Hearthpwn

John Pageturner’s Kobolds and Catacombs Predictions

Hey, Hearthstone community! I'd really appreciate if you took a look at this list I have been working on. This is a list of what I think will be the most impactful cards  in the new META. Friendly feedback is always welcome and I hope you enjoy it. Please, read the rating system before taking a look. Thank you!

NOTE: I'M WELL AWARE THAT I CAN BE WRONG. THIS IS JUST MY FRIENDLY OPINION. READ THE RATING SYSTEM FIRST.

Rating System: Ratings will be based off of how often or how impactful the card will be in the next standard META. This means the next four months, or so. It will be based off of that merit and that merit only. The first couple of weeks were everybody is testing everything doesn't count.

One Star – This card won’t see any play because it is either too weak, fringe, or unfitting in the META.

Two Stars – This card will probably not see play except for bottom barrel tier decks and/or fringe applications such as a tech option. Overall, it still may not be a good card and will see minimal play such as a two week stint. It can also be a card that was thrown into a pre-existing deck that makes a very minor impact. Meme decks do not count, i.e. Hemet Jungle Hunter Paladin. (Rarely Tier-3, Bottom Tier)

Three Stars – This card has the potential to rarely be in some decks and/or be a small staple in a META deck. (Rarely Tier-2, Tier-3, maybe Bottom-Tier).

Four Stars – This card will be seen across many decks and/or will be a significant staple in a META deck. (Rarely Tier-1, Tier-2, maybe Tier-3).

Five Stars – This card is so good, it warrants deck manipulation around it and/or is powerful enough to be in one or a wide variety of viable decks. (Tier-1, maybe Tier-2)

 

 

Shaman Cards:

Grumble, Worldshaker – Three Stars - While I fully understand the sheer power of using over 10-manas worth of Battlecries in one turn, I don't think this is going to be used for some insane wombo-combo. Having a board to pull something off like that is just not feasible. However, it's obviously an excellent card to gain a huge tempo swing by re-playing all of the Battlecries you played, but cheaper and much faster. Blazecaller and Stone Sentinel come to mind. My point: A deck won't be built around this, but it will definitely have its purpose in SOME deck in the new META. It will most likely be a Mid-Range or Token deck. Keep in mind that you only really need to bounce 1 or 2 cards for value. Having all of this said, a few META-breakers want to use this card to set up the Windshear Stormcaller combo. This is very impractical.

The Runespear – One Star – Too random, too expensive, too unfitting for its class. Shaman has a lot of targeted spells and this can Overload you as well. You can’t rely on it to work in your favor.

Unstable Evolution – Five Stars – An incredible add to just about any Shaman deck. Evolve Shaman is a tier-2 deck and this card just might make it even more competitive. Will this be the card to push it into the top-tier? I’m gonna say no. It’s an incredible card nonetheless. Now you don’t have to worry so much about bad evolves. You can cycle out the bad ones with this card until you’re satisfied with your board. Although I don’t see top-tier potential, this gets five stars for having the ability to be in almost every Shaman deck there is.

Windshear Stormcaller – One Star – As cool as this would be, it’s not practical. Primal Talismans, Kobold Hermit, and Wicked Witchdoctor do not make this any more viable. I can’t remember the last time I’ve played against a Shaman that had more than three Totems out at once. Even if you could pull this off, it’s not enough to be a win condition. You can’t spend all game trying to pull something off that ISN’T a win condition.

Primal Talismans – One Star – Too random. You’re dream of summoning Al’Akir the Windlord won’t happen in a competitive manner. If you cast this on four minions, the chance of having all four basic totems summoned has a 1 out of 256 chance of happening. Having more than four minions out on the field means you’re already have a decent tempo going. If you’re looking to get more value out of your dying cards, just play Spirit Echo instead.

Lesser Sapphire Spellstone – One Star – Too slow and expensive. There are plenty of cards that duplicate your minions like Faceless Manipulator and Faceless Shambler. Obviously, you get more value overtime but overloading yourself isn’t worth sacrificing your tempo.

Murmuring Elemental – Five Stars – While I don’t see this making this into any deck with Windshear Stormcaller, this makes a great addition to Evolve Shaman and Mid-Range Shaman. Just about any Shaman would want to pick this up. The possibilities with Dopplegangster and Big-Time Racketeer can be devastating. Five stars for having the flexibility to be in multiple decks.

Kobold Hermit – One Star – A lot of people are trying to convince me that this is good by saying that it's better than the Hero Power. Yes, this is true. Just like Kobold Librarian, you’re getting more value out of this card than you normally would from your Hero Power. However, I would reserve a spot in my deck for Kobold Librarian than I would for this card any day. Not only that, but Shaman’s Hero Power is purely situational as opposed to other classes where it’s necessary to synergize with the deck. One could argue that you can make a deck where the totems matter. Totem Shaman was a thing, right? Yes, but… the whole Windshear Stormcaller deck is WAY to fringe and won’t bring Totem Shaman back into Standard. This card is too understated and offers a mediocre effect. Maybe one day, but not today.

Crushing Hand – One Star – Outside of Overload Shaman, which was never nor will be a thing, I think this is too slow. This is basically Flame Lance which is only good in arena. Shaman has other ways to remove minions.

Healing Rain – Two Stars  – Albeit, a cool and valuable card, but I don’t see a fit. The only deck I can see this run in is an Evolve deck, but normally you would just use Evolve to “heal” your board anyways. This could be a very rarely seen tech card which is why I’m generously giving it an extra star. I hope I’m wrong about this card because I really like it.

Priest Cards:

Temporus – One Star – The very definition of high-risk-high-reward. Out of all the cards that have been released, this one has the most mixed reviews. Some people think it’s completely broken, some think it’s an 8-mana lose the game, others think it’s for the memes. I’m going to join the side of it being not fitting for the upcoming META. As of right now, all of the viable options to survive two turns from your opponent seem unlikely. Doomsayers, Taunts, and even Duskbreakers aren’t going to be enough to make sure that you still have enough health to pull off some wild Malygos-Velen combo. Not only do you have to draw like a God but you also need to have a board established and hope that your opponent can’t burst you down with more than double the amount of mana they would originally have had. If you can survive this, you probably didn’t need the second turn to begin with. This will have some of the best highlights in the game and I’m sure a Hearthstone pro will somehow find a way to squeeze this into his deck in a tournament. Despite all that, I do not see this card making or breaking any deck and thus, gets only one star.

Dragon Soul – Four Stars – Dragon Priest has the tools to become a monster in Standard. The ladder will tremble before its might. So, why does this card get Four Stars? Dragon Priest will certainly have a lot of variants and I think this will be one of the few cards that doesn’t see play in all of them. This class has quite a few solid cards for the three-drop slot and will be outclassed in some decks, but definitely not all of them. This is still an excellent way to get value off of spells that don’t have an immediate impact on the board like Mind Vision.

Twilight Acolyte – Five Stars – If Dragon Priest becomes a tier-1 deck, which I believe it will, this card will certainly be run. It acts as a soft removal that makes their 5/5 a 2/5. This is an excellent follow up with Shadow Word: Pain. This also has the power to work with Cabal Shadow Priest if your opponent has something useful to take like The Lich King. Finally, it curves well with Duskbreaker. Overall, it’s a solid card that will fit right into the Dragon archetype.

