Aluneth Rating 4(Poor): At first it seems like a really cool card, but when you're drawing 4 cards a turn you are going to deck yourself very quickly. I just see this doing more harm than good unless you're already about to win.
Dragoncaller Alanna Rating 5(Terrible): You could potentially get nothing except a 3/3 for nine mana, and that is an absolutely terrible deal.
Dragon Soul Rating 5(Terrible): The effect is really cool and Priest can get some really cheap spells, but how often are you going to be able to cast 3 spells in a single turn to get the 5/5 Dragon? Maybe once, if you're lucky.
Geosculptor Yip Rating 4(Poor): Armor gain typically isn't a huge thing in Arena, so I don't know that you'll be getting huge minions from this. You can probably get a steady chain of 2-drops, but is that really going to be worth it?
Grumble, Worldshaker Rating 3(Average): I like the stats, but returning everything to your hand could be the wrong move. There are times this could work out really well, allowing you to make favorable trades, then returning your minions to be cast again. The rest of the time it's going to be a little awkward. This and Bonemare will get ridiculous.
Ixlid, Fungal Lord Rating 4(Poor): This seems slow and is in very real danger of being killed outright after you play it. I'm sure it will have some great moments, but it's just going to be too situational.
Kathrena Winterwisp Rating 3(Average): This is really going to be draft dependent, but even at the worst, if you're getting a free River Crocolisk on the Battlecry and Deathrattle it's not a bad deal.
Kingsbane Rating 4(Poor): Every once in awhile you'll get one that has a Deadly Poison or Envenom Weapon on it, but the rest of the time it's going to be a pretty lousy Legendary to have in your deck.
King Togwaggle Rating 5(Terrible): This is definitely not an Arena card and I can't even begin to imagine a scenario which would cause me to draft this kind of trash.
Lynessa Sunsorrow Rating 4(Poor): This is totally draft dependent and certainly not consistent enough to be given serious consideration unless you've already got several buffs in your deck.
Marin the Fox Rating 3(Average): I'm thinking that Marin may not even be availabe for Arena, due to the Treasure aspect. On his own he's an overcosted minion, but the potential to to get some amazing cards out of the Treasure Chest is pretty cool. I would rate him higher if he could break the chest by himself.
Master Oakheart Rating 3(Average): I'll think he'll just be alright most of the time, but if you did get one of each you would have (at the very least) 6/3 additional combined stats to your 5/5 body, giving you a total of 11/8 in combined stats. That's really not too bad and the Health stats are likely to be better than my example. If you don't get at least two minions from the Battlecry, then he's not worth it.
Rhok'delar Rating 4(Poor): Definitely a constructed card. I didn't rate it terrible because at the very least it's an overpriced 4/2 Weapon.
Rin, the First Disciple Rating 4(Poor): It's a more expensive Fen Creeper for Warlock. Even though it's true that you get value from the Seals, at 5 mana each, they really limit what you're able to cast each turn.
Skull of the Man'ari Rating 5(Terrible): I can see this being useful for Doomguard, but most of the time you don't want to miss the Battlecry on your Demons, like Abyssal Enforcer, Dread Infernal, and Lord Jaraxxus. It would also be nice if it triggered at the end of your turn, instead of at the start, but that still wouldn't make it good for Arena play anyway.
Sonya Shadowdancer Rating 4(Poor): You have to already have the board, and preferably some Battlecry or Deathrattle minions that will generate some card advantage for you. Otherwise, it's really nothing to get too excited about.
Temporus Rating 5(Terrible): So far this minion and King Togwaggle are tied for worst Arena card ever. Why could you possibly want to give your opponent an extra turn, especially 7-mana late in the game? When so many games come down to one turn you do not want to be giving your opponent any kind of edge.
The Darkness Rating 5(Terrible): This is a really cool card, but it has no place in Arena. It is highly likely that it would sit dormant the entire game and just be a waste of space.
The Runespear Rating 4(Poor): It's like a weapon-infused Tortollan Primalist, which is already a mixed-bag. It's a big mana investment for something that's wildly inconsistent, so I would probably pass most of the time.
Twig of the World Tree Rating 2 (Good): It gives a boost to your Hero Power, allowing you to have +2 Attack for 5 turns and offers the potential for a VERY big turn 8 by giving you a total of 18 mana to play with.
Val'anyr Rating 1(Excellent): You can get some amazing value out of this Weapon with the buff and recursion aspect of it. The fact that the weapon equips automatically after the minion dies and you don't have to cast it again is really awesome too!
Woecleaver Rating 4(Poor): I'm not a fan of this card. It's really expensive with a completely unreliable Recruit effect. It sounds cool, but I got over that fairly quickly.
Zola the Gorgon Rating 2(Good): This could really come in handy, especially in late game and you've just played your Bonemare or dropped a Primordial Drake a turn earlier. The golden version is irrelevant, but it sure will look pretty!
EPIC:
Arcane Tyrant Rating 3(Average): This is going to be really good in the right deck, but even if you have to pay for it I'd say it's still okay.
Astral Tiger Rating 3(Average): This is a cool concept, but could prevent you getting to the cards you need in the late game. Few things will be more frustrating than digging for your removal or a Taunt, only to draw this again.
Bladed Gauntlet 4(Poor): This is really going to depend on your draft, but it's often going to cost you at least 4-mana total to make this a 2/2 Weapon that can't attack Heroes. Most of the time I'd say that is terrible, but with so many new cards that add Armor for Warrior it's possible to make this a large Weapon.
Branching Paths Rating 2(Good): I love the flexibility of the card, and it could replace Savage Roar in a pinch. On the flip side, gaining 12 Armor in a single turn can be the difference in the outcome of a game, especially when only one turn matters, and it usually does.
Call to Arms Rating 1(Excellent): I think this is great value and certainly better than Doppelgangster since it costs 1-mana less and can include 2/3 or 3/2 minions. This card allows you to thin your deck and get rid of all your low-cost minions, and even gives you one of them for free. I'd say it's a pretty good deal all the way around.
Carnivorous Cube Rating 2(Good): This card has good stats on its own and you can get some insane value from it by saving a minion that's about to die or using it on a Deathrattle minion like Crystalline Oracle, Eggnapper, and Bone Drake, to name a few.
Cataclysm Rating 4(Poor): I don't like this card. I'm not putting it at a 5, simply because of the cost and board impact, but discarding your hand is awful. Luckily, Warlock can easily get card advantage again by using their Hero Power, but unless your opponent's hand was empty you're probably going to be struggling to get ahead.
Corridor Creeper Rating 1(Excellent): It shouldn't be hard to get a discount on this minion because it doesn't have to be your minions that die, anything will work! You'll be seeing a lot of comparisons to this and Nerubian Prophet.
Crushing Walls Rating 2(Good): I think this could be really useful, considering it just outright kills the minions, regardless of Health. It's like a mega Deadly Shot, but positioning is going to matter for this one.
Deck of Wonders Rating 5(Terrible: I only like to use random effects when I'm desperately digging for a solution. With this card you never know when you'll draw the spells, what they'll be, and who you'll target. You could be ahead and either kill yourself or the main minion that's keeping you alive. If I'm doing something random I at least want to be able to control WHEN it's going to happen, and in that respect, be able to have some influence on the board state before it happens.
Dragonhatcher Rating 5(Terrible): It's another expensive card with awful stats that is definitely meant for constructed play.
Dragon's Fury Rating 4(Poor): This is really going to be draft dependent, because you could potentially draw nothing or hit for less than 3 (which would make this an overcosted Volcanic Potion). Unfortunately, it's going to be pretty unreliable for Arena most of the time.
Evasion Rating 3(Average): I'm undecided on this one, and although it's like a pseudo Ice Block you can still take fatal damage, depending on what your opponent attacks you with first. It will probably cause some problems if your opponent is testing for Sudden Betrayal, but I still don't know how good it's going to be.
Fal'dorei Strider Rating 1(Excellent): The value from this card is outstanding and there's no downside. You've got the potential to get 16/16 worth of stats after paying only four mana. Well, there is actually one downside to this card. You can expect to see it paired against Vilespine Slayer in your draft, and that decision is going to hurt!
Grand Archivist Rating 5(Terrible): Bad stats and bad effect. Every spell is precious in Arena and the last thing you want to do is to start casting them with random targets.
Psychic Scream Rating 2(Good): This is pretty astounding removal for Arena, but it's likely going to leave you with an empty board too, unless you have something cheap you can cast. This will definitely be the source of many, many screams, psychic or otherwise.
Reckless Flurry Rating 4(Poor): You can easily get a Consecration out of this for 5-mana, but you lose the Armor AND it deals the damage to all your minions too. It pairs really well with the other card revealed with it, Drywhisker Armorer, but neither are Common, so they're going to be more difficult to draft together. I think I would rather stick with Brawl if I had a choice between the two of them.
Rummaging Kobold Rating 4(Poor): Most of the classes won't be able to use this (I know they all have the Legendary Weapons now, but consider a typical draft). It will be totally draft dependent, even with a Weapon-wielding class.
Shimmering Courser Rating 4(Poor): This is another cool card that has way more potential in Constructed than in Arena.
Spiteful Summoner Rating 4(Poor): It's difficult to decide where this one is gonna land, but I feel like it's definitely better for constructed where you can build your deck with high-cost spells. In Arena I think often times you're going to have cheaper removal that gets revealed and it may not be worth the cost. If you only have a couple of expensive spells, then that would certainly bump it up in value.
To My Side! Rating 5(Terrible): This will never, ever, ever work in Arena. I'm sure there is some other unrevealed card(s) that may make this feasible in Constructed, but it's utter garbage for Arena.
Twilight Acolyte Rating 4(Poor): It definitely goes up in rating if you have drafted several dragons, otherwise it's a pretty 'meh' 3-drop.
Unstable Evolution Rating 1(Excellent): The fact that you can evolve one or several minions multiple times in one turn is pretty amazing and offers great value. If you play a 5-drop on the following turn you could potentially upgrade it to a 10-drop! It's very flexible in how it can be used and I would expect all sorts of crazy combinations and shenanigans with this card. Be prepared!
Voidlord Rating 3(Average): It's a huge Taunt that can easily delay your opponent, without including the three minions that spawn from his Deathrattle. Although he's quite expensive he may just give you a couple of extra turns to finish off your opponent.
Void Ripper Rating 3(Average): This seems decent enough and you could certainly get some value from early cards like Fire Fly. I guarantee this will make for some crazy plays in the late game too, by giving you the ability to topple some large Taunts.
Windshear Stormcaller Rating 4(Poor): I think there are better options for a 5-drop and it's unlikely that you'll get to summon Al'Akir the Windlord. Even if you do meet those conditions, I would be surprised if it had a huge impact on the game.
RARE:
Crystal Lion Rating 2(Good): I think it's fine by itself, but you could potentially reduce the mana cost quite a bit, especially with a Lost in the Jungle or Vinecleaver.
Duskbreaker Rating 4(Poor): This is one of those cards that requires several things to happen before it can be used effectively. You've got to have another Dragon in your hand AND you need to have a clear board (unless you want to kill your minions too). For Arena I feel it's just too conditional and tricky to draft.
Ebon Dragonsmith Rating 4(Poor): His stats are bad and the effect will be unlikely to trigger, but I suppose he has some potential interaction with other cards since he is a Dragon.
Elven Minstrel Rating 2(Good): I really like this card and don't think you'll have a problem getting the Combo. I feel like it's a great way to thin your deck in the late game too.
Explosive Runes Rating 3(Average): It's a Snipe for Mage that punishes your opponent for trying to play around it. I'm not crazy about it, but I think it's alright. This could be tricky to play around in the late game when life totals are dwindling.
Feral Gibberer Rating 3(Average): If you drop this first turn, your opponent may have a difficult time coping unless they have AOE or a Taunt they can throw in front of it. This is a card that must be dealt with, and thankfully it can easily be killed. You don't want it to leave it unchecked or it will snowball out of control.
Furbolg Mossbinder Rating 4(Poor): It seems alright, but you've still got to have a minion on the board for it to be worth anything. One thing to keep in mind is you're losing the stats from the minion you transform, so unless it was a 0/1 or 1/1 it's not as good as you might think.
Gather Your Party 4(Poor): I don't see getting a lot of mileage out of this one because you can't choose or Discover the minion you get. There will be way too many times you're paying 6 mana for a 2-drop.
Gravelsnout Knight Rating 4(Poor): Most of the time I don't think you'll be thrilled at the outcome and it's going to be super frustrating if you summon your opponent their own Gravelsnout Knight.
Greedy Sprite Rating 3(Average): It's a fragile minion, but I like the ramp effect that it offers. Anything that gets you a turn closer to Bonemare is a good thing, right?
Grizzled Guardian 3(Average): It's probably going to be hit or miss, but you should get at least 2 two-drops out of it and that should cover the overall cost of this minion. This one really hurts if your opponent Silences or steals it.
Hooked Reaver Rating 2(Good): If you don't get the Battlecry it's a decent enough minion, but if you're at 15 Health or less, then this easily moves up to an Excellent rating!
Hungry Ettin Rating 3(Average): This is a huge Taunt, but I can't help but feel like it's giving too much to your opponent. Of course, if they can't deal with it right away, things aren't going to be looking so good for them. Don't be surprised to see a Doomsayer pop up every once in awhile just to ruin your day.
Kobold Barbarian Rating 4(Poor): If you get this early he probably ranks a bit higher, but after that it's really a toss-up for how well he'll perform. There will be the occasional chance that he gets lethal for you, but it's not going to be a consistent minion at all.
Kobold Illusionist Rating 4(Poor): If its special ability was a Battlecry instead of a Deathrattle I think it would be slightly better. As it stands right now, the cost is just a little too much.
Kobold Monk Rating 3(Average): Most of the time the inability to use a Hero Power on an opponent won't be a huge factor, but the stats are good for the cost of this minion.
Lesser Amethyst Spellstone Rating 2(Good): There are several common cards that will help boost this card's value when K&C initially drops, but you've still got plenty of other cards that deal damage to you (Flame Imp, Abyssal Enforcer, Hellfire, etc.). The Lifesteal aspect is great, but this would really be awesome if you could target players instead of just minions. That would probably be a ridiculous upgrade, though.
Lesser Diamond Spellstone Rating 5(Terrible): You're paying 7 mana to possibly resurrect garbage. Well, technically 2-drops, but who wants those on turn seven? Not to mention, the upgrade is going to be quite difficult to pull off in Arena.
Lesser Emerald Spellstone Rating 2(Good): I think this is a good card by itself and if you do manage to upgrade it (which is not that difficult) then it easily bumps up to Excellent status.
Lesser Jasper Spellstone 1(Excellent): Cheap removal that can evolve to be even better looks pretty good to me. With Claw, Bite, Gnash, Feral Rage, and others, it really shouldn't be too hard to hit an upgrade on this one.
Lesser Mithril Spellstone Rating 5(Terrible): Although the amount of weapons offered in Arena have increased it's still no guarantee to get an upgrade on this spell. Don't forget, you've got to have this in your hand when you play the weapon in order to get the upgrade. If you consider the worst-case scenario and you're just getting a 5/5 minion, then it isn't worth the mana cost at all.
Lesser Pearl Spellstone Rating 3(Average): Obviously they didn't want this to work with Truesilver Champion, but it would go great with the Benevolent Djinn. Of course it needs to be in your hand to get the upgrade, so most of the time it's just going to be mediocre.
Lesser Ruby Spellstone Rating 4(Poor): Most of the time I would rather have a Shimmering Tempest, but in the right deck this would definitely bump up in rating.
Leyline Manipulator Rating 2(Good): At the worst it's a Chillwind Yeti, but has the potential to give you some cheap cards with its Battlecry.
Lone Champion Rating 3(Average): It could be awkward if you draw it later in the game, but if you've got it from the start you could either Coin it out or play it after trading 2-drops with your opponent. I would rather have a Tar Creeper, so I would expect a little more out of a Rare minion.
Murmuring Elemental Rating 4(Poor) Most of the time it will be garbage, but there will be some Battlecry minions that will be worth it, like Fire Elemental and Bonemare. It's going to be hit or miss and may sit in your hand doing nothing.
Possessed Lackey Rating 5(Terrible): The cost and stats are terrible and the ability is a Deathrattle. You're also going to be really disappointed when you Recruit a Voidwalker from this.
Primal Talismans Rating 5(Terrible): It seems like trash for Arena. Sure, you may see those annoying moments where each minion your opponent kills spawns a Stoneclaw Totem, but most of the time I think it's just going to be a disappointment and a waste of a card slot in your deck.
Scorp-o-matic Rating 4(Poor): Most of the time it's going to be a crappy two-drop, but it can really come in handy when you're facing a Shaman or your opponent starts off with a Fire Fly. I was really surprised to see this lone Mech for the new set! This makes me think we'll definitely see more Mechs again in the next set or two down the road.
Seeping Oozeling Rating 4(Poor): Most of the time the result is going to be decent, unless you get extremely unlucky with a Bomb Squad in your deck. It still seems a little overcosted to me, since the stats match other 4-cost minions. The Deathrattle you get would need to be pretty good to make up for that.
Shrieking Shroom Rating 3(Average): If this pops out a Shieldbearer I think it becomes an annoyance, but I'm not sure it will live long enough to make a huge impact. I'm also not sure you want to leave it out there, filling your board with 1-cost minions. Unless you have a Bloodlust, they probably aren't going to win you the game.
Unidentified Maul Rating 2(Good): This is a solid weapon with immediate board impact (as long as you don't play it on the turn you draw it). I like all of the different versions (Purifier's Maul, Sacred Maul, Champion's Maul, and Blessed Maul) and it's going to have the ability to turn some games for you, depending on which one you get.
Wandering Monster Rating 3(Average): This could turn out to be okay for Hunter. It's like a Misdirection that you don't have to worry about hitting your face or one of your other minions. If it happens in the early game there's even a decent chance the summoned minion could survive.
COMMON:
Arcane Artificer Rating 3(Average): Normally I think this is going to be a mere annoyance, but if you manage to hang on to him with a Cabalist's Tome, then suddenly your initial Armor gain starts to get out of hand. Even getting one use from this minion, coupled with a Flamestrike, could be crucial in the late game.
Barkskin Rating 3(Average): There are a lot of 1 Health minions that could actually be a threat after getting this (like the Cursed Disciple, but I don't think it's going to break the game.
Benevolent Djinn Rating 3(Average): Healing is usually not a major factor in drafting for Arena, but 3 Health a turn is a pretty large amount and you're guaranteed to get at least one heal since it hits at the end of your turn. The stats are alright, and it's an Elemental, so it could help to trigger some of your other minions.
Boisterous Bard Rating 3(Average): If you hit at least one other minion it's decent, giving you combined stats of 3/3 for three-mana.
Candleshot Rating 2(Good): Early ping ability with immunity? Yeah, that seems good to me!
Cave Hydra Rating 3(Average): I like it, but the 2 Attack is only so-so. If you're able to hit this with a Houndmaster or Bonemare, then it becomes insanely good!
Cavern Shinyfinder Rating 3(Average): It's a nice way to thin out your deck and get a Weapon in the process, but this guy is very fragile. You could definitely have fun drawing into a Perdition's Blade.
Cheat Death Rating 3(Average): Rogues are going to have 3 Secrets in this expansion and here's one of them. It's like a Shadowstep that you have less control over. I think it could be alright, but I'm not sure how to evaluate it yet. With so few Secrets to start with, it's going to be pretty easy to play around this too.
Corrosive Sludge Rating 3(Average): It's a bigger Acidic Swamp Ooze and I think the cost is just fine whether, you trigger the Battlecry or not.
Crushing Hand Rating 2(Good): The Overload sucks, but it's good, cheap removal for big minions in your way.
Cursed Disciple Rating 4(Poor): It's just so easy to kill, but it has the potential to be problematic and is a great answer to Tar Creeper.
Dark Pact Rating 4(Poor): It's a huge Health gain, but as we've always observed in the past, heals are not a priority card in Arena. Sure, it will come in handy in the right situation, but it won't consistently be something you want to draw.
Dire Mole Rating 3(Average): It seems okay for a one-drop and could have some benefit with the Beast tag, but it's definitely nothing to get too excited about.
Dragonslayer Rating 3(Average): If you trigger the Battlecry this easily moves up to a 1, but otherwise it's just an average three-drop.
Drywhisker Armorer Rating 4(Poor): I can see that Blizzard really, really wants Warriors to care about Armor in this expansion, but in Arena it's just not going to be that important. If you're getting ran over by an aggro deck this can help you gain your footing by all the Armor gain. Otherwise, I don't see much use for it.
Flanking Strike Rating 1(Excellent): Great removal and minion for the cost!
Fungal Enchanter Rating 2(Good): By itself this card is fine, but the healing effect would normally cost two more mana (see Darkscale Healer), so this is pretty good!
Fungalmancer Rating 4(Poor): If you've already got the board, then this is a great card. If you're only hitting one minion, then you're only getting 4/4 worth of combined stats for 5-mana...and that's not a good deal.
Gemstudded Golem Rating 2(Good): That is a really large Taunt for only 6 mana! I don't think it will be too difficult to get the Armor necessary to attack, but even if you don't, it's still a big wall for your opponent to break through.
Gilded Gargoyle Rating 4(Poor): Getting The Coin is probably not enough of a reason to draft this.
Green Jelly Rating 3(Average): It's like a mini Hogger, and it will often create problems for your opponent. It will at least add another hurdle for them to get through and it has to be killed or it will get out of hand.
Guild Recruiter Rating 3(Average): If you Recruit anything for 3-4 mana, then it's probably pretty good. Anything less and it's just going to be overcosted for the effect. Grim Necromancer already puts out 4/6 worth of combined stats for only 4 mana, so I think it needs to do better than that in order to be worth it.
Healing Rain Rating 3(Average): That is a lot of healing for your side of the board and could really help make some favorable trades and continue to stay alive.
Hoarding Dragon Rating 1(Excellent): Everyone will make the obvious comparison to Hungry Dragon, but because this one has a Deathrattle instead of a Battlecry, I think it is much better. Such a large minion on turn four is going to be difficult to deal with and I don't think giving your opponent two copies of The Coin are a huge downside.
Ironwood Golem Rating 4(Poor): This is a worse Sen'jin Shieldmasta and even though it can protect you, the inability to Attack is a real drawback. I think I'd rather just have a Tar Creeper.
Kobold Apprentice Rating 3(Average): I like that it only hits enemies, but the stats are really terrible. I think I'd rather go for Mad Bomber and risk hitting myself.
Kobold Hermit Rating 3(Average): The stats are terrible, but I don't know how many times I've prayed to the gods of HS when using my Hero Power to get a Stoneclaw Totem or Wrath of Air Totem because it was absolutely crucial in my particular situation. This can get you exactly the totem you need for the same cost as your Hero Power, except now you've got a 1/1 body on the board too.
Kobold Librarian Rating 1(Excellent): You're getting the effect of your Hero Power and a 2/1 body for only 1 mana! This is truly an amazing card for Warlock - and it's Common!
Plated Beetle Rating 3(Average): I think it's fine for a two-drop and has some benefits for Warrior and Druid.
Potion of Heroism Rating 2(Good): It's an improved Hand of Protection and replaces itself, since you're drawing a card. Looks pretty good to me!
Psionic Probe Rating 3(Average): You will be disappointed if your opponent has no remaining spells in his/her deck, but most of the time this might as well be a a Mind Vision and you never know what you'll get. At the very least, you know you won't draw The Coin.
Raven Familiar Rating 3(Average): It's cool to see the Joust mechanic making a return and this seems like a decent card. The downside is that your opponent sees the spell you draw, so it's much easier to play around.
Sewer Crawler Rating 3(Average) It's been pointed out this is basically a reverse Razorfen Hunter, and I have to agree.
Shroom Brewer Rating 3(Average): It's seems like there are a lot of Common heals appearing in this set, and while they're nice, it doesn't really add much value to this minion.
Silver Vanguard Rating 5(Terrible): The stats are terrible, the effect is a Deathrattle, and you need an 8-cost minion in your deck to get anything. I think I'll pass on this one.
Sleepy Dragon Rating 3(Average): This guy is huge and won't be easy for your opponent to get rid of, but I think I'd rather take the extra Attack and less Health from the Giant Mastodon.
Sneaky Devil Rating 3(Average): This has the potential to be truly annoying, as it is a Stealthed Raid Leader. You may be able to force your opponent into a less than optimal AoE just to get rid of it, because they really can't leave it on the board indefinitely.
Stoneskin Basilisk Rating 2(Good): If your opponent can't use their Hero Power to pop its shield, you're going to be able to get some really good value and huge annoyance factor out of this minion.
Sudden Betrayal Rating 2(Good): This is another one of the new Rogue Secrets and I can see this causing a lot of trouble. It's strictly a better Misdirection, because it will only redirect to another enemy minion. This will be harder to play around, depending on the board state, and it could absolutely devastate your opponent.
Toothy Chest Rating 3(Average): I know this is easier to kill outright over its brother, Validated Doomsayer, but I think it will surprise us how often it is still a big, early threat.
Trogg Gloomeater Rating 2(Good): This will definitely cause problems, since it has Taunt, and the Attack power is irrelevant due to being a Poisonous minion.
Unidentified Elixir Rating 2(Good): All the variations of the Elixirs look pretty good and give a chance for some fun moments in game.
Unidentified Shield Rating 3(Average): No one cares about the Armor gain, so the important thing is what you're getting in addition to that. When you look at it, none of them are really overwhelming and the Tower Shield +10 definitely rates lower on the chart.
Violet Wurm Rating 2(Good): As long as it doesn't get hit with Polymorph you're looking at 14/14 worth of combined stats for only eight mana!
Wax Elemental Rating 4(Poor): This will buy you a couple of turns, but it's still pretty crappy.
Vulgar Homunculus Rating 1(Excellent): This is another awesome card for Warlock! I absolutely do not care about the damage it does to you. It has outstanding stats for the 2-mana price tag and Common rarity.
