Aggression and control: two facets of a coin, both approaching the same game in a different way so as to secure victory. Aggression, we know, typically relies on heavy usage of minions to assert board dominance and beat down the opponent. Control, on the other hand, is a bit more misunderstood, especially since some of the cards that relate to it are often sprinkled in aggressive decks as a little "push" to help with the previously mentioned board dominance. Not all Control cards belong in Aggression decks, however, and one of those that DO belong in such decks will be the focus of this short article!
Lately, or more specifically since the patch that took place at the beginning of October, Mage has probably been the most dominant class as far as the Aggression archetype is concerned. And there is a reason for it: unlike some Warlock Aggression decks who beat you down recklessly with Flame Imps while casting the occasional Shadow Bolt, their Control spells are both versatile and supportive of the Aggression archetype!
Taking a closer look at one of them specifically, this will make more sense!
Are you getting your Mana's worth out of Frostbolt?
Absolutely!
Frostbolt was changed from a 3-Mana Cost spell in the first Beta content patch to a 2-Mana Cost one, making it highly desirable and partly propelling Mages to the rank of the most played classes! It is now a 2-Mana Cost spell with two components: the 3 damage it deals and its secondary effect, the Freeze. In order to look at the card in a "global" context, we will directly compare it to other similarly designed cards, in all of its aspects.
Demonfire, Wrath, Eviscerate and Slam all are direct damage spells with the same Mana Cost, but with a different secondary component and restrictions.
Demonfire's damage is low (equal to Arcane Shot and Holy Smite, which cost only 1), but the secondary component often makes up for it in the most aggressive Warlock decks, since Flame Imps and Blood Imps are more often than not at the forefront of their strategy. As a removal tool, however, it isn't the best, although it does take care of the annoying Turn 1-2 Knife Jugglers and Acidic Swamp Oozes. The +2/+2 effect it yields "can" be compared to a Mage's use of the Frostbolt to deal 3 damage to the enemy Hero, but has the benefit of being re-usable assuming the minion both survives and, as a pre-requisite, is a DEMON! If the Demon part of the pre-requisite can often be satisfied through deckbuilding, the survival of the minion is far from being systematically guaranteed, and this mildly hinders the card's usability.
Wrath, as a second comparative point, can deal the exact same amount of damage Frostbolt can, but is restricted to target minions. This last restriction has been implemented on the same patch Frostbolt was brought down to a Mana Cost of 2, but it isn't a gamebreaking one. As a counterpart for not Freezing the targeted minion, the Druid can choose to deal only one damage (Mage's Hero Power equivalent), but draw a card as added value. As far as very early removal goes, it doesn't get better than Wrath: it can remove Leper Gnomes, Knife Jugglers and Shattered Sun Clerics. However, Frostbolt gets even better once the middle of the game is reached, as it allows the Mage to both kill minions with 3 Health AND delay incoming aggression, setting up to kill the target at a later time with a Blizzard/Cone of Cold/Hero Power. Plus, it synergizes amazingly with a Sorcerer's Apprentice on turn 3 to both remove a minion AND establish board presence.
Eviscerate, we all know, is one of the most effective cost-to-damage-ratio cards in the games. For 2 mana and an easily attainable prerequisite, you can deal a total of 4 damage to a target of your choosing. Mages are giving up on 1 potential extra damage for a promise of always having access to a 3 damage, aggression-delaying effect that largely synergizes with their AoE spells. The trade-off is balanced, and although there are a lot of circumstances where you would LOVE to have an Eviscerate over a Frostbolt (e.g: a 4-Health minion you have to expend 4 Mana to kill, using your Hero Power in conjunction with your spell), Frostbolt lends itself a lot better to the Mage playstyle than Eviscerate probably would, since the Combo requirement would probablybe steep for early/midgame removal as a non-Rogue class.
Slam, a Warrior card specifically aimed at removing minions, will no doubt remind you of Hammer of Wrath, but also make you praise the Hearthstone gods for Frostbolt. It has the damage output of a Demonfire, but a secondary component that requires that you spend at least another action to finish off your target (if you so desire). It is meant to synergize with Enrage effects whereby you use it on your own Raging Worgen to triggers Windfury and +1 Attack, but it is, unlike Frostbolt, a very unreliable and demanding removal spell. And to top it off, it cannot target enemy Heroes. The card admittedly finds situational purpose, but it is far from being at the level of Frostbolt as far as general value goes.
Same damage, different day.
Lightning Bolt, Kill Command and Hammer of Wrath are all direct damage spells with the same damage output, but a different Mana Cost as well as a different secondary component.
