by Jeremy Waxman on Oct 27, 2015
Given the incredible amount of damage the Patron Warrior deck could deal from seemingly out of nowhere, Hearthstone players had been clamoring for a nerf of some sort for quite a while. While it seemed that Blizzard was against the idea, they ultimately went for it, removing the ability to CHARGE FORWARD by completely changing the effect of Warsong Commander. Now, you can buff up Frothing Berserker as much as you’d like, but your opponent will have a chance to respond on their turn before you can swing for 50 damage. Counter-play finally exists. Everyone’s happy, right?
Well, the answer to that question really depends on who you are. If you love playing a very early-game focused aggro deck, then you should be thrilled. Patron Warrior was generally seen as a counter to those decks, so with it out of the way, not only does Secret Paladin take a firm hold of the top deck in the game right now, but things like Face Hunter have come back into prominence as well. Aggro fans, rejoice!
I hunt alone...and I hunt faces.
However, if you’re not a big aggro player, and instead preferred something like Handlock or a true control deck, this isn’t a time for celebration. Simply due to the options that are available to each archetype, aggro decks often won’t suffer terribly against control. As such, the metagame is now more favorable for pure aggro than it was a few weeks ago.
I mentioned Handlock specifically, and there’s a good reason for it. The nerf to Warsong Commander hit Handlock (I’m including Demon Handlock under this header as well) quite hard. Not only did Handlock lose one of its more favorable matchups with the decline in Patron Warrior, it now sees a rise in decks like Face Hunter, which it struggles against. In nerfing a Warrior card, the Warlock deck actually suffered a significant blow.
Gul'Dan is not happy...well, even less happy than usual
Fortunately, not all hope is lost for non-aggro decks. Mid-range Druid is still a popular choice (though the aggro Druid is gaining steam as well), and Control Warrior is a viable choice for those that still wish to play as Garrosh or Magni. However, with how much the community seems to hate “mindless” aggro decks like Face Hunter or Secret Paladin, it seems odd that they didn’t consider the consequences of the downfall of Patron Warrior.
The fact is, Blizzard was influenced by the loud outcry from the vocal portion of the community that wanted to see Patron Warrior gone. Of course, this wasn’t the only factor they considered when they made the decision to nerf Warsong Commander, but it certainly played a part. Now, there isn’t much to stop aggro decks from rampaging across the ladder, something a large portion of the vocal player base has claimed they strongly dislike.
I’m not going to state that Patron Warrior was fine as it was. However, I would much rather have seen a small nerf, rather than what we actually got. If you enjoy a very aggro-heavy metagame, this is a great time. If that’s not what you wanted, well…it’s time to adapt.