Hearthpwn

Demon Hunter

Ashtongue Battlelord: 2 – If Control Demon Hunter is forced to resort to this, that’s a good sign that the deck isn’t going to turn out well. A slightly overtuned Sen'jin Shieldmasta is simply not nearly enough to slow down most competent aggro decks. High Priestess Jeklik was a similarly statted minion with discard synergy to boot, and yet she saw very little play. Cards like this do not bode well for the success of control in Demon Hunter.

Crimson Sigil Runner: 4 – Outcast is not much of a problem since this card can usually be played as soon as you draw it. Not quite as busted as Town Crier since you shouldn’t always play it on curve, but a solid card nonetheless.

Fel Summoner: 1 – Reminds me a lot of Coffin Crasher which never saw play. The statline is horrific, it’s vulnerable to silence, and it has no immediate impact on the board. I don’t like it at all.

Immolation Aura: 3 – Respectable earlygame clear which deals with decks like Treant Druid very easily. Will it be enough to make Control Demon Hunter work? Probably not, but it’s one of the better cards the archetype received for sure.

Netherwalker: 3 – Regardless of whether or not demon synergies pan out in Demon Hunter, this card will still see play. The value is good for the cost, and none of the demons available to Demon Hunter are terrible.

Spectral Sight: 4 – Again, outcast works well with cheap cards and especially works well with card draw, since card draw usually doesn’t need to be played until your hand is close to empty. Aggro decks will easily make use of this because of how quickly cards are played from hand.

Coilfang Warlord: 1 – It’s not BAD per se, but it appears to be designed for arena, not constructed. There’s not enough synergy to justify putting it in your deck.

Imprisoned Antaen: 2 – One of the better Dormant minions for sure. Its effect isn’t easy to play around but is weaker than the Reno the Relicologist effect because it can target face. The statline isn’t great but the battlecry is powerful enough that you can easily justify running this in slower Demon Hunter decks. Sadly, I think Control just isn’t going to work out for Demon Hunter, so I can’t justify giving it more than a 2.

Furious Felfin: 3 – It’s pretty good but it’s not really an aggro card, and unless you run something like Twin Slice you won’t be able to play it on curve. It’s fine, but I don’t think it’ll see much play outside of control.

Priestess of Fury: 2 – Not a particularly good card when played from hand but decent when summoned by Pit Commander. It can be pretty annoying if your opponent is unable to deal with it quickly, but minions tend to have short lifespans, so I doubt the damage will add up to a lot in most cases.

Skull of Gul'dan: 4 – Unbelieveably overtuned. Even without outcast, the card is good for the cost. With outcast, the mana reduction will frequently take away the loss of tempo you would normally have to deal with by playing this card. If Skull of Gul’dan gets nerfed to 6 or even 7 mana, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.

Pit Commander: 1 – This card is the main reason why I’m not optimistic about Control Demon Hunter working out well. If this is supposed to be the “win condition” of such a deck, then it’s far too slow, it forces us to run only large demons, and it dies to a single board clear. Control Demon Hunter will need to conjure up something much more impressive if its wants a real shot at relevancy.

Warglaives of Azzinoth: 2 – All the complaints I brought against Control Demon Hunter apply to this as well. The bottom line is that the class is far better suited for aggro. Nonetheless, this is still a better Fool’s Bane, so I can’t count it out entirely.

Kayn Sunfury: 4 – Very scary card that can blow through early defenses all on its own. Addresses one of the biggest weaknesses of Demon Hunter. In short, Kayn is going to be a staple in any Demon Hunter deck which cares about aggression.

Metamorphosis: 4 – A cheaper and more flexible Pyroblast is highly enticing. If this card gets out of control, the meta may be forced to add in anti-hero power tech to deal with this. Metamorphosis is a powerful finisher which is difficult for most opponents to reliably prevent.

SUMMARY: Illidan is beginning his Hearthstone career at an inherent disadvantage. He doesn't have the rich card pool that other classes have access to, and while the Initiate set is intended to make up for this, it's still not quite as much. To overcome this problem, it looks like Blizzard has opted to print him strong cards, which means Demon Hunter will likely end up as a powerful, yet one-dimensional class. I would specifically place it as the 3rd best class in the game, which is an impressive feat considering that other classes have much more available to work with.

Druid

Bogbeam: 2 – I’m not a fan of the deck archetype that this card is stuck in, but once you get to turn 7 this a significantly better Backstab. It might see a little bit of play here and there in any Druid deck which can ramp up quick, but that’s about it.

Imprisoned Satyr: 1 – A very slow card with an unreliable effect? I imagine people will try to build “big” decks around cards like this and be sorely disappointed. This isn’t the kind of effect you need to justify running Dormant cards.

Overgrowth: 1 – Four-mana-do-nothing does not inspire much confidence in a meta as aggressive as the one we are in right now. In order for a greedy card like this to work, we’d have to slow things down a LOT. The payoff cards for getting to seven mana also seen rather weak and uninspiring, not to mention that it’s a terrible topdeck in the lategame. Besides, Druid has much better options as far as ramp goes.