Lightning Bolt, a staple of Shaman decks and arguably one of the best early game removal spells that exist, costs 1 Mana and gives you Frostbolt's damage equivalent. It comes at the cost of one less Mana Crystal on the following turn due to Overload, but is highly efficient when it comes to "curving out" (leaving as few Mana Crystals open at the end of your turn as possible). This "curving out" efficiency I would argue is Lightning Bolt's strongest selling point, but it isn't putting Frostbolt to shame at all. Lightning Bolt's mana efficiency is largely rivaled by the absence of an Overload cost on Frostbolt which, when paired with the the Sorcerer's Apprentice as a very strong Aggression deck synergy, can turn the tides easily in an Aggression mirror match-up. Not to discredit Lightning Bolt, though, I must admit it is probably (with Forked Lightning as a close contender) the spell I view as the prime example of a solid early/mid-game removal spell.
As for, Kill Command is a very tricky card to compare Frostbolt to. On one hand, it is just as versatile as far as targeting goes, and its baseline damage is just as strong. However, its damage output is nearly on par with Fireball when the pre-requisite is met. Much like in the case of Eviscerate, though, I would say that the Mage has a sufficient amount of "pure damage" spells with the existence of Fireball and Pyroblast, and do not need more than they already have at the risk of being imbalanced. From a damage perspective though, and if only because its Mana Cost is lower and it has no pre-requisites, I would tend to favor a card such as Frostbolt regardless of the class I was just because of its consistency. As a Mage, my preference for such a designed card is compounded by my Mage's Hero Power, as well as the existence of Cone of Cold and Blizzard which often finish off the formerly weakened Frostbolt target.
Last of the three, Hammer of Wrath is a very straightforward comparison because of one thing: the Mana Cost between it and Frostbolt is much larger than that of the previous two spells. The extra 2 Mana Crystals expended on the card justify the fact that it "cycles", whereas Frostbolt costs you two less Mana for the same damage yet still provides some utility with a Freezing effect. Not much else is to be said about these cards, aside from the fact that, again, your Hero Power complements Frostbolt a lot better than the Paladin's Hero Power complements his Hammer of Wrath.
Frost Nova, Cone of Cold and Blizzard can be "bunched" in a single comparison, since they are not single target spells but rather "AoE" spells (Area of Effect) that affect multiple targets at once. The most similar of these to Frostbolt is Cone of Cold, since it typically will deal 3 damage for 3 Mana, and Freeze three minions. It would be a mistake to compare Frostbolt to it regardless, since Cone of Cold is used a lot more as a tempo delay/weakening spell, whereas Frostbolt often aims to kill.
Ice Lance on the other hand seems to serve a purpose akin to that of Frostbolt. It's a cheap spell, and it freezes, and it can deal damage...but the pre-requisite is so situational on Ice Lance that it makes Combo spells and Kill Command look like they're easy to satisfy. Even though it does Freeze a minion at the least, the thing Ice Lance does best is make Frostbolt more appealing by allowing you to synergize both for a total of 7 damage dealt, at a modest cost of 4. I would hardly compare Ice Lance to Frostbolt, but I am more than happy to give it an honorable mention as "Frostbolt's Bestest Friend Ever".
As a last comparison point of this article, we're looking at the absolute most similar card to Frostbolt in the game: Frost Shock. For one mana less than Frostbolt, you can see Shamans lose out on TWO DAMAGE! The efficiency discrepancy is massive! Frostbolt is a combination of a Frost Shock AND an Arcane Shot/Holy Smite, all in ONE CARD and for no Mana Cost penalty. This efficiency discrepancy is only understood in the context of class balance, whereby Shamans have access to a plethora of very efficient removal spells already(Lightning Bolt, Forked Lightning, Lightning Storm, and Lava Burst), and the fact that they have a readily available +Spell Power source in their summonedWrath of Air Totem. In this regard you could argue that Mages "need" something like Frostbolt as a reliable early game removal spell, and I would tend to agree, but its power level is further alongside the curve than some people yet realize!
The Verdict
Frostbolt, after the patch lowered its Mana Cost from 3 to 2, has become a "no brainer" when it comes to building a Mage deck; much like every Warrior plays Fiery War Axes (or should), every Mage plays Frostbolts. And if you're not playing Frostbolt yet, "ye're doin' it wrong!"
On this light note, and hoping I didn't just convince the remaining 40% of non-Mage players to change their class, take care of yourselves!
