Voidlord is a solid enough card, at 1 mana.
Darkbomb was a 2 mana deal 3, and was quite good in its time.

This card takes essentially 4 mana in solid cards, compresses them into a single card, and doesn't change the price, meaning instead of needing 3 cards, you just need one, and the 'other two cards' you've drawn instead can be something else instead.

I remember a time where this would have been meta dominating, but as it is, I'm out of touch with regards to power creep.  At worst, I'd call it a very reasonable card.

I mean, when you compare it to things like Cavern Shinyfinder and Corsair Cache, it's safe to say this is the sort of card that enables archetypes.  That said, my knowledge of those two cards suggests that there's usually a specific weapon you're looking for (Spectral Cutlass or Kingsbane for rogue, and Ancharrr for warrior).  I think Shaman has some options already in use that could be impactful enough, such as The Fist of Ra-den, Jade Claws, potentially (though perhaps that's too weak of an option to sub in for existing jade options).

Now, that said, with some of the new options we've been given (the attack synergies), it could be that simply having a more reliable way to acquire weapons is worthwhile.  In wild, I could imagine this card in Even Shaman, but in standard, I wouldn't expect the synergies to be strong enough to really take hold of the meta.  (Grain of salt, obviously, I've been entirely wrong about these things before)

Half Counterspell, half Spellbender, all yogg.

There will be highlights of people playing this in wild, their enemy plays, like, a Libram (for 0), and it turns into one of the forbidden spells and eats all their mana.

So, 2 points:
Against aggressive decks:  This card is just a 6 mana 8/8 (which could potentially lose you the game if you somehow end up going to fatigue).  IDK, man, it's alright enough, I guess.  Depends whether you're already dead on board by 6.

Against Control decks, and especially combo decks:  This card coming down against a combo deck could very reasonably be an insta-concede.  

On net, how good it is depends on the prevalence of aggro vs. combo going from 'Eh,' to 'Oh god' (as well as on how solid a controlling warlock playstyle is).

Additionally:  This card is honestly pretty solid as an aggro card, ignoring the corrupt effect.  Shaman ran their 4 mana 7/7.  Fel Reaver saw play in certain decks.  6 mana 8/8 mill 5 is honestly not unreasonable, but...  Nonetheless, I wouldn't expect to see it run in Aggro.

Well, this exists in a similar design space to Anubisath Defender, which did see some level of play, though not as a focal card.  My intuition would suggest that the 'corrupt' mechanic is weaker that the 'this turn' option, since if you draw into this, it won't be precorrupted by what you've been doing.  Additionally, the corrupting price is 8 mana, rather than 5.

To its credit, spells are a pretty restrictive requirement, and opening that up to any card, and any class really opens up your options.  You could, for example, put down a Tirion Fordring, and flank him with strongmen.

That said, a deck that's running Tirion is probably a duel deck, and while a 6/6 isn't bad, per se, it's not what you want off of Duel! or Commencement.  A warlock might play out a twisting nether, and follow up with one of these, or a particularly brutal mage might Pyroblast you in the face (or just drop the box) and use these to buy themselves space.

But perhaps the most interesting use of this card is to cover the weaknesses of certain other lategame cards.  It used to be that some cards had massively impactful effects, but did nothing on the turn you played them out (take The Mistcaller for a smaller example). 

So let me offer a set of minions that Strongman makes significantly more viable:

Big Bad Archmage (Still not a deck worth running), Emeriss (Seriously, that's 2 free 12/12s with taunt on the board?  If you can make it to turn 10 in wild, then this is a deck to watch out for), Ancient Void Hound, Lord Jaraxxus (still not safe, but closer), Master Oakheart, Nethrandamus (Taunts now guaranteed), Rattlegore (Already viable, but no longer dead the turn he comes out), Ysera, Ysera, Unleashed,  Doomcaller (And you've already got C'Thun as an option in that deck) Gruul is still just stats, but less so.  You also have spell options like Survival of the Fittest  (Side-note:  Even with double Embiggen, Survival still corrupts these guys, meaning you're playing free 14/14s, potentially), Tree of Life (Y'all remember that card?) and of course, Twisting Nether which you can now follow up in striking fashion.

