Hearthpwn

10. Polluted Hoarder

A 4 mana 4/2 Neutral minion that draws a card upon death. A corrupted version of the card we are quite well familiar with – The Loot Hoarder.

Will it fit current decks? Most likely not.

Midrange decks – A pretty weak body, killable even by its uncorrupted counterpart, doesn’t seem like it will be able to find its place in the upcoming standard. Card quite comparable to the Gnomish Inventor with the mechanics of a Loot Hoarder, will just not be better by any one of these two as the Experimenter has solid stats and usually sticks around for one turn, while the loot hoarder is just much better to fit in the curve and also pays off for the amount of mana spent. Even though the card might seem as an aggressive one, it will not be keeping your opponent’s tempo in check. As there are some patrons or OTK Worgen decks that run the Loot Hoarder, I honestly don’t see them slowing down so much to have the Polluted version of it instead.

Raptor Rogue – The only place where I can see this card be of some use is in the raptor rogue where you will be using the Unearthed Raptor to copy the deathrattle of the Polluted Hoarder, but as this Hoarder costs more than the Raptor you will most likely want to get a cheaper card than the raptor to copy the deathrattle from which could easily be the Loot Hoarder.

Will there be any new decks made for it? Most likely not.

Making a deck around this card where you will be able to rotate with pretty aggressive but weak minions might seem like a good idea at first, something to experiment with for sure, but in the long run it just seems like it would be nothing more than a gimmicky deck. If it was to be 3 mana, that would’ve helped it to find a way to some new kind of an aggressive deck but the fact that it will be wasting 4 of those lovely crystals makes me believe this card will never see the light of day.

Arena value?

This is actually a pretty okayish pick for arena. The attack seems to be good, and the card draw is never a bad thing. I believe we might be seeing this little chump in arena here and there.

9. Corrupted Healbot

A 5 mana 6/6 neutral minion that restores 8 health to the enemy hero upon death.

Will it fit current decks? Most likely not.

Control Priest – Cardtext-wise and stat-value wise that you can get for the mana spent can be quite comparable with the Zombie Chow, for whom most people completely neglected the card text, as it was all about the stats that you get for 1 mana. The only type of the archetype that I can see this card fitting in is the control priest that runs Auchenai Soulpriest. Managing to outsmart your opponent and to have the Healbot die after dropping the Auchenai on the same turn can seem to be pretty good, but it’s fairly inconsistent and can be very hard to execute properly.

OTK decks – As an otk (One Turn Kill) deck doesn’t really care on what HP the enemy player is, this card can actually see some play as the stats and the board control are the only things that truly matter. The enemy’s health will go down after you take out your combo anyway. But, there will most likely be a card for 5 mana that might not have 6/6 stats, but a card text that will actually do something useful for you, which will probably mean this card will not see the light of the day.

Will new decks be made for it? Most likely not.

If we do manage to see another minion similar to Auchenai Soulpriest we might be seeing some burn priest decks which will just simply try to burn you down as quick as possible with the use of Auchenai Soulpriest + Flash Heal + Hero Power (after using Justicar) + this guy dying. Unfortunately, as the card allows your gun-wielding opponents to tank it with their faces, and still come out unhurt from the whole thing, the 5 mana spent just seem like an absolute waste. The reason the Zombie Chow was ran is because the heal in the beginning of the game is usually pretty neglectable as your opponent will most likely be on full HP when the Zombie dies, while here the heal might actually tip the game in your opponent’s favour.

Arena Value?

I have to say that the stats are preeeetty good for arena. If your opponent is on full HP and you really need to find a way to establish board presence this card might actually be pretty good. It’s also a rare card, so the chances of having this guy as one of the three choices in arena might actually be pretty high.

Meh Tier

The cards that will be sorted in this tier are the cards that will most likely be seeing some play in constructed here and there, but will most likely not make it into the tier 1 unless some more cards get released that work in their favour.

8. Giant Sand Worm

8 mana 8/8 Hunter minion which whenever kills another minion, can attack again.

Will it fit current decks? Most likely not.

As the card doesn’t even remotely belong in any kind of aggro/tempo hunter decks, and kind of doesn’t really fit into the whole midrange hunter idea, I am happy to say that the only kind of hunters this minion might fit in is Reno Hunter.

