Al'ar was proclaimed to be the worst legendary (and arguably the worst card of the set) by most players when it was released. The argument was simple: the card is frail, has a lopsided statline, and doesn't have any relevant synergies with any other standard cards. However, I'd like to argue that the card is underrated, and that it could be very good with some experimentation.
First, let's look at plain numbers. 7/3 is a very scary statline that demands removal or a minion trade. It almost single-handedly kills an opponent in 4 turns due to its high attack. Its passive adds on another 3 health, making it technically a 7/6 (although addition theory almost never works out, since an 0/3 isn't worth the same as adding 3 hp to a 7/3).
Since it draws so much attention from the opponent, its value derives from whether or not the opponent can deal with it. And here's the core of my argument - I'd argue that in the aggro/midrange vs. control matchup, this wrecks face because the opponent can't deal with it. It forces, at the very least, 2 for 1s. And if the control deck gets unlucky, they might just have to let Al'ar smash them for the next few turns. No card in the current metagame except Plague of Death (Edit: I was wrong! See below) can deal with Al'ar.
If you're not convinced by the hearthstone based argument, I'd like to draw your attention to a similar card in Magic the Gathering, Rekindling Phoenix. It's a 4 mana 4/3 that, when dies, turns into an 0/2 that turns back into a 4/3 next turn. While this card wasn't metabreaking, it did see play in midrange decks and certain aggro decks as a way to stuff out control. Al'ar may come out a turn later, but 3 extra attack and an extra point of hp on the egg has to be worth it.
In conclusion, I think Al'ar is significantly underrated and should, at the very least, see more experimentation. The only reason I'm not using it is because I haven't opened it in a pack yet. What about you?
I've had pretty great results with it in my Libram Paladin deck. My whole deck is sticky minions and buffs. If you don't attack minions with it (ones that will kill it), your opponent has to spend resources putting it down every turn if they can't silence it... Having it on board with 2 buffed Recurring Villains is great.
I also think Al'ar could have more than just meme potential.
Since the only obvious counter is dealing 3 damage twice or silence then deal 3 damage. Morphing effects are also a possible counter...but the current meta revolves around rather tempo based games and silence aren't run as often as they once were. And those classes without it run it less often from the Neutral cards since only Ironbeak Owl nor Infectious Sporeling see enough play.
But the previous obvious counter isn't that hard to meet. Be it a rogue who has near unlimited single target prowess, mages who are equally prominent or could at the very least delay it with various Freeze mechanics. Demon hunters also can do so easily, but the current Warrior, Palla and Shamans might have some trouble. But that's only if they got terrible mulligan and their current popular aggro decks don't work like they usually do.
From how I see it, it isn't that hard to deal with nor is it a very reactive turn 5 play. which could mean the difference between winning or losing in most matchups these days... I'm not saying it's terrible, all I'm saying is that it just doesn't have as much support for a turn 5 play.
Also, important fact is that Al'ar can't attack in the turn it came back from ash form.
Perhaps it could be considered as a late game minion for a Priest. After they both sides use up their resource...but Priest already got plenty of that and another dead draw in their deck is the last thing they need.
The problem is it's just infinitely too slow for the current meta. When are you playing this against demon hunter? When are you playing it against Druid who glowflies for the same mana? The game is way too fast and tempo based right now for this card to have any hope at all.
all are wrong, worst card of expansion is magtheridon
This is a true statement.
A'lar is definitely better than we gave him credit for. I wouldn't call him great or anything, but he has his niche. He's a good threat for resurrect/deathrattle decks. Decent card.
There are synergies available for Al'ar in standard. It's one of the best targets for cloning in Quest Paladin. It's also very strong with Grave Rune and Psyche Split in Clone Priest. This card is only good in decks that can copy it multiple times. It doesn't work in Deathrattle decks because just triggering its deathrattle provides a very mediocre result. Hunter can't use it properly because of this. Rogue also can't use it (unless you play a meme shuffle rogue with Shadow of Death and Stowaway). Basically, it only works in decks that can generate multiple Al'ars in one turn. It's a real threat in those decks, but they are too greedy and slow and this meta doesn't forgive passiveness.
Al'ar is a niche card. It exists for very specific decks and does well in those (but sucks everywhere else). As long as there are synergies available, you can make a good use of it. It's fun as well. It's similar to Shu'ma. That card also looked awful but it found a spot in Quest Hunter and proved its viability as a niche card for token decks.