Now, I want to make something clear:  I don't think all of these cards will see play just because of strongman.  Not at all.  Most of those cards are basically below what you want a payoff card to look like these days (looking at you Ysera.  I loved you back in the day, but a 4 mana 7/6 is not good enough, these days.)  Nor am I saying that Strongman will even see play at all; after all, you need to be surviving to turn 8+ to get the payoff, and you need to already have it in hand; that means it's a dead card until then.  If every slot matters, then you can't afford something that combos past turn 8.  That said, if you are making it to that point, and you're drawing hard enough to get access to both the combo pieces, then strongman helps you overcome the problem of 'oh no, I played my one 10-mana minion this turn, and it did nothing on board, and now they'll just kill me with board, and I won't survive long enough to get the long-term boost.  A pair of 6/6 with taunt is a pretty good start, and it deserves further testing.

Cards I'm especially curious about:  Emeriss, and Survival of the Fittest.  The rest are interesting, but are either already played, or not good enough to be meta-defining. 

Also, with Emeriss, too, we have the already memetic deck built around bulking up your charge minions to absurd levels and, at the end, smOrcing them all in.  Seriously, you duplicate one King Krush, hit them with Emeriss, and Beastmaster Leoroxx is like, a pretty easy OTK.  Previously, Emeriss would have been the bottleneck, and you'd either have to pray that you didn't just die from the tempo loss or find another buff option, and duplicate twice.  If Emeriss is suddenly tempo-viable (Again, two 12/12s with taunt, that's 32/32 on the board, AKA more than The Ancient One), then the deck is much simpler to pull off.

Survival of the Fittest, Likewise, would love a deck where you can spam out a pair of free 10/10s.

Okay, hang on.  So... How hard is it for this card to do absurd damage?  That's the question you have to ask, because as a 4 mana 2/6 with 'also damages the enemy hero when it deals damage,' it's extremely underwhelming.

First thing is that it's an investment of 4 mana, which is pretty big.  Let's say you do a pair of Soul Cleaves:  That's 10 mana, 8 damage, a bit of board work, 3 cards.  Way too much to get so little.  Alternately, you use a pair of Eye Beams, (outcasted, of course) and get 6 damage, some board work, 3 cards, 8 mana.  Better, I think, but still not good enough.  Aldrachi Warblades, meanwhile:  Here we get some interesting stuff.  You can go face with them, for one thing.

So, let's say you run both twin-slices:  That can easily be 10 damage on your weapon (8 mana), for 20 damage face.  Now, that is runnable; it's not a full OTK, but Demon Hunter always loves ways to deal absurd amount of damage in a single turn.  Heck, if you can generate one more twin slice, you can get a full 28 damage on 10 mana.

The weakness, of course, is that relies on them not having taunt, or absurd armor, or etc.  The strength, meanwhile, is that Demon Hunter does tend to eat away at the enemy HP before they get the kill, so there's a pretty good chance that 28 (or even 14) will still work just fine.

Now, the alternate way of dealing absurd damage is using Mo'arg Artificer, twice, and Soul Cleave, twice, for a full 32 damage... For 14 mana.  Yeah, you're gonna need some kind of manacheat for that to work (Probably Emperor Thaurissan) and 2-4 enemy minions (depending on their size).  However, I fully expect to see it in wild by the end of the week when Darkmoon Fair drops.  For a cheaper version that isn't a full OTK, you can use outcasted Eye Beams (for 10 total mana) that should deal a full 24 damage for 10 mana (If your enemy isn't giving you minions to work with, BTW, you can still get a full 18 by targeting your Mo'args)

Additionally, I would like to predict that someone will get Tidal Wave while having this on the board, and completely annihilate their opponent in a single turn (Not any time soon, but the combo is too powerful for nobody to ever freak out because they got it).  It will be very funny, and basically impossible to replicate.

--

Surroundings:  I'd also like to point out that we've just gotten Expendable Performers, and, to a lesser extent, Renowned Performer (Truth be told, I'm not sure renowned performer will see non-arena play, but it's worth bearing in mind).  Both of those are tools that aren't designed to smOrc (Or at least, they don't have to be).  They certainly give you more breathing room to focus on the combos above.  

--

Final verdict:  While this card is a bit clunky, it has way too much potential to be utterly broken for me to ignore it in good conscience.  Double damage on your warblades, and meme-y (?) OTK options with spells, mean that I expect to see this card quite a bit.

Ah, the hot new meme combo:  Demon Hunter with Yogg.

Take Blur, and pray for roasting.  5% of the time, it wins every time.

Hmm...  I think I smell potential here.  See, the fact that it's only while in your hand is weak, but when you stack in something like Nethrandamus, you've got a card that's starting to fit into an archetype of sacrificing the weak for greater power.

This brings us up to 3 cards (that is, 5 cards in a deck) that can profit off of that, with this, Nethrandamus, and Wrathscale Naga.  Stack all of that together, and a picture begins to emerge of a demon hunter deck that's based around maximum card turnover, and low cost, expendable minions.