Reno Hunter – As the reno decks rely on having one copy of each minion, which can present a difficulty for reno hunters to assemble, this card might squirm its way into this archetype and stand by the side of the legendary Reno Jackson who already managed to shake up the meta quite a bit. The only other problem, and the reason why this card is so low on the list is that, unless they nerf Big Game Hunter to the ground, this card is fairly easy to remove and can present low to no problem to your opponent whilst having low to zero impact on the board. It will in most cases get removed by your opponents minions the instant it touches the board but the fact that, if it survives, it can cause absolute havoc on your opponent and even manage to hit up to 8 times sounds pretty brutal.

Will new decks be made for it? They might.

The cards I am instantly thinking about are Stablemaster, Bestial Wrath, Ram Wrangler and Call Pet. Stablemaster and especially Bestial Wrath can actually help this minion get some really sick trades and even turn the fight into your advantage completely, and the Call Pet, even though risky, can also serve you pretty well and can help you get the Worm out quite early, if we put the rng chances of it on the side for a second. It also increases the pool of awesome beasts that can come out of the Ram Wrangler. So, with the meta slowing down, we might finally be able to see a liable beast control hunter. Just say that one out loud. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Arena Value?

The arena will be interesting for this little worm. Looking at the fact that it’s an epic minion it will probably not be picked too much but the stats and the card text might actually help him to be in some of the top tiers of arena. A minion that can hit at least twice in late game in arena can be pretty good even if it dies to the second minion.

7. Eater of Secrets

4 mana 2/4 neutral that destroys enemy secrets as a battlecry and gains +1/+1 in stats for every secrets eaten.

Will it fit current decks? It might.

So, as an interesting concept of a tech card, the Easter of Secrets will single-handedly be the scourge and fear of all Secret Paladins. Ding dong the witch is dead! The card will surely be ran in most of the decks as standard comes out mainly because of the secret paladins, but as they are losing quite a bit of their early game, and are practically getting nuked by Blizzard, Secrets will be a thing of the past and that will put this card right back on the Tech shelf to collect dust as MCT used to once.

In comparison with the Kezan Mystic who will get rolled out of the game, Kezan would be a better choice in Standard as a lot of cards which were a problem for the Mystic, like Piloted Shredder orDeath’s Bite are getting phased out with it and it DOES steal a secret, while this one destroys them completely and gets a minor buff with every secret destroyed, or should I say, eaten.

Will some new decks be made for it? Most likely not.

As there aren’t that many decks that have been revolving strictly about tech cards, no new decks will probably be made around this card. The card will be a good part of control decks, it might see its way in Reno decks or anything that will require good value. Playing a freeze mage will also be scary man, as this thing will eat up your Ice Block like almighty Shoenice eats deodorant sticks.

Arena Value?

Looking at it, even if it is used naked, the stats aren’t too bad. Of course it can be stolen by a Cabal Shadow Priest or killed by a Stampeding Kodo, but usually 2/4 minions are very useful with holding board control (look at Keeper of the Grove). And even if you eat a single secret, a 3/5 for 4 mana is the dream for arena.

6. Stand against Darkness

5 mana paladin spell that summons 5 Silver Hand recruits.

Will it fit current decks? Most likely not.

Midrange Paladin - The only deck I can see this card fitting is some kind of a midrange paladin which actually started being played a lot more than in the last two seasons. Even though the card can give you a good turn 5 or 4 (with coin) board presence, the fact that the Quartermaster is being phased out with the introduction of the Standard will basically put the midrange paladin in the tier 3 again, which makes this card not fit anything from what we have in the meta right now.

Will new decks be made for it? They might.

As we will be seeing the return of healadin with all of these crazy heals that are being introduced, the Stand Against Darkness might see some use, as it’s a slow card and healadins are control decks in their core. But again, the fact that you are spending so much mana on midgame on not that much board control, and not getting any weapon compared to the Muster for Battle, the card will probably be seen rarely in the meta. The card itself can help you get a cheaper Sea Giant out or a Gormok the Impaler combo on turn 9 but if some zoo remains after the standard that will still be using the Sea Giants, it might be stepping on a double blade. Knowing Blizzard, they might be releasing something that will be able to buff the Dudes like the recently added Steward of Darkshire, so I have high hopes for this card. Board presence mechanics of this card are explained more in the Arena section below.

