Introduction :
This is a new series I'm starting called "Arena Drafting Phase", where I will try to comment on my Arenas' drafting phase and why I picked certain cards over others, which will hopefully be helpful to you.
Okay so let's start.
Here are the classes that I got to chose from
I picked Paladin to try and follow my own guide that I put before on What class should you pick in Arena
Okay so let the drafting phase begging.
1-
Pretty easy first pick, Gadgetzan Auctioneer is a bad pick in Arena even before the 1 mana nerf, Emperor Cobra is not a very exiting pick but it is still better than many rare picks since at most cases it goes 1 for 1, but here we are going to pick Muster for Battle which is a great card both in Arena and in Constructed
2-
This one is not as easy as the first pick, and I spent a good 5 minutes thinking about this, Cogmaster is not a good pick unless you have already picked at least 7 Mechs so he's out of the question, it ended being a choice of getting a good early pick or a good mid to late pick, I decided I want to get the Venture Co. Mercenary over the Worgen Infiltrator because I think it's much harder to get a good mid to late pick than to get a good early pick since any 2 mana 3-2 card can do the job.
3-
This one is pretty close and any pick could be a correct pick, Antique Healbot is the weaker card of the 3 but it can be very useful sometimes when you're gaining board control back but you have low health and you're afraid to get killed by a spell or a charge, Stonesplinter Trogg is the pick that maybe most people would chose because they mistakingly value the Annoy-o-Tron as a 2-2 taunt
whereas I see it as a great tempo play, it allows you to set your board more freely and protect minions that are more important, it's also a great card to have when you have board control and you want to go for face.
4-
To me Aldor Peacekeeper is one of the greatest 3 drops in the game, it's a really solid card with great utility and I think I would pick it against most rare drops, Gnomish Experimenter is bad card to have in Arena since you will almost everytime get a chicken draw which is not very exiting, Mana Wraith is a weird card with bad stats, and it is rarely a good pick.
5-
Pint-Sized Summoner is a mediocre card because it's useful only if you play it at turn 2 and your opponent can't kill it right away, and you can't count on that happening.
Demolisher is an average card, it is bad if you have no early game to protect it, and consequently good if you can protect it, I only picked it here because the other cards are worse.
Lightwarden is still bad in Priest which has a healing Hero Power, so you should never pick it in any other class.
6-
Silverback Patriach, it's actually worse than Stonetusk Boar which is also very bad, so Raging Worgen it is, which is not a bad pick to be honest
7-
Thrallmar Farseer is out of the question since both of the other cards are so much better than it. Either of the two remaining picks could be the correct pick, I preferred Avenge over the Bloodfen Raptor because I was hopeful of getting better 2 drops, and the Avenge is really strong with a good early game decks
8-
Wolfrider is a below average card since most of the time it serves as a 3 mana 3 damage removal which is not so exciting. The Windfury Harpy isn't very exciting either and usualy it's only a 6 mana 4-5. Ogre Brute is a great card, especially in Arena, the stats are too good and the downside effect isn't that bad.
9-
As I said earlier, Hero health isn't that important in Arena, this is why you should only consider the raw stats these cards have, and this is why Bloodfen Raptor is the correct pick here over the Priestess of Elune and the Nightblade.
10-
Deathlord is rarely a good pick because of the downside effect which can be very punishing, and the fact that I have so many 3 drops makes this a worse pick. Divine Favor can be good sometimes especially with fast and agressive decks, but it just doesn't cut it here. Which is why Sunwalker is the best pick just because of solid stats and the divine shield effect.
11-
Holy Light is a bad spell and serves little purpose in Arena. Raid Leader is also a bad card even if you get to benefit from its effect on multiple targets. Archmage is not so exciting but it's a strong body and can fend for itself, and that's why it's certainly the correct pick here.
12-
Muster for Battle again, I love this card and I almost always pick it and this time is no different. Lightwarden is a bad card as stated before. Jeeves is only good on decks that have really low mana curves and this is not the deck for it.
13-
Truesilver Champion is one of the best cards in Arena and is the reason so many games are decided, it's a great value card which is what Arena is all about. The other cards don't even stand a chance.
14-
Tauren Warrior is a bad card and is out of the question. I picked Gnomish Inventor because I love the card and I thought I needed more card draw, and in fact it came very handy in many games, but now that I think about it, it wasn't actually as good as what could Spiteful Smith have been, which is a strong card in Arena just because of the stats, and the added bonus effect couldn't hurt in Paladin, so I think Spiteful Smith is the better pick here even though I picked the inventor.