Psychic Scream – Five Stars – Although it doesn’t say it in the text, this card essentially silences everything on the board and then clears it. The “downside” is that everything gets shuffled back in the opponent’s deck, regardless of the side of the field they were on. However, this will almost never be a downside because they can draw bad cards such as totems, SHR’s, and early game drops in the late game. This can cause dead draws and makes your opponent to do nothing for an entire turn. Razakus and Highlander Priest will certainly pick this up in some varieties of the deck as well as the foreseeable Dragon Priest in the near future.

Duskbreaker – Five Stars – This is the best way to close the gap between turn one and using Dragonfire Potion on turn 6. This will fit incredibly well into a control-like Dragon Priest. It’s a one-mana discount on Excavated Evil without the downsides. In addition to that, you get a 3/3 that procs other Dragon effects. The curve of playing this and then a Drakonid Operative will be a force to be reckoned with.

Twilight's Call – One Star – This will not bring Quest Priest into viability, nor will it be used in Big Priest. Quest Priest doesn’t have enough solid Deathrattle cards to become powerful enough. Resummoning them as 1/1’s is not going to be  what they need for the quest to be a driving force. Sure, it makes the Quest easier to complete, but without some kind of follow up, it’s not going to work. Big Priest will not use this because this card summons two copies of two DIFFERENT minions. Obsidian Statue is the only Deathrattle minion in Big Priest which makes this card a 3-mana summon a 1/1 Obsidian Statue. You can argue that it would still be pretty good under those circumstances but I think Big Priest has plenty of other things that would outclass this card.

Lesser Diamond Spellstone – Four Stars – Dragon/Control Priest isn’t going to find much of use for this card because it’s rather difficult to cast that many spells. However, this will easily bump Big Priest up a tier. It’s almost like this card was made for it. Big Priest consists of mostly spells and the value you get from the greater version is enough to make your opponent concede.

Unidentified Elixir – One Star – This card will not be viable at three mana. The effects aren’t worth it. This doesn’t make the cut at such a high cost. On top of that, it’s too RNG based. Not every option is viable and some are too situational.

Psionic Probe – Three Stars – I think this card will replace Mind Vision in any deck that runs it. It offers a wider range of cards to grab and limits it to spells. More often than not, your opponent it going to be running some good spells. Three stars because it won’t be super competitive, but I can see it being run in quite a few bottom tier Priest decks as well as some versions of Big Priest.

Gilded Gargoyle – One Star – The difference between this and Tomb Pillager is that Tomb Pillager was aggressively stated. If you count the coin you got from it, it was basically a 3 mana 5/4. If you count the coin in this case, it’s just a 2 mana 2/2. Not that great. Priest has something much better in Kabal Talonpriest and Twilight Acolyte on turn three.

Warlock Cards:

Rin, the First Disciple – One Star – By the time you’re finished using this effect, the battlecry will only destroy around 5 cards. Could that extra fatigue damage be worth it? Probably not. This is if your opponent hasn’t even won already. Bottom line: it is way too slow. Sure, it’ll be fun to try with Bloodbloom, Arcane Tyrant, and Cho’Gall, but will ultimately fail.

Skull of the Man'ari – One Star – The only viable Demons that I can imagine you want to summon from your hand would be Doomguard and Voidlord. Those are just two cards and the rest of the Demons that Warlock runs such as Lord Jaraxxus, Abyssal Enforcer, and Krul the Unshackled all have valuable Battlecries that you don’t want to sacrifice for stats. Not to mention that this effect happens at the start of your turn which means that this weapon could be gone by the time it’s your turn again if anti-weapon tech cards are used.

Voidlord – Four Stars – Although I don’t think that this card alone will make Warlock great again, it will definitely see play because of all the new options that Warlock has gotten out of KaC. Reviving this with the DK is a force to be reckoned with. In addition to that, this will almost certainly be a part of a Reno deck. The four stars come from the fact that I don’t think it will be in every deck, but will certainly find its way into some Control Warlock decks. Not to mention it’s a great target for both Carnivorous Cube and Master Oakheart.

Cataclysm – One Star – I’m scared to rate this card so low because this card alone can define a META. However, I don’t like to hedge. Just because this curves perfectly into the Warlock Quest doesn’t mean it’s going to see play. A lot of people argue that having two 3/2’s a turn as per the Warlock Quest is enough of a board to stay alive until you get a hand. I don’t think that’s true. Even if there’s an incredible card that you can draw after playing this that just might save you the game, you can’t just hope that you top deck it out of a deck full of cards. As for general use, stick to Twisting Nether, Bane of Doom, Drain Soul, and their new Spellstone. Warlock has plenty of other removals.

Possessed Lackey – One Star – There a quite a few things that hinder this card from doing just about anything. 5 mana 2/2 is the obvious one. This card is excessively understated and even with the effect going off, it’s a bit of a tempo loss because you’re essentially giving your opponent another turn to counter-play. Similarly to the new legendary weapon that Warlock has gotten, this card it’s only good if you get an awesome Deathrattle or some lingering effect. There are a lot of Demons with Battlecries that you don’t want to waste. The RNG of this card does not make up for the stats.

Lesser Amethyst Spellstone – Three Stars – Upgrading this is too easy with the new low mana minions that Warlock gets this expansion. However, I don’t see this in Zoolock and I only see varieties of Control Warlock picking this up. My reasoning being the fact that Warlock has plenty of removal spells. Still, there will be multiple versions of Control Warlock and one of them is bound to pick this up.

Hooked Reaver – Five Stars – Warlock is back with a vengeance and this is the piece of resistance for both Zoolock and Control Warlock. Need I even say anything? This is a 4 mana 7/7 with Taunt. In a class that has been given so many tools to deal damage to itself AND re-heal, Warlock is going to be a tier-one monster.

 Vulgar Homunculus – Five Stars – I’m giving into the hype. This card, along with many other Warlock cards that have been revealed, is going to bring Control Warlock and any other Warlock that runs the DK into tier-2, maybe even tier-1 playability. No Zoolock will ever sacrifice Keleseth to run this, but that doesn’t mean this card isn’t insane. No longer is Voidwalker the ultimate early game Taunt for Warlock.

Kobold Librarian – Five Stars – An instant two-of in Zoolock. With the help of other cards in this set, Zoolock will certainly rise in the ranks and make it to, at the very least, a tier-2 deck. Not only Zoolock but just about any Warlock deck that wants 3-mana packaged into a one 1-mana bundle will pick this up. Perhaps a Demon/Reno Deck might spawn because of all the newfound Demons this expansion.

Dark Pact – Two Stars – A potential one-of in a Reno Deck that won’t be too competitive. Not only that, but it’s obviously a good activator for egg cards. I think this will see play, but very minimal play before people realize it’s a little too situational.

Paladin Cards:

 Lynessa Sunsorrow – Three Stars – This card just might be crazy enough to work. It’s way to strenuous for it to be in Quest Paladin, but an existing Mid-Range or Control deck might pick this up. After all, one Spikeridged Stead on this is still fairly valuable. People seem to be too worried about this card getting silenced. While this may be a big loss in tempo, this also means that they didn’t silence your earlier Spikeridged Steed or your Tirion Fordring. It won’t be in EVERY Paladin deck, but I definitely see it making appearances every now and again.

