The Impact Factor

Perspectives: Evaluating the cards from Blackrock Mountain, Hearthstone’s second adventure

Special Feature

Hello everyone! Time for another Perspectives here on TIF. Though maybe I should rename this feature to “Alex talks about Hearthstone,” because today I have some more card game talk in store for you all. If you haven’t, check out my first one in which I talk a little bit about collectible card games and their often “pay-to-win” nature. Today though, I just want to talk about the thirty-one new cards being introduced to Hearthstone in its next expansion. Blackrock Mountain was announced during PAX East just a couple weeks ago, and releases this week! I already have my pre-order in and I’m so excited to play through the content. Hearthstone’s first adventure, Curse of Naxxramas, was great, and I expect Blackrock Mountain to follow suit.

Each time new cards are added to the game, the field of competitive Hearthstone play changes. New cards bring about new strategies and new decks, and I am excited to see what I (and others) can do with them. In this feature, I’ll be reviewing each and every new card in Blackrock Mountain. I’ll lend my perspective as someone who has been playing card games for essentially his entire life, Hearthstone for about a year, and logs most of his playtime in the ranked play mode. Arena is great, but I do not play it enough to let you all know how good/bad I think each card will be in that mode. My “scoring” will be as follows:

           

Little to no play: The card is too weak to see any significant amount of use in competitive play.

Some play: The card is decent, but will require a specific deck to take advantage of its strengths.

Highly played: The card is great, and fits well into either existing deck archetypes or will work well with other cards to create a new deck.

All-star: The card is amazing. Will probably be seen everywhere for quite a while.

Now onto the cards!

Neutral

Dragon Egg

Little to no play

Dragon Egg is an interesting one. Its ability and stats are certainly reminiscent of the quite powerful, and still decently played, card from Naxxramas, Nerubian Egg. I do not think Dragon Egg is nearly as good, though. At just two health, Dragon Egg is more than likely going to be one-shot every time, giving you a measly 2/1 Dragon in return. If you add up stats, that makes for a 1 mana 2/3. On paper, that sounds great! A Zombie Chow with no healing drawback? In practice though, I foresee Dragon Egg sitting around a lot time without doing anything. Even if you get two 2/1’s out of the card, that is still way worse than the 4/4 you get from Nerubian Egg. Still, it might see some play in buff decks that use cards like Power Word: Shield or Defender of Argus. I just don’t see it making a big impact.

Blackwing Technician

Highly played

Expect to see a lot of this gal around once all of the Blackrock Mountain cards have been released. This adventure has a lot of new dragon cards and certainly seems to be pushing players to make dragon-based decks. I know I am excited to. There a lot of dragons worth playing now too, as you’ll see later in this review. Blackwing Technician is a great 3-drop for any dragon heavy deck. If you are running 6-8 dragons in your deck, there is a good chance Blackwing Technician will be a phenomenal 3 mana 3/5. For that mana cost, those stats are definitely better than average. Even at its worst the card is a 3 mana 2/4, which isn’t so bad. If dragon decks are a thing (they will be), they are almost certainly going to throw this card in there to try to secure early board control.

Hungry Dragon

Highly played

Another card for the dragon deck archetype. Let’s ignore the text on the card for a minute. A 4 mana 5/6 is insane. There is a thing in Hearthstone called the “vanilla test.” Simply put, this test let’s you know what attack & health are good for the mana cost. For 4 mana, the vanilla test would have you expect a 4/5 (Chillwind Yeti). So, when Hungry Dragon is 5/6, you know there has to be some sort of drawback. And there is, but it is pretty minor. Summoning a 1 mana minion for your enemy is not good, but you need to consider a couple of things first. One, stats for 1 mana minions are quite bad, averaging out to around a 1.5/1.5. So many one drops have the dreaded 1 health, and can be cleared out by a hero power. I anticipate dragon decks are going to be fairly midrange-oriented decks, wanting to establish board presence early. More often than not, your other minions on board should be able to trade favorably into the newly summoned one drop (like a 3/5 Blackwing Technician, for instance). Even if you have to trade your Hungry Dragon into the 1 drop, the majority of the time you will be left with a 5/4, which is acceptable for the mana cost. Even more than that, though, Hungry dragon might be good enough to fit into more general midrange decks in need of a solid four drop, just because of how efficient its stats are.

