Hearthstone Arena Drafting!

[GAAD]

Let's make an Arena run. The first pick has already been made by CarpeGuitarrem.

Class: Druid
1:Imp Master/Mech-Bear-Cat/Volcanic Lumberer - CarpeGuitarrem: Mech-Bear Cat for solid value+upside
2:Wisp/Andonized Robo Cub/Frostwolf Warlord - Gandariel: Andonized Robo Cub over garbage
3:Mark of Nature/Cult Master/Dread Corsair - Jormengand: Mark of Nature for useful buff
4:Leper Gnome/Mechanical Yeti/Shattered Sun Cleric - The Glyphstone: Mechanical Yeti for Value
5:Core Hound/War Golem/Mogu'shan Warden - Mando Knight: War Golem over garbage
6:Mark of Nature#2/Tinkertown Technician/Bloodsail Raider - Jormengand: Tinkertown Technician for Synergy
7:Dragonkin Sorcerer/Youthful Brewmaster/Druid of the Fang - Gandariel: Youthful Brewmaster for Value
8:Mad Bomber/Sen'jin Shieldmasta/Lost Tallstrider - Jormengand: Sen'Jin Shieldmasta for Value
9:Tinkertown Technician/Mark of the Wild/Clockwork Gnome - Jormengand: Clockwork Gnome for Curve
10:Argent Commander/Injured Blademaster/Arcane Golem - Kish: Argent Commander over garbage
11:Sen'jin Shieldmasta#2/Venture Co Mercenary/Mark of Nature#2 - Thirsting: Venture Co Mercenary for Value
12:Blackwing Technician/Zombie Chow/Voodoo Doctor - Jormengand: Zombie Chow over meh
13:Dragon Egg/Savagery/Mana Wraith - Jormengand: Dragon Egg over garbage
14:Darkscale Healer/Voodoo Doctor/Spider Tank - The Glyphstone: Spider Tank for Synergy AND Value
15:Clockwork Gnome#2/Savage Roar/Reckless Rocketeer - The Glyphstone: Savage Roar for Combo
16:Force Tank MAX/Druid of the Flame/Stormwind Champion - Mando Knight: Druid of the Flame for Curve
17:Soul of the Forest/Mechanical Yeti#2/Ironbark Protector - The Glyphstone: Ironbark Protector for Value
18:Mark of Nature#2/Stonetusk Boar/Novice Engineer - The Glyphstone: Novice Engineer over garbage
19:Dancing Swords/Cult Master/Ironfur Grizzly - Fleeing Coward: Cult Master for Value
20:Hungry Crab/Mini Mage/Big Game Hunter - MacGiolla: Big Game Hunter over garbage
21:Oasis Snapjaw/Shattered Sun Cleric/Starfire - The Glyphstone: Starfire for burst
22:Novice Engineer#2/Savage Roar#2/Innervate - The Glyphstone: Innervate for Value
23:Stonetusk Boar/Stranglethorn Tiger/Bloodfen Raptor - Zevox: Bloodfen Raptor for Curve
24:Abusive Sergeant/Flesheating Ghoul/Clockwork Gnome#2 - The Glyphstone: Flesheating Ghoul for Curve
25:Gilblin Stalker/Druid of the Flame#2/Southsea Deckhand - Zevox: Gilblin Stalker for Curve
26:Tinkertown Technician#2/Flying Machine/Archmage - Divayth Fyr: Tinkertown Technician#2 for Synergy
27:Emperor Cobra/Azure Drake/Crazed Alchemist - The Glyphstone: Azure Drake for Value
28:Mechanical Yeti#2/Druid of the Fang/Burly Rockjaw Trogg - Zevox: Mechanical Yeti#2 for Value AND Synergy
29:Magma Rager/Cult Master#2/Spider Tank#2 - Kish: Spider Tank#2 for Synergy
30:Tree of Life/Hobgoblin/Junkbot - Kish: Junkbot for Synergy and over Even Worse Garbage

Innervate
Clockwork Gnome
Dragon Egg
Zombie Chow

Andonized Robo Cub
Bloodfen Raptor
Gilblin Stalker
Novice Engineer
Youthful Brewmaster

Mark of Nature
Savage Roar
Big Game Hunter
Druid of the Flame
Flesheating Ghoul
2x Spider Tank
2x Tinkertown Technician

Cult Master
2x Mechanical Yeti
Sen'Jin Shieldmasta

Azure Drake
Junkbot
Venture Co. Mercenary

Starfire
Argent Commander
Mech-Bear-Cat

War Golem

Ironbark Protector

[Gandariel]

Cub Is not really amazing and his effect rarely matters, but Frostwolf doesn't particularly shine in Druid. Go with the mech.

[Mando Knight]

Cub Is not really amazing and his effect rarely matters, but Frostwolf doesn't particularly shine in Druid. Go with the mech.

Agreed. Robo-Cub isn't amazing, but it's a pretty standard 2-drop no matter which way you summon it.

[GAAD]

2:Gandariel - Andonized Robo Cub over garbage
3:Mark of Nature/Cult Master/Dread Corsair

[Mando Knight]

Corsair is useless in a no-weapons class, so that's right out. Mark of Nature is useful, though I don't know how it stacks up to Cult Master this early in the draft.

[Jormengand]

I'd go Mark of Nature - it allows you to trade bigger, and save your face if you're about to get killed, or hide something like the aforementioned cult master behind it.

[GAAD]

3:Jormengand - Mark of Nature for Useful Buff
4:Leper Gnome/Mechanical Yeti/Shattered Sun Cleric

[The Glyphstone]

Yeti is solid value, with more Spare Parts.

[GAAD]

4: The Glyphstone: Mechanical Yeti for Value
5:Core Hound/War Golem/Mogu'shan Warden

[Mando Knight]

Golem. All three are bad, but I feel that the Golem is the least bad.

[The Glyphstone]

Agreed. Golem is solid vanilla, and we'll be happy for him now if we don't get an Ironbark later.

[GAAD]

5: Mando Knight: War Golem over garbage
6:Mark of Nature#2/Tinkertown Technician/Bloodsail Raider

[Jormengand]

Tinker, given the mechs you have.

[GAAD]

6: Jormengand: Tinkertown Technician for Synergy
7:Dragonkin Sorcerer/Youthful Brewmaster/Druid of the Fang

[Gandariel]

Youthful brewmaster because generic 2-drop with potential upside.

Also, pick 3 was IMO wrong. Mark of nature Is bad (Mark of the Wild is decent) and cult master is at least OK

[Jormengand]

I would say dragonkin because you have spells that target your own d00ds and have no beasts yet, nor do you really have anything you really want to return to hand but I'd see what someone else says.

EDIT: Yeah, I was thinking of the wrong mark. Still, potential for a better trade so ehh.

[GAAD]

7: Gandariel: Youthful Brewmaster for Value
8:Mad Bomber/Sen'jin Shieldmasta/Lost Tallstrider

Hey, I consider Mark of Nature to be fine. Put a 2-drop on, then turn 3 taunt it up and trade 2 for 1 at least. Played on my Brewmaster, I have a turn 3 Fen Creeper, which is nothing to scoff at.

[Jormengand]

I don't really know what to take but I'd say shieldmasta? I don't know, don't trust me on this pick.

[Gandariel]

Trust him. Tas dingo is always good and we aren't desperate for a 2 drop now. (Although bomber IS a great card)

[GAAD]

8: Jormengand: Sen'Jin Shieldmasta for Value
9:Tinkertown Technician/Mark of the Wild/Clockwork Gnome

Wow, this Arena REALLY wants to be a mech.dec

[Jormengand]

Decent 1-drop is decent.

[GAAD]

9: Jormengand: Clockwork Gnome for Curve
10:Argent Commander/Injured Blademaster/Arcane Golem

[Kish]

Argent Commander is better than the other two.

[Jormengand]

What can I say, I like curves.

Anyway, what do we have, three mana up against a divine shield and not giving your opponent a wild growth for nothing?

I would take Argent, but that's only because arcane just annoys me conceptually. I don't really have an idea.

[The Glyphstone]

If we had anything that could heal so far, I'd go blademaster, but I'm in favor of the Commander as well.

[GAAD]

10: Kish: Argent Commander over garbage
11:Sen'jin Shieldmasta#2/Venture Co Mercenary/Mark of Nature#2

[thirsting]

Venture Co. to catch all the fireballs.

[Anxe]

Yeah, definitely Venture Co.

[GAAD]

11: Thirsting: Venture Co Mercenary for Value
12:Blackwing Technician/Zombie Chow/Voodoo Doctor

I dunno, I think maybe Zombie Chow over garbage?

