This is my personal ranking of the Death Knights and their implication in the WILD format, which I expect would be significantly different from Standard from this expansion onwards. This will rank from worst to best.
9. Malfurion the Pestilent: Yeah. We all know there has to be someone that looks suck. However, at 7 mana he might be good though. You can't clear those Poisonous craps forever. A slightly better Justicar Trueheart for Druid, but Justicar was terrible in Druid anyway. However it's a control card for a class that hasn't got a control archetype, so it might serve as a cushion. Not terrible. I only put it here because it's raw power is weak, but this thing is actually scary with Innervate and Wild Growth.
8. Valeera the Hollow: This is a pseudo Ice Block for Rogue, and an Ice Block effect is pretty damn powerful as you all know. But typically the Rogue playstyle revolves around cycling cheap spells, so having a 9-mana card sitting dead in your hand is a no-no. However, the hero power creates lots and lots of value for a value-centric Rogue deck, maybe Jade Rogue or N'Zoth, the Corruptor with Gang Up and Shadowstep shannenigans. Those decks get crap over by aggro and with nearly no new anti-aggro tools, I doubt they would work except if the meta slows down incredibly. Nevertheless, a good card, a 'you win on pure value' type of card, however too expensive to play with no immediate impact. You might put this in a Mill Rogue, but why would you exclude a, say, Vanish, for this card? However, I'd like to point out the synergy this card has with a Malygos deck where you can get double burn after you get discounted from your Emperor Thaurissan trigger. Is it worth playing over another card though? I don't know.
7. Frost Lich Jaina: You got that Ice Block Jaina that never dies, now you have that Jaina that never goes below 30 HP! This card is bonkers in an Elemental deck when you already have a board, however I think it pales in comparison with other DKs. It costs too much, and when you already lost the board, there's not much you can do to gain it back. The hero power only deals 1 damage, which is extremely terrible when you don't proc a Water Elemental off it, and there isn't much Elemental synergy support for the archetype. I might be wrong though. Pyros is solid, and 100000 Pyros out of your Servant of Kalimos is extra solid. Maybe all Elemental Mage needed was just a little bit of healing.
6. Deathstalker Rexxar: He has a good battlecry, and being the second cheapest DK only helps. The hero power is a very strong one, albeit a little slow. A problem with Hunter was that they can't compete against both aggro and control, and the DK solved half of the equation! This card offers incredible value that fits in both a midrange and a control deck - you have enough firepower to win against those Reno decks now! Rexxar got a lot of support for their value game through Stitched Tracker, Abominable Bowman among others, and the DK is a boardclear in itself! However, the lack of healing is still a major issue, and if you don't draw Deathstalker Rexxar and can't clear the board, you're dead (let's be honest, Exploding Bloatbat is not that good).
5. Uther of the Ebon Blade: With a battlecry like that, it can never be a bad card! However it loses on value in the long-run against other DK cards because they will be able to easily deal with your 2/2s with their Zombeast value, Priest pings and infinite Water Elemental. At 9 mana, you can't even use HP the turn you play him, so going for the alternate win condition as a control deck is not really desirable. Not a card you equip to win the grindy matchup, but the one you use to win IMMEDIATELY while you still have board control with your incredible weapon. Another implication for it is OTK Paladin, which I deem it a bit inconsistent at the moment because you have to keep several 1-cost cards in hand (they're pretty bad on their own, and you often won't want to keep them), and you have to DRAW Uther and play him no sooner than on turn 9. However, Uther offers one of the most powerful DK battlecries that has immediate impact, so he can never be overlooked.
4. Bloodreaver Gul'dan: While it will probably be terrible in Standard as Standard demons suck, this card nukes the hell out of Wild. Mal'Ganis is one of the best finisher ever for a Demon deck, and imagine they have to kill your Mal'Ganis from a Krul the Unshackled and then have to kill it AGAIN! It might still be too costly to play this card as a 10 mana card, but remember there are a lot more stabilizing tools in Wild, and the addition of Defile and the very exciting Despicable Dreadlord, a Krul Renolock might actually shines. I'd see this card be played in Demonlock as a finisher, but you risk bringing back your crappy 1/1s. However, the interaction with Lord Jaraxxus might dampens the card, because it might get awkward to play this and replace your powerful Inferno hero power.
