Back by moderate demand, here is my synoptic review of the new set, Descent of Dragons.
The rating system is 1 to 4. 1 – Will not (or will almost never) see constructed play. 2 - Might see some constructed play as a support card. Also tech cards. 3 – Will see constructed play. A good card. 4 – Will see constructed play. One of the best cards in the set. Or the driver of a strong meta deck.
Galakrond
Before we go further, I will review all Galkrond forms: they are all a 4 except for Warlock. I believe they will all see a good amount of play in the constructed meta, and some may be the best versions of their class. That said, there is a tier list among Galakronds
1. Shaman
The consensus is this Galakrond is the strongest, and the consensus is correct. It is the only Galakrond the features both resource generation and removal as its hero power and battle cry. It also got the best Invoke support for reasons I can’t understand.
2. Warrior
This one has as much to do with the strength of the Warrior class as anything else. Warrior has all the tools to use the Galakrond offensively or defensively. It can slip easily into either role. Its Invoke support is among the weakest, but it scarcely matters.
3. Rogue
Some believe that it is possible that Rogue may not use its Galakrond. As ever, I think people are still underrating the utility of Lackeys. Although, I admit that Lackeys are worse now because of the number of them, they are still some of the best early and midgame minions available. Rogue has a ton of options at its disposal right now. It will be a fun deckbuilding challenge to figure out which is the best route to take.
4. Priest
Like Warrior, this rating has as much to do with the weakness of the Priest class as anything else. If Warrior had the Priest Galakrond, it would be broken. Priest’s Galakrond is an incredible control hero, but Priest, generally, is not an incredible control class because it can’t heal over 30 and it still doesn’t have clear direction on how to win games. If either part of that puzzle is solved, Priest Galakrond becomes fairly terrifying.
5. Warlock - 2
This appears the weakest by far, and it’s invoke options were too cautious, even by Invoke standards. I will explain further in the Warlock section. But, I still think it has a chance to work out based on the strength of Veiled Worshiper.
Sidequests
A quick note on sidequests: I think they’re all bad. I don’t think any of them satisfy the opportunity cost of adding a 1 (or 2) mana “do nothing” to your deck. That said, some have more potential than others, and will be rated accordingly.
Druid
Druid got some great stuff. First, I think there’s a midrange dragon deck that I expect to compete. If shaman is the terror we think it will be, its weakness is a board of 3 large minions that it doesn’t have spells to deal with. And Dragon Druid can be that deck. The synergy between Breath of Dreams, Frizz Kindleroot, and (possibly) Embiggen is there for the taking. It has competition from Quest Druid, and I’m not sure the two play well together. But it does have the benefit of not having to play off Curve during the early turns.
I am less confident in a Treant deck (MCT anyone?), but I will note that Areoponics is the reason to play it. That card is great. I’m still not sure it can carry a deck that doesn’t do anything interesting until turn 7, when it’s already too late.
Finally, there might be an Embiggen deck that is just unbridled aggro. Increasing the cost of your minions by 1 matters much less when your minions only cost 1 and 2 to begin. And because Embiggen costs 0 mana, you never have to play off curve.
Hunter got a great set, but will be more of a deckbuilding puzzle than Druid. The dragon package doesn’t appear to make a ton of sense in Hunter, but the strength of Stormhammer is insane. Veranus is a weird card for hunter. It is no doubt good – its stats and cost are more than enough to be playable. But Hunter is usually successful when it’s driving the action. Veranus is a more reactive card.
The inspire minions are all very powerful and useful. Admittedly, the secret pool for Phase Stalker isn’t that great right now.
Because of their individual power, but lack of a clear deck building direction, I think they will find a home in Highlander Hunter – which is the place for strong solo cards that share loose synergy with one another.
Mage got the juice. Which is good. It needed it. I fully expect some version of Dragon mage to be the flagship deck of the class. It will probably be Highlander. Malygos is a second Zephrys. Dragoncaster eases the burden of needing to play cards like Luna’s Pocket Galaxy. The tools are all there. It will be an easy deck to build and play. Azure Explorer is the weakest Explorer by a wide margin. But it could still be played because it’s a dragon.
I am also hopeful for a “Smol Spell” or Cyclone deck. This is a class where the Sidequests actually make sense, because spamming low cost spells is the point. While could see play here, I still don’t think they’re “the best” cards of that deck. Mana Giant is the best card for this type of deck that wants to play twinspell Conjurer's Callings on big giants. Violet Spellwing would be a strong card in any class. Chenvaala adds some consistency to the deck by adding another “payoff” card, but I don’t think it’s actually very strong. I think this deck could be a surprise hit.