Arena Value?

I believe it’s alright when it comes to raw arena board value, as you get 5/5 for 5 mana, split into a lot of minions, you can use them all as a 5/5 minion if you manage to attack with all, you can have an easier time fitting the exact damage to kill your opponent’s minions and the overkill chances are reduced to minimum. Also, as they are split in a lot of 1/1 dudes, a lot of people sometimes neglect small minions completely and think they are „not a threat“ but again on the other hand, if your opponent has enough minions on his board and enough minions in his hand to support his plays and reinforce the board, you are looking at 5 very dead dudes, which can also be said for constructed. Or, you know, the opponent can play Fan of Knives, Arcane Explosion or Whirlwind, and you will be one BM emote away from never using this card again.

5. Hogger, Doom of Elwynn

7 mana 6/6 neutral legendary minion that summons a 2/2 Gnoll with taunt every time it gets damaged.

Will it fit current decks? I believe so.

Patron Warrior – The moment I saw this card I was aboard the patron hype train with the most of the community but then when I actually looked at it and saw what we could actually get if we use two Whirlwinds for example is not something that extinguished my hype fairly quickly. The gnolls will die after some point, you cannot damage them forever nor they create any further gnolls, so you will most likely never have more than 2 gnolls on the board, and they will also be fairly easy to remove.

Control decks – The reason why I can see this card in a control deck is that, unless your opponent finds a decent spell removal for it or one-shots it with a minion, it will be practically impossible to reach it, as it will be creating a minion behind it. I’ve had tons of situations where people just barely managed to reach out for my minion with their minions and that would basically be impossible to be done with this Troublemaker for humans. And I like that. Lure out their removals and watch them suffer buahahah!

Will some new decks be made for it? They might.

It might be interesting to see how much a mage can harass this Hogger with the hero power before it loses control and humps a priest or something. It surely looks as a really good concept in overall, but will it actually be fast enough to make the cut? I guess that only time will tell.

Arena Value?

In arena, I do believe that this is a pretty solid legendary. Not one that will be in the tier 1, it’s more of a legendary that you will pick if you have other tier 2 or 3 legendaries to choose at the same time. Stat wise it’s a 7 mana 8/8, as you will for sure get one gnoll, which rounds it up to being pretty good in arena. If it survives for a turn or two it might turn into a lethal machine.

4. Validated Doomsayer

A 5 mana 0/7 minion that will set its attack to 7 at the beginning of every turn.

Will it fit current decks? It might.

Tempo decks – It will be interesting to see how will this card work in the control meta that we are about to experience with the modes coming in. I personally see it working much better in tempo as you need to have the upper hand on your opponent in order to actually have this card surviving. In any other case it will get removed by your opponent’s minions and they won’t even get damaged at all. The good thing about this card is that it will evade the Big Game Hunter for 1 turn (even though BGH will be nerfed pretty badly for standard), it basically gives the Aldor Peacekeeper the biggest middle finger in the game, but can on the other hand be taken by quite a lot of control based cards like Cabal Shadow Priest or even Stampeding Kodo, and if it gets stolen by a priest, you will learn to hate them on a completely new level.

Will new decks be made for it? They might.

It does seem to me like a lot of cards will benefit from stealth after the modes come out so cards like Master of Disguise might actually start coming out of their long slumber and start pwning some noobs in constructed again. You just have to find a way how to protect it, either by making a barrier of taunts or a Counterspell against any spell removals, but I can see it work, and be absolutely devastating.

Arena Value?

I do believe that the value of this card in arena is low as the board is usually heavily contested with minions and that will just simply mean that you have a turn where your opponent will focus on the doomsayer and ignore the most of your board, but also, undamaged enemy minions. And that can be a pain in the ass.

God Tier

The crème de la crème that will for sure see its way in constructed, the cards that show a lot of potential and promise a lot. Let’s hope they don’t disappoint or I will have a price on my head.