Dragonkin Sorceror

Some play

Talking about Dragonkin Sorceror right after Hungry Dragon is a bit of a bummer. For the same mana cost, you are only getting a 3/5 body, failing the vanilla test. Not many buff spells exist in Hearthstone that are worth playing, aside from maybe the Priest class with Power Word: Shield and Velen’s Chosen. For that reason, I do think Dragonkin Sorceror could see some play in a Priest buff-based deck, which is an archetype that already seems some play. It is important to remember that Dragonkin Sorceror is a dragon though, so could easily see play in dragon-centric decks. Hard to say it will have a huge impact on the broader metagame, though.

Blackwing Corruptor

Highly played

Well, shoot. So far all of my highly played cards have been rated that way because they all fit into the same new deck archetype. So be it. Blackwing Corruptor seems like a great 5 drop for the midrange dragon decks that will arise post Blackrock Mountain. Though its stats aren’t phenomenal, what we are really interested in is that battlecry. Fire Elemental is one of the best minions in the game, but it is limited to the Shaman class. Before I go any further, I want to state for the record that I do not think Blackwing Corruptor is as good as Fire Elemental. With that said, though, Blackwing Corruptor seems like an obvious inclusion. Three targeted damage is nothing to scoff at, enabling free minion kills or trades that work in your favor. If I used a decimal system in my scoring, I would put this card lower than Hungry Dragon. If you need to play it without a dragon in hand, the card is pretty lackluster. Further, the 5 mana slot is really competitive already with Sludge Belcher, Azure Drake, Antique Healbot and Loatheb, so we might see less of this guy for that reason too.

Grim Patron

Some play / Little to no play

Grim Patron is a very hard card to review. For the cost, its stats are really bad. But its effect is extremely powerful in classes where you can damage your own minions easily, like Warrior. There are obvious synergies with cards like Whirlwind, Unstable Ghoul and Bouncing Blade. If Grim Patron even survives one hit, you have will have two 3 power minions on the board. Another board damaging effect could give you 4. People will certainly try to make Grim Patron work, but to do so will require built around him. If I had to guess, these decks won’t be great, but I could be proven wrong.

Volcanic Drake

Highly played

Sheesh, even more! Perhaps I’m being a little too emphatic, but Volcanic Drake is great. Cost reduction mechanics in cards games are often quite powerful. The one present on Volcanic Drake is pretty easy to take advantage of, too. With just one trade (your minion and opponent’s minion die), this card is a 4 mana 6/4. Which is good but, to be fair, isn’t very exciting. If even one more minion dies on your turn though, Volcanic Drake gets very scary very fast. This is another great dragon card to have in hand to activate cards like Blackwing Technician and Blackwing Corruptor, and seems to fit well into this midrange dragon archetype. The 6 mana slot also does not have a ton of competition currently, so this may even see more play than Hungry Dragon. Similar to Hungry Dragon, I can also see this easily fitting into midrange lists in need of another big body. Only time will tell.

Drakonid Crusher

Little to no play

Just as I said there aren’t many 6 mana cards, Drakonid Crusher comes around. I’m not sure it can make such a compelling case for inclusion into a competitive deck, though. For its cost, the expected stats are 6/7 (Bolderfist Ogre), so Drakonid Crusher is already not off to a good start. The battlecry effect is cool, giving you an advantage later in the game when your opponent is at low health, but I do not think the effect will be that meaningful. Keep in mind that, as a 9/9, the card also falls into Big Game Hunter range, which could put you at a major tempo disadvantage. You just have better options for late game minions. He is a dragon, but I don't think the card is good even with that factoring in.