Fungal Fortunes: 3 – This card isn’t as good as something like Book of Specters since decks typically run fewer spells than minions, but Druid can make it work out well enough anyway since Quest Druid already runs a crapload of spells and can make excellent use of this. Unfortunately, I don’t believe any other Druid archetypes will want to use Fungal Fortunes (certainly not Embiggen Druid, at least), but a solid performance in Quest Druid is good enough to warrant a 3.

Germination: 1 – Weaker cards than this have seen play in the past such as Molten Reflection, but the reason Molten Reflection worked was because it had a specific combo that it fit right into. What minion does Druid have that could possibly justify running this card? Ysiel? She has better things to cast than Germination. Lucentbark? Bleurgh. This card might see play in the future, but for the upcoming meta? Pass.

Ironbark: 2 – +1/+3 and Taunt to a minion isn’t terrible, even without the discount, but I can’t think of a particularly good reason to put this in your deck when Druid has much better options available, and by the time you hit 7 mana you generally have better things to do than to give a minion a small buff for free.

Glowfly Swarm: 4 – I suspect this card will either be busted or terrible, but because Druid has so much support already for decks with lots of expensive spells, along with support for token decks, I can’t really envision this card being bad. Token Druid already runs more spells than minions, and that deck is always looking for more 5-or-more cost spells to add to the roster. Quest Druid can also flood the board with this due to the sheer number of spells in that deck, so I could even see it working out fine in there.

Marsh Hydra: 1 – Adding a random minion to your hand is not a particularly strong effect which does not justify running what is essentially the 7-mana equivalent of a Burly Shovelfist. It also doesn’t help that, with Rastakhan rotating, Druid is losing almost all of the “big beast” support. Now, to be fair, the 8-mana pool of minions is pretty strong, so I can imagine Marsh Hydra as a good arena pick, but the lack of synergy is a huge hurdle that I doubt this card can get over.

Archspore Msshi'fn: 3 – Msshi’fn Prime doesn’t blow me away, but Druid is very good at cycling and shouldn’t have too much trouble consistently getting to him. I can imagine this card fitting in well in any Druid deck that can draw well.

Ysiel Windsinger: 2 – It’s not nearly the powerhouse that pre-nerf Aviana is. Even though Druid has an enormous amount of good, expensive spells to work with, it can't play more than one per turn since there is no effective way of gaining extra mana (the effect is a downside for Innervate). Once it's on the board, it's vulnerable to removal because of how bad its stats are, and you will need it to survive for a turn in order for it to be cost efficient. Unless there's some crazy combo out there that I'm missing, I don't think this will work out all that well.

SUMMARY: Sadly, Druid ended up with one of the weaker sets this expansion. There's some potential here, and Druid can probably slot some of the new cards in with existing archetypes, but it's unlikely that all-new, successful decks will emerge. Still, Druid has a solid foundation to work with, so while it will probably take a hit, it will still end up as the 7th best class overall.

Hunter

Helboar: 4 – Hunter always appreciates good 1-drops and this is no exception. Even without the porcupine package, this is a good amount of value for the mana, and it’s a deathrattle too which Hunter definitely wants more of.

Imprisoned Felmaw: 2 – Not impressed. Imprisoned Satyr sucks because its effect is far too inconsistent for the massive tempo loss. This card sucks because of how easily your opponent can play around it. Still, it can target face, which means Face Hunter might be able to make decent use of it.

Scavenger's Ingenuity: 4 – Drawing a card and giving it a big buff for 2 mana is a pretty sweet deal on its own (compare it to Stolen Goods), but what really sells me on this card is the synergy. The lion, the porcupine, and the apex predator’s prime all become completely busted with this card, and it’s hard for me to NOT see this card working out, even if Hunter is losing a lot of its good beast cards.

Mok'Nathal Lion: 3 – A 5/2 with Rush is not particularly good (compare it to Steel Rager which never saw play) but Hunter still has a decent slew of deathrattles to work with. While it is a shame that Spider Bomb is rotating out, this still has obvious synergy with the porcupine and Zixor, and I could even see a hybrid mechrattle/beast deck working out with this card because of Oblivitron. Oh, and Teron Gorefiend? Greedy Deathrattle decks are some of the most fun decks in Hearthstone, and Mok’Nathal allows you to indulge in a ton of greedy fantasies.

Pack Tactics: 4 – Not only does this work well with the porcupine package, but I can also see plently of other decks, like Face Hunter, which would consider this over Snake Trap. Imagine a 3/3 Kobold Sandtrooper. Or a Phase Stalker. The possibilities are limitless with this new secret.

Scrap Shot: 3 – At first glance this card looks completely inferior to Scavenger’s Ingenuity, since instead of drawing a card, you pay two more mana to deal three damage. However, this has the added upside of the player having some control over what gets buffed since they can just play the beast they don’t want buffed, and then play this. Not a great card, but probably good enough to make it into a deck with the porcupine.