3. Scourgelord Garrosh: This one is made for Patron Warrior! Seriously, Patron Warrior might become one of the tier 1 decks next expansion since it got a crazy lot of support. It already did relatively well against aggro, now it is more consistent than ever with Rotface, Blood Razor and Val'kyr Soulclaimer! It might seem like you're like that dumbass Dude Paladin, never runs out of threats! It might work in Control Warrior as well since the free board clear is amazing, but I don't know about losing Tank Up! though. Same with Anduin, this card suffers from limited implications, but I might be wrong. It's packs a lot of potential. The only reason this card is above Gul'dan is because it costs 8 while Gul'dan costs 10.
2. Shadowreaper Anduin: He's only going to be good in one deck, but man he's gonna be so good in it. He's basically almost infinite value packed in one card, and incredible with Raza the Chained and the Inspire package. I got Legend several time with Inspire Reno Priest already, no doubt it's already powerful in Wild, but this might as well takes it up there with Token Druid and stuffs. At 8 mana, you can use you Hero Power, even multiple times if you already got discounted, which makes it very scary as you can ping the hell out of them for board control while getting incredible value out of your Nexus-Champion Saraad and stuffs. Not to mention the battlecry annihilates Jade Druid, especially when they're running out of resources. However, the card lacks versatility, that's why I put it down here.
1. Thrall, Deathseer: Many people overlooked this card because it isn't as flashy as other DKs, but don't forget it's 5 mana! The cheapest DK for an incredible effect, how good is that?!? Many other DKs suffer from the problem that the deck usually revolves around drawing it (see Uther and Rexxar), but this card is only a complement to the Evolve playstyle. It massively adds to the consistency of Evolve decks (and no more dumb Doomsayer when you can just evolve it with your Hero Power!!!). When you see a Thrall playing this on curve after a turn 4 Saronite Chain Gang, you know that there's little you can do to recover from it. Of course, you need a board to snowball the game, but let's face it, if Thrall doesn't have a board, you better be a healing Thrall or you're a dead Thrall. This DK is bonkers, and trust my word for it.
What will be interesting to me about Thrall is that once the DK is played, they lose their token generating hero power. I'm worried that after the initial battlecry he actually might lose steam.
I haven't played evolve shaman so I may be very wrong here. Just seems like a mid range deck which won't last long into the game, where control really has some fantastic cards to deal with mid range decks
Yeah but the idea is that you should win immediately after you evolve. It obviously going to lose steam pass a certain point, but you'll have to do A LOT to get him there.
I'm quite sceptical about the power of this card for several reasons : usually Shaman use evolve to transform minions creating several bodies into relevant minion for each one of these bodies (Ex : [card]Jade Spirit[\card], [card]Doppelgangster[\card]). What matters the most is the 1rst evolution, the 2nd generally matters less (with some exceptions : 2-drop into 4-drop and 6 into 8). Another reason is that you can't really do anything else on the turn you play it. It's not like evolve where you can drop doppleganster in the same turn. There you have to work mostly with the minions surviving your opponent's turn. It is as if you're saying that evolve pass is a powerful play.
I would like to see [card]Frost Lich Jaina[\card] take a spot in some kind of Reno Mage (I really like the card) but you made some really strong points so yeah, she might not do it.
I think that [card]Bloodreaver Gul'dan[\card] has more potential than you think in standard but that's not the point of the discussion.
I almost never play Standard so my insights on the format might be worse than yours.
You forget that Thrall is the cheapest, while it's impact isn't the strongest, it comes the soonest and it will actually win games by itself. What if your opponent is saving his clears for the Doppelgangster Evolve combo, but now he has to use that on your Thrall evolve? I doubt many control decks can survive that many evolves.