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Aggression and control: two facets of a coin, both approaching the same game in a different way so as to secure victory. Aggression, we know, typically relies on heavy usage of minions to assert board dominance and beat down the opponent. Control, on the other hand, is a bit more misunderstood, especially since some of the cards that relate to it are often sprinkled in aggressive decks as a little "push" to help with the previously mentioned board dominance. Not all Control cards belong in Aggression decks, however, and one of those that DO belong in such decks will be the focus of this short article!
Lately, or more specifically since the patch that took place at the beginning of October, Mage has probably been the most dominant class as far as the Aggression archetype is concerned. And there is a reason for it: unlike some Warlock Aggression decks who beat you down recklessly with Flame Imps while casting the occasional Shadow Bolt, their Control spells are both versatile and supportive of the Aggression archetype!
Taking a closer look at one of them specifically, this will make more sense!
Are you getting your Mana's worth out of Frostbolt?
Absolutely!
Frostbolt was changed from a 3-Mana Cost spell in the first Beta content patch to a 2-Mana Cost one, making it highly desirable and partly propelling Mages to the rank of the most played classes! It is now a 2-Mana Cost spell with two components: the 3 damage it deals and its secondary effect, the Freeze. In order to look at the card in a "global" context, we will directly compare it to other similarly designed cards, in all of its aspects.
Demonfire, Wrath, Eviscerate and Slam all are direct damage spells with the same Mana Cost, but with a different secondary component and restrictions.
Demonfire's damage is low (equal to Arcane Shot and Holy Smite, which cost only 1), but the secondary component often makes up for it in the most aggressive Warlock decks, since Flame Imps and Blood Imps are more often than not at the forefront of their strategy. As a removal tool, however, it isn't the best, although it does take care of the annoying Turn 1-2 Knife Jugglers and Acidic Swamp Oozes. The +2/+2 effect it yields "can" be compared to a Mage's use of the Frostbolt to deal 3 damage to the enemy Hero, but has the benefit of being re-usable assuming the minion both survives and, as a pre-requisite, is a DEMON! If the Demon part of the pre-requisite can often be satisfied through deckbuilding, the survival of the minion is far from being systematically guaranteed, and this mildly hinders the card's usability.
Wrath, as a second comparative point, can deal the exact same amount of damage Frostbolt can, but is restricted to target minions. This last restriction has been implemented on the same patch Frostbolt was brought down to a Mana Cost of 2, but it isn't a gamebreaking one. As a counterpart for not Freezing the targeted minion, the Druid can choose to deal only one damage (Mage's Hero Power equivalent), but draw a card as added value. As far as very early removal goes, it doesn't get better than Wrath: it can remove Leper Gnomes, Knife Jugglers and Shattered Sun Clerics. However, Frostbolt gets even better once the middle of the game is reached, as it allows the Mage to both kill minions with 3 Health AND delay incoming aggression, setting up to kill the target at a later time with a Blizzard/Cone of Cold/Hero Power. Plus, it synergizes amazingly with a Sorcerer's Apprentice on turn 3 to both remove a minion AND establish board presence.
Eviscerate, we all know, is one of the most effective cost-to-damage-ratio cards in the games. For 2 mana and an easily attainable prerequisite, you can deal a total of 4 damage to a target of your choosing. Mages are giving up on 1 potential extra damage for a promise of always having access to a 3 damage, aggression-delaying effect that largely synergizes with their AoE spells. The trade-off is balanced, and although there are a lot of circumstances where you would LOVE to have an Eviscerate over a Frostbolt (e.g: a 4-Health minion you have to expend 4 Mana to kill, using your Hero Power in conjunction with your spell), Frostbolt lends itself a lot better to the Mage playstyle than Eviscerate probably would, since the Combo requirement would probablybe steep for early/midgame removal as a non-Rogue class.
Slam, a Warrior card specifically aimed at removing minions, will no doubt remind you of Hammer of Wrath, but also make you praise the Hearthstone gods for Frostbolt. It has the damage output of a Demonfire, but a secondary component that requires that you spend at least another action to finish off your target (if you so desire). It is meant to synergize with Enrage effects whereby you use it on your own Raging Worgen to triggers Windfury and +1 Attack, but it is, unlike Frostbolt, a very unreliable and demanding removal spell. And to top it off, it cannot target enemy Heroes. The card admittedly finds situational purpose, but it is far from being at the level of Frostbolt as far as general value goes.
Same damage, different day.
Lightning Bolt, Kill Command and Hammer of Wrath are all direct damage spells with the same damage output, but a different Mana Cost as well as a different secondary component.
