Hearthpwn

Hello everyone, and welcome to my Ashes of Outland review and card rating.

First I’ll explain my star ratings:

 1-star: it’s a bad or currently unplayable card.
2-star: it has potential, but I’m not sure if it will see play or it’s a decent card in a low tier deck.
3-star: it’s a playable card, but not essential or it’s essential to a low tier deck.
4-star: it’s a playable card in a tier one deck or it’s essential in a tier 2 deck.
5-star: it’s a very strong card or it’s essential in a tier 1 deck.

I start off with reviewing and rating the new/changed Demon Hunter and Priest cards.

Demon Hunter:

Basic:
Shadowhoof Slayer: very good for fast decks, free hero power with a 2/1 body. 5-star
Chaos Strike: a decent card for some early removal in midrange or control decks. 4-star
Sightless Watcher: a decent body that allows you to get the best draw for next turn. 5-star
Aldrachi Warblades: all control or midrange decks will need this. 5-star
Coordinated Strike: good with Naga or for removal. 4-star
Satyr Overseer: very strong with Twin Slice/Umberwing, don’t know when those rotate. 5-star
Soul Cleave: seems mediocre, there are better ways to regain health. 1-star
Chaos Nova: necessary if you are a control or midrange deck. 5-star
Glaivebound Adept: it’s a better Fire Elemental, but I don’t know if it’s worth running. 4-star
Inner Demon: could be played 1x to finish the game. 4-star

Initiate set:
Blur: you don’t need this, just regain health with cards that actually give value. 1-star
Twin Slice: allows a lot of tempo plays and combo’s, this will be very good. 5-star
Battlefiend: 1-mana 2/2 with a good effect, do I need to say more? 5-star
Consume Magic: it’s a decent card, but it could also clog your hand, I don’t know. 2-star
Mana Burn: really hard to evaluate this, could be very strong, could be weak. 3-star
Ur’zul Horror: this is a decent card, looks like Fire Fly. Don’t know if it will make it though. 3-star
Blade Dance: takes too many cards to set up, you have better options. 1-star
Feast of Souls: very good if combo’d with certain cards, not sure if it fits very easily though. 3-star
Umberwing: very strong for early game and sets up a attack for a future effect. 5-star
Altruis the Outcast: this seems strong in both aggro, midrange and control decks. 5-star
Eye Beam: good in midrange and control decks, I don’t think you want this in aggro. 5-star
Wrathscale Naga: combo’s with a lot of cards, this could be a monster. 5-star
Illidari Felblade: it’s playable, but I think the others cards are better, so it won’t see play. 2-star
Raging Felscreamer: decent body with a good tempo play, good for midrange or control. 5-star
Soul Split: seems too slow and a ‘win more’ card. 1-star
Command the Illidari: a strong card for midrange or control decks, combo’s well. 4-star
Wrathspike Brute: very good against swarm decks, mediocre otherwise. 3-star
Flamereaper: might be played in a control version, depends if weapon removal is played. 3-star
Hulking Overfiend: very strong demon for a midrange or control deck 5-star
Nethrandamus: very strong card for a midrange or control deck 5-star

Priest:
Power Word: Shield: I don’t see any use for this without the card draw at this moment. 1-star
Holy Smite: it’s a decent early removal, but still not good enough to play. 1-star
Shadow Word: Death: it was playable, it’s still playable, depending on the deck. 3-star
Thoughtsteal: this is still unreliable, maybe with future support it could be playable. 1-star
Shadow Madness: decent card, but not with resurrection, which is the only playable deck 2-star
Holy Nova: I’ll prefer Breath of the Infinite in resurrection decks 2-star
Temple Enforcer: it’s fine in a minion-based deck, which Priest doesn’t have. 1-star
Psychic Conjurer: too unreliable, maybe with future support. 1-star
Scarlet Subjugator: decent in a minion-based deck, which Priest doesn’t have. 1-star
Kul Tiran Chaplain: decent in a minion-based deck, which Priest doesn’t have. 1-star
Power Infusion: too slow, need to be minion-based. 1-star
Shadow Word: Ruin: it’s a decent removal option, I don’t know if you want to play 2. 3-star
Natalie Seline: this is a good minion, but not in resurrection decks. 2-star

Now, let’s continue with the actual set!