Val'anyr – Four Stars – I see great potential in this card. Control Paladin was once a great deck and it can be again. While it is a tad slow, I don’t see it being so slow that it can’t catch up to the META that we are about to enter. Getting this on minions such as Doppelgangster and Saronite Chain Gang will multiply the effect and result in devastating stats for your opponent to deal with. Even with the buff on just one card, it’s still valuable. Some people are afraid of silences and transforms to be a hindrance. That’s what Rummaging Kobold is for. That being said, if the effect was wasted from a silence, that means you get more value out of your Spikedridged Steed and Lynessa Sunsorrow. I foresee a solid tier-2 Control deck for this card.

Call to Arms – Two Stars –Paladins have a lot of buffs and this kind of makes them easier to administer but I don’t see that happening as a deck archetype. I also don’t see this being thrown into Mid-Range, Control, or Aggro Paladin. Murloc Paladin will use it, but I don’t think it will move it up the ladder much.

Level Up! – One Star – Replacing a 2/5 body (Quartermaster) with giving your SHR’s Taunt is not a balanced compensation. This will not make Drygulch Jailor good nor will it be viable with Stand Against Darkness as it is too easy to AoE. Not to mention that the combo would cost 10 mana. Without Muster For Battle in Standard, this card doesn’t stand a chance.

Unidentified Maul – Two Stars – An interesting tech choice that has a chance to be run in a few Mid-Range and Control Paladin decks. The downside is that only 3 of the 4 effects are good. The chances are high, but not 100%. Conversely, 3 of the 4 are excessively situational. When used right, it can give you a very high tempo swing but it won’t make or break anything in the upcoming META.

Crystal Lion – One Star – Cool card, but not enough support to be in Standard competitively. Spells that use SHR’s aren’t going to be enough. Sure, you can play this card by itself. It isn’t bad; it isn’t good. I feel more confident in a Control Paladin, though.

 Lesser Pearl Spellstone – One Star – Not worth the upgrade circumstances to pull it off. If you don’t upgrade it, it’s a Frostwolf Grunt. I also don’t see this as an option in Control Paladin because Hydrologist seems to be the best 2-mana drop for Paladins right now Even though it fits into the archetype better, I’d still pick Hydrologist.

Drygulch Jailor – One Star – SHR Paladin will not be a thing in Standard, even with Level Up. This card won’t see play in Control Paladin either because it will ultimately get outclassed by cards like Hydrologist.

Benevolent Djinn – Four Stars – This was a one star card before I decided that Paladin could have a future in Control. This is an excellent way to sustain yourself when using your weapon. It’s all-around solid card and shows potential. Sure, it works well with Lesser Pearl Spellstone, but I just see this as just a way to heal up. The spellstone will just take up a slot that a buff should have.

Potion of Heroism – Four Stars – Just what Paladin needed to top of what I believe will be a competitive deck. It’s great card draw and much better than Novice Engineer. Although, this card has the requirement of having a minion on the field, that shouldn’t be too hard for a Paladin. In addition to offering excellent control, this works well with Lynessa Sunsorrow. Casting this once will give Lynessa Divine Shield and will even draw you a card. That being said, I don’t think that this will be enough to bring Quest Paladin up to snuff. It’s still too slow and doesn’t have enough tools quite yet. I must say, though, it’s getting there.

Rouge Cards:

Sonya Shadowdancer – Two Stars – Hi, Hearthstone community, please don’t kill me. Say hello to my most controversial rating. I’m trying really hard not to buy into all of the hype that this card is getting. Sonya Shadowdancer and the new Rouge secrets will NOT bring back Quest Rouge. This is just one card in a deck of 30 and will need more support to help pull Quest Rouge out of the bottom-tier. You need a board for this to make it work. Some people are trying to convince me that on turn 8 or 9, you can just play this card and then use Patches the Pirate or a Stonetusk Boar to bounce back multiple times and then get the quest reward. There are two reasons why that isn’t viable. One, the opponent must have decent amount of stats on the board to destroy your 1/1 multiple times. While this is entirely possible, it isn’t always the case. Secondly, and this is the big one, Quest Rouge was good because people were able to play their Quest Award early when Quest Rouge was on top of the tier list. By the time you trigger the quest with Sonya, you might already be dead. If this card is to bring back Quest Rouge, it needs more support (no, I don’t think the new secrets will help. My reasoning is below). The reason why this still got a two star rating is because I believe it fits will in Keleseth Rouge and will certainly warrant a deck slot in some versions of the deck. Enhancing an already powerful deck only warrants two stars with this rating system. The potential of this being in Control Rouge or “Weapon” Rouge is slim because I believe it to be too slow. Of course I do realize a potential meme-like mill deck that may spawn, but I don’t think it will be relevant. Please, don’t kill me, Hearthstone community.

Kingsbane – Five Stars – A strong contender for Miracle Rouge. Five stars for having such great possibilities to have a deck build around it. Rouge has quite a few weapon buffs and the ability to multiply cards like Deadly Poison. What scares me the most is the fact that it gets shuffled back into your deck. If you play this card and then use your Hero Power, you can destroy this card and never fatigue because you will always draw that card. It’s arguably one of the best weapons in the set. That being said, I don’t think cards like Leeching Poison, Doomerang, and Envenom Weapon will complement this card in a standard Miracle deck. This “Weapon” Rouge is far from being a thing. Five stars for having potential to be in many decks.

Evasion – One Star – This is not Ice Block. In fact, I would argue that it’s worse than Ice Block because Ice Block can be played whenever, as opposed to this card that requires a set circumstance for it to be played. Likewise, you will take damage from the first triggering attack. Sure, this works well with Sudden Betrayal, but you need to have some kind of follow up. These secrets don’t warrant any inclusion. Keleseth Rouge doesn’t have much of a use for it and Miracle Rouge would have to sacrifice Sap and Eviscerate. I think that too many spells of the same cost is overkill. One could argue that an entirely new deck can be formed, but I tried theory crafting it with the Rouge secrets and came up with nothing.

Fal'dorei Strider – Three Stars – While I don’t see this taking the spot of Saronite Chain Gang in Tempo Rouge, this just might have some place in the slot of Prince Valanar in Miracle Rouge. This is a cheaper (in terms of dust) way to fill that four-drop spot. That being said, this card won’t be in EVERY Miracle Rouge deck. I have the feeling that some people are going to stick to most of their OG four drops. Still, Miracle Rouge is looking promising this META and this will be an inclusion in quite a few. Three stars for having on-and-off play in solid Rouge decks.

Elven Minstrel – Five Stars -  Just an all-around good card for just about any Rouge Deck. I’m sure Keleseth, Miracle, and Tempo will pick this card up. As good as this card is, I don’t think that it will have the impact of making bottom-tier Rouge decks more powerful. Still, the power of drawing two Vilespine Slayers or Coldlight Oracles is insane. It still gets five stars for making it across many decks.

Lesser Onyx Spellstone – One Star – Deathrattle Rouge doesn’t have the components to become a deck quite yet. Kingsbane could be useful for this, but Rouge doesn’t really need an RNG removal when they have so many targeted spells. Vilespine Slayer still going strong and I would just stick to that instead.

Kobold Illusionist – One Star - I think it's too unreliable with its effect being a Deathrattle. In addition to that, Shadowcaster still exists in Standard. That seems like a more flexible and efficient way to summon a 1/1. Granted, Shadowcaster requires you to have the card in play, but that still seems more efficient that having it your hand and HOPE that Kobold Illusionist procs the card you want. It has about the same consistency as the discard effect (obviously with significantly less downsides but still). Too slow, too under-stated, too risky.