Aluneth (3): This is basically a middle ground between Nourish and Sprint. Decent draw engine, that will provide huge advantage ... but its strength is also its weakness. You might not be able to play as many cards per turn and u might start discarding some (which might not be that big of a deal), but you will also get to fatigue 4 times faster and that is something to keep in mind. If you are unable to win the game fast with the advantage given, this card might just kill you.
Dragon Soul (5): Almost any other legendary will provide more immediate value than this. Playing 3 spells a turn is not impossible, but highly unlikely in arena. It can be a draft dependant card, but on average, this is a total garbage.
Dragoncaller Alanna (4): Im not gonna write her off totally, u dot want some 5+ cost in your deck as a mage and chances r u will want/need to play some of them before T9 and if she can summon at least two dragons, she is very well worth it. But u see how many conditions i already listed right ... draft dependant and unreliable.
Geosculptor Yip (4): This card's power level is off the charts, but in arena you very rarely end up with high amounts of armor ... if with any armor at all. Probably a good thing tho, this could have been one busted card, if u were able to consistently get like another 8-drop with this ... which is what will happen in constructed lol :p
Grumble, Worldshaker (2): Wow, thats a card. In arena, its a very solid body for a 6-drop and the effect will be good for u most of the time, but it can hurt u, if ur behind and want to keep some - any - minions on the board, even damaged ones. But this will for sure be bouncing back Bonemares and Fire Elementals and will crush souls of your opponents more times than not. I wont give it 1, cause shaman is a crap class right now and he will be behind more often than other classes, so thats gonna be a bit of a problem for this card, but this card alone can very much easilly solidify your victory.
Ixlid, Fungal Lord (4): This is a very strong ability, but it comes too slowly. It could be combo'ed later on and pretty much even two drop would be worth playin with it, but i dont know ... dead combo card in your hand for most of the game, i dont think so.
Kathrena Winterwisp (1): This is one powerful legendary. Draft dependant for sure, tho it shouldnt be too much problem gettin some beasts as hunter and even if it pulls out a 2-drop it more than did its job. 6/6 + random 2-drop r ok stats for 8 mana in arena already. And upside is, that u will no longer have to draw that 2-drop and "deny" yourself a decent draw in the late game. #ValueOverload!
King Togwaggle (5): Buff to all shitty classes :D Even if u want to draft a bad deck and troll your opponent, how r u gonna survive to turn 8? ... that is if u even draw the card in time :D No rly, just dont draft this :D
Kingsbane (3): This card alone might make a weapon rogue a thing, certainly could resurrect Oil rogue in Wild. Sadly, for arena this is just way too slow and inconsistent/draft dependant. There is a plenty of buffs you can get, but still. The cost makes it pretty damn good tho, so u would pick it instead of Cho and likes anyway.
Marin the Fox (Master Chest: Tolin's Goblet, Wondrous Wand, Zarog's Crown, Golden Kobold) (3): Playing a 6/6 "nothing" for 8 mana in arena is usually not something u can afford. In my eyes, this card would be a heavy win more card, but if u did manage to pop the trunk, basically any card you would get would almost win you the game.
Master Oakheart (3): I suppose he will be fine most of the time, not amazing, but fine.
Rhok'delar (5): You will never have a deck without minions in Arena. Only in fatigue, but thats beside the point. So 7 mana for 4/2 weapon is a horrible price.
Rin, the First Disciple (The First Seal, The Second Seal, The Third Seal, The Fourth Seal, The Final Seal: Azari, the Devourer) (4): Im not a fan of deck attacks and as slow as this is, im sad it exists. That being said, this card is idd way too slow for arena, you need to spend 41 mana to activate the ultimate effect (Destroy your opponent's deck) and that is just too much. It is so incredibly slow, you will most likely lose the game out of tempo loss from playin Seals alone. At least she is a taunt.
Skull of the Man'ari (5): Too conditional and expensive for arena standards. Its not even at the end of your turn, so u wont be able to attack with the summoned minion or get at least something out of this card before your opponent has a chance to Ooze it. Not that bad for constructed, but rly rly horrible for arena.
Sonya Shadowdancer (3): Kinda draft dependant and obviously combo-y, but thats how i like my rogue hehe, the scrappy rogue decks always gets me furtherst. You will most likely have plenty of minions that will provide value even as 1/1s, deathrattle, combo, battlecry ... rogue has plenty of this. She is a slow play, but when u get them SI:7 Agents, Vilespine Slayers or Bonemares, thats where the fun begins.
Temporus (5): Too situational for arena standards. U will likely die before u can take advantage of this.
The Darkness (5): Card draw is not a thing in the most arena decks, so this is basically a 4 mana "do nothing". The tempo lost from playin this card can probably never be recovered. Do not pick.
The Runespear (3): Im gonna be sceptical about this one. It can most definitely provide some downright busted value, several AOEs, Evolve/Devolve effects etc. that wont require a target and will be beneficial for you, but there r also plenty of spells that do require target. So in the end, its still a super pricey RNG card, that will most likely help you, but might just not. It will be fun to play with The RNGspear for sure tho :)
Twig of the World Tree (3): This weapon is pretty interesting, lets u have 2 attack combined with your hero power, which is enough to clear some things ... but it is SUPER slow to use it that way. It might provide one BIG turn when it gets destroyed, but again ... a bit too slow for my taste, your opponent can prepare for that. One good thing about this is, that the Mana Crystals u get are permanent, meaning if your opponents destroys this with an Ooze, he just ramped u up to 10. In that case, be nice lad and say thanks! <3
Val'anyr (1): Crazy value card, its a weapon (duh!) so u get a removal tool and then it buffs a minion in your hand essentially making it super cost efficient when played with the bigger body ... and when it dies u get the weapon back - not to your hand, u equip it and can attack right away! - and then u buff another minion. This will be a pretty hard card to get rid off, basically it will require a silence/poly/hex of the minion, which means u will have to have that in a first place and then keep it for the respective minion ... both of which might be hard to achieve.
Woecleaver (3): I want to like it, but i cant. I mean even if u would pull three 2-drops, it would be worth 8 mana in the end and chances r u will pull something better at least once ... but the card is just so god damn slow. If u dont pull at least 5 or 6 drop on the first attack, the tempo loss will be pretty significant.
Zola the Gorgon (2): Very nice value card. Kinda like Shadowcaster. Probably a bit slower to play as well even tho it costs 2 less mana, since the minion u get aint discounted, but on the other hand u will get the full body, so it can be used in different situations. Overall a decent card that will generate value, albeit a bit slowly.
EPIC
Arcane Tyrant (3): Quite a draft dependant card. Similar tempo play as Nerubian Prophet, but only in later turns and with much more difficult condition to fulfil on average. The elemental tag is something to keep in mind tho, might make the card worth it alone in a right deck with just one or two 5+ cost spells.
Astral Tiger (3): Stats r fine for its cost, tho the deathrattle is kinda a downside more than not. Its not a bad card per se, but i dont think u would want to draw into it over and over. Might be good in combination with some Recruit cards, but im not holding my breath.
Bladed Gauntlet (3): Its a weapon, so that gives it some points. It makes your hero power not useless, so thats nice. But if u cant combo it with some of the new cards that give armor, it will be pretty price weapon to get goin, especially since once u attack with this, u get damaged and lose some Attack power for the next swing. Also its an epic so ... but a cool card to have in the mix.
Branching Paths (2): You pay one more mana over Arcane Intellect for a lot more versatility embedded into the card. Id say thats a pretty good deal. It can serve as a Savage Roar-ish finisher, Arcane Intellect-ish card draw or some armor gain to save your ass. And u can mix it any way u like. Pretty good card for arena id say.
Call to Arms (2): Pretty amazing arena card, technically Doppelgangster for 4 mana on average, which is already damn good value, on top of that it draws crap out of your deck that u would not want to draw into later on. The only problem is, that u dont want too many 2-drops total, so it might recruit just one or two minions later on, but with Hoarding Dragon being a thing, i suspect an early game part of the decks might shift to include a lot more 2-drops to guarantee yourself some board presence before T4 to be able to deal with the drake at all, so this card might be top notch when the meta stabilizes.
Carnivorous Cube (2): This card is totally insane. One of the biggest potential value generators we have seen. The best part about this card is its stats. Not only can it generate immense value, but it can also be played on a naked board for raw stats. Only bad time when you might have problem playin this card is when you r ahead and there r no minions you would want to eat with this, but at that point, that shouldnt rly matter anyway, so this card looks like it will be a big deal in arena. Thank god its an epic! Even tho that doesnt rly seemed to mean much in the past (Primordial Drake, Primordial Glyph, Meteor), at least right after the expansion launch.
Cataclysm (3): Im not totally sure about power level of this card. In arena ur out of cards relatively fast in most decks, tho WL has the hero power and thus built in draw engine, which makes him to have more cards in hand on average than most classes. But i suppose u can balance that, if u have this in your hand, u will purposely not draw cards, if u can avoid it. A Twisting Nether-ish for 4 mana is pretty cheap, but u cant rly set up a follow up, only thing u can do is to tap after and mby play what u got, if its cheap enough ... hmm, i rly dont know, this cards is looking worse and worse to me the more i think about it. Will have to see it in action to form a proper opinion.
Corridor Creeper (2): Nerubian Prophet-esque card. Should be fairly easy to get a couple of discounts, since enemy minions count as well.
Crushing Walls (3): This is a very powerful card and will make positioning vs hunter a nightmare, since you often want to play around Explosive Shot as well. I expect this card to perfrom far better than i give it credit, but 7 cost is no small price, even tho its very much justified. Hunter should usually have the board so he should be able to alter the board state to kill the two minions he wants to kill with this, but there is still a decently reasonable way to play around this card anyway. We shall see how is this card gonna perform after we play with it.
Deck of Wonders (Scroll of Wonder) (5): Pay 5 mana to do nothing for a chance to screw yourself later. Damn! What a bargain!
Dragon's Fury (3): This card is a bit RNG based, depending on the deck, u might not care if it will deal 4 or 7 dmg, but if u have a lot of Frostbolts or Breath of Sindragosas, u might want to rethink drafting this.
Dragonhatcher (5): Man, whenever i think they cannot make a worse card anymore ... BAM!
Evasion (4): In most situations it will be more if an Ice Barrier, than Ice Block, since u will try to play it to block off some dmg (=to "heal" yourself). Rogue does like healing. But this card is just not worth it imho, if nothing else than cause its an epic and there r certainly a lot better epics out there.
Fal'dorei Strider (Spider Ambush!: Leyline Spider) (1): One of the best cards released so far. 4/4 for 4 isnt amazing, but its good enough for the added effect - three free 4/4s down the line. It might never happen, sure, but the potential value is just so damn high and the downside being one less stat over Chillwind Yeti ... which is nothing in comparison. You would probably want Vilespine Slayer or some others over this still tho :)
Grand Archivist (5): it can be an interesting and honestly busted card in a deck, where u got screwed by the drafting process and have only some specific spell pool. But in an average situation, this is WAY worse than Tortollan Primalist and that guy is already pretty bad.
Level Up! (5): For this card to get good value, u would have to hit three Silver Hand Recruits with it (i suppose technically just two, since +4/+4 stats r worth 4 mana (Blessing of Kings) and the one extra mana can be argued for the taunts, but i dont think two would be enough for me to justify this card). If you can do that, chances r you r in a very good position already, so in that case its a win more card. If u cant hit at least three Silver Hand Recruits with it, the card is crap ... so the card is pretty bad pick up on average.
Psychic Scream (2): Decent enough board clear, most opponents will not have enough card draw in their deck to get any advantage out of this and if u add some shit minion in the mix, it might hurt them even more. But 7-cost is quite heavy price, u will basically spend your entire turn playin this, tho your opponent cant rly play around this as with Flamestrike for example, so ... i think this card will have much more impact indirectly, the sole existence of it will make u question your plays when faced against priest, which only adds to the frustration u already feel every time u are up against the class. YUCK!
Reckless Flurry (3): Its an AOE, which is nice ... but the trigger is a bit hard for arena purposes, since u gont usually keep any armor. The new KAC cards might help with that, but still ...
Rummaging Kobold (4): Super draft dependant and even then its mby not worth it. Since u cant rly play it for stats so u HAVE TO wait till u draw a weapon, till the weapon gets destroyed and then u pay 3 mana for this little crap to get the weapon back ... slow as hell, unreliable as hell. Im not too convinced with this one.
Shimmering Courser (4): Very understated 4-drop to make up for the powerful ability. Too bad the ability is basically non-factor in arena most of the time, cause it will not live long enough to take advantage of. Sure u can combo it later on, but such a play is generally a bad idea to begin with.
Spiteful Summoner (2): Slightly draft dependant. If u get at least a 2-cost minion, this card is very much ok (unless u get f*** by Doomsayer. I mean u know that will happen :D). If u get 3+ cost minion this card is very good to absolutely busted the higher the cost of the spell. The biggest factor for this card will probably be the amount of spells in the deck total rather than their cost, so there is always at least some spell to trigger off of. Faceless Summoner is the card that comes to mind, i suspect this will be about as good on average.
To My Side! (5): Well, thats a card. A bad card. So, you know ... dont pick it ;-)
Twilight Acolyte (4): Aldor Peacekeeper 2.0 for dragon decks, a lot better actually, if u can activate this ... if u can activate this, that is the main problem. But priest does get a few dragons in KAC and there is a Hoarding Dragon and KFT dragons as well already in the mix, im honestly scared for a dragon synergy from priest in KAC, when it works it will be soul crushing.
Unstable Evolution (1): Pretty good, versatile card. Yeah, u would have to pay quite a lot of mana to get a high cost minion, but i think thats ok, since if u would do that, chances r its your best play anyway. You can evolve each of your minions to "heal" them. You can even evolve your HP totem, if u have nothing and topdeck this. Rly cool card.
Void Ripper (3): This one is pretty crazy actually. Can make for some seriously surprising finishers. Its kinda a missing link between Crazed Alchemist and Kooky Chemist (mana wise). Its not a bad minion at all, but it isnt that amazing either.
Voidlord (3): Little heavy for arena for what it does, nice synergy with Bloodreaver Gul'dan in constructed and also when u do get it from random effects and the three Voidwalkers can help to stall even more, but ultimately, they wont do much. I would probably rather have Giant Mastodon than this tho.
Windshear Stormcaller (3): Its a decent enough minion without the battlecry. The battlecry will most likely not trigger in arena, its very rare when u do have all the totems on the board. Could happen with combination of cards like Primal Talismans, but still. I would give it 2, if most other epic shaman cards werent more useful than this. In the end, i see it just as an average card, i will not be sad to get it, but i will hope for something better.
RARE
Crystal Lion (2): Ok, 3rd time is the charm :D At first i didnt notice divine shield and all this time i thought it had taunt :D Well, now that i was finally able to read the card text properly, its just a rly good card, but not a 1. The discounts will happen only on rare occasions, but even without them, the card is fine.
Duskbreaker (4): This is heavy draft dependent card, but if u can activate it, its value is off the charts, completely broken. Priest does have the easiest way to get the dragon synergy goin with now at least two class dragons, but it still isnt that easy ... thank god. Tho this card alone might just be worth it to yolo it, similar to Servant of Kalimos, its definitely worse play if u cannot activate it, but the strong AOE potential might be worth trying to get the dragon synergy work blindly.
Ebon Dragonsmith (4): I like it better than Blackwater Pirate cause of the stat distribution and the (probably) meaningless dragon tag for weapon classes, but in the end its about as bad. Another very obvious card that was made solely to support Legendary weapons in constructed.
Elven Minstrel (3): I want to like this card, but i cant. It is a rly good value card, but i cant shake the feeling it will be pretty hard or at least awkward to play it, since its a combo. Not that it will be hard to trigger the combo, but the turn u gonna play Minstrel will most likely be a very low tempo turn, which for rogue isnt something u can afford rly. I wouldnt mind having one in my deck similar to Sprint, but until i see it in action, im not too impressed by this.
Explosive Runes (3): I personally liked Snipe a lot, u could usually play it on T2 and trade with it for opponent's 2 or even 3 drop. This will be even more snowbally in the early, if it trades for a 4-drop, but due to its cost, if it misses (your opponent plays a Fire Fly into it etc), it will be a pretty big tempo loss, as with any mage secret. Obviously the longer the game goes on, the easier is to play around this and u would basically play around this same as Mirror Entity, but just its existence is gonna be very annoying ... and dont forget those times where it might actually kill you, if you're low on hp and play a little shit first, it will happen, i can guarantee that :)
Feral Gibberer (4): Not the worst 1-drop ever, but its close. 1/1s r just rly rly bad stats for arena. It can be pinged, it wont trade with 3/2 ... it wont do anything most of the time. This card does have some potential vs non-ping classes, where it might generate at least one token and give u some crap to play to fill your curve, but chances r, that will not happen very often. It will probably be best in Rogue, since rogue does want to get a few 1-drops usually and if u can get at least one token back, it can act as a cheap combo activator, but thats about it.
Furbolg Mossbinder (2): Situational, very much board dependant ... but DAMN! This card will be so insane when u have an early curve. And good after to "heal" a minion or transform a token into a 6/6. Most ppl dismiss this card and i can totally understand that, but i just have a feeling, that it will be a little dark horse this one :)
Gather Your Party (4): Due to the fact how Recruit mechanic works, card like this will be almost useless in arena, since you have to draft quite a few low cost minions and very few high cost minions to do well. So this will on average be a lot worse Shadow Essence, since it might just pull your 2-drop or something, even most of your 5-drops arent gonna be 5/5s and you should have very little 6+ minions, so chances that this will be worth at least 6 mana r very very slim.
Gravelsnout Knight (5): Eh, about as bad as Hungry Dragon, worse actually. It has to be worse, since its a T1 play tho. Can be "recovered" in the same way, but then will u rly get value out of this and not lose even more, if u have to clear that 1-drop with something else? Meh, i think i ll pass.
Greedy Sprite (4): Replacement for Jade Blossom in non-jade decks in constructed, but most likely not a very good for arena. I mean it is still better than Jade Blossom for ramp purposes even in arena, but i dont think its worth a deck slot.
Grizzled Guardian (3): i think this card will be pretty decent, but im always a bit sceptical towards rly good polymorpg/silence targets, which this certainly is. If it pulls even two 2-drops, this will be ok. Obviously we want 4 drops. It honestly hard to judge this card, it might actually be harder to clear everything up than to just kill an Ironbark Protector, so this card might be at least about as good of a card for that mana. We shall see how this performs.
Hooked Reaver (1): WOW thats a card! Pretty strong. Its a meh 4/4 when played on curve, but can become a 6/6 taunt when ur behind, pretty sick. Being a demon might have additional advantages as well. Pretty solid card for WL in general.
Hungry Ettin (3): I was way more excited about this card at first, but in the end, it just looks average. It will perform very well when ur ahead for sure and even when ur behind, its a solid taunt, no question about that, but it has too much baggage attached to it (in many ways) for it to be called a solid card unconditionally. Seems like a prime example of a minion made for the Recruit mechanic tho.
Kobold Barbarian (3): Oh boy, our good ol' Ogre Brute is back. It will basically act as him 99% of the time, tho u cannot hold off the attack, if u rly wanted to, so its kinda a bit worse than him, but only ever so slightly. It will be a strong on curve play, but when it keeps goin face like the Ogre Brute often did and u lose a game cause of it .. yeah, that will happen. I can guarantee that right now.
Kobold Illusionist (4): This card is pretty bad on average. At best u get a 4/4 worth of stats for 4 mana, but not all at once. Thats horrible. Only way this card can be remotely good is, if u have a lot of deathrattle minions where the 1/1 with deathrattle would be worth it. But even then, playing a 3/3 for 4 mana is a pretty big tempo loss and the deathrattle would rly have to make up for it. I dont see this card performing well on average. Not to metion, that you would reveal to your opponent, what minion you have in hand and that information might not be insignificant at all.
Kobold Monk (2): No that the ability will matter like in 99% of your games, but 3/6 for 4-mana is a very nice statline, so just take that and be happy :)
Lesser Amethyst Spellstone, Amethyst Spellstone, Greater Amethyst Spellstone (2): Good ol' Flame Lance that heals u, whats not to like? If Kobold Librarian and Vulgar Homunculus werent revealed together with this and we wouldnt know them for now, this spell would be a lot worse, tho u still draft things like Flame Imp and Hellfire, but those two minions makes this spell pretty damn good ... the only problem will be drawing it before u play them, which means keeping a bad 4-cost card in your hand most likely. At least its a removal, so its not completely useless, even if u dont mulligan into the Kobold or Vulgar.
Lesser Diamond Spellstone, Diamond Spellstone, Greater Diamond Spellstone (4): Casting 4 spells before T7 and playing some minions that would be worth the ress seems like a stretch. Casting 8 spells seems like an impossible task in most arena games, tho things like Thoughtsteal and The Coin would certainly help. This is obviously a late game card, but comes down very very slowly and can ress 2-drops or tokens and shit as well as anything useful, depending on what u played. I dont think this will be a thing.
Lesser Emerald Spellstone, Emerald Spellstone, Greater Emerald Spellstone (1): pretty busted card, it might be awkward to upgrade cause u dont rly want many secrets and the ones u do want u want to play early, so that would mean keeping this in your opening hand ... but even the basic version is 6/6 stats for 5 mana, which is already amazing.
Lesser Jasper Spellstone, Jasper Spellstone, Greater Jasper Spellstone (1): Very nice 2-dmg ping, that druid can definitely use. The power up might take a while, if you r gonna do it via your hero power, but druids do generally use the hero power quite often, so it will get done, if you dont need the ping right away. Might give cards like Claw or Gnash a little bit more "power". You r never rly sad about gettin those cards, even tho they r not the best, but at least now they will have some extra synergy with other card(s).
Lesser Mithril Spellstone, Mithril Spellstone, Greater Mithril Spellstone (4): Very draft dependant. And even if u have bunch of weapons, u have to draw this before u play em. If u can upgrade the card even once, then it is a pretty powerful play for 7 mana, but in its core, its just a bit too much combo-y for arena purposes. Not the worst card ever, especially, if u already have few weapons, but i wouldnt rely on it too much.
Lesser Onyx Spellstone, Onyx Spellstone, Greater Onyx Spellstone (4): Another very powerful card, that needs just one upgrade to be worth it, but might be hard to get there. Pretty much draft dependant, tho even the basic version is kinda ok (not rly, but kinda), since we played Sabotage just for the random Assassinate, not the weapon removal. This costs 1 more with a potential to do more damage.
Lesser Pearl Spellstone, Pearl Spellstone, Greater Pearl Spellstone (2): Another very much draft dependant spellstone, it should be relatively easy to upgrade this once, even the basic spell is already ok for arena purposes, not amazing, but ok. Higher versions r obviously very good.
Lesser Sapphire Spellstone, Sapphire Spellstone, Greater Sapphire Spellstone (4): This card will be a heavy win more card and heavily draft dependant. In its first stage, it's rly weak and hardly worth it, but gettin 2-3 coppies of a minion makes the card quite potent. At that point you dont even have to target a big minion to get good value, getting three 4-drops would certainly be worth 7 mana, but to power it up, it will take a while and you need to have enough Overload cards in your deck in a first place.
Lone Champion (2): This seems like a rly nice card. Not much threatening, but it will be annyoing to get through. Certainly more than worth it for the cost, if u can get it to trigger, which shouldnt rly be that hard at all.
Murmuring Elemental (4): It can be pretty strong, but its basically a draft dependant combo card that cant rly be played alone, so ... not very amazing for arena standards. Not to mention its a card for one of the weakes classes as of right now and even tho shaman has some super strong battlecry minions, i cant just see it perform well on average.
Possessed Lackey (5): Even in a demon centric deck, this card is just too damn slow. I suppose battlecry would be waaaaaaaaaaaay too OP for constructed standards (u could run only Doomguards or something like that), but the deathrattle totally kills it for arena.
Primal Talismans (3): Id say this is heavily draft dependant, not so much on totem synergy, but on if u have any attack activators. If u dont, it will basically just lock your board slots, tho your opponent will still probably try to clear all that, cause its safer that way. Also since u can get multiple of the same totem, i totally see the +X Spell Damage wrecking my soul at least once :)
Scorp-o-matic (5): The battlecry will not kill anything 99% of the time. Not worth pickin for the battlecry and stats r abysmal without it, so just dont pick it.
Seeping Oozeling (4): This card seems pretty bad, even if it gets some rly good deathrattle .. Bone Drake has a powerful one and without extra condition and its a 6/5 for 6. This has -1/-1 over it and has to get some seriously sick deathrattle to be worth it. Mby if you could land one from Abominable Bowman or something, but thats unlikely.
Shrieking Shroom (3): About as good as Sewer Crawler on average, it does need to be answered to stop the value genration, shouldnt be too hard with that statline. It will be more of an annoyance than anything most of the time, but i guess there r worse cards.
Twilight's Call (4): Solely draft dependant. Its technically "like" a card draw in a sense that the "cards" r delayed deathrattles, if that even makes sense to look at it this way :D Anyway, super unreliable, would be nice if u could get like Bone Drakes and such, but still ..
Unidentified Maul (Purifier's Maul, Sacred Maul, Champion's Maul, Blessed Maul) (1): Damn! B-b-b-buuuusteeeed! Yeah, ok, mby im exaggerating, but i cant help but feel this card is gonna be huge. It will be a kind of RNGfiesta for sure, but all effects r good, so in the end the weapon WILL get very good value, just sometimes it can get "just" good value and sometims it can get game winning value.
Wandering Monster (2): This secret will be annoying AF to figure out, i can tell you that much right now. Usually you would want to trigger this with a minion, that would survive the trade with a 3-drop, but there r two poisonous minions in that pool, so it might not go as well as planned. Also you dont normally want to check for a Freezing Trap/Misdirection with your big minion first, so that makes it even more annyoing to check for. Also this card is relatively decent T2 play. If your opponent has a minion and goes face, he spawns a random 3-cost minion for you, that you paid 2 mana for ... and might not even trade 1for1 ... this might make possible to fake out Wandering Monster with any secret on T2 and try to get some tempo back, when you have bad mulligan. This card will certainly provide a lot of added value, far beyond 2 mana.