Augmented Porcupine: 4 – A card I would normally never consider running but suddenly becomes relevant due to Mok’Nathal Lion simply existing, even if you fail to combo this with any of the buff cards. Let’s say you’re playing against an aggro deck and you lay this down on 3. Does your opponent ignore it and go face? If they do, they run the risk of you playing the lion and clearing their entire board. As a result, the porcupine can force aggressive opponents to make suboptimal trades and lose some of their progress. I have high hopes for this one.

Nagrand Slam: 1 – Boy, this looks terrible. 10 mana for a horrendously inconsistent “board clear” which lacks any kind of synergy? This right here might be one of the worst cards in the set.

Zixor, Apex Predator: 3 – This card would be a 4 if Master's Call were still in standard, but even without it, Zixor is still pretty strong. Hunter’s not as good at cycling as Druid, but it’s getting Scavenger’s Ingenuity which will guarantee you draw Zixor Prime if he is the only beast in your deck. I can see Zixor seeing play in a Deathrattle Hunter deck with the lion and porcupine, but I also predict that the Zixor/Ingenuity package will be included on its own in other Hunter decks as well.

Beastmaster Leoroxx: 1 – People seem to be going crazy over Leoroxx but I’m not seeing it. Most of the beasts Hunter is getting this expansion are ones you do NOT want to summon from hand (e.g. Zixor Prime, Mok'Nathal Lion) which means that Leoroxx will only see play in a “big” beast hunter deck. Problem is, Hunter is losing a lot of the beasts that would work in such a deck (i.e. Oondasta, Witchwood Grizzly, Amani War Bear), and what does it have left over? King Krush, Savannah Highmane, and Tundra Rhino, three cards which are weak to play from hand (aside from maybe Highmane) and have very little synergy outside of Leoroxx. Combine that with the fact that it’s a terrible topdeck and it doesn’t jive well with Hunter’s traditional style of “play things quickly from your hand” and the situation looks pretty grim for Leoroxx.

SUMMARY: How long has it been since Hunter was bad? The class has a rich card pool to work with in the Year of the Dragon, so Rexxar's not too upset about losing class staples like Springpaw, Master's Call, and Zul'jin. In addition, the upcoming expansion is bringing an enormous number of strong tools that Hunter can use in current decks, or even create new archetypes. Hunter will likely emerge as the 2nd best class when all is said and done.

Mage

Incanter's Flow: 4 – So, you’re playing minionless mage and you get this card which discounts EVERY SINGLE CARD in your deck? I love it. One of the best cards in the set and a potential nerf candidate. I predict it will see play even in Mage decks which run minions. Fantastic card.

Netherwind Portal: 3 – The payoff isn’t great, but the secret is easy to proc. It’ll fit into minionless mage just fine, but I’d be surprised if it found its way into any other deck. As for Secret Mage, that deck needs a lot more help than just this and Apexis Smuggler.

Starscryer: 1 – Uhhh, OK? Mage doesn’t have any spells they want to target, and this minion does a terrible job of fighting for the board since she dies to a ping. I’ll need something better than a slightly better Loot Hoarder to win me over.

Deep Freeze: 2 – A little too expensive for what it does. Despite that, it could still see play because of both the cost reduction from Incanter’s Flow and the demand for minion-generating spells that minionless mage will have. Still, this card really pales when compared to things like Power of Creation.

Font of Power: 3 – In order for minionless mage to work, it needs a way to generate minions through spells, and on that front, this card delivers. Mage minions are generally not THAT great, which is definitely a strike against this card, but with three options available you will often get something that is useful to you. Not quite as good as something like Omega Assembly (since, y’know, the minions won’t have rush) but solid nonetheless.

Imprisoned Observer: 1 – This has the same problem that Chronobreaker has: board clears are significantly weaker when your opponent can play around them. Boy, the Dormant mechanic is not looking good.

Apexis Smuggler: 2 – Obviously this is completely busted in Wild but just taking Standard into account, this card addresses one of the biggest problems with Secret Mage, and that is how quickly the deck runs out of resources. Will this be enough to push the Uldum secret package (which has potential as proven in Wild) into Standard relevancy? Not on its own, but we can always dream.

Apexis Smuggler: 3 – We know from Karazhan just how good Firelands Portal was and this is a Firelands Portal that can come down as early as turn 3 when taking Incanter’s Flow into account. I’m optimistic about minionless mage, and cards like this are part of the reason why.

Evocation: 4 – Fantastic lategame option for Mage. This is one of those cards which can fit into just about any deck and work out well enough (even one which tends to have big handsizes like Highlander Mage). Now, generating random spells is usually not as good as drawing cards, which means this might not be on the same power level as something like The Soularium, but if you are low on cards, the chances of you getting something you want are pretty high.

Astromancer Solarian: 2 – I’m a little on the skeptical side here. Mage isn’t great at cycling since it’s losing a lot of its good card draw (like Stargazer Luna and Book of Specters) and Solarian Prime doesn’t really strike me as a reliable win condition. Sure, the spells you cast aren’t going to hurt you so long as they aren’t Conjurer's Calling, but in the end I think this card is just a little bit too slow.