Cheat Death – One Star – The way I see it, there is only one positive to this card. This newly-found secret has the potential of getting FULL value out of a minion when it dies as opposed to prematurely bouncing it back into your hand with Shadowstep. This is understandable. Unfortunately, there are multiple downsides that outweigh this positive. The obvious one is that it costs two-mana. Not only does it cost 2 more mana than Shadowstep, it completely works against Prince Keleseth. Also, there’s only a total of three Rouge Secrets as opposed to Mage, Hunter, and Paladin which have 10, 10, and 5 in Standard respectively. Many of these secrets are viable. If there’s a case where this is the only secret that’s run in the deck, it won’t be much of a secret and will be easy to counter. Finally, there are only two SUPER valuable cards that you would want this card to target in a common Rouge deck: Vilespine Slayer and Gadgetzan Auctioneer. Sure, there are plenty of other cards but with your opponent being able to counter it so easily, you won’t get much value out of it.

Sudden Betrayal – One Star – People can play around Misdirection and the same goes for this card. I understand that this complements Evasion well, but I don’t see a deck that would run this. All of the secrets work against Prince Keleseth and they seem redundant.

Cavern Shinyfinder – Four Stars - I don’t see a world where a 2 mana 3/1 drawing you a card is a bad thing. This is basically Loot Hoarder but much quicker and specific. I see Control Rouge being a middle-tier deck that sees a lot of play because of how much fun playing it could be. This gets four instead of five (like Kingsbane did) because I foresee this in one deck and one deck only.

Hunter Cards:

Kathrena Winterwisp – Two Stars – This is one of those cards where it’s value is incredible but gets a low rating because of the fact that it might not see too much play. It’s very possible that it just barley makes it into the tier-3 category by being in a midrange deck that runs a Charged Devilsaur or King Krush. It’s very unlikely, but I’d like to hold out some hope because this is by far the best Hunter Legendary yet. Hunter has the tools to pull it off with this expansion and I hope they can rise in ranks. Especially since Mid-Range Hunter has made a surprise arrival, Hunter just might be ready to pounce!

Rhok'delar – One Star – While reloading your hand is an incredible reward, it’s attached to a new archetype that goes against everything Hunter stands for. It just simply won’t work and it probably won’t work in the next expansions either. Not to mention the God awful stats. I feel bad for you Hunter mains, I really do.

Crushing Walls – One Star – I love cards like this because it implements strategic placement in the game. Unfortunately, it’s too expensive for such a fringe removal. Even if there’s a chance for this card to come alive, it can be countered easily.

To My Side! – One Star – This is horrendous. Even if you pull off the requirement to gain full value, and that’s very hard to do in a minion intensive class, it’s still not worth the effort. The worst card of the set by far.

Lesser Emerald Spellstone – One Star – This is an excellent card and I’m fully aware of the fact that the baseline of this card is valuable enough. Not only that, but it’s super easy to upgrade. That being said, a very simple AoE spell can make all of your efforts futile. Hunter doesn’t have enough card draw to make this and Tundra Rhino a consistent combo. In a Mid-Range Hunter, I don’t see this taking the place of Bittertide Hyrda. I really want to rate this card higher, because it’s really easy to get a lot of value, but it’s just not enough to fight what the META is and what it will be.

Seeping Oozeling – One Star – While I see the great power in copying Deathrattles from cards such as Rat Pack, Kindly Grandmother, and Kathrena Winterwisp, you don’t want this card to have inconsistent Deathrattles. Its stats don’t make up for the RNG. This card needs to be molded around so you have something consistent each time you play it and I don’t see that happening with Savannah Highmane being much better in the 6-mana slot. More 6-mana cards in one deck would be too clunky.

Wandering Monster – One Star – Hunter doesn’t care too much about damage mitigation. There’s a decent chance you won’t get a good 3-cost minion like King Mukla. It’s a fair card but won’t see play in this META.

Flanking Strike – Three Stars – Although comparable to Feeding Time, it’s in a completely different class which makes it much different. It’s decent removal that gives you some aggression. There is a Mid-Range Hunter that is picking up a lot of traction right now. I see this squeezing itself in there somewhere. Plus, it’s a Beast. That’s always a plus for Hunter. It has a bright future.

Cave Hydra – One Star – If you don’t get any attacks off with it, it’s a 3 mana 2/4. I see the potential of running this with Houndmaster, but I think that it’s a little too slow.

Candleshot – One Star – This is actually a great card and a very effective ping for Hunter. However, I just don’t see a deck that would run this as of right now. Sure, this has some synergy with Hunters Mark, but Hunter isn’t in a position to be relying on a two card combo. It has a place, but I don’t think it will be the upcoming META.

Mage Cards:

Dragoncaller Alanna – One Star – This seems like a “win-more” card to me. It rewards you for already having a tempo lead by having the ability to cast all of those high-cost spells. While I know that this isn’t the case 100% of the time, I still don’t believe that filling the board with minions that don’t have an immediate impact is going to be much of use for Mage this expansion. At nine mana, it seems clunky. If Big Mage takes off, I still don’t think you would run this card. With two spells cast, this is a 9 mana 13/13 which isn’t phenomenal. Not bad at all, but not enough.

Aluneth – One Star – Your Exodia Mage dreams aren’t going to come true. This card will fatigue you, mill your deck, and not even allow you to make any combos immediately because the effect happens AFTER your turn. Mage already has a lot of card draw. This card is overkill.

Dragon's Fury – Two Stars – This Mage deck with all of the big spells seems a little niche to me. I can see a couple of Tempo Mages picking this up. A lot of 3-mana secrets in your deck means that Mage gets an Excavated Evil without the downside. With a 5-mana spell, they get a discounted Dragonfire Potion. It’s an interesting tech choice if the deck warrants it.

Deck of Wonders – One Star - It’s essentially five mana do nothing. After that, you have to hope that the spells you randomly get are both worth what you spent and aren’t coming for your face. Casino Mage or Big Mage won’t be viable, but I look forward to seeing some at rank 25.

Lesser Ruby Spellstone – Four Stars – Both Quest and Elemental Mage are existing they aren’t quite competitive enough. A cheaper method of filling your hand with spells is just what it needs to be bumped up into a tier-2 deck. Not to mention the fact that it’s very easy to upgrade. This just might be what both Quest and Elemental Mage needed.  

Leyline Manipulator – Two Stars – While this card looks great on paper, I see this as another Ethereal Peddler. Both cards are aggressively stated cards that essentially decrease the cost of cards that didn’t start in your deck. Sure, Leyline Manipulator is better because it can also decrease the cost of cards you discover from Servant of Kalimos and the Flame Elemental from Firefly. However, the whole point of Quest Mage is to create infinite Fireballs Archmage Antonidas. It seems easier to just take two turns than trying to do it with this card. Two stars because it has its purpose in Elemental Mage, but not in all versions.

Explosive Runes – Three Stars – Unlike the rest of the Mage secrets, there is absolutely no way to counter this. Your opponent is going to get the full value of this card whether you like it or not. If I was rating purely on power level, this would be five stars. However, I don’t see this bringing Tempo or Secret Mage out of tier-2. Three stars for having a fairly significant impact. I feel more confident in a Quest or Elemental Mage when the new expansion drops.

