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Understanding Tech Cards in Hearthstone

Successful deckbuilders know even the best lists require a tweak here and there, especially month to month, to compete in a shifting meta. No deck is always good in a vacuum.

Of course, class cards like Mortal Coil can be shuffled in and out, but tech cards provide a more situational and, in my opinion,  more interesting function in the deckbuilding process. Tech cards provide usefulness in narrow, but not quite fringe, situations. Big Game Hunter had its meta of glory, Loatheb still disrupts spell-heavy decks in Wild, Golakka Crawler runs rampant in our current Patches the Pirate meta — the list goes on up to the present Spellbreaker takeover.

Tech cards are valuable right now, but that doesn’t mean every deck should run two silence effects. In fact, isolated from the context in which they’re played — the deck they’re in, popular opposing meta decks, etc. — most tech cards are terrible. Remember that as you mouse-over those two copies of Hungry Crab that have been lying mostly dormant since last summer.

Good tech requires thoughtful observation of the meta, especially your place in it: do aggro or control or combo decks comprise the majority of your opposition? Is a specific deck ruining your time? If so, how can you make your opponent pay a price for their typical plays while giving you an advantage? It’s all about anticipating decks, then cards, then plays — all to maximize your odds of success.

It’s a common misconception among new players that tech cards offer a direct counter to entire deck archetypes. But adding two Hungry Crab to your Tempo Rogue deck doesn’t guarantee you a win against Murloc Paladin. It doesn’t even guarantee you an increased win rate in a meta full of Murlocs — it just improves your odds by providing convenient answers to specific threats. It's never as simple as including x must translate to a win against y. To take it further, what are you willing to cut in favor or another one-drop or two? Does that make your deck too light? Are you sure you've played enough games to gauge that such a change is even necessary?

Opportunity Cost

When judging tech cards, players need to consider their opportunity cost in a specific context. Do that by considering the maximum usefulness of the card, the minimum usefulness, and the odds of those two versus another, perhaps more conventional card. Let’s consider the maximum usefulness of Golakka Crawler. You’re probably playing a tempo deck, you have Golakka Crawler in hand on turn three. A Tempo Rogue just coined out Southsea Captain and pulled Patches the Pirate from his or her deck — the best turn-three play in the game right now. Golakka Crawler is perhaps at its best here: played near curve for full value in a match-up that’s largely determined by tempo. Making this play, you'll be happy you teched it into your deck.

Top-decking Golakka Crawler in the late game against an opponent that doesn’t run Pirates, of course, is much worse. This doesn’t mean its inclusion isn’t warranted — unless you’re playing against Raza Priest 80% of the time. This is an issue of context. If this is the case, your Golakka Crawler doesn't make sense in the larger context of the meta, even if it helps you in 10% or 15% of games. You'd be better off substituting two Cobalt Scalebane than you are waiting for Pirates to reappear. These worst-case scenarios, by the way, can be mitigated by decks with good draw engines. Top-decking a two-mana ⅔ minion in the late game as Raza Priest won’t devastate players like it might devastate an aggressive Paladin with a thin hand and no Divine Favor.

One of the most misunderstood tech cards, by the way, is Skulking Geist. Kibler knows this well, considering he’s heard “have you tried Skulking Geist in this deck?” perhaps every time he’s lost to Jade Druid on his stream. But it’s much more complicated than that. The card needs to be considered, again, in the context of the meta and one’s win conditions. He does a great job explaining the narrow usefulness of Geist in this video for Omnistone. 

Spellbreaker

So where are we now? Powerful buffs, Divine Shields, and Deathrattles pervade our current meta, of which Aggro Paladin and Cubelock comprise a large part. Silence effects have therefore become more prevalent, considering their power in an array of scenarios. Many Raza Priest lists now include Mass Dispel and/or Kabal Songstealer in addition to Silence, while tempo and aggro decks have found room for at least one Spellbreaker because of its devastating potential against Possessed Lackey. The targets for silence go on: Carnivorous Cube, Voidlord, Blessing of Kings, Acolyte of Pain, Edwin VanCleef. This versatility in addition to the potential to ruin Cubelock’s day explains its prevalence. It’s a good time to be breaking spells.

