The Darkness - 5 - obviously this will be insane with a silence or anytime you can give it taunt, but without those (and lots of those!) types of triggers for it, it's undraftable. Silence priest buff, cuz why not have another insane priest deck in the meta? :/
Neither silence nor taunt work on The Darkness. It's dormant, like Sherazin (which you can't silence or taunt either)
Common Ironwood Golem - 3 - nice body for the cost and druid has some decent armor options. still, the can't attack restriction hurts some, bringing him down from a 2 score. I can see this being better in action than it looks on review, though. A few of these guys can form a potent wall while you make your way to the dearth of big monsters available to druid.
Just to be incredibly nitpicky - dearth means a lack of something, which I imagine is the opposite of the point you were making! c:
Mix up with the cards means one more reveal before tonight, so.
Woecleaver 4 : I've gone between putting this at 4 and putting it at 5 several times and I'm still unsure. There's decent value to be had here, let's say for arguments sake you get a 3-4 drop on average, that's 10 mana or so worth of minions, plus 3 mana worth of drawing a card, plus the 3 or so mana for the weapon itself. It could of course be much better, but it could be much worse. But it is so slow, so painfully, agonisingly, unbelievably slow. In Constructed where you craft a deck of nothing but high cost minions it has more value (barely) but in arena? where you can pull Fire Fly etc.? the agony.
E: Buffed it to 4. Still unsure, definitely not putting it any higher.
Final reviews before the 40 or so cards that drop tonight.
To My Side! 5 : I think one day this will be good in constructed, one day (in part thanks to the new Hunter spellstone and the DK) but for now? no. and in arena? never.
Murmuring Elemental 4 : Shaman and elementals have some decently strong battlecries, but a 2 mana 1/1, eh. I don't see the value. Every now and again it'll be incredible but 9 times out of 10 it's going to be a dead card.
Greedy Sprite 3 : Value this a little higher. 3/1 stat line is below average but if you're going second and can coin it out, it'll trade into a two-drop usually and then gain you the ramp effect. It's probably a 4, but I do love to ramp. Even if it just eats 2 mana from a Druid/Mage/Rogue that could be worth the long-term ramp effect depending on your deck composition.
Void Ripper 3 : 3/3 is average, solid, and it's fine to drop this down on 3 alone (or even better if your opponent has a 3/2 on the board). Will occassionally allow for some very strong trades. Fun card.
Twilight Acolyte 4 : Value 2/4 less than 3/3, and the effect is much harder to find value in. Between Duskbreaker and Hoarding Dragon and the continued love for things like Bone Drake, it's not going to be too hard to draft a dragon deck but even then this is a very niche card.
As about fifty cards have been revealed I think it's a good time to do a little recap again. Excluding cards in previous post, this is the recent outstanding arena cards:
We're on, I believe, around 87 or so cards, a few more than 50!
We've still yet to see most of the neutral commons, I'm pretty sure there's a Bonemare in there somewhere...
With a lot of these cards I feel you don't draft your deck around them, it's more a case of if they come up in your last 5-10 picks and your deck suits them, then you lend them some higher priority. A mage forgoing Frostbolts etc. for the entire draft is a bad idea, and really the only card worth bending your draft around is Kazakus in my opinion.
For sure, but it being better than 3 really terrible cards doesn't make it a good card. It's absolutely not trash tier, but it is a bad card.
Bladed Gauntlet 4 : If you happen to draft the new armour cards (which isn't wholly unlikely) this'll start to look pretty damned incredible. If not, it's useless, obviously. Main problem is the second hit is going to require building up your armour stores again.
Oaken Summons 4 : Blizzard why do you hate my favourite class. The 6 armour is basically worth 1.2 mana but that card (Iron Hide) was never played and armour is worth less in arena than it is in constructed. This is a card you partially build your deck around but you're obviously not going to do that in arena... 4 mana to gain a little armour and potentially summon a 2-drop? Eh.
