(January 6th, 2014, 19:27)Merovech Wrote: Thanks, guys. I'm still playing mid-range/control Shaman:
If anyone has any questions or suggestions, feel free to ask. Specifically, I keep wondering if there might be a better or cheaper card I can use instead of one or both of the Spellbreakers.
Looks solid. Shaman is my least played class so take my comments with a grain of salt. I'm guessing the ridiculously large amount of taunt you run helps a ton against aggro decks but you struggle against other control decks because of it.
- Why no Rockbiter Weapon? IMO it's one of the stronger all-purpose Shaman cards. I'd rather have them than a Sunfury Protector or Spellbreakers.
- More generally, what's the point of the Sunfury? You have so much taunt in the deck already (taunt totem, argus, taz'dingo, abom, sunwalker) that a Sunfury seems like overkill and its 2/3 body is not very good early game.
- I'm also surprised there's no Stormforged Axe. I'd probably swap the Axe + Rockbiter for the Sunfury + Spellbreakers.
- The Abomination seems weird to have in a Shaman deck. How many times has it wiped all your totems? I'd be terrified of that.
SirBruce Wrote:The Abomination seems weird to have in a Shaman deck. How many times has it wiped all your totems? I'd be terrified of that.
Agreed, I drafted one in a Shaman arena and I sat on it all game not wanting to play it. Eventually I did when I felt I really needed the 4/4 on the field but it hurts a Shaman too much IMO.
With all that overload in the deck I'd have an unbound elemental. I'd take out the sunfury protector for a mad bomber too.
Jowy Wrote:Try Earth Shock, it's better than it seems at first glance.
Everytime I get one my opponent plays a twilight drake, other that that its a bit weak IMO.
"We are open to all opinions as long as they are the same as ours."
SirBruce Wrote:The Abomination seems weird to have in a Shaman deck. How many times has it wiped all your totems? I'd be terrified of that.
Agreed, I drafted one in a Shaman arena and I sat on it all game not wanting to play it. Eventually I did when I felt I really needed the 4/4 on the field but it hurts a Shaman too much IMO.
With all that overload in the deck I'd have an unbound elemental. I'd take out the sunfury protector for a mad bomber too.
Jowy Wrote:Try Earth Shock, it's better than it seems at first glance.
Everytime I get one my opponent plays a twilight drake, other that that its a bit weak IMO.
Agreed about Earth Shock, except it's also amazing against Scarlet Crusader. But other than that it's on the weak side.
I've found stormforged axe to actually not be that good, besides clearing 2-health minions, which lightning storm does better. I took it out during a period of time when aggro was super popular, and playing it turn 2 just put me too far behind because of the overload. It's also not a great top-deck late game, so isn't super strong against control. I was actually very sad when I cut it; my very first golden card (and for a long time, the only that I used) was a stormforged axe. It might be worth retrying, however, especially if I ever cut forked lighting (which I want to do if aggro continues to slope off in popularity). As for rockbiter weapon...you're probably right. I should at least try it; it's basically a slightly weaker lighting bolt without the overload (big plus if playing turn 1 or turn 5)
I had an unbound elemental in there until I added the earthen ring farseers. It didn't occur to me until now to maybe cut a spellbreaker for one. A lot of the time they are reasonable 2/4s for 3, but they do often become 3/5s or 4/6s and occasionally go wild. It's definitely a card that I want to try fitting back into the deck.
The sunfury protector is pretty much just to be a 2-drop with 3 health and occasional, albeit rare, additional use. I forgot that there is a better 2-drop with 3 health because I never opened a pack with one, but I think that it is time to craft an amani beserker. I actually have a little bit of dust accumulated. This change I am making right away. I used to run bloodsail raider here, back when I was using the stormforged axes.
Totems are overrated when playing from behind. They basically only have two purposes at that point: spell power totem to boost up removal and taunt totem to buy time. The abomination does both. It is purely an anti-aggro hate card. The fact that it is a non-terrible topdeck when both boards are clear is a nice bonus, but I'd cut it in a heartbeat if I thought that I could get away with it. Also, totems are completely replaceable. I rarely worry about killing them with the abomination. A bigger problem is damaging/killing spirit wolves, but that doesn't happen too often.
Earth shock is not bad, and amazing against scarlet crusaders, argent squires, and twilight drakes, as well as cards like Ysera. However, I don't face any of the former three with any regularity outside of argent squires in aggro decks (where I'll hopefully be hitting them with AoE anyway). As it is, I currently have four cards to deal with Ragnaros, Tyrion, etc., although if I cut a spellbreaker, I'll look at earth shock. I'm not a huge fan of it, though.
As for overall matchups, I have definitely configured my deck to beat aggro at the expense of my Ysera, but I think that shaman naturally does pretty well against other control decks because the totems are very good late game, during a topdeck phase, so this is more of a "weaken strong matchup to strengthen weak ones" and they both end up at similar ratios. The only decks with which I consistently have a hard time are Warlock control, Hunter aggro, and super-big Druid control (the ones running Rag, four ancients, and two ironbarks- I just run out of answers). I have small sample sizes against Warlock control and Hunter aggro, however.
So, I think that I'm going to first try cutting a spellbreaker for an unbound and replacing the sunfury with an amani, and we'll see how that goes.
Merovech's Mapmaking Guidelines:
0. Player Requests: The player's requests take precedence, even if they contradict the following guidelines.
1. Balance: The map must be balanced, both in regards to land quality and availability and in regards to special civilization features. A map may be wonderfully unique and surprising, but, if it is unbalanced, the game will suffer and the player's enjoyment will not be as high as it could be.