Emperor Thaurissan

All-star

Wow, what a card. Emperor Thaurissan has been described as an inverse-Loatheb, and I mostly agree. Because his effect triggers at the end of your turn, you are guaranteed a cost reduction. If you drop him turn six, especially in a more midrange or control oriented deck, you could easily get a discount on 4, 5, even 6 cards. In that instance, you can look at Emperor Thaurissan as a 2-0 mana 5/5. Insane. I’m being a little too hyperbolic, for sure, but I just see him fitting into so many decks. As a six drop, he is not fighting many other cards and will fit right alongside Sylvanas Windrunner. Even in decks not designed around him, his effect will pretty much always be powerful and meaningful. But then we can get into even crazier thoughts. Emperor Thaurissan can allow for some pretty nutty combos. In Druid, for example, the Force of Nature + Savage Roar 14 damage combo will be cost reduced to 7 mana—assuming Thaurissan sticks on the board, that could mean 21 points of damage towards your opponent on turn 7. Or what about in a spell heavy Miracle Rogue deck? If Emperor Thaurissan sticks around on board for more than one turn, which probably won’t happen very often, the cost reduction stacks. The card is so powerful it is hard to really evaluate, but I expect to play against it a ton.

Rend Blackhand

Little to no play

Yikes. I do not like Rend Blackhand at all. For his cost, his stats are pretty awful. With 8 attack, he also can be killed by Big Game Hunter. His battlecry effect is also pretty conditional. Sure it will be so satisfying to kill the couple of legendaries that cannot be eliminated by Big Game Hunter like Ysera, but it most cases you would be better off with the former. Further, he pretty much requires the dragon archetype I talked about earlier to guarantee effectiveness. I cannot see him being played much at all, except for maybe rarely in tournament settings to deal with the hyper greedy control decks.

Chromaggus

Some play

Legendary dragons ahoy! Chromaggus is a difficult card to evaluate. I know I will sound like a broken record at this point, but at only 6 attack it dodges Big Game Hunter, which is so critically important in competitive play right now. I like the stats for its cost, and its effect is really powerful. Kel’Thuzad is probably the closest analog to this card we currently have. It’s a powerful card, but one that relies on you to have a good board full of minions to take advantage of its full effect. Legendary cards that don’t have an immediate effect on the board are played way less than their more impactful counterparts (like Dr. Boom or Ragnaros). As you might know, Kel’Thuzad did not see a lot of competitive play. It was often too slow or a “win more” card. I think Chromaggus is better than Kel’Thuzad, but still am not sure how much it will see play. Chromaggus has to live until your next turn for its effect to go off, which may not happen very often. Depending on your draw too, the effect could range from ok to fantastic. If it can live two turns, Chromaggus is crazy. This is very much a wait and see card, but I’m hopeful it will see some play in more control oriented decks.

Nefarian

Little to no play

Dies to Big Game Hunter. Now that’s out of the way, let’s go a little deeper. Nefarian’s effect is really neat, but seems really hard to fully use to your advantage. Spell quality can range quite substantially depending on the class you play against. Nightmare scenarios involve pulling Deadly Poison in a class without weapons or Beastial Wrath for any class. The spells are “free” and can be quite powerful, but you leave so much up to chance by playing Nefarian. I am sure crazy things will happen when you play this card, but you have so many better options for expensive legendaries to put into your deck. Chromaggus seems strictly better than Nefarian, and as you read, I am not even sure how much that card will be played. Maybe in a world without Big Game Hunter Nefarian would be worth considering, but for now, I just don’t see it.

Majordomo Executus

Little to no play

What a hilarious card. Hilarious, but extremely weak. It dies to Big Game Hunter. Seven health for 9 mana also isn’t great. The deathrattle effect for the card seems to be more negative than positive, too. Sure, I look forward to turning my hero into Ragnaros like everyone else. With only 8 health total (or 15 if you use Alexstaza on yourself), you are putting yourself on a knife’s edge. By turn 9, your opponent will likely be more than capable of dealing eight damage to your face. And can you imagine being at 30 health, so far ahead in your match, then suddenly being within one Rend Blackhand attack to end the game? Ouch. This card was definitely added for the fun factor, of which it looks to have a lot, but is not worth playing in any competitive deck.

Druid Cards

Druid of the Flame

Some play / Little to no play

Druid of the Flame looks to be a fine card on the surface, but simply has no place in current competitive play. Druids do not currently have a great 3 drop, often using Shade of Naxxramas in that slot. For the mana cost, a 3 mana 2/5 is really good and could enable a couple favorable trades in the early game. The card just isn’t that exciting or powerful, though. The current state of ranked play uses a lot of 2/3 minions, which Druid of the Flame cannot deal with efficiently. Maybe once the meta shifts we might see more of this card, but for now, I wouldn’t expect to see it added to any of the popular Druid decks.