Poor Uther still has no idea what he’s doing. When most classes are given 2 or 3 types of deck support, Paladin is given 5 half-assed types of support. But hey, at least we still got that sweet reborn synergy! *crickets*
Ultimately, I think Paladin will settle on 2 directions: Highlander Dragon Paladin and Aggro Paladin (which might also be highlander). Both are going to have to rely strongly on neutral cards. I suppose there’s an off chance for a midrange dragon paladin, but I don’t know if it has the power level it needs. I don’t think Dragonrider is the payoff. While she could snowball games, I don’t think that is likely to happen often with the prevalence of silence and transform effects (aka Zephyrs) in the meta.
I really like the idea of a Purity Paladin, and Lightforged Zealot is an amazing card. But I don’t think the support is there yet. I am excited to see more of it in the future, though.
Sanctuary could be interesting in the same way that Rat Trap is interesting, in that it controls how your opponent has to play. So it gets a small bump for being possibly sneaky playable.
I think Priest got a lot of good cards. I’m less clear on how Priest intends to win games outside of DS/IF. Unfortunately, the “remove things, drop big things” niche seems to be done better in Warrior and Mage. But priest does it well enough. Galakrond priest will probably play some sort of dragon package because Fate Weaver ties it together. But Chronobreaker and Murozond do not inspire. Talanji and Phaoris seem playable.
Combo Priest kind of gets Mindflayer Kaahrj. It doesn’t really do anything there, except be a standalone minion that could bail you out here and there. I would hate to hit him off of Psychopomp.
There’s also this deathrattle priest that has never come together. Generally, it’s always been a worse version of Combo Priest, and that probably won’t change. The tools are interesting, but there’s little in the way of payoff cards right now: Serpent Egg (underwhelming) and Mechanical Whelp (too slow).
As I noted at the beginning, Rogue presents the most fun deckbuilding challenge of this set, IMO. It has so many good options at its disposal that I expect we will be arguing about the “best rogue” well into the expansion’s lifecycle.
If I had to guess (which is the point of this entire process), I’d say that a tempo-deathrattle rogue carries the class in the early expansion because it is very easy to build. I think there’s also room for Aggro Rogue feat. Bloodsail Flybooter to make some hay in the early days because weapons can still hit Shaman in the face.
Flik feels like the type of card that will always be played in every rogue type until rotation. Waxadred, Galakrond, and Stowaway all present powerful, but challenging deckbuilding options. Candle Breath is incredible, but it seems homeless in a class that isn’t a dragon class (and I’m not sure Dragonic Lackey carries it…will need to test).
Umbral Skulker looks like bait to me. In a deck already drawing so many 0-cost cards and 1-mana value lackeys, I don’t think she does anything special, unless you consider clogging your hand special. But I acknowledge the potential to be there for Edwin and Questing Adventurer wins.
Shaman’s only problem is that it has too many Tier 1 options. It has the best Galakrond. It has arguably the best Aggro package. It has arguably the best quest. And there’s overlap between them, which can allow you to tweak either deck to the metagame. Galakrond can be played with quest. Overload can be played with quest. Galakrond can be played with overload, etc.
Corrupt Elementalist is so good that I think if the effect were neutral (3/3 summon 2x 2/1 with rush) it would be a nerf candidate. We’ve had this effect before, but not with the ability to split the damage and control where it lands. Dragon’s Pack makes Oasis Surger look quaint. Also, it gives ridiculous defensive potential to a deck that absolutely does not need or deserve it. Invocation of Frost is Glacial Shard with rush. This whole package is stupid.
Did warlock receive the help it needed to get out of the dumpster? Maybe, but probably not.
Some manner of dragon handlock seems the most likely deck for warlock of this set. The strength of Crazed Netherwing and Nether Breath are undeniable. Valdris, Abyssal Summoner, and Dark Skies, likewise, seem like powerhouse cards.
The rest of the building is where it gets tricky. How is it winning? Is it a highlander deck? Or does it play Zeph/Alex as a fatigue package like druid? Can multiple giants with expired merchant carry the day? I’m also not convinced this has to be a control deck. I think it could play like Even Warlock from a few formats back. There are unknowns here. They aren’t insurmountable by any means. But they will need to be experimented with.
I may be wrong, but Galakrond Warlock seems terribly weak. It is the only Galakrond without any removal aspect. Its battlecry varies from mediocre to actually terrible. Imp/Demon synergy is so weak/bad that it almost doesn’t exist. And no further synergy was introduced. The Invoke cards make Praise Galakrond! look like a good card. I just don’t know what they were thinking nerfing the hell out of this deck before it was released in a format filled with so much power.
That said, Veiled Worshipper and Kronx are sick…and might be strong enough to carry all these bad cards. But probably not.
Similar to Rogue, I think there are a lot of deck building challenges presented in Warrior. Because, like Rogue, the class is so strong in many different ways.
Dragon stuff hasn’t panned out before, but it’s here in force now. Galakrond could be aggressive or controlling. Dr. Boom and his mechs and bombs are still here. Ancharr is insane, but the powerlevel of pirates isn’t quite there yet. “Best Warrior” will be a struggle to nail down.
