, extremely effective cards. Yes, it is played only in decks of a “pure” paladin (no community cards), but the class now does not need “other” cards – it easily copes with absolutely everyone, with the exception of an aggressive demon hunter.
The second contender for a quick nerf is, of course, the druid. This class has too many strong cards to play very early. It is very difficult to describe these obscenities, you better see for yourself.
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Soul Fragment Warlock Deck
The Rogue also looks promising, as he finally has options for decks without Galakrond. The class is now focused on fast and aggressive weapon play, which has not been for a long time. Yes, Valeera has become less stable and more reliant on good top decks, but that’s exactly what she should be, so it’s great that Team 5 has at least found a side to develop the class.
The warrior as a whole also showed potential. But this class is so far mercilessly inferior not only to the paladin, but also to the hunter and priest. Otherwise, Garrosh is still capable of destroying highlander decks with bombs (which, however, are now becoming less visible, especially at high ranks before “Legend”).
The rest of the classes do not yet shine – including the shaman, to whom someone could predict a good future, given that he, like the druid, has access to the Sparkbloom card. The priest still looks more interesting than the others, he is ready to ruin his plans for the game with only one new “legendary” – otherwise the gameplay for Anduin has not changed.
How, who and when will they nerf?
Unlike the last update, this time Blizzard is in no hurry to weaken anyone. And the developers can be understood. Now there are too many classes playing in Hearthstone that counter each other – one wrong nerf, and a single imba may appear in the CCG, users will get upset, and everything will have to be rebalanced.
Paladin is one of the top two contenders for fast nerfs
So far, the main candidates for weakening are the paladin and the druid. The first, most likely, will be “cut” either the cards of the initial stage, or those that are exposed on the fifth or sixth moves. Malfurion just needs to remove the possibility of a lightning ramp, or to make the “Beasts-Protectors” card more expensive – 8-9 mana.
There are no other candidates for weakening yet, but buffs will not interfere at least with a shaman, who looks weaker than all other classes. When to expect nerfs? Of course, we can only guess, but it is most logical to assume that Team 5 decided to wait at least a week and collect more statistics before making a decision. I think the announcement can be expected this week. When the nerfs go into effect, let’s go back to the Standard meta again and discuss the strongest decks.