 SUMMARY: Will Mage finally stop being a one-deck pony this expansion? Minionless Mage shows a lot of promise, since Mage appears to have the spells it needs to make such a deck work. As for Highlander Mage, that deck isn't losing a whole lot from the rotation and could be one of the better decks in the format (although with the Hunter weakness it's unlikely to be Tier 1). I'm going to put Mage at around the 5th spot, although the class could really impress in the Ashes of Outlands meta.

Paladin

Aldor Attendant: 4 – Mana cheating is a powerful mechanic and the Librams are respectable even when ignoring the potential discount. Aldor Attendant can potentially cheat a LOT of mana considering how easy it is to “go infinite” with Libram of Wisdom, to say nothing of getting out an early Libram of Hope. Very scary card.

Hand of A'dal: 3 – Pretty good. Doesn’t have quite the burst power of Blessing of Kings, but it cycles, so I can’t really say this card is bad. It’s not getting a 4 because I don’t think Libram Paladin really NEEDS this, and I don’t think it’ll see much play outside of Libram Paladin. Still, not a terrible card.

Libram of Justice: 3 – Probably the weakest of the Librams and the one that’s the least likely to see play outside of a Libram-devoted deck. If you don’t have a board yourself, this is a significantly worse version of Equality. The weapon helps, but taking a lot of face damage to clear a board (slowly) is not a great way of dealing with the immediate threat of death.

Aldor Truthseeker: 3 – Again, the Librams work well enough on their own that reducing the mana cost isn’t even necessary for them to function. Everything that I said about Aldor Attendant applies to Aldor Truthseeker, although I would argue that Truthseeker is a little worse since he’s slower and the Librams of Wisdom don’t really need more than a (2) decrease.

Imprisoned Sungill: 3 – Now THIS is the kind of Dormant minion I can get behind. Skipping your turn one is not nearly as devastating as, say, skipping a turn two or three, and the payoff is difficult for your opponent to play around. Paladin may be losing Prismatic Lens, but Scalelord is a deceptively strong card and he requires a board in order to drop him down on curve and win the game. If you play the Sungill on turn three, you are guaranteed to have three murlocs ready to gain Divine Shield, and there is nothing your opponent can do to stop it.

Libram of Wisdom: 4 – She’s hot.

Libram of Hope: 3 – At 9 mana, this card is fair enough to be a decent arena card, and nothing more. However, when discounted enough to play it as early as turn six, or even five, then it becomes a win condition against aggro. However, with the infinite buffing that Libram of Wisdom provides and the massive restock that Liadrin gives, Libram Paladin won’t slouch against control either. Can you tell I’m exited for this archetype?

Underlight Angling Rod: 4 – If Murloc Paladin can survive the loss of Prismatic Lens, this card will be instrumental in why. Its power level is comparable to post-nerf Ancharrr (which is still the best card in Pirate Warrior): It has more attack, but it gives you a random murloc instead of drawing one. Fortunately, the murloc pool is solid overall; there really aren’t any “lowrolls” that you have to worry about, so I have little doubt that Murloc Paladin will be a strong archetype this expansion.

Lady Liadrin: 4 – There was a fair amount of skepticism when this card was first revealed but now that we know how the Librams work, I think it’s fair to say Liadrin will be quite the powerhouse. Because the cost reduction applies to Librams that have not yet been generated, Liadrin will be immediately impactful if you have played/discounted enough Librams. Liadrin is also the reason why Libram of Wisdom is so powerful, since you will reliably be able to fill your hand with a lot of free Wisdoms that will last you throughout the game. Liadrin has enormous potential and I wouldn’t be surprised if she turns out to be one of the better cards in the set.

Murgur Murgurgle: 3 – Honestly not very good on its own. Murloc Paladin is no longer going to be fast at cycling without Prismatic Lens, and the prime is not something you want to pull from Tip the Scales. This gets a 3 only because of how good I think Murloc Paladin will be, and I can’t imagine cutting this card from that deck, but I expect this to be one of the more disappointing cards in the archetype.

SUMMARY: A lot is riding on the success of this set. Paladin may be the only class in the game with better Year of the Raven sets than Year of the Dragon sets. The rotation is going to kill all of its exisiting archetypes (no Boomsday means no Mech Paladin, no Rastakhan means no Holy Wrath Paladin). Fortunately, both of the archetypes being pushed in Ashes of Outlands look like they have a decent shot of success. This probably won't be enough to catapult the class to the higher tiers, but Paladin will still probably land at about the 6th spot. Despite this, Paladin players should be happy, since things could have been much, much worse for Uther.

Priest

Apotheosis: 2 – A lot of lifesteal cards are being pushed in this set without a clear synergy uniting them together. Right now, this card isn’t powerful enough to justify running in your deck, but it’s possible that it will see play in future expansions.

Imprisoned Homunculus: 3 – Demons in Priest? Anyway, this card has good stats when you get it on turn 3, and it can stave off early aggression quite well despite being a Dormant card.

Renew: 1 – One mana “discover a card” is an effect which rarely sees play, and I doubt the minor upside of restoring 3 health will change that.

