They have nerfed sooo many things over the last few years based on ‘feels’, but somehow plague dk, being an incredibly popular noob deck, is allowed to be too good for the game for the longest time. I am not saying it is broken (it’s actually kinda terrible), but I am extremely dreadful of it ruining the upcoming expansion launch for me. Lemme make a few points as to why I think it needs to get chopped before rotation:
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a) It is losing almost nothing and everyone knows how to build it. It is going to be the default ‘anti-fun’ deck of choice for those with sociopathic tendencies that want to farm people trying to have fun with experimental decks.
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b) It is extremely punishing to way too many new deck types. Want to try any kind of miracle deck that wants to draw their deck after launch? Forget it, a bunch of plague dks will ruin your day. Want to try Reno Raza Priest? Wheel of Death? Same thing
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c) the most effective tech against it is gone. No more Steamcleaner inside your ETC, nothing to do about it. Just watch the plagues fill your deck and randomly disrupting your next play with rng frost plagues. There’s nothing to do about it. GG.
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d) it has been ever present for two expansions already. It is time to stop. Whoever enjoyed has had their run. It will still be a thing regardless because people somehow enjoy this, but it doesn’t need to continue being meta.
Do I hate plague DK with every fiber of my being? Yes
Am I biased when I ask this? Yes
Am I right anyway? Also yes!!
Please devs. We have a few days for a cheeky emergency nerf
5 Likes
Don’t even know what to add you are just right.
Tier 4 is where this deck should be/stay.
1 Like
That is the main problem. I don’t like this deck either but if other people like this way of playing then OK.
But there needs to be a counter to this. Right now I can put Steamcleaner into ETC in my Highlander deck and I know if I face a Plague Death Knight I CAN counter a large amount of infinite plagues if I happen to draw ETC.
Next week only the Warlock has a reliable counter to this.
And Finley leaves Standard as well. He could be used to counter a certain amount of plagues as well.
I was for one who said to not even buff that deck to start with.
But ya know.
I Just am idiot/rude or whatever people call until It actually happens.
Plague DK is what would be called as a Flip deck.
Basically your plan consists on getting the help of 100% non interactive RNG.
Yet for some reason people wanted It buffed.
Sincerely part of me wishes it does not get any change Just so people suffer the consequences and maybe learn something.
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The counter to it is pretty much most non-highlander decks.
The “it doesn’t lose to much” is kind of made up. It doesn’t have great tempo unless it gets lucky with excavates. It’s AoEs are size limited, so going wide and large simultaneously ends it.
It also has no real defense against combo, and many combo decks can still assemble a kill against it before it kills you.
I’m any case, it’s looking like plague DK will be the easy answer to Reno decks and warriors, while rainbow DK remains the stronger overall deck in the next set.
Steamcleaner never really functioned as a counter against any plague DK with two brain cells.
2 Likes
If you’re not playing a Highlander deck, then plague DK really isn’t a threat to you. Highlander is the sole reason why it’s so popular. As Smeet points out, it has a lot of weaknesses. By far the most glaring one I’ve noticed is the lack of good AoEs unless they can discover a corpse explosion or two. Lack of healing/health buffs is another one. If you’re going to bother with Steamcleaner, have a way of making a second copy…
Just give me Skulking Geist 2.0 and I’ll call it even.
Until then, yeah…Plague DK is 100% going to be an issue.
You don’t even have to nerf the Plagues. Just nerf the Excavate BS.
2 Likes
Which is why odyn will be the other nuisance of a deck. Hardly bothered by the plagues, 40 cards (not drawing that many plagues), tons of armor and eventually ignis/armor gain can turn the corner and put the smackdown on.
renathal won’t be in core though, no 40 cards
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It’s absolutely going to be that one deck that you don’t even notice when playing Handbuff Rainbow DK or Dragon/Overheal Priest. But then the second you try to play a Highlander deck you’re going to lose every game.
Seriously, Handbuff Rainbow DK is practically going to be just a better, more assertive version of our current Rainbow DK. There’s no way that Plague DK can stand up to that, let alone other proactive strategies. Dragon Druid is largely untouched, Mech Warrior will be cheated out huge stats with tutor draws, Dragon Priest will be like Druid but with a Time Warp effect.
I wonder if Plague DK will even be able to beat Dormant Big DH (probably, Azerite Rat + Reska will cause suffering).
Rainbow DK is for sure going to be an issue as well. That deck likely gets nerfed.
Not sold on Dragon/Overheal Priest beating it since that deck wants to draw, which can be really bad.
This is why I have DK as a top 3 class coming out of expansion. It’s gonna be rough.
The only decks currently that Rainbow DK really have an issue with is Control decks…and those are all going bye bye.
Rainbow DK currently has zero red match ups according to VS. And what does the deck lose? Practically nothing. It actually gains in power.
Likely the day 1 deck to play.
1 Like
Don’t worry, it folds to Control and Reno! And Brann Warrior is losing Astalor so it can’t keep literally every slow deck out of the game simply by existing and being the best Control/OTK deck!
Plague DK looms in the background
Is all this hyperbole necessary?
Am I supposed to feel sorry for people who lose to good decks?
You’ve actually recommended this deck …
I’ve literally been banned for the same exact sentence just for another class
Definitely concur.
Plague DK is what a like to call a meta limiting deck. Is it a good deck? No, it’s terrible.
But it’s incredibly effective against a massive range of decks other than decks that have strong pressure. And it takes literally zero skill to navigate.
Basic point is, if it’s a significant part of the meta it’s a incredibly easy deck to counter, it’s just the decks you have to play to counter it are about as fun as watching paint dry.
Playing plague DK is like playing a deck to punish other players for having fun in this game.
3 Likes
The devs design philosophy around most their archetype in recent years is “how do I make sure the opponent has such a miserable experience playing against this deck they want to uninstall this game”.
2 Likes
“Feels” are what should be preemptively banned from designing the game. The Devs should develop robust simulation and formulation methods for designing the game; they would not have to abstractly theorize like an actor on a stage theater holding a skull; I’m almost sure they already (try to)design the game like that because it would be the right thing to do but I doubt they have done a good job.
The thing I don’t like about their design process is that sometimes it’s “art over gameplay”; e.g. a Dev wrote last month that a card lost its tribe from the description because the art changed in the process of development and the card seemed to have no tribe anymore; gameplay should be at least on par with the art and not secondary.
If Brann didn’t exist in standard i would be all for dialing their power back. It does exist so i say buff them even more to target highlander decks. I say this as someone that thoroughly enjoys playing Reno Shaman and DK.
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Ok. Still, Odyn warrior has enough armor gain and board clears to not be as bothered by plagues I think.