Earthshock no longer standard

Multiplayer Discussion
1

One topic I can’t seem to find is why remove Earthshock from Shaman core?

Most Shaman decks are “hit fast, and hit hard.” That’s been the MO since this game started. Earthshock was one of the few cheap cards that Shamans can use to get past a pesky taunt, deathrattle, a hard to kill minion with strong “after this…then this” mechanic, or even just a buffed up minion. Although Devolving Missile somewhat fills the gap, that’s adding even more RNG to a class that’s already RNG heavy, and taking away one of the few cards that is a guaranteed way to clear the barriers towards accomplishing their main strategy.

3 Likes
2

The shaman is not relevant today. Everything plays on Jaina’s cheat deck. Cheaters. Play on any deck except the cheat mage!

3

Guess they felt it would be too strong considering they’ve added better windfury minions to the roster, Inara, and notetaker can give you double rockbiter. They want you to at least need 2 card combo, first clear tokens then devolve the big boy, AND possibly devolve into another taunt.

1 Like
4

Revolve, hex, lilypad, devolving, owl, and showstopper all say hello.

5 Likes
6

Sorry you didn’t find it constructive. I was trying to provide alternatives. Not every deck has answers to every situation.

4 Likes
7

but devolving missiles is a great card and shaman has the 2 mana spellburst minion to get another one for later

you probably played it when the opponent had several minions out

2 Likes
8

There’s also Torrent, which deals with a lot of early taunts fairly well.

2 Likes
9

It is a great card, but there are two main issues with it, one of which you just mentioned about too many minions. You can’t guarantee it will hit the target, which isn’t a big deal if you can clear the field some other way. The other issue is the chance that it doesn’t really solve your problem, because it’s a roll of the dice of what minions come out of it - some of which can be a better minion than the one you just tried to eliminate.

Since shocks are basically core to Shamans in WOW, it feels odd to get rid of the one that people actually use in HS. The only real argument I can see is the “…then deal 1 damage.” And that’s only because they’ve been giving Shaman more viable spell damage perks. So why not maybe just swap it with something like Windshear?

10

I think it’s fine. Shaman has different tools for different situations. They’ve got lightning storm for wide boards and missiles for tall ones. Sure, that doesn’t always fit what you need at the moment, but that’s life in CCGs. If every class had answers to every situation then games would all basically be the same.

Edit: that said, Shaman is my favorite class and I’d love to see earth shock come back.

11

If the Earth Shock won’t come to you, you always can come to the Earth Shock. It is just two mouse clicks away.

12

People are not playing Shaman.

I don’t think Shaman needs all that much.

But how could they not have understood that Murlocs need some reloading capability escapes me.

I loved Murloc Shaman 2 years ago. I was able to get more resources with Underbelly Angler and the 4 mana DR draw 2 Murlocs.

Even Ice Fishing would have really helped in the core set.

1 Like
13

I think a designer honestly thought the caravan was enough. Of course, if you’re lucky you might coin it on 1 and actually draw a card.

The paladin one is the only one even remotely useful and that’s only because it creates its own defenders and can hide behind divine shields and taunts.

1 Like