[Jormengand]

Zmobie. Zmobie over meh. Less over garbage (voodoc's not bad in his own way), but over meh.

[GAAD]

12: Jormengand: Zombie Chow over meh
13:Dragon Egg/Savagery/Mana Wraith

My thoughts - Mana Wraith could have some use - after all, it's a negative wild growth, but applied to both players.
Savagery is garbage - I have no bite/claw/BlingTron, after all.
Dragon Egg could be useful as an AoE detterent, or as a target for MoN.

[Jormengand]

Egg; you have too many minions for wraith to be a good idea.

[GAAD]

13: Jormengand: Dragon Egg over garbage
14:Darkscale Healer/Voodoo Doctor/Spider Tank

[The Glyphstone]

Spider tank. Draft ALL THE MECHS.

Also because it's a good 3-drop in its own right.

[GAAD]

14: The Glyphstone: Spider Tank for Synergy AND Value
15:Clockwork Gnome#2/Savage Roar/Reckless Rocketeer

[The Glyphstone]

Ooh. Tough one. Gnome is even more synergy, but Savage Roar is combo-tastic and you are minion heavy.

Go with Roar.

[Jormengand]

Seconding roar.

[GAAD]

15: The Glyphstone: Savage Roar for Combo
16:Force Tank MAX/Druid of the Flame/Stormwind Champion

[Jormengand]

I'd take MAX. Because it's worth on its own, and it's a tank.

[Gandariel]

A few more comments from the picks i missed:



9:Tinkertown Technician/Mark of the Wild/Clockwork Gnome - Jormengand: Clockwork Gnome for Curve

I would have said Tinkertown > Mark of the Wild > Clockwork Gnome. Seriously. one health stuff is BAD in arena. and not needed in curve

12:Blackwing Technician/Zombie Chow/Voodoo Doctor - Jormengand: Zombie Chow over meh
Voodoo doctor is not meh, it's absolute garbage. agree with the pick obviously

13:Dragon Egg/Savagery/Mana Wraith - Jormengand: Dragon Egg over garbage
Mana Wraith > Savagery >>>>> Dragon Egg. That thing needs an activator or it's just useless. Savagery is a Moonfire for one, and Mana wraith is baaarely passable, but still a CARD


As for the current pick, i'd go Druid of the flame for stats.

[GAAD]

Oh no, we need a tiebreaker! Especially since my gut was going Stormwind. But yeah, DotF is pretty good; either way it's better than a vanilla 3-drop.

[Mando Knight]

As for the current pick, i'd go Druid of the flame for stats.

Agreed. Druid of the Flame is a solid 2/5 most of the time, and a 5/2 for 3 also has its uses. Force-Tank is fine, but you don't want too many big late-game cards.

[Kish]

Force Tank MAX, absolutely.

[GAAD]

Well, let's look at our curve.
We have 4 3-mana cost cards, 1 of which is a buff, one of which is a combo, which leaves 2 cards to play on turn 3, a 3/3 potentially a 4/4, and a 3/4.
Our late game has a 4/2 charge divine shield, a 7/6 spare part generator, and a 7/7, 3 cards to play late-game.

Considering the quality of our respective drops, I'm inclined to pick the Druid of the Flame and hope we don't get it off a Deathlord.

16: Mando Knight: Druid of the Flame for Curve
17:Soul of the Forest/Mechanical Yeti#2/Ironbark Protector

[Jormengand]

I'd take the other Mechyeti but I dunno.

[The Glyphstone]

Ironbark. Commander is a 6-drop, but only 4 Attack means he can't trade with other heavy-weight cards. Nothing short of a Legendary can go toe-to-toe with an Ironbark, so either it eats unconditional removal or goes almost guaranteed 2-for-1 (and he devastates topdeck wars if you end up in one). So you really only have 2 endgame cards.

Should probably be your last 6+ card unless something amazing comes up, but Arenas usually go long, so not stalling out there is crucial.

[GAAD]

17: The Glyphstone: Ironbark Protector for Value
18:Mark of Nature#2/Stonetusk Boar/Novice Engineer

I'm thinking Novice, because it's card draw and ANY 2-drop. Except that the card kinda sucks.

[The Glyphstone]

Eh, I guess. It sucks, but it also cycles, letting you draw into your beef faster.

[GAAD]

18: The Glyphstone: Novice Engineer over garbage
19:Dancing Swords/Cult Master/Ironfur Grizzly

Considering how many minions I have, is Cult Master a good idea here?

[Jormengand]

I'd take Ironfury for being a decent taunt.

Why are you listening to my opinions again?

[Kish]

Eh...Ironfur Grizzly.

[Fleeing Coward]

Cult Master is a no brainer in my opinion. It's the best card there by a big margin.

[GAAD]

Plus we need a 4-drop.

19: Fleeing Coward - Cult Master for Value
20:Hungry Crab/Mini Mage/Big Game Hunter

I think this is easy bgh right?

[MacGiolla]

Yep bgh is the pick

[Mando Knight]

Definitely easy BGH here.

Mini Mage is like a weird, more vulnerable Jungle Panther most of the time, and you have yet to draw any use for the Spell Power (other than the Savagery that was passed up), and Hungry Crab will likely see much less value than the BGH, even if Puddlestomper is a decent Arena card. BGH kills the big stuff that is run because they aren't expecting it to be drafted, and even if you never see a 7+ attack minion, it's got the best body out of the three.

[Anxe]

BGH will usually kill something in an Arena match. So will Hungry Crab. But BGH kills something much more significant.

[GAAD]

20: MacGiolla: Big Game Hunter over garbage
21:Oasis Snapjaw/Shattered Sun Cleric/Starfire

I think we're good on 3 drops, so the question is cycle and removal or a mediocre 4-drop?

[The Glyphstone]

Starfire - cycle and removal is good, particularly at 5 damage. And it can hit face for a surprise burst if you really need to.

[GAAD]

21: The Glyphstone: Starfire for burst
22:Novice Engineer#2/Savage Roar#2/Innervate

[The Glyphstone]

Innervate. Druid Star card, especially this late. Faster beef is better beef.

[GAAD]

22: The Glyphstone: Innervate for Value
23:Stonetusk Boar/Stranglethorn Tiger/Bloodfen Raptor

[Zevox]

Just wanted to say I echo Gandariel's criticisms of past picks. Although I do disagree with him on the Druid of the Flame pick - I've been quite dissatisfied with her performance the couple of times I drafted her, and would definitely have picked one of the big guys there instead, since both are among the strongest high-cost commons. Probably Tank.


Innervate. Druid Star card, especially this late. Faster beef is better beef.
That's true in constructed, but in arena it's often not. It's harder to count on having good things to innervate into in arena, and you're less likely to have strong draw to counter the card loss since you probably don't get Ancients of Lore. Though it was up against a weak card (Novice Engineer) and a second Savage Roar, so eh, may still have been correct. Though on the other hand, the Roar could activate that Dragon Egg, which is currently very likely to be a dead card most of the time.

Current pick: Raptor. We're a bit lacking in early game (defined as cost 1-2 minions you'll play on turn 1 or 2), with only five cards for it, two of which are Novice Engineer and Clockwork Gnome, who are bad against several hero powers. (Technically we have six if you count Dragon Egg, but I don't, because it's useless without activators, of which we have two.) And the Savage Roar and Cult Master reward having more early game to establish control quickly.

[Anxe]

What Zevox said on the Raptor. I don't think there's enough early game. That won't matter if you draw the Innervate, but Innervate rarely wins the game because it means you're down a card.

[Gandariel]

Agree on the Raptor.

Innervate is not bad in arena, anyways. I'm happy to pick one up. It quickly loses value if you pick more than one (drawing innervate in topdeck wars is a nightmare), but it's still useful and good.

If you use it on turn, say, 2, and pump out a 4-drop, it's like playing a 2-drop AND a free Mark of the Wild. ish.

[GAAD]

23: Zevox: Bloodfen Raptor for Curve
24:Abusive Sergeant/Flesheating Ghoul/Clockwork Gnome#2

[The Glyphstone]

Eh, go with Ghoul. It's not great, but uncontrolled it can snowball, and 1-health drops are risky business in Arena. And it's a 3-drop.

[GAAD]

24: The Glyphstone: Flesheating Ghoul for Curve
25:Gilblin Stalker/Druid of the Flame#2/Southsea Deckhand

[Zevox]

Gilblin Stalker. 2-drops are more important than 3-drops, and Gilblin is a decent one. And it beats a 1-mana 2/1 any day. (Well, maybe not Worgen Infiltrator, but that's debatable, and that's not Worgen Infiltrator.)

