Ben

because to me it is FLASHING FUCKING ALARM BELLS OF MISTAKES "deckbuilding challenge", going forward, should likely be deciphered as Extremely Dangerous Thing

almost every time we have to distort our deck to a point but yet still win when we get the payoff, games get less fun over time. they're only fun the first time we see it.

That is to me why Genn and Baku Deckbulding challenges are really interesting though. The Recruit mistakes made one version of Paladin super strong, but I believe it won't happen with the other (too much competition at the slot).

i suppose genn and baku kind of apply as "deckbuilding challenges" but the payoff is much smaller (it feels like) than it is for some of these other historical ones

The cards you listed above created a flashy big swing turn where Baku and genn try to have a consistent game plan throughout the whole game. I think they have similar power levels but one is a giant spike while the other is a gradual increase

i'd be pretty hard pressed to compare the power levels of hero power upgrades to these other cards. maybe keleseth?

Baku did push Keleseth out of the meta in rogue. Even paladin gets played over generic aggro because the hero power is so strong. I think the power level of Baku and Genn is up there with Reno

On ladder archetypes within a single class aren't 'zero-sum' just look at how cube and control warlock are both popular at the same time.