Dragonmaw Overseer: 3 – Looks very scary; I can see it spiraling out of control in the early game. A shame that it isn’t very difficult to remove, but it has fantastic synergy with both Imprisoned Homunculus, Dragonmaw Sentinel, and Reliquary of Souls (if that is still up on Turn 3). This is what Priest needs in order to fight for the board early on.

Dragonmaw Sentinel: 2 – As noble as Blizzard’s efforts are to make Dragon Priest work, the archetype will need much more than just a good turn two play in order to work. It’s not hopeless, but it’s certainly an uphill battle.

Psyche Split: 3 – A clunky, greedy card, but one with potential nonetheless. Obviously, this works extremely well with Reliquary Prime despite the awkwardness of a 12-mana combo since Reliquary Prime is so hard to remove. Beyond that, this also has synergy with Priest’s deathrattle package, and things like Grave Rune become absurd with this card.

Sethekk Veilweaver: 2 – As a Uldum card this would have gotten a 4. However, with Combo Priest being thoroughly gutted I can’t really envision a place for this card. Still, it combos nicely with Apotheosis and Renew so it could work out decently.

Skeletal Dragon: 1 – The statline isn’t great and the effect is weak. This could only ever work in a dedicated Dragon Priest deck, but that deck is far from playable.

Reliquary of Souls: 4 – Priest doesn’t have much in the way of competition for one-drops, but even if it did, this card would probably still work fine due to its synergy with Priest’s earlygame package. Meanwhile, Reliquary Prime is its own win condition: it has absurd potential with both Grave Rune and Psyche Split and it isn’t easy for your opponent to instantly remove due to its evasive nature. We can all be thankful Priest is losing most of its cycling potential.

Soul Mirror: 3 – Not as good as Lightbomb or Mass Hysteria, but it could still work fine. It comes down a turn later than Lightbomb, but you get a copy of any minion which isn’t killed by this. I appreciate the care in giving Priest a board clear which doesn’t work at all in Resurrect Priest. Good call on that one.

SUMMARY: This set isn't terrible, but the Priest class as a whole is in an awkward position. Resurrect Priest is losing two of its best cards, Mass Hysteria and Zerek's Cloning Gallery, and isn't getting anything to make up for those losses. This current set seems focused on two things: Dragon Priest (which I doubt will work) and some form of buff/board control deck which is a little hard for me to even visualize, let alone see it succeed. It's not going to be the worst class, but it will probably end up in 9th place regardless.

Rogue

Cursed Vagrant: 2 – I’m very optimistic about Stealth Rogue but this just seems a little too slow. The base statline isn’t great, and unlike other stealth minions this is weak to silence. The value is good for the cost, though, but aggressive decks really aren’t that interested in out-valuing their opponents rather than just killing them as quickly as possible.

Dirty Tricks: 3 – Spells are so ubiquitous in Hearthstone that it’s generally not very easy to play around this. I have little faith in the secret package, but I could see Dirty Tricks being run as a standalone.

Spymistress: 4 – Rogue is another class which is always on the lookout for good one-drops and Spymistress fits the bill here. 3/1 isn’t a great statline since the minion dies to a ping, but Stealth solves that problem on its own. This card is more or less a cheaper version Twisted Worgen, which was priced at 2 mana, so I expect many Rogue decks, not just ones based on stealth, to use it.

Ambush: 1 – Not too difficult to play around. Poisonous is a historically weak mechanic, and while this does allow the poisonous minion to attack first, it can only do so if your opponent’s board is empty and they have no way to clear the Ambusher. Otherwise, the Ambusher just dies as soon as he is summoned.

Ashtongue Slayer: 4 – Three burst damage is huge for aggro decks, and while Immune is a little superfluous, it does allow you to turn your stealth minions into removal pieces if the situation calls for it (like if you need to clear a Taunt in the way).

Blackjack Stunner: 1 – Very powerful card…in Hunter. Rogue does not have nearly enough secret support to justify running this.

Bamboozle: 4 – I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Bamboozle is the best of the Rogue secrets we have so far. Favorable trades are such an important part of the game and the unpredictability of this secret makes playing around it difficult (unless your opponent just wants to go face). The main reason this gets a 4 and the other secrets don’t is because this card fits well into Stealth Rogue: Once your stealth minions have attacked, they benefit greatly from an evolve upgrade, and because Stealth Rogue is aggressive, your opponent cannot ignore your minions.

Greyheart Sage: 3 – Rogue has a good set of Stealth-related cards, and the payoff here is huge. A stealth-based deck will probably be on the aggressive side, so it will need a way to refill, and Greyheart Sage can get that job done. Additionally, stealth minions are generally sticky, only dying to untargeted effects, so the sage should be able to combo fairly easily with your stealth minions on the field.

Akama: 3 – Definitely one of the sleepers of the set. Galakrond Rogue is excellent at cycling, and the ways to remove this are pretty limited (Rogue’s lackeys can make things difficult for Rotnest Drake to hit it, Flamestrike won’t kill it, Brawl is unreliable, Plague of Wrath will never target it, etc.), and if left unchecked this can be 6 damage to the face every single turn. Spooky.