[GAAD]

25: Zevox: Gilblin Stalker for Curve
26:Tinkertown Technician#2/Flying Machine/Archmage

Easy TTT, right?

[Divayth Fyr]

25: Zevox: Gilblin Stalker for Curve
26:Tinkertown Technician#2/Flying Machine/Archmage
I'd take Tinkertown - you have enough mechs to make it work.

[Zevox]

Yeah, easy Tinkertown. Even a vanilla 3/3 for 3 would beat the competition here: Flying Machine is just garbage, and Archmage is weak beef with an effect you have no use for in this deck.

[GAAD]

26: Divayth Fyr: Tinkertown Technician#2 for Synergy
27:Emperor Cobra/Azure Drake/Crazed Alchemist

I'd take the Drake; it cycles and I need a 5-drop.

[The Glyphstone]

Drake indeed.

[Zevox]

Yeah, Drake's the best - possibly just plain the best rare period, even. Only reason not to take it would be if you were heavy on 5s and needed cheaper stuff, but you're not.

[GAAD]

27: The Glyphstone: Azure Drake for Value
28:Mechanical Yeti#2/Druid of the Fang/Burly Rockjaw Trogg

With 2 beasts fang is garbage so the question is do we go for the spell deterrent or the extra attack, Mech Synergy, and Spare Part oh who am I kidding Yeti#2 right?

[Zevox]

Oh yeah, easy Yeti.

[Jormengand]

Yup, Mechyeti it is.

[GAAD]

28: Zevox: Mechanical Yeti#2 for Value AND Synergy
29:Magma Rager/Cult Master#2/Spider Tank#2

[Jormengand]

Spider tank for being pretty decent. Magma Rager loses to mage hero power or wrath or shiv or blah-di-blah, and cult master... I'd be tempted, but spider tank is probably better, especially given the deck so far.

I am not qualified to make this decision. Someone shoot me now.

[GAAD]

The way I see it, we already have plenty of 3-drops and need card draw. A second Cult Master could really help as in a minion and tempo heavy deck like this it gains card advantage instead of just cycling. The question is, despite these things going against it, is Spider Tank just that good? I mean, Cult Master is also decent, right?

[The Glyphstone]

What is our sub-4 Mana mech count so far? Spider tank is efficient for its body, but it's also a potential activator for Tinkertown, of which we have 2 now - so its value goes up slightly in this deck.

I'm not a huge fan of Cult Master, admittedly, I find it too hard to set up in most cases without Taunts to protect it and guarantee an activation.

[GAAD]

We have 3 sub-4 mechs.
We have 5 cards to realistically play on turn 3.
We have 4 4-drops.

[Kish]

Flesheating Ghoul for #24 or Unstable Ghoul? Both can be good minions but are quite different and you've listed it as both.

Spider Tank for #29, anyway.

[The Glyphstone]

Yeah, grab that second spider tank then. And hope for a legendary on Pick 30.

[GAAD]

Flesheating Ghoul for #24 or Unstable Ghoul?

Spider Tank for #29, anyway.

Flesheating Ghoul, as in the 3-drop 2/3 that gains 1 attack every time a minion dies and is straight-up worse than the Warrior card Frothing Berserker.

29: Kish: Spider Tank#2 for Synergy
30:Tree of Life/Hobgoblin/Junkbot

I think we go Junkbot here, right?

[Kish]

Yes, Junkbot with this deck.

[Jormengand]

Yep, top it off with the junkie.

[Zevox]

The way I see it, we already have plenty of 3-drops and need card draw. A second Cult Master could really help as in a minion and tempo heavy deck like this it gains card advantage instead of just cycling. The question is, despite these things going against it, is Spider Tank just that good? I mean, Cult Master is also decent, right?
There was a definite argument to be made for Cult Master, given nearly half our deck is cost 3 or less minions (more if you count Dragon Egg and BGH). Two Cult Masters can create awkward situations at times however, and I think in most cases a Spider Tank is a better pick than Cult Master, plus we have some mech synergy in this deck, so Spider Tank was a very valid choice as well. Either one would be good, I think.

And yeah, we curse our luck and take Junk Bot on this one. My first reaction to that listing was to cross my fingers and hope we had even marginally enough 1-attack minions to justify Hobgoblin, but all we've got is Novice Engineer, so it's no good. And Tree of Life is garbage in arena. Junk Bot we've at least got a good number of Mechs for, even if it is hard to make it work well even when you have those.

[GAAD]

30: Kish: Junkbot for Synergy and over Even Worse Garbage

To cap off our deck, we take the junkie due to us being high on mechs. Gotcha.

So the next question is, what is the Win Condition of this deck?

Innervate
Clockwork Gnome
Dragon Egg
Zombie Chow

Andonized Robo Cub
Bloodfen Raptor
Gilblin Stalker
Novice Engineer
Youthful Brewmaster

Mark of Nature
Savage Roar
Big Game Hunter
Druid of the Flame
Flesheating Ghoul
2x Spider Tank
2x Tinkertown Technician

Cult Master
2x Mechanical Yeti
Sen'Jin Shieldmasta

Azure Drake
Junkbot
Venture Co. Mercenary

Starfire
Argent Commander
Mech-Bear-Cat

War Golem

Ironbark Protector

With a heavy focus on Mechs, as well as some few huge threats, this deck seems to be an aggressive tempo, or Zoo deck.

Place your bets now! How will this deck fare in Arena?

Let's say whoever guesses closest will "host" the next draft. In case of a tie the person who posted first wins. Bets will close after the second loss.

I'm unofficially (as in, not betting due to my personal stake in this) guessing 6 wins.

[The Glyphstone]

I'll bet on 4 wins. But I'm bad at Arena.

[GAAD]

Game 1: VS Hunter: Loss

1 more loss and betting ends!

[GAAD]

Game 2: VS Shaman

Win

Score: 1-1

[GAAD]

Game 3: VS Mage

Win

Score: 2-1

[The Glyphstone]

Give us some short recaps as well. Overwhelming victory on either side? Close battle down to the nails? Topdeck war? Any drastic misplays or huge reversals?

[GAAD]

All right.

Game 1: VS Hunter

Not knowing how to play this deck, I YOLO face.
The Huntard with four Huffers YOLOs better and I cry.

Game 2: VS Shaman

Poor sap had an awful, awful deck. He had a really heavy mana curve that caused him to skip turns 1,2, and 3. Turn 4 Feral Spirit Earth Shock to stave off my onslaught cost him the game, as the Overload caused him to skip turn 5 as well and give me a huge tempo swing.

Game 3: VS Mage

A lot of trading back and forth. This mage drafted at least five secrets and two Mad Scientists. I deliberately vaporized my MechYeti - right after playing Junkbot. In response, Mage pulls out MCT, and takes my Junkbot. Unfortunately, I topdecked Savage Roar for lethal the turn after.

[GAAD]

Game 4: VS Hunter
Turn 1: Coin Micro Machine
Turn 2: Freezing Trap

With the momentum here, I was soon down to low life, against a strategy of removal covering huge-attack minions. When I eventually swarm him, he plays Unleash the Hounds Arcane Golem to put me at 7 health, against 2 1/1s (the other two picked off my Argent Commander), a 4/2, and a full-health Boulderfist Ogre. I Reversing Switch the ogre, then BGH it and use my minions to wreck his board for free, then Venture Co. He Cobra Shots to leave me at 4 health, then plays Mad Bomber. I live, and smash his face in.

Win

Score: 3-1

[Jormengand]

I'll say 6, though betting this far in is kinda cheating.

[GAAD]

Well, this is loss number 2! All bets are final (which is two)

VS Mage

Super trading; went into Topdeck Wars.
Failed to draw Ironbark and lost to a topdeck Fireball as we were trading minions and spells.

3-2

[GAAD]

Game 6: VS Druid

Turn 1 Zombie Chow
Turn 2 Coin Spidertank
Turn 3 Spidertank
Turn 4 Cultmaster

The Cultmaster went unchallenged and I built up quite a nest egg of card advantage, culminating in BGHing his on-curve Ironbark, at which point he conceded to me.

4-2

[The Glyphstone]

Spidertank, Spidertank, does whatever a spidertank does...

[GAAD]

Game 7: VS Shaman

Topdeck Wars

Topdeck Ironbark
Topdeck Hex

Plays Questing Adventurer, goes unchallenged, and it bashes my face in.

4 Wins!

Glyphstone's draft!

