PLEASE READ THE RATING SYSTEM FIRST. THIS IS JUST MY OPINION AND I'M WELL AWARE I CAN BE WRONG
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. Credit goes to Trump, the Mayor of Value Town, for the rating system.
One Star – Unplayed.
Two Stars – Saw some competitive play at some point past the first week, rare choice for a tech card, a staple in a meme deck, OR replaces a card in a deck but it still becomes worse due to the roation.
Three Stars – In a Tier 3 deck OR occasional tech card OR replaces a card in a deck, but doesn’t change it much.
Four Stars – In a Tier 2 deck OR defines Tier 3 deck OR Multiple worse decks.
Five Stars – In a Tier 1 deck OR defines Tier 2 deck OR Multiple decks OR saves a deck from getting worse.
Priest Cards:
Lady in White – Five Stars – I think it’s fair to say that this archetype has a fair amount of support. I have no doubt that this will define at the very least a tier-2 deck. What a powerful effect. Inner Fire Priest is already powerful. You’re going to want to add this with a couple of changes to replace the cards that are getting rotated out. Drakonid Operative, Book Wyrm, and you’ll want to take out Twilight Drake of the deck as well. I see potential in this card. 8/8 Obsidian Statues, 3/3 Northshire Clerics; maybe even a 7/7 Oasis Snapjaw if you’re on a budget? There are a lot of possibilities in this legendary. There’s even a new vanilla neutral that goes well with this. Even if you mix this with a couple of tech cards like Mossy Horror, you’re still getting a decent amount of value. I foresee quite a nuisance in this legendary.
Chameleos – Four Stars – Easily my favorite card of the set and I think I share the same feeling with a lot of Hearthstone players. Obviously, this card doesn’t have any hope to DEFINE a deck, but man is this going to be tried out in a lot of Priest decks. One of them is bound to keep it. What is there to be said about this card that hasn’t been said? At this point, I’m just beating a dead horse, but hey… this IS a card review. This gives you a nice tactical advantage by seeing what’s in your opponent’s hand. I love the thought of baiting out a secret because you already know what the opponent was holding. Maybe you see a hard removal card and wait to place down all of your low health minions. My reviews don’t count for Wild, but imagine seeing Reno Jackson in their hand and then playing Dirty Rat? Wow. This IS comparable to Shifter Zerus, but the thing is, he could be ANYTHING. With Chameleos, you’re restricted to a pool of what will most likely be powerful cards from your opponent. Something that I didn’t see anybody mention was the Beast tag. I highly doubt it would mean anything, but hey, we’ve seen crazier things in Hearthstone. This card is incredible and I’m well aware that it can let us down as one of the biggest noob traps ever, but I’m way too hyped for it to care. I need this card to be good.
Glitter Moth - One Star - In a world where Divine Spirit is a 2-mana cost card, this just doesn't have the support it needs to see play. Not to mention, it's very clunky. That doesn't fair well for something that's meant to give you a win condition and doubling health is hardly a win condition unless paired with Divine Spirit and Inner Fire. I don’t even think this makes the cut in a deck with Lady in White. It’s just too constrictive.
Vivid Nightmare - Two Stars - I see way too many people comparing this to Mirage Caller, which so no play. You would be right to say that these two cards are very similar. However, this is Priest spell. That means it goes exceptionally well with Lyra the Sunshard. It doesn't have just one health when a minion is copied which means it goes well with Circle of Healing. Copies made with this card won't lose their attack damage so it goes well with Leroy Jenkins. These things probably won’t happen and I don't think this will save Big Priest. However, this card is so good, I think it warrants two stars for being a possible tech option.
Holy Water – Five Stars – I may be rating this too high, but I want at least one controversial rating on this list. A lot of people are saying that this is either unplayable or just “fair”. Priest is losing ALL of their good removal cards this expansion. Potion of Madness, Shadow Word: Horror, and Dragonfire Potion are gone. Priest needs SOMETHING to remove a single target that isn’t Holy Fire. Why not this card? Look at Bane of Doom. It’s the same mana cost, but almost always can guarantee a good card in your hand because you have the choice to pick what you want. It may not be as hard of a removal as Entomb, but at least this puts what you destroyed directly into your hand. I expect to see a lot of people playing Lord Godfrey and boy, is this a hard counter. Kripparian said it best in his reveal that what makes this card even better is the fact that there are a LOT of cards that are played for their abilities and not just stats. By the way, you would be playing this in a META where Radiant Elemental exits. I also like the idea of running this in Quest Priest and getting multiple copies of Amara, Warden of Hope. I look forward to seeing this in just about every Priest deck, but boy can I be wrong.
Nightscale Matriarch – Three Stars – A lot of people are hoping this will be the card to save Dragon Priest. Even though I think the deck won’t be as prominent as it once was, I think this will keep it in the realm of viability. It’s a big, beefy, immediate threat that will either eat up a big removal spell or will live long enough to aggro the board and spawn at the very least ONE 3/3. Even if you don’t summon a Whelp, it’s stats aren’t anything to complain about and it’s a Dragon which will proc your much needed Duskbreaker. It has a lot to offer for a 7-mana package and I think it’s good enough to squeeze in a deck.
Coffin Crasher - One Star - Once the year of the Raven drops, I think it will be time to stop talking about Big Priest. Barnes and Y'Sharraj will be gone and this card is nowhere near the answer to saving it. Others may suggest that you can pull off some sort of Possessed Lacky type deck, but this is much different. Possessed Lacky pulled a very specific card from your deck. That’s very different from pulling a random card from your hand, which is a smaller pool of options. With Possessed Lacky, it doesn’t have to be drawn. It’s too unreliable. Likewise, I don’t see a new deck archetype where this card is run and consistent. Maybe someday, but not today. It’s got good stats and a powerful effect, but it just lacks the support it so desperately needs.
Quartz Elemental – One Star – The concept here is too play this with Lady in White and keep it healthy so you have a beefy 8/8. This is just too slow, unfortunately. Drawing it before Lady in White is not great and keeping its health, although easy as a Priest, just isn’t worth it when there are plenty of other minions to use that can actually attack when damaged. Your opponent can counter this quite easily and Silence Priest isn’t an option because two of the best silence cards for Priest just go rotated out. This will be powerful one day, but I’m a bit to skeptical to say it will be this time around.
Divine Hymn – One Star –I really don’t think it will be a common card to be used when Circle of Healing can do relatively the same sing, but cheaper and better because it can be used with Auchenai Soulpriest. This would just nuke your own board. How much healing to you really need? At 1-mana, Binding Heal gave 5-health to a minion and your Hero and that saw no play at all. It’s a good card, but doesn’t have much of a use with better options like Circle of Healing. It’s a bit overkill.
Squashling – One Star –Saving it until the end to restore 10 health and flood the board is good, but not what Priest wants and I think using this with “healing damage” is a bit too much of a dream. I think that people will be more concerned with how to make Lady in White insane. This card doesn’t help the cause. There could be another deck archetype that can spawn because of this. Using your Auchenai Soulpriest to create a 10-mana damaging turn that also gives you aggro on the board? That’s something, but is it enough? It will surely be tried out, but it won’t be too relevant I’d say.
Mage Cards:
Toki, Time-Tinker – One Star – Awesome flavor, terrible card. There are way too many bad legendary minions for this to be consistent. An unpredictable effect mixed with bad stats makes for a poor legendary. A lot of people are going to throw this in elemental Mage for the sake of fun, but even then, I think it will fall out of favor. Side note: what the hell is going to happen to this card when it rotates into the Wild?
Archmage Arugal – Five Stars – Unfortunately for me (because I hate Mage), I don’t think this card is overhyped, while I don’t think this defines the “All minion-elemental Mage” deck, it will certainly be a common feature in what I believe to be a tier-1 deck. Now that I have seen all the tools that Mage is going to get, I see this as a very craftable deck with endless possibilities. This is going to be one of those cards that CAN be played early, but probably won’t be. This will not last more than a turn on the board so it’s best to summon this and immediately follow up with Book of Specters or maybe even Aluneth. Maybe Aluneth might be overkill? We’ll have to see. Mage is already pretty powerful and sure, they may be losing some of their best cards, but they just got some pretty decent replacements. Multiple copies of Sourcer’s Apprentice, Blazecallers, and any Elemental at all will have plenty of synergy to work out as an extremely functional deck.
Book of Specters – Five Stars – This was originally one star until I saw how much support Mage was getting this expansion. Need I even explain? Two mana, three cards is totally insane. That being said, I see a lot of theory crafts that still are cramming this deck archetype with a lot of spells because people are saying even if your draw two cards, it’s still good. I don’t think so. This card will be a staple in a deck that doesn’t have more than, maybe six spells, otherwise it can spell disaster.
Arcane Keysmith – One Star – The positive to this card is the fact that it’s cheaper than playing Arcanologist and then playing a secret. But, I’m gonna make a bull-headed call and say that the negatives outweigh the good. This comes down much later than Arcanologist and there’s a good chance you get some bad options. Also, as a Mage, you want Arcanologist to thin out your deck. This doesn’t do that.
Bonfire Elemental – Five Stars – It looks like Mage got a decent set up last expansion and now their bringing it home with this one. This is similar to Azure Drake if you can manage to pop off the effect with ease. Hm, if only Blizzard were pushing a deck that required you to stuff a bunch of minions with synergy together in one deck… Oh, not to mention that Odd Mage might also find a decent use for this.
Curio Collector – Four Stars – Usually cards like this are just not good. Cards that gains stats for a certain stipulation tend to be too slow and tedious to pull off. Just look at cards like Crowd Favorite and Daring Reporter. But, Mage is obviously being pushed upon to make a deck where drawing mass amounts of cards is an archetype. Aluneth is already popular and it’s one of the many tools Mage has to make this work. This can get out of hand pretty quickly and will be an immediate threat to your opponent when it drops on turn 5. Four Stars instead of five because I don't think it will be in every single deck like this and therefore, not a staple.
Cinderstorm – One Star – Triple the cost for less than double the effect of what Arcane Missiles gives you. Even at 3-mana, it’s just clunky for what it does, especially when you consider all of amazing 3-mana cost cards Mage has AND all of their Secrets. It’s definitely not worth the card slot.
Black Cat - Five Stars - Mage just got a mini Azure Drake much like that Bonfire Elemental. It's stated well, gives Spell Damage which is ALWAYS a plus for a Mage, and it offers card draw. I foresee a Baku Mage deck with this in it being and being pretty powerful as well. I truly believe Mage is going to be the dominant force this META.
Vex Crow - Four Stars - Tempo Mage is going to lose some of its most powerful cards in Standard like Ice Block and Medivh's Valet. But, Tempo Mage is currently a tier-2 deck. I truly believe that this card, albeit with some rearrangement of the deck, will save it from dropping down a tier. Some people are saying that it won't be good because you can get some bad two-drops from it. The same goes for Piloted Shredder and that card was busted. With the use of Sourcer’s Apprentice and Mirror Image to protect Vex Crow, I see this to be a force to be reckoned with and something that can get out of hand pretty quickly.
Snap Freeze – One Star – Just use Frostbolt. This is reminiscent of the infamous Shatter that saw absolutely no play. This slight buff doesn’t make it anymore playable.
Warlock Cards:
Glinda Crowskin - Two Stars - This has so many options and what seems like limitless possibilities. The problem is a lot of them are memes. I don't think that using giants will be effective enough and I think it's too clunky to rely on a competitive combo. Seven health is a lot, but if your opponent has a board, it can be taken down pretty quickly. If your opponent DOESN'T have a board, you're probably winning and you won't have to pull off some nutty wombo-combo anyways. However, this does get two stars because I see many meme decks in which this card is the prime staple. That alone will warrant more than one star. Warlock is on top of the food chain right now and has no need for this.
Lord Godfrey - Five Stars - It isn't the case with 99% of Hearthstone cards, but this card is an exception. You can just throw this into Control Warlock and it will be okay. Not a staple and not necessary, but damn is that solid removal with a 4/4 to boot. Could this be in Cube Lock as well? Possibly. It avoids a pull from Possessed Lacky because it isn’t a demon, but I don't think that Cube Lock can sacrifice anything they already have, but it’s a possibility. Nonetheless, it’s a good card and will certainly force some people to smash that concede button. Finally, Warlock gets some decent AoE Kappa… What else is there to say about this card? It’s just plain old busted.
Deathweb Spider – One Star – Normally, adding +2 worth of stats to another card is a big deal. In this case, I don’t think it matters. This is Bloodworm with a condition, albeit a fairly simple one especially for Warlock. However, currently Zoolock decks typically run Fungalmancer, Despicable Dreadlord, and Doomguard. None of those cards are going anywhere when Witchwood drops and they’re much better than this card. It’s too clunky to be anywhere else.
Ratcatcher – Two Stars – People are pretty hyped up about this card rightfully so. It’s a good card. However, the place it fits in best with is Cubelock. That’s an issue to me. I don’t think that this is better than Prince Taldaram and you can’t run another 3-drop in that deck with him. So, this gets two stars because I think it will be used as the poor man’s 3-drop Prince. I don’t see it working anywhere else at the moment, especially since I don’t have much faith in Zoolock in the next four or so months.
Blood Witch – One Star – You don’t need this card to trigger your effects. It’s that plain and simple. Warlock has plenty of ways to do it and this is certainly not the best way to do it. Sure, it WORKS, but just use your Kobold Librarian instead or Dark Possession.
Dark Possession – Five Stars – Full star rating for having the ability to fit right into an already tier-1 deck: Cubelock. Mistress of Mixtures is rotating out so this 1 cost spell will fit right in with the rest of the cards used in that deck. But, it doesn’t fit in just because of the mana cost. First of all, 1-mana Discover is absolutely amazing. On top of that, it Discovers something specific: Demons. Warlocks, especially Cubelock, likes Demons that aren’t in their deck. This goes straight to your hand. There’s a lot of good Demons and chances are you can Discover a big beefy Demon and pull it out onto the field with Skull of Man’ari. This is also an efficient way to destroy your Possessed Lacky before they get silenced. You Recruit a Demon AND Discover one. The value here is uncanny and I expect every Cubelock to pick this up. I’m not so keen on using this with the “deal damage to yourself cards” because I don’t think those cards are good enough to warrant a deck slot. However, if they DO end up being good, then this is an equally efficient way to proc their effects.
Curse of Weakness – Five Stars – I’m gonna call that this is one of the cards that will be called for nerfs multiple times by the community. This has the potential to buy you a turn or two which can be extremely valuable to set up your board or trade without penalty. Likewise, this makes for a good removal with Mossy Horror or Void Ripper (which is a Demon). Pint-Size Potion was never good until cards were released that comboed well with it. Find some good cards that combo with this and you’re looking at a horrifying tool for Warlocks to have in a Control matchup.
Duskbat – One Star – I just don’t see it happening. Back when Imp Gang Boss was around, you could play him on turn three and he would generate value overtime. This cannot be played on turn three nor will it offer anything overtime. It’s possible on turn four if you have Kobold Librarian. But Zoolock is all about placing low-cost minions on the board as fast as possible. You don’t want to draw cards and wait so you can pull of a certain condition to play this. It may be one mana less than Grim Necromancer, but given the stipulation to activate its Battlecry, you’ll more often than not be spending that mana you normally would to play Grim Necromancer anyways. Unless you can guarantee using it with masochistic minions every time, it will not generate the value you’d want it to.
Fiendish Circle – One Star – Call in the Finishers for Warlock, except that card was at the very least useful to activate the Shaman Quest, which also didn’t work out to well. I don’t see a reason to summon four Demons. I don’t think that this will be good in Zoolock either. The final twist of the knife that makes this card bad is the fact that these 1/1 Demons have a chance to be resurrected by Bloodreaver Gul’Dan. Not good at all.
Witchwood Imp – One Star – Even if Zoolock were to become a thing again, which I don’t think it will due to the amount of cards it’s losing, this won’t even make it in the deck. Zoolock is very aggressive and this is far from the aggro that deck archetype needs. You’re going to feel really sad when somebody uses AoE to destroy this and the minions it buffed.
Warrior Cards:
Darius Crowley – One Star – This card is actually worth considering being put in a deck. The problem is, there’s quite a few cards that can do the same thing but cheaper and I don’t mean mana. I’m talking dust. Are people going to spend 1600 dust on this card when Militia Commander can relatively do the same thing for 100 dust? It all depends on how often you can make this card pop off. If you can manage to get this card’s effect to trigger more than once, you got some value on your hands. From then on, it becomes a big threat for your opponent to deal with. If it’s only going to last a turn, it’s not worth the craft. Personally, I don’t think it will be able to survive long enough for it to see play. People are comparing it to The Boogeymonster because they both have similar effects but I don’t think that it’s fair to do that. Both of their statlines are bad, but one is mediocre and the other is ABYSMAL. Darius is obviously a lot faster than the severe tempo loss you get when playing The Boogeymonster. Still, just because the statline is a bit better and it’s and it’s faster, I don’t think it will stay on the board long enough to work out. Some Rush Warriors might use this, but it’s not good enough to warrant a spot in every deck. I highly doubt it will be staple, even for Rush Warrior.
Blackhowl Gunspire – One Star – Warrior is currently the worst class in the game right now and this is NOT what they needed. It’s simply just too slow. You pay 7-mana and then spend more mana on cards like Warpath to… deal 3 damage randomly? Sure, this has potential to deal 24 damage all together but the odds of that happening are slim. There are some ideas floating around suggesting that you can make copies of it with Sudden Genesis and build a “machine gun” Warrior deck but I don’t even think that’s worthy of being a meme deck. It’s nothing and will be one of the many Warrior legendaries that will be forgotten. Remember Hobart Grapplehammer? Yeah, me neither.