Shadowjeweler Hanar: 1 – Just so we’re clear, I want the Rogue secret package to be good. But from what I’ve seen, the deck does not have nearly enough support to work. As for Hanar himself, the secret pool is honestly pretty bad (just ask Desperate Measures) and what you get will rarely have any synergy with the deck you’ve put together.

SUMMARY: Rogue is one of the better classes in the game and will likely get even better post-rotation. Stealth Rogue looks great both as a standalone and as a possible addition to Galakrond Rogue, and while Secret Rogue isn't quite there yet, I could see some secret cards working in currently existing Rogue archetypes. I'm going to make the bold prediction that Rogue will end up in 1st when all is said and done, and Valeera will probably end up so strong that she will prompt some much needed nerfs to her class (looking at you, Heistbaron).

Shaman

Marshspawn: 2 – The effect is very good but the problem with this card is the difficulty of playing it on curve. Shaman is losing most of its versatile spells which cost two or less (aside from Invocation of Frost and Rockbiter Weapon) and didn’t gain any in this expansion. A lot of the strength of cards like Marshspawn comes from the ability to play them on curve, so he will probably have to wait at least one expansion before he sees play.

Serpentshrine Portal: 4 – Compare this to Bash. For one overload, we get a three-cost minion instead of three armor? That’s a massive upgrade to a card that was already considered pretty good (or so I’ve heard, TGT was before my time). Not only that, but this card has synergy with the Control package and the fact that it’s a spell means it can trigger your elementals. Pretty sweet deal.

Totemic Reflection: 2 – Will this card bring Totem Shaman into relevance? Absolutely not. Will it see play despite the lack of cards that work with Totems? Probably. Even if you cast this on a hero power Totem, you’re still getting a good deal for the mana spent. This won’t be in every deck but it’s good enough to warrant a little bit of play.

Bogstrok Clacker: 2 – It’s decent value for the cost but evolve effects don’t really have much synergy right now and I don’t really see this dragging Shaman out of the gutter. Still might see play if Evolve Shaman turns out to be a legitimate deck.

Torrent: 3 – Control Shaman looks like it might finally become the real deal. Casting spells isn’t hard for a class like Shaman, and the payoff is great. Way better than Crushing Hand.

Vivid Spores: 1 – Soul of the Forest only sees play in token decks and Shaman post-rotation isn’t really in a position to go that direction. Even if it was, it has a better, cheaper option in Soul of the Murloc.

Boggspine Knuckles: 3 – Evolve effects attached to a weapon are easier to combo with things such as Desert Hare, but in order to do this effectively you’ll have to wait until turn six (or five with the coin). Evolve Shaman in 2020 is certainly not going to be the aggressive, highrolly menace that it was during Doom in the Tomb, but a card like this can provide a significant amount of value that could keep things competitive for the archetype.

Shattered Rumbler: 4 – This is another one of those cards good enough to make an archetype on its own. Dragonmaw Scorcher was good enough as is, but this is a stronger version of him with a very easy-to-proc condition attached. If Control Shaman pans out, and I think it will, Shattered Rumbler is going to be a big reason why.

Lady Vashj: 3 – I could see this working out if the meta is midrange-heavy with minions on the bulkier side, because then the spell damage would actually matter, but Shaman’s not a cycle-heavy class without Spirit of the Frog, so I think the unreliability will be a significant problem. Still, I can see this as one of the weaker cards in a Control Shaman deck, so I’ll give it a 3.

The Lurker Below: 4 – 6 mana 6/3 “clear all tokens from your opponent’s board” is nothing short of busted. Token decks don’t run a lot of big minions, so they will have a hard time playing around him. I expect decks like Treant Druid and Murloc Paladin to be relevant in Ashes of Outlands, and this card is an excellent counter to them.

SUMMARY: Shaman is currently the worst class in the game and it's not even close. On top of that, all three of its Year of the Raven sets gave the class good cards which it is sorry to lose. So is Shaman doomed to irrelevancy? I don't think so; the set it's getting looks pretty good, and Control Shaman will probably be no worse than Tier 2. I don't know if Shaman will be able to materialize any better archetypes, which is why this class will likely only be the 8th best, but there's still some hope.

Warlock

Hand of Gul'dan: 4 – The card draw addresses one of the biggest weaknesses with the Discard mechanic, and can be semi-reliably drawn with Expired Merchant and Nightshade Matron. Even when played rather than discarded, it’s not as much of a raw deal as something like Fist of Jaraxxus. Hand of Gul’dan will allow Warlock incredible cycling opportunities that benefit the Prime greatly.

Nightshade Matron: 2 – Pretty weak card if Hand of Gul’dan is not the highest cost card in your hand. Unlike Expired Merchant, you’re not getting what you discard back, so there are situations where playing this just isn’t worth it.

Unstable Felbolt: 3 – 3 damage to a minion isn’t worth damaging your own to achieve, but this card is still solid when your side of the board is empty. A worse Holy Smite will likely still be pretty good.