[The Glyphstone]

Ulp. Alrighty then...



Round 2: Class Selection:
SHAMAN, WARLOCK, or PALADIN?

[Zevox]

Meh, I wouldn't even have known what to expect as far as wins if I were piloting that deck. It had some good cheap cards and a high chance to activate Tinkertown Techs, so it could just win a lot off strong starts, but it also had some garbage, and drawing too much of that could cost you an otherwise-winnable game. And my own experience with Druids in arena has been very inconsistent.

New one: Warlock, because everybody plays Paladin (or Mage) in arena, and Warlock is probably rarer than Shaman.

[The Glyphstone]

Pick 1: Lightwarden, Ancient Watcher, Demonwrath

[GAAD]

Unless you REALLY want to push your luck for Handlock, Demonwrath over garbage.

[Mando Knight]

Demonwrath. The other two are terrible without activators, neither of which is all that likely in Arena. Demonwrath at least acts like a mini-Hellfire that ignores any Demons you might draft.

[The Glyphstone]

DEMONWRATH over garbage.

#2: Darkbomb, Mad Bomber, or Explosive Sheep

Very...volatile set of cards.

[GAAD]

I'd take Bomber for stats. Besides, who knows? You might get a Darkbomb off it.

[Anxe]

I'd go with Darkbomb.

[Zevox]

Darkbomb and Mad Bomber are both good, it's a close call. Darkbomb is better as a "fast" card to help you catch up or press an advantage, but Mad Bomber is value as a minion and damage, especially in the early game against things like Worgen Infiltrator. There's an argument to be made for either one.

Me, I think I'd have to consider it for a moment, but end up taking Darkbomb, just because lack of such "fast" cards to catch up with can get you killed if the opening exchanges don't go your way.

[The Glyphstone]

Taking DARKBOMB then, because Bomber always betrays me.

#3:Archmage, Imp Gang Boss, or Worgen Infiltrator.

Infiltrator, or start building Demon synergy?

[GAAD]

Imp Gang Boss best common. It doesn't matter about synergy, that thing is guaranteed to be AT LEAST a 3/5 for 3.

[Mando Knight]

Worgen is really good, but since you already have a Demonwrath, I'd go with the Gang Boss.

[The Glyphstone]

Imp Gang Boss for value and synergy, then.

#4: Blackwing Corruptor, Flying Machine, or Darkscale Healer.

[Zevox]

Hm, well, obviously not Flying Machine. So do we go for the 5-drop with the slightly preferable stat line and the non-conditional effect, or the one that's more powerful if we get its effect to activate? This early in the draft there's still the chance to pick up some good Dragons along the way.

Eh, I think I'd end up taking Darkscale Healer. I just can't bring myself to bank on getting synergy cards in the future for the Corruptor, even though it's not that much worse than the Healer if we don't get them.

[The Glyphstone]

I like Healer myself too - it's a free activation of my hero power if nothing else, on a not-terrible statline.

DARKSCALE HEALER.

#5: Wisp, Flame Imp, or Priestess of Elune.

[GAAD]

Flame Imp over garbage.

[The Glyphstone]

FLAME IMP over mega-garbage.

#6: Shattered Sun Cleric, Reckless Rocketeer, or Tauren Warrior.

[GAAD]

Hmm. Cleric is solid, but Rocketeer is burst. Honestly, comparing Rocketeer to Argent Commander, a Divine Shield is worth the 1 less attack, but we're not sure you'd get that. As 6-drops go, Rocketeer is kinda weak. I'd go with Cleric.

[Kish]

Absolutely, cleric.

[The Glyphstone]

SHATTERED SUN CLERIC.

#7: Harvest Golem, Shattered Sun Cleric #2, Harvest Creeper.

Lots of good value here. I'm thinking the Creeper, since it's a good 2-drop and have none of them ATM.

[GAAD]

Looking at net stats golem is a 4/4 and creeper is a 3/4. Creeper is much more annoying to deal with though, due to having three bodies instead of two. I would go creeper here.

[Zevox]

It's too early in the draft to be worried about not having 2s quite yet, and Harvest Golem is the better card. I'd definitely take it.

Plus you got the Flame Imp, which serves the same main purpose as a 2 and comes out on 1.

@ GAAD - Rocketeer is burst, but bad burst. 5 damage for 6 mana isn't good without some other upside (see Holy Fire's healing or Starfire's card draw for examples), and Rocketeer doesn't have one. Argent Commander is a far better card because it can trade two-for-one easily, thanks to the charge + divine shield combo. That pick wasn't even close: Shattered Sun is the best card in it by a landslide.

[The Glyphstone]

Zevox makes a good argument, so HARVEST GOLEM it is.

#8: Imp Gang Boss #2, Harvest Golem #2, or Jungle Panther.

[GAAD]

Make your imps some offers they can't refuse. While Panther is pretty good, IGB has the stats of a four drop, or a five drop of you get two imps off it. Of course, an Imp Gang Boss can be directly compared to the Harvest Golem, with a worst case scenario being -1/+1

[Zevox]

Wow, IGB vs Harvest Golem, close call there. I'd say having Demonwrath gives the Imp the edge though.

[The Glyphstone]

IMP GANG BOSS it is then.

#8: Windfury Harpy, Wolf Rider, or River Crocolisk.

I'm tempted to take the Crocolisk here, because I'm already up to 4 3-drops with no 2-drops, Wolf Rider is kind of fragile, and Harpy is just bad.

[GAAD]

IMP GANG BOSS it is then.

#8: Windfury Harpy, Wolf Rider, or River Crocolisk.

I'm tempted to take the Crocolisk here, because I'm already up to 4 3-drops with no 2-drops, Wolf Rider is kind of fragile, and Harpy is just bad.

Oh yeah. 2/3 over garbage.

[The Glyphstone]

#9: Questing Adventurer, Demolisher, or Ancient Watcher.

Bleh.

[GAAD]

Questing Adventurer is a potential snowball; the other two are *garbage*. Take the Questing and curse our luck.

[Zevox]

Choice 8: Yeah, Croc was correct. It's not great, but it's a reasonable 2. There may be times when Wolfrider is preferable, but with what we've drafted so far, this definitely isn't one of them.

Current pick: Well, not Watcher. Questing Adventurer and Demolisher are both gimmicky cards with the potential to win games if the opponent fails to deal with them, but which are more often than not much less impressive than that. That said, it's on average easier to get some good use out of the Adventurer than the Demolisher, so I suppose we take him.

[The Glyphstone]

QUESTING ADVENTURER.

#10: Bloodsail Corsair, Felguard, or Imp-losion.

Pretty sure this is a shoo-in for Implosion, but formalities must be obeyed.

[Fleeing Coward]

If I said Bloodsail would you pick it? :smalltongue:

Seriously though, Implosion's the pick.

[The Glyphstone]

BLOODSAIL CORSAIR for irony.


...

Kidding. Imp-losion.


#11: Salty Dog, Priestess of Elune, or Hellfire.

Not impressed.

[Fleeing Coward]

Hellfire isn't horrible at least.

[Zevox]

Hellfire's good. Sometimes hard to make use of without hurting yourself too much in this format, but strong AoE is always a big deal in arena, one of the few ways you can come back from any significant deficit of board control. It could be the pick even if it were up against better cards than those two, but with that kind of competition especially, it's a no-brainer.

[The Glyphstone]

HELLFIRE it is then. We'll resume in the morning with

#12: Youthful Brewmaster, Soulfire, or Puddlestomper.

[Gandariel]

Easy brewmaster here.

Also, I agree on all the earlier picks but one: i would have taken Demolisher (it is really strong if you have board control)

And, Imp Gang Boss is the strongest 3-drop for warlock.not even a comparison with anything else (even Harvest golem or similar)

[Fleeing Coward]

I'd agree with you that this is an easy pick but I'd say that the easy pick is Soulfire here.
Even with the 1 cost it's still good.

[Anxe]

I'd go Brewmaster. The bounce and heal effect is pretty useful and you can play around it being a bad thing in the early game by dropping the Brewmaster on an empty board.

[Jormengand]

Yeah, the extra 2 damage from soulfire isn't worth the anticantrip, whereas the brewmaster's effect is either useful or ignorable.

[The Glyphstone]

BREWMASTER it is.

#13: Flame Imp #2, Dire Wolf Alpha, or Raid Leader

[GAAD]

Is having another Flame Imp this early really necessary? Of course. Great aggrieved one drop. We probably shouldn't take more than two though. And there is a case for DWA. If we're going aggressive, or even Tempo, we can do a lot of favorable trades. I'd take the Wolf here, just because of how important tempo is in arena.