 Demon Hunter:
Crimson Sigil Runner: 1 mana 2/1 with draw if outcast, very good for very fast decks. 5-star
Spectral Sight: pretty good if you dump your hand very fast, will see play in aggro. 4-star
Netherwalker: I think there’s too many bad demons to play a 2 mana 2/2. 2-star
Immolation Aura: you need this is you want a midrange or control deck 5-star
Furious Felfin: amazing if combined with Twin Slice, still pretty good with the hero power. 5-star
Ashtongue Battlelord: Sen’jin Shieldmasta with lifesteal. I think stats are too weak. 2-star
Kayn Sunfury: charge and makes all your attacks bypass taunt, effect makes up for stats. 5-star
Imprisoned Anthaen: I think this is the best Imprisoned card, very strong effect and stats. 5-star
Skull of Gul’dan: this card is very strong in fast decks, you actually get to play the draws. 5-star
Warglaives of Azzinoth: I’m not too sure about this, I feel there are better cards. 2-star
Metamorphosis: great finisher in fast decks, great control card in midrange or control. 5-star
Fel Summoner: I think this card is too slow, play Raging Felscreamer instead. 1-star
Priestess of Fury: very strong demon for midrange or control deck. 5-star
Coilfang Warrior: very strong control card even though it’s not a demon, very good. 5-star
Pit Commander: very strong demon for midrange or control deck. 5-star

Summary: I think there are a lot of good Demon Hunter cards, I can see a good aggro deck, a good midrange Demon Hunter deck, I think a highlander deck could be good too. Not too sure about a real control versions with weapons as there are only a few value cards.

Druid:
Fungal Fortunes: I don’t think there are enough spells to make a spell druid. Too risky. 1-star
Ironbark: there is some combo potential, but I don’t think it’s good enough for a deck. 1-star
Bogbeam: it’s a pretty good card, but I don’t see a deck where this fits in. 2-star
Imprisoned Satyr: I see potential, but I think it’s too slow for a combo deck. 2-star
Archspore Msshi’fn: This fits in both quest and Embiggen druid, both playable Druid decks. 5-star
Overgrowth: I like the idea of this card, but you need to have it at 4 or it’s useless. 2-star
Germination: I don’t think ramp deck is going to work and it’s too much for a combo. 1-star
Glowfly Swarm: I don’t think there are enough good spells to make a spell druid. 1-star
Marsh Hydra: It’s a good ramp card, but I don’t think ramp Druid is good enough. 2-star
Ysiel Windsinger: No good spells for this in standard at the moment. 1-star

Summary: Even though Druid got only a few good cards, Embiggen Druid will see be very good with only few cards rotating and Quest Druid will also still be good. Token Druid will also continue to be a good deck. I don’t see the new ramp druid taking off because it relies too heavily on Overgrowth and I think Imprisoned Satyr is too slow and unreliable for a good combo deck.

Hunter:
Helboar: good in beast Hunter, don’t know if beast Hunter will make it though. 2-star
Scavenger’s Ingenuity: I think this is good, even/especially if you play only a few beast. 4-star
Imprisoned Felmaw: It’s ok at turn 2, and later it’s not very good. 1-star
Pack Tactics: if you run secrets, you want to run this, will see play in secret or highlander. 5-star
Augmented Porcupine: seems good in beast Hunter, don’t know if beast Hunter is good. 2-star
Zixor, Apex Predator: the first body is ok, the second body is very good, good card. 5-star
Scrap Shot: this is far worse than Scavenger’s Ingenuity, only for combo decks, not sure. 3-star
Mok’Nathal Lion: good card, but I don’t think there are good deathrattles around. 2-star
Beastmaster Leoroxx: I think you’ll play this for some combo, don’t know how strong that is. 3-star
Nagrand Slam: I really like this card, but I don’t know if it’s gonna be good. 3-star