Speaking about Galakrond specifically, its Invokers are weak but playable. 2-mana, 4 damage ritual chopper is reliant on subsequent Invokes to be interesting. Bad Swipe – aka Awaken! – is symmetrical, which could be problematic. And all of these will take a toll on your health, even with armor gain. Even Galakrond himself finds some steep competition in Dr. Boom.
Some of these neutrals are interesting, most aren’t. I’ll talk about the interesting ones.
Sathrovarr – 2 - We already know what he’s good at and what he isn’t.
Dragonqueen Alexstrasza – 4 - Obvious for Highlander decks, and maybe even decks in fatigue like Druid or Warlock.
Shu’ma– 2 - This might be better than a 2 if token decks are more playable than I expect. But there are immediate homes in Aggro Shaman and Vault Hunter.
Kronx Dragonhoof – 4 - This card is so good that it might even save Galakrond Warlock.
Frizz Kindleroost– 4 - An obviously strong card, but I don’t think it’s unfair as most. Overall, I don’t think any dragon deck plays enough dragons to cheat insane amounts of mana – I think most/all dragon decks will be Highlander or only play a small Dragon package (priest). Druid is the exception. This is busted there because of the double ramp with breath of dreams.
Chromatic Egg – 1 - This card is bad because it starts with “Battlecry.”
Faceless Corruptor – 4 - I think we are going to see an insane amount of this card. Anything that plays lackeys or tokens (and probably even pirates) can abuse the heck out of it. It also has some interesting (I’m not scared yet) applications with Shudderwock.
Cobalt Spellkin – 3 - Good glue for Highlander Dragon decks.
Hoard Pillager – 2 - Does Pirate Warrior want this? I’m not convinced yet. Might be a 1-of there.
Dragonmaw Poacher – 2 - This tech card has a chance to blow your opponent out of the game. But it also is just a tech card. That’s what they do. And they’re usually useless everywhere else. This is no different.
Parachute Brigand – 4 - Currently, this is the reason you play Pirate decks. I don’t think it’s enough to make the archetype truly scary because of the amount of rush around. But it is incredibly powerful.
General thoughts on why some cards got 2’s and 3’s that aren’t tech cards.
It’s hard to say which dragons are good yet. Some are clearly good (Big Ol’ Whelp) others are less clear (Evasive Dragons). Some 2 ratings may be 3’s and vice-versa.
There are also packages of aggressive minions, mechs in particular. I think in a world that has cards like Embiggen, Magnetic, and Kangor’s Endless Army, these will find homes in strong aggressive decks. I just don’t know exactly what they are yet.
Always love reading these. Nice work, friend. I wanna share my agreements!
I agree Shaman is the best class right now and still got the best cards. They have the best Galakrond card AND the best Invoke cards. Corrupt Elementalist, Invocation of Frost, and Dragon's Pack are EASILY going to be an unstoppable force to be reckoned with. I agree Flik Skyshiv will be played until she's rotated out. I agree Murozond the Infinite is bad. I agree that Cobalt Spellkin is good "glue" for Dragon decks; I think it's just good in general! I agree Nozdormu the Timeless is certifiably a meme. I agree Chronobreaker is good, but mostly because he's just a Dragon.
However, I personally would have rated Camouflaged Dirigible, Evasive Wyrm, Fire Hawk, and Squallhunter higher! I think that Camouflaged Dirigible might be a intermittent one-of the in inevitable deck that runs Sky Claw. I think Evasive Wyrm is just a Dragon-type of the Rush/Divine Shield option that Siamat offers (albeit much more understated, but might be a price worth paying for Dragon synergy). I also think that Fire Hawk can be an option in aggressive decks. A 3-mana 5/3 Elemental is nothing to push to the side. As for Squallhunter... remember Flamewreathed Faceless? I think this is even better. 4-mana 7/7 was extremely powerful, but turn four never really NEEDED all 7 attack points. I believe 5 would have always sufficed. Sacrificing +2 attack points for +2 Spell Damage and a Dragon tag is a small price to pay, if even a price to pay at all. This is ESPECIALLY amazing with all the OP Dragon synergy cards and high AoE spells like Lightning Breath. Large amounts of removal and a threatening 5/7 body to boot is going to be a showstopper.
That being said, I'm just sharing my opinion. That's what's so great about predicting; nobody really knows for sure.
I'm glad to see that someone else understands thatNozdormu the Timeless is hot garbage.
As am I! I've tried to build the deck often, but there's no good way to get around the fact that you're giving your opponent 10 mana to respond to the board. Nozdormu feels like a slightly better Millhouse Manastorm.
Only thing I disagree on is I don't think Umbral Skulker is a bait. You point to the fact that rogue doesn't have that many expensive things, but while there are a lot of cheap cards in that deck there are also some pretty big mana sinks. Heistbaron Togwaggle, Kronx Dragonhoof, probably Flik Skyshiv, Galakrond himself, the random spells/dragons you'll be discovering off lackeys. The fact that you can store and use the mana across multiple turns, use them as combo activators, etc. It's not as insane as dragon pack, but it's definitely a 2 of in that deck.