I actually like cards like these, even when the effects alone r a bit overcharged, you would never pick Iron Hide, cause it just gives u armor, thats a waste of a card. But u might want to get Oaken Summons, cause it also summons a minion. Yeah, its not very amazing card, but it is a card u might consider in some situations and some extra health (armor) is never a bad thing, when the card does more than just "heals" u. I dont mean to start an argument again :D but i wanted to share my point of view on cards like these ;-)
The problem is...well why draft it? Why would you not just draft yourself a two or three drop and save mana on the near useless bit? Combining two effects together in one card makes them stronger for sure, but when that effect is such a mediocre one and the other half relies on good rng for the minion....eh. if this was a Warrior card it would be substantially better.
Ah well, I gotta make a comment to Hoarding Dragon as you all rate this card so high.
While I agree that it is a good pick, I see it being far from Bonemare's powerlevel and would classify as a better tier 2 (good) card. On curve, it really is a powerhouse, but nothing totally gamebreaking. Remember Hungry Dragon getting dropped from a rogue with equipped dagger that instantly killed the 2/1 or whatever the dragon spawned. Yeah, that was a strong turn 4, but nothing too extraordinary. On the downside, the deathrattle can be pretty impactful. 2 coins are not only 2 mana compensation, it also is increased flexibility in curving out and getting huge drops or boardclears out earlier. As it is a deathrattle it clearly is better than a Hungry Dragon, but yeah... not a 1++++ card in my opinion.
Bonemare isn't just a Tier 1 card, it's a Tier 1 Tier 1 card. As Boozor said, in a more expansive ranking system they wouldn't be the same rank, but with only 5 markers Hoarding Dragon is very easily a 1. No card is as good as Bonemare, but that doesn't mean we can't have other 1 ratings!
Crystal Lion 2 : 6 mana 5/5 Divine Shield isn't so bad on it's own, which is good, because comboing this is difficult. Nicely leads into the Bonemare turn.
Oaken Summons 4 : Blizzard why do you hate my favourite class. The 6 armour is basically worth 1.2 mana but that card (Iron Hide) was never played and armour is worth less in arena than it is in constructed. This is a card you partially build your deck around but you're obviously not going to do that in arena... 4 mana to gain a little armour and potentially summon a 2-drop? Eh.
Kingsbane 4 : Love the design, like the potential in constructed, don't see it in arena. Again it's a problem of deck consistency - you have to draw your buff cards and Kingsbane or you've got a bad Light's Justice in your hand. In some decks this will be a great card but I don't think the deck shuffling mechanic will matter much in arena. If Rogues get a common buff card this could be a 3.
Ironbark Golem (3): I dont know why r ppl bitch so much about this one, yeah u will most likely not attack with it, but so what? Tar Creeper is annoying as hell to get through on curve and this will be the same. I will probably not go looking for this, but i will most certainly not be sad, if i "have to" draft this guy.
People are bitching about it because it is an absolutely utterly terrible Constructed card. We do not live in a meta where face aggro is so prevalent that a terrible 4-drop is worth playing just because it has taunt. You could put it at 3 mana and it would be barely better than Tar Creeper.
I can understand that, but overall it is a good card and since its a common, new players will get it relatively fast and will help their early decks. Also i find it funny, how in KFT everyone was bitchin about the OP cards druid got and when they get a worse one for a change, qq again :) The card is nowhere near Purify level bad, but the bitchin is. Probably just enhanced by the poor delivery tho.
My problem with it is that it's a waste, basically. I expected Druid to be 'punished' basically after being so strong for so long, and it does seem to be happening given the low quality of their cards, but the card is literally just some tiny changes away from barely scratching 'playable' - and instead they left it at trash tier. That's not interesting design, and it's a shame that it still happens. It's not a good card, it's a bad card, it's worse than Sen'jin Shieldmasta which obviously never sees play, but that would be a better choice for new players.
I definitely care more because I'm a Druid main, though.