Lightning Bolt, a staple of Shaman decks and arguably one of the best early game removal spells that exist, costs 1 Mana and gives you Frostbolt's damage equivalent. It comes at the cost of one less Mana Crystal on the following turn due to Overload, but is highly efficient when it comes to "curving out" (leaving as few Mana Crystals open at the end of your turn as possible). This "curving out" efficiency I would argue is Lightning Bolt's strongest selling point, but it isn't putting Frostbolt to shame at all. Lightning Bolt's mana efficiency is largely rivaled by the absence of an Overload cost on Frostbolt which, when paired with the the Sorcerer's Apprentice as a very strong Aggression deck synergy, can turn the tides easily in an Aggression mirror match-up. Not to discredit Lightning Bolt, though, I must admit it is probably (with Forked Lightning as a close contender) the spell I view as the prime example of a solid early/mid-game removal spell.
As for, Kill Command is a very tricky card to compare Frostbolt to. On one hand, it is just as versatile as far as targeting goes, and its baseline damage is just as strong. However, its damage output is nearly on par with Fireball when the pre-requisite is met. Much like in the case of Eviscerate, though, I would say that the Mage has a sufficient amount of "pure damage" spells with the existence of Fireball and Pyroblast, and do not need more than they already have at the risk of being imbalanced. From a damage perspective though, and if only because its Mana Cost is lower and it has no pre-requisites, I would tend to favor a card such as Frostbolt regardless of the class I was just because of its consistency. As a Mage, my preference for such a designed card is compounded by my Mage's Hero Power, as well as the existence of Cone of Cold and Blizzard which often finish off the formerly weakened Frostbolt target.
Last of the three, Hammer of Wrath is a very straightforward comparison because of one thing: the Mana Cost between it and Frostbolt is much larger than that of the previous two spells. The extra 2 Mana Crystals expended on the card justify the fact that it "cycles", whereas Frostbolt costs you two less Mana for the same damage yet still provides some utility with a Freezing effect. Not much else is to be said about these cards, aside from the fact that, again, your Hero Power complements Frostbolt a lot better than the Paladin's Hero Power complements his Hammer of Wrath.
Frozen Rock Solid!
Ice Lance, Frost Nova, Cone of Cold, Blizzard and Frost Shock are all damaging spells that share a similar secondary component but a different Mana Cost/damage output, as well as targeting restrictions.
Frost Nova, Cone of Cold and Blizzard can be "bunched" in a single comparison, since they are not single target spells but rather "AoE" spells (Area of Effect) that affect multiple targets at once. The most similar of these to Frostbolt is Cone of Cold, since it typically will deal 3 damage for 3 Mana, and Freeze three minions. It would be a mistake to compare Frostbolt to it regardless, since Cone of Cold is used a lot more as a tempo delay/weakening spell, whereas Frostbolt often aims to kill.
Ice Lance on the other hand seems to serve a purpose akin to that of Frostbolt. It's a cheap spell, and it freezes, and it can deal damage...but the pre-requisite is so situational on Ice Lance that it makes Combo spells and Kill Command look like they're easy to satisfy. Even though it does Freeze a minion at the least, the thing Ice Lance does best is make Frostbolt more appealing by allowing you to synergize both for a total of 7 damage dealt, at a modest cost of 4. I would hardly compare Ice Lance to Frostbolt, but I am more than happy to give it an honorable mention as "Frostbolt's Bestest Friend Ever".
As a last comparison point of this article, we're looking at the absolute most similar card to Frostbolt in the game: Frost Shock. For one mana less than Frostbolt, you can see Shamans lose out on TWO DAMAGE! The efficiency discrepancy is massive! Frostbolt is a combination of a Frost Shock AND an Arcane Shot/Holy Smite, all in ONE CARD and for no Mana Cost penalty. This efficiency discrepancy is only understood in the context of class balance, whereby Shamans have access to a plethora of very efficient removal spells already(Lightning Bolt, Forked Lightning, Lightning Storm, and Lava Burst), and the fact that they have a readily available +Spell Power source in their summoned Wrath of Air Totem. In this regard you could argue that Mages "need" something like Frostbolt as a reliable early game removal spell, and I would tend to agree, but its power level is further alongside the curve than some people yet realize!
The Verdict
Frostbolt, after the patch lowered its Mana Cost from 3 to 2, has become a "no brainer" when it comes to building a Mage deck; much like every Warrior plays Fiery War Axes (or should), every Mage plays Frostbolts. And if you're not playing Frostbolt yet, "ye're doin' it wrong!"
On this light note, and hoping I didn't just convince the remaining 40% of non-Mage players to change their class, take care of yourselves!