COMMON
Arcane Artificer(4): Pretty bad card for arena purposes, yes, the Armor would be definitely nice to get, but its a bad combo card and shit on its own. The elemental tag saves this card that it can be at least considered in the draft, but thats about it.
Barkskin (1): Oh boy, are we making druid into a priest? This shit is gonna be SO powerful. Honestly the armor part could have had been out and it would still be an amazing card, but since the Armor is there, the card is that much stronger. Also some bonus synergies with the armor for druid in this expansion beyond a bonus "health" for your hero.
Benevolent Djinn (3): Very nice card to have in the pool. Nothing too amazing, but its an elemental and it heals you, both of which r nice to have - or rather have an option to draft it, if appropriate - so yeah, im fine with this card existing. Also another decent combo card for Blackguard, which is nice :)
Boisterous Bard (3): Pretty much literally 3-cost Sunborne Val'kyr. Or shattered sun cleric, that changed the attack for health on another minion. I honestly dont know which of these three would i rather have. It will most likely depend on the draft at any given point i get this offered. Its a decent enough minion that can help your guys survive the trade and the stats r fine enough for this to be considered. So yeah, ok card, but situational.
Candleshot (2): Hell yeah, i will take a Light's Justice-like ping weapon that protects me from taking damage. It is actually better than Light's Justice, since u can ping big minions without worries.
Cave Hydra (3): Cute minion, if u play it with the base stats, chances r it will be very very underwhelming, if ur not ahead on the board. The ability can act as a semi-aoe and help u clear some crap from the board, tho if u would play it in that situation, the Hydra would probably never lived to attack in a first place. There r some hand buffs in hunter and some beast synergy etc. I think this minion's real potential has to be discovered first, then we can form a proper opinion.
Cavern Shinyfinder (3): Rogue's take on forge of souls, its better in terms of that it is a minion, not a spell, so it provides some value even when there is no weapon in your deck. 3/1 for 2 mana isnt end of the world, tho it does die to a ping. But i dont see this card drawing a weapon very often, u basically draft only Perdition's Blade or Shadowblade and both r rare. And if u do get them, u will have like just one in the entire deck. If this card can draw u the weapon, then it is definitely worth it, but i just dont see it happening very often. Its obviously a card that is supposed to make Kingsbane deck work.
Cheat Death (3): Seems like a decent value for 2 mana. Will probably get more value due to Sudden Betrayal being a thing than what this card actually does, but even then, its not bad. We shall see how this changes rogue plays with and against.
Corrosive Sludge (2): Wow, we certainly didnt need another ooze, that isnt even understated (ok by one point, but cmon :p). Decent 5-drop that will occasionally destroy a weapon. Tho u will probably not keep this in hand for the battlecry as u do with the other oozes.
Crushing Hand (3): The overload will suck, but this is a pretty strong tempo play as many other shaman removals with Overload attached. This card is definitely a boost for shaman arena. But it might be a bit too punishing playin this in the early turns after all that anyway :/
Cursed Disciple (4): This will most likely perform about as good as Arrogant Crusader most of the time. Probably even worse, since u can ping one or both forms. I mean it will require a response, but im not too convinced that this will get 4 mana worth of a response out of your opponent.
Dark Pact (4): Decent health gain which u do want as WL, but sacrificing one of your minions is not exactly what u would like to do, if it ain an egg. Not the best topdeck either, but it is definitely a good tool and WL might actually find use for it more often than not.
Dire Mole (4): This is a lot better in ping classes, but its still nothing exciting. Just another 1-drop. I would rather have a 2/1 most of the time.
Dragonslayer (1): Until the meta settles down, this will be a very high priority pick for one simple reason: Hoarding Dragon. Yeah, its not gonna be on curve play, but if u can remove him with this card, u basically played a 1-cost 4/3 that killed your opponents 4-drop. That seems like a preeeeeety good value, doesnt it? And it wont be just Hoarding Dragon, that will get killed by this, there will be a pretty good number of dragons u will see very often. This card will be totally disgusting, when played against you.
Drygulch Jailor (3): Mountain Giant pally, here we go! Ok ... not in arena :D This card is obviously a horrible 2-drop, but its not the worst card in the world. It gives you three 1/1s to play as you see fit and that is not such a useless thing to have, especially as paladin. Also with handbuff cards like Grimestreet Outfitter or Grimestreet Enforcer, this card might provide decent value. Definitely not a card you would want to prioritize in your draft, but you wont be too sad to get it.
Drywhisker Armorer (3): Another very nice card to have in the pool. Not that amazing on its own, but the fact that its still a 2/2 for 2 with a potential big "heal" is rly nice.
Fungal Enchanter (2): Wow, another old timer cries in a corner - Earthen Ring Farseer. Basically superior version, one less 1hp for the ability to heal your board. You usually heal minions with him anyway, so this is basically a heal for your hero more than the other way around. Very nice card.
Fungalmancer (4): This can be super strong, but its basically a win more card, since if u dont have board, u cant rly play this. It can help your minions to get HP above some AOE's thresholds or to trade up, which is nice, but i mean its not gonna perfom that well on average, i think id rather have Sunborne Val'kyr over this every time.
Gemstudded Golem (1): WOW pretty sick taunt for just 6 mana. 5 armor is a bit high for arena standards, but mby some of the new cards can help you with that. But even if u wont be able to attack with this, its a gigantic stat wall that is very much cost efficient. Premium taunt right there.
Gilded Gargoyle (4): This card looks like it was made for the priest legendary weapon - Dragon Soul. But for arena standards, paying mana to save mana in the future is a backwards thinking and will probably not pay off, tho i wouldnt be surprised if it did in a priest deck with Free From Amber, Psychic Scream or Mind Control. Still, i dont recommend picking this card.
Green Jelly (3): Its gonna be annoying more than anything most of the time. It is a taunt in the end, but its no Hogger. I think id rather have Silver Hand Knight over this most of the time, tho if it survies a turn, it will provide more value already. Not bad, but not amazing either.
Guild Recruiter (2): So for this card to be on par with Silver Hand Knight, u would need to get at least a 3-drop. 4-drop would be really good! 2-drop kinda sad, but still bearable, 1-drop pretty horrible (tho at least you wouldnt draw that later on, so at least some positive!). That being said, in an average deck, there is like one or none 1-drop, so that nightmare scenario is usually out. That makes this card a very decent card on average. The card might become worse or better depending on your draft, but on average, it should be at least a Silver Hand Knight (with different stat distribution).
Healing Rain (4): Potentially a 12 HP heal for 3 mana which is decent value consider it's a good amount for 1 card investment. Or a mass heal for your board. Probably draftable, but it's on the low end of the power scale.
Hoarding Dragon (1+++): Well, i guess we found our Bonemare of KAC. Hoarding Dragon is gonna be such a shit to go up against when played on curve. This card alone might make u draft a lot more early game to have at least some board. Imagine if u actually dont have a 2 and/or 3 drop and your opponent does and then he drops this. The game is basically over at that point.
Ironwood Golem (3): I dont know why r ppl bitch so much about this one, yeah u will most likely not attack with it, but so what? Tar Creeper is annoying as hell to get through on curve and this will be the same. I will probably not go looking for this, but i will most certainly not be sad, if i "have to" draft this guy.
Kobold Apprentice (3): As much as i HAAAAAAAAAAAAATE Mad Bomber, i would still probably take him over this. Even tho this can no longer target friendly characters, the stats for the cost r just horrible. U rly have to hit what ur aiming for, if this is ever to be worth it.
Kobold Hermit (4): Pretty bad. I mean u can choose, but still. Might be semi-decent in a right deck (Thing from Below and stuff), but thats about it. I suppose its Tainted Zealot-ish kind of card, so the Spell Damage could be relevant, so could the taunt, but still.
Kobold Librarian (1): Damn! I see value :o Half a price of Life Tap with a 2/1 body ... like, for real? I guess there could be too many of these at some point, but ... could it?:o
Oaken Summons (3): Pretty nice card to have in a mix, similar to some of the warrior ones. Not one u will be looking for, but ultimately not one u will be too sad about.
Plated Beetle (2): One of the better 2-drops for sure. Armor is more valuable than Health and can be a combo piece for some other cards. Vanilla 2-drop stats with an upside, whats not to like?:) Dont forget to light a candle (*wink wink*) for the poor River Crocolisk on your way out!
Potion of Heroism (1): That is one strong card. I will gladly pay 1 more mana over hand of protection to draw a card, hell yeah! I mean u already dont leave any minions on board for paladin, if u can avoid it, but this card is so good i wouldnt be even too worried just playing it on a minion i just slapped down, since it cycles itself. Very nice.
Psionic Probe (3): Id say better than Mind Vision, but i mean ur just trading a card for a random spell from your opponents deck. Arguably a removal, aoe or a buff since what else would they draft, right? I think it will perform just fine actually and will be super annoying, but i still give it just average rating, cause it is random in the end and who knows what can happen.
Raven Familiar (3): This is a nice card. Not too amazing, but nice. This is how joust minions should have looked like. U wont be too sad when u lose the joust, but will be glad to win it for sure, as always. That being said, mage has better 2-drops than this and its kinda draft dependant, since u need to have spells ... but it could just perform a LOT better than im givin it credit right now, since u could pull flamestrike/meteor/pyro with this with relative ease, which would be a big deal. Im interested/affraid to see how will this one perform.
Shifting Scroll (4): Shifter Zerus but for spells. Problem with this will be pretty much the same as with Zerus, when u get something good, u will most likely not be able to play it or it wont be the time to play it.
Shroom Brewer (3): Decent card for what it does, i imagine it will actually make several archetypes playable in constructed, since its a decent amount of healing with not much tempo loss. But for arena standards, its about average value. U wont be sad to draft it, but u will hope for a better card.
Silver Vanguard (5): This one looks so far to be the worst card for Arena in this expansion. Not only the stats for cost are abysmal, its slow > cause deathrattle. And on top of that ... what 8-cost minion do u even draft in arena? Charged Devilsaur, Eldritch Horror, Ironbark Protector. Thats it. Nope, this card will not be played.
Sleepy Dragon (3): I suppose in any class but priest i would rather have Giant Mastodon cause he has a better stat distribution, but the Dragon tag will be super important in a priest draft. Overall, its just a big taunt, nothing amazing, but it gets the job done as well as it can.
Sneaky Devil (4): This card will be super annoying, if u cant draw a board clear, but with 2 health, basically almost any AOE will clear that. It will definitely cause me some headaches, i know that already, but until i see it in action, i will not be looking for it in my drafts (mby shaman, but thats about it :p).
Stoneskin Basilisk (2): Wow, pretty high value card. In absolutely very least it should be a less controlable (in terms of where u trade with it) Giant Wasp, but with potential to kill off two minions. Very nice card. SUPER annoying to deal with.
Sudden Betrayal (3): I mean anyone who plays arena should be already playin around Betrayal in a first place and in the worst case u can just not attack, until u can safely check for this, but its still probably a decent secret that will cause some awkward turns and plays out of the opponent for sure.
Toothy Chest (4): Validated Doomsayer of 3-drops. It would be an ok play on curve when there r no enemy minions. After that the value goes rapidly down. We will 100% see this card work, but i would imagine its not worth gambling on it. Its a good 3-drop if it works, but a "heal 4 hp for 3 mana" in every other situation.
Trogg Gloomeater (3): Probably better than venomancer, since u cant just ignore it. The one attack traded for taunt has 0 meaning, since poisonous, so ... yeah. Decent card for anyone who doesnt run into friggin Stampeding Kodos on T5 every other game like me :)
Unidentified Elixir (1): I already hate this card beyond measures ... for how good will it be. Some options (like Lifesteal or Divine Shield) will be better than others to gain tempo. It will be almost on par with Velen's Chosen, since you can play it on your 2-drop and that card rekt souls so hard, this will be worse or better, depending on the ability it gets, so overall, this card will be very powerful. Divine shield specifically is gonna bring back the horrible nightmates of Seal of Champions.
Unidentified Shield (Tower Shield +10, Serrated Shield, Runed Shield, Spiked Shield) (2): Although im a bit reserved when it comes to this card right now, i think it will perform very well. Amor might suck, but other three r all pretty good. I think this is an amazing card to have in the mix especially in a common slot. It is not a card, that will alone help warrior rise up, but it is a card that he will eventually be able to fall back on, even if in the next expansion or one after that, but the fact this card exist will be a very nice thing.
Violet Wurm (3): Pretty strong looking card with an amazing value. But its a tad slow for my taste. We shall see how this performs.
Wax Elemental (4): This will be pretty sick with handbuffs, but not in arena. It does barely stop two attacks, but thats about it. Not worth a deck slot.
Aluneth (3): Draw cards in Arena are strong, but drawing at end of turn doesn't help you when you need an immediate response or digging for lethal. However, it's a huge value card if it doesn't get removed right away, so there is probably still a spot for this in some hyper aggressive drafts.
Dragoncaller Alanna (4) : Very draft dependent card but feels more plausible in Mage. To get fair value you'll need at least one 5 cost spell played, beyond that is just gravy. The problem is that with 9 mana, summon a bunch of stats that don't impact the board probably isn't going to cut it in most cases. It's potentially a one card army for the late game, but needs a supporting draft to accommodate it.
Dragon Soul (5): This card is bad. Spells are not plentiful in Arena, and finding a situation where Priest can use 3 in a turn is near impossible.
Geosculptor Yip (3): Pseudo Taunt 4/8 for 8 mana, it has a decent chance of living for a turn and you might be able to work some armor gains into a big turn, but this card is a much worse Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound overall.
Grumble, Worldshaker (3) - The body is excellent obviously, but the battecry can be awkward. The trouble here is it's a Shaman card which means overload minions. Having any on the board and bounced back to your hand can be painful. If you can get some buffs, heals, or damage off the recasting of your board then this can be insane. However I'm not sold that you'll get that much value on this cards affect often. Still obviously a stud play on an empty turn 6, but if you had to bounce back anything to your hand, it's a tempo loss for future value. Interesting mix of tempo and value. Should be a good card to great card.
Ixlid, Fungal Lord (3): Pseudo Taunt card, this thing is a must kill. Playing this on curve is pretty risky and it should be at least hidden behind a taunt. More likely plays would involve later turns so you can play this and then play minion afterwards to get immediate value. Keep in mind from the wording it's only copies minions that are played. So minions with battle cries or spawns wouldn't get copied. Overall bit slow, but could be a late game win condition for some drafts.
Kathrena Winterwisp (2): Very solid card, that is easily manipulated by the draft. Hunters have lots of beasts to choose from so finding a recruit target is not a problem. There are some strong deathrattle beasts such as Savannah Highmane as well which would be insane pulls. The card is comparable to Menagerie Warden, which is an already above average card, but Katherna is a bit more reliable. Continued theme with pushing hunter to a long value themed deck type, time will tell if there's enough cards to help that type of deck for this class. As a standalone might be the best Arena card released so far.
King Togwaggle (5) - Horrible stats per mana cost. Effect is also horrible. This is purely some kind of troll card from Blizzard and I hope it gets banned from Arena eventually. A waste of a pick.
Kingsbane (4) : This card has potential but A lot of things need to line up (draft, draws, situations). If you draw this in the late game and without any buffs it's a pretty dead card, so the constant cycling of the card isn't necessarily great either
Lynessa Sunsorrow (4) : Some decks can accommodate this card, but it's too draft dependent to be consistently good.
Marin the Fox (4): The rating is for the 6/6 for 8 mana body and saving you 8 hp. The treasures are ridiculously powerful and will certainly end the game, but if you're in a position to spend 8 damage to break the chest you were probably on your way to winning anyways. However, i'd rather top deck this card then some legendaries, so it's avoids a terrible rating.
Master Oakheart (3) : Seems likely to get at the very least 9/9 worth of stats split over 4 minions which isn't completely worthless. Potential to pull better then average minions with low base line stats like dun dun dun.... Silver Vanguard
Rin, the First Disciple (4): Card is a neat idea, however in Arena, things that require other things to happen before you realize your true value are always a receipe for inconsistency. At 6 mana a 3/6 Taunt isn't completely a bust tho. I am comparing this card to Book Wyrm in Arena, probably slightly worse/better in certain situations. If Rin, the First Disciple's ability was a battle cry instead of deathrattle I could see it being WAY more viable. Right now it's a slower value card that doesn't provide much value.
Rhok'delar (4) : Constructed card, for arena, its a 4/2 weapon for 7 mana. Pretty terrible. It's reach at least?
Skull of the Man'ari (5): Odds of weapon removal the turn after it's played is low, so you can find some value from it casting a demon at the beginning of your turn, however, drafting demons isn't necessarily a sure thing, and then you need them in your hand when this is played to get value from it. Overall just not a viable card by itself in Arena.
Sonya Shadowdancer (3) : A board centric value generator, similar to Cult Master, but slightly more situational since the minions being changed to 1 mana versions need to have some kind of effect rather then be vanilla minions. The body also doesn't compete well when played on curve if needed compared to Cult Master. With all that said, it has a game breaking ability to recycle minions battle cries in the late game such as Bonemare, or Vilespine Slayer, so this card can be a difference maker in relatively common sitatuions. I'd argue that generating one card is enough value if that card can flip the turn in your favor, the key is not to be too greedy with this card.
Temporus (5) - if this card was a 10/10 Taunt minion it might be playable but with that body and that battle cry being such a huge negative effect, I'm not sure how you can argue this card working out in 99% of situations.
The Darkness (5) : 4 man do nothing - potentially never do anything. Not for arena.
The Runespear(3): There's some very good potentially game ending spells from Shaman and casting them for free without overload would be awesome. Things like double sided board clears or even Bloodlust for game ending burst. It also does provide a bit of removal and reach as a 3 attack weapon as well. It's a huge card with potential to be game winning. The randomness of the spells keeps me a bit wary of it's overall usefulness though.
Twig of the World Tree (3): Having an upgraded hero power for 5 turns can be useful but you will still need to make use of the deathrattle effect to get full value. Having a big set up turn for 18-20 mana to spend is the dream, the likelihood is low though given that you have to trigger the effect thru attacking while having a hand ready to capitalize on the mana. It's very slow and spending 4 mana on 1 damage might cost you the game on turn 4.
Val'anyr (1): Closest comparable card is Hammer of Twilight which is a tier 1 card, this card is even better potentially but it's slower to realize its full gains. Silence isn't very common in Arena, and if the this weapon gets recast once from the buffed minion getting removed, it's value is just godly. Save your Sap and Polymorph for this.
Woecleaver (3) : A 8 mana weapon that has some guarentee'd impact on the board, although it's a bit RNG dependent. It's actually not too different from the The Runespear, though it's a bit less devastating when the RNG doesn't go your way (and a bit less rewarding when it does), I'd argue, both are about the same in terms of overall value and impact. The recruit minion over 3 turns generally should be enough value to justify the cost of the weapon, however it's over 3 turns, and 3 turns in the late game and that's enough to lose the game before realizing the value of this card.
Zola the Gorgon (3) - Card draw that requires a board, you'll be able to get some value from this occasionally but it feels strictly like a worse Shadowcaster. It's also similar to Howling Commander, both of these cards aren't really awe inspiring cards and I don't see any new interactions with Zola that will change that trend. Potentially an average card but for a legendary it feels weak.
EPIC
Arcane Tyrant (3) : The card is better in certain classes then others and a bit draft dependent. It's a card that is suppose to pick up tempo after using a large spell. The classes that come to mind which would benefit the most would probably be Priest and Mage, for example after using cards like Mind Control or Firelands Portal. Its a scary sitiation when you combine high value and high tempo. Worse case scenario this card can at least be played as a 4/4 for 5 which isn't totally useless.
Astral Tiger (3) : Fair stats for the mana cost, and a value focused deathrattle that is hard to take advantage of in Arena. Has obvious synergies with Recruit heavy decks.
Bladed Gauntlet (4) : Its cheap removal in a pinch, but after the first swing into a minion keep in mind the armor total drops and you will need to invest resources to bring it up to use the weapon again. Overall, it just seems bad most of the time.
Branching Paths (2): Nice flexible card. It's good at all stages of the game in various situations. All the effects are overpriced however, but you are paying for the flexibility of the card. Probably a close comparison generally to Feral Rage, but better late game scalability with the card draw.
Call to Arms (2): Very powerful card since this pulls small cards from your deck instead of being randomly generated. If you can play this on curve with a deck full of good solid 1 mana and 2 mana drops this is going to be a real strong tempo play. It also thins your deck of smaller cards so your mid and late game draws are improved. Also follows paladins general game plan pretty well and synergies with its buff cards. Only reason this is not a 1 is because it is somewhat draft dependent since occasionally somme drafts will be starved for low mana minions.
Carnivorous Cube (2): I really like this card. The stat line is respectable and it will be powerful depending on the situation. It's a mid-range threat that will bait morph spells. I'm wary to give it a home run rating since the card affects your board negatively and ultimately can be ignored by your opponent to delay the deathrattle value. Definitely a card to watch.
Cataclysm (4): i don't feel this card is very good. If the text read "Discard your hand at end of turn", this card might have been excellent, but dumping your hand (potentially a full hand due to being WL) is just too punish to come back from even if you could draw 2 per turn. However, it is a comeback AOE so it will always have some playability in tough situations.
Corridor Creeper (2) : Card has some potential to be cheated out early. At 5 mana, it's fair for it's cost. Keep in mind it's ANY minion that dies, not just friendly, so it's pretty easy to achieve a nice tempo play with this being played for cheap. I'm surprised it's not a beast tag actually.
Crushing Walls (2): Excellent card value card for Hunter, 2 for 1 unconditional kill card with no real drawbacks. The mana cost is fair, and the requirements are reasonable. I wouldn't say it's an auto pick due to it's mana cost, so an aggressive Hunter draft might choose Bittertide Hydra over this card for example.
Deck of Wonders (5): 5 mana do nothing.... Draw your scroll and potential ruin your board, face, or both. This card is total trash.
Dragon's Fury (4) : Unreliable due to draft dependency and unknown RNG pulls. The reveal is bad as well. You can try to trade the board in to set up, but overall this should be a poor value play and probably more of a desperation card. Ex: Servant of Yogg-Saron
Dragonhatcher (5) : Basically unplayable in arena. The odds of this ever working out is slim.
Evasion(2) (4): It's an absolute shame this is an epic card since it pairs so well with Sudden Betrayal just purely by playing mind games with opponents. Due to its rarity, most players won't play around it as often so they will just attack face with the smallest minion first. I can see this card or the presence of this card making situations awkward for opponents. If Evasion was more common then players might use their largest minion to face first instead of smallest leading to lots of misplays. The card is infinitely weaker against hero powers with pings since you can trigger the secret easily without using a minion. After more thorough consideration the card needs too specific of a board state to be consistently impactful. For only 3 secrets introduced there is at least some nice variety.
Fal'dorei Strider (Spider Ambush!: Leyline Spider) (1): Great card from a value perspective, although it's value comes from drawing the spiders which may or may not come in that case it's a 4 mana 4/4 with no immediate impact which is nothing to write home about. Its not up to Vilespine Slayer power levels, but it's a solid card.
Grand Archivist (5) : Horrible stats for its cost. There's a couple ways Blizzard could have went to make this card playable, as it is right now it's terrible. If you consider Arena drafts, most will contain AOE, removal and minion buffs most often. So spending a removal on your own minion or buffing your opponents is certain disaster. The reason Tortollan Primalist is playable inspite of it's horrible body is the discover effect. The reason why Servant of Yogg-Saron is playable is because it's body is serviceable insight of it's completely random effect. I think this new card is much worse then those cards because it's random pool of cards will often consist of cards to remove or buff, but when you have a random target, it's a much higher chance of something going wrong.
Psychic Scream (2): Another tool for Priest, this one is a full double sided unconditional removal. Really scary card and can't be played around. Probably a bit better then Twisting Nether, since it negates deathrattle effects. Since its an epic, luckily we won't be experiencing this card that often.
Reckless Flurry (4): it's an AOE at least, but the cost of armor (basically taking damage), the double sided wipe and the uncontrollable damage due to armor that was stacked up is something that will make this card really bad most of the time.
Rummaging Kobold (5) - For most decks this card is a 5, even with legendary weapons the delayed value on using, exhausting and resummon a legendary weapon thru the Kobold are probably games that will never happen in Arena. For classes like Rogue, Paladin, or Warrior, getting an extra Truesilver Champion, or Shadowblade is never a bad thing which probably makes this a bit better, but still a 5.
Shimmering Courser (4) : Better in buff classes then non buff classes. Generally a 3/3 isn't a high threat to be removed by spells anyways, so it's ability isn't that relevant when it's played.
Spiteful Summoner (2) - Getting a 2 mana spell, that generates a 2/2 is pretty fair value for this card, so it's not that hard for this to be an okay card. With that said the tempo gained from pulling a huge spell into game breaking minion on turn 6 is a real reality and I can see this card being higher in value for certain classes that have playing large spells such as Priest, Mage, Warlocks, and Druids. The issue is having a draft with spell offerings and having them remaining in your deck, it should be a reasonable requirement tho so just a small issue. The reveal aspect of the card can cramp your style a bit giving your opponent a heads up on what's in your deck, but he might be dead before then anyways.
To My Side! (5) : 6 mana animal companion is pretty bad.... The upside doesn't make sense in Arena.
Twilight Acolyte (4) : Not the end of the world if played on turn 3 as a 2/4 for tempo, but it's not a pretty situation. The effect is quite powerful but requires synergies IN HAND, and a target on the board to get value. If this stat line was 4/2 it would much better IMO, it at least makes more competitive on turn 3, and allows for some cheeky friendly swaps + trade/lethal plays on top of being a large removal.
Unstable Evolution (1): Very cool mechanic and design. Great flexible card for Shaman. Overpaying slightly for flexibility is pretty normal for card design, but this card gives flexibility a totally new bar. Thing is you might get carried away with playing it, which might get a bit too expensive.