Town Crier – Four Stars – This is the card that pulls Rush Warrior together into what I believe can actually be a tier-3 deck, hence four stars instead of five. Trump, the Mayor of Value Town, put it into perfect perspective with his comparison to one-drop minions. They always tend to be powerful, especially ones that draw you cards. This card gives you consistency with Woodcutters Axe, draws you the cards that define your deck, and keeps your hand full. Not to mention the fact that a 1/2 isn’t that bad of a statline. When compared to Kobold Librarian, Northshire Cleric, and Babbling Book, it really shows how powerful this card will be. This card is certaitly a definer of a tier-3 deck.
Deadly Arsenal – One Star – Just use Brawl instead if you’re looking for AoE. Control Warrior has plenty of other ways to damage its minions. Just use any of their other damaging minions or spells. This is unnecessary. Are you really going to run Gorehowl just so you can wipe everything off the board? With Bloodrazor and Woodcutter’s Axe, it’s a 6-mana deal 2 damage to everything and that’s not good as an AoE spell. Bloodrazor is much better option for Control decks. This card is awful.
Festeroot Hulk – One Star – A lot of people think that this is an instant inclusion in Rush Warrior but if you ask me, I think it’s too slow. It’s an extremely beefy minion that has the potential to stay on the board for a very long time, but if you ask me, it’s a bit too much. A Rush Warrior should be faster and more aggressive. I think this is just under the line of speed to be good.
Militia Commander – Three Stars – It’s quite favorable in a control deck and obviously the Rush Warrior that’s trying to be pushed. If Rush Warrior becomes a thing, and I think it will, this will be one of the pieces that ties it together. Not much else to say about this card. It’s good removal with a chance to not only leave aggression on the board but synergize with Rush cards as well. Unfortunately, Rush Warrior doesn’t seem to be overly promising to me, hence the low rating.
Redband Wasp- One Star - 4 damage removal with a condition is below mediocre. If the condition isn't met, it's a worse Gnomeregan Infantry. I wouldn’t even want this in a Rush Warrior.
Warpath - One Star - This is a pretty fair card. However, would I want to take up a deck slot for this card just so I can enable my Armorsmiths and Frothing Berserkers? I think that Bloodrazor and plenty other basic Warrior cards can do that better. No, your “machine gun” Warrior dream will not come true.
Woodcutter's Axe – Three Stars – Obviously this card is amazing for Warrior and it should be treated as such. Remember Glaivezooka? This is the same deal, but with a better reward (albeit a bit specific). Warrior has been given plenty of choices of Rush minions in this expansion and a deck like that seems craftable, but the low rating comes from the fact that I only see Rush warrior as a tier-3 deck.
Rabid Worgen – Three Stars – This is the card that completes the Tempo curve that Warrior needed for their Rush archetype. This is a much needed definer for what I really think will be a prominent tier-3 deck. There’s not much else to say about this card really. It’s just a really nice follow up after Woodcutter’s Axe, making it a really nice card to create a decent Tempo swing. Still, this deck will only be low-tier.
Rogue Cards:
Face Collector - Three Stars - An interesting and fun choice for a Control Rogue kind of deck. Unfortunately, these "random legendary generating" cards tend to not be so great (with the exception of Elise, Starseeker). Sneed's Old Shredder, Rotface, Confessor Paletress, Sindragosa, and the upcoming Toki Time-Tinker aren't good cards and have never been good. That being said, when you break down the stats, it's a 3-mana 2/2 "draw a card", 6-mana 4/4 "draw two cards", or a 9-mana 6/6 "draw three cards." I foresee this being played quite often in Quest Rouge to complete the quest with Shadowstep. That alone, is enough to make it a staple in a bottom tier deck. I can also see some experimentation in Control Rouge as well. It won’t make Quest Rouge much better and experimentation will be highly rampant.
Tess Greymane – One Star – This is by far the rating that is going to get me a lot of flak, but I’m just not seeing it. I don’t even think this meme is good enough for a two star rating. Even with all of the cards that have the “burgle” archetype, I really don’t think that this can be crafted into a deck. A huge part of the value that Yogg’Saron gave, even after his nerf, was the fact that EVERY spell you played gave you value. In this case, you are losing a LOT of value you got from those cards with quite a few of the minions you play. Battlecries will not trigger and chances are you might not even want to play the card you got. With Yogg’Saron, you were playing spells from your deck that you wanted play because it was your custom crafted deck. In this case, you’re gathering as many random cards you can (good or bad) and then playing them so you can… cast them again randomly? I think people are way too excited about this card because it’s reminiscent of one of the most iconic cards in the game in an era where it wasn’t nerfed. This deck is also very impossible to be a deck that will flood the META. If it becomes popular, more mirror matches will occur, and thus her effect won’t nearly be as powerful. Shudderwock is good because you know exactly what effects are gonna trigger. A deck can be built around him easily with the tools that Shaman’s were given. A Tess Greymane deck will certainly be tried out, but I really believe that after much experimentation, it just won’t be competitive.
WANTED! - One Star – One of the biggest memes in the Hearthpwn.com community. The value you get off of it, especially since you're a Rogue, is nice. The problem is where it's going to fit. I don't know any Miracle Rouge that would be willing to give up their Fal'Dorei Strider and Elven Minstrel for this. Sure, you can argue that Rouge needs a way to get coins now that Counterfeit Coin is rotating. I don't think this is the answer. Compare it to Flanking Strike and it really comes into perspective at how underwhelming it can be, especially since there’s a chance of not getting the coin.
Spectral Cutlass – One Star – A deck like this existed a while ago when TGT was still in Standard. It involved Shifter Zerus, Grand Crusader, Swashburgler, Burgle, Ethereal Conjurer, and Nexus Champion Saraad. Back then, this card would have had the tools to make this viable. Now, it doesn’t have enough. Witch’s Cauldron, Blink Fox, and Pick Pocket aren’t enough either. If a deck like this were even viable, chances are Obsidian Shard from Un’Goro would be used instead. Both weapons in the deck is just overkill.
Cursed Castaway – One Star – I really appreciate the debate on this card. I have to agree with the ones that are saying that this is strictly worse than Starfall. Both of them are technically 6-mana deal 5 damage and draw a card. However, there are differences. Let’s talk about the upside first. This pulls out a specific card instead of a random one from your deck. For Rogues, that’s pretty amazing. Pulling your Edwin VanCleef or Vilespine Slayer is great, especially if they’re the only two combo cards in your deck. That way, it’s guaranteed. But, you have Elven Minstrel for minion draw. The card falls short everywhere else. Unlike Starfire, this minion can’t bypass Taunt. Spells are often used to pick off targets you can’t reach (not to mention it can’t go face immediately). Similarly, the odds of this card surviving a trade on turn 6 are slim. Even if it does survive, you aren’t getting the full value of the card immediately because her effect is a Deathrattle. People will argue that the specific card draw is enough and that’s a fair statement but I’m gonna stick to my gut and keep this as a one star card
Mistwraith – One Star – This card has good stats and a fair effect, but Rogues have better things to do with their time than to wait until they draw an Echo card and get this cards stats high enough while hoping this doesn’t leave the board.
Pick Pocket – One Star – I read this as a 2-mana “draw a card that you may or may not want”. Why bother when you can use Shiv to draw a card you can guarantee you’ll want and deal a hit of damage with it? Sure it has Echo, but I don’t think Spectral Cutlass and Mistwraith aren't good enough reasons to run this.
Cheap Shot – One Star – This certainly has no place for Tempo Rouge because of Prince Keleseth. However, would this be a better replacement for Shiv in Miracle Rouge? No. Rogue isn’t going to sacrifice card draw for a little extra damage. Rogue has better ways of removal.
Cutthroat Buccaneer – Two Stars – This is a tough one for Rogues. They’re losing two of the biggest benefactors that go into Kingsbane Rogue: Southsea Squidface and Naga Corsair. This is far from an acceptable replacement. Not only does it require a combo to trigger, but a 4-mana 5/4 is MUCH better and more aggressive than a 3-mana 2/4. This particular Rogue archetype is going to take a big hit. I reckon it’ll see play on the ladder, but not anywhere near the big boys. This card will slide itself in there, but wow is this not the card it needed to be saved.
Blink Fox – Five Stars – I don’t expect this “from your opponent’s class” deck to be nothing more than a low-bottom tier deck. However, just because this card fits into that archetype, doesn’t mean that this isn’t a good card. I’m a little bit skeptical because Swashburgler was mostly played because he was a decent 1-drop and he pulled out Patches the Pirate. Rouge already has a lot of good 3-drops like Edwin VanCleef, Disgusted Toast, and Fan of Knives. That being said, it’s a decently stated card with a solid effect. It’s gonna find its way into quite a few Rogue decks and be favorable as well. Having a form of “card draw” that isn't from your own deck on turn three is really good, especially if you manage to get some force on the board. A 3/3 is more than acceptable.
Hunter Cards:
Houndmaster Shaw - One Star - I don't think it will fit anywhere. First of all, Tundra Rhino exists which gives Charge instead of Rush (albeit, with a restriction). Secondly, giving everything Rush will be nothing more than a board clear. You can argue that it sets up a win condition next turn, but I don't think that there will be too much left on the board afterwards. I think using Cave Hydra is dreaming to big. Finally, Master Oakheart is too underwhelming because it will pull out three damage in total that can be used immediately. People could have been using this same combo with Tundra Rhino, but it was never done.
Emeriss – Two Stars – This currently has no support to become a deck definer. If the support is there, then maybe, but putting it plain and simple, the support isn’t there. The future of this card is quite large but, not in the next four months. That being said, I think that there will be a Dragon/Beast Hunter run somewhere out there and it will lose. It will lose many games. But I know that there’s going to be one glorious games in all of out expiences where we run into this and we have so much bad luck, you’re going get completely oblitared by this guys effect. Hilarious, and fun, but not competitive quite yet.
Rat Trap – Two Stars – An interesting puzzle piece to make Control Hunter viable. Although you don’t get the value immediately, a 6/6 for 2 mana is very strong, especially since this forces your opponent to work around it. However, I just don’t feel like it’s enough. It’s easy to counter and these ideas of using King Mukla and Hoarding Dragon to bait out card usage are too ludicrous. It counters a lot of things but it’s too unreliable. I predict that this will remain untriggered for several turns if your opponent hasn’t smashed your face in already. I had to do a little experimentation with this card. I played multiple casual Standard games and waited until I found a few Hunters (which took a while). I realized that I was able to play just two cards a turn for a very long time until it was too late for my opponent to burst me down. Unless Hunter gets better tools, and I don’t think they’re there yet, Control Hunter won’t happen. Two stars because it just might work in a low-tier Spell Hunter.
Toxmonger – One Star – I’m scared to rate this one star, but I mean… come on. Are we really going to run Eleven Archer and Stonetusk Boar just so we can combo the two together? I suppose this could be useful with Stitched Tracker, but I think a combo that costs at the least 5-mana and uses two cards is pretty inefficient. I’m well aware I could be ignorant about this one but… no. I don’t see what all the fuss is about.
Duskhaven Hunter – One Star – This card is extremely vanilla and it’s similar to Pumpkin Peasant which I think is useless. Not much else to say about it other than it’s just kind of underwhelming. Not horrifically bad, but not what Hunter needs.
Wing Blast – Three Stars – This fits right into a Control Hunter deck. Hunter already has a good 4-mana removal in Flanking Strike, but if you can get the value off Wing Blast, chances are you’ll have at least three more mana to play whatever you want instead of a 3/3 vanilla Beast. I would say Control Hunter is one AoE damage spell away from being a thing. As of right now, Control Hunter is off the table. But this card will certainly be run because of its sheer versatility.
Carrion Drake – One Star – It’s a pretty poor card. With three attack, there’s a solid chance you’re already killing something. The poisonous is just not necessary which kinda makes it feel like a vanilla 5-mana 3/7 to me. Plus, the Battlecry has a condition, which sucks no matter how easy it is to pull off. When you don’t pull it off, you’re going to feel really sad.
Hunting Mastiff - Two Stars - With Rush and Echo being released, this card being printed was inevitable. However, it has its benefits! Face Hunter is currently a tier-3 deck and (although it can't go face, obviously) I foresee this replacing Kindly Grandmother when it rotates out. It won't be a staple and it won't make the deck better, but it's a very viable option. It works well with Dire Wolf Alpha, Scavenging Hyena, and maybe even Un'Goro's Stampede! It will certainly be tried out quite a bit, but I don't think it will make or break the Hunter class.
Dire Frenzy – Three Stars – I can actually see this card being used in a Quest Hunter, even if it doesn’t make it competitive, it will make it a functioning bottom-tier deck. Using this on a useful one-cost card like Stonetusk Boar and pulling them with Tol’Vir Warden could be useful… not competitive, but useful. Maybe you want to be a little more aggressive and use it on a Vicious Scalehide. This card gives you value immediately and in future turns. Although it won’t be top tier, I think this card will be one of the reasons we sporadically see some Hunters out there.
Vilebrood Skitterer – One Star – I’m afraid I’m rating one of the sleeper cards of the set one star but… come on. The stats are horrendous and this is just a worse Assassinate which is also not great. At least Assassinate bypasses Taunt and Divine Shield. At turn five, it’s very unlikely this will survive long enough to take down more than one minion.
Druid Cards:
Duskfallen Aviana – One Star – There’s a lot to say about this card. Yeah, it’s bad and will see no play. I’ll just get that out of the way. It gives your opponent the upper hand before you gain any benefit and the stats are only decent. However, I really don’t think it’s as bad as people are making it out to be. This is nowhere near as bad as Temporus. This is an immediate threat that your opponent has to get rid off and just might burn a removal spell to stop you from gaining the advantage. Sure, that spell may cost zero and be a huge gain of value, but… still. Likewise, the order in which you play your cards matter. It won’t be every time that your opponent plays their largest mana cost card first. Sometimes, you can’t do that. It’s unlikely that this will matter all the time, but hey, it happens. But, none of that matters because this card will see zero play.
Splintergraft – One Star – I see some cute ideas with Saronite Chain Gang and Stonetusk Boar, but I think people are forgetting that the 10/10 will cost 10 mana. Do you wanna run a 10/10 with Charge in a META where Tar Creeper and other powerful Taunts run rampant? The value you get out of this card is nice, but I just don’t see a place for it. This can’t set up a win condition. A 10/10 with Charge is strong, but not a guaranteed win condition. That being said, I’m sure the combo with Saronite Chain Gang will be tried about before people realize this just isn’t worth the dust.
Wispering Woods - One Star - This card has some VERY interesting applications. It's cool to think that the Hand archetype can belong to somebody other than Gul'Dan. With the release of other cards from this expansion, I can see this happen. The problem is, I don't see this being anymore than a bottom-tier deck. It will be tried out and used minorly but... It'll be no where’s near competitive enough. It will be a functioning deck, but... not a good one. You can just play Living Mana instead, which is also not fantastic. For this to work, you would have to NOT play cards to get... wisps. In addition to that, this card isn't good on its own. You would have to SEVERLY rely on other cards for it to combo with which isn't great in a world where Defile and Duskbreaker run the show.
Gloom Stag - One Star - It's hard to imagine a Druid deck without Wild Growth, Spreading Plague, Swipe, or Ultimate Infestation. Sure, the stats are great, but the payoff is not worth the restriction. It's not very different from Druid of the Claw and that card is, at the very least, versatile. This isn’t.
Forest Guide - One Star - Mill decks are not as competitive as other decks and it's going to be very hard to build one without Coldlight Oracle. I also don't see this Handruid coming to fruition. Even if they did, there are two big reasons why this card wouldn't work. Its statline isn't even remotely threatening. Nobody is going to be scared of a 1/6 with this kind of effect. It’s not an immediate threat. What makes this even worse is that it happens at the end of your turn, which gives your opponent the upper hand and a head start in the value you're trying to create for yourself. It’s not very good at all.
Bewitched Guardian – One Star – Another tool to help Handruid, but I see it at tier-4 at best. Personally, I would just rather run Rotten Applebaum and get a decent amount of healing as opposed to whatever excess of health this guy may get. Even Druid of the Claw is better than this. If you have about six cards in your hand, you’re very close to the stats of DotC in Taunt form. At least that card has the option to become a charge minion. Maybe you can also just run Witchwood Grizzly, instead?
Witching Hour – One Star – This is definitely one of the better cards that Druid got out of this set. However, I don’t think Beast Druid will become a thing just because of this and I don’t believe that having one or two Beasts in a non-Beast-style deck, even something like Hadronox, is going to be worth adding this. It’s not that it’s a bad card, but Druid doesn’t have the tools to makes deck like this work and therefore will see no play.
Witchwood Apple - One Star - Dreadful on its own, mediocre with combos. Witchwood inspires Handruid and you can spread these Treants out through multiple turns to your liking, but I just don't see that being relevant or viable.
Ferocious Howl – One Star – Decent card, but will probably only replace Jade Blossom in the tier-4 Big Dragon Druid. Drawing a card and gaining armor is a fair deal for 3-mana. This card has its place in the future, but it’s certainly not in the next four months. This card doesn’t have to be in a Handruid deck and I believe that it will find it’s home somewhere in the expansion AFTER The Witchwood.