2. Identity and Enjoyment: The map should be interesting to play at all levels, from city placement and management to the border-created interactions between civilizations, and should include varied terrain. Flavor should enhance the inherent pleasure resulting from the underlying tile arrangements. The map should not be exceedingly lush, but it is better to err on the lush side than on the poor side when placing terrain.
3. Feel (Avoiding Gimmicks): The map should not be overwhelmed or dominated by the mapmaker's flavor. Embellishment of the map through the use of special improvements, barbarian units, and abnormal terrain can enhance the identity and enjoyment of the map, but should take a backseat to the more normal aspects of the map. The game should usually not revolve around the flavor, but merely be accented by it.
4. Realism: Where possible, the terrain of the map should be realistic. Jungles on desert tiles, or even next to desert tiles, should therefore have a very specific reason for existing. Rivers should run downhill or across level ground into bodies of water. Irrigated terrain should have a higher grassland to plains ratio than dry terrain. Mountain chains should cast rain shadows. Islands, mountains, and peninsulas should follow logical plate tectonics.
(January 6th, 2014, 22:39)Sir Bruce Wrote: Why do you want 3-health 2-mana minions? They are much harder to trade favorably.
I just want one, as proof of protection against backstab/defias, holy smite, leper gnomes, argent squires, and loothoarders, mostly. I like having the option to drop a 3/2 or a 2/3 depending on my opponent's plays. It also acts the same as a 3/2 when trading with other 3/2s.
Merovech's Mapmaking Guidelines:
0. Player Requests: The player's requests take precedence, even if they contradict the following guidelines.
1. Balance: The map must be balanced, both in regards to land quality and availability and in regards to special civilization features. A map may be wonderfully unique and surprising, but, if it is unbalanced, the game will suffer and the player's enjoyment will not be as high as it could be.
2. Identity and Enjoyment: The map should be interesting to play at all levels, from city placement and management to the border-created interactions between civilizations, and should include varied terrain. Flavor should enhance the inherent pleasure resulting from the underlying tile arrangements. The map should not be exceedingly lush, but it is better to err on the lush side than on the poor side when placing terrain.
3. Feel (Avoiding Gimmicks): The map should not be overwhelmed or dominated by the mapmaker's flavor. Embellishment of the map through the use of special improvements, barbarian units, and abnormal terrain can enhance the identity and enjoyment of the map, but should take a backseat to the more normal aspects of the map. The game should usually not revolve around the flavor, but merely be accented by it.
4. Realism: Where possible, the terrain of the map should be realistic. Jungles on desert tiles, or even next to desert tiles, should therefore have a very specific reason for existing. Rivers should run downhill or across level ground into bodies of water. Irrigated terrain should have a higher grassland to plains ratio than dry terrain. Mountain chains should cast rain shadows. Islands, mountains, and peninsulas should follow logical plate tectonics.
(January 6th, 2014, 22:55)Merovech Wrote: I just want one, as proof of protection against backstab/defias, holy smite, leper gnomes, argent squires, and loothoarders, mostly. I like having the option to drop a 3/2 or a 2/3 depending on my opponent's plays. It also acts the same as a 3/2 when trading with other 3/2s.
I guess I think that's what Stormforged Axe is for! 2 damage clear AND you can use it for two turns. Much better than a 2/3 drop imo, even with the overload.
edit: Whoops - I misunderstood your point. I guess avoiding unfavorable 1-drop trades is okay. That's why I play rogue.
(January 6th, 2014, 22:55)Merovech Wrote: I just want one, as proof of protection against backstab/defias, holy smite, leper gnomes, argent squires, and loothoarders, mostly. I like having the option to drop a 3/2 or a 2/3 depending on my opponent's plays. It also acts the same as a 3/2 when trading with other 3/2s.
I guess I think that's what Stormforged Axe is for! 2 damage clear AND you can use it for two turns. Much better than a 2/3 drop imo, even with the overload.
edit: Whoops - I misunderstood your point. I guess avoiding unfavorable 1-drop trades is okay. That's why I play rogue.
That is definitely an option. I want to see how the amani beserker does first, however.
Merovech's Mapmaking Guidelines:
0. Player Requests: The player's requests take precedence, even if they contradict the following guidelines.
1. Balance: The map must be balanced, both in regards to land quality and availability and in regards to special civilization features. A map may be wonderfully unique and surprising, but, if it is unbalanced, the game will suffer and the player's enjoyment will not be as high as it could be.
2. Identity and Enjoyment: The map should be interesting to play at all levels, from city placement and management to the border-created interactions between civilizations, and should include varied terrain. Flavor should enhance the inherent pleasure resulting from the underlying tile arrangements. The map should not be exceedingly lush, but it is better to err on the lush side than on the poor side when placing terrain.
3. Feel (Avoiding Gimmicks): The map should not be overwhelmed or dominated by the mapmaker's flavor. Embellishment of the map through the use of special improvements, barbarian units, and abnormal terrain can enhance the identity and enjoyment of the map, but should take a backseat to the more normal aspects of the map. The game should usually not revolve around the flavor, but merely be accented by it.
4. Realism: Where possible, the terrain of the map should be realistic. Jungles on desert tiles, or even next to desert tiles, should therefore have a very specific reason for existing. Rivers should run downhill or across level ground into bodies of water. Irrigated terrain should have a higher grassland to plains ratio than dry terrain. Mountain chains should cast rain shadows. Islands, mountains, and peninsulas should follow logical plate tectonics.