[The Glyphstone]

DIRE WOLF ALPHA.

#14: Raging Worgen, Volcanic Drake, or Neru'bar Weblord.

[GAAD]

Weblord is... okay in some decks, which this deck is not one of. 3 mana Flame imp is terrible Flame imp.
Worgen is a 3/3 for 3, which is okay. It is, however, hard to activate its effect.
Drake is a 6/4 for 6, which is terrible. Drake is ideally played after trading minions or board clearing, as a "win more" card after trashing the board. Played from behind, it's a horrible 6-drop. I'd consider it if we had a Twisting Nether, or a Recombobulator (because Board clear - 0 mana Drake - Recombobulator is an excellent combo that got me 6 wins singlehandedly once), but we seem to be making a more aggressive deck, and I don't think that card fits in there... except for the synergy with Imp Gang Boss.

If the opponent plays a big taunt (which is likely) and force us to trade in... suddenly Drake seems less like a Combo card. As six drops go, it's pretty weak, but if you trade 1 for 1, it's a somewhat-okay 4-drop. If you get it cheaper EARLY, it's even better. It kinda sucks in several situations, but I'd say on its own it's better than the other two options.

Plus it's a Dragon, so who knows, right?

[The Glyphstone]

Indeed. so VOLCANIC DRAGON over meh, garbage, and has possible synergy.

#15: Frost Elemental, Spiteful Smith, or Shadow Bolt.

Removal, or solid body?

[thirsting]

Yes, Volcanic Drake. Often comes down to 3 or 4 mana, at least in my experience. Edit: Augh, too late.

Frost Elemental! ...but Shadow Bolt is good too.

[Jormengand]

I'd take shadow bolt - it's pretty decent removal and you could use some of that.

[Anxe]

Frost Elemental is always better when my opponent has it... I'd go with that or Spiteful Smith

[The Glyphstone]

Smith is nice, but this deck is favoring an aggressive early game, so SHADOW BOLT it is. More removal is always nice.


HALFTIME RECAP:

(1) Flame Imp
(2) Darkbomb
(2) Dire Wolf Alpha
(2) River Crocolisk
(2) Youthful Brewmaster
(3) Demonwrath
(3) Shadow Bolt
(3) Imp Gang Boss x2
(3) Questing Adventurer
(3) Shattered Sun Cleric
(4) Hellfire
(4) Imp-Losion
(5) Darkscale Healer
(6) Volcanic Drake



Pick #17 (I missed a number somewhere, but there are 16 cards taken so far):

Imp Gang Boss x3!!, Gilbin Stalker, or Clockwork Gnome?

[GAAD]

Become the Imp Godfather. Believe in the power of Imps. 5 3-drop minions is quite good, at any rate.

[Jormengand]

I am Imp, creator of imps.

[The Glyphstone]

Draft ALL THE IMPS!!!!

#18: Tinkertown Technician, Voidwalker, or Haunted Creeper.

[Zevox]

Disagreements with previous picks:

#13: Easy Flame Imp. It's the best or second-best 1-drop in arena, with the only competition being Zombie Chow. 1-drops with the stats of 2-drops are just great in general, so Flame Imp is a top pick for Warlock. The Dire Wolf has some synergy with the Imp Bosses, but it's too early in the draft to commit to making a low-curve Zoo-ish deck that has a lot of synergy with him - and even if we could, the Flame Imp would still probably be better overall.
#14: I've had mixed to poor results when I've drafted Volcanic Drake, so I'd be inclined to go with the Worgen. It's mediocre and you rarely activate the effect, but that's still acceptable.
#15: Probably Spiteful Smith, which is a good vanilla body for a 5-drop. Shadow Bolt is kind of meh as removal goes - not strong enough to kill many mid-cost targets, but costs more mana than you want to spend on low-cost targets.

Current pick: Haunted Creeper, easy. We've got enough 3s, and Voidwalker isn't very good in arena.

[The Glyphstone]

Agreed, Creeper is solid.

#18: Silvermoon Guardian, Shadow Bolt #2, or Ironbeak Owl.

Guardian sucks, so do we want a second Bolt, or the Silence?

Out of curiosity, when would it not be too early to commit to a Zoo-style deck? We're more than halfway through so far.

[GAAD]

We're quite heavy on 3-drops. I'd take the silence.

[The Glyphstone]

IRONBEAK OWL.

#20: Bloodsail Corsair, Dragon Egg, or Coldlight Oracle.

Ugh.

[Zevox]

Honestly, the Guardian might be the pick here. We've got a lot of 3s and almost nothing on 4, and it's not terrible, just sub-par. It even has some synergy with the Dire Wolf.

If not, Shadow Bolt. Removal over silence on a bad body - it's less situational.


Out of curiosity, when would it not be too early to commit to a Zoo-style deck? We're more than halfway through so far.
We weren't when that Imp vs Wolf pick happened. And personally, I wouldn't assume I have a good grasp of what the final deck will look like until I'm at least 2/3 of the way through a draft. Too much chance for RNG to throw you for a loop before that point.

[The Glyphstone]

Good point, but too late. Call it a misdraft. This round is #20, and just sucks all around....Dragon Egg is probably the 'best', since i have the Wolf and can 'activate' it with my own Hellfire or Demonwrath. But it's still garbage.

[Jormengand]

Uhm... I honestly don't even know what to pick here. Tempted by D Egg to annoy low-flying warriors (or mage/rogue with arc explo/fan of knives) but no real clue. I like to think that you have a better use for the cards Coldlight gives you than your opponent does but you probably don't, but you do have a brewmaster to reactivate it if your opponent's hand's full, so...

Coldlight? Not sure.

[Zevox]

It's either the Egg or Coldlight Oracle. Egg we've got two good activators for (Dire Wolf and Shattered Sun Cleric) and two bad (Demonwrath and Hellfire), so at least some. Question is, is card draw better, even given the opponent gets it as well?

I think I'd go Coldlight. Not enough good activators for the egg for my taste. If it were Nerubian Egg I'd probably take it, but Dragon Egg is just not nearly as good as Nerubian Egg.

[The Glyphstone]

Fair. Two 0-cost hero power toggles will help this deck go aggressive, as it's increasingly oriented towards. I've got no hard kill yet, though, which is a concern - beefy taunts will be a big problem, so that Owl may be useful even on its subpar body.

#21: Sense Demons, Power Overwhelming, or Dread Infernal.

Damn, these are actually some pretty good choices. SD is normally bad, but will let me tutor out the Bosses. PO lets my little guys handle big taunts or other threats. DI is a solid body with a synergistic battlecry.

[Zevox]

Sense Demons is going to be too slow with the way this deck is turning out, I think. So Power Overwhelming vs Dread Infernal - normally I'd take Infernal without much question there, but in this deck, Power might be correct. Especially due to its synergy with Imp Gang Boss and Imp-losion tokens.

Yeah, Power Overwhelming, I think.

[The Glyphstone]

POWER OVERWHELMING.

#22: Ogre Magi, Murloc Raider, or Spiteful Smith.

Ogre is mediocre, but we've got a fair bit of AOE spell synergy for it to augment. Spiteful Smith is more reliable as a solid body though.

[Draz74]

Spiteful Smith. Most of the Warlock cards that benefit from Spell Damage also hurt you, so Ogre Magi isn't very appealing.

[The Glyphstone]

Yeah, good point. Not sure why I considered Magi.

SPITEFUL SMITH.

#23: Silverback Patriarch, Priestess of Elune, or Volcanic Drake #2.

How did Drake become the good card in this pick?

[Draz74]

Yeah, Drake over garbage.

[Gandariel]

Earlier disagreements:

Pick 13 : Absolutely, positively DO pick Flame Imp. I'd take four or five if i could.

Pick 15: I would have taken Frost Elemental >(slightly) Spiteful Smith > Shadow Bolt. But all of those are close-ish.

Pick 18: Owl is terrible in Arena. I would have taken Shadow bolt if I didn't have any. As of now, i would have taken Silvermoon Guardian (which is not *that* bad, it's like a 3/5-ish)

Pick 20: Definitely not Dragon Egg. It's terrible, even with a few activators. you have to SPEND resources to have a 2/1? pathetic.
Bloodsail Corsair is not THAT bad, it's basically Ooze (most weapons have 2 durability and you spend one immediately when you play it, so the effect is pretty much the same as Ooze). It was a toss-up between Bloodsail and the Murloc, probably the murloc was correct anyways.

