Hearthpwn

The basic stats on Anubisath Defender are kinda bad. A 3/5 with taunt for 5 mana would not usually see much play. But, the ability to cheat this card out for free if you have played a big spell like Hidden Oasis this turn, turned this card into quite the positive play and even made cards like Nourish see play again.

It's not a card that will see play in every Druid deck however, nor win you a game on it's own, but using it in decks with big spells like Starfall in Standard or Ultimate Infestation in Wild, will let you use this card for some nice tempo swings.

A solid addition for Druid, a class that has a history of late game and combo decks which can use this card well.

Example Deck: Elise and Malygos Friends

Armagedillo is the best card that Warrior saw added this expansion and it's likely competing for the best card in the expansion overall. It helped keep Control Warrior among the top decks in the meta and it's card effect is enough to win games on it's own if left unchallenged. A truly Legendary card.

And it's not just it's card effect. Some cards pay for their effect with sub-optimal stats, but this is not the case with Armagedillo. Getting out a 4/7 minion with taunt for 6 mana on it's own is a good stall. Combined with Warrior's excellent removal tools, it usually forces the opponent to use single target hard removal just to make sure it doesn't snowball.

And we haven't even touched on what this card does in decks fully built around Taunts, where it has even greater impact. This card (unless nerfed) will continue to be a staple in Warrior decks that run Taunts, not just now, but long after the set has rotated to Wild.

Example Deck: Ultimate Highlander Control Warrior

Bone Wraith is one of those sneaky underrated cards. It doesn't wow you with stats or cost or effect, but it's still very effective in it's role of protecting your board and your face. It won't be in the right place in every deck, but it's like a good hammer. When you need a hammer it's going to be very successful in helping you. If you need a screwdriver, not so much.

It does seem though that many of the best decks in the current meta have need of a good hammer, because it's seeing play in as varied a decks as Highlander Mage (the deck that just won the Masters Tour Seoul) and Quest Paladin (the ultimate Warrior killer). With it's stat line and effect (a 2/5 with Taunt that leaves a 2/1 with Taunt when killed) it's been favourably compared to Sludge Belcher, a card that ended up being run in a host of decks back in the day.

Workman like as this card is, it will continue to show up in many decks throughout Saviors of Uldum's run.

Example Deck: OTK Quest Control Mechathun

Zoinks, Scooby! Frightened Flunky brought back memories of watching cartoons on Saturday morning for just about everyone, but it's not just a funny card, it's become a staple early game card for Warrior. It's stat line is only so so, but it's effect is what makes this card go. Being able to Discover Taunt cards in Warrior means you can often Discover additional copies of Armagedillo and Tomb Warden or even itself!

This is not the first time we have seen a card with so so stats, but a Discover Taunt effect be successful, in Journey to Un'goro we already had Stonehill Defender. Frightened Flunky being class specific however and 1 mana less makes it an even better play for Warrior.

It seems very likely that even if Control and Taunt Warrior were to be driven from the meta that this card will still see play. Low cost card generation with upside rarely goes out of style.

Example Deck: Taunt Warrior

Out of all the cards we feature today Khartut Defender is probably the most one-dimensional. You include it when you need protection and healing in all other situations it's likely too high costed and too low statted. It's stickyness and healing make it a positive influence in any deck that needs to survive till late game however, and it's not quite so threatening that it will bring out opponent's silence or transform effects usually, making it an effective card at what it does.

It's not unreasonable to compare the card to Rotten Applebaum, it costs 1 mana more (which can be a definite deal breaker for an anti-aggro card) and it's stats are a little worse, but it makes up for that with stickyness and better healing.

We will have to see how this card plays out in the meta, but for now it's not crazy to think it will have similar impact, which is to say, it will see it's share of use throughout.

Example Deck: Wild Legend Reno Mage

It's fair to argue we are cheating here a little. Is Siamat really a Taunt minion? We argue that he can be, and that his impact has been pretty significant in the meta, and that therefore he should be included. Truth be told though, we suspect that most of Siamat's battlecry choices will be focused on Rush and Divine Shield. But we watched quite a bit of Masters Tour Seoul over the weekend and we did see enough times of him being turned into a Taunt minion for it to not be a total scam.

So what are good comparisons for Siamat? Sunwalker costs 1 mana less, but has inferior stats. Tirion Fordring costs 1 more and let's you equip a 5/3 Ashbringer (but lacks the versatility that Siamat has). Those are comparisons that Siamat comes away from looking pretty good. The less flattering comparison is Amani War Bear, which has the same cost and basic stats, but is only a common.

In the end though, Siamat's great strength is his ability to be what you need him to be in a given game, while still only taking up 1 card slot. That kind of versatility always has a place in decks, whatever the meta is.

Example Deck: Secret Highlander Hunter

The last entry for today is yet another Warrior card, which is not too crazy given the fact that Taunt Warrior was clearly an archetype Blizzard wanted to push again. This one is pretty good as it is, a formidable wall of stats, but it is it's interaction with Armagedillo that pushes this card into "must-include" territory. Because by buffing this card even once, you get double the stat benefit but buffing it twice is often disastrous, leading to a massive double 7/10 with taunt hitting the board, which forces opponents into high cost board clears or, alternatively, the concede button.

There's not really any comparisons for Tomb Warden. Some may think of Saronite Chain Gang and how prevalent that was, but that minion summons an unbuffed copy of itself (though it did have the same effect once and was nerfed).

In the end what most sets it apart is the interaction with Armagedillo. Paired these cards will continue to be strong, and likely will always end up in the same deck now and in the future.

Example Deck: Wild Quest Taunt Warrior

That's it for this Saviors of Uldum Taunt card review, check back for more reviews in the future.