Druid of the Scythe – Two Stars – The highest rating of all the Druid cards this expansion. Everybody knows that Druid is losing just about everything this expansion. All the Jade cards and Fandrel Staghelm are the biggest hits. The only viable deck that seems to be there for Druid to be left is the low-tier Aggro Druid and even then, they’re losing A LOT in that deck as well. Anything new that Druid has been offered doesn’t seem like it’s going to be practical, so if Malfurion mains want to see any trace of him in Standard, I would assume that they would try to save Aggro Druid. This card seems like a fair fit. Unfortunately, that’s really all I think this card will be used for until Druid finds something better.
Shaman Cards:
Hagatha the Witch - Five Stars - I see some great potential build-arounds with this card. Elemental Shaman just might be a bit more viable now. Grumble, Worldshaker is very much realistic as well. Hell, could we see Quest Shaman become a thing? This could be very interesting. I see this being a staple in a Tier-2, maybe even Tier-1 deck. Elemental cards are typically very strong, Shaman has one of the best Elementals in the game, and pretty decent low-cost minions to flood the board. I’d like to have some faith for the only DK in the set.
Shudderwock – Five Stars – The obvious META-definer for Shaman. This card itself is a massive win condition if you manage to pull off enough battlecries. Shaman received a lot of amazing build-around cards for this legendary to be effective. The obvious ones are Saronite Chain Gang and Baleful Banker. There’s a massive amount of versatility to have with Blazing Invocation as well. Picking and choosing what Battlecries go in your deck allows you to plan ahead, take caution, and just plain have fun. This card will certainly define a deck and I truly believe that it will be competitive. For those of you who made it this far in the review, you’re probably wondering why I rated Tess Greymane one star but this five stars. Shaman allows you to build a deck around whatever it is you want to recast and then let Shudderwock do the rest. You have the power to make sure that nothing it targeted or harmful to you. For Rouge, you have to put a bunch of nonsense in your deck and then hope you get good cards and THEN re-cast them whether they’re good or not and on random targets as well. Shudderwock is eons better and I for one welcome our new Shaman overlords.
Bogshaper – One Star – 7-mana do nothing. I admit that the value you get out of this is pretty great, but tempo is almost always better than value. You are losing a LOT of tempo when you play this, just so you can grab a few minions for Hagatha. That seems like a lot of work just so you can fill your hand with Shaman spells.
Totem Cruncher – One Star – Totem Shaman is not good right now. I made a Totem Shaman deck when KaC came out and it only got me to rank 20. It doesn’t have the proper tools to be viable and this doesn’t change a thing. In fact, this is anti-Windsheer Stormcaller, which is a major part of what Totem Shaman (in Standard) is all about. I truly believe that this can be useful when given the right cards. They just don’t exist right now.
Murkspark Eel - One Star - On paper, this card is actually great! Competitive stats, a beast tag, and a really good Battlecry are all there. The problem is, I don't foresee a viable Genn Greymane deck happening within the next four months which renders this card to nothing more than a River Crocolisk.
Earthen Might – Five Stars – A really powerful choice for Shaman. Getting a buff alongside “card draw” outside of your deck is very good for two mana. The card itself is extremely powerful and provide consistency with Elemental effects while simultaneously buffing them up.
Blazing Invocation – Five Stars – An instant inclusion in the highly-anticipated Shudderwock Shaman. This deck will allow you to make sure that you choose Battlecries that won’t come back and haunt you later once Shudderwock is down. What makes this card so great is that you can make up for the tight-knit structure in your deck by putting this in and Discovering a card that’s relevant to you in your current situation. This allows you some flexibility. Oh, and by the way, THIS HAS NO OVERLOAD. One of the best Discover effect in the game and it only costs 1 mana.
Witch's Apprentice - One Star - Jeweled Macaw, Babbling Book, Crystalline Oracle, and Swashburgler are all very similar cards. They’re all good cards too! So why does this only get one star? It’s because of two obvious reasons. A lot of Shaman spells are woeful and this cannot contest the board. Sure, this is decent in the late game, but that's no reason to put it in your deck. I think Hagatha is good because I believe that if you proc her effect enough times it will be powerful, but in the late game, this card might not be good enough.
Zap! – One Star – Too similar to Lighting Bolt. Shaman has better things to do than to put a 0-mana spell in their deck that Overloads you. Yeah, it's similar to Rogue's Backstab which is great, but I think the Overload kills it.
Ghost Light Angler – Three Stars – A very surprising rating. When I first saw this card, I was ready to give it one star and move on to the next rating. However, I theorycrafted a deck with this guy in it and I was on board. So, why three stars? Shaman’s are going to have a fun time using this to get value out of Hagatha the Witch and just as a decent option to flood the board. It’s a lot more flexible than Walnut Sprite and even has a Murloc tag which means people will attempt to make Quest Shaman work again. It most likely will not but I expect to see quite a few attempts of it.
Paladin Cards:
The Glass Knight – One Star - I really love these low coasted legendaries that have simple but meaningful effects. This reminds me of my favorite card in all of Hearthstone, Fjola Lightbane (hence my avatar). That being said, Lesser Pearl Spellstone was pretty difficult to upgrade and I don’t see why this guy will be much different, nor do a think a specific deck will be created to revolve around him. It’s not much better than Silvermoon Guardian.
Prince Liam – One Star – This card is awesome but I really don’t think it’s going to be useful. Realistically, you can only run SO many 1-drops and hope you don’t draw them. If you’re only turning one card into a Legendary, is it really worth the deck slot? I’m going to have to say no.
Hidden Wisdom – One Star – Not sure what all the fuss is about with this card. Yeah, the value is good and it’s giving you card draw at a time you need it, but is worth the deck slot? Probably not. It’s also fairly easy to counter and not the biggest deal when triggered.
Cathedral Gargoyle – One Star – An extremely powerful card. We all remember how often Shielded Minibot was played. The problem is obvious, though. If Paladin doesn’t get enough support, it won’t be used. This is just like Nightbane Templar, great card, but not good without support.
Paragon of Light – One Star – Another card that is good on its own but just has absolutely no place anywhere. You wouldn’t put this in an aggressive deck, but more so a Control-style deck. But at that point, you aren’t going to be running cards like Dire Wolf Alpha, Raid Leader, or Blessing of Kings in that kind of deck to make sure that here effect goes off. The only fit I see could be Quest Paladin, but that’s far from being good at the moment.
Silver Sword – Three Stars – This was originally a one star card before I took a closer look at the deck recipe for Dude Paladin. They currently run one copy of Vinecleaver which, just like Silver Sword, is an expensive weapon that grants you value over a long period of time. I believe that this weapon will replace Vinecleaver for some versions of Dude Paladin because having a decent board is common with that deck. Murloc Paladin probably values two 1/1’s instead of buffing the board, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was tried out.
Bellringer Sentry – One Star – I think it’s a general consensus between the Hearthstone community that Secret Paladin will not be a thing again. I agree 100%. Instead of having the ability to pull 4 or 5 secrets from your deck immediately, this one pulls out two over the course time. Not only that, but the secrets that Secret Paladin used complimented each other so well. One attack would set off three of them and if your opponent didn’t attack you, it would be punishing for them. A lot of those secrets in the TGT era are gone and the current ones won’t have enough synergy to be competitive. You could argue that this doesn’t have to be in a deck where the main revolution of the deck is secrets and that’s true! But, it’s still too slow and the secrets that Paladin can pull are not worth the deck slots. Hydrologist is only good because those secrets come with a 2/2 body and you can choose which secret is most appropriate for you at the time. Overall, it’s way too slow.
Sound the Bells! – One Star – This card LOOKS incredible and will be tried out. This is the exact kind of support that Quest Paladin needed but unfortunately, it’s not going to be enough. The problem with Quest Paladin was the fact that you couldn’t get off enough buffs before your opponent bursts you down. It was too clunky. While this card DOES allow you to activate it multiple times, you have to have a large pool of mana and something on the board. In other words, you need to survive long enough to make this happen which brings Quest Paladin right back where it started: bottom-tier. There’s no room to put this anywhere else. Not Dude, Murloc or Aggro Paladin. It’s not worth the deck slot for any of those archetypes.
Rebuke - One Star - Dude Paladin and Aggro Paladin are top-tier decks and I don't see any reason to take something out of those decks to fit this in. Sure, you can set up a board without fear after playing two of these because your opponent can’t use AoE, but that seems unrealistic. At least with Lotheb you were getting a 5/5 out of the deal. It's actually a really good card, but I don't see it fitting anywhere in the next META and therefore gets one star. I also don’t see any new viable archetypes. I like the idea of using this in Exodia Paladin by Rebuking twice to stop any removal of the Horsemen, but that’s dreaming a bit too big. Cool card, though.
Ghostly Charger – One Star – You’re not going to trade with anything that only has three health on turn five. This is beyond clunky. You can argue that Argent Horserider was used, but he had Charge and it was more likely you would be getting a fair trade on turn three. At turn five, this is hopeless.
Neutral Legendary:
Azalina Soulthief – Two Stars – This was rated one star for the longest time but at the VERY last second. I decided to bump it up one rating. This is clunky, slow, and not aggrsive at all. But in a deck where you might not always have a full hand, this is the perfect tech choice to get you right back into the game.
Countess Ashmore – One Star – Vicious Scalehide is a fair universal grab for either Lifesteal or Rush as well as Woodcutter's Axe. It’s a super flexible card that offers a large amount of value. However, drawing less than three cards? That's not enough to make her a value card. It's very difficult to make her work in the pool of cards we will have at our disposal. The Curator had Taunt and that was a big deal. This is very over-hyped. This could have potential, but not in the next META.
Baku the Mooneater - Five Stars - I have no doubt that this will be a staple in some sort of META deck. It’s hands down one of the best cards in the set. This card can shine in an Elemental Mage deck. Use Firefly, Jaina DK, Arcane Artificer, Alexstraza, Flamestrike, and Blazecaller. The list goes on. Warrior has a lot of good Taunts at an odd cost for their Quest. Rotten Applebaum, Direhorn Hatchling, and Stonehill Defender are all reasonable. Even Hunter can make a pretty aggressive deck with Vicious Fledgling, Unleash the Hounds, Eaglehorn Bow, and Dire Mole. I'm sure that there will be a creative soul out there to make this work. Obviously, if it did, it would be the ultimate staple of the deck. Justicar Trueheart saw play because of how amazing the upgraded Hero Power was. If the restriction doesn’t bind you, it will be amazing and will define SOMETHING.
Genn Greymane – Three Stars – This is hard to admit but it’s difficult to see this see any play except for a bottom-tier Paladin deck. It shows some potential in a Silver Hand Deck because you'll have Drygulch Jailor, Sunkeeper Tarim, Lightfused Stegodon, Crystal Lion, Spikeridged Steed, Call To Arms, and Potion Of Heroism. Priest also has the possibility of keeping Spiteful Summoner viable by using Mind Control and other even-costed cards like Duskbreaker and Shadow Ascendant. Might not be dominant, but surely a contender. I hope that this card sees play because Genn Greymane deserves the best, but I really don’t think that his effect holds a candle to Baku’s.
Dollmaster Dorian – One Star – I think this is overhyped. This is not as good as Barnes at all. In order for this card to work, you have to hope that you draw like a God. If you want Dorian to summon copies of the card you want, you have to hope that you didn’t draw that card BEFORE you play Dorian. Similarly, you can’t always guarantee that this card will survive on turn five which means you’d have to play it with more mana if you want to use Sense Demons, Roll the Bones, Howling Commander, or Eleven Minstrel. From then on, you have one or two mana left to do anything else which leaves your 1/1’s vulnerable. It seems like it requires too much luck and time for it to be worth anything. Barnes was broken because on turn four, you could pull whatever minions you have in your deck onto the field. Out of a deck of thirty, it’s a lot less likely you would draw that card. With Dollmaster Dorian, you have to hope you draw that card out of thirty BEFORE Dorian and hope he’s still on the field by the time you play it. He’s too slow and Cubelock just doesn’t have a need for him.
Neutral Epics:
Nightmare Amalgam – Four Stars – 3-mana 3/4 is good and has shown its worth with Spider Tank in Mech Mage. There are a few cool things you can do with it such as curve this into Houndmaster or use it to curve your Duskbreaker, However, the real reason why I rated this four stars because I believe that this new Elemental Mage and possibly Odd Mage is going to be dominant and I predict that quite a few of these versions will run this card.
Baleful Banker – Five Stars – After seeing the card dump stream, I was in awe of how amazing this card can be and how easily it can define a deck. The options that this card provides is absolutely insane. Shudderwock is the obvious one. Not only will you shuffle extra copies of whatever minion you want, but you also guarantee Shudderwock practically cloning itself. You can also use this with quite a few Quest rewards and save extra copies for later. The Priest one comes to mind. Having multiple copies of Amara, Warden of Hope could be insane. This will prove to be very useful and will be significant definers in, at the very least, the insane Shudderwock deck that predict will flood the META.
Worgen Abomination – One Stars – The only difference between this card and Baron Geddon is that you can run an extra copy but… boy would I not wanna do that. It’s an extremely costly and weaker version of Sleep With the Fishes. The 6/6 body doesn’t help.
Muck Hunter - Two Stars - A lot of people are calling this card a 5 mana 5/4 with Rush. I don't think this is phenomenal enough to warrant a deck slot. It's too fair and fair doesn't cut it in the Hearthstone META. And no, I don't see this being a decent combo with Drywisker Armorer. If that was a thing, it would have been done with Cornered Sentry. I do have to say though, this fits in well with a lot of other Warrior cards. I think this idea of a Rush Warrior could be viable and this could be one of the few one-of options people use for some of the versions.
Mossy Horror – Three Stars – I actually think this is fair tech option. It’s not for every class and it severely relies on what the META will be like, but I think there’s a chance here. Paladins and Warlocks have some excellent tools to make this work, this is a direct counter to Spreading Plague, and this is a fair way to eliminate token-style decks. This is basically Shadow Word: Horror bundled with a 2-mana 2/7. That’s pretty good. However, I’m a bit skeptical. Shadow Word: Horror was never good until Pint-Sized Potion was released in MSoG. If this isn’t comboed with something, it might not do much. But like I said, some classes just might have what it takes to make this viable. Perhaps this will be used in a Control Pally or Lady in White Priest? I think this is one of the most flexible tech options in the set.
Splitting Festeroot – One Star – I’m just not seeing it. I really like this card but the fact that it’s an 8-mana 12/12 isn’t enough to save it. What kills this card is how the stats are split up. A 4/4 for 8 mana isn’t scary and it’s a severe tempo loss. From then on, the minions it summons just don’t seem like much of a problem to me, even if it’s over the course of time. This is an extremely sticky minion but I’m not seeing much of a use for it. There are better thing to used Carnivorous Cube with, it’s too slow for Quest Priest and Coffin Crasher, and using Dollmaster Dorian with him isn’t realistic. Side Note: I can’t believe it took Blizzard 11 expansions to make a 3x sticky minion.
Voodoo Doll – One Star – A bit of a controversial rating seeing that everyone seems to love this card, but I don’t like it. I might get downvoted just for this comment, but does anybody remember Sergeant Sally? Yeah, me neither. She was bad. Obviously you can have more than two copies of Voodoo Doll and it’s a cheaper cost in dust but both of them are 3-mana 1/1 minions that have the requirement to trigger a Deathrattle to activate their removal effect. They’re way too similar. When Power Overwhelming was still in Standard, Sergeant Sally was used with this card to make for a 5-mana, two card combo for removal that dealt 5 damage to everything on your opponents side. Obviously, it didn’t work out well. Using this card with another card or a hero power is very similar and two slow for it to see play. Yes, this harder removal, but it’s to one minion. The time, tempo, and value isn’t worth it.
Witch's Cauldron – One Star – People are comparing this to the Grand Crusader card from TGT when I think it compares more to Lyra, the Sunshard. Obviously, Lyra ending up being incredible after being universally dismissed before Un’Goro dropped. Unfortunately, this is nowhere near favorable to Lyra. The idea of a Zoo Shaman deck with this card isn’t realistic. It requires a decent board for a mediocre payoff. Sure, there’s a lot of good Shaman cards. But, wow, are there a lot of bad ones as well. Totemic Might, Ice Fishing, Forked Lightening, Primal Fusion, Lesser Sapphire Spellstone, Ancestral Spirit, Spirit Echo, Primal Talismans, Avalanche, Rockbiter Weapon, and Ancestral Healing. The list goes on. Lyra rewarded you for doing something good for yourself (playing a spell). This card gives you a “reward” for your own minions dying. It’s just not worth it.
Sandbinder – One Star – 4-mana is a bit too much for a single card when you consider the stats on this thing. I think Mage and Shaman are going to have the most fun with Elementals this expansion and Mage already has Book of Specters alongside Bonfire Elemental. Shaman may not have the best card draw, but I think that they’ll deal without this.
Neutral Rares:
Phantom Militia - One Star - I think there are some fringe applications to be had in a spam-like Quest Rogue or Taunt Warrior, but it will ultimately just be shut out by other cards. Here’s an odd compassion: Lowly Squire and Guild Recruiter. Both of these cards were released to give a simple example of their newest mechanic (Inspire and Recruit respectively). It’s the same deal here, but with Echo.
Mad Hatter – One Star – I see nothing more than a meme. You do not want to play a 4-mana 3/2 when your opponent has a board and risk buffing them up. If you are the only one with minions on the field, you’re already in a good position anyways and his might not be necessary. The RNG on this seems too precarious for me and it’s difficult to get into a position where you become the only one who gains the benefit of this.