Golakka Crawler

While Patches the Pirate remains in Standard, Golakka Crawler will remain one of the most common and effective tech cards. Its potential to steal tempo from opponents can swing games in tempo matchups, while slower decks like Raza Priest benefit from its ability to help stall as you assemble key cards. Played for tempo, Golakka Crawler’s formidable stats make the opportunity cost for this one as low as any tech cards.

Hungry Crab

In a meta full of Murlocs, Hungry Crab on turn one can win games. But against any other opponent, its stats are too underwhelming. Only Hunter and Aggro Druid can mitigate this downside with their ability to adapt and buff friendly beasts with Crackling Razormaw and Mark of Y'Shaarj. Other classes should think twice.

Dirty Rat

Dirty Rat enjoys a rare success against both aggro and combo decks. Against the former, its stats can control the board against most minions pulled from, say, Aggro Druid or Aggro Paladin. But the omnipresence of Corridor Creeper, even in opening hands, has lessened the potential for effective Dirty Rat plays in these match-ups. The card is still best played against combo decks like Raza Priest, where at best it destroys a win condition and at worst denies card draw; and Exodia Mage, where the odds of pulling a Sorcerer's Apprentice (and winning the game) increase as the opponent thins his or her deck.

Acidic Swamp Ooze

As more players choose to climb ladder with Paladin, weapon destruction becomes more and more valuable (some lists run five weapons). Fortune could even see you to destroying a Skull of the Man'ari on turn five against Cubelock. But that’s wishful thinking, and perhaps your list will perform better without one of the many Oozes while Raza Priest dominates. Bloodsail Corsair can simultaneously pull Patches and ruin an Aggro Paladin’s day, too, but it only fits in very aggressive decks. As always, it’s something to consider.

Fringe

Some tech cards are entirely fringe, but that doesn’t make them any less useful. If anything, their unexpectedness can work in your favor. Most recently, Xixo ran two Nerubian Unraveler in a Zoolock list he piloted to the top ranks of Legend this month, presumably to deny on-curve removal and stifle Tempo Rogue’s access to efficient combos. Keep in mind that this card would have negative synergy in a deck like Tempo Rogue, which often makes use of cheap spells.

Tech and Kobolds and Catacombs

There are a few tech cards unique to the Kobolds and Catacombs expansion, but none are seeing much play. Kobold Monk seems at first glance like a plausible answer to Raza Priest, but Priest has too many answers — Silence, Mass Dispel, Shadow Word: Pain — to make it a credible threat to their win condition. If it had four attack, maybe we would be having a different discussion. Likewise, The Darkness offers a fun if inconsistent and easily shut down threat to decks hoping to draw cards. Shadow Word: Death, Psychic Scream, and Shadowreaper Anduin will be held by any Raza Priest staring down a dormant 20/20 and a couple candles.

Corrosive Sludge rounds out the set’s tech cards, but its potential is weighed down by its cost. Aggro Paladin’s weapons are too cheap and too abundant, while a deck with room to tech against Cubelock would be better off with silence effects than a one-of answer to Skull of the Man'ari. For now, these tech cards simply underwhelm compared to other options. We’ll see if the next expansion, or if a fresh round of nerfs, allows these cards to fare better.

Hearthstone’s ever-changing meta means tech cards will fall into and out of the spotlight regularly, so as you play, watch for new trends and think about how you can exploit them. Just remember to ask yourself if the benefits of a tech card will outweigh the negatives, especially in the context of your decklist and the broader meta.

That said, even though Spellbreaker reigns supreme right now, we’d love to hear your thoughts on tech cards. What’s the most creative use of one you’ve seen? Do you want to see a specific type of tech card we haven't yet? Let us know in the comments!