Warrior 5/5 (Brings back Patron) Warlock 5/5 (The best) Paladin 1/5 (None of the current wild decks need this, too slow for them) Hunter 1/5 (Doesn't fit in anywhere) Shaman 1/5 (Doesn't fit in aggro shaman, hero power cripples you in control) Priest 3/5 (Maybe, N'zoth seems better as win condition) Mage 5/5 (Will immortalise in slow metas) Druid 1/5 (Druid isn't too strong in wild) Rogue 2/5 (Maybe some crazy combo)
Speaking of Death Knights in wild, does anyone know the interaction between Garrison Commander and Shadowreaper Anduin? When your hero power is "refreshed" will you get two uses or just the one?
Yeah but the idea is that you should win immediately after you evolve. It obviously going to lose steam pass a certain point, but you'll have to do A LOT to get him there.
But since the DK costs 5, you are reliant on a board already existing at the start of your turn. Evolve works since it is only one mana, meaning you can doppelgänger and evolve on turn 6. You can't do that with the DK until turn 10. You really need to doppelgänger evolve turn 6, hope he can't clean up and also you didn't get a cruddy evolve, then follow up with the DK on turn seven, and hope you're not playing against a control deck who can clear....
Anyway, evolve shaman is a thing so this DK will be played. It just may be awkward to get off correctly, and you're banking on no answer or no clear, or else it'll be tough to come back.
9) Shaman - Evolve shaman is gimmicky. It's a token deck that relies on Evolve to help the tokens stick. Replacing your token-generating HP would be a mistake. Lots of healing/AoE/taunts in wild makes token/evolve shaman a bit worse than it might be in standard. Maybe this DK fits into a midrange deck, but evolving your own minions destroys any kind of synergy that you try to build around.
8) Hunter - I don't think control hunter will ever be a thing... but the zombeast HP is pretty cool. Just won't make this class viable.
7) Druid - Once again, this is a control-type card for a class that doesn't have a control archetype. I'd gladly be proven wrong on this, though... I hope a DK druid deck becomes more popular than Jades. It would be infinitely more fun to play against.
6) Rogue - The HP is cool, but just like the Druid and Hunter, it's a control card for a class that lacks a control archetype. Once again, I'd gladly be proven wrong on this.
5) Warrior - Now Blizzard is pushing enrage warrior? This card doesn't fit into control warrior (why would you give up armor for whirlwind?) and doesn't fit into aggro warrior. So enrage warrior new meta? Probably not in wild...
4) Warlock - Pretty good DK with an awesome HP. Could make a demonlock viable. Have a zoo-like opener, and if you run out of steam in the late-game, just slam down the DK and start healing back up behind your giant board of minions. This card would have to contend with the OG hero card Jaraxxus, though. Tough call.
3) Paladin - Control Paladin has always ALMOST been a thing... and I think this card could tip the scales. Awesome weapon, interesting hero power (which is a strict upgrade from the "dudes"), and some new supporting cards in the set. I think this will be good.
2) Mage - I might be biased on this one, since reno mage is my most played deck... but I think this card will be comparable to Jaraxxus in renolock. You can manipulate the board pretty easily to get value out of your ping, and the lifesteal will add to the many ways that mage already has to survive late enough into the game to justify this card. I can think of lots of ways to make this card work, and I'm eager to try it out in my reno deck.
1) Priest - The ultimate control card. Holy shit, this card is bonkers. This will make for some really interesting long games.
9) Shaman - Evolve shaman is gimmicky. It's a token deck that relies on Evolve to help the tokens stick. Replacing your token-generating HP would be a mistake. Lots of healing/AoE/taunts in wild makes token/evolve shaman a bit worse than it might be in standard. Maybe this DK fits into a midrange deck, but evolving your own minions destroys any kind of synergy that you try to build around.
8) Hunter - I don't think control hunter will ever be a thing... but the zombeast HP is pretty cool. Just won't make this class viable.
7) Druid - Once again, this is a control-type card for a class that doesn't have a control archetype. I'd gladly be proven wrong on this, though... I hope a DK druid deck becomes more popular than Jades. It would be infinitely more fun to play against.
6) Rogue - The HP is cool, but just like the Druid and Hunter, it's a control card for a class that lacks a control archetype. Once again, I'd gladly be proven wrong on this.