15-
Blessing of Kings is a strong card in Arena, it's great at snowballing games out of no where, and at the worst case scenario you get to buff your Hero Power dude and have a strong body just like that. Priestess of Elune has bad stats for the mana cost. and Blessing of Wisdom is easy to play around, but it's not the worse card to have sometimes as it can give you great card advantage.
16-
I'm pretty sure that Shielded Minibot is the best 2 mana minion in Arena, it's just a solid and annoying to deal with card, and can go 2 for 1 in many cases and that's why there is no doubt that it's a better pick than Elven Archer and Seal of Light.
17-
Concecration is a smaller version of flamestrike, but it's not less annoying, it's great spell for catching up or for having good trades and is obviously a great pick here. Oasis Snapjaw isn't so bad in Arena and could be useful for killing 2 mana drops, while the Clockwork Gnome has no place in Arena since there are so many classes that can deal with it just with their Hero Power.
18-
Frostwolf Grunt is a bad card, since it can die for free against 2-3 2 mana minions which are popular. Undertaker is also bad especially in Arena where you can't constantly get deathrattle minions to buff it up. Worgen Infiltrator is a solid 1 mana drop, it serves the purpose of trading with a 3-2 mana minions and that is a great purpose, that's why it's the better pick here.
19-
Hammer of Wrath is an above average card in Arena, it's a value card and it's more value than the other 2 cards. Leper Gnome is okay in very aggressive decks and that's not even the case here. Blessing of Might gets the same treatment of the Leper Gnome.
20-
Faceless Manipulator isn't as good as it was once in this fast meta and it rarely gets a good target anymore. If this was an earlier pick or if I had more 2 mana drops I would've picked the Coghammer since it's a great Arena card and can get huge value, but I picked Recombobulator as I deemed necessary to have more 2 mana minions, and the added benefit of the transformation can be helpful sometimes.
21-
Again Concecration is a great card her too, and to be honest you can't get enough of it, in fact I've been beaten so many times in good Arena runs just because the opponent had 3 or more of this spell. Ironfur Grizzly is a below average 3 drop, and the Stormwind Knight falls short as it doesn't have good stats for a 4 mana drop.
22-
Yes I do need more 2 drops, but Explosive Sheep is not the one, as it can have worse effect on me than on the opponent. Cogmaster is bad especially since I have almost no mechs. and therefor Fen Creeper is the right choice, both because it has good stats and because I don't have many 5 mana cards.
23-
Piloted Shredder is so good I would pick it almost always even against a good 2 mana card here, it has great value and it's sticky and that's why you should pick it whenever possible. Gurubashi Berserker is an average card in Arena but it's not as good as the Shredder. Flying machine is horrible.
24-
Wolfrider is below average as stated before, same goes for Blessing of Might. Puddlestomper is okay just because it's a 3-2, it's better since I need 2 mana minions and that's why I picked it here.
25-
Southsea Deckhand is bad especially since I only have 1 weapon and therefor it's out of the question. as for which 3 mana drop to pick, I counted how many mechs do I have, and I found that 4 isn't enough, that's why I picked the Earthern Ring Farseer whose heal can be used effectively on minions over the Tinkertown Technician, but I also note that picking the other way around isn't wrong either.
26-
Seal of Light is below average and it's the worst card of the three. I picked Hammer of Wrath just because of the value, but I would've picked a better 2 drop if the chance presented itself since River Crocolisk isn't too exciting of a 2 mana drop.
27-
Sorry Voodoo Doctor, you are not worthy of being considered. I picked Ogre Brute, as I stated before, I love the card and consider it one of the best 3 mana minions, but picking Frostwolf Warlord isn't too bad here either since I needed late game anyway.
28-
Poor Southsea Deckhand wants to try his luck again but sadly fails to better cards. I picked Gnomish Inventor here, I really like this card as it's a free body that draws you a card. Mechwarper is above average and might have gotten in here had I had 1 or 2 more mechs.
29-
Magma Rager is out of the question because of reasons of badness. I picked the Youthful Brewmaster over Puddlestomper because I has some minions that could be brewed back like the Gnomish Inventors or the divine shield minions.
30-
Scarlet Purifier against the 2 bad cards of course (Secretkeeper, Alarm-o-Bot).
Over all it's an above average deck with some quality cards and an acceptable mana curve.