Raven Familiar – One Star – Simply put, Mage has enough card draw and this is way too inconsistent to use. For all the people who are saying they’re going to use Glacial Mysteries, you’re dream won’t work because of two reasons. You need at least 5 3-mana spells in the same deck and Glacial Mysteries was never good to begin with. Similarly, running two Pyroblasts is too clunky. I also don’t have that much hope for this Big Mage deck. Just use Arcanologist instead.

Arcane Artificer – Three Stars – Another tool for Elemental-Quest Mage to be viable. Just one big spell is enough to gain significant value out of this. This plus a Fireball is incredible and it’s an Elemental which triggers the effects of other Elementals. I’m thoroughly hopeful for this deck to be viable. However, this gets three stars instead of four because I would imagine that most Elemental decks would run Firefly over this. This will be picked up every now and then but I doubt it will be a consistent choice.

Shifting Scroll – One Star – Contrary to popular thought, I don’t think this will replace Babbling Book. Here’s my reasoning. When you play Babbling Book on turn one, you get a spell that will stay in your hand and won’t shift, unlike this card. With that knowledge in mind, you can control the board in a way that suits your needs. Not only that, but it’s a 1/1. With this card, it’s consistently changing. It’s too difficult to work around and it can often be something you really don’t need. Also, I don’t believe this will work for the quest because Shifting Scroll technically started in your deck. (I could be wrong about this one). Still, I see this as nothing more than a fun gimmick card. Mage needs consistency and this is far from offering it.

Warrior Cards:

Geosculptor Yip – One Star – I’m not buying into the hype. Control Warrior doesn’t need this card and even if it was run, I highly doubt it would be a game changer. While this card may be difficult to get rid of and the value is limitless, just summoning a few minions will not be enough for Control to be viable. Just because a set releases a bunch of cards that might work well with each other, doesn’t ALWAYS mean you can just throw them together in a deck and they’ll be good. The Control tools that Warrior has been given need to be played in VERY specific moments of you want to get full value. Much more specific than your average control deck. This will ultimately lead to your hand being full of cards you can’t place down. I think this, as well as a few other Warrior cards, are going to follow suit. I’d like to remind everybody about the fact that Hearthstone has had cards that look great on paper, but eventually let everybody down. An example of this would be Shadowblade. Everybody thought this card would be class defining, much like myself, but it ended up having a terrible win rate. I could very much be wrong, but I’d like to stick to my guns on this one!

Woecleaver – One Star – I don’t believe in Recruit Warrior; nor do I believe in Control Warrior. At least, it won’t be viable in the next four months. First of all, 8 mana 3/3 is way too under-stated. Sure, you can get an extra minion on the turn you play it, but Warrior runs a lot of minions with decent Battlecries. Recruit will only add extra stats on the board, which won’t be worth 8 mana, even if you get the value overtime. I think it’s too slow.

Reckless Flurry – One Star – This isn’t going to make Control Warrior a thing, especially while Sleep With The Fishes is still in Standard. In a late game Control situation, you’ll have a large amount of Armor. It isn’t going to be worth getting rid of all of your armor when you have other board clears at your disposal. Reckless Flurry and Drywisker Armorer is a 5 mana clear. If you want to clear the board, keep your armor, and MAYBE use Geosculptor Yip after, just play Brawl. I foresee this new Control Warrior as one of those decks where you hold cards in your hand and you wait too long for the opportune moment to use them. By then, it’s too late. Control is my favorite archetype, but I think this card might be cutting it too close with how situational it can get.

Bladed Gauntlet – Two Stars – An acceptable substitution for Shield Slam. With the downside of taking damage, this is essentially two Shield Slams into one card. That being said, my hopes for Control Warrior are lacking. I have a feeling this will replace a few cards in existing Warrior decks just enough times for me to give it two stars. That’s about it. This is a generous two star rating.

Lesser Mithril Spellstone – Two Stars – It’s very easy to upgrade this with Z’Noth’s First Mate and the wide variety of other weapons the Warrior has like Bloodrazor. This will see very sparse but significant play in the newly forming Dead Man’s Hand deck. Consistently cycling the upgraded version of this card can be quite valuable.

Kobold Barbarian – One Star - It looks good on paper until you realize that it can easily destroy itself on its own by attacking something you don’t want it to attack. Not only that, but it can’t make a second attack. It’s basically Ogre Brute which saw absolutely no play whatsoever.

Gather Your Party – One Star – Too random. For 6-mana, you’ll get raw stats with a wasted battlecry. Warrior isn’t the type of class you build around so you can guarantee a specific minion like Priest did with Barnes. Warrior also only has two Deathrattle minions in their class (Mountainfire Armor and Direhorn Hatchling) which would make you pay more for less. It’s very difficult to get full value out of this card.

Drywhisker Armorer – One Star – Everybody is absolutely in love with this card and they’re right to be. It’s a phenomenal card that works well in a Control Warrior deck. That being said, I’m sticking to guns and saying that Control Warrior isn’t quite up to snuff just yet. Much like Reckless Flurry, you aren’t going to want to play this unless the board warrants it. Secondly, the way you would seemingly control the board with this new deck doesn’t seem worth it when you get rid of everything you set up with Reckless Flurry. You may get more armor out of this card, but at least Armorsmith is anti-aggro. I think there is a time and a place for this little guy, but it’s not in the next META.

Unidentified Shield - One Star - All of the options seem overpriced. Similarly, it appears to be a bit too slow in the Control/Tempo META we seem to be following. Even if Control Warrior takes off, which I don’t think it will, this is only good if you get the option that offers fifteen armor. That’s way too inconsistent.

Gemstudded Golem – One Star – An Ornery Direhorn with a drawback. It’s a slightly bigger Nesting Roc. Not sure why people seem to like this card. Not good enough for Recruit and not enough for the quest to be viable. If you want this card, just play Direhorn Hatchling. At least you’ll get some fair value overtime.

Druid Cards:

Ixlid, Fungal Lord – One Star – It’s obvious that this card is meant to have some synergy with the new Weapon as well as the ramping potential that Druid has to offer. However, I think that’s kind of impractical with this being a 5 mana 2/4. If you don’t get the effect off on the same turn, it’s very difficult to keep Ixlid alive. On top of that, you don’t get any synergy from Battlecries. Trying to destroy Twig of the World Tree, placing this down, and getting two Lich Kings isn’t worth your time. There is some talk about having Malygos and using Moonfire to burst down your opponent but that sounds excessively tedious to pull off.

Twig of the World Tree – Two Star – Unlike Kun, The Forgotten King, this allows you to have a full pool of twenty mana at your disposal. The talk of the Hearthstone community keeps trying to think of ways to break the weapon early to gain the mana crystals early. I don’t think that would be feasible. A crazy 20 mana Ultimate Infestation combo just might be but will be nowhere near competitive enough, especially when Token Druid and Jade Druid exists. Still, it gets two stars for being just at the bottom of the tier list.

Astral Tiger – One Star – Maybe one day, but it won’t be in the next four months. A consistent 4 mana 3/5 is just not what Druid needs right now. It has potential to make sure you never fatigue, but so did Malorne which saw no play. There is talk of using Oaken Summons but this is only one card and not that great of a combo to begin with.

Branching Paths – Four Stars – This card is going to see play for its sheer versatility. Sure, you’re paying more mana for what it’s worth for some of the options, but this card is way too convenient not to have in any deck with a Control play style. Not to mention that this card is an easy way to upgrade your Lesser Jasper Spellstone. This gets four stars because I foresee this being spread across quite a few mid-tier decks.