Void Ripper (3) : Seems average, it's a cheap card that potentially has a game winning effect though, so it should be a net positive card for the caster of the card. There will be situations where you just play this on turn 3, and his 2/3 will be a 3/2 or his 3/2 will be a 2/3. It's about an even effect, most of the time for both players though.
Voidlord (2): Nice buff to Bane of Doom. The card is about stabilizing the board. Getting hard removed is a problem for any top tier minion, and this card suffers the same fate if your opponent had Polymorph. It compares closest to Soggoth the Slitherer and Giant Mastodon and I'd argue it's somewhere in between, although this card might be the most likely to save you from death in most situations since hard removals are quite rare. Its a demon too, so theres always interesting synergies with that.
Windshear Stormcaller (3) : Don't bother reading the text, the likelihood of this in Arena is negligible. 5 mana 5/5 is average.
RARE
Crystal Lion (1) : I like this card and think it's really solid. It's highly playable for it's base mana cost and very likely to get cheated out early or for cheap. The perceived threat of this also might result in some opponents over trading.
Drywhisker Armorer (3): Warriors version of Cult Apothecary. It's a bit better then Cult since the effect is armor and can be stacked for synergies, and the card itself is cheaper for the effect, but that doesn't say much about the card which is still a below average card most of the time.
Duskbreaker (4): it's baby Chillmaw just not as good on it's own. It's probably a playable card in constructed but arena, it's understatted body and negative opponent controlled effect makes this a poor card.
Ebon Dragonsmith (5) : Unplayable in most of the classes, and even in weapon classes is barely even draftable. You don't see cards like Blackwater Pirate being overly valued in weapon classes for example. Doesn't matter if this is a dragon.
Elven Minstrel (2): Good value card, but low tempo card. Having to combo it out might be a bit awkward and since it has such low impact on the board you need to be careful when to use this card. Still a good card and I'd be happy to have 1 in my deck. I feel the minion Draw a generally are worse then spells or random Draws especially since this card swallows 4+ mana, it'll be hard to find a playable minion for lethal or an answer on the same turn as the draw.
Explosive Runes (3) :Excellent value card, but easy to play around since opponents will play their worst minion into all mage secrets. It's best to consider this a removal card and it's damage portion as an additional affect. Overall at the very worst it's a small removal plus some burn. At it's best it'll give you lethal.
Feral Gibberer (5): The 1/1 is bad for 1 mana, so you must get value for this thru attacking. Attacking once makes this worse then Fire Fly, so it must successfully attack twice for me to consider it an above average card. I don't see that happening often and you end up with a much worse Fire Fly.
Furbolg Mossbinder (4): it's a close comparison to Darkspeaker,both have an upside and downside. Darkspeaker allows the minion to keep its abilities, allows for a tempo trade and can be played as a 3/6 for 5, not ideal but it's something. Mossbinder on the other hand offers much more value with the 6/6 body, specially in the early game. The minion can't attack however so it wont swing teh game the turn its played tho. I feel the card is about the same in terms of playability, although the Mossbinder can get decent value if you can land the transform effect on a very negative minion. Edited: 6/6 has summoning sickness.
Gather Your Party (5): Will only really fit in decks that are a bit heavier. With that said, heavier decks without proper early game in Arena (especially non ping classes) are going to have a tough time. It's really hard to see this card pull a minion at a discount, very often you'll be paying a premium for a minion from your deck. An RNG card that requires draft set up ? No thanks.
Gravelsnout Knight (5) : Rough a 1/2 net stats if we consider the resulting 1 mana spawn as a 1/1 minion. It's hard to like this card in any situation considering it's mediocre over stats vs it's drawbacks.
Greedy Sprite (3) : Having ramping abilities generally is most useful when you can control when you want to ramp up so you can take advantage of the extra mana. A lot of this card's effectiveness will come down to how well you can use the extra crystal on your next turn. Inefficiently sacing this minion to trade seems like a poor play just for the ramp crystal. Card also gets worse as the game progresses, keep in mind it's an EMPTY crystal, so on turn 10, it's a 3/1 for 3. The stat line also doesn't feel generous enough for this to be average.
Grizzled Guardian (3) - For it's heavy mana cost luckily this card has taunt, otherwise this card might be junk. If we were to compare this card to Ironbark Protector a very solid Druid card, we are giving up 5/3 worth of immediate stats for a deathrattle effect split into 2 separate bodies. I would argue that squeezing out 6/6 worth of stats from the deathrattle is probably enough to match the Ironbarks stat line. This seems quite reasonable albeit a bit draft dependent. If you get hit by Shadow Madness I'd rage quit too. The card should be at least an average card in most instances.
Hooked Reaver (2) : Pretty insane upside for a reasonable/controllable conditional battlecry. It's a Demon as well so theres some synergies there as well. Otherwise it's still a 4/4 demon for 4 mana.
Kobold Monk (2) : The ability isn't overly relevant in most instances but it's stats are quite strong for it's mana cost and it can produce some awkward situations for your opponent to play around.
Hungry Ettin (3): Huge stats on turn 6, but if we compared this to Ancient of Blossoms, it's a difference of 1/2 stats for a 2 drop. The best 2 drop might be Dirty Rat stat wise and Doomsayer is another potentially crippling pull. In that comparison its strictly a worse Ancient.
Kobold Barbarian (3) : Good stats for it's mana cost, and in the early game it's a fine card, however, gets progressively worse in the late game. It bypasses taunts as well so it can be lethal damage in rare situations.
Lesser Amethyst Spellstone (2) : Very solid card, bit expensive for it's initial effect tho. We can compare this card to Shadow Bolt which gives up 1 damage and 1 extra mana for 3 points of healing. I feel that's about as good on it's base level. This is something Warlock really needs, a way to heal, however the healing will go towards the damage taken to upgrade so it's a bit of a wash.
Lesser Diamond Spellstone (4) : The value of the card is there as long as the random targets are decent sized (no guarentees here, needs to at least 2 3+ mana drops or this is a disaster. The odd chance this card gets upgraded is rare, but plausible in the late game. Overall too unreliable, but probably worse cards out there.
Lesser Emerald Spellstone (1) : Great card at face value. Both wolves are beasts and you get good stats without having to upgrade. After playing one secret the card starts getting into insane territory. Now drafting and playing secrets migh not be a sure thing but I won't imagine it being that much of a stretch considering most hunter secrets are draftable.
Lesser Jasper Spellstone (2): Solid card, not sure if Druid needed another spot removal card though. At 2 damage for 1 mana, it's reasonable, and it's likely to be upgrade to 4 damage, even 6 damage in some slower games. The upgrade condition is reasonable, and the potential tempo swing from a 1 mana removal is very high.
Lesser Mithril Spellstone (4): Immediate value is bad. Playing 1 weapon while this is in your hand makes this card above average. However, a below average card through most of the game and has no guaranteed chance of upgrade since it's dependent on summoning weapons while in your hand. Worse comes to worse you can play a 5/5 for 7 in top deck mode, so there's some use there. We will have to keep an eye on new weapon offerings this expansion, the rating for the card is probably more a 3 then a 4 in the case.
Lesser Onyx Spellstone (3) : Removal is always playable in Arena, but this one is a much more expensive Deadly Shot with an upgrade condition that is probably never going to happen in Arena. If this was 4 mana it is probably at least an above average card but 5 mana is real expensive for a situational card with a rarely realized upside. Also, it's Rogue, they have plenty of tools for removing minions.
Lesser Pearl Spellstone (2) : In a pinch the base spell is a Frostwolf Grunt, with an upside that's not terrible at all. Getting 3HP isn't necessarily that hard for paladin and at 1 upgrade, this card is a very strong card for 2 mana.
Lesser Ruby Spellstone (3): Babbling Book would be a 1, Shimmering Tempest a 2, and Cabalist's Tome a 3, this card is probably worse then all 3. The likelihood of maxing this spellstone will probably be impossible in Arena, and at its base form its a pretty sub par card so aiming for 1 upgrade for good value is ideal. I'm questioning how likely getting 2 playable elemental are in a draft let alone playing them while this is in hand. Not convinced it will work out right now on this card.
Lesser Sapphire Spellstone (4): Immediate value is terrible. However, summoning 2 copies of even a 3-4 mana minion will make the 2nd upgrade quite worth it. The 3-mana overload condition seems like it can be achieved relatively frequently in some decks. It will make it's way into some drafts.
Level Up! (4): Expensive and requires a bit of a board. Getting 2 targets would be a fair break even so it's not that hard to achieve.
Leyline Manipulator (2): As a comparison, it's roughly the same as a 4 mana Ethereal Peddler, although most cards generated for Mage are usually random spells (usually better then totally random cards), I'd argue the reduction ability on this card is more powerful then the Peddlers. Most of the time it will just be a 4 mana 4/5 with an elemental tag which is a still a solid card.
Lone Champion (2) : Solid card, probably not as good as Tar Creeper, but its pretty darn close. It's a small come back card early without sacrificing much stats even if the taunt and divine shield isn't triggered. Late game it has the same ability to help you mount your comeback and try to stabilize the board. Good card.
Murmuring Elemental (3) : Not a horrible value card, since you can compare the double battlecry kind of like a draw card effect except better since it's automatically cast but requires the trigger card. It does have the elemental tag as well which works well for Shaman, so all in all, its about as good as a Novice Engineer.
Possessed Lackey (4): Statwise it could be worthwhile some of the time depending on your draft. The initial tempo loss by playing a 2/2 for 5 mana is quite a bit of stats to give up, which means regaining that tempo from the deathrattle would require a pretty big demon. I just don't see it happening often enough to make this even a consistently average card.
Scorp-o-matic (4) : Occasional good battle cry, killing any minion with it will be good value for it's cost. As is, it's a bit unreliable and understatted.
Shrieking Shroom (3) : On average you're getting about 3/3 worth of stats split over 2 bodies, with a potential high roll of 3/5 stats over 2 bodies. Not broken good but not bad. Worse case is you roll something like a 1/1, but the original Shroom body still needs a response.
Twilight's Call (4) : Deathrattle isn't an extremely common ability and to have two friendly minions to target from the graveyard is a bit of a stretch. Pretty unreliable card potentially a completely dead card. To be honest it's a great value card if you have the right deck (generates 2/2 stats and 2 deathrattle effects) but seems very unlikely to be able to reach its potential in Arena.
Unidentified Maul (2) : Lets all remember how insane Coghammer was when played at the right moment. Let's also remember how good Muster for Battle was on turn 3. This card is a bit of a mix of those insane powerful cards while adding some RNG to the effects. ALL 4 variations are strong, with the Sacred Maul probably being the worse since you sometimes don't want certain things Taunted. The Fact it affects your whole board for 3 mana can lead to some explosive comeback turns and finishes. It's probably a 1, but the small bit of randomness keeps it out of auto snap pick territory.
Wandering Monster (3): Definitely a playable card, borderline good card. For 2 mana, pulling a 3 mana 2/2 minion is enough to break even considering that it also saved you some face damage. It's comparable to Noble Sacrifice, which is pulling a 1 mana minion, but protects your face and minions. This secret could potentially be a worse Noble Sacrifice or summon potential trouble cards that your opponent's minion must now attack into, like Humongous Razorleaf, Giant Wasp, Scarlet Crusader, etc. It's an interesting card that has a good chance to get a rating bump in the future.
COMMON
Arcane Artificer (4) : Poor stat line and an ability that doesn't impact the board. It's value comes from it's low mana cost, so if you can afford to play a big spell 1 turn late, you can piggyback this card to gain a bunch of armor. Keeping in mind spells aren't a guarantee in any drasft and you have a near trash tier card. It's an elemental at least.
Barkskin (3) : Feels like decent value for 1 mana and has some armor synergies with class cards from this new set. Draftable.
Benevolent Djinn (3) - Fair stats, with a below average effect. Heals are generally lower value, especially one you can't target, however 3hp a turn is a good amount if left unchecked.
Candleshot (2) : Solid card that gives Hunter access to an early ping. The immune ability is quite solid and this card should be at least better then Light's Justice.
Cave Hydra (3) : Pretty good card if you can get the attack in first, the stats are a bit underwhelming for the cost, but the effect is quite powerful. Overall an average to above average card that also has beast synergies too.
Cavern Shinyfinder (2) : Rogue has some strong turn 3 weapons that can play perfect after this card. At 3/1 also trades into almost all 2 drops, or requires an answer in the early game. Overall very powerful turn 2 play for Rogue that has a very small dependency on the draft.
Cheat Death (3): Paying for future tempo and card advantage. It's average, better then Getaway Kodo at least.
Corrosive Sludge (3) : Fair stats for the mana cost, and a solid battlecry for all the new weapons that surely will be in this meta.
Crushing Hand (3) : Overload cost seems a bit expensive for the immediate tempo, but still good as cheap removal, just plan accordingly.
Cursed Disciple (3) : Nice total stats for the mana, although they are easily handled by ping classes the 5 damage is threatening and probably need to be dealt with efficiently in order to save minions or face damage.
Dark Pact (4) : It's actually not that bad in some spots, can be synergistic and cost efficient for 8 hp, especially in warlock. Still unreliable for Arena.
Dire Mole (3) : It's a draftable 1 drop with beast synergy, nothing overly exciting.
Dragonslayer (2) : In the same power bracket as Golakka Crawler when the battlecry triggers. It's a strong on curve minion that doesn't suffer from loss of stats for potentially huge battle cry.
Drygulch Jailor (3): Average card, provides future value in exchange for immediate tempo loss. Not sure if Paladin requires a card like this just because Paladin has a lot of cards of this type of design. Overall it's playable for sure, but unless you can combo the tokens with other buffs or affects, the 1/1s most likely will not be impactful.
Flanking Strike (1) : Great removal and minion into a nice package. Wolf is a beast for further beast synergies as well.
Fungalmancer (4) : 2/2 + 4/4 charge for 5 mana, seems good, but finding the targets for this might be difficult. It's going to be a dead card in your hand sometimes, and can't be played by itself without any targets, so its a bit inconsistent compared to cards like Doppelgangster.
Fungal Enchanter (2) : Very decent card. Fair stats and a good board heal for only 3 mana investment. It's an improved Darkscale Healer
Gemstudded Golem (3) : Pretty beastly stats for it's mana cost, and 5 armor for Warrior shouldn't be overly difficult to achieve with the new and old armor boosting cards along with it's hero power. The 5 attack wall should be pretty relevant and prevent attackers from breaking through without suffering causalities.
Gilded Gargoyle (4) : Low tempo play for future tempo. Seems bit unstatted for it's effect, and since it's priest, finding it a bit hard for them to take advantage of a big tempo turn with the coin in their hand. But not a bad tool for them to smooth out their curve or reach their late game a bit earlier.
Guild Recruiter (2): Most obvious comparison to Silver Hand Knight which is a good card for arena. This card i am a bit less certain. To match Silver Hand Knight, you'll need 6 stats, so pulling a 3 mana 3/3 minion would help you break even when compared to the knight. However, the RNG can be manipulated in a way where the value of this card can be bonkers. If the minion selection in your 1-4 mana slots all have great stat distributions and/or strong effects, this cards value definitely increases potentially breaking the turn. For example, play this on turn 5, pull a Flamewreathed Faceless. Another card that i'd potentially rate much higher given the quality of the current draft.
Healing Rain (4) : Potentially a 12 HP heal for 3 mana which is decent value consider it's a good amount for 1 card investment. Or a mass heal for your board. Probably draftable, but it's on the low end of the power scale.
Hoarding Dragon (1) : Immediately I think of Hungry Dragon, although I do think this card is much stronger since it doesn't provide your opponent with an immediate compensation for the stats of the dragon. The delayed coins do make for a better turn from your opponent in the future, but they have to get thru the 5/6 body first and theres no guarantee they will be able to utilize the coins potential. The card also gets better as the game progresses since the coins decrease in value as the game drags on. Since its a common I'd expect this card to haunt us on turn 4s in many games to come.
Ironwood Golem (4) : if this card had the same text with charge, activate on +1 armor instead of +3, had additional stats or even a beast tag it would have been so much better. As is right now it's a below average card since the armor condition actually is a bit hard to achieve without using another card. So a 3/6 wall on T4, bit meh but draftable.
Kobold Apprentice (3) : If this was guarenteed to be delivered to minions it would be pretty huge since it can remove a 3 drop by itself on cast. As it is, it's not a bad card since the damage can also equal lethal on rare occasions, but missing the split damage and leaving a 2/1 body without removing any enemy minions is a pretty bad deal. Still a draftable card though and has upside.
Kobold Hermit (4) : It has flexibility but gives up stats and tempo. Certain situations this card would be great (totem synergy, taunt, heal, +1 spell power), but in general it's just an inconsistent card.
Kobold Illusionist (4): Poor tempo play on T4, and very unlikely to synergize with a deck that can take advantage of it's deathrattle. There are certainly worse options then this, but this is a below average/poor card very often.
Kobold Librarian (1) : This is a snap pick in most drafts. An extra 1 mana life tap that leaves you a 2/1 body, pretty insane for a 1 mana card.
Oaken Summons (3) : Pulling a 3/3 worth of stats would be pretty good value and a proper statted 4 drop you're golden. However, it's Not really a turn 4 play, since on average it's a tempo loss, but A healing card or two in A draft for the late game doesn't hurt most drafts. A lot of druid minions have good battlecries too so it's a bit of a drag to recruit them without the effects, in some cases the minion heavily relies on the battle cry to boost its base stats. EX. Druid of the Swarm, Shellshifter
Plated Beetle (3) : Easy pick if you need a curve filler. Solid 2 mana minion with healing upside and late game scalability. Also a beast.
Potion of Heroism (2) : Combines a cycle with Hand of Protection and actually seems okay. Divine Shield is a powerful trade up ability and the cycle affect makes it worthwhile in the late game as well.
Psionic Probe (4) : Depending on the class you are up against, this can be a complete bust or potentially game breaking. Generally it's probably okay other then stealing a weapon buff card.
Raven Familiar (3) : Stats are bad, but it's Joust card draw probably benefits Mage more then most other classes since the class has some very good larger spells. Average at best card tho.
Silver Vanguard (5) : Pay 7 mana and proceed to lose the game. No thanks.
Sleepy Dragon (3) : Bit worse then Giant Mastodon consider the low attack stat here, but still a big minion with taunt that's a dragon probably isn't that horrible most of the time.
Shifting Scroll (3) : Shifter Zerus is pretty terrible in Arena, this card is probably on the same levels of terribleness except the pool is a bit more specific which might churn out an answer or two once in a while in Arena.
Shroom Brewer (3) : Blown up Earthen Ring Farseer. Fair stats for it's mana, nothing fancy about it's battlecry, but has late game playability.
Sneaky Devil (3) : Generally pretty bad without a board, but the stealth is helpful in giving you a chance to extract value from this card.
Stoneskin Basilisk (2) : Potentially a 2 for 1 card. This card is pretty bonkers unless your opponent has a specific card to stop this, or a couple throw away minions. At the very least it should be a 1 to 1 most of the time and can produce awkward turns for your opponent to stop this thing from getting value.
Sudden Betrayal (3): Potentially a 2 for 1 card. The problem is that it's easy to figure out right pending new information on additional Rogue secrets. Its definately the more punishing of the released secrets. I'll keep an eye on new info. The rating will surely go up with more secrets added to the pool.
Toothy Chest (4) : Validated Doomsayer works in part to it's 7HP which makes it a bit more difficult to remove then this 4HP minion. Don't think this is a good card overall.
Trogg Gloomeater (3) : Seems okay, probably a bit low on the value scale for it's mana cost, but it should at least be a 1 to 1 card most of time potentially stopping a much larger threat. The combination of taunt and poisonous is definitely a premium defensive pairing that makes even poor statted minions worthwhile in most cases.
Unidentified Elixir (2): Super powerful card, giving Priest low costed buffs to trade and survive really punishes players for not trading and pushing face. Most of the effects are fine, but Divine Shield will be busted on T3,
Unidentified Shield (3): +15 armor is poor value compared to cards like Greater Healing Potion. The 5 armor + 5/5 Is the same as the old Shieldmaiden which was an above average card before. The weapon version is quite good value and so is the damage version. Overall it's an average to above average card most of the time which is fine.
Violet Wurm (2) : Pretty damn powerful value card, the problem is it's a 8 mana do nothing card. But a 7/7 beast is still a threat and if this is dealt with efficiently, you still need something to deal with a board of 1/1s afterwards. It's a bit more value then Sated Threshadon but 1 mana slower. Would give it a similar rating.
Vulgar Homunculus (2) : Obviously a strong card for it's mana cost. The 2 health loss isn't a concern in most cases. My only gripe is the 2/4 stat line. It's actually not that overpowering on turn 2, and in a non ping class isn't as capable at cleaning up 2/3 and 3/4 stat lines. Either way it's a borderline tier 1/2 for me. Demon synergy and health loss synergy as well on top.
Wax Elemental (4) : No tempo, and a small meat shield. does have the elemental tag for some synergy value.
Since I am being a lazy ass at the moment, I will just post things I disagree with.
And I think you people are being unfair to poor Rin. Sure, you will probably summon Azari once in your life if you are lucky, but even then Rin is still a 6 mana 3/6 with taunt. Yes she is a 1 mana overcosted Fen Creeper but is that really soo bad? She is certainly not good by any means, but I think a 5 (still getting used to the reversed scoring) is kinda harsh.
Since I am being a lazy ass at the moment, I will just post things I disagree with.
And I think you people are being unfair to poor Rin. Sure, you will probably summon Azari once in your life if you are lucky, but even then Rin is still a 6 mana 3/6 with taunt. Yes she is a 1 mana overcosted Fen Creeper but is that really soo bad? She is certainly not good by any means, but I think a 5 (still getting used to the reversed scoring) is kinda harsh.
Tbh, i totally missed she has taunt! That will put her in 4 ranking, not 5 :)
It's still really early, but the combo I'm already dying to try is to hit a Carnivorous Cube with another Carnivorous Cube. Immediately spawn 2 copies of the minion eaten by the first cube, then the second cube dies and spawns 2 more cubes, which will each spawn 2 more of the original target... yes, please.
Of course, with my luck, my second cube will get silenced. Or Mind Controlled.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Old school WoW Mage motto: if you don't end the run with the most damage dealt AND the most deaths, you're not trying hard enough.
It's still really early, but the combo I'm already dying to try is to hit a Carnivorous Cube with another Carnivorous Cube. Immediately spawn 2 copies of the minion eaten by the first cube, then the second cube dies and spawns 2 more cubes, which will each spawn 2 more of the original target... yes, please.
I don't think it will work that way, but it still sounds awesome! Whenever a Moat Lurker targets a Druid of the Claw, after it returns it doesn't remember what choices were made and it comes back as the base 4/4 card with no other abilities. I think the cubes will operate this way too since they don't know any information about the minions that were eaten by the previous cubes.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"To build or destroy...only you decide which joy." - Last Crack
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Kobolds & Catacombs is Hearthstone's seventh expansion and is set to release on December 7, 2017.
This thread is dedicated to discussing the impact of these new cards on the ARENA environment.
Click below to see how each of the Arena mods rated the cards revealed so far!
You can read each mod's detailed card evaluation by clicking on the links below.
Below you will find links for all the Class, Neutral, and Token/Buff cards that have been revealed.
Neutral
Druid
Hunter
Mage
Paladin
Priest
Rogue
Shaman
Warlock
Warrior
Tokens/Buffs
Update 11/3/17: Created thread. Added initial release of cards and rankings.
Update 11/20/17: Added Feral Gibberer, Sudden Betrayal, Cheat Death, Duskbreaker, The Runespear, Branching Paths, Level Up!, Lesser Mithril Spellstone, and Kathrena Winterwisp.
Update 11/21/17: Added Twig of the World Tree, Rummaging Kobold, Zola the Gorgon, Spiteful Summoner, and Seeping Oozeling.
Update 11/22/17: Added Lone Champion, Silver Vanguard, Raven Familiar, Unidentified Maul, and Grumble, Worldshaker.
Update 11/23/17: Added Benevolent Djinn, Temporus, Grizzled Guardian, and King Togwaggle.
Update 11/24/17: Added Lesser Ruby Spellstone, Lesser Pearl Spellstone, Explosive Runes, Sonya Shadowdancer, and Arcane Artificer.
Update 11/25/17: Added Grand Archivist, Arcane Tyrant, and Psychic Scream.
Update 11/26/17: Added Hoarding Dragon, Voidlord, Fal'dorei Strider, and Hungry Ettin.
Update 11/27/17: Added Cataclysm, Call to Arms, Lynessa Sunsorrow, Windshear Stormcaller, Primal Talismans, Kobold Hermit, Lesser Amethyst Spellstone, Vulgar Homunculus, and Kobold Librarian.
Update 11/28/17: Release date announced for 12/7/17 and added Geosculptor Yip, Skull of the Man'ari, Unstable Evolution, Leyline Manipulator, and Evasion.
Update 11/29/17: Added Furbolg Mossbinder Unidentified Shield, Deck of Wonders, Reckless Flurry, Drywhisker Armorer, Elven Minstrel, and Ixlid, Fungal Lord.
Update 11/30/17: Added Possessed Lackey, Val'anyr, Lesser Emerald Spellstone, Lesser Diamond Spellstone, and Lesser Onyx Spellstone.
Update 12/1/17: Added Twilight's Call, Dragoncaller Alanna, Dragon's Fury, Dragonhatcher, and Ironwood Golem.
Update 12/2/17: Added Oaken Summons, Kingsbane, Crystal Lion, and Bladed Gauntlet.
Update 12/4/17: Added To My Side!, Murmuring Elemental, Greedy Sprite, Void Ripper, Twilight Acolyte, Woecleaver, and the remaining reveals via livestream and Facebook.
Update 12/5/17: Finished adding all the images, reviews, and added the mod averages to the spreadsheet.
Thanks to everyone for your input!!!