Enhanced Dreadlord: 2 – A greedy card which does have the major upside of improving your demon resurrect pool. Might be too slow for Kanrethad decks, and unlikely to see play without Kanrethad.

Imprisoned Scrap Imp: 3 – Warlock hand sizes tend to be large, so this should fit right in with Handlock’s game plan. Skipping turn 2 doesn’t bother me that much, since Handlock is on the slower side already and frequently just spends their turn 2 tapping.

The Dark Portal: 2 – Maybe, I guess. My concern with this one is that the condition is not super easy to pull off, even for Handlock, and once we finally get there, our “reward” with this card is just a slightly better Far Sight. I can envision Handlock lists where this doesn’t make the final cut.

Darkglare: 3 – The body is better than Diseased Vulture, and the effect essentially gives you free Life Taps. However, you need to have 2 mana before you life tap, so you won’t be able to access the “free” taps immediately. Diseased Vulture and Neferset Thrasher saw play in the past, so it’s not unthinkable that this card could bring them back from the dead.

Shadow Council: 1 – Meme card. The buff is not worth filling your hand with random junk that has no synergy with itself.

Kanrethad Ebonlocke: 4 – Possibly the very best Prime in the game. Warlock is already good at cycling and just got better at it due to Hand of Gul'dan. The Prime works as a win condition even if the demons you resummon aren’t very large. Excellent synergy with Expired Merchant. In short, a phenomenal card which will almost certainly spawn a new archetype in Warlock.

Keli'dan the Breaker: 4 – Uhh, yeah, so this card is absurd. 6 mana 3/3 “destroy a minion” is only a little bit worse than Flik Skyshiv, and a Twisting Nether with a 3/3 body for 2 mana cheaper is equally great. This will see play in any Warlock deck which isn’t aggro.

SUMMARY: Gul'dan has come a long way since his terrible RoS set. Descent of Dragons was a huge boon for him, giving him access to multiple playable archetypes which have worked out decently. This set will likely see a revitilization for Handlock as well as some useful tools for Control as well. Warlock looks to end up as the 4th best class in the game and will hopefully rebound from his current sub-par state.

Warrior

Bonechewer Raider: 1 – This is outclassed heavily by other removal options available to Warrior. Furthermore, in the earlygame when enemy minions are starting to be played, you’re less likely to have a damaged minion to target. It’s no Restless Mummy.

Imprisoned Gan'arg: 2 – This card isn’t terrible but it seems to be intended for decks like Quest Warrior, which has little use for a one-drop and needs much more than this to become playable.

Sword and Board: 1 – What the hell is this? It can’t even go face? 2 armor is such a small upside which in no way justifies running a worse Arcane Shot. Awful.

Bloodboil Brute: 3 – It’s not as ridiculously easy to discount as pre-nerf Mogu Fleshshaper but it has the upside of being much, much better when played. The body’s good enough on its own that you won’t even need to combo it with Mutate. Will likely see play in a variety of Warrior decks.

Corsair Cache: 1 – In Pirate Warrior, you need an effect much more powerful than this to justify running a two-mana-do-nothing card. Bomb Warrior might have appreciated this but that deck has long since been powercrept out of the meta.

Scrap Golem: 1 – You might have been happy to see this from Omega Assembly, but Warrior is losing almost all the mech support it has and this will rarely be better than a Booty Bay Bodyguard which gives you 4 armor. Yes, I am aware of the synergy with Armagedillo and I am not impressed.

Bladestorm: 1 – This card will make you miss Warpath. There are far too many scenarios where the “bladestorm” ends too early, before you can clear even half of what you want to clear. In addition, Control Warrior is losing so much that the deck will probably not be salvagable, and this isn’t helping.

Warmaul Challenger: 3 – Another good card people are sleeping on. Let’s say your opponent plays something like a Phase Stalker or an Aldor Attendant on turn 2, and you follow it up with this. You’ve effectively played a 1/4 with “Deal 3 damage” attached. This card is an excellent removal piece which Control Warrior will sorely need as it loses its Year of the Raven sets.

Bulwark of Azzinoth: 1 – So, your opponent needs to hit it about 4 times to get rid of it. Now, let’s say each attack averages about 2 damage. By the time the bulwark is gone, you’ve effectiely played a 3 mana card which reads “Gain 8 armor”. Now all of a sudden cards like Healing Touch don’t seem so bad anymore. Utter garbage, probably the worst legendary in the set.

Kargath Bladefist: 3 – Doesn’t seem too bad. The prime isn’t overly impressive and with the loss of Town Crier and Akali, the Rhino, Warrior doesn’t appear to have any targeted draw for it. Regardless, Galakrond Warrior is good at cycling so it’s not hard to see Kargath fitting in well there. 