Theoretically, what you'd want is to start off with one card to exploit your minions, and then things like Crimson Sigil Runner and Coordinated Strike.  Potentially interesting.  Probably not actively good, though.

As weird as it sounds, what they're doing makes a lot of sense.  When you release a new class, nobody will know how to play it, meaning that whatever happens, people are going to be noodling around for a bit like newborn deer.  More to the point, it's not gonna be easy to reliably release something that's truly balanced right out the gate.

The problem is, if you release a weak version of the class, what you'll get is a bunch of people trying it, deciding they don't like it, and then not touching it.  Then, when you get around to buffing it to a balanced state, people just... aren't playing it.  That means less data, and less ability to tell whether the class is  actually  good, or whether it's still too weak.

By starting in an overtuned state,  everyone  plays it, and you can pretty immediately figure out what needs nerfing.

Leastways, that's about what I've heard happen in DotA, and I'm assuming Blizzard is doing something like that here.

Oh hey, did anyone else notice that the Battlegrounds stats screen probably means that Giant Sand Worm is probably slated to be added?

I sabotaged MYSELF to WIN THE GAME???

WORGEN GREASER GOD-DESTROYING COMBO

Odyn has designated YOU to DIE!

Windfury can do WHAT NOW!?

I defeated 100 MILLION HEALTH DIABLO... on TURN 1!

A poor unsuspecting opponent...

NO DRUIDS ALLOWED

Tony, King of Piracy sets up a pirate raid!

Join Magister Dawngrasp in a race against time in the most beautiful Hearthstone OTK combo ever made!

Reno Jackson lights up the board in a barrage of flames, light and destruction! A Hearthstone OTK combo with never before seen interactions featuring new Festival of Legends cards!

The finishing attack of previously unseen proportions! Featuring the new Festival of Legends Legends spell, Climactic Necrotic Explosion!

Ragnaros returns in the new Festival of Legends cards! An OTK combo that will set your opponents ablaze!

Making the impossible possible with the Snowflipper Deathwing Exodia!!

Change your fate with Sylvanas Windrunner!


Deathwing destroys the world... again! In a spectacular display of fireworks and explosions. A combo that will leave your opponent shocked.

Hearthstone OTK combo that shows no matter how small you are, you can be a force to be reckoned with!

Test your APM and accuracy with Hearthstone's first endurance test! Check out the video below: 

LATEST COMBO IS UP!

The Anti-Wife Technology OTK

EPISODE 3 IS OUT! The 100k Dust Deck!

LATEST COMBO! The NEGATIVE HEALTH OTK


NEW COMBO IS OUT! ELISE STARSEEKER RETURNS!


EPISODE 2 IS OUT!


Latest video! Happy 2023 <3

EPISODE 1 IS OUT! 

My Youtube Channel!

My Twitch Stream!

Introducing The RAID BOSS Experience: a new series where we explore the limitless potential of the Death Knight class in Hearthstone's highest Legend ranks! With an unlimited budget, we'll be creating the ultimate deck and showcasing its power in epic battles against some of the best players in the world. Tune in to see how we push the boundaries of what's possible with the Death Knight and learn some valuable strategies along the way. Don't miss out on the action - subscribe now and be the first to see The RAID BOSS Experience in action!

Latest video!

The deck thread on Hearthpwn also will have writeups and updates! With more videos and guides added to it soon. So make sure to give it a visit!

Keep up to date with the decklist at: 

Check out the whole playlist of 100+ Combos on this link!

If you enjoyed, please consider subscribing! I am working hard on uploading on a regular basis. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Powermace returns in a different, more flexible form as far as minion type buffs go.

So here's a thought, use Shadowstep on Horrendous Growth to make it 0 to cast/corrupt

Then every 1+ card, like say Pen Flinger (up for change) and recast makes it grow? Or does corrupt reset the cost somehow?

Sounds like a Questing Adventurer that's safe from removal until it has grown enough

Use it to power up Edwin VanCleef (time for HoF?) or drop it the turn after, could be quite interesting?

Oh dang... It's time to make another The Caverns Below deck.

Looks like we have a new one star card for battlegrounds.

Also, the quest doesnt specify any healing targets and Hench-Clan Shadequill heals for 5. Might make your opponent think twice about removing those units after you play them.

Will be pretty strong to play in quest paladin. Stalling so you can finish the quest, or playing this and making a 2-2 copy with your hero power if the quest is complete. That's a lot of healing and a lot of annoying taunt to get through.

If quest paladin makes the cut, it'll be because of this and the 2-5 taunt card.

I like it!