Volcanic Lumberer

Little to no play

Cost reduction is a powerful effect, but not on this card. Let’s assume the same situation I described for Volcanic Drake. With one trade, this card still costs 7 mana. For a 7/8 taunt, that passes the vanilla test, but is not a strong turn 7 play. Especially in Druid, you would much rather drop Ancient of Lore turn seven. Druid already has enough big creatures they can play, so I do not see them taking out any of those powerful cards for this. Oh, it also dies to Big Game Hunter.

Hunter Cards

Quick Shot

Highly played

A Darkbomb but better? Count me in. Hunter is one of my favorite classes to play (don’t hate me), and this card seems pretty exciting. Three targeted damage could help you make the push to lethal, kill a minion, or enable a better trade. Quick Shot is also fantastic in top deck situations. You draw it, help out your board or bring your opponent closer to death, and then replace it. I disagree with a lot of the talk I have seen online for this card, though. Everyone says this card makes Face Hunter so much better. Face Hunter is the most popular Hunter deck at the moment. The strategy of the deck is to, you guessed it, attack face to kill your enemy as quickly as possible. Quick Shot could certainly help that, but what card do you take out? Glaivezooka is already a 2 mana deal 4 damage to the face card (usually), so I don’t see Face Hunter lists replacing it with this. I can see one copy being played, but I don’t think this card will make Face Hunter over-powered. I am more excited about this card in the midrange version of the Hunter deck, or other archetypes.

Core Rager

Little to no play

I wonder if this “no cards in hand” will be a new mechanic for Hunters? Not sure how I feel about that. Core Rager is underwhelming. A 4 mana 4/4 fails the vanilla test for starters. When your hand is empty, Core Rager is an incredibly undercosted 7/7, but I don’t see that being too helpful for either of the existing Hunter archetypes. It is too slow for Face Hunter, and will almost never be activated in the midrange version. Core Rager is clunky to use and will feel bad to play as a 4/4. For that slot, Piloted Shredder is a much better choice.

Mage Cards

Dragon’s Breath

Little to no play

Dragon’s Breath could be good in a class that does not already have burn spells, but in Mage the card is pretty underwhelming. The four damage it deals is crucial. So many minions have five health these days, so Dragon’s Breath will fail to kill them. For one less mana, you could play Fireball for a guaranteed six damage. Sure, if you do one trade, Dragon’s Beath is a 3 mana deal 4 damage, but even that is not good. Flame Cannon is 2 mana deal 4 random damage, which is usually fine. I’ve read talk that this card might see play in Freeze Mage, since it could easily cost 0 mana following a Doomsayer or Flamestrike, but I don’t even see that happening. Fireball just seems better.

Flamewaker

Some play / Highly played

Blizzard sure does love their 3 mana 2/4’s recently. Flamewaker seems really powerful, though. The stats are fine and the effect is fantastic. Mages play so many spells already that it should be pretty easy to take advantage of Flamewaker’s special ability. The two random damage will allow you to make favorable trades, or even clear off enemy minions entirely. Flamewaker looks to be strong against Paladin and Muster for Battle, which is currently so prominent in competitive play. The only issue I see with Flamewaker is that it doesn’t have a home. Mech Mage is by far the most played Mage archetype, so Flamewaker not being a mech could prevent its inclusion. However, with all the spare parts you generate, as well as Frostbost and Fireball, I could see people trying out one or two copies of Flamewaker in place of Spider Tank or Harvest Golem. It also fits pretty well into a standard midrange Mage. Time will tell with this one, but I’m optimistic it will see a lot of play.

Paladin Cards

Solemn Vigil

Some play

When this card was first revealed I saw a lot of people saying how good it was. Solemn Vigil is certainly powerful, but I am hesitant to say it will see a lot of play. Again, in the one trade situation, Solemn Vigil is 3 mana to draw two cards (so basically Arcane Intellect). Paladin is a class that needs card draw and has looked elsewhere to do so. Cult Master has been pretty effective in the Muster for Battle + Quartermaster Paladin deck, and Solemn Vigil looks to fill the same niche. Without playing around with it myself, I cannot say whether it is better or worse than Cult Master. The 5 mana slot is rough too, especially for Paladin. I can easily see one copy being played, but don’t think every Paladin deck will include it.