"To build or destroy...only you decide which joy." - Last Crack
* Indicates there may be a change in rating once we have more information about the card.
"To build or destroy...only you decide which joy." - Last Crack
NEUTRAL
Neutral Tokens/Buffs
"To build or destroy...only you decide which joy." - Last Crack
DRUID
Druid Tokens/Buffs
"To build or destroy...only you decide which joy." - Last Crack
HUNTER
Hunter Tokens/Buffs
"To build or destroy...only you decide which joy." - Last Crack
MAGE
Mage Tokens/Buffs
"To build or destroy...only you decide which joy." - Last Crack
PALADIN
Paladin Tokens/Buffs
"To build or destroy...only you decide which joy." - Last Crack
PRIEST
Priest Tokens/Buffs
"To build or destroy...only you decide which joy." - Last Crack
ROGUE
Rogue Tokens/Buffs
"To build or destroy...only you decide which joy." - Last Crack
SHAMAN
Shaman Tokens/Buffs
"To build or destroy...only you decide which joy." - Last Crack
WARLOCK
Warlock Tokens/Buffs
"To build or destroy...only you decide which joy." - Last Crack
WARRIOR
Warrior Tokens/Buffs
"To build or destroy...only you decide which joy." - Last Crack
TOKENS/BUFFS
"To build or destroy...only you decide which joy." - Last Crack
LEGENDARY:
Aluneth Rating 4(Poor): At first it seems like a really cool card, but when you're drawing 4 cards a turn you are going to deck yourself very quickly. I just see this doing more harm than good unless you're already about to win.
Dragoncaller Alanna Rating 5(Terrible): You could potentially get nothing except a 3/3 for nine mana, and that is an absolutely terrible deal.
Dragon Soul Rating 5(Terrible): The effect is really cool and Priest can get some really cheap spells, but how often are you going to be able to cast 3 spells in a single turn to get the 5/5 Dragon? Maybe once, if you're lucky.
Geosculptor Yip Rating 4(Poor): Armor gain typically isn't a huge thing in Arena, so I don't know that you'll be getting huge minions from this. You can probably get a steady chain of 2-drops, but is that really going to be worth it?
Grumble, Worldshaker Rating 3(Average): I like the stats, but returning everything to your hand could be the wrong move. There are times this could work out really well, allowing you to make favorable trades, then returning your minions to be cast again. The rest of the time it's going to be a little awkward. This and Bonemare will get ridiculous.
Ixlid, Fungal Lord Rating 4(Poor): This seems slow and is in very real danger of being killed outright after you play it. I'm sure it will have some great moments, but it's just going to be too situational.
Kathrena Winterwisp Rating 3(Average): This is really going to be draft dependent, but even at the worst, if you're getting a free River Crocolisk on the Battlecry and Deathrattle it's not a bad deal.
Kingsbane Rating 4(Poor): Every once in awhile you'll get one that has a Deadly Poison or Envenom Weapon on it, but the rest of the time it's going to be a pretty lousy Legendary to have in your deck.
King Togwaggle Rating 5(Terrible): This is definitely not an Arena card and I can't even begin to imagine a scenario which would cause me to draft this kind of trash.
Lynessa Sunsorrow Rating 4(Poor): This is totally draft dependent and certainly not consistent enough to be given serious consideration unless you've already got several buffs in your deck.
Marin the Fox Rating 3(Average): I'm thinking that Marin may not even be availabe for Arena, due to the Treasure aspect. On his own he's an overcosted minion, but the potential to to get some amazing cards out of the Treasure Chest is pretty cool. I would rate him higher if he could break the chest by himself.
Master Oakheart Rating 3(Average): I'll think he'll just be alright most of the time, but if you did get one of each you would have (at the very least) 6/3 additional combined stats to your 5/5 body, giving you a total of 11/8 in combined stats. That's really not too bad and the Health stats are likely to be better than my example. If you don't get at least two minions from the Battlecry, then he's not worth it.
Rhok'delar Rating 4(Poor): Definitely a constructed card. I didn't rate it terrible because at the very least it's an overpriced 4/2 Weapon.
Rin, the First Disciple Rating 4(Poor): It's a more expensive Fen Creeper for Warlock. Even though it's true that you get value from the Seals, at 5 mana each, they really limit what you're able to cast each turn.
Skull of the Man'ari Rating 5(Terrible): I can see this being useful for Doomguard, but most of the time you don't want to miss the Battlecry on your Demons, like Abyssal Enforcer, Dread Infernal, and Lord Jaraxxus. It would also be nice if it triggered at the end of your turn, instead of at the start, but that still wouldn't make it good for Arena play anyway.
Sonya Shadowdancer Rating 4(Poor): You have to already have the board, and preferably some Battlecry or Deathrattle minions that will generate some card advantage for you. Otherwise, it's really nothing to get too excited about.
Temporus Rating 5(Terrible): So far this minion and King Togwaggle are tied for worst Arena card ever. Why could you possibly want to give your opponent an extra turn, especially 7-mana late in the game? When so many games come down to one turn you do not want to be giving your opponent any kind of edge.
The Darkness Rating 5(Terrible): This is a really cool card, but it has no place in Arena. It is highly likely that it would sit dormant the entire game and just be a waste of space.
The Runespear Rating 4(Poor): It's like a weapon-infused Tortollan Primalist, which is already a mixed-bag. It's a big mana investment for something that's wildly inconsistent, so I would probably pass most of the time.
Twig of the World Tree Rating 2 (Good): It gives a boost to your Hero Power, allowing you to have +2 Attack for 5 turns and offers the potential for a VERY big turn 8 by giving you a total of 18 mana to play with.
Val'anyr Rating 1(Excellent): You can get some amazing value out of this Weapon with the buff and recursion aspect of it. The fact that the weapon equips automatically after the minion dies and you don't have to cast it again is really awesome too!
Woecleaver Rating 4(Poor): I'm not a fan of this card. It's really expensive with a completely unreliable Recruit effect. It sounds cool, but I got over that fairly quickly.
Zola the Gorgon Rating 2(Good): This could really come in handy, especially in late game and you've just played your Bonemare or dropped a Primordial Drake a turn earlier. The golden version is irrelevant, but it sure will look pretty!
EPIC:
Arcane Tyrant Rating 3(Average): This is going to be really good in the right deck, but even if you have to pay for it I'd say it's still okay.
Astral Tiger Rating 3(Average): This is a cool concept, but could prevent you getting to the cards you need in the late game. Few things will be more frustrating than digging for your removal or a Taunt, only to draw this again.
Bladed Gauntlet 4(Poor): This is really going to depend on your draft, but it's often going to cost you at least 4-mana total to make this a 2/2 Weapon that can't attack Heroes. Most of the time I'd say that is terrible, but with so many new cards that add Armor for Warrior it's possible to make this a large Weapon.
Branching Paths Rating 2(Good): I love the flexibility of the card, and it could replace Savage Roar in a pinch. On the flip side, gaining 12 Armor in a single turn can be the difference in the outcome of a game, especially when only one turn matters, and it usually does.
Call to Arms Rating 1(Excellent): I think this is great value and certainly better than Doppelgangster since it costs 1-mana less and can include 2/3 or 3/2 minions. This card allows you to thin your deck and get rid of all your low-cost minions, and even gives you one of them for free. I'd say it's a pretty good deal all the way around.
Carnivorous Cube Rating 2(Good): This card has good stats on its own and you can get some insane value from it by saving a minion that's about to die or using it on a Deathrattle minion like Crystalline Oracle, Eggnapper, and Bone Drake, to name a few.
Cataclysm Rating 4(Poor): I don't like this card. I'm not putting it at a 5, simply because of the cost and board impact, but discarding your hand is awful. Luckily, Warlock can easily get card advantage again by using their Hero Power, but unless your opponent's hand was empty you're probably going to be struggling to get ahead.
Corridor Creeper Rating 1(Excellent): It shouldn't be hard to get a discount on this minion because it doesn't have to be your minions that die, anything will work! You'll be seeing a lot of comparisons to this and Nerubian Prophet.
Crushing Walls Rating 2(Good): I think this could be really useful, considering it just outright kills the minions, regardless of Health. It's like a mega Deadly Shot, but positioning is going to matter for this one.
Deck of Wonders Rating 5(Terrible: I only like to use random effects when I'm desperately digging for a solution. With this card you never know when you'll draw the spells, what they'll be, and who you'll target. You could be ahead and either kill yourself or the main minion that's keeping you alive. If I'm doing something random I at least want to be able to control WHEN it's going to happen, and in that respect, be able to have some influence on the board state before it happens.
Dragonhatcher Rating 5(Terrible): It's another expensive card with awful stats that is definitely meant for constructed play.
Dragon's Fury Rating 4(Poor): This is really going to be draft dependent, because you could potentially draw nothing or hit for less than 3 (which would make this an overcosted Volcanic Potion). Unfortunately, it's going to be pretty unreliable for Arena most of the time.
Evasion Rating 3(Average): I'm undecided on this one, and although it's like a pseudo Ice Block you can still take fatal damage, depending on what your opponent attacks you with first. It will probably cause some problems if your opponent is testing for Sudden Betrayal, but I still don't know how good it's going to be.
Fal'dorei Strider Rating 1(Excellent): The value from this card is outstanding and there's no downside. You've got the potential to get 16/16 worth of stats after paying only four mana. Well, there is actually one downside to this card. You can expect to see it paired against Vilespine Slayer in your draft, and that decision is going to hurt!
Grand Archivist Rating 5(Terrible): Bad stats and bad effect. Every spell is precious in Arena and the last thing you want to do is to start casting them with random targets.
Level Up! Rating 5(Terrible): This is a really expensive card for a specific type of deck. If you've got a ton of Lost in the Jungle, Stand Against Darkness, or Vinecleaver, then maybe you can make a convincing case for it.
Psychic Scream Rating 2(Good): This is pretty astounding removal for Arena, but it's likely going to leave you with an empty board too, unless you have something cheap you can cast. This will definitely be the source of many, many screams, psychic or otherwise.
Reckless Flurry Rating 4(Poor): You can easily get a Consecration out of this for 5-mana, but you lose the Armor AND it deals the damage to all your minions too. It pairs really well with the other card revealed with it, Drywhisker Armorer, but neither are Common, so they're going to be more difficult to draft together. I think I would rather stick with Brawl if I had a choice between the two of them.
Rummaging Kobold Rating 4(Poor): Most of the classes won't be able to use this (I know they all have the Legendary Weapons now, but consider a typical draft). It will be totally draft dependent, even with a Weapon-wielding class.
Shimmering Courser Rating 4(Poor): This is another cool card that has way more potential in Constructed than in Arena.
Spiteful Summoner Rating 4(Poor): It's difficult to decide where this one is gonna land, but I feel like it's definitely better for constructed where you can build your deck with high-cost spells. In Arena I think often times you're going to have cheaper removal that gets revealed and it may not be worth the cost. If you only have a couple of expensive spells, then that would certainly bump it up in value.
To My Side! Rating 5(Terrible): This will never, ever, ever work in Arena. I'm sure there is some other unrevealed card(s) that may make this feasible in Constructed, but it's utter garbage for Arena.
Twilight Acolyte Rating 4(Poor): It definitely goes up in rating if you have drafted several dragons, otherwise it's a pretty 'meh' 3-drop.
Unstable Evolution Rating 1(Excellent): The fact that you can evolve one or several minions multiple times in one turn is pretty amazing and offers great value. If you play a 5-drop on the following turn you could potentially upgrade it to a 10-drop! It's very flexible in how it can be used and I would expect all sorts of crazy combinations and shenanigans with this card. Be prepared!
Voidlord Rating 3(Average): It's a huge Taunt that can easily delay your opponent, without including the three minions that spawn from his Deathrattle. Although he's quite expensive he may just give you a couple of extra turns to finish off your opponent.
Void Ripper Rating 3(Average): This seems decent enough and you could certainly get some value from early cards like Fire Fly. I guarantee this will make for some crazy plays in the late game too, by giving you the ability to topple some large Taunts.
Windshear Stormcaller Rating 4(Poor): I think there are better options for a 5-drop and it's unlikely that you'll get to summon Al'Akir the Windlord. Even if you do meet those conditions, I would be surprised if it had a huge impact on the game.
RARE:
Crystal Lion Rating 2(Good): I think it's fine by itself, but you could potentially reduce the mana cost quite a bit, especially with a Lost in the Jungle or Vinecleaver.
Duskbreaker Rating 4(Poor): This is one of those cards that requires several things to happen before it can be used effectively. You've got to have another Dragon in your hand AND you need to have a clear board (unless you want to kill your minions too). For Arena I feel it's just too conditional and tricky to draft.
Ebon Dragonsmith Rating 4(Poor): His stats are bad and the effect will be unlikely to trigger, but I suppose he has some potential interaction with other cards since he is a Dragon.
Elven Minstrel Rating 2(Good): I really like this card and don't think you'll have a problem getting the Combo. I feel like it's a great way to thin your deck in the late game too.
Explosive Runes Rating 3(Average): It's a Snipe for Mage that punishes your opponent for trying to play around it. I'm not crazy about it, but I think it's alright. This could be tricky to play around in the late game when life totals are dwindling.
Feral Gibberer Rating 3(Average): If you drop this first turn, your opponent may have a difficult time coping unless they have AOE or a Taunt they can throw in front of it. This is a card that must be dealt with, and thankfully it can easily be killed. You don't want it to leave it unchecked or it will snowball out of control.
Furbolg Mossbinder Rating 4(Poor): It seems alright, but you've still got to have a minion on the board for it to be worth anything. One thing to keep in mind is you're losing the stats from the minion you transform, so unless it was a 0/1 or 1/1 it's not as good as you might think.
Gather Your Party 4(Poor): I don't see getting a lot of mileage out of this one because you can't choose or Discover the minion you get. There will be way too many times you're paying 6 mana for a 2-drop.
Gravelsnout Knight Rating 4(Poor): Most of the time I don't think you'll be thrilled at the outcome and it's going to be super frustrating if you summon your opponent their own Gravelsnout Knight.
Greedy Sprite Rating 3(Average): It's a fragile minion, but I like the ramp effect that it offers. Anything that gets you a turn closer to Bonemare is a good thing, right?
Grizzled Guardian 3(Average): It's probably going to be hit or miss, but you should get at least 2 two-drops out of it and that should cover the overall cost of this minion. This one really hurts if your opponent Silences or steals it.
Hooked Reaver Rating 2(Good): If you don't get the Battlecry it's a decent enough minion, but if you're at 15 Health or less, then this easily moves up to an Excellent rating!
Hungry Ettin Rating 3(Average): This is a huge Taunt, but I can't help but feel like it's giving too much to your opponent. Of course, if they can't deal with it right away, things aren't going to be looking so good for them. Don't be surprised to see a Doomsayer pop up every once in awhile just to ruin your day.
Kobold Barbarian Rating 4(Poor): If you get this early he probably ranks a bit higher, but after that it's really a toss-up for how well he'll perform. There will be the occasional chance that he gets lethal for you, but it's not going to be a consistent minion at all.
Kobold Illusionist Rating 4(Poor): If its special ability was a Battlecry instead of a Deathrattle I think it would be slightly better. As it stands right now, the cost is just a little too much.
Kobold Monk Rating 3(Average): Most of the time the inability to use a Hero Power on an opponent won't be a huge factor, but the stats are good for the cost of this minion.
Lesser Amethyst Spellstone Rating 2(Good): There are several common cards that will help boost this card's value when K&C initially drops, but you've still got plenty of other cards that deal damage to you (Flame Imp, Abyssal Enforcer, Hellfire, etc.). The Lifesteal aspect is great, but this would really be awesome if you could target players instead of just minions. That would probably be a ridiculous upgrade, though.
Lesser Diamond Spellstone Rating 5(Terrible): You're paying 7 mana to possibly resurrect garbage. Well, technically 2-drops, but who wants those on turn seven? Not to mention, the upgrade is going to be quite difficult to pull off in Arena.
Lesser Emerald Spellstone Rating 2(Good): I think this is a good card by itself and if you do manage to upgrade it (which is not that difficult) then it easily bumps up to Excellent status.
Lesser Jasper Spellstone 1(Excellent): Cheap removal that can evolve to be even better looks pretty good to me. With Claw, Bite, Gnash, Feral Rage, and others, it really shouldn't be too hard to hit an upgrade on this one.
Lesser Mithril Spellstone Rating 5(Terrible): Although the amount of weapons offered in Arena have increased it's still no guarantee to get an upgrade on this spell. Don't forget, you've got to have this in your hand when you play the weapon in order to get the upgrade. If you consider the worst-case scenario and you're just getting a 5/5 minion, then it isn't worth the mana cost at all.
Lesser Onyx Spellstone Rating 4(Poor): This is really situational, so I think I'd rather have an Assassinate instead.
Lesser Pearl Spellstone Rating 3(Average): Obviously they didn't want this to work with Truesilver Champion, but it would go great with the Benevolent Djinn. Of course it needs to be in your hand to get the upgrade, so most of the time it's just going to be mediocre.
Lesser Ruby Spellstone Rating 4(Poor): Most of the time I would rather have a Shimmering Tempest, but in the right deck this would definitely bump up in rating.
Lesser Sapphire Spellstone 5(Terrible): Molten Reflection for Mage already does the same thing at 3 mana cheaper. It's just too expensive to really be effective, but could turn out to be insane with something like Earth Elemental or Flamewreathed Faceless.
Leyline Manipulator Rating 2(Good): At the worst it's a Chillwind Yeti, but has the potential to give you some cheap cards with its Battlecry.
Lone Champion Rating 3(Average): It could be awkward if you draw it later in the game, but if you've got it from the start you could either Coin it out or play it after trading 2-drops with your opponent. I would rather have a Tar Creeper, so I would expect a little more out of a Rare minion.
Murmuring Elemental Rating 4(Poor) Most of the time it will be garbage, but there will be some Battlecry minions that will be worth it, like Fire Elemental and Bonemare. It's going to be hit or miss and may sit in your hand doing nothing.
Possessed Lackey Rating 5(Terrible): The cost and stats are terrible and the ability is a Deathrattle. You're also going to be really disappointed when you Recruit a Voidwalker from this.
Primal Talismans Rating 5(Terrible): It seems like trash for Arena. Sure, you may see those annoying moments where each minion your opponent kills spawns a Stoneclaw Totem, but most of the time I think it's just going to be a disappointment and a waste of a card slot in your deck.
Scorp-o-matic Rating 4(Poor): Most of the time it's going to be a crappy two-drop, but it can really come in handy when you're facing a Shaman or your opponent starts off with a Fire Fly. I was really surprised to see this lone Mech for the new set! This makes me think we'll definitely see more Mechs again in the next set or two down the road.
Seeping Oozeling Rating 4(Poor): Most of the time the result is going to be decent, unless you get extremely unlucky with a Bomb Squad in your deck. It still seems a little overcosted to me, since the stats match other 4-cost minions. The Deathrattle you get would need to be pretty good to make up for that.
Shrieking Shroom Rating 3(Average): If this pops out a Shieldbearer I think it becomes an annoyance, but I'm not sure it will live long enough to make a huge impact. I'm also not sure you want to leave it out there, filling your board with 1-cost minions. Unless you have a Bloodlust, they probably aren't going to win you the game.
Twilight's Call Rating 4(Poor): You need a Deathrattle heavy deck to make this work, but you could get some real value with Crystalline Oracle, Shifting Shade, or Obsidian Statue.
Unidentified Maul Rating 2(Good): This is a solid weapon with immediate board impact (as long as you don't play it on the turn you draw it). I like all of the different versions (Purifier's Maul, Sacred Maul, Champion's Maul, and Blessed Maul) and it's going to have the ability to turn some games for you, depending on which one you get.
Wandering Monster Rating 3(Average): This could turn out to be okay for Hunter. It's like a Misdirection that you don't have to worry about hitting your face or one of your other minions. If it happens in the early game there's even a decent chance the summoned minion could survive.
COMMON:
Arcane Artificer Rating 3(Average): Normally I think this is going to be a mere annoyance, but if you manage to hang on to him with a Cabalist's Tome, then suddenly your initial Armor gain starts to get out of hand. Even getting one use from this minion, coupled with a Flamestrike, could be crucial in the late game.
Barkskin Rating 3(Average): There are a lot of 1 Health minions that could actually be a threat after getting this (like the Cursed Disciple, but I don't think it's going to break the game.
Benevolent Djinn Rating 3(Average): Healing is usually not a major factor in drafting for Arena, but 3 Health a turn is a pretty large amount and you're guaranteed to get at least one heal since it hits at the end of your turn. The stats are alright, and it's an Elemental, so it could help to trigger some of your other minions.
Boisterous Bard Rating 3(Average): If you hit at least one other minion it's decent, giving you combined stats of 3/3 for three-mana.
Candleshot Rating 2(Good): Early ping ability with immunity? Yeah, that seems good to me!
Cave Hydra Rating 3(Average): I like it, but the 2 Attack is only so-so. If you're able to hit this with a Houndmaster or Bonemare, then it becomes insanely good!
Cavern Shinyfinder Rating 3(Average): It's a nice way to thin out your deck and get a Weapon in the process, but this guy is very fragile. You could definitely have fun drawing into a Perdition's Blade.
Cheat Death Rating 3(Average): Rogues are going to have 3 Secrets in this expansion and here's one of them. It's like a Shadowstep that you have less control over. I think it could be alright, but I'm not sure how to evaluate it yet. With so few Secrets to start with, it's going to be pretty easy to play around this too.
Corrosive Sludge Rating 3(Average): It's a bigger Acidic Swamp Ooze and I think the cost is just fine whether, you trigger the Battlecry or not.
Crushing Hand Rating 2(Good): The Overload sucks, but it's good, cheap removal for big minions in your way.
Cursed Disciple Rating 4(Poor): It's just so easy to kill, but it has the potential to be problematic and is a great answer to Tar Creeper.
Dark Pact Rating 4(Poor): It's a huge Health gain, but as we've always observed in the past, heals are not a priority card in Arena. Sure, it will come in handy in the right situation, but it won't consistently be something you want to draw.
Dire Mole Rating 3(Average): It seems okay for a one-drop and could have some benefit with the Beast tag, but it's definitely nothing to get too excited about.
Dragonslayer Rating 3(Average): If you trigger the Battlecry this easily moves up to a 1, but otherwise it's just an average three-drop.
Drygulch Jailor Rating 3(Average): It's a decent card that fills your hand and allows you to put out a lot of small minions. This could be a lot of fun with Twilight Drake, Lightfused Stegodon, and Frostwolf Warlord.
Drywhisker Armorer Rating 4(Poor): I can see that Blizzard really, really wants Warriors to care about Armor in this expansion, but in Arena it's just not going to be that important. If you're getting ran over by an aggro deck this can help you gain your footing by all the Armor gain. Otherwise, I don't see much use for it.
Flanking Strike Rating 1(Excellent): Great removal and minion for the cost!
Fungal Enchanter Rating 2(Good): By itself this card is fine, but the healing effect would normally cost two more mana (see Darkscale Healer), so this is pretty good!
Fungalmancer Rating 4(Poor): If you've already got the board, then this is a great card. If you're only hitting one minion, then you're only getting 4/4 worth of combined stats for 5-mana...and that's not a good deal.
Gemstudded Golem Rating 2(Good): That is a really large Taunt for only 6 mana! I don't think it will be too difficult to get the Armor necessary to attack, but even if you don't, it's still a big wall for your opponent to break through.
Gilded Gargoyle Rating 4(Poor): Getting The Coin is probably not enough of a reason to draft this.
Green Jelly Rating 3(Average): It's like a mini Hogger, and it will often create problems for your opponent. It will at least add another hurdle for them to get through and it has to be killed or it will get out of hand.
Guild Recruiter Rating 3(Average): If you Recruit anything for 3-4 mana, then it's probably pretty good. Anything less and it's just going to be overcosted for the effect. Grim Necromancer already puts out 4/6 worth of combined stats for only 4 mana, so I think it needs to do better than that in order to be worth it.
Healing Rain Rating 3(Average): That is a lot of healing for your side of the board and could really help make some favorable trades and continue to stay alive.
Hoarding Dragon Rating 1(Excellent): Everyone will make the obvious comparison to Hungry Dragon, but because this one has a Deathrattle instead of a Battlecry, I think it is much better. Such a large minion on turn four is going to be difficult to deal with and I don't think giving your opponent two copies of The Coin are a huge downside.
Ironwood Golem Rating 4(Poor): This is a worse Sen'jin Shieldmasta and even though it can protect you, the inability to Attack is a real drawback. I think I'd rather just have a Tar Creeper.
Kobold Apprentice Rating 3(Average): I like that it only hits enemies, but the stats are really terrible. I think I'd rather go for Mad Bomber and risk hitting myself.
Kobold Hermit Rating 3(Average): The stats are terrible, but I don't know how many times I've prayed to the gods of HS when using my Hero Power to get a Stoneclaw Totem or Wrath of Air Totem because it was absolutely crucial in my particular situation. This can get you exactly the totem you need for the same cost as your Hero Power, except now you've got a 1/1 body on the board too.
Kobold Librarian Rating 1(Excellent): You're getting the effect of your Hero Power and a 2/1 body for only 1 mana! This is truly an amazing card for Warlock - and it's Common!
Oaken Summons Rating 4(Poor): It pairs nicely with the Ironwood Golem but is going to be pretty unreliable.
Plated Beetle Rating 3(Average): I think it's fine for a two-drop and has some benefits for Warrior and Druid.
Potion of Heroism Rating 2(Good): It's an improved Hand of Protection and replaces itself, since you're drawing a card. Looks pretty good to me!
Psionic Probe Rating 3(Average): You will be disappointed if your opponent has no remaining spells in his/her deck, but most of the time this might as well be a a Mind Vision and you never know what you'll get. At the very least, you know you won't draw The Coin.
Raven Familiar Rating 3(Average): It's cool to see the Joust mechanic making a return and this seems like a decent card. The downside is that your opponent sees the spell you draw, so it's much easier to play around.
