The Queue: Gainsborough & Lockhart

Who cares about saving the world again? I’d rather watch these girls hitchhiking their way to Costa del Sol and going on a shopping date. Jessie and Yuffie can come too!

But while that doesn’t happen, why don’t we answer some Queue questions?

I don’t like the idea of permanently changing existing specs, because it risks alienating existing players who like those specs as they are. So these would be optional talents — perhaps Hero Talents? — that modify those specs:

1. Marksmanship Hunter. Hunters have abilities like Black Arrow, Wailing Arrow, and other Sylvanas-inspired “dark” skills — and they’re getting the Dark Ranger Hero Spec in The War Within. Perhaps they could have an optional talent that allows them to go one step further into the Void, and start learning a few tricks from Sylvanas’ older sister Alleria instead?
2. Subtlety Rogue. They’re another spec that flirts with dark powers — though it’s more of a “ninja” thing, they play with Shadow magic in ways that are somewhat unexplainable for a class that’s supposed to be non-magical. What if they’ve been uncovering hidden secrets from the Void, and start sipping more and more from those powers?
3. Retribution Paladin. WoW already has an “Antipaladin” archetype with Death Knights, but this would be someone who hasn’t fully abandoned their Paladin vows — they’re just more desperate, willing to do anything for vengeance. Ret Pallies got some fire-themed abilities recently, implying their growing desire for revenge. What if they grew so detached from the teachings of the Light that they had to start calling upon the Void?

This answer changes whenever we get new info.

Right now, I’m super excited for Metaphor, due to the new trailer we got at the Game Awards. It feels cozy like Persona, but also hardcore like SMT. The player can choose between turn-based and action combat, which is crazy. And the story seems fresh and original. I’m really excited!

I’m also very excited for Persona 3 Reload, but admittedly a bit wary about some flaws the original game had that I’m unsure if this remake will properly correct. Regardless, everything I’ve seen of it so far looks great.

Unicorn Overlord is the one we know the least about, but I’m excited for it as well. I love Vanillaware; their games have such gorgeous art styles that I’ve purchased two different artbooks — one focused on 13 Sentinels, another on every Vanillaware title (mostly for the art, but also to train my Japanese).

I’m just gonna steal Shuanna’s response: chocolate.

Aberrations!

They’d include things from the Void — Faceless minions, Shadowfiends — and they’d be all about changing / adapting their stats and keywords, and copying other minions — from the Tavern, from your own board, even from your enemy’s board. They’d be somewhat economy-focused, allowing you to copy / steal minions “for free.”

They wouldn’t have a very strong way to scale their own stats “naturally,” having to rely on mimicking other minions. But they’d have a limited ability to split themselves into smaller minions when they died — like Beasts and Mechs — though it wouldn’t be their main thing; just a secondary build possibility.

There are two primary reasons the Hearthstone team nerfs cards:

1. Most obviously: when a card is too powerful, it gets toned down.
2. When a card feels “unfun” for the opponent when played, it might get changed — even if the card itself isn’t actually all that powerful, sometimes losing to it can feel bad. (That was the case with the recent nerf to The Azerite Snake on Mining Warlock.)

For Rainbow Mage (the deck that uses Sif the most), unofficial stats put Sif at an absurd winrate when it’s drawn or played (according to external website HSReplay), so it’d be a prime nerf candidate — if the developers considered that Rainbow Mage has grown out of control, which they doesn’t seem to have as of yet.

So the answer is twofold: Rainbow Mage most likely doesn’t have that high a winrate, and community perception of the card as being “unfun” isn’t loud enough at the moment.

This has been The Queue! Be like our lovely pals Gainsborough & Lockhart here, and double high five a friend. Also, leave lots of questions for Matt!