Thanks fort the Review Ben! I must admit i'm following your opinion for quite some time and usually i find it on point.
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one thinking Murozond the Infinite is vastly overrated. Perhaps I would rate it 2 instead of 1, but anyway very good review !
I think people are sleeping on murozond. The card is crazy flexible. With discounting it can be used in conjunction with mass hysteria to swing a board. You can copy your opponent’s card draw, Things like zilliax, etc. I think it’s a really good card.
Thanks for the late review. I will just say I don't expect Galakrond to see play past the first couple weeks of experimentation. Maybe priest and warrior keeps Galakrond sans the terrible invoke package just for the upgraded hero power. Nozdormu the Timeless is busted, it's a 4 mana 8/8 without overload! Every paladin will play that and many games will be decided on that card alone. You are also underrating many other cards, I won't comment on each as the expansion goes live tomorrow, we will see.
I'm glad to see that someone else understands thatNozdormu the Timeless is hot garbage.
It’s called " Nozdormu the Useless "!
4 Mana 8-8 in the later stages of the game, but you would rather want to use this only in a aggro type of deck, to throw in more overstated threats at low costs in order to close out the game.
This is only strong if you could consistently refill your hand, which in Paly is more than questionable after Divine Favour got HoF'ed.
Certainly completely useless when drawn early, but thats not its purpose, it had to have this severe drawback in order to be printable at these stats. Also in my book the card should have been a epic at best.
Can you elaborate on how people are sleeping on this card with almost 75% votes beeing either very good or meta defying?
He's probably referring to people like me or VS, who rate it quite low.
Most people who actually do take the time to review cards rate this one negatively. No one really cares what the peanut voting gallery thinks ultimately lol.
I think Necrium Apothecary is being extremely overrated by a lot of people.
It's super slow, and playing a 4 mana 2/5 that needs to Combo AND that still needs to die to do something will be terrible, even with Necrium Blade perfectly aligned, since everyone else can do crazy stuff and possibly pull it off easier than all this aligning perfectly.
Specially since to make good value out of it, you'll want to put the deathrattles of big stuff, making the deck even slower and towards a controllish shell, and that never worked and doesn't seem to have the tools now either.
Back by moderate demand, here is my synoptic review of the new set, Descent of Dragons.
The rating system is 1 to 4.
1 – Will not (or will almost never) see constructed play.
2 - Might see some constructed play as a support card. Also tech cards.
3 – Will see constructed play. A good card.
4 – Will see constructed play. One of the best cards in the set. Or the driver of a strong meta deck.
Galakrond
Before we go further, I will review all Galkrond forms: they are all a 4 except for Warlock. I believe they will all see a good amount of play in the constructed meta, and some may be the best versions of their class. That said, there is a tier list among Galakronds
1. Shaman
The consensus is this Galakrond is the strongest, and the consensus is correct. It is the only Galakrond the features both resource generation and removal as its hero power and battle cry. It also got the best Invoke support for reasons I can’t understand.
2. Warrior
This one has as much to do with the strength of the Warrior class as anything else. Warrior has all the tools to use the Galakrond offensively or defensively. It can slip easily into either role. Its Invoke support is among the weakest, but it scarcely matters.
3. Rogue
Some believe that it is possible that Rogue may not use its Galakrond. As ever, I think people are still underrating the utility of Lackeys. Although, I admit that Lackeys are worse now because of the number of them, they are still some of the best early and midgame minions available. Rogue has a ton of options at its disposal right now. It will be a fun deckbuilding challenge to figure out which is the best route to take.
4. Priest
Like Warrior, this rating has as much to do with the weakness of the Priest class as anything else. If Warrior had the Priest Galakrond, it would be broken. Priest’s Galakrond is an incredible control hero, but Priest, generally, is not an incredible control class because it can’t heal over 30 and it still doesn’t have clear direction on how to win games. If either part of that puzzle is solved, Priest Galakrond becomes fairly terrifying.
5. Warlock - 2
This appears the weakest by far, and it’s invoke options were too cautious, even by Invoke standards. I will explain further in the Warlock section. But, I still think it has a chance to work out based on the strength of Veiled Worshiper.
Sidequests
A quick note on sidequests: I think they’re all bad. I don’t think any of them satisfy the opportunity cost of adding a 1 (or 2) mana “do nothing” to your deck. That said, some have more potential than others, and will be rated accordingly.
Druid
Druid got some great stuff. First, I think there’s a midrange dragon deck that I expect to compete. If shaman is the terror we think it will be, its weakness is a board of 3 large minions that it doesn’t have spells to deal with. And Dragon Druid can be that deck. The synergy between Breath of Dreams, Frizz Kindleroot, and (possibly) Embiggen is there for the taking. It has competition from Quest Druid, and I’m not sure the two play well together. But it does have the benefit of not having to play off Curve during the early turns.