Gilnean Royal Guard – Two Stars – These “swap stat-worgen” cards aren’t going to see any play. However, out of all of them, this one has some potential as a budget tech card, but nothing more. 8-mana 8/3 for an almost guaranteed removal AND surviving with the same stats is not that bad. Unfortunately, its borderline useless in its other form. I can see this as a one of in some decks that may run Lady in White and an occasional tech option. That’s about it.
Witchwood Piper – Four Stars – I think that there’s are some pretty unique applications for this card to be viable as a universal tech option. I’m too scared to say that this will define a few decks, so I won’t. But, for the record, let it be known that it’s possible to rely on this card to grab something important like Lady in White. However, I think what this card will really be used for is to increase consistency with decks that involve Keleseth. I’m gonna be so bold as to say that Rouge just might use this to replace a single Eleven Minstrel. Perhaps Shaman will use this as well to grab some of their cheap Battlecry cards for Shudderwock. A 3/3 for 4 mana isn’t that bad at all when you consider drawing a card that will be beneficial for you. Four Stars for having potential to be prominent in a high caliber deck.
Chief Inspector – Four Stars – I’m bit scared to rate an obvious tech card four stars, but secrets are probably going to be common in the new META with Mage being powerful and all. There’s bound to be one deck on the higher rungs of the ladder that consistently keep one of these in their deck. I would argue that this is better than Eater of Secrets. At least it has decent stats if your opponent doesn’t have secrets. But, I really like this card. If it’s not a four star card, it will at the very least be a two star card as an occasional tech, but I’m willing to push my prediction just a little bit higher than that.
Witchwood Grizzly – Five Stars – This is a very odd rating. I feel like this card may be overhyped, but I’m going to take a leap of faith here and say that this will be in quite a few decks, top-tier or not. I don’t want to assume that this going to be a staple in any deck, but instead be widespread throughout decks on the ladder because of its versatility and great stats. The thought of having a 3/12 on the board by pulling it with Master Oakheart, Witching Hour, or Eternal Servitude is pretty insane and there have been decks in the past where massive Taunt minions win you the game like Big Priest and Handlock. This has fair synergy with Lady in White and more so with Priest in general because Witchwood Grizzly can stay healthier for much longer. All of this being said, the playability of this card COULD rely on the META. This is obviously an anti-aggro card and aggressive Paladin decks ARE currently at the top of the food chain. Could this be a bigger Tar Creeper or is it just another overhyped card? I’m gonna stick to my guns and say it will find a home in quite a few places.
Scaleworm - Three Stars - This could be the sleeper card of the set. I believe that this will have excellent synergy with WHATEVER Beasts and Dragons might come about in this expansion. I think a deck like that can be crafted. Perhaps Priest just might have a slight shot at it.
Night Prowler – One Star – This is a powerful follow up after playing Doomsayer, but other than that, I really wouldn’t want this anywhere else because you can’t always rely on your opponent not having minions on the board. Trying to make that happen for a 4-mana 6/6 isn’t worth your time.
Lifedrinker – Five Stars – Controversial rating but I truly believe that this will be a staple in Shudderwock Shaman. Can you imagine constantly healing and damaging face everytime Shudderwock is placed down? It’s particularly good on its own as well. 4-mana 3/3 with this effect is a valuable bundle. At some point, there will be a time where Shudderwock rules the META and I think that this is going to be one of the many choices used for that deck.
Neutral Commons:
Pumpkin Peasant - One Star - Although interesting, I see this as nothing more than a pack-filler. This is reminiscent of Acolyte of Agony and that saw no play.
Swift Messenger – One Star – The “swap stats” cards just aren’t doing it for me. This is way too vanilla to see any competitive play. In one form, it’s a worse Stormwind Knight with +1 health and in the other it’s a Fireball that can’t go face. Not to mention, it won’t ALWAYS be what you want it to be. You can argue that other classes need this for removal, but this is too unreliable to be a form of removal.
Spellshifter – One Star – Minions with Spell Damage are typically played for JUST the Spell Damage. Nobody really cares about the stats. Spell Damage is a lot more valuable when it stays on the field. Dalaran Mage never saw play and this will never survive as a 4/1. If you want Spell Damage for the same price, just play Tainted Zealot.
Rotten Applebaum – Four Stars - I'm not sure why nobody is freaking out about this card. While Sludge Belcher may be better, this is not far behind. It stops quite a bit of aggro and leaves you with a decent amount of healing. It's a Deathrattle so it works well with Priests, it's a Taunt so it works well with Warrior, and it's a decently stated odd-cost card so it goes well with Baku. This is also a nice grab from Stonehill Defender. Compare this to Antique Healbot and you start to realize why this might be amazing. Overall, it's a versatile card that I feel like some people are sleeping on! I see it being used in a widespread of decks. My one concern is the comparison to Witchwood Grizzly. They’re both 5-mana taunts, but Grizzly seems to be more favorable to a lot of people. Rotten Applebaum has more synergy with Deathrattle and the only Deathrattle Synergy deck I can think of is Quest Priest which isn’t phenomenal. Perhaps both will be run in Taunt Warrior, but it’s hard to say. Nonetless, I think it’s supple enough to be seen in decks as a common one-of.
Unpowered Steambot – Four Stars – This card will see absolutely no play outside of a Priest deck that contains Lady in White. A four mana 9/9 is scary and I truly believe that this will be a one-of in a Lady in White deck which will be in the tier-2 range, if not higher.
Blackwald Pixie - Five Stars - What an incredible addition to this game. Blizzard is really pumping up the value of three-drops in this expansion, boy, is this stated aggressively. There seems to be so many ideas floating around, I can't wait to see what this card will bring about. It will certainly be the defining feature of at least one deck. Perhaps you want to break out Uther, Ebon Blade and make an Exodia Paladin. Perhaps you want to try your hand at a deck with Dinomancy? Maybe used the Warrior DK for a double Raganros blast. There are so many options. I feel the most realistic are Exodia Paladin and perhaps something with Baku Hunter. That may be hoping for too much, but I’d like to be a dreamer here.
Clockwork Automaton - Two Stars - Other than some crazy meme decks and Baku Hunter, I don’t think that this is practical. It's way too clunky and chances are your opponent is going to catch on and destroy this card ASAP. You would want to Hero Power immedicatly after using this and it’s pretty insane to deal 6 damage with on upgraded Hero Power shot from hunter, but is that worth the risk of running an unwieldy deck? I’m gonna say no.
Ravencaller – Two Stars – This card makes me sad because there are SO many ways that this card can fit into different archetypes and Alliestraza, the one who revealed this card, did and incredible job breaking this down. However, I don’t think that it’s good enough to warrant any play. The stats are too weak and you can’t always rely on the cards you get. Sure, you can use them as discard targets, a hand filler for Handruid, or even complete the Hunter Quest but I don’t think this alone is enough. It’s a perfect FIT for all of them, but just isn’t enough. One thing that wasn’t mentioned in the reveal video was Rogue, which is the reason it gets two stars. Rogue thrives off of cheap costed cards to pull off their insane combos And this is a form of card draw that isn’t from your deck. It just might seen enough play to warrant that extra star because of the Rogue play style.
Cauldron Elemental – Two Stars – Elemental decks are going to be running wild and I honestly think this will be used as a decent tech cards if a card slot is still empty. I wanted to rate this a one star because it seems like a win-more card. If you have enough Elementals on the board to make this worth your while, you’re probably already winning. But, I’m gonna take pity on the Cauldron Elemental. It’s not great, but with enough Elementals on the board, it can be a potential “one-of” finisher as opposed to just a Tempo Swing.
Vicious Scalehide – Four Stars – At first glance, I think everybody (including myself) dismissed the card as a pack-filler. However, Lifesteal and Rush on a single minion can be an extremely powerful bundle. When buffed, it becomes a very beefy Beast and it ALREADY had three health. As a Beast, Hunter is going to have an amazing time comboing this with Dire Frenzy and other Beast synergy cards. Rush Warrior might consider this as well. This is also a fair draw from Countess Ashmore. There’s a lot of potential in this vanilla minion and I think it will be seen in a widespread of low-tier decks.
Darkmire Moonkin – One Star – A strong contender for the Magma Rager reward. At 7-mana, you better hope something good is happening fast. If you want Spell Damage, just play… anything else. The only use I see this card having is being the very, very, very poor man’s Malygos and that is a HUGE stetch. This is terrible. Spell Damage typically played when you have enough mana to use other things. At 7-mana, this is hopelessly restrictive.
Deranged Doctor – One Star – This card is actually pretty good. There was a reason why Antique Healbot was a 5-mana 3/3 and not stated aggressively. Healing effects are powerful. Unfortunately, people tend to use their 8-mana slots for something a little bit more game changing and the effect on this isn’t even immediate.
Walnut Sprite – One Star – Hilarious, but no. A 3/3 “do nothing” is not what anybody in the game needs and if Rogue ends up having this Echo Rogue deck, which I think is out of reach, they still wouldn’t use this.
Furious Ettin – One Star – Too vanilla to see any play. A 5/9 isn’t even really that great for 7-mana, as shown by Bog Creeper.
Tanglefur Mystic – Two Stars – I really want to give this a one star rating but… Spellslinger saw play and it’s a fair option in odd decks. Use this, and then on turn four you can play the minion you got from this and use your upgraded Hero Power. That’s not a bad turn four. I really don’t see why anybody else would use this, but again… Spellslinger was used. That’s really the only basis of me giving this one more star.
Wyrmguard – Three Stars – This is a very powerful late game card for a Dragon Priest. However, I’m rating it three stars because I’m not sure of the power levels of Dragon Decks when the Year of the Raven starts. Priest didn’t get a lot of good Dragon support this time around and they’re losing a LOT of their good cards like Drakonid Operative and Dragonfire Potion. I think Dragon Priest is going to sink lower down on the ladder and this card, although will help the deck, won’t save it from going under.
Felsoul Inquisitor – One Star – To vanilla for the META. You’re not gain much from the Lifesteal at only one attack and the Taunt and Demon tag don’t make it much better, Warlock has no need for this and I don’t think it’s good enough to be in a Lady in White deck.
Swamp Dragon Egg – Three Stars – A really nice substitution for Netherspite Historian. Not better, but still pretty nice. It’s a good play on turn one so you get rewarded later on in the game as you make more tempo related plays as it does to any AoE that might have been used. The problem is, I really don’t think Dragon Priest is going to be the force it is now when the rotation occurs. It just doesn’t have the tools it once had. I also really don’t think any other class will use this either. There are Dragons like Duskbreaker that are useless without Dragon Synergy and there are just a lot of bad Dragons in general. Hoarding Drake, Nozdormu, Onyxia, and Temporus to name a few. Yes, I know, there’s a lot of good Dragon minions as well, but I’m just not a fan of those odds.
Hench-Clan Thug – One Star – Dreadfully slow. Rogues, Shamans, Paladins, Druids, Warriors, and Hunters have better things to do than to make this a 4/4 by attacking.
Marsh Drake – Four Stars – Although not a deck definer, I really think this will find usage somewhere. The 2/1 hardly seems to be a problem. Warriors have Bloodrazor to knock it out almost immediately. Druid, Rogues, and Mages have their Hero Powers to ping it off. Hunters have Candleshot for an easy and harm-free ping. Paladins have Silverhand Recruits and Warlocks and Priests have a plethora of removal spells. This isn’t a bad target for Oaken Summons, either. This is also one of the few cards that’s going to keep Dragon Priest from hitting complete rock bottom, but still won’t make it better. A 3-mana 5/4 is undoubtedly powerful and I’m sure he’s going to be terrorizing people in no time. He should be seen spread through quite a few decks.
Lost Spirit – One Star – I fail to see a situation where you would want to flood the board just so you can pop this off. The effect isn’t immediate and there is almost no chance of it hitting everything you want it to hit because your opponent can easily control when it dies and therefore will just kill it last. If it dies to AoE, then you just played a 2-mana 1/1. Destroying it yourself is not worth the hassle.
Swamp Leech – One Star – Classic pack-filler. This is not much different from Deadscale Knight and that saw no play at all.
*turns on "Awaiting the Debutante" By Helmut Hampton"
Dear, Mr. Pageturner
Thus far, an addition to our cherished ballgame we know as, Stone of Hearth. Existing strong, as another prodigious docket analysis as been released. *Sips Sauvignon Blanc* I do adore that you rated "Hagatha" a 5 star, for it is such a robust ticket in the Shamen meta. We are all indebted that you organized such a fantastic report on our game. Steep prospects Mr. Pageturner. A troubadour for the ages!
Nice work. If I were to attempt a review such as this I'd lose my internet or otherwise bug out and crash after 13,900 words, only to realize I was an idiot and didn't save.
#neverlucky
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Anger is the punishment we give ourselves for someone else's mistake.
I appreciate the massive amount of work you put into this, but I can't help but feel a lot of these predictions are pretty far off. Lady in white as five stars? Remember that the lady in white inner fire gets placed BEFORE any minion were to get any health buffs. For most minions that equates to +1 or maybe +2 attack. I could see it in some sort of "egg priest" deck. Also, it's reliant on actually getting it at the start of the game; Dragon soul is a great example of this. A strong card, but terrible because if it's at the bottom of your deck, it's bad.
Actually read through it all! Everything I disagree with you admitted was controversial, but even then, your logic was clear and easy to follow. I'm also glad to see that someone else shares my opinion on Lifedrinker. Can you give my review a read? Love to hear your thoughts.
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"The quickest way to 'think outside the box' is to realize the truth: the only real box is the one you create by limiting your thoughts."
Read through it all and vehemetly disagree with several, most notably Blackwood Pixie, Lifedrinker, Hagatha, and Dark Possession being 5 stars. As well as Houndmaster Shaw and Ratrap being so low specifically, but blanketly Druid and Paladin combined have two cards above one star and none above three. Just by the odds they are going to have one or two cards that make decks. But thinking Rebuke from Paladin is one star is just crazy talk.
However, I completely agree that Curse of Weakness is going to be cried from the start to be nerfed. But, its Blizzard. So if it's too good, they'll nerf one of their older cards in the deck its good in and not it because they want packs sold.
Appreciate the effort and the fact it gets discussion going, but here in two or three weeks we will know for sure either way.
I don't agree with any of your ratings till warrior, saw darius as a 2 star, stopped reading.. you lack vision to see that a lot of good cards rotate out and not everything is at cubelock level. darius is an easy 5 stars btw.
We'll have to see how things unfold and maybe you are right on most of this after all. But giving Lady in White 5 stars and Darius Crowley 2 really gives me pause.
Unsurprisingly, I don't agree on everything, but I think we have similar opinions about a lot of things. I will mention one or two of the places where we really diverge.
Arcane Keysmith feels perfect in the Book of Specters/Arugal deck. I definitely think it will see play there. Without Ice Block, most secrets are conditional anyway, and this allows you to pick the secret to suit your situation.
Curio Collector I think the initial stats are just too bad. Instead of investing 5-mana in this then playing book of specters, I'd rather just play book of specters, and then invest the remaining 5-mana on cards that are more impressive than just being a beatstick on 7-mana.
Dark Possession I mentioned in my thread that I just don't see this one. 1-mana discover has traditionally not been that good. I think Journey Below saw play only because of Gadgetzan and combo. I also think that most Demons are disappointing, even when they're free. If this destroyed the minion outright, I'd agree. But since I don't believe it has a strong effect, and because it serves as an activator only for Lackey, I don't think it will make the cut.
Curse of Weakness I don't think this is a bad card. That said, it is bad compared to what Warlock already has at it's disposal. Defile, Doomsayer, Corrupting Mist, Hellfire, Felfire, Twisting Nether, Godfrey - how much more AOE removal does the deck actually need? It doesn't even play some of this stuff.
Warpath Warrior actually lost a lot with Ravaging Ghoul and Sleep with the Fishes. I agree that machine gun warrior is a meme dream, but this is really just replacing tools warrior lost.
Houndmaster Shaw I just think it's nuts that you rated this, a playable card, lower than Emeriss, which is completely unplayable. YMMV with Houndmaster, but it at least passes the vanilla test. Emeriss does not.
We both agree that Druid got hosed and that Shaman got rich.
Blazing Invocation Just noting this because I don't want to look like a hypocrite: This is a 1-mana discover that may see a lot of play because it literally discovers multiples of your deck's win condition. I don't know if it will be necessary because of Banker and Zola, however.
Thank you for being one of the few to understand Prince Liam.
I appreciate the read! I really don't think Emeriss is good like... at all. But, the two star rating comes from the fact that I think a lot of people are going to be commited to the meme. I'm glad you and I agree on Prince Liam. I'm just not seeing it.
While I appreciate such a well written and thorough review, I gotta say say I think most of these ratings are way off. I even cringed reading the review of Coffin Crasher. It's a good card which you gave one star, which is ok in itself, but then you compared it to Big Priest and said it isn't a viable replacement for Barnes and Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound. That makes absolutely no sense. This goes in deathrattle/quest priest.. i'm so confused
John Pageturner's Review: The Witchwood
PLEASE READ THE RATING SYSTEM FIRST. THIS IS JUST MY OPINION AND I'M WELL AWARE I CAN BE WRONG
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. Credit goes to Trump, the Mayor of Value Town, for the rating system.
One Star – Unplayed.
