Today's post will be long one. I'll be talking about a few aspects of Hearthstone I found particularly interesting lately, which I feel like writing down. I think it's pretty appropriate to begin with Undertaker, since it's a card that just got nerfed (and a card that much of the playerbase hates with a passion).

Overlooked by most when it first came out with Naxx, Undertaker soon found its place in just about every aggro deck due to its potential to snowball out of control. After much complaining, Blizzard decided to nerf it into a 1/2 that only gains +1 attack with every Deathrattle summoned. But I feel that this nerf is not only excessive, but will give a false impression that it has cured the aggro problem on ladder.

First, GvG has already provided a lot of cards that deal with early-game aggression. Muster for Battle, Flamecannon and Darkbomb, to list a few. These cards have already greatly improved decks like Midrange Pally and Handlock against aggro. Not to mention that practically every control/midrange deck now runs Zombie Chow. Midrange Hunter is a good deck. And yet Ramp Druid, CW, and Midrange Pally are just as good, if not better.

To be sure, the prevalence of Undertaker-less decks does not, by itself, entirely justify my argument. My point is, however, is to highlight how the higher-tiers of the community are good at figuring out its solutions and tech cards. They don't need Blizzard to make awful hate cards like Lil' Exorcist to fight off Undertakers or aggro. Instead of nerfing cards outright, let the community think for itself. And seeing how the meta is, the community already has. 

Second, hitting Undertaker misses the point. Blizzard's true intention behind the nerf, I think, is to reduce the amount of aggro on ladder and promote more interactive gameplay (aka control). After all, 80% of Undertakers are played in two decks: Hunter and Zoo, both cheap, aggro decks that finishes their games quickly. The problem is that Hunter/Zoo are played extensively on ladder, not because Undertaker is the most broken card ever, but because they are fast. The current ladder system, at least above Rank 5, encourages fast games for fast climbs. The ladder system is the real culprit behind the popularity of aggro - Undertaker is really just the icing on the cake. 

Finally, let's look at the nerf itself. If they really wanted to nerf the card, yet make it a good aggro card, at least make Undertaker a 1/3 that only gains attack. That way, it will still die to things like Fiery War Axe and Frostbolt, but can still trade favourably with popular 2 drops like Loot Hoarder, Mad Scientist, Shielded Minibot and Chow. Undertaker will still be an excellent 1 drop that trades well, but can now be easily removed by just about any 2-mana removal (which everyone mulligans for anyway).

 

But nerfing cards to the ground has been Blizzard's strategy for a while. Despite Blizzard repeatedly promising that nerfed cards will remain playable, every nerfed card post the Starving Buzzard nerf has virtually disappeared from the meta game. Hunters no longer run Flare nor Buzzard, and Zoo no longer plays Soulfire. Now, Undertaker might not fare as bad. But I suspect that Blizzard (and the community, particularly Reddit) will be led into the false impression that via nerfs, the gameplay will magically become more 'interactive'. As long as the ladder system stays as is, the fastest decks will always be the most popular, especially in the lower ranks where most of the community -- and the complainers, are located.

tl;dr

1. Introduce more cards like Chow, Muster for Battle and Annoy-o-Tron to improve the early game of slower classes. Let the community figure out the tech cards and the solutions.

2. Nerfing Undertaker is not a good solution to reducing aggro on ladder. Make structural changes to the ladder system instead e.g. rewarding players based on the length of their games.

3. If Blizzard really wants to lower the Reddit pitchforks and nerf Undertaker, at least make it a 1/3. The 1 extra health actually makes a huge difference in making Undertaker powerful, yet removable.