So, the whole set is out now, and I've been thinking about what cards might be good, what cards might be bad, and so on. Figured I'd share some thoughts with you guys on how I see some of the tools we're getting.
Kingsbane: I think if nothing else, this may make Pirate Rogue a thing. Part of what separates Rogue from Pirate Warrior is Arcanite Reaper being a powerful face tool that can be used repeatedly, and Kingsbane solely with two Deadly Poisons is a 1 mana Reaper with one extra charge. Cavern Shinyfinder even digs into your deck to find your 5/3 weapon for 1, and that's not even including any pirate based weapon buffs that'll further take it up (Buccaneer for a 6/3 for 1) or Tinker's Sharpsword Oil taking it to a ridiculously hard hitting weapon.
And we don't know how this will interact with Rummaging Kobold, so that might be a thing to worry about as well; if it copies the weapon wholescale, you have three chances of drawing that upwards of 9/3 weapon for 1.
Call to Arms: We're starting to see the formation of a Death and Taxes list in Wild. For those of you who don't know, D&T is where you apply mana Taxes to the opponent while killing them with small minions that are buffed. Pulling out a Mana Wraith with a Dirty Rat + another minion not only sets you up to have a couple of great Blessing of Kings targets, but you've just messed up their turn 4 (with coin if your second) by taxing their curve behind 6 health of taunt. I don't think we're there yet, but the shell is there.
And if Nerubian Unraveler and Doomed Apprentice are any indication, we haven't seen the last of Tax effects. All we really need is a Deathrattle and a Spell version (that's cheaper/in the class), and this could easily be the "police deck" of the format.
Arcane Tyrant: I'm 90% certain that this card is over rated. While it does work very well with cards like Ultimate Infestation, DOOM!, and Nourish, it won't work anywhere near as well as people say it will with cards like Cabalyst's Tome or Flamestrike; you have to have both in your hand at the same time which won't happen as much as we'd all like. This is really only convenient enough when you have the draw to help ensure that you can drop it when you also have those spells in hand, when it's convenient to actually have both.
I imagine this will see play in a deck like Handlock, where you can DOOM! a board of 5-6 guys, draw cards, and play this to keep the board clear, but I think Druid has better things it could be doing (though won't be surprised to see this in there). Even without DOOM!, Warlock has the draw to ensure you can use this after Twisting Nether. Hooked Reaver is definitely helping out that archetype, so we might see more of it anyway.
Lesser Emerald Spellstone: Calling it now, best Spellstone. A lot of people are seeing this and saying "Well, the opponent plays Duskbreaker the turn after, so it's garbage". I see this and say "After my opponent Duskbreakers, I play this and get a full board again." Anyone whose played Bloodlust/Evolve shaman knows that you have to keep that board filled in order to apply pressure, and you have to hope that they run out of clears before you run out of minions. This card allows you to use one card to completely fill the board again. The fact that it's so easy to upgrade as well, causing it to slot into a Secret Midrange Hunter list with Eaglehorn Bow and Cloaked Huntress, is why I think this is the best spellstone.
Grumble, Worldshaker: This post is going on long enough, so I'll keep this one quick; I think Grumble is actually really close to allowing a Battlecry Shaman value based deck to work. Most Battlecry minions like Azure Drake, Antique Healbot, Bomb Lobber and such pay for their powerful battlecries by having sub par stats, and with Prince Keleseth and even The Mistcaller allowing those weaknesses to be shored up you could start seeing some truly ridiculous value plays with the likes of Brann Bronzebeard and Murmuring Elemental (if you cut the Prince. Might be valuable, since ME into Bomb Lobber most likely kills two things).
Mind you, it would require that the insane combo decks be turned down so that you COULD actually rely on just out valuing your opponent. Shuffling 6 Candles into the opponents deck with The Darkness might do it, but I dunno about that one tbh.
Well, those are some initial thoughts as to where we could be heading, would love to hear your thoughts as well.
