Hearthpwn

Colour Chart entry:

Lady Vashj is the Sea Witch: A versatile Naga sorceress capable of unleashing devastating water-based magic as well as powerful minions of the deep to overwhelm your opponent, but can also lurk beneath the Ocean Depths, biding her time, waiting for the right moment to strike. 

After a lengthy hiatus, the Sea Witch class has received its Core Set with a large number of changes, buffs, and new cards!

For a development timeline of the Sea Witch prior to the Core Set, refer to the below spoiler:

• • The Basic Set provided the framework for this class, introducing the most core of mechanics and playstyles.
  • The Classic cards built up and outwards from the Basic Set. While the initial Basic cards attempted to tone down the Sea Witch's inherently complicated playstyle, the Classic set attempts to slowly introduce the first glance at the strategies the Sea Witch has at her disposal.
  • With more cards from the Whispers of the Old Gods and One Knight in Karazhan expansions, the Sea Witch slowly became more complex and explores different possible interactions and archetypes.
  • Mean Streets of Gadgetzan and Journey to Un'Goro shake up the meta, and the Sea Witch finds herself competing with a diverse array of other deck archetypes in different classes. However, a custom Gadgetzan gang, a Quest (Freeze Sea Witch) that has been slowly planned for since the Basic Set, and both strong value and tempo-oriented cards keep the Sea Witch afloat in the shifting meta. Un'Goro also finalizes the token-Murloc archetype, a deck that has slowly gotten support since the Basic set.
  • And at last, the final two sets of this competition make their mark on the Sea Witch's already considerable arsenal. Knights of the Frozen Throne brings about the new Death Knight hero card and the continuation of a new archetype first introduced in Un'Goro, big Sea Witch, as well as support for Quest Sea Witch. Kobolds and Catacombs, with its Spellstones and Legendary Artifacts, also introduce new ways to play and deck types, namely Lifesteal/Heal-Control Sea Witch.
  • The Witchwood is the first expansion completed outside of the competition. Many key cards and cycles were rotated out, notably strong early-game options to fill the Sea Witch's deck with Ocean Depths, a key Murloc card, and the entire Hero Power synergy package. The Witchwood aims to fill in the gaps here and there with several new options, bolstering the Sea Witch's early game with some tempo-oriented minions, midrange options, and a few late game tools as well. The first signs of a faster, proactive Sea Witch game also appears in the form of a unique 4-mana legendary.
  • The Boomsday Project reintroduces Mechs, and the Sea Witch is no slacker in that department. Though they are not the main focus of the Sea Witches this expansion, they have options to seamlessly unite Mechs and Murlocs and powerful, hulking, control-style mechs too. The scientific theme of the Sea Witches is genetics; They're messing around with what they shouldn't be. Genetics revolve around minion cost and summoning minions. Lots of minions. This sounds boring, but the Sea Witches wouldn't be Sea Witches if they didn't use that concept in... peculiar ways. The name of the game is all about Tempo, and the Sea Witches finally get a strong push towards a zoo-like playstyle, having been relegated to mid or late-game options for a while, save for Murlocs. Heal-Witch gets some much needed tools as well.
  • Rastakhan's Rumble sees some marked departures from the usual, slower playstyles of Sea Witch. They do not represent a team, per se, but instead are the cheerleading faction! While they don't really worship a Loa in Warcraft lore, Sethraliss is reptilian so we are going with that. At this point, most of the Sea Witch's most powerful cards and archetype enablers have gone. Big Sea Witch is no longer a thing and the most efficient ways of putting in Ocean Depths into your deck are also gone. Murlocs, too, are gone for the most part. Therefore, this expansion is a "test" to see this class can support any other archetypes: Charge Sea Witch, a combo deck, and Zoo Witch. Charge Sea Witch was a minor archetype in MSoG and the first tool has been added to this deck with further support coming. Zoo Witch uses lots of wide-ranging buffs and can quickly amass high-health, difficult to remove minions.

List of Changes from Wild/Classic versions:

• • Hindsight: Art/name change from Calm Currents (Basic).
  • Saltspring Wand (WOTOG): Unchanged.
  • Ghostscale Scout (Witchwood): -1 Attack, -1 Mana.
  • Sea Elemental (Basic): -1 Attack, +1 Health.
  • Highborne Grace (Classic): Unchanged.
  • Blackhorn Subjugator: Art/name change from Blackblade Stalker (Witchwood).
  • Three Fathoms Below (Basic): Art change, -1 Mana.
  • Evaporation (WOTOG): Added Nature tag.
  • Scry Me a River (Basic): Added Nature tag.
  • The Water Cycle: New card.
  • Vashj'ir Portal (ONiK): Added Nature tag.
  • Azshara's Journal (ONiK): Added Arcane tag, Highborne cards changed:
    • Chronic Tonic: Added Arcane tag.
    • Destruction: Added Arcane tag.
    • Infinite Intellect: Added Arcane tag, art change, changed from "Draw 4 cards" to "Draw 5 cards".
    • Arcane Detonation: Added Arcane tag.
    • Boundless Mana: Art change, +1 Attack and Health.
  • Highborne's Elegy: New card.
  • Sirenic Banshee (KOTFT): +1 Health, added Lifesteal.
  • Brine Crossbolter (Classic): Changed from "Double this weapon's attack" to "Gain +3 Attack".
  • Warlord Kalithresh (Classic): Unchanged.

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Highborne Cards

Instead of joining one of the three existing gangs, competitors had the option of creating a custom gang, as long as they included someone who was previously eliminated. I introduce the Cutthroat Cult, a ruthless, ghostly crew of shark-pirates who took over the Gadgetzan Port while the other three crime families were too busy fighting with each other! While the Goons buff your hand, the Jade Lotus focus on board presence with their golems, and the Kabal aim to gain value through deckbuilding and potions, the Cult provides strong mid-game presence with hero powers.

The Cutthroat Cult is made up of the mysterious Sea Witch, the deceptive Illusionist (Broeck1), and the power-hungry Harbinger (Mewdrops). These questionable magic-users have rallied behind the Davy Jaws, who may or may not be a ghost, the captain of the Flying Dutchman, which may or may not exist. The pirate has promised power beyond imagination, so long as these three classes partake in the occasional ritual. Sounds like too good of a deal!

The gang members:

The Tri-Class Cards:

Davy Jaws' Tokens

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Challenge Card

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Northgate Reservoir's original idea was by Demonxz95.

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