Summary: I think Hunter is a really hard class to evaluate at this moment. I could see room for 6 different Hunter decks; highlander, secret, beast, combo, face and quest. It’s hard to predict which of these will be the best. I have a good feeling about highlander, secret and face decks. I’m not too sure about the other 3. Beastmaster Leoroxx allows for some OTK combo, but Hunter usually didn’t have the tools to survive for that long. I don’t know if there’s enough early beasts to make beast hunter a thing. And quest Hunter loses some good cards and only gained 1 new card.

Mage:
Font of Power: very good in spell Mage, it’s very hard to predict if that deck will be good. 4-star
Evocation: strong in almost any Mage deck, definatly with a Sorcerer’s Apprentice. 5-star
Starscryer: I like this card, might be played in highlander Mage. 3-star
Incanter’s Flow: very good in spell Mage, it’s very hard to predict if that deck will be good. 4-star
Apexis Smuggler: I don’t see any deck for this except for wild. 1-star
Astromancer Solarian: I think you’ll want to play this in every non-spell Mage. 5-star
Netherwind Portal: will make it in spell Mage, not sure about it otherwise. 4-star
Imprisoned Observer: I think this could see a spot in a highlander Mage. 4-star
Apexis Blast: very good in spell Mage, it’s very hard to predict if that deck will be good. 4-star
Deep Freeze: you’ll probably need this in spell Mage, but I dont see any use besides that. 4-star

Summary: I think Mage is one of the more interesting classes for the next expansion. You have several viable/good decks and they’re all quite different, making it interesting to play. Elemental and highlander Mage will surely still be around as they don’t lose that many cards and even gain some new powerful cards. The new spell Mage deck is really hard to evaluate without playing it, but it seems at least good enough for a tier 2 deck, I don’t know if it will make tier 1 because you have to play some cringy cards and there’s not a lot of card draw to draw all those discounted spells, plus you need Incanter’s Flow at the start for that too. We will have to see about that.

Paladin:
Imprisoned Sungill: it’s too slow and there’s not enough Paladin support for murloc. 1-star
Aldor Attendant: I think pure libram Paladin is the only viable deck, and this is in it. 4-star
Hand of A’dal: very strong card, but I don’t see a deck for this, not sure in pure Paladin. 2-star
Libram of Wisdom: you play this in pure libram Paladin, I don’t know how good the deck is. 4-star
Murgur Murgurgle: you’ll play this in pure libram Paladin, but not because it’s amazing. 3-star
Underlight Angling Rod: the ‘random’ makes this underwhelming, might see a little play. 2-star
Aldor Truthseeker: you’ll play this in pure libram Paladin. 4-star
Libram of Justice: you’ll play this in pure libram Paladin, I don’t know how good the deck is. 4-star
Lady Liadrin: you’ll play this in pure libram Paladin, I don’t know how good the deck is. 4-star
Libram of Hope: you’ll play this in pure libram Paladin, also quite decent on it’s own. 4-star

Summary: I think pure libram Paladin deck is the only viable deck. There are a lot of paladin cards rotating that were essential to their deck (Mechano-Egg, Mechanical Welp, Prismatic Lens, Shirvallah the Tiger) that makes quest, murloc and Shirvallah decks unplayable. Hand of A’dal is very strong for a aggressive Paladin deck, but I don’t think there are enough good aggressive cards to make a good deck. Paladin doesn’t have enough good murloc support to build a full deck either. You might have some fun with Duel! and the new 10-mana taunt (maybe even the 12/12 demon), but it’s not viable.