Dragon Consort

All-star

Potentially the single most powerful card released in all of Blackrock Mountain. The cost reduction effect provided by Dragon Consort is insane. Have any dragons in hand? Here is an Innervate on a 5 mana 5/5. On your next turn, you could drop an 8 mana dragon. Or, if you play Dragon Consort later in the game, you can get could even play it that same turn as a Volcanic Drake. The effect lasts even after it dies too. No dragon in hand when you play it? Not a problem. The next one you play will be cost reduced, regardless of how many turns pass before you do so. This card alone makes Paladin the class of choice for the midrange dragon archetype I have been describing. The effect is so powerful, and you can play two of this card in your deck! Sure, there is a lot of competition for the five mana slot, but Dragon Consort is going to win out over pretty much any of them in a dragon based deck. Expect to see plenty of Dragadin decks as soon as the card is released. Paladin is going to be a very scary class to play against, as if it weren’t already.

Priest Cards

Twilight Whelp

Some play

Ah Priest, the other class vying to be the home of the midrange dragon deck. Dragon Consort Twilight Whelp is not. I like that it gives you can early dragon to play, and an easy one to have in your hand to activate Blackwing Technician. If you have a dragon in hand, a 2/3 Twilight Whelp for one mana is great. When thinking about it a little more, though, I’m not sure it is that much better, or any better, than Zombie Chow. The five health your opponent gets back when Zombie Chow dies is usually negligible, and it is always guaranteed to be a 2/3. A one mana 2/1, with no effect, is pretty terrible. I can see dragon-Priest trying out this card, but I would not be surprised if they just use Zombie Chow instead.

Resurrect

Little to no play

What a cool card effect, but one that seems so hard to use to your advantage. I think the cost is right at two mana, and the effect can easily be game changing. What if you bring back your 4/7 Injured Blademaster or a powerful legendary? Unfortunately, the uncertainly the accompanies this card seems too great to warrant its inclusion in most Priest decks. If you drew this late game, and just got back something like a Wild Pyromancer, the card is super underwhelming. I think you could make it work in a control heavy deck with only big minions, but I do not think that deck would be super competitive. This is one of the cards I hope to be wrong about. And think in the back of my head that I already am wrong about. But the rating still sticks.

Rogue Cards

Gang Up

Little to no play

I really like the flavor of the card, but I think it is one of the worst cards I have reviewed so far. Gang up gives you card and tempo disadvantage, as cards in your deck =/ cards on your board. Sure it seems fun to get three copies of a powerful legendary into your deck, but in practice, the card isn’t going to help you very much. A card in your deck is useless unless you draw it. Rogue does have good draw mechanics, but I cannot see them ever playing this card. You do not want to lose that kind of tempo so early in the game. Or even late in the game.

Dark Iron Skukler

Some play

Another card that is hard to evaluate in a vacuum. On the surface, Dark Iron Skulker appears great. Backstab on every undamaged minion on a 4/3 body? Cool! It is important to note it is only enemy minions too, leaving your own board alone. For how powerful the effect could be, I think the 5 mana cost is just right. With that said, 3 health is extremely susceptible. Good thing his effect is immediate. With the nature of the game, though, it will be hard to say how much value you can get out of Dark Iron Skulker. What if a lot of the enemy minions are damaged? Still, I know people are going to try to make him work. I expect he’ll be put into some Oil Rogue Decks, though an old school Tempo Rogue seems a better fit for the card.

Shaman Cards

Fireguard Destroyer

Highly played

This is the kind of card Shamans have needed for quite a while. The stats on Fireguard Destroyer are pretty fantastic. The worst case scenario the card is a 5 mana (don’t forget the overload) 4/6, which isn’t terrible. From there it only gets better. A turn four 7/6 would be frightening to play against. This is an all-important card for Shaman too. Because this card costs 4 mana, if you play it on curve your turn five is overloaded. This frees up turn 6 for Fire Elemental. Shaman hasn’t really been a player in the competitive environment for a long time now, and I hope Fireguard Destroyer can help to bring it back. I think it just might.