Result :
8 wins and here are the rewards
I hope you guys enjoyed this, and found it useful. Please let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions. Thank you
This is a new series I'm starting called "Arena Drafting Phase", where I will try to comment on my Arenas' drafting phase and why I picked certain cards over others, which will hopefully be helpful to you.
Okay so let's start.
Here are the classes that I got to chose from
I picked Paladin to try and follow my own guide that I put before on What class should you pick in Arena
Okay so let the drafting phase begging.
1-
Pretty easy first pick, Gadgetzan Auctioneer is a bad pick in Arena even before the 1 mana nerf, Emperor Cobra is not a very exiting pick but it is still better than many rare picks since at most cases it goes 1 for 1, but here we are going to pick Muster for Battle which is a great card both in Arena and in Constructed
2-
This one is not as easy as the first pick, and I spent a good 5 minutes thinking about this, Cogmaster is not a good pick unless you have already picked at least 7 Mechs so he's out of the question, it ended being a choice of getting a good early pick or a good mid to late pick, I decided I want to get the Venture Co. Mercenary over the Worgen Infiltrator because I think it's much harder to get a good mid to late pick than to get a good early pick since any 2 mana 3-2 card can do the job.
3-
This one is pretty close and any pick could be a correct pick, Antique Healbot is the weaker card of the 3 but it can be very useful sometimes when you're gaining board control back but you have low health and you're afraid to get killed by a spell or a charge, Stonesplinter Trogg is the pick that maybe most people would chose because they mistakingly value the Annoy-o-Tron as a 2-2 taunt
whereas I see it as a great tempo play, it allows you to set your board more freely and protect minions that are more important, it's also a great card to have when you have board control and you want to go for face.
4-
To me Aldor Peacekeeper is one of the greatest 3 drops in the game, it's a really solid card with great utility and I think I would pick it against most rare drops, Gnomish Experimenter is bad card to have in Arena since you will almost everytime get a chicken draw which is not very exiting, Mana Wraith is a weird card with bad stats, and it is rarely a good pick.
5-
Pint-Sized Summoner is a mediocre card because it's useful only if you play it at turn 2 and your opponent can't kill it right away, and you can't count on that happening.
Demolisher is an average card, it is bad if you have no early game to protect it, and consequently good if you can protect it, I only picked it here because the other cards are worse.
Lightwarden is still bad in Priest which has a healing Hero Power, so you should never pick it in any other class.
6-
Silverback Patriach, it's actually worse than Stonetusk Boar which is also very bad, so Raging Worgen it is, which is not a bad pick to be honest
7-
Thrallmar Farseer is out of the question since both of the other cards are so much better than it. Either of the two remaining picks could be the correct pick, I preferred Avenge over the Bloodfen Raptor because I was hopeful of getting better 2 drops, and the Avenge is really strong with a good early game decks
8-
Wolfrider is a below average card since most of the time it serves as a 3 mana 3 damage removal which is not so exciting. The Windfury Harpy isn't very exciting either and usualy it's only a 6 mana 4-5. Ogre Brute is a great card, especially in Arena, the stats are too good and the downside effect isn't that bad.
9-
As I said earlier, Hero health isn't that important in Arena, this is why you should only consider the raw stats these cards have, and this is why Bloodfen Raptor is the correct pick here over the Priestess of Elune and the Nightblade.
10-
Deathlord is rarely a good pick because of the downside effect which can be very punishing, and the fact that I have so many 3 drops makes this a worse pick. Divine Favor can be good sometimes especially with fast and agressive decks, but it just doesn't cut it here. Which is why Sunwalker is the best pick just because of solid stats and the divine shield effect.
11-
Holy Light is a bad spell and serves little purpose in Arena. Raid Leader is also a bad card even if you get to benefit from its effect on multiple targets. Archmage is not so exciting but it's a strong body and can fend for itself, and that's why it's certainly the correct pick here.
12-
Muster for Battle again, I love this card and I almost always pick it and this time is no different. Lightwarden is a bad card as stated before. Jeeves is only good on decks that have really low mana curves and this is not the deck for it.
13-
Truesilver Champion is one of the best cards in Arena and is the reason so many games are decided, it's a great value card which is what Arena is all about. The other cards don't even stand a chance.
14-
Tauren Warrior is a bad card and is out of the question. I picked Gnomish Inventor because I love the card and I thought I needed more card draw, and in fact it came very handy in many games, but now that I think about it, it wasn't actually as good as what could Spiteful Smith have been, which is a strong card in Arena just because of the stats, and the added bonus effect couldn't hurt in Paladin, so I think Spiteful Smith is the better pick here even though I picked the inventor.