5) Warrior - Now Blizzard is pushing enrage warrior? This card doesn't fit into control warrior (why would you give up armor for whirlwind?) and doesn't fit into aggro warrior. So enrage warrior new meta? Probably not in wild...
4) Warlock - Pretty good DK with an awesome HP. Could make a demonlock viable. Have a zoo-like opener, and if you run out of steam in the late-game, just slam down the DK and start healing back up behind your giant board of minions. This card would have to contend with the OG hero card Jaraxxus, though. Tough call.
3) Paladin - Control Paladin has always ALMOST been a thing... and I think this card could tip the scales. Awesome weapon, interesting hero power (which is a strict upgrade from the "dudes"), and some new supporting cards in the set. I think this will be good.
2) Mage - I might be biased on this one, since reno mage is my most played deck... but I think this card will be comparable to Jaraxxus in renolock. You can manipulate the board pretty easily to get value out of your ping, and the lifesteal will add to the many ways that mage already has to survive late enough into the game to justify this card. I can think of lots of ways to make this card work, and I'm eager to try it out in my reno deck.
1) Priest - The ultimate control card. Holy shit, this card is bonkers. This will make for some really interesting long games.
You nailed the top 5 and I think the last 4 won't see any play so it's doesn't matter what order it's in. Priest will now have a win condition for Reno. I think a new Reno mage will be interestin
It's a 'You win the game' trigger with a hard condition except when you build your deck specifically around it. Very few decks built around only one card has achieved success before because of great inconsistency, and if you let them spam 4 2/2s uninterrupted, you might as well have lost the game. While the effect is strong, it's not why the Paladin DK is strong.
This will be true for both Standard as well as for Wild for a very simple reason... no matter how you play the game, the way you win a match of Hearthstone is by lowering your opponent's HP to 0.
Additional win conditions do not exist in Hearthstone so everything boils down to 'how much damage can I deal and how do I deal it'; Paladin can now simply say 'Okey, you give me two turns with a Garrison Commander you lose'. There's nothing else like that in all of Hearthstone; you can block damage, make spells more expensive, make hero powers cost more etc. but you cannot defeat an effect that litterally says 'You win the game'.
That's why Uther of the Ebon Blade will be the strongest card in Hearthstone until they give another class another way to win the game as well.
The rest can be listed in a thousand different orders but anyone who doesn't put Uther of the Ebon Blade as their top card... they don't know how powerful a 'victory' condition truely is.
Any deck that doesn't have a way to deal with a high-priority 3 health minion, or a handful of 2/2 dudes, would have probably lost anyway, regardless of the insta-win effect.
DK paladin will be powerful, but the amount of games you win due to the "apocalypse" will be negligible. The strength of the HP is merely the threat of the effect. It will slow down the game because your opponent will be forced to deal with the dudes on each turn... but at the end of the day, they are still only 2/2's, and barring some sort of 1-in-a-million combo, you will seldom be able to get all 4 on the board at once.
I might have misjudged the Druid hero. If ramped out using Innervate and Wild Growth, this might actually be pretty powerful. Probably why they don't make it at the same power level as other DKs
As far as wild is conernced, I think the Priest Death Knight is going to have the most impact, because all of the other Death Knights either don't have a home (like Rexxar) are too binary (like Thrall) are affected by weapon removal (like Uther) are dragged down by the class itself (like Valeera) or overlap with better cards and strategies (like Garrosh and Guldan). I mean, Quest Warrior is just going to be better than anything the Warrior Deathknight can do, it's practically a lose condition because after you Flame Strike their board, they Acidic Swamp Ooze you and then you can't gain Armor to go into fatigue anymore where the Quest Warrior Hero Power would've continued to give you value and Control Warrior has Justicaar Trueheart to give you 2xArmor. I don't know if Guldan can replace both N'zoth and Jaraxus, I suppose it's possible as new Demons are released but it's not going to work as is even if you have Mal'Ganis and company because it's only 7 health to remove before you can go face and the rest of the Demons don't really have an impact on the board or a side effect vs removal.
Any deck that doesn't have a way to deal with a high-priority 3 health minion, or a handful of 2/2 dudes, would have probably lost anyway, regardless of the insta-win effect.