Ironbark Golem (3): I dont know why r ppl bitch so much about this one, yeah u will most likely not attack with it, but so what? Tar Creeper is annoying as hell to get through on curve and this will be the same. I will probably not go looking for this, but i will most certainly not be sad, if i "have to" draft this guy.
People are bitching about it because it is an absolutely utterly terrible Constructed card. We do not live in a meta where face aggro is so prevalent that a terrible 4-drop is worth playing just because it has taunt. You could put it at 3 mana and it would be barely better than Tar Creeper.
Ixlid, Fungal Lord 4 : Such bad stats, suuuuch bad stats. Basically has to survive a turn in order to be good (if you play this with a 5 drop it's...fine but not that impressive)
Possessed Lackey 5 : As with most recruit cards, it's terrible in arena. And constructed as it happens, but still.
Val'anyr 1 : Love it, now fighting for 'best arena card of the expansion' I think, the value is so good and the tempo loss isn't that bad since you can still swing the turn you get it. Susceptible to silence sure but, that's about it.
Lesser Emerald Spellstone 2 : As people said, even the base form isn't so bad. Weak to AOE, will suck against Mages but, still, great value and not hard to upgrade.
Lesser Diamond Spellstone 5 : So much worse in Arena than Constructed. No way to guarantee those big minions you'll be aiming for since in Arena you need to be playing your early game or, well, you'll lose.
Lesser Onyx Spellstone 5 : Pay 2 mana more to Deadly Shot something? Nah. Not seeing enough good deathrattles to make drafting a DR heavy deck likely, don't think this is even that good even if you do.
Twilight's Call 4 : Sure it's good in the right deck, what card isn't? But again the deathrattles so far really haven't been that impressive. In terms of it's consistent drafting value, it's no good.
Dragoncaller Alanna 4 : Stats suck, too expensive. You'd have to have casted two 5+ spells to make this good, which sure, doesn't sound that difficult, but I just don't see it as consistent enough to rate it any higher. Some games this'll be insane and completely carry you, but it's much more likely to be a 9 mana 3/3 clogging up your hand.
Dragon's Fury 3 : Considered putting it at 4 but I'm not sure. Really does depend on the deck you have but as a Mage you're likely to want to draft great spells like Frostbolt and Primordial Glyph. Paying 5 mana for a Volcanic Potion is not value. Highroll/lowroll card, but more consistent than the two mentioned previously, and at least you can make some favourable trades before casting it.
Dragonhatcher 5 : It's a 9 mana 2/4 that requires you to have drafted only expensive dragons and even then it's "okay".
Ironbark Golem 4 : Druid (along with Warrior) is my favourite class, and this card has annoyed me. It is so clearly statted to be useless that I really want to hear Blizzard's justification. This is a worse card than Sen'jin Shieldmasta despite being a class card in a much more powerful metagame. 3/6 is fine in arena, whatever, it's just a wall. Eurgh. 3 armour is even harder to get in arena. This could have easily been a 4/6 and still been a mediocre card that wouldn't see constructed play.
Twilight's Call - Good. Being able to trigger two Deathrattle while also dealing damage with two 1/1 body looks good to me. Well, except if you have played minion with negative deathrattle (here goes today's Bomb Squad reference), then that would be bad, you might want to avoid that.
Dragoncaller Alanna - Good. Drafting at least two big spells might not be very difficult for mage, and the effect being separate body really helps avoid removal (compared to something like "gain +5/+5 for each big spell you cast this game" for example). She will easily turn your board into powerful board presence late game if you succeed.
You're an optimistic sort aren't you! I'd have both cards at 5 personally, way too much variance to be reliably good.
Unidentified Shield (3): +15 armor is poor value compared to cards like Greater Healing Potion, and the 5 armor + 5/5 Is worse then the old Shieldmaiden which was an above average card before. The weapon version is quite nice tho and so is the damage version. Overall it's a borderline average to above average card most of the time which is fine.
I've seen two people say this now and I'm wondering how? It's literally the exact same thing, no? Only difference being there's no "Battlecry" going off for like...Brann.