Grizzled Guardian – One Star – Blatantly understated for a mediocre effect. The fact that its effect is a Deathrattle only makes it more unreliable. It has no place in Token or Jade Druid and isn’t fitting in any foreseeable decks for Druid in the near future. Oaken Summons has good synergy with this, but if you draw it, it’s hopelessly slow.

Lesser Jasper Spellstone – Five Stars - At worst this card is Living Roots if played for damage, which it often was. Living Roots was excessively viable. The upgrades only made it better because of how easy it is to get armor in Druid. It will certainly see play across many Druid decks.

Greedy Sprite – One Star – A really good card in the right META. However, I don’t see this card being played in the next four months. Mire Keeper and Jade Blossom have this card outclassed.

Ironwood Golem – One Star – Why anybody would play this over Saronite Chain Gang, I don’t know. This card has mediocre stats with a downside. It’s beyond unplayable.

Oaken Summons – One Star – I think that the Recruit mechanic will ultimately fall flat on its face and will see minimal to no play. Even if it did see play, I don’t think this card would be used. At four mana, you would hope that this doesn’t summon anything that costs three or less. The only four mana card that would be viable to pull would be Fandral Staghelm. Everything else has precious Battlecries that would just go to waste. You can argue that you would only use four-cost minions. Is that sacrifice really worth this combo?

Barkskin – One Star – Tons of value, for sure. But, with Earthen Scales still in Standard, the only deck I can see it being playable is in a Token Druid. Even then, I don’t think it would be substituted for anything that’s run in that deck.

Legendary Neutrals:

Marin the Fox – Three Stars – As of right now, this card seems like a pretty fair card. When you play this, you will most likely have 6 stats of attack to break open the chest from Marin himself. There’s also a variety of ways to destroy it, like using Crazed Alchemist. Tolin’s Goblet can be lethal with a little help from RNG-Jesus. Otherwise, it might just mill your hand. It’s similar to Thistle Tea, but unlike its prohibitive six-mana cost, three mana might allow you to spam the copies you drew. It’s a gamble with this card. Wondrous Wand is probably the best of the four as it guarantees value. Drawing three cards for just three mana and then being able to play them without a cost will almost certainly put you ahead in tempo. Zarog’s Crown may seem underwhelming, but it’s extreme stats for just three mana. You may not be able to get the Legendary Battlecries of the minions, but doubled the stats of a chosen minion certainly has its benefits. In addition to that, you might get a great Deathrattle effect. Finally, we have Golden Kobold. Sure, you get an overstated minion. That’s great. But, replacing your hand with random minions isn’t going to help you like LoE Elise did because of how slow the new META is. It’s too random and there is a LOT of bad legendaries. Overall, this card has some potential if used properly and if RNG is sometimes on your side.

Zola the Gorgon – Three Stars – Great flavor and great fun. Just don’t be fooled by the shiny gold cards that it boasts in the card text. I see this as nothing more than a situational tech card that won’t see too much play. You can double your Keleseth or squeeze this into Razakus Priest which is pretty helpful. I just don’t see this card defining anything. People seem too hopeful that this will bring back Quest Rouge. If it comes back into the META (it won’t), I don’t think this card will be the reason.

King Togwaggle – One Star – The meme card of the set, for sure. As much as I love it, it’s way to extreme to pull off anything competitive. Joke decks will be created but those don’t justify stars. That being said, I still predict a Warrior deck that uses Explore Un’Goro and then completely milling their opponent’s deck using a Skulking Giest. That sounds like a good meme.

Master Oakheart – Four Stars – My favorite card in the set, by far. This card is reminiscent of The Curator. Put three specific cards in your deck that could be of potential value. There is a lot of talk of Recruiting Drakkari Enchanter, Dragonhatcher, and Voidlord as per Disguised Toast’s video. It’s hilarious but not viable. I have no doubt that Master Oakheart will find his way into some deck that creates some incredible combo that favors you greatly. Perhaps in a Paladin, Druid, or Warlock deck. Some good ideas are Tar Creeper, Crypt Lord, Bloodhood Brave, Scaled Nightmare, and Preist of the Feast. Perhaps it can go into a Murloc deck by pulling Grimscale Oracle, Finja, the Flying Star, and a Murloc Warleader. The possibilities are seemingly large. It gets four stars instead of five because I only see this working in about one or two decks and I don’t think it will be top-tier material. I love this card so much and I can’t wait to see it in action.

The Darkness – Two Stars – This won’t work in a mill deck because the Darkness Candle card can be destroyed and won’t be activated if your opponent overdraws. I suppose this could be a late game finisher if you can make the game last that long, but I don’t see that happening. There is a ton of late game removal such as Shadow Word: Death, Execute, Deadly Shot, Polymorph, Hex, Twisting Nether, Siphon Soul, Vilespine Slayer, and others. However, it’s a huge counter to Reno decks. I predict small fringe play before it’s never seen again. This is another one of those cards where I hope I’m wrong because this card looks fun to use.

Epic Neutrals:

Carnivorous Cube – Two Stars – A decently stated minion that requires a specific combo for it to be viable. Will anybody find a combo worthy of this cards inclusion? Probably not. Perhaps an Egg or Deathrattle Shaman Deck might see some fringe play. I can see this card being in a fringe deck for a few weeks or so before it fades out of existence. That being said, Carnivorous Cube and Voidlord is most likely the most valuable two card combo I can think of.

Corridor Creeper – One Star – Even if combos with Unleash the Hounds, Sonya Shadowdancer, and Rat Pack become a thing, which I don’t think they will, it’s just not worth the effort to put a discounted 5/5 on the field. If you want this to be 0 mana, it would more often than not have to be done over the course of more than one turn. That’s dreadfully slow for such a mediocre reward. The cherry on top is that it has to be in your hand, which makes it incomparable to Thing From Below. Overall, just too slow and fringe.

Shimmering Courser – One Star – An incredibly clever design but I don’t think that the META justifies a 4 mana 3/3 just for the sake of being able to buff it. There’s a couple of great ideas floating around. Spikedriged Steed is very strong, except that’s a 10 mana combo. Would that be worth? Probably not. I will say that’s it very powerful if you manage to keep it on the board long enough, but I’m not sure how well that will fair.

Void Ripper – Five Stars – A card that can potentially break the game. I don’t think that everybody’s dream of following this up after Spreading Plague will come true. If you have that many Taunts on the field, that means your opponent has some aggro to stop your next play. That being said, this works well with Eggs, Priest mechanics, and a variety of other things that I’m sure some decks are bound to use it somewhere. A great tech-card.

Dragonhatcher – One Star – This card just absolutely boggles my mind. If you want to play a 9-cost Dragon, just play it. You play your Dragons for Battlecries and this card takes it away from you by Recruiting it onto the field instead of you actually summoning it. It’s just way too slow and clunky, but I didn’t really need to say that, didn’t I? Sure, you can Recruit it with Master Oakheart and other Recruit cards but is it really worth it if you draw it? I don’t think so. One star card in Standard, six star card for being the best meme in the game.

Grand Archivist – Two Stars – As much as I’d love to see this card mold out some troll decks or be a part of this Big Mage, it won’t happen. That being said, I think this can possibly be a one-of in some Reno decks. The decks that typically have no duplicates are Preist, Mage, and Warlock. While Gul’Dan might have a hard time, some spells like Flamestrike, Mindblast, and Mind Control just might be worth the inclusion because they cannot harm the user in any way.