DK paladin will be powerful, but the amount of games you win due to the "apocalypse" will be negligible. The strength of the HP is merely the threat of the effect. It will slow down the game because your opponent will be forced to deal with the dudes on each turn... but at the end of the day, they are still only 2/2's, and barring some sort of 1-in-a-million combo, you will seldom be able to get all 4 on the board at once.
Slowing the game is all it needs to do. For one thing, you are still playing other cards while you generate 2/2's, and some of those other cards will generate threats that are also "must kills." The opponent is eventually going to leave something on the board, and if you ever start your turn with two 2/2's, in Wild you just drop Garrison Commander and win.
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This is my personal ranking of the Death Knights and their implication in the WILD format, which I expect would be significantly different from Standard from this expansion onwards. This will rank from worst to best.
9. Malfurion the Pestilent: Yeah. We all know there has to be someone that looks suck. However, at 7 mana he might be good though. You can't clear those Poisonous craps forever. A slightly better Justicar Trueheart for Druid, but Justicar was terrible in Druid anyway. However it's a control card for a class that hasn't got a control archetype, so it might serve as a cushion. Not terrible. I only put it here because it's raw power is weak, but this thing is actually scary with Innervate and Wild Growth.
8. Valeera the Hollow: This is a pseudo Ice Block for Rogue, and an Ice Block effect is pretty damn powerful as you all know. But typically the Rogue playstyle revolves around cycling cheap spells, so having a 9-mana card sitting dead in your hand is a no-no. However, the hero power creates lots and lots of value for a value-centric Rogue deck, maybe Jade Rogue or N'Zoth, the Corruptor with Gang Up and Shadowstep shannenigans. Those decks get crap over by aggro and with nearly no new anti-aggro tools, I doubt they would work except if the meta slows down incredibly. Nevertheless, a good card, a 'you win on pure value' type of card, however too expensive to play with no immediate impact. You might put this in a Mill Rogue, but why would you exclude a, say, Vanish, for this card? However, I'd like to point out the synergy this card has with a Malygos deck where you can get double burn after you get discounted from your Emperor Thaurissan trigger. Is it worth playing over another card though? I don't know.
7. Frost Lich Jaina: You got that Ice Block Jaina that never dies, now you have that Jaina that never goes below 30 HP! This card is bonkers in an Elemental deck when you already have a board, however I think it pales in comparison with other DKs. It costs too much, and when you already lost the board, there's not much you can do to gain it back. The hero power only deals 1 damage, which is extremely terrible when you don't proc a Water Elemental off it, and there isn't much Elemental synergy support for the archetype. I might be wrong though. Pyros is solid, and 100000 Pyros out of your Servant of Kalimos is extra solid. Maybe all Elemental Mage needed was just a little bit of healing.
6. Deathstalker Rexxar: He has a good battlecry, and being the second cheapest DK only helps. The hero power is a very strong one, albeit a little slow. A problem with Hunter was that they can't compete against both aggro and control, and the DK solved half of the equation! This card offers incredible value that fits in both a midrange and a control deck - you have enough firepower to win against those Reno decks now! Rexxar got a lot of support for their value game through Stitched Tracker, Abominable Bowman among others, and the DK is a boardclear in itself! However, the lack of healing is still a major issue, and if you don't draw Deathstalker Rexxar and can't clear the board, you're dead (let's be honest, Exploding Bloatbat is not that good).
5. Uther of the Ebon Blade: With a battlecry like that, it can never be a bad card! However it loses on value in the long-run against other DK cards because they will be able to easily deal with your 2/2s with their Zombeast value, Priest pings and infinite Water Elemental. At 9 mana, you can't even use HP the turn you play him, so going for the alternate win condition as a control deck is not really desirable. Not a card you equip to win the grindy matchup, but the one you use to win IMMEDIATELY while you still have board control with your incredible weapon. Another implication for it is OTK Paladin, which I deem it a bit inconsistent at the moment because you have to keep several 1-cost cards in hand (they're pretty bad on their own, and you often won't want to keep them), and you have to DRAW Uther and play him no sooner than on turn 9. However, Uther offers one of the most powerful DK battlecries that has immediate impact, so he can never be overlooked.