I am less confident in a Treant deck (MCT anyone?), but I will note that Areoponics is the reason to play it. That card is great. I’m still not sure it can carry a deck that doesn’t do anything interesting until turn 7, when it’s already too late.
Finally, there might be an Embiggen deck that is just unbridled aggro. Increasing the cost of your minions by 1 matters much less when your minions only cost 1 and 2 to begin. And because Embiggen costs 0 mana, you never have to play off curve.
Ysera, Unleashed – 2
Goru the Mightree – 2
Secure the Deck – 1
Embiggen – 4
Aeroponics – 3
Breath of Dreams – 4
Treenforcements – 3
Emerald Explorer – 3
Shrubadier – 2
Strength in Numbers – 1
Hunter
Hunter got a great set, but will be more of a deckbuilding puzzle than Druid. The dragon package doesn’t appear to make a ton of sense in Hunter, but the strength of Stormhammer is insane. Veranus is a weird card for hunter. It is no doubt good – its stats and cost are more than enough to be playable. But Hunter is usually successful when it’s driving the action. Veranus is a more reactive card.
The inspire minions are all very powerful and useful. Admittedly, the secret pool for Phase Stalker isn’t that great right now.
Because of their individual power, but lack of a clear deck building direction, I think they will find a home in Highlander Hunter – which is the place for strong solo cards that share loose synergy with one another.
Veranus – 2
Dragonbane– 3
Stormhammer– 4
Toxic Reinforcements – 1
Diving Gryphon – 3
Phase Stalker – 3
Clear the Way – 2
Primordial Explorer – 3
Corrosive Breath – 3
Dwarven Sharpshooter - 3
Mage
Mage got the juice. Which is good. It needed it. I fully expect some version of Dragon mage to be the flagship deck of the class. It will probably be Highlander. Malygos is a second Zephrys. Dragoncaster eases the burden of needing to play cards like Luna’s Pocket Galaxy. The tools are all there. It will be an easy deck to build and play. Azure Explorer is the weakest Explorer by a wide margin. But it could still be played because it’s a dragon.
I am also hopeful for a “Smol Spell” or Cyclone deck. This is a class where the Sidequests actually make sense, because spamming low cost spells is the point. While could see play here, I still don’t think they’re “the best” cards of that deck. Mana Giant is the best card for this type of deck that wants to play twinspell Conjurer's Callings on big giants. Violet Spellwing would be a strong card in any class. Chenvaala adds some consistency to the deck by adding another “payoff” card, but I don’t think it’s actually very strong. I think this deck could be a surprise hit.
Malygos, Aspect of Magic – 4
Chenvaala – 2
Mana Giant – 4
Rolling Fireball – 3
Dragoncaster – 3
Arcane Breath – 3
Elemental Allies – 2
Azure Explorer – 2
Violet Spellwing – 2
Learn Draconic – 2
Paladin
Poor Uther still has no idea what he’s doing. When most classes are given 2 or 3 types of deck support, Paladin is given 5 half-assed types of support. But hey, at least we still got that sweet reborn synergy! *crickets*
Ultimately, I think Paladin will settle on 2 directions: Highlander Dragon Paladin and Aggro Paladin (which might also be highlander). Both are going to have to rely strongly on neutral cards. I suppose there’s an off chance for a midrange dragon paladin, but I don’t know if it has the power level it needs. I don’t think Dragonrider is the payoff. While she could snowball games, I don’t think that is likely to happen often with the prevalence of silence and transform effects (aka Zephyrs) in the meta.
I really like the idea of a Purity Paladin, and Lightforged Zealot is an amazing card. But I don’t think the support is there yet. I am excited to see more of it in the future, though.
Sanctuary could be interesting in the same way that Rat Trap is interesting, in that it controls how your opponent has to play. So it gets a small bump for being possibly sneaky playable.
Nozdormu/Duel paladin is still a meme.
Nozdormu the Timeless – 1
Dragonrider Talritha – 2
Lightforged Crusader – 1
Sanctuary – 2
Lightforged Zealot – 1
Sky Claw – 2
Righteous Cause – 1
Amber Watcher – 2
Bronze Explorer – 3
Sand Breath – 1 (So many dragons you want to play have Evasive)
Priest
I think Priest got a lot of good cards. I’m less clear on how Priest intends to win games outside of DS/IF. Unfortunately, the “remove things, drop big things” niche seems to be done better in Warrior and Mage. But priest does it well enough. Galakrond priest will probably play some sort of dragon package because Fate Weaver ties it together. But Chronobreaker and Murozond do not inspire. Talanji and Phaoris seem playable.
Combo Priest kind of gets Mindflayer Kaahrj. It doesn’t really do anything there, except be a standalone minion that could bail you out here and there. I would hate to hit him off of Psychopomp.
There’s also this deathrattle priest that has never come together. Generally, it’s always been a worse version of Combo Priest, and that probably won’t change. The tools are interesting, but there’s little in the way of payoff cards right now: Serpent Egg (underwhelming) and Mechanical Whelp (too slow).
