Onwards to the new year: The 2017 Class Wish List Part 2

Following from yesterday, here is my list of wishes for the classes for 2017. For this part 2 I covers some of the most impactful classes in the current meta. For part one click here.

Priest

“Dear Blizzard, I wish the Tyrande portrait would be made available to the rest of the world.”

For most of 2016 Priest has been the running joke of the Hearthstone classes. All year it seemed like their releases were mixed and most of the time it was inferior themes to those presented to other classes. The release of purify also sparked one of the biggest dramas of the year culminating with Blizzard taking the first steps to actively balance arena.

In Gadgetzan, Blizzard finally took off the gloves and released some of the most aggressively statted cards for Dragon Priest ever. Their highlander legendary Raza the chained also holds one of the most potent effects for the control game, which might be ever the more relevant when Reno Jackson himself rotates out in April. This has left priest in the best state it has been in for the entire history of hearthstone.

This is where the good news stop, because while Reno Priest and Dragon Priest get to keep their late game this year, most of their early game is up for rotation. Twilight whelp, Wyrmrest Agent and Twilight guardian are all rotating out in April and all are essential tools in current Priest decks. If this early game is not sufficiently replaced, then Priest will be back to the old story where a lot of their cards carry potential, but their useless core set and a card pack or two that failed to deliver hold them back from competitive use. It is pivotal that this is not allowed to repeat again, but I am confident that Blizzard is keeping a close eye on this.

Rogue

”Dear Blizzard, I wish I could find the viable stealth cards. I know they are hiding around here somewhere”.

It is weird to describe the state of Rogue right now. Their recent releases are literally the biggest joke ever and yet the class is in the best state it has been for a long time. The pirate package have given Rogue access to an early game push, the likes of which they have not seen since Defias Ringleader pre-nerf and unlike most other classes, Miracle Rogue is a deck where the deck thinning of Patches is actually relevant. Counterfeit coin has also been great, allowing for even crazier combos with Gadgetzan auctioneer. The resilience of this old deck has proven impressive as always. The rest of the Rogue cards have remained lacking for most of the year though. Blizzard has offered the classes a plethora of deathrattle minions seemingly to combo with N'zoth, but it never really took off.

Another theme we saw this year was the Stealth Rogue. It is an interesting theme but is underdeveloped at the moment and lacks tempo. Gadgetzan released both pirates and ninjas, but if they were to clash right now like in the days of old, it wouldn’t even be a contest. The pirates would have ambushed at night, ransacked all of Gadgetzan and sailed off with the loot, before the Lotus ninjas would even assemble.

But there is still lots of potential to be found here. Shadow sensei is a good card, no doubt about it, but as is the case with Mark of Y’saarj the kind of minion that is good with has high health and enough attack. So far, all of the low-cost stealth minions, with the exception of Shaku, have very low health and are unlikely to get enough value from the +2/+2 buff. Silent Knight is another target but he is cycling out. For it to work past April there need to be more steath minions that can really gain full benefit from this buff. And the style itself could also use a little more tempo in general.

Shaman

“Dear Blizzard, I wish I could stop evolving my totems into Doomsayers.”

To say Shamans have had a good year is a bit of an understatement. After a long time in the shadow of the meta, Blizzard pushed hard for Shaman towards the end of 2015 and going into 2016. With great success, as the class has shown itself in aggro and midrange version alike and been a constant force of reckoning throughout all of 2016.

Even with losing Tunnel Trogg and Totem Golem, shamans are still looking solid going into 2017. Their early game weapon arsenal allows them to take full advantage of the pirate package from Gadgetzan. Their Jade Golem cards are fast and numerous enough that they are a force to be reckoned with, even if they can’t quite make as many Golems as Jade Druids.

Looking past their solid setup, there is an interesting aspect of Shaman that has popped up. The evolution theme is fantastic and while very RNG-depedant it is an immensely satisfying playstyle. Nothing like planting three doppelgangsters that evolve into a board that almost cannot be beat. The deck itself is way less aggressive than Aggro Shamans and for this reason I think it is the perfect theme to look into supporting in future sets.

Warlock

”Dear Blizzard, I wish you would start giving me demons again.”

With Life Tap as the hero power, Warlocks have always been ripe with options but in 2017 they stand at a crossroad. April will be the month where their kind friend Reno Jackson takes his leave from Standard, leaving the solid style of control warlock in shambles, easily being the weakest of the three highlander classes. Without significant healing additions, this deck will not be able to continue and Warlocks will have to look elsewhere. Zoo warlocks are unlikely to make a return for now, as AOE is rampant and the pirate package offers too high of a early tempo swing. This means Warlocks might have to look back. Back to their demon roots.

In 2015, Warlocks' demon package seemed complete. As strong as it could be, and any additions, like fearsome doomguard, seemed forced. A year and a rotation later and it is a shadow of its former self, yet support like Krul the Unschackled and the add demon effects of Kazakus and Kabal Trafficker suggest that Blizzard still believe Demonlock should be a thing. So far nothing suggests that it will happen, with Krul being marked as the worst of the highlander cards released with Gadgetzan.

If Blizzard wants Demonlock to rise, they needs to try a lot harder than what's being done currently. Key to effects like Krul is value. You cannot win by simply spamming low cost minions, they just get cleared by the same removal that would have been used if they were played naturally. It doesn't help that the current highest cost demon, Lord Jaraxxus, is a terrible target for his effect. In april the second highest target, Fearsome Doomguard, is also going away, leaving the once complete engine in pieces. Lots of demon releases with raw brute demonic force is what is required for Demonlock to rise back to its former glory.

That is it. The first news of the coming year with its new standard and expansions is expected to drop sometime from mid february till early March. Untill then, enjoy the fight for Gadgetzan.