As I strongly believe, and my beliefs are being reinforced every single time we get a new card from Blizzard for the Whispers of the Old Gods, we are looking at a control meta ahead of us, and with the introduction of C’Thun and his loyal cultists, I am happy to say that I will be putting them as a highlight of the first analysis of mine on this topic, and even though it’s a very small cut in between the Beckoner of Evil and the Twilight Elder, one of them I see as a tiny bit higher than the other. Also, as it’s pretty obvious that the C’thun cards will be making a brand new archtype, I will exclude them from the format that this analysis was in so far and just comment on how cards can be used to their best in the archtype mentioned above. Also, as Blizzard confirmed that no C’Thun cards will be available for Arena, there is no need for that section either.

3. Beckoner of Evil / 2. Twilight Elder

Neutral 2 mana 2/3 minion that gives your C’Thun +2/+2 wherever it is (your deck or hand) / Neutral 3 mana 3/4 minion that gives your C’Thun +1/+1 at the end of every turn.

One of the reasons why I believe that this card is just a tiny bit worse than the Twilight Elder is because a 2 mana 2/3 is more appropriate for an aggro based meta, basically one of the two reasons we saw Flame Juggler a lot more (in, for example Aggro shaman than the Knife Juggler), while the Twilight Elder is more of a Spider Tank body, but it also gives a buff to C’Thun. A strong mid range minion will have the advantage of a strong early game minion in a control based meta anytime.

On the other, hand, as the C’Thun decks will probably haveBrann Bronzebeard in them, you cannot not think about how awesome it would be to get a double battlecry off of the Beckoner of Evil. This is something that will put C’Thun instantly over 10/10 in stats which will, from what we have seen so far, will trigger quite a bit of class minions (Ancient Shieldbearer for warrior and Klaxxi Amber-Weaver for druid) and will give that special kind of light to the C’thun archetype. Now all we need is some kind of a Cult Drug Peddler or something like that that will work like the Mechwarper and we are set to go!

1. C'Thun

A 10 mana neutral 6/6 legendary minion that deals his attack damage split upon random enemies as a battlecry.

The first Old God released. The big guy. The man with the plan. Also, a very weird mutant kid of Anyfin Can Happen and Avenging Wrath. Compared to the Anyfin can Happen madness, it should also bring the demise to your opponent on turn 10 when you are supposed to play him, but in an Avenging Wrath kind of a way!

I strongly believe that this card is one of many that are about to come to our beloved game which will reshape and do what the Grand Tournament and the Joust mechanic was supposed to. Reno Jackson foresaw it, the true Doomsayer for all of the aggro decks!

There are just too many good combos with this card! Imagine having a Youthful Brewmaster and C’Thun in your hand, and taking out Emperor Thaurissan out. Or Shadowstepping C’Thun and taking him out with Brann who was already on the board for example. It is also confirmed by Blizzard that the attack damage enhancing minions like Dire Wolf Alpha, Flametongue Totem or Stormwind Champion will be adding damage to the C’Thun’s battlecry effect, which will be just ridiculous. I see a lot of cards being released soon that will be most likely working in C’Thun’s advantage and it will be very possible to get C’Thun above 20/20 with no problems.

Thanks to the two new minions for warrior and druid, we will be seeing a control warrior version of C’Thun for sure and some kind of a Control Druid as well. The warrior will be somewhat of a hybrid in between a midrange warrior and a control one as there are minions that will be played in the early game. A lot of people are really hyped about C’Thun and the possible control meta that he will be bringing with him. I am just worried that aggro always finds its way in the meta and that it will be like this yet again.

Outro

That’s about it for the first 10 cards. I hope you guys enjoyed having this casual read, there will be more coming soon on the rest of the cards that have been released! If you would like to get in touch with me directly or come check out my stream where I practise for my tournaments, or reach legend with all kinds of interesting and weird decks, stop by at www.twitch.tv/sigmasrb ,www.facebook.com/sigmasrb or www.twitter.com/sigmasrb and come say hello, or you know, “man your analysis is very wrong!” I always enjoy a good, constructive arguement. I also do all kinds of events for my viewers like Hearthstone Trivia, Grand Viewer Tournaments that have awesome handmade HS memorabilia rewards and many more! Some of the showcases and gameplays for some of my decks that got viral can be found at www.youtube.com/sigmasrb!

A special thank you to FalconePunch from the Fade 2 Karma team, for adding his opinion on some of the cards to this juicy cauldron! Go give him some love on www.twitch.tv/falconepunch55 and www.twitter.com/f2k_falconep55

See you in the next analysis!

Sigma