Priest:
Renew: it’s a decent card, but it won’t see play. 1-star
Imprisoned Homunculus: only good on turn 1, too slow afterwarts. 1-star
Reliquary of Souls: it’s a decent card, but I don’t see a deck for this. 1-star
Dragonmaw Sentinel: decent card, but I don’t think dragon Priest will make the cut. 2-star
Setthek Veilweaver: it’s a decent card, but I don’t see a deck for this. 1-star
Apotheosis: seems slow and Priest doesn’t need lifesteal. 1-star
Dragonmaw Overseer: it’s a decent card, but I don’t see a deck for this. 1-star
Psyche Split: I think it costs too much for a good combo and is too slow on it’s own. 1-star
Skeletal Dragon: it’s a decent card, but I don’t think dragon Priest will make the cut. 2-star
Soul Mirror: I really like this card, but it’s not good with resurrection effects. 2-star

Summary: I already said I think Mass Resurrection Priest will remain the only viable Priest deck. It loses only a few cards and those cards are good, but the majority of the deck still stands. I did theorycraft a dragon highlander control Priest deck but I think it’s somewhere between tier 2 and 3. I’ll personally play it because I really hate Mass Resurrection decks, but I don’t think it’s worth playing if you don’t mind playing Mass Resurrection. I’ve tried to make a (deathrattle) aggro with the other cards, but it feels underwhelming, especially considering some other decks that will still be in the meta that already feel strong as they are.

Rogue:
Spymistress: very good in stealth Rogue, I think that deck will be good. 5-star
Blackjack Stunner: very strong card, but I don’t see a deck for the secret package. 3-star
Ashtongue Slayer: very good in stealth Rogue, I think that deck will be good. 5-star
Dirty Tricks: it’s a pretty good secret, but I don’t see a deck for the secret package. 3-star
Ambush: it’s a pretty good secret, but I don’t see a deck for the secret package. 3-star
Bamboozle: very strong card, but I don’t see a deck for the secret package. 3-star
Shadowjeweler Hanar: it’s a pretty good card, but I don’t see a deck for the secret package. 3-star
Greyheart Sage: this is one of the reasons I think stealth Rogue is going to be good. 5-star
Akama: and this is the second reason. Might also see some play on it’s own. 5-star
Cursed Vagrant: this is too slow for both stealth Rogue or deathrattle combo’s. 1-star

Summary: Rogue got a lot of good new cards and I’m really excited about them. I love how they finally give them some stealth synergy, really feels like they’re trying to make Rogue and Demon Hunter feel different and I like this approach. I think the stealth package will be very strong with the pirate package and I think that’s going to be a very strong face deck. Galakrond Rogue will also still be around, I could also see a Malygos combo version of that deck now that Leeroy Jenkins is going to the hall of fame. I had a lot of trouble putting the secret package in a deck and still making it feel good. Maybe there’s something I’m missing, but I just can’t seem to fit them even though I think they’re all good/very good.

Shaman:
Marshspawn: it’s a good card, but I don’t really see a deck for this. 3-star
Serpentshrine Portal: it’s a good card, will be played in Galakrond Shaman. 4-star
Totemic Reflection: it’s good on curve, but otherwise it’s pretty bad. 1-star
Bogstrok Clacker: There are not enough good minions you want to evolve. 2-star
Lady Vashj: it’s a fine card, but I don’t really see a deck for this. 4-star
Vivid Spores: this feels too slow and more of a ‘win more’ card. 1-star
Torrent: it’s a decent card, but I don’t really see a deck for this. 3-star
Shattered Rumble: it’s a good card, but I don’t really see a deck for this. 3-star
Boggspine Knuckles: equip this and use it later with Desert Hare/Faceless Corruptor, meh. 2-star
The Lurker Below: it’s a decent removal option, could be played in Galakrond Shaman 3-star