[The Glyphstone]

VOLCANIC DRAKE #2 then.

#24: Jungle Panther, Flying Machine, or Frost Elemental.

[Zevox]

We've got plenty of 3s. Frost Elemental over Jungle Panther and garbage machine.

[The Glyphstone]

FROST ELEMENTAL.


#25: Earthen Ring Farseer, Volcanic Drake #3, or Soulfire.

Goddammit.

[Zevox]

This draft really wants us to play 3 Mana: The Deck, doesn't it?

Soulfire, I think. We just can't keep stacking more 3-drops in there, and there's no way a third Volcanic Drake could be correct here.

[The Glyphstone]

It does, my curve is very weird.

Soulfire it shall be then. As solid as Farseer is, I've got too many 3s.

#26: Sacrifical Pact, River Crocolisk #2, or Razorfen Hunter.

With all the imps I'm spitting out, Sac Pact is weirdly tempting, even though I know it's bad.

[Jormengand]

#26: Sacrifical Pact, River Crocolisk #2, or Razorfen Hunter.

With all the imps I'm spitting out, Sac Pact is weirdly tempting, even though I know it's bad.

I'd go razorfen but you have too many 3s, so river croc.

[Draz74]

I like River Croc better than Razorfen even without curve considerations. But you're right, having the ability to Sac Pact an imp is tempting. :smallwink:

[Fleeing Coward]

River Croc is better than razorfen even if you didn't have all those 3 drops.

I'm honestly surprised at how many people here thinks Brewmaster is better than Soulfire.
It was an auto pick when it was 0 mana but even at 1 mana it's still much better than Brewmaster especially when at the time of the draft, we had no value creatures to even Brewmaster back. That's not even mentioning the fact that it's not a free heal on value creatures as you're paying the creature's mana cost again to get the heal.

[Jormengand]

I'm honestly surprised at how many people here thinks Brewmaster is better than Soulfire.

It was an auto pick when it was 0 mana but even at 1 mana it's still much better than Brewmaster especially when at the time of the draft, we had no value creatures to even Brewmaster back. That's not even mentioning the fact that it's not a free heal on value creatures as you're paying the creature's mana cost again to get the heal.

Saving a creature by putting it back in your hand, even if you have to pay for it, is better than making 1-for-2 trades to save two points of mana.

[Zevox]

I'm honestly surprised at how many people here thinks Brewmaster is better than Soulfire.
It was an auto pick when it was 0 mana but even at 1 mana it's still much better than Brewmaster especially when at the time of the draft, we had no value creatures to even Brewmaster back. That's not even mentioning the fact that it's not a free heal on value creatures as you're paying the creature's mana cost again to get the heal.
Eh, we didn't have many 2s at the time, and a 3/2 with a potential upside is always nice to have there. And I do think that Soulfire is much more questionable post-nerf - there really is a big difference between no mana cost and 1 mana. (See also: how much better Backstab is than Holy Smite/Arcane Shot, despite its extra condition.)

[Anxe]

Eh, we didn't have many 2s at the time, and a 3/2 with a potential upside is always nice to have there. And I do think that Soulfire is much more questionable post-nerf - there really is a big difference between no mana cost and 1 mana. (See also: how much better Backstab is than Holy Smite/Arcane Shot, despite its extra condition.)

Part of Backstab being so good is that it activates combos, something the other two don't need to worry about.

I didn't think Soulfire was a good draft pre-nerf either though. Arena is often about grinding down your opponent until they have to topdeck. Soulfire makes that happen faster for you instead of for your opponent.

And River Croc would be my vote right now.

[Fleeing Coward]

Saving a creature by putting it back in your hand, even if you have to pay for it, is better than making 1-for-2 trades to save two points of mana.

Only if you're in a top deck or almost top deck position. Otherwise, you're trading card advantage for a loss in tempo and board presence both of which can generate card advantage too.


Eh, we didn't have many 2s at the time, and a 3/2 with a potential upside is always nice to have there. And I do think that Soulfire is much more questionable post-nerf - there really is a big difference between no mana cost and 1 mana. (See also: how much better Backstab is than Holy Smite/Arcane Shot, despite its extra condition.)

It's a 3/2 with a very real downside too especially in more aggressive decks.
It's no longer an auto pick because of the nerf but it's still extremely good. There is no other card that gives you 4 damage to any target for 1 and 4 damage is much more relevent in a meta where there's quite a few more playable 4 health minions especially at the 3 mana cost range.


I didn't think Soulfire was a good draft pre-nerf either though. Arena is often about grinding down your opponent until they have to topdeck. Soulfire makes that happen faster for you instead of for your opponent.

Check Trump's old arena tiers. He rated Soulfire below only Chillwind and Imp. I think most other arena veterans would rank it pretty close to that too back then.

[The Glyphstone]

River Crocolisk seems to be the fan favorite.

#27: Injured Blademaster, Alarm-O-Bot, or Shadowflame.

This is a shoo-in, I believe. 2 3-drops, one of which is bad, against a single-side AoE damage spell?

[Zevox]

Pretty obvious, yep. Shadowflame all the way.

[The Glyphstone]

Good, cause the next round is dreadful.

#28: Thrallmar Farseer, Stonetusk Boar, or Sense Demons.

[GAAD]

Boar. You have WAY too many three drops, we've already established Sense Demons is too slow for this deck, and a 1-mana ping MIGHT be useful. Boar over garbage.

[Fleeing Coward]

Thrallmar Farseer

Better garbage that they have to remove than a garbage 1 drop.

[Anxe]

I'd go Farseer. 3 drops are good in Arena! And you can always use the heal on yourself with Warlock.

[The Glyphstone]

I'd go Farseer. 3 drops are good in Arena! And you can always use the heal on yourself with Warlock.

That's Earthen Ring Farseer. Thrallmar Farseer is the 2/3 Windfury, and my 3-slot is jam packed full right now.


GAAD makes a good case...garbage 1-drop over garbage 3-drop. Even if they spend for hero power to kill it, that's a turn of tempo I gained for my 3-drop onslaught.

#29: Dread Corsair, Abusive Sergeant, or War Golem.

Sergeant fits the aggressive theme and curve, but War Golem is the first serious beef we've gotten all game, and I'll need something fat to break through late-game taunts if I can't burst someone down fast enough. Right now, a Druid drafting a single Ironbark is basically game over.

[GAAD]

Look. This deck is fast enough that y the time playing War Golem is a good idea, you've already lost. Take the Sergeant for greater Face damage.

[The Glyphstone]

YOLO Sergeant it is, then. And drumroll....for our final card....

#30, Epic Round:

TWISTING NETHER: 8 Mana, Destroy All Minions.

...

DEMONHEART: 5 Mana, Deal 5 damage to a minion, or give a friendly Demon +5/+5.

Or...

ANIMA GOLEM. 6 Mana, 9/9. Destroy this minion at the end of each turn if it is your only minion.

[Destro_Yersul]

None of those are super great. Anima Golem could be fun?

[Zevox]

Well, this is pretty clear: Demonheart. You've got a solid number demons for it to buff, it's reasonable removal even in the event that you can't use it for a buff, and it's up against a garbage minion and a spell that is pretty much exactly the opposite of what a deck like this wants.

[Anxe]

Ah. My bad on the Farseer.

Anima Golem works with the minion flood. Demonheart works with the demon thing you already have going. How many demons at this point?

[Fleeing Coward]

Twisting Nether could technically be his Hail Mary after he inevitably losses board control in a long game but I agree that Demonheart's the way to go here.

[The Glyphstone]

Demon count is 1 Flame Imp, 3 Imp Gang Bosses. the Bosses will produce more Imps, as will my single Imp-Losion.

[Anxe]

That's enough for me! Unless you want to enjoy the Anima Golem funnies I'd go Demonheart. Ehn removal spell or amazing buff.

[Gandariel]

Eeeasy Demonheart. I run one in my demonlock deck, and i've had reasonable success with it.

You do have enough demons to pull it off, so go nuts.

[The Glyphstone]

Looks like it's unanimous that our final card is Demonheart.

Final Card list, christened 3Drop.dec.