Spiteful Summoner – One Star – I really want this card to work but running a lot of big spells isn’t quite popular. For this to be valuable, you need at least 10 stats to come from your random minion. At that point, you might as well just play a card that synergizes well with your deck. This is too unreliable. I also don’t see Big Mage happening.

Rummaging Kobold – Four Stars – There will no doubt be a deck where the class’s legendary weapon will be the center of attention. This is will be a one-of that makes it happen; a two-of if people start running tech cards that are anti-weapon. The new Paladin and Rouge weapons show great budding. Some people are comparing it to Forge of Souls and are saying that if that didn’t see play, neither will this. The problem with that logic is that Forge of Souls was in a META without Legendary weapons. This new META could mean the difference and I think that this will be an excellent tech card because of it.

Arcane Tyrant – Four Stars – While people see this going in an Elemental deck, which I do as well, this card can fit in just about any Mage deck. Playing a high-cost spell for high value, which is something Mage does all the time, rewards you with a free 4/4. That is extremely beneficial. I know there is a lot of push for a new archtype in Mage where they have a bunch of big spells in their deck. I just don’t think this card is going to be enough. There’s a little bit of talk about fitting this into a Rin, the First Disciple deck. I think that’s STILL a little to fringe.  Four stars for having promise in multiple low-tier decks.

Rare Neutrals:

Feral Gibberer – One Star – People seem to be pretty hopeful that this might have some significance in Rouge and Handbuff Decks. I don’t think that this will make or break anything. 1/1 minions don’t usually stay on the board long enough to activate their intended effect and even then, its effect is not strong enough. This will be an excellent meme card, but that’s not enough to warrant anything higher than one star.

Shrieking Shroom – One Star – Cute, but not worth the tempo loss. It’s bad stats that will give you more bad stats. It will have its moments, I’m sure, but it’s not worth the inconsistency. 2 health is easily removable.

Kobold Monk – One Star – I relish the idea of giving this card Stealth and I think that the statline is above average, but it’s probably too situational and vanilla to see play as even a tech card. It’s fairly easy to get rid of and only counters a few fringe deck archetypes like Exodia Mage.

Ebon Dragonsmith – One Star – A tad overhyped. There’s only so many tech cards you can run in a deck and I think Rummaging Kobold will have it outclassed. Hear me out on this one because this is a bold call to make. Sure, this has MUCH better stats than Rummaging Kobold. However, if you were to build a deck with, say Val'anyr, I would build a deck that would curve perfectly into it as opposed to having an understated minion being a part of the curve into this weapon. With Rummaging Kobold, I can follow the curve, and gain value out of second weapon. No, I don’t think this will see play with the over-costed weapons ether. The Hunter, Shaman, and Warrior weapons are all not worth the time.

Gravelsnout Knight – One Star – Zombie Chow was amazing because your opponent didn’t always gain the full benefit of five health at such an early point in the game. This has the same problem as Emerald Hive Queen in which your opponent will almost always benefit from the drawback. If Hungry Dragon wasn’t played, I don’t see why this would be. Sure, it has potential to combo with Mind Control Tech but that’s dreaming a little too big.

Scorp-o-matic – Three Star – I very much like the idea of a low cost removal card. This gets rid of a lot of annoying cards like Stonehill Defender, Doomsayer, and if Dire Mole takes off, that too. What really takes the cake is the fact that it will see some play in Paladin. Aldor Peacekeeper and this is a great combo. Paladin currently uses Stampeding Kodo. I think this might be a little bit better.

Furbolg Mossbinder – One Star – There are better options than this card and will ultimately be outclassed by cards like Arcane Tyrant and the Shaman DK. I would very much like to rate this four stars because a 6/6 with Lifesteal can be crazy when Frost Lich Jaina is on the field. I just think that it will be an unnecessary inclusion when your Hero Power can already spawn 3/6’s with Freezing Touch without taking up card slots. This card can’t even trigger Elemental abilities.

Hungry Ettin – One Star – The stat line adds up to the same as Bogcreeper except Bogcreeper has a better chance of clearing the board with 6 attack. Sure, this card has three health more but Bogcreeper doesn’t summon a two-drop for your opponent. I just can’t see a viable deck that it would fit into.

Lone Champion – Four Stars - This will definitely see play in a control style deck. Paladins and Warlocks commonly have an empty board on turn three which makes this a great control-like anti-aggression play. You’re not going to replace Tar Creeper in a Token Deck, however. The four star rating comes from the fact I don’t think a control deck that uses this will be a top-tier deck. Instead, it might see on-and-off play.  Drawing in the late game isn’t great, either. A 3 mana 2/4 isn’t bad, but is nowhere near competitive enough. Still, I think Paladin’s and even Warlocks are going to have a great time using this card.

Common Neutrals:

Violet Wurm – One Star – Largely costed vanilla minions don’t usually do that well. It’s just Onyxia but worse because it’s a Deathrattle. Too slow.

Dragonslayer – Two Stars – A good tech card if Dragons become out of hand. Much like Skulking Giest, it’s a tech card that targets a very specific deck. Skulking Giest saw a lot of play. Why won't this see as much play? Dealing six damage to a Dragon is only a hindrance, albeit a big one. However, Skulking Giest had quite an impact on its intended target: Jade Druid. Granted, it wasn’t a lot, it was still a big deal. Without their precious one-drop spells, they we're almost hopeless. A cool card for sure, but I'm not sure it's going to be the big counter to the top META deck like some people are saying. I say it will have its day in the sun, but not too often.

 Fungal Enchanter – Three Stars – I’m afraid to rate this card three stars because it could be nothing more than five dust. However, this card truly is, in almost every circumstance, better than Earthen Ring Farseer. That would mean nothing if Earthen Ring Farseer wasn’t a good card, but it is. It’s actually a very playable and viable tech card that sees quite a bit of play. I reckon this will take it’s spot wherever it currently sees play and possibly a newfound Zoodeck, which I predict to be mid-tier. Not only that, but a few other bottom-barrel decks. This could be the hidden gem that everybody dusts.

Plated Beetle – Two Stars – This is a very generous two star rating. Since I don’t see much of any future for Druid or Hunter decks, I’ll fit it into what already exists. This will be a rare one-of in Aggro Druid and will replace Golakka Crawler in Mid-Range Hunter. Other classes have better options than this.

Wax Elemental – One Star – I don’t see this fitting in a Control or Handbuff deck. An Elemental deck seems the only way it will fit in and Firefly already has it outclassed.

Corrosive Sludge – One Star – Completely unnecessary. If you want to get rid of a weapon, just use ANY other weapon removal. Even Toxic Sewer Ooze has more value than this. For one health less, you can play Harrison Jones but with an INCREDIBLE effect. No reason to use this at all.

 Green Jelly – One Star – Big tempo loss for such a small reward. Even if you keep it on the board for a while, it’s not going to have a lot of impact. It’s just a worse Hogger and he never saw play.

Silver Vanguard – One Star – The best way to put it is this: You’re getting a one-mana discount on a random 8-drop and in addition to that, you get a 3/3. That sounds really good until you realize that the fact that it’s a Deathrattle which makes this card incredibly slow and has almost no hope for some crazy combo with Barnes or Carnivorous Cube because of RNG and poor stats. This isn’t something you can work around. It can get silenced, Hexed, Polymorphed, and can even be useless if you draw all of your 8-drops.