Murozond the Infinite – 1
Mindflayer Kaahrj – 3
Fate Weaver – 3
Envoy of Lazul – 1
Time Rip – 3
Chronobreaker – 2 (based almost entirely on the dragon tag – still may not see any play)
Breath of the Infinite – 3
Grave Rune – 2
Disciple of Galakrond – 3
Whispers of EVIL – 2
Rogue
As I noted at the beginning, Rogue presents the most fun deckbuilding challenge of this set, IMO. It has so many good options at its disposal that I expect we will be arguing about the “best rogue” well into the expansion’s lifecycle.
If I had to guess (which is the point of this entire process), I’d say that a tempo-deathrattle rogue carries the class in the early expansion because it is very easy to build. I think there’s also room for Aggro Rogue feat. Bloodsail Flybooter to make some hay in the early days because weapons can still hit Shaman in the face.
Flik feels like the type of card that will always be played in every rogue type until rotation. Waxadred, Galakrond, and Stowaway all present powerful, but challenging deckbuilding options. Candle Breath is incredible, but it seems homeless in a class that isn’t a dragon class (and I’m not sure Dragonic Lackey carries it…will need to test).
Umbral Skulker looks like bait to me. In a deck already drawing so many 0-cost cards and 1-mana value lackeys, I don’t think she does anything special, unless you consider clogging your hand special. But I acknowledge the potential to be there for Edwin and Questing Adventurer wins.
Flik Skyshiv – 4
Waxadred – 2
Necrium Apothecary – 4
Umbral Skulker – 2
Stowaway – 2
Seal Fate – 3
Dragon’s Hoard – 2
Candle Breath – 2
Bloodsail Flybooter – 3
Praise Galakrond! – 2
Shaman
Give the best class the best set? Okay!
Shaman’s only problem is that it has too many Tier 1 options. It has the best Galakrond. It has arguably the best Aggro package. It has arguably the best quest. And there’s overlap between them, which can allow you to tweak either deck to the metagame. Galakrond can be played with quest. Overload can be played with quest. Galakrond can be played with overload, etc.
Corrupt Elementalist is so good that I think if the effect were neutral (3/3 summon 2x 2/1 with rush) it would be a nerf candidate. We’ve had this effect before, but not with the ability to split the damage and control where it lands. Dragon’s Pack makes Oasis Surger look quaint. Also, it gives ridiculous defensive potential to a deck that absolutely does not need or deserve it. Invocation of Frost is Glacial Shard with rush. This whole package is stupid.
At least its dragon stuff is bad.
Nithogg – 1
Bandersmosh – 1
Dragon’s Pack – 4
Cumulo-Maximus – 3
Corrupt Elementalist – 4
Lightning Breath – 2
Storm’s Wrath – 4
Squallhunter – 2
Invocation of Frost – 3
Surging Tempest - 3
Walock
Did warlock receive the help it needed to get out of the dumpster? Maybe, but probably not.
Some manner of dragon handlock seems the most likely deck for warlock of this set. The strength of Crazed Netherwing and Nether Breath are undeniable. Valdris, Abyssal Summoner, and Dark Skies, likewise, seem like powerhouse cards.
The rest of the building is where it gets tricky. How is it winning? Is it a highlander deck? Or does it play Zeph/Alex as a fatigue package like druid? Can multiple giants with expired merchant carry the day? I’m also not convinced this has to be a control deck. I think it could play like Even Warlock from a few formats back. There are unknowns here. They aren’t insurmountable by any means. But they will need to be experimented with.
I may be wrong, but Galakrond Warlock seems terribly weak. It is the only Galakrond without any removal aspect. Its battlecry varies from mediocre to actually terrible. Imp/Demon synergy is so weak/bad that it almost doesn’t exist. And no further synergy was introduced. The Invoke cards make Praise Galakrond! look like a good card. I just don’t know what they were thinking nerfing the hell out of this deck before it was released in a format filled with so much power.
That said, Veiled Worshipper and Kronx are sick…and might be strong enough to carry all these bad cards. But probably not.
Zzeraku the Warped – 2
Valdris Felgorge– 3
Veiled Worshipper– 2
Dark Skies– 3
Crazed Netherwing– 4
Dragonblight Cultist – 1
Nether Breath – 4
Abyssal Summoner – 3
Fiendish Rites – 1
Rain of Fire – 1 (what even is this card? A good counter to your own terrible Galakrond deck!)
Warrior
Similar to Rogue, I think there are a lot of deck building challenges presented in Warrior. Because, like Rogue, the class is so strong in many different ways.
Dragon stuff hasn’t panned out before, but it’s here in force now. Galakrond could be aggressive or controlling. Dr. Boom and his mechs and bombs are still here. Ancharr is insane, but the powerlevel of pirates isn’t quite there yet. “Best Warrior” will be a struggle to nail down.