(1) Power Overwhelming
(1) Soulfire
(1) Abusive Sergeant
(1) Flame Imp
(1) Stonetusk Boar
(2) Darkbomb
(2) Dire Wolf Alpha
(2) Haunted Creeper
(2) Ironbeak Owl
(2) River Crocolisk x2
(2) Youthful Brewmaster
(3) Demonwrath
(3) Shadow Bolt
(3) Coldlight Oracle
(3) Harvest Golem
(3) Imp Gang Boss x3
(3) Questing Adventurer
(3) Shattered Sun Cleric
(4) Hellfire
(4) Imp-Losion
(4) Shadowflame
(5) Demonheart
(5) Darkscale Healer
(5) Spiteful Smith
(6) Frost Elemental
(6) Volcanic Drake x2


0:
1: XXXXX
2: XXXXXXX
3: XXXXXXXXX
4: XXX
5: XXX
6: XXX


Taking bets now on how well we do. Caveat: I'm bad at arena, and bad at the game in general. I've only ever gone 12-0 once in my life, most of my matches end at 4 wins or less. Subcaveat: My ladder deck is Zoolock. Sub-sub-caveat: My highest ladder rank is 15.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

You'll have issues if you can't kill them early, but hey, that looks like a pretty strong deck otherwise. 6 wins

[GAAD]

That described the last deck, which went 4 wins

[The Glyphstone]

yeah, I'm going to have to play this more like a Face Hunter than a Zoo, since I don't have any burst combo or endgame threats. Only time I deliberately make trades will be to enable a cheap Drake.

[Mando Knight]

If you're bad at Arena, then I'll guess 3.

[Draz74]

4 wins sounds about right. But then, I might be biased since that's probably my most common result in Arena in general.

[The Glyphstone]

Round 1 vs. WARRIOR

T1 Flame imp into T2 Crocolisk into T3 Gang Boss, into a trade for T4 Drake. Hit his face constantly, I think I panicked him because he started Armoring Up on T3 instead of dropping from the hand. Curbstomp, only damage I took was self-inflicted.

1-0.




Round 2 vs. PALADIN

No real standout plays, but I had to trade a lot because of how many Taunts and Shields he spat out. Beat me down to 20ish before I stabilized, but then I swarmed him under.

2-0.


Round 3 vs. MAGE

Turn 1 Mana Wyrm into Coin into Mirror Image. It just goes downhill from there.

2-1.

Round 4 vs. PALADIN

Almost get this one, but then he starts busting out every healing card in the game. 2 Truesilvers, 2 Guardians, 3 Farseers...pretty sure I misplayed a few times, but still, it went down to both of us about to hit fatigue before he took it with a Gurubashi Berzerker.

2-2.


Round 5 vs. DRUID

I had no right winning this. Made some bad early misplays and ended up at 15 health before I got a hit in on him...but some how, I stabilized at around 5 health and started beating face while he Shapeshifted me down 1 HP at a time. Double Volcanic Drakes, hardcast back to back, saved me in the end with a Frost Elemental to tie him down for one crucial turn. Ended at 1 HP, as I draw my Darkscale Healer and kill him.

3-2.


ROUND 6 vs. SHAMAN

Another early, fast assault that he couldn't recover from.

4-2.


He opened with Squire, Minibot, and Annoy-o-Tron for a very solid early defense. The match ended up pretty close, but he was able to overpower me with shields and taunts i couldn't draw answers to.

4-3 LOSS, and END.


70 Gold, and a pack (2x Warbot, Recycle, Madder Bomber, Ship's Cannon). Ugh.

GAAD gets to go again, being the first person to guess 4.

[GAAD]

All righty then! Paladin/Mage/Druid

[Jormengand]

Mmm... I'd go mage. Fewer cards that you can draft that are downright bad, and you can probably manage without needing any real synergy between all your things.

[GAAD]

Mage it is!

1: Arcane Nullifier X-21/Alarm-o-Bot/Arcane Golem.

Bleh.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I'd pick Nullifier over an awful Arena pick and a really questionable pick as your #1 card. (Is Arcane Golem really good for anything if you're not already building a specific strategy?)

[Jormengand]

Arcnul for removal-resistant semi-decent taunt and not giving your opponents free wild growths or an easily-killed 0/3.

[GAAD]

ARCANE NULLIFIER X-21 over garbage

2: Ironbeak Owl/Flamecannon/Tinkertown Technician

[MacGiolla]

Flamecannon is nice removal and might combo if we get some decent cards.

Don't know how many mechs we will have to activate tinkertown, although I guess we already have one.

[GAAD]

FLAMECANNON over meh cards

3: Stampeding Kodo/Ethereal Arcanist/Secretkeeper

[Gandariel]

Kodo, easily.

Also, i would have picked Arcane golem as first pick. From turn 6-7 on the effect is barely noticeable, and it's 4 burst damage that can come in handy.

[GAAD]

STAMPEDING KODO over tech cards

4: Dread Corsair/Arcane Explosion/Drakonid Crusher

[CantigThimble]

Easy crusher, the other two are awful. Crusher makes dragon synergy slightly better and actually has solid stats for its cost.

[Jormengand]

I might take arc explo on a ton of spell power +, but since you have none right now... crusher.

[GAAD]

DRAKONIC CRUSHER for decent drop

5: Wild Pyromancer/Master Swordsmith/Violet Teacher

[Jormengand]

Pay Attention Class on the basis of not killing your own stuff + itself and not, uh, being a kind of card that mage doesn't really need.

[GAAD]

VIOLET TEACHER over garbage

6: Goldshire Footman/Wolfrider/Raging Worgen

[Jormengand]

Ooh... half-decent charge, half-decent taunt or half-decent body? I have no idea what to choose here. I'd personally take footman as a good turn 1 drop, but I don't know.

[CantigThimble]

I'd go raging worgen, its a decent body and has the potential to just win the game for a mage if they aren't able to contest it immediately. Wolfrider is often outshone by frostbolt and the host of other mage removals.

[Zevox]

Ooh... half-decent charge, half-decent taunt or half-decent body? I have no idea what to choose here. I'd personally take footman as a good turn 1 drop, but I don't know.
:smallconfused: What? Goldshire Footman is terrible. It's one of the archetypal examples of a bad card: trades with almost nothing and doesn't have the durability to make the taunt matter. It's down there with Wisp as one of the worst commons in the game.

Raging Worgen here. Wolfrider is basically unimpressive removal for his cost, where the Worgen is a 3/3 for 3 with a potential upside, and better in Mage than in other classes. Mediocre, but certainly the best of the bunch.

I may have taken the Pyromancer on the last pick, incidentally. Mostly because 2-drops are so important, and Teacher isn't such an amazing 4 that I'd auto-pick it over a 3/2 for 2 without a good number of spells already in the deck. It is close, though.

[Draz74]

Definitely Raging Worgen.

On the previous pick, I probably would have agreed with Violet Teacher, but Zevox is right: Pyro is close.

[Mando Knight]

Agreed on Worgen. Wolfrider is only situationally good (and rarely so in Mage, which has a lot of common and efficient removal in the pool), and Goldshire is straight-up bad (best case scenario, he takes down two Imps or Silver Hand Recruits. More commonly, he's a speed bump).

[GAAD]

RAGING WORGEN over garbage

7: Core Hound/Hungry Dragon/Frost Nova

[Zevox]

Hungry Dragon, not even a question.

[Mando Knight]

Yeah, even if Hungry Dragon has been disappointing for a lot of people, it's still better than Core Hound or Frost Nova.

[The Glyphstone]

Especially for Mage, who has a better-than-even chance of being able to hero power away the free minion.

[GAAD]

HUNGRY DRAGON over garbage

8: Earthen Ring Farseer/Fireball/War Golem

[Fleeing Coward]

Fireball, next pick.

[GAAD]

FIREBALL for its firebally goodness

9: Cult Master/Water Elemental/Amani Beserker

Gah! So much VALUE! :(

[Zevox]

Water Elemental, easy. The other two are decent to good, but Water Elemental is a top pick.

[GAAD]

Water Elemental for Value

10: Junkbot/Murloc Warleader/Spellbender

REALLY?

[Fleeing Coward]

Spellbender wins that battle of the garbage epics.

[Zevox]

Spellbender wins that battle of the garbage epics.
Spellbender over a 3/3 for 3? Really? Can't say I agree. Spellbender is too likely to never trigger, or to end up catching only a spare part or some such. The Warleader is at least decent for the cost, as long as the opponent doesn't have any Murlocs in play, which they usually won't since most are bad.

[GAAD]

MURLOC WARLEADER over Krapparian

11: Spider Tank/Zombie Chow/Piloted Shredder

Oh, now you give me three OP cards to pick from. Suuure.

[Fleeing Coward]

Spellbender over a 3/3 for 3? Really? Can't say I agree. Spellbender is too likely to never trigger, or to end up catching only a spare part or some such. The Warleader is at least decent for the cost, as long as the opponent doesn't have any Murlocs in play, which they usually won't since most are bad.

