Allgemeines » the great Scot towards retirement ultimately

In previous rundowns of the cards revealed from the imminent Hearthstone expansion Mean Streets of Gadgetzan, weve talked about the tri-class cards and the general theme of three gangs fighting it out, represented by cards with similar mechanics. Weve talked quite a lot about the Grimy Goons and their hand-buffing cards and The Kabal and the various potion cards, so now we get into the final member of the warring triads, The Jade Lotus.Like the other card gangs in MSG, the Jade Lotus comes with their own unique deck flavor and also like the others, its one that encourages a less linear style of play. What do I mean by linear? In many of Hearthstones most successful decks, the play style has been extremely tempo-based. A great two-drop then a great three-drop and then a great four-drop, wash, rinse, and repeat. Cards that trade time for value have generally not been successful as the effects have either not been strong enough to compensate for the tempo loss or if they have had a powerful effect, thet cost was simply too high.The Jade Lotuss nod to a more a non-linear style of play relies on the Jade Golems that their cards summon. Jade starts off as a 1/1 card, a simple token. But each subsequent Jade Golem summoned gets +1/+1 added to their stats from the previous one. And once youve taken the time to play Jade Golem cards, once you get into 7/7 or 8/8 or 9/9 Jade Golems later in the game, your opponent will have a great deal of trouble dealing with the board. You lose time to pump up these Jade Golems, but the upside effect is legitimately terrifying. This lack of upside is what doomed the Inspire mechanic.We start off with three of the class-card Jade Golem-enablers. Jade Blossom ties into the general theme of Druid ramping into its higher-mana cards, a two-mana Wild Growth attached to the Jade Golem. Even in its worse case scenario, its a Wild Growth and a 1/1 token and a lot of times, it will be better than that. However, its missing an important aspect of Wild Growth, the ability to draw a card if you already have ten mana. That pretty much leaves Jade Blossom strictly limited to Jade decks as the 1/1 token just wont be enough value for non-Jade decks given that this card will be a dead draw late-game.Like the Jade Blossom, Jade Lightning has limited utility outside Jade decks. Shaman doesnt have an exact spell that does precisely four damage to any enemy, but Lightning Bolt does three for half the cost, Stormcrack does four to a minion for two mana and one overload, and Lava Burst does five damage for three mana, two overload. You may see this in Arena as its common and you dont necessarily have a choice to simply play Lightning Bolt or Stormcrack instead.Jade Shuriken may have the toughest time seeing play, simply because the Jade Golem style is a bigger departure from existing meta-Rogue decks than either Jade decks for Druid or Shaman. Its an obviously weaker card than Eviscerate without the additional text, so like the Blossom and Lightning, wont see play outside of a Jade deck. The Shuriken likely will see only very limited Arena play, with Eviscerate also being a common and a much preferable one.The Jade Spirit is a tri-class card, playable by all of Shaman, Druid and Rogue. This card is even weaker than the previous ones without a Jade deck because without the synergy, it becomes a slightly worse Razorfen Hunter, a card thats already less expensive at three mana, and never sees competitive play. While its an obvious inclusion in a Jade deck, I cant help but think that this is one of the marginal Jade cards. There will be an upper limit on how many Jade cards even a Jade deck can include, simply because players will need other cards that help survival until the Jade Golem factory really gets churning. Cards like Jade Lightning or Jade Shuriken, while overpriced for what they do, at least help enable survival while triggering Jade Golems, something a 2/3 on four will have a lot more trouble doing.And to illustrate that, heres the Jade Behemoth which does help with survival. If by the time you play this card you dont have the Jade Golems pumped up a bit, the six mana and taunt at least adds in survival, something the previous card doesnt. And if the Golems are strong by this point? A 3/6 taunt and a 5/5 Jade Golem is a lot of stats for six mana. This card will be a staple if Druid Jade decks work.Another card that will be a big part of that deck is the Jade Idol. It has great synergy with Fandral Staghelm, a card thats already included in most Druid decks. And at one mana, its a slow card that can fill in as the opportunity arises, because youll rarely have the perfect card. No, Gang Up, a similar card at two mana, didnt work out, but this card has more natural synergy with its deck since the card you want doesnt have to be on board already and one mana difference is significant.The stats for Jade Swarmer are weak, but I think the combination of Stealth and Deathrattle make this card. The weakness of the low-health Stealth minions that we see from time-to-time is simply the danger of AOE effects, whether from spells like Maelstrom Portal or Battlecries like Ravaging Ghoul. But here, the card replaces itself with a 1/1 at worst in this case and in a Jade deck, it actually has the potential to act as a disincentive for a Control deck to remove. If its late in the game and youve played a lot of Golems, the opponent will have to think twice whether they want to kill it because summoning, say, a 9/9 Jade Golem might be worse than leaving the existing board as is. Even at its worst, its a stealthed Possessed