Two Stars – Saw some competitive play at some point past the first week, rare choice for a tech card, a staple in a meme deck, OR replaces a card in a deck but it still becomes worse due to the roation.
Three Stars – In a Tier 3 deck OR occasional tech card OR replaces a card in a deck, but doesn’t change it much.
Four Stars – In a Tier 2 deck OR defines Tier 3 deck OR Multiple worse decks.
Five Stars – In a Tier 1 deck OR defines Tier 2 deck OR Multiple decks OR saves a deck from getting worse.
Priest Cards:
Lady in White – Five Stars – I think it’s fair to say that this archetype has a fair amount of support. I have no doubt that this will define at the very least a tier-2 deck. What a powerful effect. Inner Fire Priest is already powerful. You’re going to want to add this with a couple of changes to replace the cards that are getting rotated out. Drakonid Operative, Book Wyrm, and you’ll want to take out Twilight Drake of the deck as well. I see potential in this card. 8/8 Obsidian Statues, 3/3 Northshire Clerics; maybe even a 7/7 Oasis Snapjaw if you’re on a budget? There are a lot of possibilities in this legendary. There’s even a new vanilla neutral that goes well with this. Even if you mix this with a couple of tech cards like Mossy Horror, you’re still getting a decent amount of value. I foresee quite a nuisance in this legendary.
Chameleos – Four Stars – Easily my favorite card of the set and I think I share the same feeling with a lot of Hearthstone players. Obviously, this card doesn’t have any hope to DEFINE a deck, but man is this going to be tried out in a lot of Priest decks. One of them is bound to keep it. What is there to be said about this card that hasn’t been said? At this point, I’m just beating a dead horse, but hey… this IS a card review. This gives you a nice tactical advantage by seeing what’s in your opponent’s hand. I love the thought of baiting out a secret because you already know what the opponent was holding. Maybe you see a hard removal card and wait to place down all of your low health minions. My reviews don’t count for Wild, but imagine seeing Reno Jackson in their hand and then playing Dirty Rat? Wow. This IS comparable to Shifter Zerus, but the thing is, he could be ANYTHING. With Chameleos, you’re restricted to a pool of what will most likely be powerful cards from your opponent. Something that I didn’t see anybody mention was the Beast tag. I highly doubt it would mean anything, but hey, we’ve seen crazier things in Hearthstone. This card is incredible and I’m well aware that it can let us down as one of the biggest noob traps ever, but I’m way too hyped for it to care. I need this card to be good.
Glitter Moth - One Star - In a world where Divine Spirit is a 2-mana cost card, this just doesn't have the support it needs to see play. Not to mention, it's very clunky. That doesn't fair well for something that's meant to give you a win condition and doubling health is hardly a win condition unless paired with Divine Spirit and Inner Fire. I don’t even think this makes the cut in a deck with Lady in White. It’s just too constrictive.
Vivid Nightmare - Two Stars - I see way too many people comparing this to Mirage Caller, which so no play. You would be right to say that these two cards are very similar. However, this is Priest spell. That means it goes exceptionally well with Lyra the Sunshard. It doesn't have just one health when a minion is copied which means it goes well with Circle of Healing. Copies made with this card won't lose their attack damage so it goes well with Leroy Jenkins. These things probably won’t happen and I don't think this will save Big Priest. However, this card is so good, I think it warrants two stars for being a possible tech option.
Holy Water – Five Stars – I may be rating this too high, but I want at least one controversial rating on this list. A lot of people are saying that this is either unplayable or just “fair”. Priest is losing ALL of their good removal cards this expansion. Potion of Madness, Shadow Word: Horror, and Dragonfire Potion are gone. Priest needs SOMETHING to remove a single target that isn’t Holy Fire. Why not this card? Look at Bane of Doom. It’s the same mana cost, but almost always can guarantee a good card in your hand because you have the choice to pick what you want. It may not be as hard of a removal as Entomb, but at least this puts what you destroyed directly into your hand. I expect to see a lot of people playing Lord Godfrey and boy, is this a hard counter. Kripparian said it best in his reveal that what makes this card even better is the fact that there are a LOT of cards that are played for their abilities and not just stats. By the way, you would be playing this in a META where Radiant Elemental exits. I also like the idea of running this in Quest Priest and getting multiple copies of Amara, Warden of Hope. I look forward to seeing this in just about every Priest deck, but boy can I be wrong.
Nightscale Matriarch – Three Stars – A lot of people are hoping this will be the card to save Dragon Priest. Even though I think the deck won’t be as prominent as it once was, I think this will keep it in the realm of viability. It’s a big, beefy, immediate threat that will either eat up a big removal spell or will live long enough to aggro the board and spawn at the very least ONE 3/3. Even if you don’t summon a Whelp, it’s stats aren’t anything to complain about and it’s a Dragon which will proc your much needed Duskbreaker. It has a lot to offer for a 7-mana package and I think it’s good enough to squeeze in a deck.
Coffin Crasher - One Star - Once the year of the Raven drops, I think it will be time to stop talking about Big Priest. Barnes and Y'Sharraj will be gone and this card is nowhere near the answer to saving it. Others may suggest that you can pull off some sort of Possessed Lacky type deck, but this is much different. Possessed Lacky pulled a very specific card from your deck. That’s very different from pulling a random card from your hand, which is a smaller pool of options. With Possessed Lacky, it doesn’t have to be drawn. It’s too unreliable. Likewise, I don’t see a new deck archetype where this card is run and consistent. Maybe someday, but not today. It’s got good stats and a powerful effect, but it just lacks the support it so desperately needs.
Quartz Elemental – One Star – The concept here is too play this with Lady in White and keep it healthy so you have a beefy 8/8. This is just too slow, unfortunately. Drawing it before Lady in White is not great and keeping its health, although easy as a Priest, just isn’t worth it when there are plenty of other minions to use that can actually attack when damaged. Your opponent can counter this quite easily and Silence Priest isn’t an option because two of the best silence cards for Priest just go rotated out. This will be powerful one day, but I’m a bit to skeptical to say it will be this time around.
Divine Hymn – One Star –I really don’t think it will be a common card to be used when Circle of Healing can do relatively the same sing, but cheaper and better because it can be used with Auchenai Soulpriest. This would just nuke your own board. How much healing to you really need? At 1-mana, Binding Heal gave 5-health to a minion and your Hero and that saw no play at all. It’s a good card, but doesn’t have much of a use with better options like Circle of Healing. It’s a bit overkill.
Squashling – One Star –Saving it until the end to restore 10 health and flood the board is good, but not what Priest wants and I think using this with “healing damage” is a bit too much of a dream. I think that people will be more concerned with how to make Lady in White insane. This card doesn’t help the cause. There could be another deck archetype that can spawn because of this. Using your Auchenai Soulpriest to create a 10-mana damaging turn that also gives you aggro on the board? That’s something, but is it enough? It will surely be tried out, but it won’t be too relevant I’d say.
Mage Cards:
Toki, Time-Tinker – One Star – Awesome flavor, terrible card. There are way too many bad legendary minions for this to be consistent. An unpredictable effect mixed with bad stats makes for a poor legendary. A lot of people are going to throw this in elemental Mage for the sake of fun, but even then, I think it will fall out of favor. Side note: what the hell is going to happen to this card when it rotates into the Wild?
Archmage Arugal – Five Stars – Unfortunately for me (because I hate Mage), I don’t think this card is overhyped, while I don’t think this defines the “All minion-elemental Mage” deck, it will certainly be a common feature in what I believe to be a tier-1 deck. Now that I have seen all the tools that Mage is going to get, I see this as a very craftable deck with endless possibilities. This is going to be one of those cards that CAN be played early, but probably won’t be. This will not last more than a turn on the board so it’s best to summon this and immediately follow up with Book of Specters or maybe even Aluneth. Maybe Aluneth might be overkill? We’ll have to see. Mage is already pretty powerful and sure, they may be losing some of their best cards, but they just got some pretty decent replacements. Multiple copies of Sourcer’s Apprentice, Blazecallers, and any Elemental at all will have plenty of synergy to work out as an extremely functional deck.
Book of Specters – Five Stars – This was originally one star until I saw how much support Mage was getting this expansion. Need I even explain? Two mana, three cards is totally insane. That being said, I see a lot of theory crafts that still are cramming this deck archetype with a lot of spells because people are saying even if your draw two cards, it’s still good. I don’t think so. This card will be a staple in a deck that doesn’t have more than, maybe six spells, otherwise it can spell disaster.
Arcane Keysmith – One Star – The positive to this card is the fact that it’s cheaper than playing Arcanologist and then playing a secret. But, I’m gonna make a bull-headed call and say that the negatives outweigh the good. This comes down much later than Arcanologist and there’s a good chance you get some bad options. Also, as a Mage, you want Arcanologist to thin out your deck. This doesn’t do that.
Bonfire Elemental – Five Stars – It looks like Mage got a decent set up last expansion and now their bringing it home with this one. This is similar to Azure Drake if you can manage to pop off the effect with ease. Hm, if only Blizzard were pushing a deck that required you to stuff a bunch of minions with synergy together in one deck… Oh, not to mention that Odd Mage might also find a decent use for this.
Curio Collector – Four Stars – Usually cards like this are just not good. Cards that gains stats for a certain stipulation tend to be too slow and tedious to pull off. Just look at cards like Crowd Favorite and Daring Reporter. But, Mage is obviously being pushed upon to make a deck where drawing mass amounts of cards is an archetype. Aluneth is already popular and it’s one of the many tools Mage has to make this work. This can get out of hand pretty quickly and will be an immediate threat to your opponent when it drops on turn 5. Four Stars instead of five because I don't think it will be in every single deck like this and therefore, not a staple.
Cinderstorm – One Star – Triple the cost for less than double the effect of what Arcane Missiles gives you. Even at 3-mana, it’s just clunky for what it does, especially when you consider all of amazing 3-mana cost cards Mage has AND all of their Secrets. It’s definitely not worth the card slot.
Black Cat - Five Stars - Mage just got a mini Azure Drake much like that Bonfire Elemental. It's stated well, gives Spell Damage which is ALWAYS a plus for a Mage, and it offers card draw. I foresee a Baku Mage deck with this in it being and being pretty powerful as well. I truly believe Mage is going to be the dominant force this META.
Vex Crow - Four Stars - Tempo Mage is going to lose some of its most powerful cards in Standard like Ice Block and Medivh's Valet. But, Tempo Mage is currently a tier-2 deck. I truly believe that this card, albeit with some rearrangement of the deck, will save it from dropping down a tier. Some people are saying that it won't be good because you can get some bad two-drops from it. The same goes for Piloted Shredder and that card was busted. With the use of Sourcer’s Apprentice and Mirror Image to protect Vex Crow, I see this to be a force to be reckoned with and something that can get out of hand pretty quickly.
Snap Freeze – One Star – Just use Frostbolt. This is reminiscent of the infamous Shatter that saw absolutely no play. This slight buff doesn’t make it anymore playable.
Warlock Cards:
Glinda Crowskin - Two Stars - This has so many options and what seems like limitless possibilities. The problem is a lot of them are memes. I don't think that using giants will be effective enough and I think it's too clunky to rely on a competitive combo. Seven health is a lot, but if your opponent has a board, it can be taken down pretty quickly. If your opponent DOESN'T have a board, you're probably winning and you won't have to pull off some nutty wombo-combo anyways. However, this does get two stars because I see many meme decks in which this card is the prime staple. That alone will warrant more than one star. Warlock is on top of the food chain right now and has no need for this.
Lord Godfrey - Five Stars - It isn't the case with 99% of Hearthstone cards, but this card is an exception. You can just throw this into Control Warlock and it will be okay. Not a staple and not necessary, but damn is that solid removal with a 4/4 to boot. Could this be in Cube Lock as well? Possibly. It avoids a pull from Possessed Lacky because it isn’t a demon, but I don't think that Cube Lock can sacrifice anything they already have, but it’s a possibility. Nonetheless, it’s a good card and will certainly force some people to smash that concede button. Finally, Warlock gets some decent AoE Kappa… What else is there to say about this card? It’s just plain old busted.
Deathweb Spider – One Star – Normally, adding +2 worth of stats to another card is a big deal. In this case, I don’t think it matters. This is Bloodworm with a condition, albeit a fairly simple one especially for Warlock. However, currently Zoolock decks typically run Fungalmancer, Despicable Dreadlord, and Doomguard. None of those cards are going anywhere when Witchwood drops and they’re much better than this card. It’s too clunky to be anywhere else.
Ratcatcher – Two Stars – People are pretty hyped up about this card rightfully so. It’s a good card. However, the place it fits in best with is Cubelock. That’s an issue to me. I don’t think that this is better than Prince Taldaram and you can’t run another 3-drop in that deck with him. So, this gets two stars because I think it will be used as the poor man’s 3-drop Prince. I don’t see it working anywhere else at the moment, especially since I don’t have much faith in Zoolock in the next four or so months.
Blood Witch – One Star – You don’t need this card to trigger your effects. It’s that plain and simple. Warlock has plenty of ways to do it and this is certainly not the best way to do it. Sure, it WORKS, but just use your Kobold Librarian instead or Dark Possession.
Dark Possession – Five Stars – Full star rating for having the ability to fit right into an already tier-1 deck: Cubelock. Mistress of Mixtures is rotating out so this 1 cost spell will fit right in with the rest of the cards used in that deck. But, it doesn’t fit in just because of the mana cost. First of all, 1-mana Discover is absolutely amazing. On top of that, it Discovers something specific: Demons. Warlocks, especially Cubelock, likes Demons that aren’t in their deck. This goes straight to your hand. There’s a lot of good Demons and chances are you can Discover a big beefy Demon and pull it out onto the field with Skull of Man’ari. This is also an efficient way to destroy your Possessed Lacky before they get silenced. You Recruit a Demon AND Discover one. The value here is uncanny and I expect every Cubelock to pick this up. I’m not so keen on using this with the “deal damage to yourself cards” because I don’t think those cards are good enough to warrant a deck slot. However, if they DO end up being good, then this is an equally efficient way to proc their effects.
Curse of Weakness – Five Stars – I’m gonna call that this is one of the cards that will be called for nerfs multiple times by the community. This has the potential to buy you a turn or two which can be extremely valuable to set up your board or trade without penalty. Likewise, this makes for a good removal with Mossy Horror or Void Ripper (which is a Demon). Pint-Size Potion was never good until cards were released that comboed well with it. Find some good cards that combo with this and you’re looking at a horrifying tool for Warlocks to have in a Control matchup.
Duskbat – One Star – I just don’t see it happening. Back when Imp Gang Boss was around, you could play him on turn three and he would generate value overtime. This cannot be played on turn three nor will it offer anything overtime. It’s possible on turn four if you have Kobold Librarian. But Zoolock is all about placing low-cost minions on the board as fast as possible. You don’t want to draw cards and wait so you can pull of a certain condition to play this. It may be one mana less than Grim Necromancer, but given the stipulation to activate its Battlecry, you’ll more often than not be spending that mana you normally would to play Grim Necromancer anyways. Unless you can guarantee using it with masochistic minions every time, it will not generate the value you’d want it to.
Fiendish Circle – One Star – Call in the Finishers for Warlock, except that card was at the very least useful to activate the Shaman Quest, which also didn’t work out to well. I don’t see a reason to summon four Demons. I don’t think that this will be good in Zoolock either. The final twist of the knife that makes this card bad is the fact that these 1/1 Demons have a chance to be resurrected by Bloodreaver Gul’Dan. Not good at all.
Witchwood Imp – One Star – Even if Zoolock were to become a thing again, which I don’t think it will due to the amount of cards it’s losing, this won’t even make it in the deck. Zoolock is very aggressive and this is far from the aggro that deck archetype needs. You’re going to feel really sad when somebody uses AoE to destroy this and the minions it buffed.
Warrior Cards:
Darius Crowley – One Star – This card is actually worth considering being put in a deck. The problem is, there’s quite a few cards that can do the same thing but cheaper and I don’t mean mana. I’m talking dust. Are people going to spend 1600 dust on this card when Militia Commander can relatively do the same thing for 100 dust? It all depends on how often you can make this card pop off. If you can manage to get this card’s effect to trigger more than once, you got some value on your hands. From then on, it becomes a big threat for your opponent to deal with. If it’s only going to last a turn, it’s not worth the craft. Personally, I don’t think it will be able to survive long enough for it to see play. People are comparing it to The Boogeymonster because they both have similar effects but I don’t think that it’s fair to do that. Both of their statlines are bad, but one is mediocre and the other is ABYSMAL. Darius is obviously a lot faster than the severe tempo loss you get when playing The Boogeymonster. Still, just because the statline is a bit better and it’s and it’s faster, I don’t think it will stay on the board long enough to work out. Some Rush Warriors might use this, but it’s not good enough to warrant a spot in every deck. I highly doubt it will be staple, even for Rush Warrior.
Blackhowl Gunspire – One Star – Warrior is currently the worst class in the game right now and this is NOT what they needed. It’s simply just too slow. You pay 7-mana and then spend more mana on cards like Warpath to… deal 3 damage randomly? Sure, this has potential to deal 24 damage all together but the odds of that happening are slim. There are some ideas floating around suggesting that you can make copies of it with Sudden Genesis and build a “machine gun” Warrior deck but I don’t even think that’s worthy of being a meme deck. It’s nothing and will be one of the many Warrior legendaries that will be forgotten. Remember Hobart Grapplehammer? Yeah, me neither.