15-
Blessing of Kings is a strong card in Arena, it's great at snowballing games out of no where, and at the worst case scenario you get to buff your Hero Power dude and have a strong body just like that. Priestess of Elune has bad stats for the mana cost. and Blessing of Wisdom is easy to play around, but it's not the worse card to have sometimes as it can give you great card advantage.
16-
I'm pretty sure that Shielded Minibot is the best 2 mana minion in Arena, it's just a solid and annoying to deal with card, and can go 2 for 1 in many cases and that's why there is no doubt that it's a better pick than Elven Archer and Seal of Light.
17-
Concecration is a smaller version of flamestrike, but it's not less annoying, it's great spell for catching up or for having good trades and is obviously a great pick here. Oasis Snapjaw isn't so bad in Arena and could be useful for killing 2 mana drops, while the Clockwork Gnome has no place in Arena since there are so many classes that can deal with it just with their Hero Power.
18-
Frostwolf Grunt is a bad card, since it can die for free against 2-3 2 mana minions which are popular. Undertaker is also bad especially in Arena where you can't constantly get deathrattle minions to buff it up. Worgen Infiltrator is a solid 1 mana drop, it serves the purpose of trading with a 3-2 mana minions and that is a great purpose, that's why it's the better pick here.
19-
Hammer of Wrath is an above average card in Arena, it's a value card and it's more value than the other 2 cards. Leper Gnome is okay in very aggressive decks and that's not even the case here. Blessing of Might gets the same treatment of the Leper Gnome.
20-
Faceless Manipulator isn't as good as it was once in this fast meta and it rarely gets a good target anymore. If this was an earlier pick or if I had more 2 mana drops I would've picked the Coghammer since it's a great Arena card and can get huge value, but I picked Recombobulator as I deemed necessary to have more 2 mana minions, and the added benefit of the transformation can be helpful sometimes.
21-
Again Concecration is a great card her too, and to be honest you can't get enough of it, in fact I've been beaten so many times in good Arena runs just because the opponent had 3 or more of this spell. Ironfur Grizzly is a below average 3 drop, and the Stormwind Knight falls short as it doesn't have good stats for a 4 mana drop.
22-
Yes I do need more 2 drops, but Explosive Sheep is not the one, as it can have worse effect on me than on the opponent. Cogmaster is bad especially since I have almost no mechs. and therefor Fen Creeper is the right choice, both because it has good stats and because I don't have many 5 mana cards.
23-
Piloted Shredder is so good I would pick it almost always even against a good 2 mana card here, it has great value and it's sticky and that's why you should pick it whenever possible. Gurubashi Berserker is an average card in Arena but it's not as good as the Shredder. Flying machine is horrible.
24-
Wolfrider is below average as stated before, same goes for Blessing of Might. Puddlestomper is okay just because it's a 3-2, it's better since I need 2 mana minions and that's why I picked it here.
25-
Southsea Deckhand is bad especially since I only have 1 weapon and therefor it's out of the question. as for which 3 mana drop to pick, I counted how many mechs do I have, and I found that 4 isn't enough, that's why I picked the Earthern Ring Farseer whose heal can be used effectively on minions over the Tinkertown Technician, but I also note that picking the other way around isn't wrong either.
26-
Seal of Light is below average and it's the worst card of the three. I picked Hammer of Wrath just because of the value, but I would've picked a better 2 drop if the chance presented itself since River Crocolisk isn't too exciting of a 2 mana drop.
27-
Sorry Voodoo Doctor, you are not worthy of being considered. I picked Ogre Brute, as I stated before, I love the card and consider it one of the best 3 mana minions, but picking Frostwolf Warlord isn't too bad here either since I needed late game anyway.
28-
Poor Southsea Deckhand wants to try his luck again but sadly fails to better cards. I picked Gnomish Inventor here, I really like this card as it's a free body that draws you a card. Mechwarper is above average and might have gotten in here had I had 1 or 2 more mechs.
29-
Magma Rager is out of the question because of reasons of badness. I picked the Youthful Brewmaster over Puddlestomper because I has some minions that could be brewed back like the Gnomish Inventors or the divine shield minions.
30-
Scarlet Purifier against the 2 bad cards of course (Secretkeeper, Alarm-o-Bot).
Over all it's an above average deck with some quality cards and an acceptable mana curve.
Result :
8 wins and here are the rewards
I hope you guys enjoyed this, and found it useful. Please let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions. Thank you
