Hearthpwn

Best Legendaries to Craft for Fun or Profit: Kobolds & Catacombs

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a Hearthstone player in possession of fresh dust from a new expansion, must be in want of some legendaries. 

It doesn’t matter if a player pre-purchased the 50 pack bundle, or only buys packs with coins. When a new expansion is released, one question will always be asked: what legendaries should I craft?

Impatient players (like me) will usually craft what they or the community predicts the best cards will be, or simply whichever cards sounds the most fun (also me). However, frugal players know that it’s better to wait awhile and let the meta settle before spending that precious dust on a card that could very well turn out to be a dud. 

Well, Kobolds and Catacombs has been out for over two months now — nerfs have come and gone, and the meta has had plenty of time to settle. It’s time to craft some legendaries! Below are the most popular, most powerful, or all-around most useful legendaries from the expansion. These are the cards the pros are running, the cards the community is loving, and the cards you will likely see again and again on the ladder. Make sure to check out the bonus section at the end for that cards that aren’t necessarily the best, but they are h*cking fun (12/10 would craft if I had the spare dust). They’re good cards, Brent. 

Kingsbane

Ah, Kingsbane. The legendary Rogue weapon. Though seemingly weak at first glance, this 1/3 weapon has a deathrattle that makes it one of the best of the bunch. If for some reason you haven’t encountered this card yet (lucky you), not only does it shuffle back into your deck, but it also retains any enchantments that were cast on it. 

Why It’s Good:

It really boils down to the fact that it keeps any enchantments, as mentioned above, on top of being shuffled into your deck. This means the weapon (if played right) just gets more and more powerful throughout the match. We’ve seen cards that return to your hand before, such as Tentacles for Arms and also this expansion's Val'anyr. However, neither of those come close to Kingsbane in how frequently you’ll see it in play. 

Consistently buff this weapon and by the end of the game, it’s easy to reach 9+ damage with Lifesteal. This makes it beyond difficult for your opponent to maintain control and chip away at your health. 

Once someone starts running this card, it almost seems inevitable that they’re going to win, even if it they have to resort to fatiguing you to death. They’re able to avoid fatigue because the weapon keeps going back into their deck, and they get all that Lifestealing goodness from hitting you in the face once all your minions are destroyed, while you no longer have any cards. 

Note on Kingsbane Mill Decks: I want you to imagine the most frustrating moments in your Hearthstone career. Perhaps it was the feeling of despair and helplessness playing against Quest Rogue back during its heyday. Or maybe it was the first (50) times you played against a Mill Rogue deck (Fun Fact: Dante came back to life just to let us all know that the 10th Circle of Hell is for people who play Mill Rogue*). Remember those times? Fun stuff. Well get ready, because if you haven’t encountered a Mill Kingsbane Deck yet, you are in for a treat. It combines Mill with the almost unstoppable Kingsbane. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here. 

*Dear People Who Play Mill Rogue, this is hyperbole. I don’t actually think this. I do vehemently dislike playing you, though.

Decks Running Kingsbane:

Aluneth

Like drawing cards? This is the weapon for you, my friend. With this equipped, you draw three cards at the end of every turn. Depending on how well you support this card with the rest of your deck, it can either be a boon or a curse, so consider yourself warned! 

Why It’s Good:

Put simply? The card draw. It gives you three cards at the end of each turn, which gives you a huge advantage over your opponent — as long as you can play them quickly and keep your hand relatively empty. However, it can be tricky to get right — much trickier than the other legendary weapons — because if you don’t play it right, it can become dangerous to you. 

To help counter the weakness of overdrawing into fatigue, you can add Medivh to your deck to remove Aluneth, since when you play him you’ll equip Atiesh. Due to his high cost though, this strategy isn't everyone. 

If you craft this card, it’s important to make sure that your deck is built around winning before you run out of cards. If you need ideas, check out these decks:

Decks Running Aluneth:

Dragoncaller Alanna

This legendary Mage minion has the powerful battlecry of “Summon a 5/5 Dragon for each spell you cast this game that costs (5) or more.”

Why It’s Good:

This card adds immediate presence in Big Spell decks and since the added minions are Dragons, they can’t be cleared immediately by a Priest using Dragonfire Potion, which is a nice benefit. 

Alanna works really well in Big Spell decks and combines well with cards like Medivh, Spiteful Summoner, and other cards that benefit from high-cost spells. She isn’t the type of card that is good on her own, though — you have to use her in concert with other cards, so keep that in mind. If you want to read more about Big Spell Mage check out this awesome article. 

When playing Alanna, try to cast at least three spells before you play her (the more the better, really) to maximize the benefit. 

Decks Running Dragoncaller Alanna:

Skull of the Man'ari

There are a lot of weapons on this list, but this is the last one, I promise. This legendary Warlock weapon summons a demon from your hand at the start of your turn. 

Why It’s Good:

Combining this weapon with minions like Voidlord and Doomguard can give you a devastating advantage over your opponent. It allows you to get powerful demons on the board well before you’d normally be able to play them, and saves you from spending the mana (and any negative battlecries). The key here is that you actually have to have a demon in hand at the start of the turn (the card’s effect happens before card draw for the turn). If you don’t have any demons in your hand, you get no benefits. 

Decks Running Skull of the Man’ari:

Rin, the First Disciple

Rin is an interesting card. I would have pegged her as more of a “fun” legendary than one that got a lot of play in serious decks, but here we are. You can find her included as an optional card in Control Warlock decks, so she isn’t as necessary to those decks as something like Skull of the Man'ari, but she is an excellent addition if you can afford her. 

Why It’s Good:

First of all, it’s fun to play. I’m sure it’s not super fun for your opponent if you successfully play her and her subsequent cards and destroy their deck, but it’s probably fun for you. 

Rin is a taunt minion with a very interesting deathrattle. It adds The First Seal to your hand, which sets off a very Jade Golem-like chain effect. The first seal summons a 2/2 demon and adds The Second sSeal to your hand. On and on this goes until you get to The Final Seal, with summons a 6/6 demon and adds Azari, the Devourer to your hand. Azari’s battlecry is to destroy your opponents deck. 

So yeah, it takes a lot of cards, but the payoff is pretty damn big you can manage it. It should be noted that because of the high combined mana cost, this is another card that won't suit everyone. 

Decks Running Rin, The First Disciple:

Sonya Shadowdancer

Sonya is a legendary Rogue minion who has the passive effect “After a friendly minion dies, add a 1/1 copy of it to your hand. It cost (1).” Or in other words, make sure to clear her from the board ASAP! 

Why It’s Good:

Rogues have a lot of good, low-cost minions with useful battlecry and deathrattle effects that this card can take advantage of. She’s great in combo decks and tempo decks. She enables combos easily with the low cost of the returned minion (and on top of that the minion still has whatever effect the OG card had, giving you double the benefit). 

Sonya’s biggest benefit is being able to cheaply reuse poweful effects like Prince Keleseth and Jade Spirit. Make sure you keep that in mind when building your decks around her (or use it as motivation to remember to clear her as fast as you can if your opponent plays her – ignore her at your own peril). 

Decks Running Sonya Shadowdance:

Bonus Section! 

Below are my favorite legendaries from this expansion that didn’t make the list. They might not see as much play, or be recommended as often as the cards above, but they are fun to play. If you have some extra dust around or you prefer to craft fun cards first, check these out:

What about you, what are your favorites? Do you recommend crafting these cards, or do you think there are better ones in this set? Which Kobolds and Catacombs legendaries did you craft? Make sure to let us know in the comments below!

Also be sure to check out our Legendary Tier List & Crafting Guide!