SUMMARY: Warrior has been a fantastic class for the last year or so, but now it's losing its excellent Year of the Raven sets. What does it get to make up for that loss? A lot of unplayable crap and a few decent cards which are not good enough to spawn new archetypes on their own. Galakrond Warrior might survive, sure, but Control Warrior is dead on arrival, and Taunt Warrior looks no good. What else does the class have to fall back on? Pirates? Bombs? Warrior will almost certainly end up as the 10th best class in the format and it has this atrocious set to thank for it.

Neutral

Bonechewer Brawler: 2 – Amani Berserker is a little stronger in Aggro decks but that doesn’t mean this card is bad. May see play in an Aggro Warrior deck which runs both cards.

Bonechewer Vanguard: 2 – This will probably end up as nothing more than a good arena card, but with all that health its “enrage” effect could be abused heavily.

Burrowing Scorpid: 3 – Very strong card in Stealth Rogue, which I expect will be a worthy deck. Doesn’t get a 4 because if Stealth Rogue fails, so does this card.

Disguised Wanderer: 1 – Spooky, but minions that die to pings are generally weak, no matter how high the attack.

Dragonmaw Sky Stalker: 3 – Even when you factor out the dragon synergy this card really isn’t any worse than Cairne Bloodhoof.

Ethereal Augmerchant: 1 – Losing trade.

Felfin Navigator: 4 – Murloc decks like to go wide, and this card rewards them for doing so. Any decks which cares about Murloc synergy will run this.

Frozen Shadoweaver: 3 – Freeze lacks synergy but this is a generally good card which might see some scattered play in various decks.

Guardian Augmerchant: 2 – Now THIS is the kind of effect you need to justify damaging your own minions. Hand of Protection sucks, sure, but this gives you a body on top of the effect, and Hand of Protection doesn’t. It can also function as a better Elven Archer if the situation calls for it. Could work in Paladin or Warrior, but I won’t make any promises.

Imprisoned Vilefiend: 3 – Rush is a good keyword for Dormant minions since it allows you to take back control of the board sooner. Won’t need much synergy to perform well in decks.

Overconfident Orc: 4 – Good statline even without the buff, and great with the buff. This card is about on the same level as the dynamic duo Stonehill Defender/Tar Creeper from Un’Goro. Hell, maybe even better.

Rocket Augmerchant: 1 – Remember how shitty Charge is? Yeah…

Ruststeed Raider: 4 – A five mana Amani War Bear is fantastic even if it comes with a post-trade drawback. I expect this to be a common choice in Control decks, especially ones which care about Rush like Warrior.

Rustsworn Cultist: 3 – A 3/3 body isn’t bad if it’s coming with a Soul of the Murloc to boot. This might worm its way into token decks.

Rustsworn Initiate: 2 – Decent value, but I doubt there will be much demand for Spell Damage in the upcoming meta.

Scavenging Shivarra: 1 – Bad statline and an unimpressive effect.

Soulbound Ashtongue: 3 – Could work with a deck that cares about controlling the board early on. The downside doesn’t seem too bad.

Supreme Abyssal: 1 – What’s the point of controlling the board if you can’t leverage that control to hurt your opponent?

Terrorguard Escapee: 2 – Some Warrior deck could make this work. IIRC Cornered Sentry saw play, and this card is similar enough.

Blistering Rot: 1 – The upside isn’t worth the extra mana compared to Echoing Ooze.

Infectious Sporeling: 1 – Too slow, plus it can backfire on you.

Scrapyard Colossus: 1 – I can’t really imagine this seeing much play. It’s too slow for deathrattle decks, and big decks are all bad, so this thing really would need a miracle. Maybe in a future meta.

Mo'arg Artificer: 2 – Looks like a meme card at first but it does have some serious implications for control decks, since it can be the push you need to get your spells to clear the opponent’s board.

Replicat-o-tron: 1 – Most of the good handbuff cards we have can’t target this (for example, Scavenger’s Ingenuity and Armagedillo). It’s no Faceless Corruptor.

Waste Warden: 1 – Very good against tribal decks but its narrow tech application and low base statline means it leaves a lot to be desired when fighting non-tribal decks. Probably won’t see play unless Murloc Paladin exceeds even my high expectations.

Al'ar: 2 – It’s all fun and games until your opponent silences the ashes.

Kael'thas Sunstrider: 2 – We’ve already seen this card in action in Standard and the results are less than impressive. It appears to be one of the weaker cards in Quest Druid and it hasn’t made a splash anywhere else. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any new decks which will be able to deal with how clunky he is.

Magtheridon: 1 – Looks powerful until you think about the implications. It functions as a board clear, but it’s terrible against aggro. Even if you manage to overcome the huge tempo loss, this thing dies to a single piece of hard removal. In short, it’s not worth the hassle.

Maiev Shadowsong: 4 – Dormant is an extremely devastating keyword to give a minion, considering how heavily overtuned the dormant minions are for their cost. This is extremely close to a 4 mana 4/3 “destroy a minion”, which means it will invariably lead to some massive tempo swings.

Teron Gorefiend: 3 – Insanely strong deathrattle for a 3-drop, with a significant downside attached. Still, if deathrattle decks take off (and the Hunter set indicates they will) they will want to find ways to abuse Teron if they can.