Villager for an additional mana and is usable in Arena.Thankfully, Blizzard has realized that the cards that enable the Jade Shaman deck cant also make Midrange Shaman more dangerous. Neither Jade Claws nor Jade Chieftain make Midrange Shaman better, so mission one is accomplished. But in a Jade deck that needs to survive, the additional taunt summoned by the Jade Chieftain and the minion removal/Jade Golem pumping from the Jade Claws furthers the decks goals. Good cards. The Jade Claws will see play in Arena as well, a 2/2 weapon that summons a 1/1 is good value there simply because Stormforged Axe, which has an extra charge instead of the token, also sees play.Aya Blackpaw seems very likely to see play in Jade decks, even with the underwhelming 5/3 statline for six. In the worst case scenario, Aya summons a 1/1 Jade Golem and a 2/2 Jade Golem and while a vanilla 8/6 card for six wouldnt be played, its pretty good as a near worst-case scenario (it could also be silenced, but there are lots of other targets for the limited silences vailable). Just one Jade Golem before this card and all of a sudden its 10/8 stats for six, which is interesting. Great addition for Jade decks, terrible otherwise.Why did I take so long to get to the Dopplegangster? In this case, its a tricky card to evaluate until youve seen how hand-buffing works. When this card was revealed, we only saw a few of these types of cards, making any analysis for the Dopplegangster a bit tricky. Unbuffed, its weak, but summoning three 2/2s for five mana isnt the end of the world, similar to nerfed Force of Nature and and Kara Kazham! among existing cards. But buffs have a multiplier effect with this card, a simple +1/+1 buff, executed once on this card, makes three 3/3 cards, which is tremendous value for five. I think this will be a staple if hand-buff mechanic is strong enough in the end.One neutral that I think will see some play is Bomb Squad. A targeted five damage is a terrific control card and those types of decks will happily trade five life to do five damage (most control decks would play a five-mana 5/1 weapon that summons a 2/2). Whos going to care about five damage to their hero if they took out an Azure Drake or a Thing From Below? It doesnt have a lot of synergy with things like Dragons or buffs, but any card that has this kind of value potential will see experimentation. Plus, it nerfs Fireland Portal!What wont see experimentation is the Backstreet Leper. Its usually going to be worse than Wolfrider, a 3/1 with charge for the same mana cost and Wolfrider is a very niche card that only sees limited play in a few very aggressive decks. Id rather play Ice Rager, a three-mana 5/2 and that card was essentially a meme. A worse Leper Gnome.If Backstreet Leper is a worse Leper Gnome, then Toxic Sewer Ooze is a worse Acidic Swamp Ooze. A 3/2 for two (the Swamp Ooze) is a better statline than 4/3 for three and removing one durability from your opponents weapon is worse than simply destroying it, as the Swamp Ooze does. Any constructed deck that wants to play Acidic Swamp Ooze will prefer that card over this card. Youll see this in Arena, only becuase 4/3s get more play and you dont necessarily get to choose between this card and its superior cousin.This article is part of a series analyzing the cards in the Mean Streets of Gadgetzan Hearthstone expansion. For more, see part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6 and part 7. Aaron Barrett Jersey .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. Washington Nationals Gear . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. https://www.cheapnationals.com/1397r-trea-turner-jersey-nationals.html . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Jeremy Hellickson Nationals Jersey . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. Nationals Jerseys 2019 . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. Robin van Persie is almost certainly set to receive a warm welcome when he returns to Old Trafford with Fenerbahce on Thursday night.?The Dutchman might only have stayed at Manchester United for three seasons, but he needed only one of those to obtain what he had been bought to deliver -- a 20th top flight title for the club.Van Persies 26 Premier League goals in the 2012-13 season -- including one voted the leagues best ever -- secured Sir Alex Fergusons final championship success.That it pushed the great Scot towards retirement ultimately cost Van Persie, as he struggled for form under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal. Those travails have not diminished his standing among the Stretford End faithful, however.But does he deserve to be considered a great? Here are some clippings from the Dutchmans time at Old Trafford, and beyond to help you decide.His returnStruggling Van Persie returns to Old Trafford as a heroRVPP: I would still be a United player had Fergie not retiredVan Persie champing at the bit to make an impact at Old TraffordVan Persie proud of his time at UnitedEuropa League predictor: Van Persie returns against Man UnitedMemoriesVan Persie goal voted Premier Leagues bestRVP: Sir Alex Ferguson angry even when winningFerdinand says Van Persie became a sideshow at United under MoyesVan Persie brands Uniteds season lousy, future in doubtFerdinand: RVP felt Fergusons retirement hardest of allArsenalWhy Robin Van Persie haunts his old club like no otherVan Persie: Title justifies Arsenal exitWenger hints at Van Persies impatience at ArsenalAndre Santos apologises for RVP shirt swapAnd how it almost turned out very differently.dddddddddddd...Wenger: Juve blew their chance to sign Van Persie ' ' '