Anyway bit behind on my ratings so here goes;
Geosculptor Yip 4 : Obviously has the potential for immense value, but the chances of you gaining this much armour in arena seem low even with the new cards. Combine this with the new 2 mana card when your opponent has a lot of board and it's pretty good though.
Skull of the Man'ari 5 : Likewise, potential value, but way way way too slow and unreliable in arena. Spending 5 mana to do nothing and then being unable to use the summoned minion next turn...eurgh.
Unstable Evolution 1 : Incredible flexibility which is important in arena, fits into your curve as long as you have a single minion on board.
Leyline Manipulator 2 : A few expansions ago I'd have had this at 1, but I don't know if yeti stats are that value anymore. Has great potential but really does rely on a Cabalists Tome or similar, if not it's just solid.
Evasion 5 : Epic that doesn't really do much except delay your death for a turn, less reliable than Ice Block and Ice Block is already mediocre.
Furbolg Mossbinder 4 : Don't think this would be particularly strong even at 4 mana, nevermind 5. Only gets a 4 because of the potential of it in Shaman or Paladin where it's still somewhat mediocre. Like Bonemare if Bonemare was a terrible card. Even if you trade in and 'heal' a minion it's NOT GOOD VALUE.
Deck of Wonders 5 : Obviously utterly terrible. Spend 5 mana to sometimes completely screw yourself up or do nothing at all? Sweet. Trolden highlights incoming.
Unidentified Shield 2 : 3 of the options are pretty damn good, one of them (guess) is pretty damn terrible. So on average, above average.
Drywhisker Armorer 3 : 2 mana 2/2 with a potentially big heal, tempted to put it at 4 given armour is unlikely to matter in arena but... I just love armour too much to do it.
Elven Minstrel 1 : Being underrated, card is absolutely god damn insane. It's an Arcane Intellect with a body attached for one more mana - so the way to look at it is a 4 mana arcane intellect that also draws and PLAYS a small minion. Combo isn't a big deal at all, and it doesn't have to be a Turn 4 play. Tempo isn't as important to Rogue in arena as it is in constructed.
Reckless Flurry 4 : Potential in constructed but with the unreliable armour gain of arena plus the self damage, eh.
Ixlid, Fungal Lord 3 : Obviously you don't play this on Turn 5. Let's say you play it on Turn 8 with a 3/4 3-drop though, that's a bonus 3/4 in stats basically making this a 5 mana 5/8, which is obviously...good? ish. In likelihood this guy is a 4 but I think if you have him in the late game and can combo him with a 5 drop or god forbid he survives a turn, he's incredible.
Mix up with the cards means one more reveal before tonight, so.
Woecleaver 4 : I've gone between putting this at 4 and putting it at 5 several times and I'm still unsure. There's decent value to be had here, let's say for arguments sake you get a 3-4 drop on average, that's 10 mana or so worth of minions, plus 3 mana worth of drawing a card, plus the 3 or so mana for the weapon itself. It could of course be much better, but it could be much worse. But it is so slow, so painfully, agonisingly, unbelievably slow. In Constructed where you craft a deck of nothing but high cost minions it has more value (barely) but in arena? where you can pull Fire Fly etc.? the agony.
E: Buffed it to 4. Still unsure, definitely not putting it any higher.
Final reviews before the 40 or so cards that drop tonight.
To My Side! 5 : I think one day this will be good in constructed, one day (in part thanks to the new Hunter spellstone and the DK) but for now? no. and in arena? never.
Murmuring Elemental 4 : Shaman and elementals have some decently strong battlecries, but a 2 mana 1/1, eh. I don't see the value. Every now and again it'll be incredible but 9 times out of 10 it's going to be a dead card.
Greedy Sprite 3 : Value this a little higher. 3/1 stat line is below average but if you're going second and can coin it out, it'll trade into a two-drop usually and then gain you the ramp effect. It's probably a 4, but I do love to ramp. Even if it just eats 2 mana from a Druid/Mage/Rogue that could be worth the long-term ramp effect depending on your deck composition.