Town Crier – Four Stars – This is the card that pulls Rush Warrior together into what I believe can actually be a tier-3 deck, hence four stars instead of five. Trump, the Mayor of Value Town, put it into perfect perspective with his comparison to one-drop minions. They always tend to be powerful, especially ones that draw you cards. This card gives you consistency with Woodcutters Axe, draws you the cards that define your deck, and keeps your hand full. Not to mention the fact that a 1/2 isn’t that bad of a statline. When compared to Kobold Librarian, Northshire Cleric, and Babbling Book, it really shows how powerful this card will be. This card is certaitly a definer of a tier-3 deck.
Deadly Arsenal – One Star – Just use Brawl instead if you’re looking for AoE. Control Warrior has plenty of other ways to damage its minions. Just use any of their other damaging minions or spells. This is unnecessary. Are you really going to run Gorehowl just so you can wipe everything off the board? With Bloodrazor and Woodcutter’s Axe, it’s a 6-mana deal 2 damage to everything and that’s not good as an AoE spell. Bloodrazor is much better option for Control decks. This card is awful.
Festeroot Hulk – One Star – A lot of people think that this is an instant inclusion in Rush Warrior but if you ask me, I think it’s too slow. It’s an extremely beefy minion that has the potential to stay on the board for a very long time, but if you ask me, it’s a bit too much. A Rush Warrior should be faster and more aggressive. I think this is just under the line of speed to be good.
Militia Commander – Three Stars – It’s quite favorable in a control deck and obviously the Rush Warrior that’s trying to be pushed. If Rush Warrior becomes a thing, and I think it will, this will be one of the pieces that ties it together. Not much else to say about this card. It’s good removal with a chance to not only leave aggression on the board but synergize with Rush cards as well. Unfortunately, Rush Warrior doesn’t seem to be overly promising to me, hence the low rating.
Redband Wasp- One Star - 4 damage removal with a condition is below mediocre. If the condition isn't met, it's a worse Gnomeregan Infantry. I wouldn’t even want this in a Rush Warrior.
Warpath - One Star - This is a pretty fair card. However, would I want to take up a deck slot for this card just so I can enable my Armorsmiths and Frothing Berserkers? I think that Bloodrazor and plenty other basic Warrior cards can do that better. No, your “machine gun” Warrior dream will not come true.
Woodcutter's Axe – Three Stars – Obviously this card is amazing for Warrior and it should be treated as such. Remember Glaivezooka? This is the same deal, but with a better reward (albeit a bit specific). Warrior has been given plenty of choices of Rush minions in this expansion and a deck like that seems craftable, but the low rating comes from the fact that I only see Rush warrior as a tier-3 deck.
Rabid Worgen – Three Stars – This is the card that completes the Tempo curve that Warrior needed for their Rush archetype. This is a much needed definer for what I really think will be a prominent tier-3 deck. There’s not much else to say about this card really. It’s just a really nice follow up after Woodcutter’s Axe, making it a really nice card to create a decent Tempo swing. Still, this deck will only be low-tier.
Rogue Cards:
Face Collector - Three Stars - An interesting and fun choice for a Control Rogue kind of deck. Unfortunately, these "random legendary generating" cards tend to not be so great (with the exception of Elise, Starseeker). Sneed's Old Shredder, Rotface, Confessor Paletress, Sindragosa, and the upcoming Toki Time-Tinker aren't good cards and have never been good. That being said, when you break down the stats, it's a 3-mana 2/2 "draw a card", 6-mana 4/4 "draw two cards", or a 9-mana 6/6 "draw three cards." I foresee this being played quite often in Quest Rouge to complete the quest with Shadowstep. That alone, is enough to make it a staple in a bottom tier deck. I can also see some experimentation in Control Rouge as well. It won’t make Quest Rouge much better and experimentation will be highly rampant.
Tess Greymane – One Star – This is by far the rating that is going to get me a lot of flak, but I’m just not seeing it. I don’t even think this meme is good enough for a two star rating. Even with all of the cards that have the “burgle” archetype, I really don’t think that this can be crafted into a deck. A huge part of the value that Yogg’Saron gave, even after his nerf, was the fact that EVERY spell you played gave you value. In this case, you are losing a LOT of value you got from those cards with quite a few of the minions you play. Battlecries will not trigger and chances are you might not even want to play the card you got. With Yogg’Saron, you were playing spells from your deck that you wanted play because it was your custom crafted deck. In this case, you’re gathering as many random cards you can (good or bad) and then playing them so you can… cast them again randomly? I think people are way too excited about this card because it’s reminiscent of one of the most iconic cards in the game in an era where it wasn’t nerfed. This deck is also very impossible to be a deck that will flood the META. If it becomes popular, more mirror matches will occur, and thus her effect won’t nearly be as powerful. Shudderwock is good because you know exactly what effects are gonna trigger. A deck can be built around him easily with the tools that Shaman’s were given. A Tess Greymane deck will certainly be tried out, but I really believe that after much experimentation, it just won’t be competitive.
WANTED! - One Star – One of the biggest memes in the Hearthpwn.com community. The value you get off of it, especially since you're a Rogue, is nice. The problem is where it's going to fit. I don't know any Miracle Rouge that would be willing to give up their Fal'Dorei Strider and Elven Minstrel for this. Sure, you can argue that Rouge needs a way to get coins now that Counterfeit Coin is rotating. I don't think this is the answer. Compare it to Flanking Strike and it really comes into perspective at how underwhelming it can be, especially since there’s a chance of not getting the coin.
Spectral Cutlass – One Star – A deck like this existed a while ago when TGT was still in Standard. It involved Shifter Zerus, Grand Crusader, Swashburgler, Burgle, Ethereal Conjurer, and Nexus Champion Saraad. Back then, this card would have had the tools to make this viable. Now, it doesn’t have enough. Witch’s Cauldron, Blink Fox, and Pick Pocket aren’t enough either. If a deck like this were even viable, chances are Obsidian Shard from Un’Goro would be used instead. Both weapons in the deck is just overkill.
Cursed Castaway – One Star – I really appreciate the debate on this card. I have to agree with the ones that are saying that this is strictly worse than Starfall. Both of them are technically 6-mana deal 5 damage and draw a card. However, there are differences. Let’s talk about the upside first. This pulls out a specific card instead of a random one from your deck. For Rogues, that’s pretty amazing. Pulling your Edwin VanCleef or Vilespine Slayer is great, especially if they’re the only two combo cards in your deck. That way, it’s guaranteed. But, you have Elven Minstrel for minion draw. The card falls short everywhere else. Unlike Starfire, this minion can’t bypass Taunt. Spells are often used to pick off targets you can’t reach (not to mention it can’t go face immediately). Similarly, the odds of this card surviving a trade on turn 6 are slim. Even if it does survive, you aren’t getting the full value of the card immediately because her effect is a Deathrattle. People will argue that the specific card draw is enough and that’s a fair statement but I’m gonna stick to my gut and keep this as a one star card
Mistwraith – One Star – This card has good stats and a fair effect, but Rogues have better things to do with their time than to wait until they draw an Echo card and get this cards stats high enough while hoping this doesn’t leave the board.
Pick Pocket – One Star – I read this as a 2-mana “draw a card that you may or may not want”. Why bother when you can use Shiv to draw a card you can guarantee you’ll want and deal a hit of damage with it? Sure it has Echo, but I don’t think Spectral Cutlass and Mistwraith aren't good enough reasons to run this.
Cheap Shot – One Star – This certainly has no place for Tempo Rouge because of Prince Keleseth. However, would this be a better replacement for Shiv in Miracle Rouge? No. Rogue isn’t going to sacrifice card draw for a little extra damage. Rogue has better ways of removal.
Cutthroat Buccaneer – Two Stars – This is a tough one for Rogues. They’re losing two of the biggest benefactors that go into Kingsbane Rogue: Southsea Squidface and Naga Corsair. This is far from an acceptable replacement. Not only does it require a combo to trigger, but a 4-mana 5/4 is MUCH better and more aggressive than a 3-mana 2/4. This particular Rogue archetype is going to take a big hit. I reckon it’ll see play on the ladder, but not anywhere near the big boys. This card will slide itself in there, but wow is this not the card it needed to be saved.
Blink Fox – Five Stars – I don’t expect this “from your opponent’s class” deck to be nothing more than a low-bottom tier deck. However, just because this card fits into that archetype, doesn’t mean that this isn’t a good card. I’m a little bit skeptical because Swashburgler was mostly played because he was a decent 1-drop and he pulled out Patches the Pirate. Rouge already has a lot of good 3-drops like Edwin VanCleef, Disgusted Toast, and Fan of Knives. That being said, it’s a decently stated card with a solid effect. It’s gonna find its way into quite a few Rogue decks and be favorable as well. Having a form of “card draw” that isn't from your own deck on turn three is really good, especially if you manage to get some force on the board. A 3/3 is more than acceptable.
Hunter Cards:
Houndmaster Shaw - One Star - I don't think it will fit anywhere. First of all, Tundra Rhino exists which gives Charge instead of Rush (albeit, with a restriction). Secondly, giving everything Rush will be nothing more than a board clear. You can argue that it sets up a win condition next turn, but I don't think that there will be too much left on the board afterwards. I think using Cave Hydra is dreaming to big. Finally, Master Oakheart is too underwhelming because it will pull out three damage in total that can be used immediately. People could have been using this same combo with Tundra Rhino, but it was never done.
Emeriss – Two Stars – This currently has no support to become a deck definer. If the support is there, then maybe, but putting it plain and simple, the support isn’t there. The future of this card is quite large but, not in the next four months. That being said, I think that there will be a Dragon/Beast Hunter run somewhere out there and it will lose. It will lose many games. But I know that there’s going to be one glorious games in all of out expiences where we run into this and we have so much bad luck, you’re going get completely oblitared by this guys effect. Hilarious, and fun, but not competitive quite yet.
Rat Trap – Two Stars – An interesting puzzle piece to make Control Hunter viable. Although you don’t get the value immediately, a 6/6 for 2 mana is very strong, especially since this forces your opponent to work around it. However, I just don’t feel like it’s enough. It’s easy to counter and these ideas of using King Mukla and Hoarding Dragon to bait out card usage are too ludicrous. It counters a lot of things but it’s too unreliable. I predict that this will remain untriggered for several turns if your opponent hasn’t smashed your face in already. I had to do a little experimentation with this card. I played multiple casual Standard games and waited until I found a few Hunters (which took a while). I realized that I was able to play just two cards a turn for a very long time until it was too late for my opponent to burst me down. Unless Hunter gets better tools, and I don’t think they’re there yet, Control Hunter won’t happen. Two stars because it just might work in a low-tier Spell Hunter.
Toxmonger – One Star – I’m scared to rate this one star, but I mean… come on. Are we really going to run Eleven Archer and Stonetusk Boar just so we can combo the two together? I suppose this could be useful with Stitched Tracker, but I think a combo that costs at the least 5-mana and uses two cards is pretty inefficient. I’m well aware I could be ignorant about this one but… no. I don’t see what all the fuss is about.
Duskhaven Hunter – One Star – This card is extremely vanilla and it’s similar to Pumpkin Peasant which I think is useless. Not much else to say about it other than it’s just kind of underwhelming. Not horrifically bad, but not what Hunter needs.
Wing Blast – Three Stars – This fits right into a Control Hunter deck. Hunter already has a good 4-mana removal in Flanking Strike, but if you can get the value off Wing Blast, chances are you’ll have at least three more mana to play whatever you want instead of a 3/3 vanilla Beast. I would say Control Hunter is one AoE damage spell away from being a thing. As of right now, Control Hunter is off the table. But this card will certainly be run because of its sheer versatility.
Carrion Drake – One Star – It’s a pretty poor card. With three attack, there’s a solid chance you’re already killing something. The poisonous is just not necessary which kinda makes it feel like a vanilla 5-mana 3/7 to me. Plus, the Battlecry has a condition, which sucks no matter how easy it is to pull off. When you don’t pull it off, you’re going to feel really sad.
Hunting Mastiff - Two Stars - With Rush and Echo being released, this card being printed was inevitable. However, it has its benefits! Face Hunter is currently a tier-3 deck and (although it can't go face, obviously) I foresee this replacing Kindly Grandmother when it rotates out. It won't be a staple and it won't make the deck better, but it's a very viable option. It works well with Dire Wolf Alpha, Scavenging Hyena, and maybe even Un'Goro's Stampede! It will certainly be tried out quite a bit, but I don't think it will make or break the Hunter class.
Dire Frenzy – Three Stars – I can actually see this card being used in a Quest Hunter, even if it doesn’t make it competitive, it will make it a functioning bottom-tier deck. Using this on a useful one-cost card like Stonetusk Boar and pulling them with Tol’Vir Warden could be useful… not competitive, but useful. Maybe you want to be a little more aggressive and use it on a Vicious Scalehide. This card gives you value immediately and in future turns. Although it won’t be top tier, I think this card will be one of the reasons we sporadically see some Hunters out there.
Vilebrood Skitterer – One Star – I’m afraid I’m rating one of the sleeper cards of the set one star but… come on. The stats are horrendous and this is just a worse Assassinate which is also not great. At least Assassinate bypasses Taunt and Divine Shield. At turn five, it’s very unlikely this will survive long enough to take down more than one minion.
Druid Cards:
Duskfallen Aviana – One Star – There’s a lot to say about this card. Yeah, it’s bad and will see no play. I’ll just get that out of the way. It gives your opponent the upper hand before you gain any benefit and the stats are only decent. However, I really don’t think it’s as bad as people are making it out to be. This is nowhere near as bad as Temporus. This is an immediate threat that your opponent has to get rid off and just might burn a removal spell to stop you from gaining the advantage. Sure, that spell may cost zero and be a huge gain of value, but… still. Likewise, the order in which you play your cards matter. It won’t be every time that your opponent plays their largest mana cost card first. Sometimes, you can’t do that. It’s unlikely that this will matter all the time, but hey, it happens. But, none of that matters because this card will see zero play.
Splintergraft – One Star – I see some cute ideas with Saronite Chain Gang and Stonetusk Boar, but I think people are forgetting that the 10/10 will cost 10 mana. Do you wanna run a 10/10 with Charge in a META where Tar Creeper and other powerful Taunts run rampant? The value you get out of this card is nice, but I just don’t see a place for it. This can’t set up a win condition. A 10/10 with Charge is strong, but not a guaranteed win condition. That being said, I’m sure the combo with Saronite Chain Gang will be tried about before people realize this just isn’t worth the dust.
Wispering Woods - One Star - This card has some VERY interesting applications. It's cool to think that the Hand archetype can belong to somebody other than Gul'Dan. With the release of other cards from this expansion, I can see this happen. The problem is, I don't see this being anymore than a bottom-tier deck. It will be tried out and used minorly but... It'll be no where’s near competitive enough. It will be a functioning deck, but... not a good one. You can just play Living Mana instead, which is also not fantastic. For this to work, you would have to NOT play cards to get... wisps. In addition to that, this card isn't good on its own. You would have to SEVERLY rely on other cards for it to combo with which isn't great in a world where Defile and Duskbreaker run the show.
Gloom Stag - One Star - It's hard to imagine a Druid deck without Wild Growth, Spreading Plague, Swipe, or Ultimate Infestation. Sure, the stats are great, but the payoff is not worth the restriction. It's not very different from Druid of the Claw and that card is, at the very least, versatile. This isn’t.
Forest Guide - One Star - Mill decks are not as competitive as other decks and it's going to be very hard to build one without Coldlight Oracle. I also don't see this Handruid coming to fruition. Even if they did, there are two big reasons why this card wouldn't work. Its statline isn't even remotely threatening. Nobody is going to be scared of a 1/6 with this kind of effect. It’s not an immediate threat. What makes this even worse is that it happens at the end of your turn, which gives your opponent the upper hand and a head start in the value you're trying to create for yourself. It’s not very good at all.
Bewitched Guardian – One Star – Another tool to help Handruid, but I see it at tier-4 at best. Personally, I would just rather run Rotten Applebaum and get a decent amount of healing as opposed to whatever excess of health this guy may get. Even Druid of the Claw is better than this. If you have about six cards in your hand, you’re very close to the stats of DotC in Taunt form. At least that card has the option to become a charge minion. Maybe you can also just run Witchwood Grizzly, instead?
Witching Hour – One Star – This is definitely one of the better cards that Druid got out of this set. However, I don’t think Beast Druid will become a thing just because of this and I don’t believe that having one or two Beasts in a non-Beast-style deck, even something like Hadronox, is going to be worth adding this. It’s not that it’s a bad card, but Druid doesn’t have the tools to makes deck like this work and therefore will see no play.
Witchwood Apple - One Star - Dreadful on its own, mediocre with combos. Witchwood inspires Handruid and you can spread these Treants out through multiple turns to your liking, but I just don't see that being relevant or viable.
Ferocious Howl – One Star – Decent card, but will probably only replace Jade Blossom in the tier-4 Big Dragon Druid. Drawing a card and gaining armor is a fair deal for 3-mana. This card has its place in the future, but it’s certainly not in the next four months. This card doesn’t have to be in a Handruid deck and I believe that it will find it’s home somewhere in the expansion AFTER The Witchwood.
Druid of the Scythe – Two Stars – The highest rating of all the Druid cards this expansion. Everybody knows that Druid is losing just about everything this expansion. All the Jade cards and Fandrel Staghelm are the biggest hits. The only viable deck that seems to be there for Druid to be left is the low-tier Aggro Druid and even then, they’re losing A LOT in that deck as well. Anything new that Druid has been offered doesn’t seem like it’s going to be practical, so if Malfurion mains want to see any trace of him in Standard, I would assume that they would try to save Aggro Druid. This card seems like a fair fit. Unfortunately, that’s really all I think this card will be used for until Druid finds something better.