Speaking about Galakrond specifically, its Invokers are weak but playable. 2-mana, 4 damage ritual chopper is reliant on subsequent Invokes to be interesting. Bad Swipe – aka Awaken! – is symmetrical, which could be problematic. And all of these will take a toll on your health, even with armor gain. Even Galakrond himself finds some steep competition in Dr. Boom.
Deathwing, Mad Aspect – 3
Ancharrr – 4
Scion of Ruin – 3
Ramming Speed – 2
Molten Breath – 3
Skybarge – 3
Ritual Chopper – 2
Awaken! – 2
EVIL Quatermaster – 3
Sky Raider – 3
Neutral
Some of these neutrals are interesting, most aren’t. I’ll talk about the interesting ones.
Sathrovarr – 2
- We already know what he’s good at and what he isn’t.
Dragonqueen Alexstrasza – 4
- Obvious for Highlander decks, and maybe even decks in fatigue like Druid or Warlock.
Shu’ma– 2
- This might be better than a 2 if token decks are more playable than I expect. But there are immediate homes in Aggro Shaman and Vault Hunter.
Kronx Dragonhoof – 4
- This card is so good that it might even save Galakrond Warlock.
Frizz Kindleroost– 4
- An obviously strong card, but I don’t think it’s unfair as most. Overall, I don’t think any dragon deck plays enough dragons to cheat insane amounts of mana – I think most/all dragon decks will be Highlander or only play a small Dragon package (priest). Druid is the exception. This is busted there because of the double ramp with breath of dreams.
Chromatic Egg – 1
- This card is bad because it starts with “Battlecry.”
Skyfin – 1
Kobold Stickyfinger – 2
Tentacled Menace– 1
Dread Raven– 1
Blowtorch Saboteur – 1
Transmogrifier – 1
Wyrmrest Purifier – 2
Grizzled Wizard – 1
Utgarde Grapplesniper – 1
Faceless Corruptor – 4
- I think we are going to see an insane amount of this card. Anything that plays lackeys or tokens (and probably even pirates) can abuse the heck out of it. It also has some interesting (I’m not scared yet) applications with Shudderwock.
Cobalt Spellkin – 3
- Good glue for Highlander Dragon decks.
Zul’Drak Ritualist – 1
Hoard Pillager – 2
- Does Pirate Warrior want this? I’m not convinced yet. Might be a 1-of there.
Dragonmaw Poacher – 2
- This tech card has a chance to blow your opponent out of the game. But it also is just a tech card. That’s what they do. And they’re usually useless everywhere else. This is no different.
Bad Luck Albatross – 2
Dragon Breeder – 2
Depth Charge – 2
Twin Tyrant – 1
Evasive Drakonid – 2
Camouflaged Dirigible – 1
Gyrocopter – 1
Evasive Wyrm – 2
Big Ol’ Whelp – 3
Shield of Galakrond – 3
Platebreaker – 2
Wing Commander – 1
Troll Batrider – 2
Devoted Maniac – 3
Evasive Feywing – 2
Hippogryph – 1
Living Dragonbreath – 1
Goboglide Tech – 2
Fire Hawk – 1
Scalerider – 3
Tasty Flyfish – 1
Parachute Brigand – 4
- Currently, this is the reason you play Pirate decks. I don’t think it’s enough to make the archetype truly scary because of the amount of rush around. But it is incredibly powerful.
Evasive Chimaera – 1
Hot Air Balloon – 2
Blazing Battlemage – 2
General thoughts on why some cards got 2’s and 3’s that aren’t tech cards.
It’s hard to say which dragons are good yet. Some are clearly good (Big Ol’ Whelp) others are less clear (Evasive Dragons). Some 2 ratings may be 3’s and vice-versa.
There are also packages of aggressive minions, mechs in particular. I think in a world that has cards like Embiggen, Magnetic, and Kangor’s Endless Army, these will find homes in strong aggressive decks. I just don’t know exactly what they are yet.
I'm glad to see that someone else understands thatNozdormu the Timeless is hot garbage.
I always like your reviews, and wait for them each expansion. Thanks for putting the work in.
Good work, I agree for the most part. These are the ones I'm not sure about:
Always love reading these. Nice work, friend. I wanna share my agreements!
I agree Shaman is the best class right now and still got the best cards. They have the best Galakrond card AND the best Invoke cards. Corrupt Elementalist, Invocation of Frost, and Dragon's Pack are EASILY going to be an unstoppable force to be reckoned with. I agree Flik Skyshiv will be played until she's rotated out. I agree Murozond the Infinite is bad. I agree that Cobalt Spellkin is good "glue" for Dragon decks; I think it's just good in general! I agree Nozdormu the Timeless is certifiably a meme. I agree Chronobreaker is good, but mostly because he's just a Dragon.
