Why Blackrock Mountain was a Tempo Killer for Hearthstone

Hearthstone always had some cards that are just really strong. Ragnaros, Dr. Boom, and many other Legendary rarity cards have a history of being meta-defining. With the release of Hearthstone’s first adventure, Loatheb became a staple for competitive play, while Kel’Thuzad saw play in very specific, strong competitive decks. With the announcement of Blackrock Mountain, it was almost expected that there would be a Legendary rarity card that would become a competitive staple. Unfortunately, the card that we got not only has become a competitive staple, but it is pushing the boundary of “balanced.”

I have several reasons to claim that Emperor Thaurissan (ET) is a problem for Hearthstone. The first problem with this card is his guaranteed value in comparison to his mana cost. A 5/5 body for 6 mana is weak, so yes, he needed a good ability to be a viable card. Blizzard decided to give him a tempo changing ability, which is cool. In fact, they kind of already did that with Loatheb; however, the magnitude of the tempo change caused by each of these cards is different. Loatheb changed the tempo for the turn after he was played, and possibly 2 turns following his arrival. ET doesn’t just change the tempo of a turn or 2, he changes the tempo of the entire game. He changes not only the controller’s tempo, but the tempo of his opponent.

Like Loatheb, he changes how your opponent can respond after he is played. While Thaurissan doesn’t change the cost of your opponent’s cards, he serves as a “soft taunt;” he demands a response or you risk falling behind by letting your opponent play his/her whole hand for the bargain bin cost. Even if your opponent removes him the turn after he’s played, Thaurissan has met expectations, because he reduced the cost of your cards and cost your opponent resources to remove him (whether minions or a card doesn’t matter that much).

Many will make the argument that a 1 mana change really doesn’t impact a game. History of balance changes will show that this is a weak argument. An increase of 1 mana on Leeroy Jenkins (from 4 to 5) was enough to remove his from most competitive decks by making him inefficient for hunter and zoo decks, while too costly for miracle rogue combos. A 1 mana increase on Soulfire and the introduction of Dark Bomb was enough to remove Soulfire from all Warlock class decks. A 1 mana increase on Gadgetzan Auctioneer and Flare also removed them from almost all competitive play, even with Hunter and Mage decks being very prominent in the meta.

Futhermore, let’s take a look at just a few of the wombo combos that are now possible with Emperor T with just a 1 mana reduction on certain cards in your hand.

x2 Force of Nature + Innervate + Savage Roar = 26 damage, 10 mana, 5 cards
Force of Nature + x2 Savage Roar = 22 damage, 9 mana, 3 cards

Malygos + x2 Mind Blast + x2 Smite = 34 damage, 10 mana, 6 cards
Malygos + x2 Lightning Bolt + x2 Crackle = 32-38 damage, 10 mana, 6 cards
Malygos + x2 Frost Bolt + x2 Ice Lance = 34 damage, 10 mana, 6 cards

Thalnos + x2 Frost Bolt + x2 Ice Lance + x2 Fireball = 32 damage, 9 mana, 8 cards

Leeroy Jenkins + 2x Power Overwhelming + Faceless Manipulator = 28 damage, 8 mana, 4 cards

While some of these combos are extreme are harder to pull off than others, the fact that Emperor T exists allows for many OTK combos to be possible. The main reason a lot of Hearthstone cards have been nerfed in the past is because having no way to interact with the combo before it goes off. Miracle Rogue was the prime example, because even though it was a large card combo deck, it still consistently pulled it off enough to get many players to Legend rank and to be used by pro players in tournaments. Overall, Emperor Thaurissan is a current annoyance, and will be a card that threatens the game’s balance with every new card release.

