[2020] I just realised Baku the Mooneater is a flavour home run

In the Mysterious Missives reports about the denizens of the Witchwood, Baku - as well as the Shudderwock - is highlighted as existing halfway between dream and reality, something that appears in nightmares and visions but never in the flesh. It twists the wood and the minds of those who perceive it, creating "a feeling of crushing, unyielding dread" and giving those who dream of it "the ability to manifest their will in surprising ways."

Isn't this exactly what playing against a Baku deck is like?

As a vanilla 7/8 for 9, even when drawn Baku rarely physically appears within Hearthstone: according to HSReplay, it's in a striking 10.3% of decks but accounts only for a 0.1% share of cards played. Rather, you only see a vision of it at the game's start, appearing with a vague threat before vanishing into dream-like smoke like the hallucination it is.

In doing this, similar to a turn one Caverns Below or a Keleseth, this instils a direct reaction in the opponent. With that animation, you gain a kind of insight into the way the game is going to go. You see a Baku Hunter, and you know you're going to be playing the fast trading game and hoping. You see a Baku Paladin, and you exterminate every single Silver Hand Recruit you see because you know Level Up is coming. And sometimes, you look at your opening hand and you realise you're not going to be able to do it: you can't outrace the Ballista Shot, you can't deal with the Poisoned Daggers. And the dread sets in. Some people just concede when they hear Baku's threat.

But it also has a curious effect on the players, too. Fringe or often unplayable cards have made a surprising resurgence under the withering shadow Baku casts. Do you remember Stormwind Champion? Corridor Creeper? Ironbeak Owl? Raid Leader? Baku's influence has wrenched even dreadful cards from the mire of obscurity and back into the nightmares of players worldwide. All this in mind, Hagatha's hallucinogenic lieutenant is pretty much one of the most flavoursome cards in the game right now.