Void Ripper 3 : 3/3 is average, solid, and it's fine to drop this down on 3 alone (or even better if your opponent has a 3/2 on the board). Will occassionally allow for some very strong trades. Fun card.
Twilight Acolyte 4 : Value 2/4 less than 3/3, and the effect is much harder to find value in. Between Duskbreaker and Hoarding Dragon and the continued love for things like Bone Drake, it's not going to be too hard to draft a dragon deck but even then this is a very niche card.
With a lot of these cards I feel you don't draft your deck around them, it's more a case of if they come up in your last 5-10 picks and your deck suits them, then you lend them some higher priority. A mage forgoing Frostbolts etc. for the entire draft is a bad idea, and really the only card worth bending your draft around is Kazakus in my opinion.
Oaken Summons 4 : Blizzard why do you hate my favourite class. The 6 armour is basically worth 1.2 mana but that card (Iron Hide) was never played and armour is worth less in arena than it is in constructed. This is a card you partially build your deck around but you're obviously not going to do that in arena... 4 mana to gain a little armour and potentially summon a 2-drop? Eh.
Kingsbane 4 : Love the design, like the potential in constructed, don't see it in arena. Again it's a problem of deck consistency - you have to draw your buff cards and Kingsbane or you've got a bad Light's Justice in your hand. In some decks this will be a great card but I don't think the deck shuffling mechanic will matter much in arena. If Rogues get a common buff card this could be a 3.
Alright updates for the past couple days;
Ixlid, Fungal Lord 4 : Such bad stats, suuuuch bad stats. Basically has to survive a turn in order to be good (if you play this with a 5 drop it's...fine but not that impressive)
Possessed Lackey 5 : As with most recruit cards, it's terrible in arena. And constructed as it happens, but still.
Val'anyr 1 : Love it, now fighting for 'best arena card of the expansion' I think, the value is so good and the tempo loss isn't that bad since you can still swing the turn you get it. Susceptible to silence sure but, that's about it.
Lesser Emerald Spellstone 2 : As people said, even the base form isn't so bad. Weak to AOE, will suck against Mages but, still, great value and not hard to upgrade.
Lesser Diamond Spellstone 5 : So much worse in Arena than Constructed. No way to guarantee those big minions you'll be aiming for since in Arena you need to be playing your early game or, well, you'll lose.
Lesser Onyx Spellstone 5 : Pay 2 mana more to Deadly Shot something? Nah. Not seeing enough good deathrattles to make drafting a DR heavy deck likely, don't think this is even that good even if you do.
Twilight's Call 4 : Sure it's good in the right deck, what card isn't? But again the deathrattles so far really haven't been that impressive. In terms of it's consistent drafting value, it's no good.
Dragoncaller Alanna 4 : Stats suck, too expensive. You'd have to have casted two 5+ spells to make this good, which sure, doesn't sound that difficult, but I just don't see it as consistent enough to rate it any higher. Some games this'll be insane and completely carry you, but it's much more likely to be a 9 mana 3/3 clogging up your hand.
Dragon's Fury 3 : Considered putting it at 4 but I'm not sure. Really does depend on the deck you have but as a Mage you're likely to want to draft great spells like Frostbolt and Primordial Glyph. Paying 5 mana for a Volcanic Potion is not value. Highroll/lowroll card, but more consistent than the two mentioned previously, and at least you can make some favourable trades before casting it.
Dragonhatcher 5 : It's a 9 mana 2/4 that requires you to have drafted only expensive dragons and even then it's "okay".
Ironbark Golem 4 : Druid (along with Warrior) is my favourite class, and this card has annoyed me. It is so clearly statted to be useless that I really want to hear Blizzard's justification. This is a worse card than Sen'jin Shieldmasta despite being a class card in a much more powerful metagame. 3/6 is fine in arena, whatever, it's just a wall. Eurgh. 3 armour is even harder to get in arena. This could have easily been a 4/6 and still been a mediocre card that wouldn't see constructed play.
Could ramble for days on that last one.