Guild Recruiter -  Two Stars – This is one of those vanilla cards that’s used to introduce a new keyword like Bloodworm and Lowly Squire. However, the potential of this card is too good to call it a one star. This can easily make its way into a Mid-Range deck if built correctly. I highly doubt it will be top-tier but the chance is there.

Shroom Brewer – One Star – It seems like Earthen Ring Farseer is the happy medium for this kind of effect. Even then, it’s mostly just used in Warlock. Voodoo Doctor, Gagetzan Socialite, and Darkshire Alchemist all saw no play. I don’t see why this card will be any different.

Hoarding Dragon – One Star – Pit Lord, Hungry Dragon, and Ticking Abomination are all 4 mana 5/6’s with downsides. None of them saw consistent completive play. While this one is obviously the best of the four, this isn’t going to fit in the very obvious Dragon Priest to come because too many minions in the four mana slot is too clunky and Duskbreaker already has that spot reserved. One could argue that this fits in other aggressive decks because the downside is only a Deathrattle. That doesn’t mean that your opponent won’t benefit from the two coins eventually. I don’t see it fitting into anything currently in the META nor does it seem to fit anywhere else in the foreseeable future.

Sleepy Dragon – One Star – The poor man’s “legendary dragon”. Too vanilla to see any play. Still, I must applaud Blizzard for making a fairly interesting pack-filler.

Fungalmancer – Four Stars – For any deck that has the potential to flood the board like Evolve Shaman, this card can be potentially bonkers. Under the right circumstances, you’re getting more bang for your buck by giving two minions more aggression AND survivability. Since I can see this in Evolve Shaman, perhaps you would want to use Unstable Evolution or Murmuring Elemneal with this. I think it’s a pretty great card. It’s not quite on the level of Bonemare like what people are saying on the forums, but I think this will certainly see some widespread play and perhaps even be a staple in a low-tier deck. I think this is the card that everybody sleeps on until it becomes crazy.

Cursed Disciple – One Star – One Magma Rager is bad but two Magma Ragers? It’s probably not much better. This one card alone will not put Quest Druid on its feet. It’s only one (Technically two) minion and it’s just too slow in general.

Stoneskin Basilisk – One Star – Admittedly, it’s stated very fairly. Divine Shield, Poisonous, and 1/1 are all worth one point of mana. Still, it’s way too slow to see any play. And no, I don’t see this being a viable option for Master Oakheart.

Kobold Apprentice – One Star – Another card that looks good on paper until you realize that you’re paying an extra 2 mana on Arcane Missiles for a vanilla 2/1. I don’t see any ideal scenario where this would be competitively played.

Trogg Gloomeater – One Star – A very powerful counter to Zoo decks. Still, it’s way to understated to see any play, even as a tech choice. Venomancer is already a soft Taunt and that saw no play whatsoever.

Sneaky Devil – One Star – People seem pretty hopeful for this to work in aggressive decks. In the case of Zoo decks, nobody would ever substitute this for Defender of Argus. Hell, even Dark Iron Dwarf is better. At two health, it can be AoE’ed pretty easily. Some decks can’t afford the tempo loss of paying 4 mana for a 2/2.

 Sewer Crawler – One Star – Just a copy of Razorfen Hunter which sees no play. Sure, you can argue that the doubling of THIS Battlecry is better than Razorfen Hunter, but are you really going to run this in your Shaman deck just so you can get two 2/3’s? No.

Toothy Chest – One Star – A 3 mana 4/4 is not good enough to be in ANY constructed deck. It’s reminiscent of Validated Doomsayer. Both start with zero attack and then get buffed beyond the statline their mana cost would usually have the next turn. It’s just not worth your time. This card will most likely just waste four mana.

Boisterous Bard – Five Stars – One of the larger risks I’m taking with this rating system, but I can’t help myself. In terms of personal favorites, I’d rate this card at number two. I can really see Zoolock and other Reno decks benefitting from this card greatly. Unlike Sneaky Devil, I think the stats are playable enough to use. Not to mention the fact that it’s a fair tech card. This can truly be something special.

Dire Mole – Four Stars – Unlike what everybody thinks about Plated Beatle, I actually think this WILL be spread across all kinds of Beast decks, especially in Hunter. While I don’t think they will be tier-1, you will see this in multiple decks. Say goodbye too Alleycat, because this gives you double the stats for the same price. It’s an excellent target for Crackling Razormaw and even a fair target for Houndmaster. It’s sad to think that the best card Hunter got this expansion is a 1 mana 1/3 neutral.

 

 

I'm offended by several of the ratings for some of my favorite upcoming cards, but I respect what you've done here.

I appreciate that, haha. I understand I have some controversial ratings, but thanks for the read!

To me this rating system seems a bit unbalanced. Most cards won't see competitive play, but they will have different power levels among them. Only the very best cards will end up in meta decks. In this system, you give most cards 1 star (won't be played in meta decks), and then rate the very few cards you think might see play 2-5 (will see play in meta decks in varying degree).

For example, Chillwind Yeti does not see any play whatsoever, and would with this rating system be a 1 star card. For a shorter and more readable review, I'd suggest you just cut out all the 1 star cards from your review altogether. They just take up space.

I applaud your thoroughness though.

Quote from jeppeb49 >>

How about a TL;DR :^)?

Very good point. I'll keep it in mind for the next review. Thanks!

I kept re-writing it as new cards came out. I ride the trains a lot so there's always a lot of time to kill, haha.

Average Rating per Class

Priest - 3.0

Warlock - 2.8

Rogue - 2.4

Paladin - 2.3

Shaman - 2.1

Mage - 1.9

Druid - 1.8

Hunter - 1.3

Warrior - 1.2

Thanks for the thread! I really want the meme cards like [card]The Runespear[/card]

wtf is a Rouge?

Great review.  Spent a lot of time reading this.  Loads I agree with.  I'm hoping Carnivorous Cube beats your 2 stars.  I feel it's more flexible than you think.  It could be used to kill off some taunt minions and re-summon, damaged minions or death rattle minions.  I just feel that there is a lot of opportunities here. 

Firstly, I didn't read it, I don't have as much spare time as you do unfortunately.

However insta upvote for the effort.

And finally: Considering to undo upvote after ctrl+f "rin, the first disciple" = 1 star card.

I applaud the time and energy put into this though.

Great review. Took a lot of time and effort. I am happy to still see alot of people making great card reviews, not as good as this one though. haha. Excellent work Mr. Pageturner. a troubadour for the ages.

Are you sure the candles are going to be destoyed when overdrawn?

Great work you did there btw ;)

Quote from tartanblood >>

Great review.  Spent a lot of time reading this.  Loads I agree with.  I'm hoping Carnivorous Cube beats your 2 stars.  I feel it's more flexible than you think.  It could be used to kill off some taunt minions and re-summon, damaged minions or death rattle minions.  I just feel that there is a lot of opportunities here. 

 Vulgar Homunculus is not a 5 star card

*claps slowly* I must say Mr.Pageturner, well done on this wonderful card review, what a great read!

 

Thanks!

I have to hand it to you Mr. Pageturner. Your extensive review is the pinnacle of content on this forum. I very much appreciate the effort and time you've put into this analysis. I expect big things from you in the future kid. 

Quote from Sala31 >>

I have to hand it to you Mr. Pageturner. Your extensive review is the pinnacle of content on this forum. I very much appreciate the effort and time you've put into this analysis. I expect big things from you in the future kid.