Summary: ok, the star ratings might not feel ‘in touch’ with the reviews, I have a reason for this. There is one deck that I want to try, but it’s not because of the cards in this expansion, but rather because of a Demon Hunter cards that is being print in the basic set. I want to make a highlander Shaman deck with Doomhammer and find Inner Demon with Zephrys to finish the game. In that deck, I could fit all the cards above that I feel don’t really have a deck, that’s why I’m giving them a 3-star rating. Might be higher if the decks actually does very well, might be lower if the deck sucks and those cards actually have no other deck they fit in. Except for that, I can see some other Shaman decks around. Galakrond Shaman is still playable, I’m not entirely sure what to fill it with though because you need more value in that deck, especially with Shudderwock rotating. Quest Shaman will still be around even though Shudderwock is gone, but the deck will lose some of it’s power, I think you want to play some overload cards and use Cumulo-Maximus to finish games. Murloc Shaman might see some play with the new neutral murloc and all their murloc support is still in standard (and a lot better than the paladin support) with Storm’s Wrath and Vessina. Finally you can also have some fun with Muckmorpher with the 10-mana deathrattle taunt and some of the new spells or all the evolution cards.

Warlock:
Unstable Felbolt: I don’t think this is good enough to be used in a handlock deck. 1-star
Shadow Council: I like this, this might actually be the new way for a handlock deck. 4-star
Imprisoned Scrap Imp: play this, play Shadow Council next turn. Seems decent. 4-star
Kanrethad Ebonlocke: you want this in zoo for the discount on your demons. 5-star
Darkglare: very interesting effect, good with Flame Imp and Soulbound Ashtongue. 4-star
Nightshade Matron: this is insane with Hand of Gul’dan and to be reborn with the prime. 5-star
The Dark Portal: I think any handlock will play this, I don’t know how strong handlock will be. 4-star
Hand of Gul’dan: very strong zoo card with Nightshade Matron and Expired Merchant. 5-star
Keli’dan the Breaker: I think this card is underwhelming, might see a little play. 2-star
Enhanced Dreadlord: it looks good at first look, but I think it’s going to be underwhelming. 2-star

Summary: Warlock got some really interesting cards. Let’s start with the zoo decks. I think you have a couple of options. You can either go with Galakrond, Hand of Gul’dan or some of the selfharm effects. You could also combine the Hand of Gul’dan with the selfharm effects. They all seem like good options to me. I think all the handlock decks will have to play the dragon package, most of them are also good when discounted with The Dark Portal. There are several ways to go about this. You could go with Shadow Council and Imprisoned Scrap Imp. You might also try a more classic version of handlock, just trying to control the game with your own cards. I don’t think a quest/Plot Twist version is going to be good enough. I think you want to run Magtheridon in all your handlock versions. If a lot of demons get played you want to run Sacrificial Pact. To be honest, I think the zoo versions will be a bit better than the handlock versions, but I could see them be good too.

Warrior:
Sword and Board: too little value for a control card. 1-star
Imprisoned Gan’arg: too slow, even if played on turn 1 you still get the weapon on turn 3. 1-star
Corsair Cache: I think this card will make pirate Warrior a thing again. 5-star
Bonechewer Raider: very strong tempo card if played on turn 3, still decent after that. 4-star
Warmaul Challenger: maybe this will be played in a Galakrond warrior? Hard to evaluate. 3-star
Bladestorm: You need this in control Warriors, which I think won’t exist, except Galakrond. 4-star
Bulwark of Azzinoth: the weakness of this card is so big that I think it’s useless. 1-star
Kargath Bladefist: It’s a bit like Bladestorm, it will be probably played in Galakrond. 4-star
Scrap Golem: all the other mechs rotated and I don’t think taunt Warrior will be good. 1-star
Bloodboil Brute: very good card, not sure if it’s gonna see a lot of play though. 4-star 

Summary: Warrior is also a hard to evaluate class. I think there will be no more control Warrior decks. Galakrond will be the most controlling Warrior deck out there. You might have some fun with Dimensional Ripper and The Boom Reaver with the Kargath Prime and the new 10-mana deathrattle taunt, but I don’t think that’s a viable control deck. There are still plenty of viable Warrior decks though. Galakrond will surely continue to see play, it might just be as simple as replacing Leeroy and Warpath with Kargath Bladefist and Bladestorm, maybe a little more will change. I think Corsair Cache will bring pirate Warrior back, fetching you Ancharr (maybe even Wrenchcalibur vs highlander decks) and buffing it! There will also be a tempo/enrage deck using some of the new ‘enrage’ cards and using the strength of Bloodsworn Mercenary. Maybe the bomb package will see some play again too. I had a lot of trouble giving some of these cards star ratings. I’m not sure whether Galakrond and tempo/enrage Warrior will be tier 1 or tier 2. I think they’ll be good, just not sure how good exactly. I’ll be careful about it and give them 4-star ratings, but they might be 5-star (or 3-star if the decks turn out to be only tier 3)

