Arena styles.

[Synir]

I am bored at work before leaving, and I had a chat with an old friend of mine I used to play Magic: the Gathering competitively with.

The question that came up is, is WoW PvP ready to mature to the next level of strategy? Because so far, at least in my experience, it has mainly been about class balance (warlocks are OP!), skill synergy (UA+dots!) and gear. This isn't so much different than the situation was when Magic first came out; people noticed strong cards and built decks around them, but it took quite a while before that thought matured into the realization that you could think of the game differently and make thematic strategies rather than card-based.

For example, the concept of resource deprivation (a rather old trick in MT:G) is coming up increasingly in WoW as well, with teams based around mana burn, drain mana and viper stings. Or slow 'control' styles focused around plenty of CC meant to remove the opposing threats out of the board rather than surviving them; the warrior's MS isn't healed as much as prevented with roots, kiting, etc. Or you have the standard nuke styles with plenty of DPS meant to overwhelm defenses - a common theme to those who've ever faced weenie type of decks in MT:G. Etc.

My thought is - is this even viable in WoW? Is the balance depth sufficient to sustain this concept in the game, or are things just shallow enough to disallow it? Will people be successful actually thinking in terms of "resource deprivation" where the strategy is prioritized over class composition, instead of "let's get a well geared hunter" without thinking to focus the team around that particular concept but rather build the team around the classes you end up getting?

What do you think?

P.S. I'm bored and tired, maybe I'm overthinking it. :)

[Drudkh]

this is exactly how I feel about arena. Me and my warlock partner named our first 2v2 "We are landstill" because warlock/druid in wow plays a lot like a control deck (like landstill) would in Magic. Magic is all about synnergy and matchups, and I find a lot of parallels between it and arena. Right now the dominant 2v2 strategy seems to be a control setup.

Basically I see it very similarly to Magic. Certain decks just had better and better odds as the game got longer. And other decks tried to end the game quickly before their opponents could use all of their resources. These relate to healer/drain teams and 2 dps teams in WoW.

I have to run, maybe I can elaborate on this more later. Good to see other MtG people that play WoW.

Edit:

I think what the OP is trying to say is that arenas can be though of in a more theoretical way. I truly agree with this, but it will take a very smart individual to map things out like people did for Magic. Something that seems to have a bigger impact on WoW than Magic is playskill though. The best arena teams might not be the ones that understand the game the best, they may just be very skilled players.

Edit 2:

To quote Buena:

"I wish we could get 10 times less attention to class matchups and 10 times more attention to fundamental strategy. Some examples of threads I would definitely open, pay close attention to, and respond..."

so there are people that are more interested in fundamental strategy over specific strategy.

[Synir]

Another thing I often see lately is the inclusion of the metagame in people's group choices; a rather staple MT:G theme.

For example, the reason I don't do arenas as priest+rogue is the high number of paladin+warrior groups. Others - especially in high ratings of 2v2 where warlocks are quite frequently found - wear shadow resistance gear per default, just in case they run into them.

As for playskill Drudkh, I do agree. It matters; but it mattered in MT:G as well. After all you could be running the same deck (or at least something like 95% the same in composition) to a high rating player, and he'd win far more often due to making less mistakes, playing the psychological game better, making more efficient choices, etc. Strategy will take you only that far on its own.

[Amplified]

The game itself does not create strategy, the players do. So yeah, it's mature enough and will continue to evolve just as long as the players do, given whatever tools they have at their disposal.

[Immolatte]

Look at all the new setups that are happening especially in the 5v5 bracket. It's no longer 2-3-4-5 and insta-gib setups with UA locks and SP's. Arenas are constantly changing. Each game is different as well. You cant do the same thing against the same team over and over again because they will find ways to counter your strategy.

[Dorain]

Mono-black aggro imo. Splash green or white as needed.