Yesterday I lost miserably to Al'ar in arena. Absolutely bonkers drop when ahead on board. The card single handedly won the match. I suggest you consider it if offered.
you can't really compare Al'ar and Pheonix outside them having similar effects. In magic, the defender dictates the trades and so the opponent can choose whether or not to trade the Pheonix and even when it is traded the second half requires an instant spell (or another effect) to deal with it. Moreover, Al'ar doesn't even have any sort of evasion, unlike Pheonix's flying. Once you play Al'ar the opponent has full control on whether to deal with it or not. Al'ar will pretty much always be an underwhelming card and not a card you'd want to willingly put in your deck.
I run it in a Making Mummies deck with a fair few taunts for it to hide behind; Bone Wraith, Khartut Defender. When the 2/2 version dies, the ashes spawn a new 7/3 which is pretty awesome.
The card is very slow and too frail. If the deathrattle created a dormant minion that revived after a turn or two then it's playability would go up significantly, however that three health stat line would likely still keep it out of many decks.
Sorry for the ignorant question but is the egg token Al'ar leaves behind on death of the main card, a deathrattle effect or a special effect that just has to survive for one turn to resurrect Al'ar?
I drew Al'ar in a pack but haven't used it yet because if the egg isn't a deathrattle, it seems kinda bad. Bad in the same way that Nithhogg looks good on paper but the eggs aren't deathrattles and so easily killed for nothing but the opportunity cost of damage elsewhere that it isn't a good card outside of certain niches.
I MIGHT try Al'ar in some kind of clone deck but outside of that I would never throw it in a random deck and hope for good results.
It‘s a great midrange card, useless against aggro since they will just trade a small minion (or not at all) and ignore the ashes but great vs any control deck since they usually have to use at least two cards to get rid of it. (well, apart from the removals you mentioned).
But you‘ll have to create a deck with lots of minions with similar „stickyness“ to profit.
Thing is, in constructed can you reall afford to spend 5 mana on a fairly vanilla 7/6? I'm not saying it's bad....but yeah it's pretty bad. And yeah it gets completely hard countered by the most popular warrior 4drop.
Al'ar was proclaimed to be the worst legendary (and arguably the worst card of the set) by most players when it was released. The argument was simple: the card is frail, has a lopsided statline, and doesn't have any relevant synergies with any other standard cards. However, I'd like to argue that the card is underrated, and that it could be very good with some experimentation.
First, let's look at plain numbers. 7/3 is a very scary statline that demands removal or a minion trade. It almost single-handedly kills an opponent in 4 turns due to its high attack. Its passive adds on another 3 health, making it technically a 7/6 (although addition theory almost never works out, since an 0/3 isn't worth the same as adding 3 hp to a 7/3).
Since it draws so much attention from the opponent, its value derives from whether or not the opponent can deal with it. And here's the core of my argument - I'd argue that in the aggro/midrange vs. control matchup, this wrecks face because the opponent can't deal with it. It forces, at the very least, 2 for 1s. And if the control deck gets unlucky, they might just have to let Al'ar smash them for the next few turns. No card in the current metagame except Plague of Death (Edit: I was wrong! See below) can deal with Al'ar.
If you're not convinced by the hearthstone based argument, I'd like to draw your attention to a similar card in Magic the Gathering, Rekindling Phoenix. It's a 4 mana 4/3 that, when dies, turns into an 0/2 that turns back into a 4/3 next turn. While this card wasn't metabreaking, it did see play in midrange decks and certain aggro decks as a way to stuff out control. Al'ar may come out a turn later, but 3 extra attack and an extra point of hp on the egg has to be worth it.
In conclusion, I think Al'ar is significantly underrated and should, at the very least, see more experimentation. The only reason I'm not using it is because I haven't opened it in a pack yet. What about you?
Edit: List of cards that can deal with Al'ar by themselves that I missed cuz me dumb: Warglaives of Azzinoth, Restless Mummy
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I've had pretty great results with it in my Libram Paladin deck. My whole deck is sticky minions and buffs. If you don't attack minions with it (ones that will kill it), your opponent has to spend resources putting it down every turn if they can't silence it... Having it on board with 2 buffed Recurring Villains is great.
I also think Al'ar could have more than just meme potential.
Since the only obvious counter is dealing 3 damage twice or silence then deal 3 damage. Morphing effects are also a possible counter...but the current meta revolves around rather tempo based games and silence aren't run as often as they once were. And those classes without it run it less often from the Neutral cards since only Ironbeak Owl nor Infectious Sporeling see enough play.
