As the morrow rears its head, a fresh Witchwood card reveal has appeared. Join us as we explore the possibilities and power of each one.
First up is the second Legendary for Warlock. Lord Godfrey is a 7 mana 4/4 with a battlecry that deals 2 damage to other minions. Much like the Knights of the Frozen Throne card Defile, if this effect kills a minion, it is applied again. With control Warlock sitting fairly comfortable in the top tier, this card is tipped to cement it further. It is extremely powerful with a fair consistent board clear regardless of the situation. Not only that, it’s only for 7 mana and it leaves you with a 4/4 body which makes it hard for Priest decks to deal with. A general feeling is that this might be one of the best cards in the set.
Next, we are onto Warrior. The first card is Redband Wasp, a 2 mana 1/3 with Rush. When this card is damaged it also gains +3 attack potentially boosting it to a 4/2 which is great value for board control. The synergy that comes to mind with this card is Animated Berserker, a 1 mana 1/3 that deals 1 damage to any minions you play. This immediately activates the effect of Redband Wasp letting it deal with bigger foes. Could this be the re emergence of control warrior in competitive play? Maybe even an early/mid-game variant? Only time will tell.
Darius Crowley is the new Legendary for Warrior. Keeping with the theme of control, Darius has Rush and gains +2/+2 whenever is kills a minion. For 5 mana, that is a fair amount of power. With the wording of “kills a minion”, it would seem it can claw itself from the jaws of death as it would buff itself on resolution of the battle. Personally, I believe this is a nice addition to the Warriors armour that has seemed to dull and crack over the past year.
For Hunter we have the 2 mana 2/1 Hunting Mastiff. With Echo and Rush, this minion, when paired with board buffs, can easily apply control to the state of play. If Scavenging Hyena remains from the turn before, this card will allow insane damage potential. Also, it is versatile in the sense that if the opponent has a big minion blocking your progress for victory, you can throw as many of these as you mana will allow to remove the nuisance. It would seem that Warrior is not the only clas to receive the control love in this set.
Also, a new Legendary appears in the form of Emeriss. This 10 mana 8/8 has a battlecry that doubles all attack and health of minions in your hand. This is an insane effect worthy of a 10 cost card. Initial thoughts gear towards how control orientated decks instantly flip on their heads to pressure the opponent hard. Also, this might allow the resurgence of Quest Hunter. All those 1 cost minions before and especially after the quest completion suddenly become terrifying. This card might become a favorite among us and the player base in general. Looking forward to playing with it and you should too.
Forest Guide is a 4 mana 1/6 minion that draws each player a card at the end of the turn. It’s an interesting double edged sword that accompanies many of the classes cards. However, with Coldlight Oracle being rotated out of standard when this set hits, the natural fit of Mill Druid will only have an effect and affect the wild format. With below average stats and giving your opponent free cards, it is hard to see use for this card. However, combos with Forest Guide, Drakkari Enchanter, and Faceless Manipulator do come to mind if used in Wild. Ending your turn and making both players draw around 8 cards is quite fun to watch.
It would seem Mage gets more “crow” support, which will make Medivh happy. Vex Crow is a 4 mana 3/3 that summons a random 2 cost minion whenever you cast a spell. The potential for board swarming is quite high for this card. Envisage a Sorcerer’s Apprentice or two, one of these, then casting Mirror Image, Arcane Missiles etc. Your board can get quite substantial very fast. This could pave the way for more aggressive Mage decks. However, with many board clears in the format already without the introduction to card in this set, it might be difficult for high competitive play to embrace such ideas. Regardless, this card is powerful without considering survivability and, quite fun to play.
For Rogue, we have WANTED! For 4 mana, this spell deals 3 damage to a minion and adds a coin to your hand if you kill it. When it boils down to it, it effectively becomes a 3 mana spell deal 3 damage with future enabling ability to boot. Cards that cost 0 mana for Rogue are always welcome, as their many of their cards utilize the Combo mechanic. Personally, this card is added music to the opera that is Rogue. A competent composer can fully wield such instruments to allow victory to sing over the opponent. Although, general feelings are that this will most likely be a one-of card in most decks. Welcome all the same.
Deathrattle support is coming for Priest in the form of Coffin Crasher. A 6 mana 6/5 that summons a deathrattle from you hand when it dies. Similar to the Warlock card Possessed Lackey, this card allows for game state acceleration. Dropping an Obsidian Statue or Deathwing the Dragonlord on turn 6 is very powerful. However, this does fall prone to silence. But, with Barnes being rotated out of standard, this card can accompany Shadow Essence and Eternal Servitude to help Big Priest to retain its competitive standings.
Lastly, we have the neutral cards. First up is Muck Hunter. For a 5/8 body with rush, this card summons two 2/1 Mucklings for your opponent for 5 mana. It has potential in the sense that it can eat a medium threat and still retain some control. However, if you minus the stats from both sides, you are only gaining a 1/6 advantage for 5 mana, which is very low. Another way of looking at is you are getting a 5/4 minion if the Muklings are to be traded into the Muck Hunter. But, if the additional minions can be dealt with efficiently with spells or abilities, then this card can provide some decent value.
Scaleworm is a simple control minion that stands up and gets the job done. For 4 mana, you get a 4/4 body and, if you are holding a dragon it gains Rush and +1 attack. A fairly standard minion in terms of body and functionality. However, it seems this one will see more play in Arena than the competitive scene. A fair amount of dragons will be rotated out of the standard format soon thus, the support for this card will change consistency. But, only time will tell if we will see more support for dragons.
Next up is Blackwald Pixie, a 3 mana 3/4 with the battlecry that refreshes you hero power. With a solid body, this minion servers as an early to mid-game play but with late game versatility. Whether allowing more damage for Mage and Hunter or, more survivability for Warrior and Priest, this card has good potential. More so, in Arena.
The last card for today’s reveals is Clockwork Automaton. Sharing a similar effect to the priest Legendary Prophet Velen, this minion doubles the damage and healing of your hero power. For 5 mana it also comes with a 4/4 body. First thoughts are that it will see a fair amount of play experimenting with various tools and plays with the current pool of cards. More control for Mage, more pressure to the face for Hunter, and more grind for Warrior and Priest. However, thinking a little deeper, and providing this effect stacks normally, a Deathknight Guldan can utilise this card with its 3 damage lifesteal hero power to inflict huge swings and damage. If used correctly with enough preparation, it is possible to one shot a player with a hero power swing. Very exciting deck construction ideas indeed.
And that is it for today. Keep tuning in regularly as we continue to delve into the haunted forests, unearthing its curses and creatures as we go. The full list of revealed cards are featured on the hearthstone official website so please check it out. And as always, smile and game.