4. Bloodreaver Gul'dan: While it will probably be terrible in Standard as Standard demons suck, this card nukes the hell out of Wild. Mal'Ganis is one of the best finisher ever for a Demon deck, and imagine they have to kill your Mal'Ganis from a Krul the Unshackled and then have to kill it AGAIN! It might still be too costly to play this card as a 10 mana card, but remember there are a lot more stabilizing tools in Wild, and the addition of Defile and the very exciting Despicable Dreadlord, a Krul Renolock might actually shines. I'd see this card be played in Demonlock as a finisher, but you risk bringing back your crappy 1/1s. However, the interaction with Lord Jaraxxus might dampens the card, because it might get awkward to play this and replace your powerful Inferno hero power.
3. Scourgelord Garrosh: This one is made for Patron Warrior! Seriously, Patron Warrior might become one of the tier 1 decks next expansion since it got a crazy lot of support. It already did relatively well against aggro, now it is more consistent than ever with Rotface, Blood Razor and Val'kyr Soulclaimer! It might seem like you're like that dumbass Dude Paladin, never runs out of threats! It might work in Control Warrior as well since the free board clear is amazing, but I don't know about losing Tank Up! though. Same with Anduin, this card suffers from limited implications, but I might be wrong. It's packs a lot of potential. The only reason this card is above Gul'dan is because it costs 8 while Gul'dan costs 10.
2. Shadowreaper Anduin: He's only going to be good in one deck, but man he's gonna be so good in it. He's basically almost infinite value packed in one card, and incredible with Raza the Chained and the Inspire package. I got Legend several time with Inspire Reno Priest already, no doubt it's already powerful in Wild, but this might as well takes it up there with Token Druid and stuffs. At 8 mana, you can use you Hero Power, even multiple times if you already got discounted, which makes it very scary as you can ping the hell out of them for board control while getting incredible value out of your Nexus-Champion Saraad and stuffs. Not to mention the battlecry annihilates Jade Druid, especially when they're running out of resources. However, the card lacks versatility, that's why I put it down here.
1. Thrall, Deathseer: Many people overlooked this card because it isn't as flashy as other DKs, but don't forget it's 5 mana! The cheapest DK for an incredible effect, how good is that?!? Many other DKs suffer from the problem that the deck usually revolves around drawing it (see Uther and Rexxar), but this card is only a complement to the Evolve playstyle. It massively adds to the consistency of Evolve decks (and no more dumb Doomsayer when you can just evolve it with your Hero Power!!!). When you see a Thrall playing this on curve after a turn 4 Saronite Chain Gang, you know that there's little you can do to recover from it. Of course, you need a board to snowball the game, but let's face it, if Thrall doesn't have a board, you better be a healing Thrall or you're a dead Thrall. This DK is bonkers, and trust my word for it.
What's your opinion? Comment below!
RenoJackson#11673
RenoJackson#11673
I completely agree, i believe Thrall and Anduin will devastate the Wild.
Can you explain how the deck works?
RenoJackson#11673
What will be interesting to me about Thrall is that once the DK is played, they lose their token generating hero power. I'm worried that after the initial battlecry he actually might lose steam.
I haven't played evolve shaman so I may be very wrong here. Just seems like a mid range deck which won't last long into the game, where control really has some fantastic cards to deal with mid range decks
Yeah but the idea is that you should win immediately after you evolve. It obviously going to lose steam pass a certain point, but you'll have to do A LOT to get him there.
RenoJackson#11673
Looks good, but you need to test this first. I'm not sure if it will loop
RenoJackson#11673
RenoJackson#11673
Based on deck archetypes:
Warrior 5/5 (Brings back Patron)
Warlock 5/5 (The best)
Paladin 1/5 (None of the current wild decks need this, too slow for them)
Hunter 1/5 (Doesn't fit in anywhere)
Shaman 1/5 (Doesn't fit in aggro shaman, hero power cripples you in control)
Priest 3/5 (Maybe, N'zoth seems better as win condition)
Mage 5/5 (Will immortalise in slow metas)
Druid 1/5 (Druid isn't too strong in wild)
Rogue 2/5 (Maybe some crazy combo)
Speaking of Death Knights in wild, does anyone know the interaction between Garrison Commander and Shadowreaper Anduin? When your hero power is "refreshed" will you get two uses or just the one?
