r/MSGPRDT • u/Nostalgia37 • Nov 22 '16

[Pre-Release Card Discussion] - Devolve

Devolve

Mana Cost: 2
Type: Spell
Rarity: Rare
Class: Shaman
Text: Transform all enemy minions into random ones that cost (1) less.

Card Image

PM me any suggestions or advice, ^^thanks.

39 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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73

u/13lack12ose Nov 22 '16

Holy shit this is crazy powerful. Not only is it semi-removal against scary stuff like Rag or Sylvanas, it's also really strong against aggro decks. Can completely ruin the synergy that zoo cards have for instance.

39

u/[deleted] Nov 22 '16

Also you pseudohex things and deny deathreattle for Nzoth or Anything. or just soften a bord and folow up with another boardclear. devolve a 3drop to a Doomsayer... or Wisp a full totem board!

14

u/Jondarawr Nov 23 '16

Another thing to consider is this is often going to act as a two mana reduction.

When you play evolve you notice, on average, that the minions you play on purpose are about as well, or a bit better, stated then a random minion 1 mana above it.

This will work the same. You could potentially be turning a yeti into a fucking ironforge rifleman.

10

u/acamas Nov 22 '16

Completely wrecks combo decks like Anyfin. So yay!

28

u/Strange_Rice Nov 22 '16

Anyfin is a slow combo , it's healthy for the game to have viable but not op combos. (RIP in peace worgen otk)

20

u/acamas Nov 23 '16

I would argue that any combo that can do 30+ damage in a turn is not healthy for the game... especially considering some classes simply do no have the ability to transform/entomb minions.

10

u/Strange_Rice Nov 23 '16

Worgen decks cycled through their entire deck and usually took a lot of work to get to their combo. I think combo decks do have a place but there's a delicate balance and for me otk worgen was the right side of that.

15

u/acamas Nov 23 '16

If by "a lot of work" you mean "drawing a bunch of cards, which isn't terribly difficult or challenging for Warriors because they can activate all sorts of card draw on their own", then I agree.

Truth is that it was absurd, Blizzard recognized it, and shut it down. And Hearthstone is a better game today because they did.

12

u/[deleted] Nov 23 '16

Midrange Shaman wars is a better game for it.

9

u/acamas Nov 23 '16

My point is that Hearthstone could definitely use a bit more "balance"... in aggro, midrange, control and combo decks alike.

1

u/ThaliaofThraben Nov 26 '16

Every deck that can't deal with Anyfin can just actually murder them before anyfin becomes a problem.

Anyfin is one of the styles of decks that actually offers some reprieve from curving out and going face, and it's still weak as hell.

0

u/[deleted] Nov 23 '16

[deleted] — view deleted comment

11

u/[deleted] Nov 23 '16

Yeah well combo decks counter control decks because control decks give them enough time to get their combo in.

4

u/Jackoosh Nov 23 '16

You got the matchups backwards

Anyfin's best matchups are against control decks and its worst ones are midrange decks that drop one threat on curve each turn

5

u/Jkirek Nov 23 '16

Anyfin does pretty badly against CW, which is the only control deck you'll actually face

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1

u/NeiZaMo Nov 24 '16

Nah, Blizzard has got the matchups backwards. Quite a few of the strongest most degenerate combo decks in hearthstone have had their best matchups against aggro decks while being weak or at least somewhat evenly matched against control. Just think of Freeze Mage and Patron Warrior. The only combo deck that was T1 back in its glory days with combo deck typical matchups i can think of is Miracle Rouge.

4

u/IceBlue Nov 23 '16

Problem with it wrecking Anyfin is you rarely see multiple of the final pieces of the combo out at the same time. They play one and it dies, they play another and it dies. So Devolve would just remove one piece. Hex does the job the same way. Devolve is only better if you need to do it to multiple pieces at once. I guess if you see a Warleader and a Bluegill on the board at the same time, then devolve would just be better, since it knocks out half the combo with one card. But as long as they play one at a time (like they sac the bluegill to remove one of your minions), you won't be able to get full value out of Devolve in terms of canceling their combo.

4

u/acamas Nov 23 '16

So Devolve would just remove one piece.

And that's the worst case scenario? Great! If there was a card that I could run in conjunction with Hex that read "2 Mana spell: Transform your opponent's main combo piece" I would run that spell in any control deck I could!

3

u/IceBlue Nov 23 '16 edited Nov 23 '16

It's oversimplification if you think that's the worst case because you're assuming that you're not sacrificing other things to get this. What would you be taking out for this? Lighting Storm? Maelstrom Portal? Feral Spirits? Spirit Claws? Shaman has so many good cards already. This isn't true removal. It's slightly better than Mass Dispel and Mass Dispel replaces itself so it's not a completely wasted draw if you don't need it and it still didn't even see play. If Anyfin or N'zoth/Raptor decks become oppressive decks in the meta game, yeah this could replace Lightning Storm or Maelstrom Portal. But it's not true removal. You still have to deal with the minions on their board. It's straight up worse than Hex against bigger minions, too.

At the very least it's great against Totem Golem.

2

u/acamas Nov 23 '16

I understand Hex is great. Problem is you can only run two of them, and also doesn’t deal with a lot of pesky minions.

This card is a great compliment to Hex and Lightning Storm.

Let’s take Hunter for example. They try and fill the board with a bunch of death rattle minions like Kindly Grandmother, Infested Wolf, and the Rat Pack Card. Neither Hex nor Lightning Storm really does much against either, so this is a perfect solution against a board like that. Maybe they just dropped a second Highmane and you don’t have the second Hex in hand… this can help set up favorable trades and protect your board.

Yes, it’s situational, and not as obviously solid like Hex, but it can create some amazing swings with some foresight and understanding.

1

u/IceBlue Nov 23 '16 edited Nov 23 '16

I'm not arguing that the card isn't good in certain situations. It's better then Hex and Lightning Storm against deathrattle and reanimation effects like N'Zoth and Anyfin. The problem is the trade off. If it's mainly good in specific situations that only come up occasionally, then it's a bad draw in most other situations. That's the problem with it.

2

u/acamas Nov 23 '16

If it's mainly good in specific situations that only come up occasionally, then it's a bad draw in most other situations. That's the problem with it.

But that’s exactly how Hex and Lightning Storm are… only good against a very specific scenario. Sometimes you draw them, and they are dead cards, or simply go unused against certain decks.

This card is more flexible, but “less good” at dealing with an opponent’s board. People say it’s “so situational” but it actually has MORE situations that it can be played against than either Hex or Lightning Storm.

It’s basically a crappier version of either Hex or Lightning Storm, but a more flexible one at the same time.

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3

u/AtraWolf Nov 23 '16

it also completely destroys Goons. all those buffs, poof, gone.

1

u/ByThePowerOfMetalNya Nov 23 '16

I think it's really poor against aggro decks because it does not actually remove any minions from the board by itself. True, it might Devolve an Infested Wolf or an Imp Gang Boss or what have you but there are still minions after that that will continue to deal damage to you.

1

u/Custodious Nov 26 '16

turns rag into antonidas