Sewer Crawler Rating 3(Average) It's been pointed out this is basically a reverse Razorfen Hunter, and I have to agree.
Shifting Scroll Rating 3(Average): It's like a Shifter Zerus or Molten Blade for Spells, but I'm not crazy about either one of those.
Shroom Brewer Rating 3(Average): It's seems like there are a lot of Common heals appearing in this set, and while they're nice, it doesn't really add much value to this minion.
Silver Vanguard Rating 5(Terrible): The stats are terrible, the effect is a Deathrattle, and you need an 8-cost minion in your deck to get anything. I think I'll pass on this one.
Sleepy Dragon Rating 3(Average): This guy is huge and won't be easy for your opponent to get rid of, but I think I'd rather take the extra Attack and less Health from the Giant Mastodon.
Sneaky Devil Rating 3(Average): This has the potential to be truly annoying, as it is a Stealthed Raid Leader. You may be able to force your opponent into a less than optimal AoE just to get rid of it, because they really can't leave it on the board indefinitely.
Stoneskin Basilisk Rating 2(Good): If your opponent can't use their Hero Power to pop its shield, you're going to be able to get some really good value and huge annoyance factor out of this minion.
Sudden Betrayal Rating 2(Good): This is another one of the new Rogue Secrets and I can see this causing a lot of trouble. It's strictly a better Misdirection, because it will only redirect to another enemy minion. This will be harder to play around, depending on the board state, and it could absolutely devastate your opponent.
Toothy Chest Rating 3(Average): I know this is easier to kill outright over its brother, Validated Doomsayer, but I think it will surprise us how often it is still a big, early threat.
Trogg Gloomeater Rating 2(Good): This will definitely cause problems, since it has Taunt, and the Attack power is irrelevant due to being a Poisonous minion.
Unidentified Elixir Rating 2(Good): All the variations of the Elixirs look pretty good and give a chance for some fun moments in game.
Unidentified Shield Rating 3(Average): No one cares about the Armor gain, so the important thing is what you're getting in addition to that. When you look at it, none of them are really overwhelming and the Tower Shield +10 definitely rates lower on the chart.
Violet Wurm Rating 2(Good): As long as it doesn't get hit with Polymorph you're looking at 14/14 worth of combined stats for only eight mana!
Wax Elemental Rating 4(Poor): This will buy you a couple of turns, but it's still pretty crappy.
Vulgar Homunculus Rating 1(Excellent): This is another awesome card for Warlock! I absolutely do not care about the damage it does to you. It has outstanding stats for the 2-mana price tag and Common rarity.
"To build or destroy...only you decide which joy." - Last Crack
LEGENDARY
Aluneth (3): This is basically a middle ground between Nourish and Sprint. Decent draw engine, that will provide huge advantage ... but its strength is also its weakness. You might not be able to play as many cards per turn and u might start discarding some (which might not be that big of a deal), but you will also get to fatigue 4 times faster and that is something to keep in mind. If you are unable to win the game fast with the advantage given, this card might just kill you.
Dragon Soul (5): Almost any other legendary will provide more immediate value than this. Playing 3 spells a turn is not impossible, but highly unlikely in arena. It can be a draft dependant card, but on average, this is a total garbage.
Dragoncaller Alanna (4): Im not gonna write her off totally, u dot want some 5+ cost in your deck as a mage and chances r u will want/need to play some of them before T9 and if she can summon at least two dragons, she is very well worth it. But u see how many conditions i already listed right ... draft dependant and unreliable.
Geosculptor Yip (4): This card's power level is off the charts, but in arena you very rarely end up with high amounts of armor ... if with any armor at all. Probably a good thing tho, this could have been one busted card, if u were able to consistently get like another 8-drop with this ... which is what will happen in constructed lol :p
Grumble, Worldshaker (2): Wow, thats a card. In arena, its a very solid body for a 6-drop and the effect will be good for u most of the time, but it can hurt u, if ur behind and want to keep some - any - minions on the board, even damaged ones. But this will for sure be bouncing back Bonemares and Fire Elementals and will crush souls of your opponents more times than not. I wont give it 1, cause shaman is a crap class right now and he will be behind more often than other classes, so thats gonna be a bit of a problem for this card, but this card alone can very much easilly solidify your victory.
Ixlid, Fungal Lord (4): This is a very strong ability, but it comes too slowly. It could be combo'ed later on and pretty much even two drop would be worth playin with it, but i dont know ... dead combo card in your hand for most of the game, i dont think so.
Kathrena Winterwisp (1): This is one powerful legendary. Draft dependant for sure, tho it shouldnt be too much problem gettin some beasts as hunter and even if it pulls out a 2-drop it more than did its job. 6/6 + random 2-drop r ok stats for 8 mana in arena already. And upside is, that u will no longer have to draw that 2-drop and "deny" yourself a decent draw in the late game. #ValueOverload!
King Togwaggle (5): Buff to all shitty classes :D Even if u want to draft a bad deck and troll your opponent, how r u gonna survive to turn 8? ... that is if u even draw the card in time :D No rly, just dont draft this :D
Kingsbane (3): This card alone might make a weapon rogue a thing, certainly could resurrect Oil rogue in Wild. Sadly, for arena this is just way too slow and inconsistent/draft dependant. There is a plenty of buffs you can get, but still. The cost makes it pretty damn good tho, so u would pick it instead of Cho and likes anyway.
Marin the Fox (Master Chest: Tolin's Goblet, Wondrous Wand, Zarog's Crown, Golden Kobold) (3): Playing a 6/6 "nothing" for 8 mana in arena is usually not something u can afford. In my eyes, this card would be a heavy win more card, but if u did manage to pop the trunk, basically any card you would get would almost win you the game.
Lynessa Sunsorrow (4): Heavy draft dependant card. Prime silence/poly target. But if u can get Blessing of Kings and Spikeridged Steed on her, thats a solid 7-drop right there :D Yeah ... if :)
Master Oakheart (3): I suppose he will be fine most of the time, not amazing, but fine.
Rhok'delar (5): You will never have a deck without minions in Arena. Only in fatigue, but thats beside the point. So 7 mana for 4/2 weapon is a horrible price.
Rin, the First Disciple (The First Seal, The Second Seal, The Third Seal, The Fourth Seal, The Final Seal: Azari, the Devourer) (4): Im not a fan of deck attacks and as slow as this is, im sad it exists. That being said, this card is idd way too slow for arena, you need to spend 41 mana to activate the ultimate effect (Destroy your opponent's deck) and that is just too much. It is so incredibly slow, you will most likely lose the game out of tempo loss from playin Seals alone. At least she is a taunt.
Skull of the Man'ari (5): Too conditional and expensive for arena standards. Its not even at the end of your turn, so u wont be able to attack with the summoned minion or get at least something out of this card before your opponent has a chance to Ooze it. Not that bad for constructed, but rly rly horrible for arena.
Sonya Shadowdancer (3): Kinda draft dependant and obviously combo-y, but thats how i like my rogue hehe, the scrappy rogue decks always gets me furtherst. You will most likely have plenty of minions that will provide value even as 1/1s, deathrattle, combo, battlecry ... rogue has plenty of this. She is a slow play, but when u get them SI:7 Agents, Vilespine Slayers or Bonemares, thats where the fun begins.
Temporus (5): Too situational for arena standards. U will likely die before u can take advantage of this.
The Darkness (5): Card draw is not a thing in the most arena decks, so this is basically a 4 mana "do nothing". The tempo lost from playin this card can probably never be recovered. Do not pick.
The Runespear (3): Im gonna be sceptical about this one. It can most definitely provide some downright busted value, several AOEs, Evolve/Devolve effects etc. that wont require a target and will be beneficial for you, but there r also plenty of spells that do require target. So in the end, its still a super pricey RNG card, that will most likely help you, but might just not. It will be fun to play with The RNGspear for sure tho :)
Twig of the World Tree (3): This weapon is pretty interesting, lets u have 2 attack combined with your hero power, which is enough to clear some things ... but it is SUPER slow to use it that way. It might provide one BIG turn when it gets destroyed, but again ... a bit too slow for my taste, your opponent can prepare for that. One good thing about this is, that the Mana Crystals u get are permanent, meaning if your opponents destroys this with an Ooze, he just ramped u up to 10. In that case, be nice lad and say thanks! <3
Val'anyr (1): Crazy value card, its a weapon (duh!) so u get a removal tool and then it buffs a minion in your hand essentially making it super cost efficient when played with the bigger body ... and when it dies u get the weapon back - not to your hand, u equip it and can attack right away! - and then u buff another minion. This will be a pretty hard card to get rid off, basically it will require a silence/poly/hex of the minion, which means u will have to have that in a first place and then keep it for the respective minion ... both of which might be hard to achieve.
Woecleaver (3): I want to like it, but i cant. I mean even if u would pull three 2-drops, it would be worth 8 mana in the end and chances r u will pull something better at least once ... but the card is just so god damn slow. If u dont pull at least 5 or 6 drop on the first attack, the tempo loss will be pretty significant.
Zola the Gorgon (2): Very nice value card. Kinda like Shadowcaster. Probably a bit slower to play as well even tho it costs 2 less mana, since the minion u get aint discounted, but on the other hand u will get the full body, so it can be used in different situations. Overall a decent card that will generate value, albeit a bit slowly.
EPIC
Arcane Tyrant (3): Quite a draft dependant card. Similar tempo play as Nerubian Prophet, but only in later turns and with much more difficult condition to fulfil on average. The elemental tag is something to keep in mind tho, might make the card worth it alone in a right deck with just one or two 5+ cost spells.
Astral Tiger (3): Stats r fine for its cost, tho the deathrattle is kinda a downside more than not. Its not a bad card per se, but i dont think u would want to draw into it over and over. Might be good in combination with some Recruit cards, but im not holding my breath.
Bladed Gauntlet (3): Its a weapon, so that gives it some points. It makes your hero power not useless, so thats nice. But if u cant combo it with some of the new cards that give armor, it will be pretty price weapon to get goin, especially since once u attack with this, u get damaged and lose some Attack power for the next swing. Also its an epic so ... but a cool card to have in the mix.
Branching Paths (2): You pay one more mana over Arcane Intellect for a lot more versatility embedded into the card. Id say thats a pretty good deal. It can serve as a Savage Roar-ish finisher, Arcane Intellect-ish card draw or some armor gain to save your ass. And u can mix it any way u like. Pretty good card for arena id say.
Call to Arms (2): Pretty amazing arena card, technically Doppelgangster for 4 mana on average, which is already damn good value, on top of that it draws crap out of your deck that u would not want to draw into later on. The only problem is, that u dont want too many 2-drops total, so it might recruit just one or two minions later on, but with Hoarding Dragon being a thing, i suspect an early game part of the decks might shift to include a lot more 2-drops to guarantee yourself some board presence before T4 to be able to deal with the drake at all, so this card might be top notch when the meta stabilizes.
Carnivorous Cube (2): This card is totally insane. One of the biggest potential value generators we have seen. The best part about this card is its stats. Not only can it generate immense value, but it can also be played on a naked board for raw stats. Only bad time when you might have problem playin this card is when you r ahead and there r no minions you would want to eat with this, but at that point, that shouldnt rly matter anyway, so this card looks like it will be a big deal in arena. Thank god its an epic! Even tho that doesnt rly seemed to mean much in the past (Primordial Drake, Primordial Glyph, Meteor), at least right after the expansion launch.
Cataclysm (3): Im not totally sure about power level of this card. In arena ur out of cards relatively fast in most decks, tho WL has the hero power and thus built in draw engine, which makes him to have more cards in hand on average than most classes. But i suppose u can balance that, if u have this in your hand, u will purposely not draw cards, if u can avoid it. A Twisting Nether-ish for 4 mana is pretty cheap, but u cant rly set up a follow up, only thing u can do is to tap after and mby play what u got, if its cheap enough ... hmm, i rly dont know, this cards is looking worse and worse to me the more i think about it. Will have to see it in action to form a proper opinion.
Corridor Creeper (2): Nerubian Prophet-esque card. Should be fairly easy to get a couple of discounts, since enemy minions count as well.
Crushing Walls (3): This is a very powerful card and will make positioning vs hunter a nightmare, since you often want to play around Explosive Shot as well. I expect this card to perfrom far better than i give it credit, but 7 cost is no small price, even tho its very much justified. Hunter should usually have the board so he should be able to alter the board state to kill the two minions he wants to kill with this, but there is still a decently reasonable way to play around this card anyway. We shall see how is this card gonna perform after we play with it.
Deck of Wonders (Scroll of Wonder) (5): Pay 5 mana to do nothing for a chance to screw yourself later. Damn! What a bargain!
Dragon's Fury (3): This card is a bit RNG based, depending on the deck, u might not care if it will deal 4 or 7 dmg, but if u have a lot of Frostbolts or Breath of Sindragosas, u might want to rethink drafting this.
Dragonhatcher (5): Man, whenever i think they cannot make a worse card anymore ... BAM!
Evasion (4): In most situations it will be more if an Ice Barrier, than Ice Block, since u will try to play it to block off some dmg (=to "heal" yourself). Rogue does like healing. But this card is just not worth it imho, if nothing else than cause its an epic and there r certainly a lot better epics out there.
Fal'dorei Strider (Spider Ambush!: Leyline Spider) (1): One of the best cards released so far. 4/4 for 4 isnt amazing, but its good enough for the added effect - three free 4/4s down the line. It might never happen, sure, but the potential value is just so damn high and the downside being one less stat over Chillwind Yeti ... which is nothing in comparison. You would probably want Vilespine Slayer or some others over this still tho :)
Grand Archivist (5): it can be an interesting and honestly busted card in a deck, where u got screwed by the drafting process and have only some specific spell pool. But in an average situation, this is WAY worse than Tortollan Primalist and that guy is already pretty bad.
Level Up! (5): For this card to get good value, u would have to hit three Silver Hand Recruits with it (i suppose technically just two, since +4/+4 stats r worth 4 mana (Blessing of Kings) and the one extra mana can be argued for the taunts, but i dont think two would be enough for me to justify this card). If you can do that, chances r you r in a very good position already, so in that case its a win more card. If u cant hit at least three Silver Hand Recruits with it, the card is crap ... so the card is pretty bad pick up on average.
Psychic Scream (2): Decent enough board clear, most opponents will not have enough card draw in their deck to get any advantage out of this and if u add some shit minion in the mix, it might hurt them even more. But 7-cost is quite heavy price, u will basically spend your entire turn playin this, tho your opponent cant rly play around this as with Flamestrike for example, so ... i think this card will have much more impact indirectly, the sole existence of it will make u question your plays when faced against priest, which only adds to the frustration u already feel every time u are up against the class. YUCK!
Reckless Flurry (3): Its an AOE, which is nice ... but the trigger is a bit hard for arena purposes, since u gont usually keep any armor. The new KAC cards might help with that, but still ...
Rummaging Kobold (4): Super draft dependant and even then its mby not worth it. Since u cant rly play it for stats so u HAVE TO wait till u draw a weapon, till the weapon gets destroyed and then u pay 3 mana for this little crap to get the weapon back ... slow as hell, unreliable as hell. Im not too convinced with this one.
Shimmering Courser (4): Very understated 4-drop to make up for the powerful ability. Too bad the ability is basically non-factor in arena most of the time, cause it will not live long enough to take advantage of. Sure u can combo it later on, but such a play is generally a bad idea to begin with.
Spiteful Summoner (2): Slightly draft dependant. If u get at least a 2-cost minion, this card is very much ok (unless u get f*** by Doomsayer. I mean u know that will happen :D). If u get 3+ cost minion this card is very good to absolutely busted the higher the cost of the spell. The biggest factor for this card will probably be the amount of spells in the deck total rather than their cost, so there is always at least some spell to trigger off of. Faceless Summoner is the card that comes to mind, i suspect this will be about as good on average.
To My Side! (5): Well, thats a card. A bad card. So, you know ... dont pick it ;-)
Twilight Acolyte (4): Aldor Peacekeeper 2.0 for dragon decks, a lot better actually, if u can activate this ... if u can activate this, that is the main problem. But priest does get a few dragons in KAC and there is a Hoarding Dragon and KFT dragons as well already in the mix, im honestly scared for a dragon synergy from priest in KAC, when it works it will be soul crushing.
Unstable Evolution (1): Pretty good, versatile card. Yeah, u would have to pay quite a lot of mana to get a high cost minion, but i think thats ok, since if u would do that, chances r its your best play anyway. You can evolve each of your minions to "heal" them. You can even evolve your HP totem, if u have nothing and topdeck this. Rly cool card.
Void Ripper (3): This one is pretty crazy actually. Can make for some seriously surprising finishers. Its kinda a missing link between Crazed Alchemist and Kooky Chemist (mana wise). Its not a bad minion at all, but it isnt that amazing either.
Voidlord (3): Little heavy for arena for what it does, nice synergy with Bloodreaver Gul'dan in constructed and also when u do get it from random effects and the three Voidwalkers can help to stall even more, but ultimately, they wont do much. I would probably rather have Giant Mastodon than this tho.
Windshear Stormcaller (3): Its a decent enough minion without the battlecry. The battlecry will most likely not trigger in arena, its very rare when u do have all the totems on the board. Could happen with combination of cards like Primal Talismans, but still. I would give it 2, if most other epic shaman cards werent more useful than this. In the end, i see it just as an average card, i will not be sad to get it, but i will hope for something better.
RARE
Crystal Lion (2): Ok, 3rd time is the charm :D At first i didnt notice divine shield and all this time i thought it had taunt :D Well, now that i was finally able to read the card text properly, its just a rly good card, but not a 1. The discounts will happen only on rare occasions, but even without them, the card is fine.
Duskbreaker (4): This is heavy draft dependent card, but if u can activate it, its value is off the charts, completely broken. Priest does have the easiest way to get the dragon synergy goin with now at least two class dragons, but it still isnt that easy ... thank god. Tho this card alone might just be worth it to yolo it, similar to Servant of Kalimos, its definitely worse play if u cannot activate it, but the strong AOE potential might be worth trying to get the dragon synergy work blindly.
Ebon Dragonsmith (4): I like it better than Blackwater Pirate cause of the stat distribution and the (probably) meaningless dragon tag for weapon classes, but in the end its about as bad. Another very obvious card that was made solely to support Legendary weapons in constructed.
Elven Minstrel (3): I want to like this card, but i cant. It is a rly good value card, but i cant shake the feeling it will be pretty hard or at least awkward to play it, since its a combo. Not that it will be hard to trigger the combo, but the turn u gonna play Minstrel will most likely be a very low tempo turn, which for rogue isnt something u can afford rly. I wouldnt mind having one in my deck similar to Sprint, but until i see it in action, im not too impressed by this.
Explosive Runes (3): I personally liked Snipe a lot, u could usually play it on T2 and trade with it for opponent's 2 or even 3 drop. This will be even more snowbally in the early, if it trades for a 4-drop, but due to its cost, if it misses (your opponent plays a Fire Fly into it etc), it will be a pretty big tempo loss, as with any mage secret. Obviously the longer the game goes on, the easier is to play around this and u would basically play around this same as Mirror Entity, but just its existence is gonna be very annoying ... and dont forget those times where it might actually kill you, if you're low on hp and play a little shit first, it will happen, i can guarantee that :)
Feral Gibberer (4): Not the worst 1-drop ever, but its close. 1/1s r just rly rly bad stats for arena. It can be pinged, it wont trade with 3/2 ... it wont do anything most of the time. This card does have some potential vs non-ping classes, where it might generate at least one token and give u some crap to play to fill your curve, but chances r, that will not happen very often. It will probably be best in Rogue, since rogue does want to get a few 1-drops usually and if u can get at least one token back, it can act as a cheap combo activator, but thats about it.
Furbolg Mossbinder (2): Situational, very much board dependant ... but DAMN! This card will be so insane when u have an early curve. And good after to "heal" a minion or transform a token into a 6/6. Most ppl dismiss this card and i can totally understand that, but i just have a feeling, that it will be a little dark horse this one :)
Gather Your Party (4): Due to the fact how Recruit mechanic works, card like this will be almost useless in arena, since you have to draft quite a few low cost minions and very few high cost minions to do well. So this will on average be a lot worse Shadow Essence, since it might just pull your 2-drop or something, even most of your 5-drops arent gonna be 5/5s and you should have very little 6+ minions, so chances that this will be worth at least 6 mana r very very slim.
Gravelsnout Knight (5): Eh, about as bad as Hungry Dragon, worse actually. It has to be worse, since its a T1 play tho. Can be "recovered" in the same way, but then will u rly get value out of this and not lose even more, if u have to clear that 1-drop with something else? Meh, i think i ll pass.
Greedy Sprite (4): Replacement for Jade Blossom in non-jade decks in constructed, but most likely not a very good for arena. I mean it is still better than Jade Blossom for ramp purposes even in arena, but i dont think its worth a deck slot.
Grizzled Guardian (3): i think this card will be pretty decent, but im always a bit sceptical towards rly good polymorpg/silence targets, which this certainly is. If it pulls even two 2-drops, this will be ok. Obviously we want 4 drops. It honestly hard to judge this card, it might actually be harder to clear everything up than to just kill an Ironbark Protector, so this card might be at least about as good of a card for that mana. We shall see how this performs.
Hooked Reaver (1): WOW thats a card! Pretty strong. Its a meh 4/4 when played on curve, but can become a 6/6 taunt when ur behind, pretty sick. Being a demon might have additional advantages as well. Pretty solid card for WL in general.
Hungry Ettin (3): I was way more excited about this card at first, but in the end, it just looks average. It will perform very well when ur ahead for sure and even when ur behind, its a solid taunt, no question about that, but it has too much baggage attached to it (in many ways) for it to be called a solid card unconditionally. Seems like a prime example of a minion made for the Recruit mechanic tho.
Kobold Barbarian (3): Oh boy, our good ol' Ogre Brute is back. It will basically act as him 99% of the time, tho u cannot hold off the attack, if u rly wanted to, so its kinda a bit worse than him, but only ever so slightly. It will be a strong on curve play, but when it keeps goin face like the Ogre Brute often did and u lose a game cause of it .. yeah, that will happen. I can guarantee that right now.
Kobold Illusionist (4): This card is pretty bad on average. At best u get a 4/4 worth of stats for 4 mana, but not all at once. Thats horrible. Only way this card can be remotely good is, if u have a lot of deathrattle minions where the 1/1 with deathrattle would be worth it. But even then, playing a 3/3 for 4 mana is a pretty big tempo loss and the deathrattle would rly have to make up for it. I dont see this card performing well on average. Not to metion, that you would reveal to your opponent, what minion you have in hand and that information might not be insignificant at all.
Kobold Monk (2): No that the ability will matter like in 99% of your games, but 3/6 for 4-mana is a very nice statline, so just take that and be happy :)
Lesser Amethyst Spellstone, Amethyst Spellstone, Greater Amethyst Spellstone (2): Good ol' Flame Lance that heals u, whats not to like? If Kobold Librarian and Vulgar Homunculus werent revealed together with this and we wouldnt know them for now, this spell would be a lot worse, tho u still draft things like Flame Imp and Hellfire, but those two minions makes this spell pretty damn good ... the only problem will be drawing it before u play them, which means keeping a bad 4-cost card in your hand most likely. At least its a removal, so its not completely useless, even if u dont mulligan into the Kobold or Vulgar.
Lesser Diamond Spellstone, Diamond Spellstone, Greater Diamond Spellstone (4): Casting 4 spells before T7 and playing some minions that would be worth the ress seems like a stretch. Casting 8 spells seems like an impossible task in most arena games, tho things like Thoughtsteal and The Coin would certainly help. This is obviously a late game card, but comes down very very slowly and can ress 2-drops or tokens and shit as well as anything useful, depending on what u played. I dont think this will be a thing.
Lesser Emerald Spellstone, Emerald Spellstone, Greater Emerald Spellstone (1): pretty busted card, it might be awkward to upgrade cause u dont rly want many secrets and the ones u do want u want to play early, so that would mean keeping this in your opening hand ... but even the basic version is 6/6 stats for 5 mana, which is already amazing.
Lesser Jasper Spellstone, Jasper Spellstone, Greater Jasper Spellstone (1): Very nice 2-dmg ping, that druid can definitely use. The power up might take a while, if you r gonna do it via your hero power, but druids do generally use the hero power quite often, so it will get done, if you dont need the ping right away. Might give cards like Claw or Gnash a little bit more "power". You r never rly sad about gettin those cards, even tho they r not the best, but at least now they will have some extra synergy with other card(s).
Lesser Mithril Spellstone, Mithril Spellstone, Greater Mithril Spellstone (4): Very draft dependant. And even if u have bunch of weapons, u have to draw this before u play em. If u can upgrade the card even once, then it is a pretty powerful play for 7 mana, but in its core, its just a bit too much combo-y for arena purposes. Not the worst card ever, especially, if u already have few weapons, but i wouldnt rely on it too much.
Lesser Onyx Spellstone, Onyx Spellstone, Greater Onyx Spellstone (4): Another very powerful card, that needs just one upgrade to be worth it, but might be hard to get there. Pretty much draft dependant, tho even the basic version is kinda ok (not rly, but kinda), since we played Sabotage just for the random Assassinate, not the weapon removal. This costs 1 more with a potential to do more damage.
Lesser Pearl Spellstone, Pearl Spellstone, Greater Pearl Spellstone (2): Another very much draft dependant spellstone, it should be relatively easy to upgrade this once, even the basic spell is already ok for arena purposes, not amazing, but ok. Higher versions r obviously very good.
Lesser Ruby Spellstone, Ruby Spellstone, Greater Ruby Spellstone (3): In an average deck, this card will give u just one random spell, definitely not worth it. But in an elemental deck, this card would be absolutely busted, 2-cost Cabalist's Tome basically, even the Ruby Spellstone is worth it already. Very much draft dependant card.