Yes, I'd pick Spellbender over Warleader any day of the week. You'd be surprised how many players don't play around Spellbender or just plain don't have the cards available to profitably play around it in arena. You can't always just assume the worst case scenario every time.
(I will say that I've always liked a gamble though. While Warleader is the safe option, I'll always go for the card that has the potential to win you games when it works.)

Shredder edges out Spider Tank. Zombie Chow while normally a decent pick is a distant third in this lot of 3.

[Zevox]

Yes, I'd pick Spellbender over Warleader any day of the week. You'd be surprised how many players don't play around Spellbender or just plain don't have the cards available to profitably play around it in arena. You can't always just assume the worst case scenario every time.
Not playing around it I can see, though that's mostly because it's so rare, since it's both an epic and not very good. But I think the likelihood of it being effective is entirely too low to pass a card with average stats for its cost in favor it. If that third card had been a Wee Spellstopper or Ice Block or something I'd say take Spellbender, but not over Murloc Warleader.


Shredder edges out Spider Tank. Zombie Chow while normally a decent pick is a distant third in this lot of 3.
I might actually argue Chow to be second of the bunch - a good 1-drop that can't be killed by a hero power has a lot of use for establishing the lead early, more so I think than a 3 with above-average stats typically does. But yeah, Shredder is the top pick out of the three.

[Fleeing Coward]

Not playing around it I can see, though that's mostly because it's so rare, since it's both an epic and not very good. But I think the likelihood of it being effective is entirely too low to pass a card with average stats for its cost in favor it. If that third card had been a Wee Spellstopper or Ice Block or something I'd say take Spellbender, but not over Murloc Warleader.

The thing is, half the time the reason Spellbender doesn't trigger is because if your opponent is good and does work it out, they're just not going to be playing the cards that trigger it. It still does it's job of blanking some of the best spells in game even if you don't see it. Like I said, I'm a gambler so I'll always take the occasionally spectacular over the always mediocre.


I might actually argue Chow to be second of the bunch - a good 1-drop that can't be killed by a hero power has a lot of use for establishing the lead early, more so I think than a 3 with above-average stats typically does. But yeah, Shredder is the top pick out of the three.

Chow is great on curve but once it gets to the late game it becomes a liability since the deathrattle often makes it unplayable if you don't draw it within the first 2-3 turns. Tank on the other hand has above average stats for it's cost, acts as an enabler sometimes because it is a mech and even though it ain't amazing when drawn late, at least you can still play it.

[Gandariel]

Whoa,whoa.
Zombie Chow a distant third?
I believe it's *very* close between Chow and Shredder. I am frankly tempted to pick the chow, since we're low on 2s

Zombie chow on the first turns can be devastating, and the drawback usually doesn't matter. The deck we're building doesn't look aggressive, I would gladly take two or three Chows in most of my Arena decks.

To put it another way;
For every time I've said "aw, my opponent is at low health, it's turn 7+ and I just drew Chow" there is a "YES! Chow in opening hand, not getting rushed today! "

and frankly, with a board control style deck (which this is shaping up to be) the opponent's health doesn't really matter much.

Zombie chow has the power to single handedly make your opening hand good.ish.

A quote I heard from a tounament: "playing Hunter against Paladin is kinda risky. They can very well open Chow, Shielded Minibot, Aldoor/Muster and then you have really no chance of having any board control"

[Fleeing Coward]

Whoa,whoa.
Zombie Chow a distant third?
I believe it's *very* close between Chow and Shredder. I am frankly tempted to pick the chow, since we're low on 2s

Zombie chow on the first turns can be devastating, and the drawback usually doesn't matter. The deck we're building doesn't look aggressive, I would gladly take two or three Chows in most of my Arena decks.

To put it another way;
For every time I've said "aw, my opponent is at low health, it's turn 7+ and I just drew Chow" there is a "YES! Chow in opening hand, not getting rushed today! "

and frankly, with a board control style deck (which this is shaping up to be) the opponent's health doesn't really matter much.

Zombie chow has the power to single handedly make your opening hand good.ish.

A quote I heard from a tounament: "playing Hunter against Paladin is kinda risky. They can very well open Chow, Shielded Minibot, Aldoor/Muster and then you have really no chance of having any board control"

Distant probably isn't the right word, it's actually relatively close to Spider Tank although Spider Tank is the better card in my opinion. The margin between Shredder and those 2 though is much bigger (I'd only ever take Fireball and the first or second Flamestrike over Shredder unless it's very late in the draft and your curve has serious problems that you need to draft a low drop)

The problem is this isn't constructed, you can't consciously make this a full control deck because you want to, you go with what you're given. Your chances of drawing it on turn one even with a full mulligan isn't actually that high and any turn after that, it's really just a river croc with a downside most of the time.

[Gandariel]

I'd easily take Fireball, Flamestrike AND Water Elemental over Shredder.

And frankly, I think Yeti is pretty much as good as Shredder, depending on your deck.

[Fleeing Coward]

I'd still take Shredder over Water Elemental but I wouldn't fault anyone for taking the Elemental since it is a very solid card.
Yeti on the other hand is a closer to Spider Tank in terms of value and I think it is always wrong to take it over Shredder.

[Zevox]

Chow is great on curve but once it gets to the late game it becomes a liability since the deathrattle often makes it unplayable if you don't draw it within the first 2-3 turns. Tank on the other hand has above average stats for it's cost, acts as an enabler sometimes because it is a mech and even though it ain't amazing when drawn late, at least you can still play it.
Chow is almost never unplayable - its deathrattle only becomes a liability if you're in a near-winning position with the opponent low on health but struggling to get in the last points of damage before the opponent stabilizes. Later in the game it is weaker than it is on turn 1, but that's true of a lot of low-cost cards anyway, and it's amazing on turn 1. And with how important winning the early game can be in arena, I think a truly great 1-2 drop is probably generally more important to grab up than a good 3-drop.

Re: Shredder - Yeti and Water Elemental are both very close to Shredder overall I think. Each can be situationally better than the other in fairly common scenarios. I'd slightly favor Shredder over Yeti, and it basically ties with Water Elemental in my mind. I'd hate to have to pick between those two.

[Gandariel]

I'd still take Shredder over Water Elemental but I wouldn't fault anyone for taking the Elemental since it is a very solid card.
Yeti on the other hand is a closer to Spider Tank in terms of value and I think it is always wrong to take it over Shredder.

Yeti has 5 health. That's really a lot more than 4. I honestly don't know which one I'd choose, but in no way I think Shredder is absolutely better than Yeti.

And Water Elemental, I really think it's just amazing. It either kills two things, or kills one thing and then sacrifices into a huge minion, or draws the best removal spell from your opponent. Oh, and massacres Rogues. (But priests make me sad)

The freeze also synergizes with the Hero power, so that you can attack a minion and ping it twice before it can act.

[CantigThimble]

I used to share the opinion about shredder being *the best* 4 drop, but I'm not so sure after recent arenas. It's great against AOE, which is why its so good in constructed, but in arena minion trades are much more important, and I often find shredder going down to 3/2 + free trade. On average I'd say shredder typically deals 5 damage to enemy minions while yeti deals 6-8 almost always.

[GAAD]

Zevox makes a strong case here, and at any rate we need early game.

ZOMBIE CHOW

12: Grimscale Oracle/Frostbolt/Sorcerer's Apprentice

[Zevox]

Um, GAAD? I was not advocating that we take Zombie Chow in that pick. I said that Piloted Shredder was the clear best of the three. We were just discussing whether Chow or Spider Tank were the second-best.

:smallsigh: Anyway, though, Frostbolt here, always nice to have those.

[GAAD]

Call it a misdraft then.

FROSTBOLT

13: Spectral Knight/Arcane Intellect/Micro Machine

[Zevox]

Hm, well, that's an actual question. Probably not Arcane Intellect over the two minions, but which minion - the 2-drop with snowballing potential or the 5-drop with solid stats that's immune to removal?

Lets see, we currently have:
(1) Chow
(2) Flamecannon
(2) Frostbolt
(3) Murloc Warleader
(3) Raging Worgen
(4) Hungry Dragon
(4) Fireball
(4) Water Elemental
(4) Violet Teacher
(4) Arcane Nullifier
(5) Stampeding Kodo
(6) Drakonid Crusher

Okay, that makes it easier. Our lack of 2-mana minions and high count of mid-cost cards seems to point towards Micro Machine for curve reasons.

[GAAD]

Thanks!

MICRO MACHINE

Dalaran Mage/Micro Machine#2/Dire Wolf Alpha