Shaman Cards:
Hagatha the Witch - Five Stars - I see some great potential build-arounds with this card. Elemental Shaman just might be a bit more viable now. Grumble, Worldshaker is very much realistic as well. Hell, could we see Quest Shaman become a thing? This could be very interesting. I see this being a staple in a Tier-2, maybe even Tier-1 deck. Elemental cards are typically very strong, Shaman has one of the best Elementals in the game, and pretty decent low-cost minions to flood the board. I’d like to have some faith for the only DK in the set.
Shudderwock – Five Stars – The obvious META-definer for Shaman. This card itself is a massive win condition if you manage to pull off enough battlecries. Shaman received a lot of amazing build-around cards for this legendary to be effective. The obvious ones are Saronite Chain Gang and Baleful Banker. There’s a massive amount of versatility to have with Blazing Invocation as well. Picking and choosing what Battlecries go in your deck allows you to plan ahead, take caution, and just plain have fun. This card will certainly define a deck and I truly believe that it will be competitive. For those of you who made it this far in the review, you’re probably wondering why I rated Tess Greymane one star but this five stars. Shaman allows you to build a deck around whatever it is you want to recast and then let Shudderwock do the rest. You have the power to make sure that nothing it targeted or harmful to you. For Rouge, you have to put a bunch of nonsense in your deck and then hope you get good cards and THEN re-cast them whether they’re good or not and on random targets as well. Shudderwock is eons better and I for one welcome our new Shaman overlords.
Bogshaper – One Star – 7-mana do nothing. I admit that the value you get out of this is pretty great, but tempo is almost always better than value. You are losing a LOT of tempo when you play this, just so you can grab a few minions for Hagatha. That seems like a lot of work just so you can fill your hand with Shaman spells.
Totem Cruncher – One Star – Totem Shaman is not good right now. I made a Totem Shaman deck when KaC came out and it only got me to rank 20. It doesn’t have the proper tools to be viable and this doesn’t change a thing. In fact, this is anti-Windsheer Stormcaller, which is a major part of what Totem Shaman (in Standard) is all about. I truly believe that this can be useful when given the right cards. They just don’t exist right now.
Murkspark Eel - One Star - On paper, this card is actually great! Competitive stats, a beast tag, and a really good Battlecry are all there. The problem is, I don't foresee a viable Genn Greymane deck happening within the next four months which renders this card to nothing more than a River Crocolisk.
Earthen Might – Five Stars – A really powerful choice for Shaman. Getting a buff alongside “card draw” outside of your deck is very good for two mana. The card itself is extremely powerful and provide consistency with Elemental effects while simultaneously buffing them up.
Blazing Invocation – Five Stars – An instant inclusion in the highly-anticipated Shudderwock Shaman. This deck will allow you to make sure that you choose Battlecries that won’t come back and haunt you later once Shudderwock is down. What makes this card so great is that you can make up for the tight-knit structure in your deck by putting this in and Discovering a card that’s relevant to you in your current situation. This allows you some flexibility. Oh, and by the way, THIS HAS NO OVERLOAD. One of the best Discover effect in the game and it only costs 1 mana.
Witch's Apprentice - One Star - Jeweled Macaw, Babbling Book, Crystalline Oracle, and Swashburgler are all very similar cards. They’re all good cards too! So why does this only get one star? It’s because of two obvious reasons. A lot of Shaman spells are woeful and this cannot contest the board. Sure, this is decent in the late game, but that's no reason to put it in your deck. I think Hagatha is good because I believe that if you proc her effect enough times it will be powerful, but in the late game, this card might not be good enough.
Zap! – One Star – Too similar to Lighting Bolt. Shaman has better things to do than to put a 0-mana spell in their deck that Overloads you. Yeah, it's similar to Rogue's Backstab which is great, but I think the Overload kills it.
Ghost Light Angler – Three Stars – A very surprising rating. When I first saw this card, I was ready to give it one star and move on to the next rating. However, I theorycrafted a deck with this guy in it and I was on board. So, why three stars? Shaman’s are going to have a fun time using this to get value out of Hagatha the Witch and just as a decent option to flood the board. It’s a lot more flexible than Walnut Sprite and even has a Murloc tag which means people will attempt to make Quest Shaman work again. It most likely will not but I expect to see quite a few attempts of it.
Paladin Cards:
The Glass Knight – One Star - I really love these low coasted legendaries that have simple but meaningful effects. This reminds me of my favorite card in all of Hearthstone, Fjola Lightbane (hence my avatar). That being said, Lesser Pearl Spellstone was pretty difficult to upgrade and I don’t see why this guy will be much different, nor do a think a specific deck will be created to revolve around him. It’s not much better than Silvermoon Guardian.
Prince Liam – One Star – This card is awesome but I really don’t think it’s going to be useful. Realistically, you can only run SO many 1-drops and hope you don’t draw them. If you’re only turning one card into a Legendary, is it really worth the deck slot? I’m going to have to say no.
Hidden Wisdom – One Star – Not sure what all the fuss is about with this card. Yeah, the value is good and it’s giving you card draw at a time you need it, but is worth the deck slot? Probably not. It’s also fairly easy to counter and not the biggest deal when triggered.
Cathedral Gargoyle – One Star – An extremely powerful card. We all remember how often Shielded Minibot was played. The problem is obvious, though. If Paladin doesn’t get enough support, it won’t be used. This is just like Nightbane Templar, great card, but not good without support.
Paragon of Light – One Star – Another card that is good on its own but just has absolutely no place anywhere. You wouldn’t put this in an aggressive deck, but more so a Control-style deck. But at that point, you aren’t going to be running cards like Dire Wolf Alpha, Raid Leader, or Blessing of Kings in that kind of deck to make sure that here effect goes off. The only fit I see could be Quest Paladin, but that’s far from being good at the moment.
Silver Sword – Three Stars – This was originally a one star card before I took a closer look at the deck recipe for Dude Paladin. They currently run one copy of Vinecleaver which, just like Silver Sword, is an expensive weapon that grants you value over a long period of time. I believe that this weapon will replace Vinecleaver for some versions of Dude Paladin because having a decent board is common with that deck. Murloc Paladin probably values two 1/1’s instead of buffing the board, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was tried out.
Bellringer Sentry – One Star – I think it’s a general consensus between the Hearthstone community that Secret Paladin will not be a thing again. I agree 100%. Instead of having the ability to pull 4 or 5 secrets from your deck immediately, this one pulls out two over the course time. Not only that, but the secrets that Secret Paladin used complimented each other so well. One attack would set off three of them and if your opponent didn’t attack you, it would be punishing for them. A lot of those secrets in the TGT era are gone and the current ones won’t have enough synergy to be competitive. You could argue that this doesn’t have to be in a deck where the main revolution of the deck is secrets and that’s true! But, it’s still too slow and the secrets that Paladin can pull are not worth the deck slots. Hydrologist is only good because those secrets come with a 2/2 body and you can choose which secret is most appropriate for you at the time. Overall, it’s way too slow.
Sound the Bells! – One Star – This card LOOKS incredible and will be tried out. This is the exact kind of support that Quest Paladin needed but unfortunately, it’s not going to be enough. The problem with Quest Paladin was the fact that you couldn’t get off enough buffs before your opponent bursts you down. It was too clunky. While this card DOES allow you to activate it multiple times, you have to have a large pool of mana and something on the board. In other words, you need to survive long enough to make this happen which brings Quest Paladin right back where it started: bottom-tier. There’s no room to put this anywhere else. Not Dude, Murloc or Aggro Paladin. It’s not worth the deck slot for any of those archetypes.
Rebuke - One Star - Dude Paladin and Aggro Paladin are top-tier decks and I don't see any reason to take something out of those decks to fit this in. Sure, you can set up a board without fear after playing two of these because your opponent can’t use AoE, but that seems unrealistic. At least with Lotheb you were getting a 5/5 out of the deal. It's actually a really good card, but I don't see it fitting anywhere in the next META and therefore gets one star. I also don’t see any new viable archetypes. I like the idea of using this in Exodia Paladin by Rebuking twice to stop any removal of the Horsemen, but that’s dreaming a bit too big. Cool card, though.
Ghostly Charger – One Star – You’re not going to trade with anything that only has three health on turn five. This is beyond clunky. You can argue that Argent Horserider was used, but he had Charge and it was more likely you would be getting a fair trade on turn three. At turn five, this is hopeless.
Neutral Legendary:
Azalina Soulthief – Two Stars – This was rated one star for the longest time but at the VERY last second. I decided to bump it up one rating. This is clunky, slow, and not aggrsive at all. But in a deck where you might not always have a full hand, this is the perfect tech choice to get you right back into the game.
Countess Ashmore – One Star – Vicious Scalehide is a fair universal grab for either Lifesteal or Rush as well as Woodcutter's Axe. It’s a super flexible card that offers a large amount of value. However, drawing less than three cards? That's not enough to make her a value card. It's very difficult to make her work in the pool of cards we will have at our disposal. The Curator had Taunt and that was a big deal. This is very over-hyped. This could have potential, but not in the next META.
Baku the Mooneater - Five Stars - I have no doubt that this will be a staple in some sort of META deck. It’s hands down one of the best cards in the set. This card can shine in an Elemental Mage deck. Use Firefly, Jaina DK, Arcane Artificer, Alexstraza, Flamestrike, and Blazecaller. The list goes on. Warrior has a lot of good Taunts at an odd cost for their Quest. Rotten Applebaum, Direhorn Hatchling, and Stonehill Defender are all reasonable. Even Hunter can make a pretty aggressive deck with Vicious Fledgling, Unleash the Hounds, Eaglehorn Bow, and Dire Mole. I'm sure that there will be a creative soul out there to make this work. Obviously, if it did, it would be the ultimate staple of the deck. Justicar Trueheart saw play because of how amazing the upgraded Hero Power was. If the restriction doesn’t bind you, it will be amazing and will define SOMETHING.
Genn Greymane – Three Stars – This is hard to admit but it’s difficult to see this see any play except for a bottom-tier Paladin deck. It shows some potential in a Silver Hand Deck because you'll have Drygulch Jailor, Sunkeeper Tarim, Lightfused Stegodon, Crystal Lion, Spikeridged Steed, Call To Arms, and Potion Of Heroism. Priest also has the possibility of keeping Spiteful Summoner viable by using Mind Control and other even-costed cards like Duskbreaker and Shadow Ascendant. Might not be dominant, but surely a contender. I hope that this card sees play because Genn Greymane deserves the best, but I really don’t think that his effect holds a candle to Baku’s.
Dollmaster Dorian – One Star – I think this is overhyped. This is not as good as Barnes at all. In order for this card to work, you have to hope that you draw like a God. If you want Dorian to summon copies of the card you want, you have to hope that you didn’t draw that card BEFORE you play Dorian. Similarly, you can’t always guarantee that this card will survive on turn five which means you’d have to play it with more mana if you want to use Sense Demons, Roll the Bones, Howling Commander, or Eleven Minstrel. From then on, you have one or two mana left to do anything else which leaves your 1/1’s vulnerable. It seems like it requires too much luck and time for it to be worth anything. Barnes was broken because on turn four, you could pull whatever minions you have in your deck onto the field. Out of a deck of thirty, it’s a lot less likely you would draw that card. With Dollmaster Dorian, you have to hope you draw that card out of thirty BEFORE Dorian and hope he’s still on the field by the time you play it. He’s too slow and Cubelock just doesn’t have a need for him.
Neutral Epics:
Nightmare Amalgam – Four Stars – 3-mana 3/4 is good and has shown its worth with Spider Tank in Mech Mage. There are a few cool things you can do with it such as curve this into Houndmaster or use it to curve your Duskbreaker, However, the real reason why I rated this four stars because I believe that this new Elemental Mage and possibly Odd Mage is going to be dominant and I predict that quite a few of these versions will run this card.
Baleful Banker – Five Stars – After seeing the card dump stream, I was in awe of how amazing this card can be and how easily it can define a deck. The options that this card provides is absolutely insane. Shudderwock is the obvious one. Not only will you shuffle extra copies of whatever minion you want, but you also guarantee Shudderwock practically cloning itself. You can also use this with quite a few Quest rewards and save extra copies for later. The Priest one comes to mind. Having multiple copies of Amara, Warden of Hope could be insane. This will prove to be very useful and will be significant definers in, at the very least, the insane Shudderwock deck that predict will flood the META.
Worgen Abomination – One Stars – The only difference between this card and Baron Geddon is that you can run an extra copy but… boy would I not wanna do that. It’s an extremely costly and weaker version of Sleep With the Fishes. The 6/6 body doesn’t help.
Muck Hunter - Two Stars - A lot of people are calling this card a 5 mana 5/4 with Rush. I don't think this is phenomenal enough to warrant a deck slot. It's too fair and fair doesn't cut it in the Hearthstone META. And no, I don't see this being a decent combo with Drywisker Armorer. If that was a thing, it would have been done with Cornered Sentry. I do have to say though, this fits in well with a lot of other Warrior cards. I think this idea of a Rush Warrior could be viable and this could be one of the few one-of options people use for some of the versions.
Mossy Horror – Three Stars – I actually think this is fair tech option. It’s not for every class and it severely relies on what the META will be like, but I think there’s a chance here. Paladins and Warlocks have some excellent tools to make this work, this is a direct counter to Spreading Plague, and this is a fair way to eliminate token-style decks. This is basically Shadow Word: Horror bundled with a 2-mana 2/7. That’s pretty good. However, I’m a bit skeptical. Shadow Word: Horror was never good until Pint-Sized Potion was released in MSoG. If this isn’t comboed with something, it might not do much. But like I said, some classes just might have what it takes to make this viable. Perhaps this will be used in a Control Pally or Lady in White Priest? I think this is one of the most flexible tech options in the set.
Splitting Festeroot – One Star – I’m just not seeing it. I really like this card but the fact that it’s an 8-mana 12/12 isn’t enough to save it. What kills this card is how the stats are split up. A 4/4 for 8 mana isn’t scary and it’s a severe tempo loss. From then on, the minions it summons just don’t seem like much of a problem to me, even if it’s over the course of time. This is an extremely sticky minion but I’m not seeing much of a use for it. There are better thing to used Carnivorous Cube with, it’s too slow for Quest Priest and Coffin Crasher, and using Dollmaster Dorian with him isn’t realistic. Side Note: I can’t believe it took Blizzard 11 expansions to make a 3x sticky minion.
Voodoo Doll – One Star – A bit of a controversial rating seeing that everyone seems to love this card, but I don’t like it. I might get downvoted just for this comment, but does anybody remember Sergeant Sally? Yeah, me neither. She was bad. Obviously you can have more than two copies of Voodoo Doll and it’s a cheaper cost in dust but both of them are 3-mana 1/1 minions that have the requirement to trigger a Deathrattle to activate their removal effect. They’re way too similar. When Power Overwhelming was still in Standard, Sergeant Sally was used with this card to make for a 5-mana, two card combo for removal that dealt 5 damage to everything on your opponents side. Obviously, it didn’t work out well. Using this card with another card or a hero power is very similar and two slow for it to see play. Yes, this harder removal, but it’s to one minion. The time, tempo, and value isn’t worth it.
Witch's Cauldron – One Star – People are comparing this to the Grand Crusader card from TGT when I think it compares more to Lyra, the Sunshard. Obviously, Lyra ending up being incredible after being universally dismissed before Un’Goro dropped. Unfortunately, this is nowhere near favorable to Lyra. The idea of a Zoo Shaman deck with this card isn’t realistic. It requires a decent board for a mediocre payoff. Sure, there’s a lot of good Shaman cards. But, wow, are there a lot of bad ones as well. Totemic Might, Ice Fishing, Forked Lightening, Primal Fusion, Lesser Sapphire Spellstone, Ancestral Spirit, Spirit Echo, Primal Talismans, Avalanche, Rockbiter Weapon, and Ancestral Healing. The list goes on. Lyra rewarded you for doing something good for yourself (playing a spell). This card gives you a “reward” for your own minions dying. It’s just not worth it.
Sandbinder – One Star – 4-mana is a bit too much for a single card when you consider the stats on this thing. I think Mage and Shaman are going to have the most fun with Elementals this expansion and Mage already has Book of Specters alongside Bonfire Elemental. Shaman may not have the best card draw, but I think that they’ll deal without this.
Neutral Rares:
Phantom Militia - One Star - I think there are some fringe applications to be had in a spam-like Quest Rogue or Taunt Warrior, but it will ultimately just be shut out by other cards. Here’s an odd compassion: Lowly Squire and Guild Recruiter. Both of these cards were released to give a simple example of their newest mechanic (Inspire and Recruit respectively). It’s the same deal here, but with Echo.
Mad Hatter – One Star – I see nothing more than a meme. You do not want to play a 4-mana 3/2 when your opponent has a board and risk buffing them up. If you are the only one with minions on the field, you’re already in a good position anyways and his might not be necessary. The RNG on this seems too precarious for me and it’s difficult to get into a position where you become the only one who gains the benefit of this.
Gilnean Royal Guard – Two Stars – These “swap stat-worgen” cards aren’t going to see any play. However, out of all of them, this one has some potential as a budget tech card, but nothing more. 8-mana 8/3 for an almost guaranteed removal AND surviving with the same stats is not that bad. Unfortunately, its borderline useless in its other form. I can see this as a one of in some decks that may run Lady in White and an occasional tech option. That’s about it.