Lesser Sapphire Spellstone, Sapphire Spellstone, Greater Sapphire Spellstone (4): This card will be a heavy win more card and heavily draft dependant. In its first stage, it's rly weak and hardly worth it, but gettin 2-3 coppies of a minion makes the card quite potent. At that point you dont even have to target a big minion to get good value, getting three 4-drops would certainly be worth 7 mana, but to power it up, it will take a while and you need to have enough Overload cards in your deck in a first place.
Leyline Manipulator (1): Chillwind Yeti, with an elemental tag that reduces the cost of a BS u RNG out of your ass? Hell yeah!
Lone Champion (2): This seems like a rly nice card. Not much threatening, but it will be annyoing to get through. Certainly more than worth it for the cost, if u can get it to trigger, which shouldnt rly be that hard at all.
Murmuring Elemental (4): It can be pretty strong, but its basically a draft dependant combo card that cant rly be played alone, so ... not very amazing for arena standards. Not to mention its a card for one of the weakes classes as of right now and even tho shaman has some super strong battlecry minions, i cant just see it perform well on average.
Possessed Lackey (5): Even in a demon centric deck, this card is just too damn slow. I suppose battlecry would be waaaaaaaaaaaay too OP for constructed standards (u could run only Doomguards or something like that), but the deathrattle totally kills it for arena.
Primal Talismans (3): Id say this is heavily draft dependant, not so much on totem synergy, but on if u have any attack activators. If u dont, it will basically just lock your board slots, tho your opponent will still probably try to clear all that, cause its safer that way. Also since u can get multiple of the same totem, i totally see the +X Spell Damage wrecking my soul at least once :)
Scorp-o-matic (5): The battlecry will not kill anything 99% of the time. Not worth pickin for the battlecry and stats r abysmal without it, so just dont pick it.
Seeping Oozeling (4): This card seems pretty bad, even if it gets some rly good deathrattle .. Bone Drake has a powerful one and without extra condition and its a 6/5 for 6. This has -1/-1 over it and has to get some seriously sick deathrattle to be worth it. Mby if you could land one from Abominable Bowman or something, but thats unlikely.
Shrieking Shroom (3): About as good as Sewer Crawler on average, it does need to be answered to stop the value genration, shouldnt be too hard with that statline. It will be more of an annoyance than anything most of the time, but i guess there r worse cards.
Twilight's Call (4): Solely draft dependant. Its technically "like" a card draw in a sense that the "cards" r delayed deathrattles, if that even makes sense to look at it this way :D Anyway, super unreliable, would be nice if u could get like Bone Drakes and such, but still ..
Unidentified Maul (Purifier's Maul, Sacred Maul, Champion's Maul, Blessed Maul) (1): Damn! B-b-b-buuuusteeeed! Yeah, ok, mby im exaggerating, but i cant help but feel this card is gonna be huge. It will be a kind of RNGfiesta for sure, but all effects r good, so in the end the weapon WILL get very good value, just sometimes it can get "just" good value and sometims it can get game winning value.
Wandering Monster (2): This secret will be annoying AF to figure out, i can tell you that much right now. Usually you would want to trigger this with a minion, that would survive the trade with a 3-drop, but there r two poisonous minions in that pool, so it might not go as well as planned. Also you dont normally want to check for a Freezing Trap/Misdirection with your big minion first, so that makes it even more annyoing to check for. Also this card is relatively decent T2 play. If your opponent has a minion and goes face, he spawns a random 3-cost minion for you, that you paid 2 mana for ... and might not even trade 1for1 ... this might make possible to fake out Wandering Monster with any secret on T2 and try to get some tempo back, when you have bad mulligan. This card will certainly provide a lot of added value, far beyond 2 mana.
COMMON
Arcane Artificer(4): Pretty bad card for arena purposes, yes, the Armor would be definitely nice to get, but its a bad combo card and shit on its own. The elemental tag saves this card that it can be at least considered in the draft, but thats about it.
Barkskin (1): Oh boy, are we making druid into a priest? This shit is gonna be SO powerful. Honestly the armor part could have had been out and it would still be an amazing card, but since the Armor is there, the card is that much stronger. Also some bonus synergies with the armor for druid in this expansion beyond a bonus "health" for your hero.
Benevolent Djinn (3): Very nice card to have in the pool. Nothing too amazing, but its an elemental and it heals you, both of which r nice to have - or rather have an option to draft it, if appropriate - so yeah, im fine with this card existing. Also another decent combo card for Blackguard, which is nice :)
Boisterous Bard (3): Pretty much literally 3-cost Sunborne Val'kyr. Or shattered sun cleric, that changed the attack for health on another minion. I honestly dont know which of these three would i rather have. It will most likely depend on the draft at any given point i get this offered. Its a decent enough minion that can help your guys survive the trade and the stats r fine enough for this to be considered. So yeah, ok card, but situational.
Candleshot (2): Hell yeah, i will take a Light's Justice-like ping weapon that protects me from taking damage. It is actually better than Light's Justice, since u can ping big minions without worries.
Cave Hydra (3): Cute minion, if u play it with the base stats, chances r it will be very very underwhelming, if ur not ahead on the board. The ability can act as a semi-aoe and help u clear some crap from the board, tho if u would play it in that situation, the Hydra would probably never lived to attack in a first place. There r some hand buffs in hunter and some beast synergy etc. I think this minion's real potential has to be discovered first, then we can form a proper opinion.
Cavern Shinyfinder (3): Rogue's take on forge of souls, its better in terms of that it is a minion, not a spell, so it provides some value even when there is no weapon in your deck. 3/1 for 2 mana isnt end of the world, tho it does die to a ping. But i dont see this card drawing a weapon very often, u basically draft only Perdition's Blade or Shadowblade and both r rare. And if u do get them, u will have like just one in the entire deck. If this card can draw u the weapon, then it is definitely worth it, but i just dont see it happening very often. Its obviously a card that is supposed to make Kingsbane deck work.
Cheat Death (3): Seems like a decent value for 2 mana. Will probably get more value due to Sudden Betrayal being a thing than what this card actually does, but even then, its not bad. We shall see how this changes rogue plays with and against.
Corrosive Sludge (2): Wow, we certainly didnt need another ooze, that isnt even understated (ok by one point, but cmon :p). Decent 5-drop that will occasionally destroy a weapon. Tho u will probably not keep this in hand for the battlecry as u do with the other oozes.
Crushing Hand (3): The overload will suck, but this is a pretty strong tempo play as many other shaman removals with Overload attached. This card is definitely a boost for shaman arena. But it might be a bit too punishing playin this in the early turns after all that anyway :/
Cursed Disciple (4): This will most likely perform about as good as Arrogant Crusader most of the time. Probably even worse, since u can ping one or both forms. I mean it will require a response, but im not too convinced that this will get 4 mana worth of a response out of your opponent.
Dark Pact (4): Decent health gain which u do want as WL, but sacrificing one of your minions is not exactly what u would like to do, if it ain an egg. Not the best topdeck either, but it is definitely a good tool and WL might actually find use for it more often than not.
Dire Mole (4): This is a lot better in ping classes, but its still nothing exciting. Just another 1-drop. I would rather have a 2/1 most of the time.
Dragonslayer (1): Until the meta settles down, this will be a very high priority pick for one simple reason: Hoarding Dragon. Yeah, its not gonna be on curve play, but if u can remove him with this card, u basically played a 1-cost 4/3 that killed your opponents 4-drop. That seems like a preeeeeety good value, doesnt it? And it wont be just Hoarding Dragon, that will get killed by this, there will be a pretty good number of dragons u will see very often. This card will be totally disgusting, when played against you.
Drygulch Jailor (3): Mountain Giant pally, here we go! Ok ... not in arena :D This card is obviously a horrible 2-drop, but its not the worst card in the world. It gives you three 1/1s to play as you see fit and that is not such a useless thing to have, especially as paladin. Also with handbuff cards like Grimestreet Outfitter or Grimestreet Enforcer, this card might provide decent value. Definitely not a card you would want to prioritize in your draft, but you wont be too sad to get it.
Drywhisker Armorer (3): Another very nice card to have in the pool. Not that amazing on its own, but the fact that its still a 2/2 for 2 with a potential big "heal" is rly nice.
Flanking Strike (1): WOW. Fire Plume Phoenix that deals 3 damage and is a beast for hunter's beast synergies. Damn!
Fungal Enchanter (2): Wow, another old timer cries in a corner - Earthen Ring Farseer. Basically superior version, one less 1hp for the ability to heal your board. You usually heal minions with him anyway, so this is basically a heal for your hero more than the other way around. Very nice card.
Fungalmancer (4): This can be super strong, but its basically a win more card, since if u dont have board, u cant rly play this. It can help your minions to get HP above some AOE's thresholds or to trade up, which is nice, but i mean its not gonna perfom that well on average, i think id rather have Sunborne Val'kyr over this every time.
Gemstudded Golem (1): WOW pretty sick taunt for just 6 mana. 5 armor is a bit high for arena standards, but mby some of the new cards can help you with that. But even if u wont be able to attack with this, its a gigantic stat wall that is very much cost efficient. Premium taunt right there.
Gilded Gargoyle (4): This card looks like it was made for the priest legendary weapon - Dragon Soul. But for arena standards, paying mana to save mana in the future is a backwards thinking and will probably not pay off, tho i wouldnt be surprised if it did in a priest deck with Free From Amber, Psychic Scream or Mind Control. Still, i dont recommend picking this card.
Green Jelly (3): Its gonna be annoying more than anything most of the time. It is a taunt in the end, but its no Hogger. I think id rather have Silver Hand Knight over this most of the time, tho if it survies a turn, it will provide more value already. Not bad, but not amazing either.
Guild Recruiter (2): So for this card to be on par with Silver Hand Knight, u would need to get at least a 3-drop. 4-drop would be really good! 2-drop kinda sad, but still bearable, 1-drop pretty horrible (tho at least you wouldnt draw that later on, so at least some positive!). That being said, in an average deck, there is like one or none 1-drop, so that nightmare scenario is usually out. That makes this card a very decent card on average. The card might become worse or better depending on your draft, but on average, it should be at least a Silver Hand Knight (with different stat distribution).
Healing Rain (4): Potentially a 12 HP heal for 3 mana which is decent value consider it's a good amount for 1 card investment. Or a mass heal for your board. Probably draftable, but it's on the low end of the power scale.
Hoarding Dragon (1+++): Well, i guess we found our Bonemare of KAC. Hoarding Dragon is gonna be such a shit to go up against when played on curve. This card alone might make u draft a lot more early game to have at least some board. Imagine if u actually dont have a 2 and/or 3 drop and your opponent does and then he drops this. The game is basically over at that point.
Ironwood Golem (3): I dont know why r ppl bitch so much about this one, yeah u will most likely not attack with it, but so what? Tar Creeper is annoying as hell to get through on curve and this will be the same. I will probably not go looking for this, but i will most certainly not be sad, if i "have to" draft this guy.
Kobold Apprentice (3): As much as i HAAAAAAAAAAAAATE Mad Bomber, i would still probably take him over this. Even tho this can no longer target friendly characters, the stats for the cost r just horrible. U rly have to hit what ur aiming for, if this is ever to be worth it.
Kobold Hermit (4): Pretty bad. I mean u can choose, but still. Might be semi-decent in a right deck (Thing from Below and stuff), but thats about it. I suppose its Tainted Zealot-ish kind of card, so the Spell Damage could be relevant, so could the taunt, but still.
Kobold Librarian (1): Damn! I see value :o Half a price of Life Tap with a 2/1 body ... like, for real? I guess there could be too many of these at some point, but ... could it?:o
Oaken Summons (3): Pretty nice card to have in a mix, similar to some of the warrior ones. Not one u will be looking for, but ultimately not one u will be too sad about.
Plated Beetle (2): One of the better 2-drops for sure. Armor is more valuable than Health and can be a combo piece for some other cards. Vanilla 2-drop stats with an upside, whats not to like?:) Dont forget to light a candle (*wink wink*) for the poor River Crocolisk on your way out!
Potion of Heroism (1): That is one strong card. I will gladly pay 1 more mana over hand of protection to draw a card, hell yeah! I mean u already dont leave any minions on board for paladin, if u can avoid it, but this card is so good i wouldnt be even too worried just playing it on a minion i just slapped down, since it cycles itself. Very nice.
Psionic Probe (3): Id say better than Mind Vision, but i mean ur just trading a card for a random spell from your opponents deck. Arguably a removal, aoe or a buff since what else would they draft, right? I think it will perform just fine actually and will be super annoying, but i still give it just average rating, cause it is random in the end and who knows what can happen.
Raven Familiar (3): This is a nice card. Not too amazing, but nice. This is how joust minions should have looked like. U wont be too sad when u lose the joust, but will be glad to win it for sure, as always. That being said, mage has better 2-drops than this and its kinda draft dependant, since u need to have spells ... but it could just perform a LOT better than im givin it credit right now, since u could pull flamestrike/meteor/pyro with this with relative ease, which would be a big deal. Im interested/affraid to see how will this one perform.
Sewer Crawler (3): Reversed Razorfen Hunter. Same value, average.
Shifting Scroll (4): Shifter Zerus but for spells. Problem with this will be pretty much the same as with Zerus, when u get something good, u will most likely not be able to play it or it wont be the time to play it.
Shroom Brewer (3): Decent card for what it does, i imagine it will actually make several archetypes playable in constructed, since its a decent amount of healing with not much tempo loss. But for arena standards, its about average value. U wont be sad to draft it, but u will hope for a better card.
Silver Vanguard (5): This one looks so far to be the worst card for Arena in this expansion. Not only the stats for cost are abysmal, its slow > cause deathrattle. And on top of that ... what 8-cost minion do u even draft in arena? Charged Devilsaur, Eldritch Horror, Ironbark Protector. Thats it. Nope, this card will not be played.
Sleepy Dragon (3): I suppose in any class but priest i would rather have Giant Mastodon cause he has a better stat distribution, but the Dragon tag will be super important in a priest draft. Overall, its just a big taunt, nothing amazing, but it gets the job done as well as it can.
Sneaky Devil (4): This card will be super annoying, if u cant draw a board clear, but with 2 health, basically almost any AOE will clear that. It will definitely cause me some headaches, i know that already, but until i see it in action, i will not be looking for it in my drafts (mby shaman, but thats about it :p).
Stoneskin Basilisk (2): Wow, pretty high value card. In absolutely very least it should be a less controlable (in terms of where u trade with it) Giant Wasp, but with potential to kill off two minions. Very nice card. SUPER annoying to deal with.
Sudden Betrayal (3): I mean anyone who plays arena should be already playin around Betrayal in a first place and in the worst case u can just not attack, until u can safely check for this, but its still probably a decent secret that will cause some awkward turns and plays out of the opponent for sure.
Toothy Chest (4): Validated Doomsayer of 3-drops. It would be an ok play on curve when there r no enemy minions. After that the value goes rapidly down. We will 100% see this card work, but i would imagine its not worth gambling on it. Its a good 3-drop if it works, but a "heal 4 hp for 3 mana" in every other situation.
Trogg Gloomeater (3): Probably better than venomancer, since u cant just ignore it. The one attack traded for taunt has 0 meaning, since poisonous, so ... yeah. Decent card for anyone who doesnt run into friggin Stampeding Kodos on T5 every other game like me :)
Unidentified Elixir (1): I already hate this card beyond measures ... for how good will it be. Some options (like Lifesteal or Divine Shield) will be better than others to gain tempo. It will be almost on par with Velen's Chosen, since you can play it on your 2-drop and that card rekt souls so hard, this will be worse or better, depending on the ability it gets, so overall, this card will be very powerful. Divine shield specifically is gonna bring back the horrible nightmates of Seal of Champions.
Unidentified Shield (Tower Shield +10, Serrated Shield, Runed Shield, Spiked Shield) (2): Although im a bit reserved when it comes to this card right now, i think it will perform very well. Amor might suck, but other three r all pretty good. I think this is an amazing card to have in the mix especially in a common slot. It is not a card, that will alone help warrior rise up, but it is a card that he will eventually be able to fall back on, even if in the next expansion or one after that, but the fact this card exist will be a very nice thing.
Violet Wurm (3): Pretty strong looking card with an amazing value. But its a tad slow for my taste. We shall see how this performs.
Vulgar Homunculus (1): 2-cost Squirming Tentacle ... with a little ouchy ouchy and a Demon tag. Pretty solid 2-drop.
Wax Elemental (4): This will be pretty sick with handbuffs, but not in arena. It does barely stop two attacks, but thats about it. Not worth a deck slot.
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LEGENDARY
Aluneth (3): Draw cards in Arena are strong, but drawing at end of turn doesn't help you when you need an immediate response or digging for lethal. However, it's a huge value card if it doesn't get removed right away, so there is probably still a spot for this in some hyper aggressive drafts.
Dragoncaller Alanna (4) : Very draft dependent card but feels more plausible in Mage. To get fair value you'll need at least one 5 cost spell played, beyond that is just gravy. The problem is that with 9 mana, summon a bunch of stats that don't impact the board probably isn't going to cut it in most cases. It's potentially a one card army for the late game, but needs a supporting draft to accommodate it.
Dragon Soul (5): This card is bad. Spells are not plentiful in Arena, and finding a situation where Priest can use 3 in a turn is near impossible.
Geosculptor Yip (3): Pseudo Taunt 4/8 for 8 mana, it has a decent chance of living for a turn and you might be able to work some armor gains into a big turn, but this card is a much worse Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound overall.
Grumble, Worldshaker (3) - The body is excellent obviously, but the battecry can be awkward. The trouble here is it's a Shaman card which means overload minions. Having any on the board and bounced back to your hand can be painful. If you can get some buffs, heals, or damage off the recasting of your board then this can be insane. However I'm not sold that you'll get that much value on this cards affect often. Still obviously a stud play on an empty turn 6, but if you had to bounce back anything to your hand, it's a tempo loss for future value. Interesting mix of tempo and value. Should be a good card to great card.
Ixlid, Fungal Lord (3): Pseudo Taunt card, this thing is a must kill. Playing this on curve is pretty risky and it should be at least hidden behind a taunt. More likely plays would involve later turns so you can play this and then play minion afterwards to get immediate value. Keep in mind from the wording it's only copies minions that are played. So minions with battle cries or spawns wouldn't get copied. Overall bit slow, but could be a late game win condition for some drafts.
Kathrena Winterwisp (2): Very solid card, that is easily manipulated by the draft. Hunters have lots of beasts to choose from so finding a recruit target is not a problem. There are some strong deathrattle beasts such as Savannah Highmane as well which would be insane pulls. The card is comparable to Menagerie Warden, which is an already above average card, but Katherna is a bit more reliable. Continued theme with pushing hunter to a long value themed deck type, time will tell if there's enough cards to help that type of deck for this class. As a standalone might be the best Arena card released so far.
King Togwaggle (5) - Horrible stats per mana cost. Effect is also horrible. This is purely some kind of troll card from Blizzard and I hope it gets banned from Arena eventually. A waste of a pick.
Kingsbane (4) : This card has potential but A lot of things need to line up (draft, draws, situations). If you draw this in the late game and without any buffs it's a pretty dead card, so the constant cycling of the card isn't necessarily great either
Lynessa Sunsorrow (4) : Some decks can accommodate this card, but it's too draft dependent to be consistently good.
Marin the Fox (4): The rating is for the 6/6 for 8 mana body and saving you 8 hp. The treasures are ridiculously powerful and will certainly end the game, but if you're in a position to spend 8 damage to break the chest you were probably on your way to winning anyways. However, i'd rather top deck this card then some legendaries, so it's avoids a terrible rating.
Master Oakheart (3) : Seems likely to get at the very least 9/9 worth of stats split over 4 minions which isn't completely worthless. Potential to pull better then average minions with low base line stats like dun dun dun.... Silver Vanguard
Rin, the First Disciple (4): Card is a neat idea, however in Arena, things that require other things to happen before you realize your true value are always a receipe for inconsistency. At 6 mana a 3/6 Taunt isn't completely a bust tho. I am comparing this card to Book Wyrm in Arena, probably slightly worse/better in certain situations. If Rin, the First Disciple's ability was a battle cry instead of deathrattle I could see it being WAY more viable. Right now it's a slower value card that doesn't provide much value.
Rhok'delar (4) : Constructed card, for arena, its a 4/2 weapon for 7 mana. Pretty terrible. It's reach at least?
Skull of the Man'ari (5): Odds of weapon removal the turn after it's played is low, so you can find some value from it casting a demon at the beginning of your turn, however, drafting demons isn't necessarily a sure thing, and then you need them in your hand when this is played to get value from it. Overall just not a viable card by itself in Arena.
Sonya Shadowdancer (3) : A board centric value generator, similar to Cult Master, but slightly more situational since the minions being changed to 1 mana versions need to have some kind of effect rather then be vanilla minions. The body also doesn't compete well when played on curve if needed compared to Cult Master. With all that said, it has a game breaking ability to recycle minions battle cries in the late game such as Bonemare, or Vilespine Slayer, so this card can be a difference maker in relatively common sitatuions. I'd argue that generating one card is enough value if that card can flip the turn in your favor, the key is not to be too greedy with this card.
Temporus (5) - if this card was a 10/10 Taunt minion it might be playable but with that body and that battle cry being such a huge negative effect, I'm not sure how you can argue this card working out in 99% of situations.
The Darkness (5) : 4 man do nothing - potentially never do anything. Not for arena.
The Runespear(3): There's some very good potentially game ending spells from Shaman and casting them for free without overload would be awesome. Things like double sided board clears or even Bloodlust for game ending burst. It also does provide a bit of removal and reach as a 3 attack weapon as well. It's a huge card with potential to be game winning. The randomness of the spells keeps me a bit wary of it's overall usefulness though.
Twig of the World Tree (3): Having an upgraded hero power for 5 turns can be useful but you will still need to make use of the deathrattle effect to get full value. Having a big set up turn for 18-20 mana to spend is the dream, the likelihood is low though given that you have to trigger the effect thru attacking while having a hand ready to capitalize on the mana. It's very slow and spending 4 mana on 1 damage might cost you the game on turn 4.
Val'anyr (1): Closest comparable card is Hammer of Twilight which is a tier 1 card, this card is even better potentially but it's slower to realize its full gains. Silence isn't very common in Arena, and if the this weapon gets recast once from the buffed minion getting removed, it's value is just godly. Save your Sap and Polymorph for this.
Woecleaver (3) : A 8 mana weapon that has some guarentee'd impact on the board, although it's a bit RNG dependent. It's actually not too different from the The Runespear, though it's a bit less devastating when the RNG doesn't go your way (and a bit less rewarding when it does), I'd argue, both are about the same in terms of overall value and impact. The recruit minion over 3 turns generally should be enough value to justify the cost of the weapon, however it's over 3 turns, and 3 turns in the late game and that's enough to lose the game before realizing the value of this card.
Zola the Gorgon (3) - Card draw that requires a board, you'll be able to get some value from this occasionally but it feels strictly like a worse Shadowcaster. It's also similar to Howling Commander, both of these cards aren't really awe inspiring cards and I don't see any new interactions with Zola that will change that trend. Potentially an average card but for a legendary it feels weak.
EPIC
Arcane Tyrant (3) : The card is better in certain classes then others and a bit draft dependent. It's a card that is suppose to pick up tempo after using a large spell. The classes that come to mind which would benefit the most would probably be Priest and Mage, for example after using cards like Mind Control or Firelands Portal. Its a scary sitiation when you combine high value and high tempo. Worse case scenario this card can at least be played as a 4/4 for 5 which isn't totally useless.
Astral Tiger (3) : Fair stats for the mana cost, and a value focused deathrattle that is hard to take advantage of in Arena. Has obvious synergies with Recruit heavy decks.
Bladed Gauntlet (4) : Its cheap removal in a pinch, but after the first swing into a minion keep in mind the armor total drops and you will need to invest resources to bring it up to use the weapon again. Overall, it just seems bad most of the time.
Branching Paths (2): Nice flexible card. It's good at all stages of the game in various situations. All the effects are overpriced however, but you are paying for the flexibility of the card. Probably a close comparison generally to Feral Rage, but better late game scalability with the card draw.
Call to Arms (2): Very powerful card since this pulls small cards from your deck instead of being randomly generated. If you can play this on curve with a deck full of good solid 1 mana and 2 mana drops this is going to be a real strong tempo play. It also thins your deck of smaller cards so your mid and late game draws are improved. Also follows paladins general game plan pretty well and synergies with its buff cards. Only reason this is not a 1 is because it is somewhat draft dependent since occasionally somme drafts will be starved for low mana minions.
Carnivorous Cube (2): I really like this card. The stat line is respectable and it will be powerful depending on the situation. It's a mid-range threat that will bait morph spells. I'm wary to give it a home run rating since the card affects your board negatively and ultimately can be ignored by your opponent to delay the deathrattle value. Definitely a card to watch.
Cataclysm (4): i don't feel this card is very good. If the text read "Discard your hand at end of turn", this card might have been excellent, but dumping your hand (potentially a full hand due to being WL) is just too punish to come back from even if you could draw 2 per turn. However, it is a comeback AOE so it will always have some playability in tough situations.
Corridor Creeper (2) : Card has some potential to be cheated out early. At 5 mana, it's fair for it's cost. Keep in mind it's ANY minion that dies, not just friendly, so it's pretty easy to achieve a nice tempo play with this being played for cheap. I'm surprised it's not a beast tag actually.
Crushing Walls (2): Excellent card value card for Hunter, 2 for 1 unconditional kill card with no real drawbacks. The mana cost is fair, and the requirements are reasonable. I wouldn't say it's an auto pick due to it's mana cost, so an aggressive Hunter draft might choose Bittertide Hydra over this card for example.
Deck of Wonders (5): 5 mana do nothing.... Draw your scroll and potential ruin your board, face, or both. This card is total trash.
Dragon's Fury (4) : Unreliable due to draft dependency and unknown RNG pulls. The reveal is bad as well. You can try to trade the board in to set up, but overall this should be a poor value play and probably more of a desperation card. Ex: Servant of Yogg-Saron
Dragonhatcher (5) : Basically unplayable in arena. The odds of this ever working out is slim.