However, I personally would have rated Camouflaged Dirigible, Evasive Wyrm, Fire Hawk, and Squallhunter higher! I think that Camouflaged Dirigible might be a intermittent one-of the in inevitable deck that runs Sky Claw. I think Evasive Wyrm is just a Dragon-type of the Rush/Divine Shield option that Siamat offers (albeit much more understated, but might be a price worth paying for Dragon synergy). I also think that Fire Hawk can be an option in aggressive decks. A 3-mana 5/3 Elemental is nothing to push to the side. As for Squallhunter... remember Flamewreathed Faceless? I think this is even better. 4-mana 7/7 was extremely powerful, but turn four never really NEEDED all 7 attack points. I believe 5 would have always sufficed. Sacrificing +2 attack points for +2 Spell Damage and a Dragon tag is a small price to pay, if even a price to pay at all. This is ESPECIALLY amazing with all the OP Dragon synergy cards and high AoE spells like Lightning Breath. Large amounts of removal and a threatening 5/7 body to boot is going to be a showstopper.
That being said, I'm just sharing my opinion. That's what's so great about predicting; nobody really knows for sure.
Your reviews are great. Thanks for the effort!
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As am I! I've tried to build the deck often, but there's no good way to get around the fact that you're giving your opponent 10 mana to respond to the board. Nozdormu feels like a slightly better Millhouse Manastorm.
Thank you very much! I am glad to hear it.
I love these reviews of yours. Only one I disagree with is Ramming Speed – 2
Super Collider is better, so I'd give ramming speed a 1.
Only thing I disagree on is I don't think Umbral Skulker is a bait. You point to the fact that rogue doesn't have that many expensive things, but while there are a lot of cheap cards in that deck there are also some pretty big mana sinks. Heistbaron Togwaggle, Kronx Dragonhoof, probably Flik Skyshiv, Galakrond himself, the random spells/dragons you'll be discovering off lackeys. The fact that you can store and use the mana across multiple turns, use them as combo activators, etc. It's not as insane as dragon pack, but it's definitely a 2 of in that deck.
pretty good list, I agree with almost everything said. well done
Thanks fort the Review Ben! I must admit i'm following your opinion for quite some time and usually i find it on point.
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one thinking Murozond the Infinite is vastly overrated. Perhaps I would rate it 2 instead of 1, but anyway very good review !
It’s called " Nozdormu the Useless "!
I think people are sleeping on murozond. The card is crazy flexible. With discounting it can be used in conjunction with mass hysteria to swing a board. You can copy your opponent’s card draw, Things like zilliax, etc. I think it’s a really good card.
Can you elaborate on how people are sleeping on this card with almost 75% votes beeing either very good or meta defying?
He's probably referring to people like me or VS, who rate it quite low.
A very good analysis. Which is rare.
My input:
Galakrond - switch Warrior with Rogue.
Druid - Completely agree.
Hunter - Completely agree.
Mage - Chenvaala maybe to 3; Quests more towards 1; Rolling Fireball - really not sure.
Paladin - Completely agree. Amber Watcher is a great card, but I fear no deck and synergy just yet.
Priest - Chronobreaker is 1 for me.
Rogue - Completely agree.
Shaman - Completely agree. Shaman is broken. Will shut down many decks.
Warlock - Completely agree.
Warrior - Ramming Speed is 1 as long as we have Supercollider in the format. Skybarge - 4.
Neutrals - Skyfin - 2 for design. Hoard Pillager - 3, Big Ol' Whelp - 4, Evasive Feywing - 3? Hippogryph - 2.
“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”
Thanks for the late review. I will just say I don't expect Galakrond to see play past the first couple weeks of experimentation. Maybe priest and warrior keeps Galakrond sans the terrible invoke package just for the upgraded hero power. Nozdormu the Timeless is busted, it's a 4 mana 8/8 without overload! Every paladin will play that and many games will be decided on that card alone. You are also underrating many other cards, I won't comment on each as the expansion goes live tomorrow, we will see.
4 Mana 8-8 in the later stages of the game, but you would rather want to use this only in a aggro type of deck, to throw in more overstated threats at low costs in order to close out the game.
This is only strong if you could consistently refill your hand, which in Paly is more than questionable after Divine Favour got HoF'ed.
Certainly completely useless when drawn early, but thats not its purpose, it had to have this severe drawback in order to be printable at these stats. Also in my book the card should have been a epic at best.
Most people who actually do take the time to review cards rate this one negatively. No one really cares what the peanut voting gallery thinks ultimately lol.
Bumping this up because it's worth it, good job as always!
I think Necrium Apothecary is being extremely overrated by a lot of people.
It's super slow, and playing a 4 mana 2/5 that needs to Combo AND that still needs to die to do something will be terrible, even with Necrium Blade perfectly aligned, since everyone else can do crazy stuff and possibly pull it off easier than all this aligning perfectly.
Specially since to make good value out of it, you'll want to put the deathrattles of big stuff, making the deck even slower and towards a controllish shell, and that never worked and doesn't seem to have the tools now either.