Witchwood Piper – Four Stars – I think that there’s are some pretty unique applications for this card to be viable as a universal tech option. I’m too scared to say that this will define a few decks, so I won’t. But, for the record, let it be known that it’s possible to rely on this card to grab something important like Lady in White. However, I think what this card will really be used for is to increase consistency with decks that involve Keleseth. I’m gonna be so bold as to say that Rouge just might use this to replace a single Eleven Minstrel. Perhaps Shaman will use this as well to grab some of their cheap Battlecry cards for Shudderwock. A 3/3 for 4 mana isn’t that bad at all when you consider drawing a card that will be beneficial for you. Four Stars for having potential to be prominent in a high caliber deck.
Chief Inspector – Four Stars – I’m bit scared to rate an obvious tech card four stars, but secrets are probably going to be common in the new META with Mage being powerful and all. There’s bound to be one deck on the higher rungs of the ladder that consistently keep one of these in their deck. I would argue that this is better than Eater of Secrets. At least it has decent stats if your opponent doesn’t have secrets. But, I really like this card. If it’s not a four star card, it will at the very least be a two star card as an occasional tech, but I’m willing to push my prediction just a little bit higher than that.
Witchwood Grizzly – Five Stars – This is a very odd rating. I feel like this card may be overhyped, but I’m going to take a leap of faith here and say that this will be in quite a few decks, top-tier or not. I don’t want to assume that this going to be a staple in any deck, but instead be widespread throughout decks on the ladder because of its versatility and great stats. The thought of having a 3/12 on the board by pulling it with Master Oakheart, Witching Hour, or Eternal Servitude is pretty insane and there have been decks in the past where massive Taunt minions win you the game like Big Priest and Handlock. This has fair synergy with Lady in White and more so with Priest in general because Witchwood Grizzly can stay healthier for much longer. All of this being said, the playability of this card COULD rely on the META. This is obviously an anti-aggro card and aggressive Paladin decks ARE currently at the top of the food chain. Could this be a bigger Tar Creeper or is it just another overhyped card? I’m gonna stick to my guns and say it will find a home in quite a few places.
Scaleworm - Three Stars - This could be the sleeper card of the set. I believe that this will have excellent synergy with WHATEVER Beasts and Dragons might come about in this expansion. I think a deck like that can be crafted. Perhaps Priest just might have a slight shot at it.
Night Prowler – One Star – This is a powerful follow up after playing Doomsayer, but other than that, I really wouldn’t want this anywhere else because you can’t always rely on your opponent not having minions on the board. Trying to make that happen for a 4-mana 6/6 isn’t worth your time.
Lifedrinker – Five Stars – Controversial rating but I truly believe that this will be a staple in Shudderwock Shaman. Can you imagine constantly healing and damaging face everytime Shudderwock is placed down? It’s particularly good on its own as well. 4-mana 3/3 with this effect is a valuable bundle. At some point, there will be a time where Shudderwock rules the META and I think that this is going to be one of the many choices used for that deck.
Neutral Commons:
Pumpkin Peasant - One Star - Although interesting, I see this as nothing more than a pack-filler. This is reminiscent of Acolyte of Agony and that saw no play.
Swift Messenger – One Star – The “swap stats” cards just aren’t doing it for me. This is way too vanilla to see any competitive play. In one form, it’s a worse Stormwind Knight with +1 health and in the other it’s a Fireball that can’t go face. Not to mention, it won’t ALWAYS be what you want it to be. You can argue that other classes need this for removal, but this is too unreliable to be a form of removal.
Spellshifter – One Star – Minions with Spell Damage are typically played for JUST the Spell Damage. Nobody really cares about the stats. Spell Damage is a lot more valuable when it stays on the field. Dalaran Mage never saw play and this will never survive as a 4/1. If you want Spell Damage for the same price, just play Tainted Zealot.
Rotten Applebaum – Four Stars - I'm not sure why nobody is freaking out about this card. While Sludge Belcher may be better, this is not far behind. It stops quite a bit of aggro and leaves you with a decent amount of healing. It's a Deathrattle so it works well with Priests, it's a Taunt so it works well with Warrior, and it's a decently stated odd-cost card so it goes well with Baku. This is also a nice grab from Stonehill Defender. Compare this to Antique Healbot and you start to realize why this might be amazing. Overall, it's a versatile card that I feel like some people are sleeping on! I see it being used in a widespread of decks. My one concern is the comparison to Witchwood Grizzly. They’re both 5-mana taunts, but Grizzly seems to be more favorable to a lot of people. Rotten Applebaum has more synergy with Deathrattle and the only Deathrattle Synergy deck I can think of is Quest Priest which isn’t phenomenal. Perhaps both will be run in Taunt Warrior, but it’s hard to say. Nonetless, I think it’s supple enough to be seen in decks as a common one-of.
Unpowered Steambot – Four Stars – This card will see absolutely no play outside of a Priest deck that contains Lady in White. A four mana 9/9 is scary and I truly believe that this will be a one-of in a Lady in White deck which will be in the tier-2 range, if not higher.
Blackwald Pixie - Five Stars - What an incredible addition to this game. Blizzard is really pumping up the value of three-drops in this expansion, boy, is this stated aggressively. There seems to be so many ideas floating around, I can't wait to see what this card will bring about. It will certainly be the defining feature of at least one deck. Perhaps you want to break out Uther, Ebon Blade and make an Exodia Paladin. Perhaps you want to try your hand at a deck with Dinomancy? Maybe used the Warrior DK for a double Raganros blast. There are so many options. I feel the most realistic are Exodia Paladin and perhaps something with Baku Hunter. That may be hoping for too much, but I’d like to be a dreamer here.
Clockwork Automaton - Two Stars - Other than some crazy meme decks and Baku Hunter, I don’t think that this is practical. It's way too clunky and chances are your opponent is going to catch on and destroy this card ASAP. You would want to Hero Power immedicatly after using this and it’s pretty insane to deal 6 damage with on upgraded Hero Power shot from hunter, but is that worth the risk of running an unwieldy deck? I’m gonna say no.
Ravencaller – Two Stars – This card makes me sad because there are SO many ways that this card can fit into different archetypes and Alliestraza, the one who revealed this card, did and incredible job breaking this down. However, I don’t think that it’s good enough to warrant any play. The stats are too weak and you can’t always rely on the cards you get. Sure, you can use them as discard targets, a hand filler for Handruid, or even complete the Hunter Quest but I don’t think this alone is enough. It’s a perfect FIT for all of them, but just isn’t enough. One thing that wasn’t mentioned in the reveal video was Rogue, which is the reason it gets two stars. Rogue thrives off of cheap costed cards to pull off their insane combos And this is a form of card draw that isn’t from your deck. It just might seen enough play to warrant that extra star because of the Rogue play style.
Cauldron Elemental – Two Stars – Elemental decks are going to be running wild and I honestly think this will be used as a decent tech cards if a card slot is still empty. I wanted to rate this a one star because it seems like a win-more card. If you have enough Elementals on the board to make this worth your while, you’re probably already winning. But, I’m gonna take pity on the Cauldron Elemental. It’s not great, but with enough Elementals on the board, it can be a potential “one-of” finisher as opposed to just a Tempo Swing.
Vicious Scalehide – Four Stars – At first glance, I think everybody (including myself) dismissed the card as a pack-filler. However, Lifesteal and Rush on a single minion can be an extremely powerful bundle. When buffed, it becomes a very beefy Beast and it ALREADY had three health. As a Beast, Hunter is going to have an amazing time comboing this with Dire Frenzy and other Beast synergy cards. Rush Warrior might consider this as well. This is also a fair draw from Countess Ashmore. There’s a lot of potential in this vanilla minion and I think it will be seen in a widespread of low-tier decks.
Darkmire Moonkin – One Star – A strong contender for the Magma Rager reward. At 7-mana, you better hope something good is happening fast. If you want Spell Damage, just play… anything else. The only use I see this card having is being the very, very, very poor man’s Malygos and that is a HUGE stetch. This is terrible. Spell Damage typically played when you have enough mana to use other things. At 7-mana, this is hopelessly restrictive.
Deranged Doctor – One Star – This card is actually pretty good. There was a reason why Antique Healbot was a 5-mana 3/3 and not stated aggressively. Healing effects are powerful. Unfortunately, people tend to use their 8-mana slots for something a little bit more game changing and the effect on this isn’t even immediate.
Walnut Sprite – One Star – Hilarious, but no. A 3/3 “do nothing” is not what anybody in the game needs and if Rogue ends up having this Echo Rogue deck, which I think is out of reach, they still wouldn’t use this.
Furious Ettin – One Star – Too vanilla to see any play. A 5/9 isn’t even really that great for 7-mana, as shown by Bog Creeper.
Tanglefur Mystic – Two Stars – I really want to give this a one star rating but… Spellslinger saw play and it’s a fair option in odd decks. Use this, and then on turn four you can play the minion you got from this and use your upgraded Hero Power. That’s not a bad turn four. I really don’t see why anybody else would use this, but again… Spellslinger was used. That’s really the only basis of me giving this one more star.
Wyrmguard – Three Stars – This is a very powerful late game card for a Dragon Priest. However, I’m rating it three stars because I’m not sure of the power levels of Dragon Decks when the Year of the Raven starts. Priest didn’t get a lot of good Dragon support this time around and they’re losing a LOT of their good cards like Drakonid Operative and Dragonfire Potion. I think Dragon Priest is going to sink lower down on the ladder and this card, although will help the deck, won’t save it from going under.
Felsoul Inquisitor – One Star – To vanilla for the META. You’re not gain much from the Lifesteal at only one attack and the Taunt and Demon tag don’t make it much better, Warlock has no need for this and I don’t think it’s good enough to be in a Lady in White deck.
Swamp Dragon Egg – Three Stars – A really nice substitution for Netherspite Historian. Not better, but still pretty nice. It’s a good play on turn one so you get rewarded later on in the game as you make more tempo related plays as it does to any AoE that might have been used. The problem is, I really don’t think Dragon Priest is going to be the force it is now when the rotation occurs. It just doesn’t have the tools it once had. I also really don’t think any other class will use this either. There are Dragons like Duskbreaker that are useless without Dragon Synergy and there are just a lot of bad Dragons in general. Hoarding Drake, Nozdormu, Onyxia, and Temporus to name a few. Yes, I know, there’s a lot of good Dragon minions as well, but I’m just not a fan of those odds.
Hench-Clan Thug – One Star – Dreadfully slow. Rogues, Shamans, Paladins, Druids, Warriors, and Hunters have better things to do than to make this a 4/4 by attacking.
Marsh Drake – Four Stars – Although not a deck definer, I really think this will find usage somewhere. The 2/1 hardly seems to be a problem. Warriors have Bloodrazor to knock it out almost immediately. Druid, Rogues, and Mages have their Hero Powers to ping it off. Hunters have Candleshot for an easy and harm-free ping. Paladins have Silverhand Recruits and Warlocks and Priests have a plethora of removal spells. This isn’t a bad target for Oaken Summons, either. This is also one of the few cards that’s going to keep Dragon Priest from hitting complete rock bottom, but still won’t make it better. A 3-mana 5/4 is undoubtedly powerful and I’m sure he’s going to be terrorizing people in no time. He should be seen spread through quite a few decks.
Lost Spirit – One Star – I fail to see a situation where you would want to flood the board just so you can pop this off. The effect isn’t immediate and there is almost no chance of it hitting everything you want it to hit because your opponent can easily control when it dies and therefore will just kill it last. If it dies to AoE, then you just played a 2-mana 1/1. Destroying it yourself is not worth the hassle.
Swamp Leech – One Star – Classic pack-filler. This is not much different from Deadscale Knight and that saw no play at all.
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*turns on "Awaiting the Debutante" By Helmut Hampton"
Dear, Mr. Pageturner
Thus far, an addition to our cherished ballgame we know as, Stone of Hearth. Existing strong, as another prodigious docket analysis as been released. *Sips Sauvignon Blanc* I do adore that you rated "Hagatha" a 5 star, for it is such a robust ticket in the Shamen meta. We are all indebted that you organized such a fantastic report on our game. Steep prospects Mr. Pageturner. A troubadour for the ages!
Yours truly, Watson Gainsborough
Thank you Watson Gainborough. Chipper as always.
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Nice work. If I were to attempt a review such as this I'd lose my internet or otherwise bug out and crash after 13,900 words, only to realize I was an idiot and didn't save.
#neverlucky
Anger is the punishment we give ourselves for someone else's mistake.
Thanks a lot!
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I appreciate the massive amount of work you put into this, but I can't help but feel a lot of these predictions are pretty far off. Lady in white as five stars? Remember that the lady in white inner fire gets placed BEFORE any minion were to get any health buffs. For most minions that equates to +1 or maybe +2 attack. I could see it in some sort of "egg priest" deck. Also, it's reliant on actually getting it at the start of the game; Dragon soul is a great example of this. A strong card, but terrible because if it's at the bottom of your deck, it's bad.
You really lost me when you compared Sally to Voodoo Doll...
Actually read through it all! Everything I disagree with you admitted was controversial, but even then, your logic was clear and easy to follow. I'm also glad to see that someone else shares my opinion on Lifedrinker. Can you give my review a read? Love to hear your thoughts.
"The quickest way to 'think outside the box' is to realize the truth: the only real box is the one you create by limiting your thoughts."
Bruce Garrabrandt
Read through it all and vehemetly disagree with several, most notably Blackwood Pixie, Lifedrinker, Hagatha, and Dark Possession being 5 stars. As well as Houndmaster Shaw and Ratrap being so low specifically, but blanketly Druid and Paladin combined have two cards above one star and none above three. Just by the odds they are going to have one or two cards that make decks. But thinking Rebuke from Paladin is one star is just crazy talk.
However, I completely agree that Curse of Weakness is going to be cried from the start to be nerfed. But, its Blizzard. So if it's too good, they'll nerf one of their older cards in the deck its good in and not it because they want packs sold.
Appreciate the effort and the fact it gets discussion going, but here in two or three weeks we will know for sure either way.
I don't agree with any of your ratings till warrior, saw darius as a 2 star, stopped reading.. you lack vision to see that a lot of good cards rotate out and not everything is at cubelock level. darius is an easy 5 stars btw.
rush warrior is gonna be very good.
We'll have to see how things unfold and maybe you are right on most of this after all. But giving Lady in White 5 stars and Darius Crowley 2 really gives me pause.
Great review, but small side note Hagatha is not a DK, just a hero card.
:/
Chameleos is one or two stars at best. I don't think Lady in White is 5 stars, probably one or two aswell.
I dont agree with everything, but great job making this and above all explain your reasoning.
That was a page...scroller! Great work, man.
Unsurprisingly, I don't agree on everything, but I think we have similar opinions about a lot of things. I will mention one or two of the places where we really diverge.
Arcane Keysmith feels perfect in the Book of Specters/Arugal deck. I definitely think it will see play there. Without Ice Block, most secrets are conditional anyway, and this allows you to pick the secret to suit your situation.
Curio Collector I think the initial stats are just too bad. Instead of investing 5-mana in this then playing book of specters, I'd rather just play book of specters, and then invest the remaining 5-mana on cards that are more impressive than just being a beatstick on 7-mana.
Dark Possession I mentioned in my thread that I just don't see this one. 1-mana discover has traditionally not been that good. I think Journey Below saw play only because of Gadgetzan and combo. I also think that most Demons are disappointing, even when they're free. If this destroyed the minion outright, I'd agree. But since I don't believe it has a strong effect, and because it serves as an activator only for Lackey, I don't think it will make the cut.
Curse of Weakness I don't think this is a bad card. That said, it is bad compared to what Warlock already has at it's disposal. Defile, Doomsayer, Corrupting Mist, Hellfire, Felfire, Twisting Nether, Godfrey - how much more AOE removal does the deck actually need? It doesn't even play some of this stuff.
Warpath Warrior actually lost a lot with Ravaging Ghoul and Sleep with the Fishes. I agree that machine gun warrior is a meme dream, but this is really just replacing tools warrior lost.
Houndmaster Shaw I just think it's nuts that you rated this, a playable card, lower than Emeriss, which is completely unplayable. YMMV with Houndmaster, but it at least passes the vanilla test. Emeriss does not.
We both agree that Druid got hosed and that Shaman got rich.
Blazing Invocation Just noting this because I don't want to look like a hypocrite: This is a 1-mana discover that may see a lot of play because it literally discovers multiples of your deck's win condition. I don't know if it will be necessary because of Banker and Zola, however.
Thank you for being one of the few to understand Prince Liam.
Great work!
I appreciate the read! I really don't think Emeriss is good like... at all. But, the two star rating comes from the fact that I think a lot of people are going to be commited to the meme. I'm glad you and I agree on Prince Liam. I'm just not seeing it.
But, again, thank you!
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While I appreciate such a well written and thorough review, I gotta say say I think most of these ratings are way off. I even cringed reading the review of Coffin Crasher. It's a good card which you gave one star, which is ok in itself, but then you compared it to Big Priest and said it isn't a viable replacement for Barnes and Y'Shaarj, Rage Unbound. That makes absolutely no sense. This goes in deathrattle/quest priest.. i'm so confused
Nice guide!
I'm completely with you on Tess Greymane. It is an awful card and the deck it is made for isn't going to work.