Lava Shock

Highly played

If Shaman does come back, I expect this card is going to be included with it. Overload can be annoying to death with as a Shaman. Play Feral Spirit on turn three? Look forward to only having two mana to work with next turn. Lava Shock gives Shamans the ability to unlock overloaded mana crystals for the first time. More than that, playing Lava Shock not only unlocks any crystals you have currently locked on your turn, but also removes any future overload assuming you played it on the same turn. To clarify: turn 5 you could play Feral Sprit, then Lava Shock an opponent minion, and turn 6 still be able to play Fire Elemental. The utility of the spell is extremely high, and I foresee Shaman decks (if they are good enough to be competitive, which still remains to be seen) using at least one copy of this card.

Warlock Cards

Imp Gang Boss

Highly played

I really like this card. Like so many other classes, Warlocks have never had a great three cost creature to put into their decks. Imp Gang Boss fills that slot perfectly. Another 3 mana 2/4, Imp Gang boss allows you to start filling your board with 1/1 imps. At most I one, maybe two, imps will be generated out of the card, but that is already better than Razorfen Hunter. When you take into consideration that both the Imp Gang Boss and the imps it makes are Demons, the card seems even better. Demonlock decks are already a thing, and this card looks to only make them stronger. I can also see Imp Gang Boss easily fitting into a new Zoolock style of deck—as it synergizes well with cards like Defender of Argus.

Demonwrath

Some play / Highly played

Demonwrath is a card I am pretty mixed about. In a Demonlock deck, this card will be pretty phenomenal. So many of your creatures are demons, so more often than not, casting Demonwrath will result in board advantage for you. With your slew of 1/1 imps from Imp Gang Boss or Imp-losion, Demonwrath will give the extra damage they need to clear off enemy minions without forcing you to sacrifice your more powerful creatures. Demonwrath also has a key advantage over a card like Hellfire in that health is such a resource for Warlocks, more so than any other class. It is painful to pay two life to tap for a card, and then lose three more when you Hellfire the board. But then comes the uncertainty. A lot of Demonlock lists don’t even run Hellfire, and I don’t think Demonwrath replaces Shadow Flame. Any other type of Warlock deck (Zoo, Handlock) will just run Hellfire. So, if Demonlock stays a thing, expect to see this card. Otherwise, it might not be around so much.

Warrior Cards

Axe Flinger

Little to no play

Axe Flinger falls into the exact same category as Grim Patron. In most Warrior decks, they are not going to want to play this underwhelming four mana 2/5. The stats are just bad. The effect when it gets damaged is not even that good: rather than the two damage spread among enemies dealt by Flamewaker’s effect, Axe Flinger only damages the face. Face Warrior has not been around for months and months, and I do not see this card brining it back. Axe Flinger looks to fit into the same “damage your own minion” kind of deck that Grim Patron does, with Frothing Berserker and Acolyte of Pain alongside cards like Death’s Bite. Again, if I had to judge now, I would say that deck is not very good. Time will tell, but I don’t anticipate Axe Flinger ever making it into competitive play.

Revenge

Little to no play

Another thoroughly disappointing Warrior card. Which sucks, because it is one of my favorite classes. Revenge works counter to the Warrior’s hero power. You want to gain armor to prevent lost life, ideally not falling into the 12 or less health range. Even then, at that point in the game, I’m not sure Revenge will help you too much. It seems to be designed to help Warriors against a bad matchup, Paladin, as Revenge on low health will clear out the Paladin’s Quatermaster’d Silver Hand Recruits. Usually though, Revenge is just Whirlwind that costs one more mana. In the Warrior deck that tries to take advantage of damaging your own minions (with Grim Patron and Axe Flinger) you don’t need more effects like this. Whirlwind, Unstable Ghoul and Death’s Bite already offer you plenty. Poor Warrior.

That concludes my evaluation of the Blackrock Mountain cards! What do you think? What am I right about? Or wrong about? Do not hesitate to let me know in the comments or on Twitter, @alexsamocha

I hope to see you all in Blackrock Depths tomorrow!