I mentioned in the opening of this article that it is exciting when new cards come out as they provide the opportunity for a meta change and new decks. Blackrock Mountain definitely was accompanied by a meta change, and I am not a fan. After the GvG release, I pictured the meta as shown below:

Tier 1 (Very Strong): Midrange Hunter, Midrange Druid, Oil Rogue, Zoo, Demonlock
Tier 2 (Strong): Midrange Paladin, Control Warrior, Face Hunter, Combo Warrior, Freeze Mage, Mech Mage
Tier 3 (Weak): Midrange Shaman, Control Priest, Traditional Handlock, Fatigue Druid

Blackrock Mountain shook the meta up drastically. I currently see the meta as the following:

Tier 1: Midrange Hunter, Midrange Druid, Oil Rogue, Zoo, Control Warrior, Tempo Mage
Tier 2: Face Hunter, Freeze Mage, Combo Warrior, Midrange (with or without dragons) Paladin, Midrange Shaman
Tier 3: Mech Mage, Control Priest, Dragon Rogue

So what exactly happened? With the introduction of dragons, Flamewaker, Imp gang boss, and ET, several midrange decks solidified their place in tier 1. Midrange Hunter, Zoo, and Druid are extremely potent; however, two decks saw a huge rise in win rate and popularity, Control Warrior and Tempo Mage. Grim Patron gave Control Warrior another tool to accompany its copious legendary suite, while Flamewaker gave Tempo Mage the spark it needed to sneak past finely-tuned midrange decks. Many people are experimenting with the “Dragons” archetype, so various decks have arose, while many mech decks have disappeared.

Why do I have a problem with this meta? On average (from test season 2 to release season 12), it has usually taken me around 50 games to reach rank 5. How many games did it taken me to reach rank 5 in season 13? 84 games. Time is a big factor for many players, and many players really want to reach high ranks of Hearthstone. The current meta requires a larger time commitment to the game to get the same results as before. I have many friends who quit playing ranked all together because they are sick of just playing against Midrange Druid and Hunter.

I am annoyed from this meta because there are many games where Midrange Hunter and Midrange Druid feel unbeatable. There are several games where Face Hunter and Freeze Mage pull off cheesy wins. While climbing the ladder, this has been extremely frustrating and not fun. I honestly gave up once I was at rank 5, because I didn’t want to deal with the ups and downs of single star gains and lucky matchups or draws (*cough cough* turn 1 Emperor T *cough cough*). Want to know my current rank in the current season, Season 14? It's currently 18, because I haven’t played a single ranked game this season. My frustration has driven me to play more Heroes of the Storm (which I highly recommend btw), and less Hearthstone. I know I’m not the only player that has been turned off from the game by the recent additions, but I am hopeful that Blizzard will make changes and players will return to the game in larger numbers than ever.

So, now that I’ve complained for a while about Blackrock Mountain’s impact on competitive play, let’s talk about what it has done to casual play.
First, it’s another gold sink for F2P players. Each wing costs multiple days’ worth of gold earning, and there are multiple wings to purchase. For the casual player, this is a lot of time trying to earn a part of the game, which will eat even more time. For casual players that want to get into competitive play, this is another barrier to entry, as many of the cards from the adventure are seeing play in viable decks.

Second, the new combos and decks introduced by the adventure aren’t that fun to play against. Many players are now taking their Grim Patron Control Warrior decks to casual play modes. While this may be fine for some players, this impacts the players who just want to play and win some games with their non-competitive combo deck or murlock deck.

Last and most important, the new adventure really isn’t that fun in my opinion. Some of the non-heroic challenges were neat, and the upgraded AI was a nice improvement over Naax; I really like challenges and puzzles; however, some of the heroic bosses of Blackrock Mountain are just miserable. Heroic Drakkisath was probably the least amount of fun I’ve ever had in a video game. If I am spending a ton of gold or hard earned money on a game, I want to have fun while playing it. For much of Blackrock Mountain, I felt as if I was grinding challenges to just get the cards unlocked, which is unfortunate.

Overall, I think Blackrock Mountain was a step backwards for Hearthstone, which was really surging after a successful expansion, GvG, and the newly released mobile version. Blackrock Mountain has implications for many casual players and competitive players that will continue to impact the game until an new expansion makes these new cards irrelevant, or Blizzard makes some balance changes to the game. If you have any opinions on the adventure, be sure to let me know in the comments below!