Heartstone had a problem with some power-creeping bushfires. Their solution was to add fuel and wood.
Since then they have done a great job. I mean The endless nerfs and buffs makes it possible to play for a few weeks, until meta settles. Then all new ideas get blown out of the water.
The problem is math really. If you allow cards to cost less then 1 mana and add possibility of card-draw. You have created an equiation. Throw that equaiation out to millions of players and there is only a matter of time beore someone solves the problem.
I think it really hurts the community. If I was introduced into the game today and tried a few games against a wig-priest - pirate rouge - naga mage, who all got the nuts. I would just unistall and move on with my life.
I might be wrong, this might be the way forward, but for me the most important part of the game is gone. I enjoyed trying to build decks and play them on ladder. Competing with the meta decks and trying to get a +50% winrate over say, 50 or 100 games. Sometimes I even got to legend with my own designs. Or I played a meta deck to legend and then tried to compete with my designs.
This is now completley impossible. The math makes it impossible. If you play against a deck that every third game throws out between 24-30 stats on turn 3. You will loose every third game. That makes it impossible over 50 or 100 games to compete.
Unless you put your own high-roll possibility in your deck, ie, play a meta deck.
The messege now as I read it is: Get in line, or get blown up.
A few weeks ago, after a match, I got a friend Invite. I normally turn it down but I said yes. He was very upset to have to play against some **** deck that noone plays. First time for me, normally haters get upset because your lucky or play a broken deck. No he was angry because I played an off meta deck.
Maby its time to get out?