Evasion
(2)(4): It's an absolute shame this is an epic card since it pairs so well with Sudden Betrayal just purely by playing mind games with opponents. Due to its rarity, most players won't play around it as often so they will just attack face with the smallest minion first. I can see this card or the presence of this card making situations awkward for opponents. If Evasion was more common then players might use their largest minion to face first instead of smallest leading to lots of misplays. The card is infinitely weaker against hero powers with pings since you can trigger the secret easily without using a minion. After more thorough consideration the card needs too specific of a board state to be consistently impactful. For only 3 secrets introduced there is at least some nice variety.Fal'dorei Strider (Spider Ambush!: Leyline Spider) (1): Great card from a value perspective, although it's value comes from drawing the spiders which may or may not come in that case it's a 4 mana 4/4 with no immediate impact which is nothing to write home about. Its not up to Vilespine Slayer power levels, but it's a solid card.
Grand Archivist (5) : Horrible stats for its cost. There's a couple ways Blizzard could have went to make this card playable, as it is right now it's terrible. If you consider Arena drafts, most will contain AOE, removal and minion buffs most often. So spending a removal on your own minion or buffing your opponents is certain disaster. The reason Tortollan Primalist is playable inspite of it's horrible body is the discover effect. The reason why Servant of Yogg-Saron is playable is because it's body is serviceable insight of it's completely random effect. I think this new card is much worse then those cards because it's random pool of cards will often consist of cards to remove or buff, but when you have a random target, it's a much higher chance of something going wrong.
Psychic Scream (2): Another tool for Priest, this one is a full double sided unconditional removal. Really scary card and can't be played around. Probably a bit better then Twisting Nether, since it negates deathrattle effects. Since its an epic, luckily we won't be experiencing this card that often.
Reckless Flurry (4): it's an AOE at least, but the cost of armor (basically taking damage), the double sided wipe and the uncontrollable damage due to armor that was stacked up is something that will make this card really bad most of the time.
Rummaging Kobold (5) - For most decks this card is a 5, even with legendary weapons the delayed value on using, exhausting and resummon a legendary weapon thru the Kobold are probably games that will never happen in Arena. For classes like Rogue, Paladin, or Warrior, getting an extra Truesilver Champion, or Shadowblade is never a bad thing which probably makes this a bit better, but still a 5.
Shimmering Courser (4) : Better in buff classes then non buff classes. Generally a 3/3 isn't a high threat to be removed by spells anyways, so it's ability isn't that relevant when it's played.
Spiteful Summoner (2) - Getting a 2 mana spell, that generates a 2/2 is pretty fair value for this card, so it's not that hard for this to be an okay card. With that said the tempo gained from pulling a huge spell into game breaking minion on turn 6 is a real reality and I can see this card being higher in value for certain classes that have playing large spells such as Priest, Mage, Warlocks, and Druids. The issue is having a draft with spell offerings and having them remaining in your deck, it should be a reasonable requirement tho so just a small issue. The reveal aspect of the card can cramp your style a bit giving your opponent a heads up on what's in your deck, but he might be dead before then anyways.
To My Side! (5) : 6 mana animal companion is pretty bad.... The upside doesn't make sense in Arena.
Twilight Acolyte (4) : Not the end of the world if played on turn 3 as a 2/4 for tempo, but it's not a pretty situation. The effect is quite powerful but requires synergies IN HAND, and a target on the board to get value. If this stat line was 4/2 it would much better IMO, it at least makes more competitive on turn 3, and allows for some cheeky friendly swaps + trade/lethal plays on top of being a large removal.
Unstable Evolution (1): Very cool mechanic and design. Great flexible card for Shaman. Overpaying slightly for flexibility is pretty normal for card design, but this card gives flexibility a totally new bar. Thing is you might get carried away with playing it, which might get a bit too expensive.
Void Ripper (3) : Seems average, it's a cheap card that potentially has a game winning effect though, so it should be a net positive card for the caster of the card. There will be situations where you just play this on turn 3, and his 2/3 will be a 3/2 or his 3/2 will be a 2/3. It's about an even effect, most of the time for both players though.
Voidlord (2): Nice buff to Bane of Doom. The card is about stabilizing the board. Getting hard removed is a problem for any top tier minion, and this card suffers the same fate if your opponent had Polymorph. It compares closest to Soggoth the Slitherer and Giant Mastodon and I'd argue it's somewhere in between, although this card might be the most likely to save you from death in most situations since hard removals are quite rare. Its a demon too, so theres always interesting synergies with that.
Windshear Stormcaller (3) : Don't bother reading the text, the likelihood of this in Arena is negligible. 5 mana 5/5 is average.
RARE
Crystal Lion (1) : I like this card and think it's really solid. It's highly playable for it's base mana cost and very likely to get cheated out early or for cheap. The perceived threat of this also might result in some opponents over trading.
Drywhisker Armorer (3): Warriors version of Cult Apothecary. It's a bit better then Cult since the effect is armor and can be stacked for synergies, and the card itself is cheaper for the effect, but that doesn't say much about the card which is still a below average card most of the time.
Duskbreaker (4): it's baby Chillmaw just not as good on it's own. It's probably a playable card in constructed but arena, it's understatted body and negative opponent controlled effect makes this a poor card.
Ebon Dragonsmith (5) : Unplayable in most of the classes, and even in weapon classes is barely even draftable. You don't see cards like Blackwater Pirate being overly valued in weapon classes for example. Doesn't matter if this is a dragon.
Elven Minstrel (2): Good value card, but low tempo card. Having to combo it out might be a bit awkward and since it has such low impact on the board you need to be careful when to use this card. Still a good card and I'd be happy to have 1 in my deck. I feel the minion Draw a generally are worse then spells or random Draws especially since this card swallows 4+ mana, it'll be hard to find a playable minion for lethal or an answer on the same turn as the draw.
Explosive Runes (3) :Excellent value card, but easy to play around since opponents will play their worst minion into all mage secrets. It's best to consider this a removal card and it's damage portion as an additional affect. Overall at the very worst it's a small removal plus some burn. At it's best it'll give you lethal.
Feral Gibberer (5): The 1/1 is bad for 1 mana, so you must get value for this thru attacking. Attacking once makes this worse then Fire Fly, so it must successfully attack twice for me to consider it an above average card. I don't see that happening often and you end up with a much worse Fire Fly.
Furbolg Mossbinder (4): it's a close comparison to Darkspeaker,both have an upside and downside. Darkspeaker allows the minion to keep its abilities, allows for a tempo trade and can be played as a 3/6 for 5, not ideal but it's something. Mossbinder on the other hand offers much more value with the 6/6 body, specially in the early game. The minion can't attack however so it wont swing teh game the turn its played tho. I feel the card is about the same in terms of playability, although the Mossbinder can get decent value if you can land the transform effect on a very negative minion. Edited: 6/6 has summoning sickness.
Gather Your Party (5): Will only really fit in decks that are a bit heavier. With that said, heavier decks without proper early game in Arena (especially non ping classes) are going to have a tough time. It's really hard to see this card pull a minion at a discount, very often you'll be paying a premium for a minion from your deck. An RNG card that requires draft set up ? No thanks.
Gravelsnout Knight (5) : Rough a 1/2 net stats if we consider the resulting 1 mana spawn as a 1/1 minion. It's hard to like this card in any situation considering it's mediocre over stats vs it's drawbacks.
Greedy Sprite (3) : Having ramping abilities generally is most useful when you can control when you want to ramp up so you can take advantage of the extra mana. A lot of this card's effectiveness will come down to how well you can use the extra crystal on your next turn. Inefficiently sacing this minion to trade seems like a poor play just for the ramp crystal. Card also gets worse as the game progresses, keep in mind it's an EMPTY crystal, so on turn 10, it's a 3/1 for 3. The stat line also doesn't feel generous enough for this to be average.
Green Jelly (2) : Good card that requires an answer from the opponent. Similar to Hogger and Silver Hand Knight in power level.
Grizzled Guardian (3) - For it's heavy mana cost luckily this card has taunt, otherwise this card might be junk. If we were to compare this card to Ironbark Protector a very solid Druid card, we are giving up 5/3 worth of immediate stats for a deathrattle effect split into 2 separate bodies. I would argue that squeezing out 6/6 worth of stats from the deathrattle is probably enough to match the Ironbarks stat line. This seems quite reasonable albeit a bit draft dependent. If you get hit by Shadow Madness I'd rage quit too. The card should be at least an average card in most instances.
Hooked Reaver (2) : Pretty insane upside for a reasonable/controllable conditional battlecry. It's a Demon as well so theres some synergies there as well. Otherwise it's still a 4/4 demon for 4 mana.
Kobold Monk (2) : The ability isn't overly relevant in most instances but it's stats are quite strong for it's mana cost and it can produce some awkward situations for your opponent to play around.
Hungry Ettin (3): Huge stats on turn 6, but if we compared this to Ancient of Blossoms, it's a difference of 1/2 stats for a 2 drop. The best 2 drop might be Dirty Rat stat wise and Doomsayer is another potentially crippling pull. In that comparison its strictly a worse Ancient.
Kobold Barbarian (3) : Good stats for it's mana cost, and in the early game it's a fine card, however, gets progressively worse in the late game. It bypasses taunts as well so it can be lethal damage in rare situations.
Lesser Amethyst Spellstone (2) : Very solid card, bit expensive for it's initial effect tho. We can compare this card to Shadow Bolt which gives up 1 damage and 1 extra mana for 3 points of healing. I feel that's about as good on it's base level. This is something Warlock really needs, a way to heal, however the healing will go towards the damage taken to upgrade so it's a bit of a wash.
Lesser Diamond Spellstone (4) : The value of the card is there as long as the random targets are decent sized (no guarentees here, needs to at least 2 3+ mana drops or this is a disaster. The odd chance this card gets upgraded is rare, but plausible in the late game. Overall too unreliable, but probably worse cards out there.
Lesser Emerald Spellstone (1) : Great card at face value. Both wolves are beasts and you get good stats without having to upgrade. After playing one secret the card starts getting into insane territory. Now drafting and playing secrets migh not be a sure thing but I won't imagine it being that much of a stretch considering most hunter secrets are draftable.
Lesser Jasper Spellstone (2): Solid card, not sure if Druid needed another spot removal card though. At 2 damage for 1 mana, it's reasonable, and it's likely to be upgrade to 4 damage, even 6 damage in some slower games. The upgrade condition is reasonable, and the potential tempo swing from a 1 mana removal is very high.
Lesser Mithril Spellstone (4): Immediate value is bad. Playing 1 weapon while this is in your hand makes this card above average. However, a below average card through most of the game and has no guaranteed chance of upgrade since it's dependent on summoning weapons while in your hand. Worse comes to worse you can play a 5/5 for 7 in top deck mode, so there's some use there. We will have to keep an eye on new weapon offerings this expansion, the rating for the card is probably more a 3 then a 4 in the case.
Lesser Onyx Spellstone (3) : Removal is always playable in Arena, but this one is a much more expensive Deadly Shot with an upgrade condition that is probably never going to happen in Arena. If this was 4 mana it is probably at least an above average card but 5 mana is real expensive for a situational card with a rarely realized upside. Also, it's Rogue, they have plenty of tools for removing minions.
Lesser Pearl Spellstone (2) : In a pinch the base spell is a Frostwolf Grunt, with an upside that's not terrible at all. Getting 3HP isn't necessarily that hard for paladin and at 1 upgrade, this card is a very strong card for 2 mana.
Lesser Ruby Spellstone (3): Babbling Book would be a 1, Shimmering Tempest a 2, and Cabalist's Tome a 3, this card is probably worse then all 3. The likelihood of maxing this spellstone will probably be impossible in Arena, and at its base form its a pretty sub par card so aiming for 1 upgrade for good value is ideal. I'm questioning how likely getting 2 playable elemental are in a draft let alone playing them while this is in hand. Not convinced it will work out right now on this card.
Lesser Sapphire Spellstone (4): Immediate value is terrible. However, summoning 2 copies of even a 3-4 mana minion will make the 2nd upgrade quite worth it. The 3-mana overload condition seems like it can be achieved relatively frequently in some decks. It will make it's way into some drafts.
Level Up! (4): Expensive and requires a bit of a board. Getting 2 targets would be a fair break even so it's not that hard to achieve.
Leyline Manipulator (2): As a comparison, it's roughly the same as a 4 mana Ethereal Peddler, although most cards generated for Mage are usually random spells (usually better then totally random cards), I'd argue the reduction ability on this card is more powerful then the Peddlers. Most of the time it will just be a 4 mana 4/5 with an elemental tag which is a still a solid card.
Lone Champion (2) : Solid card, probably not as good as Tar Creeper, but its pretty darn close. It's a small come back card early without sacrificing much stats even if the taunt and divine shield isn't triggered. Late game it has the same ability to help you mount your comeback and try to stabilize the board. Good card.
Murmuring Elemental (3) : Not a horrible value card, since you can compare the double battlecry kind of like a draw card effect except better since it's automatically cast but requires the trigger card. It does have the elemental tag as well which works well for Shaman, so all in all, its about as good as a Novice Engineer.
Possessed Lackey (4): Statwise it could be worthwhile some of the time depending on your draft. The initial tempo loss by playing a 2/2 for 5 mana is quite a bit of stats to give up, which means regaining that tempo from the deathrattle would require a pretty big demon. I just don't see it happening often enough to make this even a consistently average card.
Primal Talismans (5) : Why basic totem? C'mon. Awful card.
Scorp-o-matic (4) : Occasional good battle cry, killing any minion with it will be good value for it's cost. As is, it's a bit unreliable and understatted.
Shrieking Shroom (3) : On average you're getting about 3/3 worth of stats split over 2 bodies, with a potential high roll of 3/5 stats over 2 bodies. Not broken good but not bad. Worse case is you roll something like a 1/1, but the original Shroom body still needs a response.
Twilight's Call (4) : Deathrattle isn't an extremely common ability and to have two friendly minions to target from the graveyard is a bit of a stretch. Pretty unreliable card potentially a completely dead card. To be honest it's a great value card if you have the right deck (generates 2/2 stats and 2 deathrattle effects) but seems very unlikely to be able to reach its potential in Arena.
Unidentified Maul (2) : Lets all remember how insane Coghammer was when played at the right moment. Let's also remember how good Muster for Battle was on turn 3. This card is a bit of a mix of those insane powerful cards while adding some RNG to the effects. ALL 4 variations are strong, with the Sacred Maul probably being the worse since you sometimes don't want certain things Taunted. The Fact it affects your whole board for 3 mana can lead to some explosive comeback turns and finishes. It's probably a 1, but the small bit of randomness keeps it out of auto snap pick territory.
Wandering Monster (3): Definitely a playable card, borderline good card. For 2 mana, pulling a 3 mana 2/2 minion is enough to break even considering that it also saved you some face damage. It's comparable to Noble Sacrifice, which is pulling a 1 mana minion, but protects your face and minions. This secret could potentially be a worse Noble Sacrifice or summon potential trouble cards that your opponent's minion must now attack into, like Humongous Razorleaf, Giant Wasp, Scarlet Crusader, etc. It's an interesting card that has a good chance to get a rating bump in the future.
COMMON
Arcane Artificer (4) : Poor stat line and an ability that doesn't impact the board. It's value comes from it's low mana cost, so if you can afford to play a big spell 1 turn late, you can piggyback this card to gain a bunch of armor. Keeping in mind spells aren't a guarantee in any drasft and you have a near trash tier card. It's an elemental at least.
Barkskin (3) : Feels like decent value for 1 mana and has some armor synergies with class cards from this new set. Draftable.
Benevolent Djinn (3) - Fair stats, with a below average effect. Heals are generally lower value, especially one you can't target, however 3hp a turn is a good amount if left unchecked.
Candleshot (2) : Solid card that gives Hunter access to an early ping. The immune ability is quite solid and this card should be at least better then Light's Justice.
Cave Hydra (3) : Pretty good card if you can get the attack in first, the stats are a bit underwhelming for the cost, but the effect is quite powerful. Overall an average to above average card that also has beast synergies too.
Cavern Shinyfinder (2) : Rogue has some strong turn 3 weapons that can play perfect after this card. At 3/1 also trades into almost all 2 drops, or requires an answer in the early game. Overall very powerful turn 2 play for Rogue that has a very small dependency on the draft.
Cheat Death (3): Paying for future tempo and card advantage. It's average, better then Getaway Kodo at least.
Corrosive Sludge (3) : Fair stats for the mana cost, and a solid battlecry for all the new weapons that surely will be in this meta.
Crushing Hand (3) : Overload cost seems a bit expensive for the immediate tempo, but still good as cheap removal, just plan accordingly.
Cursed Disciple (3) : Nice total stats for the mana, although they are easily handled by ping classes the 5 damage is threatening and probably need to be dealt with efficiently in order to save minions or face damage.
Dark Pact (4) : It's actually not that bad in some spots, can be synergistic and cost efficient for 8 hp, especially in warlock. Still unreliable for Arena.
Dire Mole (3) : It's a draftable 1 drop with beast synergy, nothing overly exciting.
Dragonslayer (2) : In the same power bracket as Golakka Crawler when the battlecry triggers. It's a strong on curve minion that doesn't suffer from loss of stats for potentially huge battle cry.
Drygulch Jailor (3): Average card, provides future value in exchange for immediate tempo loss. Not sure if Paladin requires a card like this just because Paladin has a lot of cards of this type of design. Overall it's playable for sure, but unless you can combo the tokens with other buffs or affects, the 1/1s most likely will not be impactful.
Flanking Strike (1) : Great removal and minion into a nice package. Wolf is a beast for further beast synergies as well.
Fungalmancer (4) : 2/2 + 4/4 charge for 5 mana, seems good, but finding the targets for this might be difficult. It's going to be a dead card in your hand sometimes, and can't be played by itself without any targets, so its a bit inconsistent compared to cards like Doppelgangster.
Fungal Enchanter (2) : Very decent card. Fair stats and a good board heal for only 3 mana investment. It's an improved Darkscale Healer
Gemstudded Golem (3) : Pretty beastly stats for it's mana cost, and 5 armor for Warrior shouldn't be overly difficult to achieve with the new and old armor boosting cards along with it's hero power. The 5 attack wall should be pretty relevant and prevent attackers from breaking through without suffering causalities.
Gilded Gargoyle (4) : Low tempo play for future tempo. Seems bit unstatted for it's effect, and since it's priest, finding it a bit hard for them to take advantage of a big tempo turn with the coin in their hand. But not a bad tool for them to smooth out their curve or reach their late game a bit earlier.
Guild Recruiter (2): Most obvious comparison to Silver Hand Knight which is a good card for arena. This card i am a bit less certain. To match Silver Hand Knight, you'll need 6 stats, so pulling a 3 mana 3/3 minion would help you break even when compared to the knight. However, the RNG can be manipulated in a way where the value of this card can be bonkers. If the minion selection in your 1-4 mana slots all have great stat distributions and/or strong effects, this cards value definitely increases potentially breaking the turn. For example, play this on turn 5, pull a Flamewreathed Faceless. Another card that i'd potentially rate much higher given the quality of the current draft.
Healing Rain (4) : Potentially a 12 HP heal for 3 mana which is decent value consider it's a good amount for 1 card investment. Or a mass heal for your board. Probably draftable, but it's on the low end of the power scale.
Hoarding Dragon (1) : Immediately I think of Hungry Dragon, although I do think this card is much stronger since it doesn't provide your opponent with an immediate compensation for the stats of the dragon. The delayed coins do make for a better turn from your opponent in the future, but they have to get thru the 5/6 body first and theres no guarantee they will be able to utilize the coins potential. The card also gets better as the game progresses since the coins decrease in value as the game drags on. Since its a common I'd expect this card to haunt us on turn 4s in many games to come.
Ironwood Golem (4) : if this card had the same text with charge, activate on +1 armor instead of +3, had additional stats or even a beast tag it would have been so much better. As is right now it's a below average card since the armor condition actually is a bit hard to achieve without using another card. So a 3/6 wall on T4, bit meh but draftable.
Kobold Apprentice (3) : If this was guarenteed to be delivered to minions it would be pretty huge since it can remove a 3 drop by itself on cast. As it is, it's not a bad card since the damage can also equal lethal on rare occasions, but missing the split damage and leaving a 2/1 body without removing any enemy minions is a pretty bad deal. Still a draftable card though and has upside.
Kobold Hermit (4) : It has flexibility but gives up stats and tempo. Certain situations this card would be great (totem synergy, taunt, heal, +1 spell power), but in general it's just an inconsistent card.
Kobold Illusionist (4): Poor tempo play on T4, and very unlikely to synergize with a deck that can take advantage of it's deathrattle. There are certainly worse options then this, but this is a below average/poor card very often.
Kobold Librarian (1) : This is a snap pick in most drafts. An extra 1 mana life tap that leaves you a 2/1 body, pretty insane for a 1 mana card.
Oaken Summons (3) : Pulling a 3/3 worth of stats would be pretty good value and a proper statted 4 drop you're golden. However, it's Not really a turn 4 play, since on average it's a tempo loss, but A healing card or two in A draft for the late game doesn't hurt most drafts. A lot of druid minions have good battlecries too so it's a bit of a drag to recruit them without the effects, in some cases the minion heavily relies on the battle cry to boost its base stats. EX. Druid of the Swarm, Shellshifter
Plated Beetle (3) : Easy pick if you need a curve filler. Solid 2 mana minion with healing upside and late game scalability. Also a beast.
Potion of Heroism (2) : Combines a cycle with Hand of Protection and actually seems okay. Divine Shield is a powerful trade up ability and the cycle affect makes it worthwhile in the late game as well.
Psionic Probe (4) : Depending on the class you are up against, this can be a complete bust or potentially game breaking. Generally it's probably okay other then stealing a weapon buff card.
Raven Familiar (3) : Stats are bad, but it's Joust card draw probably benefits Mage more then most other classes since the class has some very good larger spells. Average at best card tho.
Sewer Crawler (3) : Backward Razorfen Hunter. It's about as good.
Silver Vanguard (5) : Pay 7 mana and proceed to lose the game. No thanks.
Sleepy Dragon (3) : Bit worse then Giant Mastodon consider the low attack stat here, but still a big minion with taunt that's a dragon probably isn't that horrible most of the time.
Shifting Scroll (3) : Shifter Zerus is pretty terrible in Arena, this card is probably on the same levels of terribleness except the pool is a bit more specific which might churn out an answer or two once in a while in Arena.
Shroom Brewer (3) : Blown up Earthen Ring Farseer. Fair stats for it's mana, nothing fancy about it's battlecry, but has late game playability.
Sneaky Devil (3) : Generally pretty bad without a board, but the stealth is helpful in giving you a chance to extract value from this card.
Stoneskin Basilisk (2) : Potentially a 2 for 1 card. This card is pretty bonkers unless your opponent has a specific card to stop this, or a couple throw away minions. At the very least it should be a 1 to 1 most of the time and can produce awkward turns for your opponent to stop this thing from getting value.
Sudden Betrayal (3): Potentially a 2 for 1 card.
The problem is that it's easy to figure out right pending new information on additional Rogue secrets.Its definately the more punishing of the released secrets. I'll keep an eye on new info. The rating will surely go up with more secrets added to the pool.Toothy Chest (4) : Validated Doomsayer works in part to it's 7HP which makes it a bit more difficult to remove then this 4HP minion. Don't think this is a good card overall.
Trogg Gloomeater (3) : Seems okay, probably a bit low on the value scale for it's mana cost, but it should at least be a 1 to 1 card most of time potentially stopping a much larger threat. The combination of taunt and poisonous is definitely a premium defensive pairing that makes even poor statted minions worthwhile in most cases.
Unidentified Elixir (2): Super powerful card, giving Priest low costed buffs to trade and survive really punishes players for not trading and pushing face. Most of the effects are fine, but Divine Shield will be busted on T3,
Unidentified Shield (3): +15 armor is poor value compared to cards like Greater Healing Potion. The 5 armor + 5/5 Is the same as the old Shieldmaiden which was an above average card before. The weapon version is quite good value and so is the damage version. Overall it's an average to above average card most of the time which is fine.
Violet Wurm (2) : Pretty damn powerful value card, the problem is it's a 8 mana do nothing card. But a 7/7 beast is still a threat and if this is dealt with efficiently, you still need something to deal with a board of 1/1s afterwards. It's a bit more value then Sated Threshadon but 1 mana slower. Would give it a similar rating.
Vulgar Homunculus (2) : Obviously a strong card for it's mana cost. The 2 health loss isn't a concern in most cases. My only gripe is the 2/4 stat line. It's actually not that overpowering on turn 2, and in a non ping class isn't as capable at cleaning up 2/3 and 3/4 stat lines. Either way it's a borderline tier 1/2 for me. Demon synergy and health loss synergy as well on top.
Wax Elemental (4) : No tempo, and a small meat shield. does have the elemental tag for some synergy value.
Boisterous Bard (3) : It's okay, needs at least 1 target to be fair which seems reasonable. A worse Shattered Sun Cleric
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#1 Arena Leader Board Player in North America - August 2018 and April 2020
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Since I am being a lazy ass at the moment, I will just post things I disagree with.
And I think you people are being unfair to poor Rin. Sure, you will probably summon Azari once in your life if you are lucky, but even then Rin is still a 6 mana 3/6 with taunt. Yes she is a 1 mana overcosted Fen Creeper but is that really soo bad? She is certainly not good by any means, but I think a 5 (still getting used to the reversed scoring) is kinda harsh.
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It's still really early, but the combo I'm already dying to try is to hit a Carnivorous Cube with another Carnivorous Cube. Immediately spawn 2 copies of the minion eaten by the first cube, then the second cube dies and spawns 2 more cubes, which will each spawn 2 more of the original target... yes, please.
Of course, with my luck, my second cube will get silenced. Or Mind Controlled.
Old school WoW Mage motto: if you don't end the run with the most damage dealt AND the most deaths, you're not trying hard enough.
"To build or destroy...only you decide which joy." - Last Crack