I bet ya Inspire Priest will be better, I'm one of its biggest advocates so I might be biased though
RenoJackson#11673
For the Wild meta?
9) Shaman - Evolve shaman is gimmicky. It's a token deck that relies on Evolve to help the tokens stick. Replacing your token-generating HP would be a mistake. Lots of healing/AoE/taunts in wild makes token/evolve shaman a bit worse than it might be in standard. Maybe this DK fits into a midrange deck, but evolving your own minions destroys any kind of synergy that you try to build around.
8) Hunter - I don't think control hunter will ever be a thing... but the zombeast HP is pretty cool. Just won't make this class viable.
7) Druid - Once again, this is a control-type card for a class that doesn't have a control archetype. I'd gladly be proven wrong on this, though... I hope a DK druid deck becomes more popular than Jades. It would be infinitely more fun to play against.
6) Rogue - The HP is cool, but just like the Druid and Hunter, it's a control card for a class that lacks a control archetype. Once again, I'd gladly be proven wrong on this.
5) Warrior - Now Blizzard is pushing enrage warrior? This card doesn't fit into control warrior (why would you give up armor for whirlwind?) and doesn't fit into aggro warrior. So enrage warrior new meta? Probably not in wild...
4) Warlock - Pretty good DK with an awesome HP. Could make a demonlock viable. Have a zoo-like opener, and if you run out of steam in the late-game, just slam down the DK and start healing back up behind your giant board of minions. This card would have to contend with the OG hero card Jaraxxus, though. Tough call.
3) Paladin - Control Paladin has always ALMOST been a thing... and I think this card could tip the scales. Awesome weapon, interesting hero power (which is a strict upgrade from the "dudes"), and some new supporting cards in the set. I think this will be good.
2) Mage - I might be biased on this one, since reno mage is my most played deck... but I think this card will be comparable to Jaraxxus in renolock. You can manipulate the board pretty easily to get value out of your ping, and the lifesteal will add to the many ways that mage already has to survive late enough into the game to justify this card. I can think of lots of ways to make this card work, and I'm eager to try it out in my reno deck.
1) Priest - The ultimate control card. Holy shit, this card is bonkers. This will make for some really interesting long games.
It's a 'You win the game' trigger with a hard condition except when you build your deck specifically around it. Very few decks built around only one card has achieved success before because of great inconsistency, and if you let them spam 4 2/2s uninterrupted, you might as well have lost the game. While the effect is strong, it's not why the Paladin DK is strong.
RenoJackson#11673
I might have misjudged the Druid hero. If ramped out using Innervate and Wild Growth, this might actually be pretty powerful. Probably why they don't make it at the same power level as other DKs
RenoJackson#11673
As far as wild is conernced, I think the Priest Death Knight is going to have the most impact, because all of the other Death Knights either don't have a home (like Rexxar) are too binary (like Thrall) are affected by weapon removal (like Uther) are dragged down by the class itself (like Valeera) or overlap with better cards and strategies (like Garrosh and Guldan). I mean, Quest Warrior is just going to be better than anything the Warrior Deathknight can do, it's practically a lose condition because after you Flame Strike their board, they Acidic Swamp Ooze you and then you can't gain Armor to go into fatigue anymore where the Quest Warrior Hero Power would've continued to give you value and Control Warrior has Justicaar Trueheart to give you 2xArmor. I don't know if Guldan can replace both N'zoth and Jaraxus, I suppose it's possible as new Demons are released but it's not going to work as is even if you have Mal'Ganis and company because it's only 7 health to remove before you can go face and the rest of the Demons don't really have an impact on the board or a side effect vs removal.
This would be an upgrade on the Leeroy combo, and the cards separately are less dead cards as well. Great combo
RenoJackson#11673
"Why, you never expected justice from a company, did you? They have neither a soul to lose nor a body to kick." -- Lady Saba Holland