Neutral cards:
Ethereal Augmerchant: I don’t think spell damage is good enough, the others are better. 1-star
Rocket Augmerchant: an interesting card, but I don’t think it’s worth a deckslot. 2-star
Guardian Augmerchant: obviously the best of the 3, still I couldn’t really fit it in any deck. 3-star
Soulbound Ashtongue: you want this in your selfharm zoolock decks. 4-star
Infectious Sporeling: I think it’s fun, but it’s not good. 1-star
Bonechewer Brawler: this will see play in a tempo/enrage Warrior, maybe a little more. 4-star
Imprisoned Vilefiend: Only good on turn 2, afterwarts it’s mediocre or bad. 1-star
Rustsworn Initiate: I like this, but I don’t think there’s a deck currently where this fits. 2-star
Mo’arg Artificer: I’m undecided about this, could be decent in some decks. 2-star
Frozen Shadoweaver: this is a decent card, I don’t think it’s strong enough to play it though. 2-star
Overconfident Orc: this will see play in a tempo/enrage Warrior, maybe some more decks. 4-star
Terrorguard Escapee: not enough value to try to combo, not good enough on his own. 1-star
Blistering Rot: only good if it survives a turn, which it probably will never. 1-star
Teron Gorefiend: could pull off some nasty deathrattle strategies, but there are none. 2-star
Burrowing Scorpid: goes in stealth Rogue and quest Shaman, possible even more decks. 5-star
Disguised Wanderer: the 9/1 body is too fragile. 1-star
Felfin Navigator: will be played in murloc Shaman, not sure how good that deck will be. 4-star
Rustsworn Cultist: I think you’ll rather play Soul of the Forest for treant synergy. 2-star
Replicat-o-tron: it’s fun, but just like the Blistering Rot you need at least one to survive. 1-star
Magtheridon: this will see play in handlock, maybe Galakrond warrior, maybe more. 4-star
Maiev Shadowsong: almost all the decks will play this, great for any type of deck. 5-star
Ruststeed Raider: I doubt if this will make it in tempo/enrage Warrior. 2-star
Waste Warden: I really like the idea. I think you’ll see it in some highlander decks. 3-star
Al’ar: finally in the game, but not a good card. 3 health is not enough. 1-star
Dragonmaw Sky Stalker: this seems too slow for all dragon decks. 1-star
Scavenging Shivarra: it’s decent, but I don’t think it’s strong enough to see play. 1-star
Kael’thas: I like this card, but I honestly can’t see a deck where you want to play this. 2-star
Bonechew Vanguard: It has decent stats and taunt, might see play, don’t know where. 2-star
Supreme Abyssal: high stats, but can’t attack heroes. Don’t see any use besides Duel! 1-star
Scrapyard Colossus: I mentioned it some times as a fun card, it will see some play. 3-star

Well, that's it! I personally really like the theme of this expansion. Some of the major Warcraft lore characters that were missing in Hearthstone are finally entering the game (3 different Reno's or Dr. Booms and still no Kael'thas made me sad). I also like the prime and imprisoned cards, even though they're not all good, and some of the cards really take you back to the Outlands experience in World of Warcraft. I think there will be a lot of playable decks, but there's also an entire new class and a lot of cards rotating out, so it will be very difficult to say what's going to be the strongest and if everything will be balanced. Luckily the Hearthstone team already said they'll be monitoring the situation and making changes if necessary. I'm looking forward to the release and I hope you are too. Let me know what you think!