But the previous obvious counter isn't that hard to meet. Be it a rogue who has near unlimited single target prowess, mages who are equally prominent or could at the very least delay it with various Freeze mechanics. Demon hunters also can do so easily, but the current Warrior, Palla and Shamans might have some trouble. But that's only if they got terrible mulligan and their current popular aggro decks don't work like they usually do.
From how I see it, it isn't that hard to deal with nor is it a very reactive turn 5 play. which could mean the difference between winning or losing in most matchups these days... I'm not saying it's terrible, all I'm saying is that it just doesn't have as much support for a turn 5 play.
Also, important fact is that Al'ar can't attack in the turn it came back from ash form.
Perhaps it could be considered as a late game minion for a Priest. After they both sides use up their resource...but Priest already got plenty of that and another dead draw in their deck is the last thing they need.
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The problem is it's just infinitely too slow for the current meta. When are you playing this against demon hunter? When are you playing it against Druid who glowflies for the same mana? The game is way too fast and tempo based right now for this card to have any hope at all.
Al'ar has some semi-decent winrates on HSReplay. 50.5% played winrate, with a 46.4% deck winrate, which is pretty average for a legendary.
Do you have premium? What rank range are those stats for?
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all are wrong, worst card of expansion is magtheridon
This is a true statement.
A'lar is definitely better than we gave him credit for. I wouldn't call him great or anything, but he has his niche. He's a good threat for resurrect/deathrattle decks. Decent card.
Restless Mummy deals with it and leaves a 3/1 behind.
There are synergies available for Al'ar in standard. It's one of the best targets for cloning in Quest Paladin. It's also very strong with Grave Rune and Psyche Split in Clone Priest. This card is only good in decks that can copy it multiple times. It doesn't work in Deathrattle decks because just triggering its deathrattle provides a very mediocre result. Hunter can't use it properly because of this. Rogue also can't use it (unless you play a meme shuffle rogue with Shadow of Death and Stowaway). Basically, it only works in decks that can generate multiple Al'ars in one turn. It's a real threat in those decks, but they are too greedy and slow and this meta doesn't forgive passiveness.
Al'ar is a niche card. It exists for very specific decks and does well in those (but sucks everywhere else). As long as there are synergies available, you can make a good use of it. It's fun as well. It's similar to Shu'ma. That card also looked awful but it found a spot in Quest Hunter and proved its viability as a niche card for token decks.
Yesterday I lost miserably to Al'ar in arena. Absolutely bonkers drop when ahead on board. The card single handedly won the match. I suggest you consider it if offered.
Thank you! added it to the list at the bottom.
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all i know is i disenchanted the golden copy i got. So i hope it's bad :)
you can't really compare Al'ar and Pheonix outside them having similar effects. In magic, the defender dictates the trades and so the opponent can choose whether or not to trade the Pheonix and even when it is traded the second half requires an instant spell (or another effect) to deal with it. Moreover, Al'ar doesn't even have any sort of evasion, unlike Pheonix's flying. Once you play Al'ar the opponent has full control on whether to deal with it or not. Al'ar will pretty much always be an underwhelming card and not a card you'd want to willingly put in your deck.
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I run it in a Making Mummies deck with a fair few taunts for it to hide behind; Bone Wraith, Khartut Defender. When the 2/2 version dies, the ashes spawn a new 7/3 which is pretty awesome.
The card is very slow and too frail. If the deathrattle created a dormant minion that revived after a turn or two then it's playability would go up significantly, however that three health stat line would likely still keep it out of many decks.
Sorry for the ignorant question but is the egg token Al'ar leaves behind on death of the main card, a deathrattle effect or a special effect that just has to survive for one turn to resurrect Al'ar?
I drew Al'ar in a pack but haven't used it yet because if the egg isn't a deathrattle, it seems kinda bad. Bad in the same way that Nithhogg looks good on paper but the eggs aren't deathrattles and so easily killed for nothing but the opportunity cost of damage elsewhere that it isn't a good card outside of certain niches.
I MIGHT try Al'ar in some kind of clone deck but outside of that I would never throw it in a random deck and hope for good results.
It‘s a great midrange card, useless against aggro since they will just trade a small minion (or not at all) and ignore the ashes but great vs any control deck since they usually have to use at least two cards to get rid of it. (well, apart from the removals you mentioned).
But you‘ll have to create a deck with lots of minions with similar „stickyness“ to profit.
Thing is, in constructed can you reall afford to spend 5 mana on a fairly vanilla 7/6? I'm not saying it's bad....but yeah it's pretty bad. And yeah it gets completely hard countered by the most popular warrior 4drop.
It's been fun making multiple copies of him with the tools Priest has. The card is fun if nothing else.
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