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So, the whole set is out now, and I've been thinking about what cards might be good, what cards might be bad, and so on. Figured I'd share some thoughts with you guys on how I see some of the tools we're getting.
Kingsbane: I think if nothing else, this may make Pirate Rogue a thing. Part of what separates Rogue from Pirate Warrior is Arcanite Reaper being a powerful face tool that can be used repeatedly, and Kingsbane solely with two Deadly Poisons is a 1 mana Reaper with one extra charge. Cavern Shinyfinder even digs into your deck to find your 5/3 weapon for 1, and that's not even including any pirate based weapon buffs that'll further take it up (Buccaneer for a 6/3 for 1) or Tinker's Sharpsword Oil taking it to a ridiculously hard hitting weapon.
And we don't know how this will interact with Rummaging Kobold, so that might be a thing to worry about as well; if it copies the weapon wholescale, you have three chances of drawing that upwards of 9/3 weapon for 1.
Call to Arms: We're starting to see the formation of a Death and Taxes list in Wild. For those of you who don't know, D&T is where you apply mana Taxes to the opponent while killing them with small minions that are buffed. Pulling out a Mana Wraith with a Dirty Rat + another minion not only sets you up to have a couple of great Blessing of Kings targets, but you've just messed up their turn 4 (with coin if your second) by taxing their curve behind 6 health of taunt. I don't think we're there yet, but the shell is there.
And if Nerubian Unraveler and Doomed Apprentice are any indication, we haven't seen the last of Tax effects. All we really need is a Deathrattle and a Spell version (that's cheaper/in the class), and this could easily be the "police deck" of the format.
Arcane Tyrant: I'm 90% certain that this card is over rated. While it does work very well with cards like Ultimate Infestation, DOOM!, and Nourish, it won't work anywhere near as well as people say it will with cards like Cabalyst's Tome or Flamestrike; you have to have both in your hand at the same time which won't happen as much as we'd all like. This is really only convenient enough when you have the draw to help ensure that you can drop it when you also have those spells in hand, when it's convenient to actually have both.
I imagine this will see play in a deck like Handlock, where you can DOOM! a board of 5-6 guys, draw cards, and play this to keep the board clear, but I think Druid has better things it could be doing (though won't be surprised to see this in there). Even without DOOM!, Warlock has the draw to ensure you can use this after Twisting Nether. Hooked Reaver is definitely helping out that archetype, so we might see more of it anyway.
Lesser Emerald Spellstone: Calling it now, best Spellstone. A lot of people are seeing this and saying "Well, the opponent plays Duskbreaker the turn after, so it's garbage". I see this and say "After my opponent Duskbreakers, I play this and get a full board again." Anyone whose played Bloodlust/Evolve shaman knows that you have to keep that board filled in order to apply pressure, and you have to hope that they run out of clears before you run out of minions. This card allows you to use one card to completely fill the board again. The fact that it's so easy to upgrade as well, causing it to slot into a Secret Midrange Hunter list with Eaglehorn Bow and Cloaked Huntress, is why I think this is the best spellstone.
Grumble, Worldshaker: This post is going on long enough, so I'll keep this one quick; I think Grumble is actually really close to allowing a Battlecry Shaman value based deck to work. Most Battlecry minions like Azure Drake, Antique Healbot, Bomb Lobber and such pay for their powerful battlecries by having sub par stats, and with Prince Keleseth and even The Mistcaller allowing those weaknesses to be shored up you could start seeing some truly ridiculous value plays with the likes of Brann Bronzebeard and Murmuring Elemental (if you cut the Prince. Might be valuable, since ME into Bomb Lobber most likely kills two things).
Mind you, it would require that the insane combo decks be turned down so that you COULD actually rely on just out valuing your opponent. Shuffling 6 Candles into the opponents deck with The Darkness might do it, but I dunno about that one tbh.
Well, those are some initial thoughts as to where we could be heading, would love to hear your thoughts as well.