Blizzard has released the full core set and we're in for a very different new year of Hearthstone! Today we're going to be taking a look at the Warrior class in the Year of the Gryphon by looking at their new set of core cards and giving the new ones a full review.
- If you want to see the full core set, you can check out our Core 2021 Guide.
- Want to see only the new cards? We have a dedicated article for that.
- You can build decks with all these cards in our deckbuilder - just select Year of the Gryphon as the format!
Let's get to it!
War Cache
This card is very reminiscent of a spell released in Saviors of Uldum for Hunter: I'm talking about Hunter's Pack. Getting random cards has rarely been good, even when you could discover them (Boom Squad). In the end, you'd just include what you want, limiting the RNG factor and giving more consistency to your game plan. On the other hand, getting this off of some Discover and RNG effects might be good, as it is more fuel for Control Warrior's long run.
Definitely not the best card in Warrior's Core set, but something you'll be fine with most of the time.
Warsong Outrider
I was personally advocating for Militia Commander to be part of the Core set, and seeing that this is what the devs landed on makes me think that I nailed at least the idea.
A solid 4-drop with immediate impact on the board that will be able to value trade any 3-4 drops and potentially kill some 5-6 drops. While it's not something flashy like Restless Mummy, it covers its exact same role and easily delivers the idea of what Warrior is about and what it should be good at. I definitely see this card as more than a pack filler, as I expect Warsong Outrider to pop up here and there in case Garrosh will get even more Rush support or the meta will ask to have a strong turn 4 play (in that case Warrior would be golden, considering that Sword Eater will stick in Standard for another 12 months).
Warsong Commander
Yeah, technically it's not a new card, but since its effect got completely changed the only thing that still has in common with its older self is just the name, so we think it can be defined "new" by all means. Warsong Commander is back and it looks playable!
Its effect is pretty much an aura-like Animated Broomstick, which means that it will provide great support to Rush Warrior and E.T.C., God of Metal. Moreover, the card text states "summon" and not "play": therefore, even tokens spawned by Deathrattles or effects like Bomb Wrangler's one will gain Rush.
However, my personal opinion is that as long as Animated Broomstick will stick (no pun intended) in Standard, it will sweep (ok, maybe pun intended) all the attention away from Warsong Commander - we're talking about a one-time effect versus an aura-like, but we're also talking about a card that costs just 1 mana and on the costs 3 times that much.
I wish this version of Warsong Commander were around back then when Overkill was a thing - minions like Ticket Scalper would've probably seen a tad more of play, or maybe not because Overkill was really underwhelming.
Bloodsail Deckhand
Pirate 1-drop with a Weapon discount that is not limited for that same turn? Now that's a spicy opener for an aggro build like Pirate Warrior. Since Garrosh will lose Sky Raider and Southsea Deckhand, this will automatically become the unit you mulligan for at the beginning of the game.
Sure, now Warrior needs some good weapons, since Ancharrr, Livewire Lance and Wrenchcalibur will rotate and the class will be left with Fiery War Axe and Reaper's Scythe. To be honest, there's a fourth alternative that looks quite appetizing at a second look: Ringmaster's Baton is a cheap Weapon and synergizes well with Bloodsail Deckhand and already has some support in Standard. In the end, Menagerie Aggro Warrior is, as things are right now, the archetype with the highest chances of including this new 1-drop.
On a side note, in Wild you'll be able to go turn 1 Bloodsail Deckhand into Patches the Pirate (if you're skilled enough to not draw it) into turn 2 Ancharrr into turn 3 Bloodsail Cultist. Wild Pirate Warrior does not crave additional strong opening units, but the more the merrier!
Warrior in Year of the Gryphon
With the rotation, Garrosh will probably be the class that will lose the most: Risky Skipper, Ancharrr and Bloodsworn Mercenary will all rotate, making so that all the currently top-tier Warrior decks will lack the mid-game survivability as well as the end-game potential that these cards granted, but that's not all! We'll also see lots of good cards like Bomb Wrangler, Wrenchcalibur (good riddance), Deathwing, Mad Aspect and EVIL Quartermaster becoming Wild exclusive.
While Warrior will lose a lot, there's no reason to despair as the Year of the Phoenix gave the class a lot of good Midrange and Control tools, so that Garrosh won't have to completely rely on the upcoming expansions. Here's a breakdown of what archetypes might await us in the Year of the Phoenix.
Aggro
Although Nitroboost Poison may receive balance changes before the next expansion due to Rogue shenanigans, Warrior has some solid aggressive class cards, which will be able to let you hit hard and fast.
Of course, the rotation is gonna hit pretty hard with the loss of Sky Raider, Skybarge, Upgrade! and the Neutrals Southsea Deckhand, Parachute Brigand, Southsea Captain and, of course, Ancharrr.
It appears that Aggro Warrior won't be that bad, but that you'd want to play many more things over it as things are now. However, the next expansion(s) may change things in a second.
Midrange
This is where Garrosh has the most alternatives. The class currently has good Rush support (E.T.C., God of Metal, Warsong Commander, Warsong Outrider and so on), good Enrage self-damage synergy (Bloodboil Brute, Bonechewer Raider), good Menagerie tools (Ringmaster's Baton, Ringmaster Whatley, Tent Trasher) as well as a niche Armor archetype (Spiked Wheel and Ironclad).
We definitely see Warrior showing at the top of the meta in the next few months due to the release of a view cornerstone piece that will be able to push some of these archetypes over the top due to consistency, resilience or both.
Control
Despite the rotation of many good tools, Control Warrior will still be a thing. The Year of the Phoenix gave Garrosh many good board clears (and Brawl and Shield Slam will remain in Standard thanks to the new core set) and comeback mechanics, so we don't see the class struggling if the meta will require something to keep aggro decks in check.
Rattlegore and C'Thun, the Shattered are probably the main reasons to go to the distance with Control Warrior, but we're curious to see if Team 5 will print more win conditions for Control decks, as they stated during Blizzcon one week ago. All in all, Garrosh seems to be in a good position under this point of view.
Combo
While the Silas Darkmoon OTK is still doable on paper, since both Soulbound Ashtongue and Shield Slam will still be in Standard, Warrior lacks that remarkable Armor gain engine that will be able to get your opponent "in range". Forged in the Barrens might bring some goodies under this aspect, but we don't know yet.
E.T.C. OTK depends on the new set too - while E.T.C., God of Metal and Animated Broomstick/Warsong Commander will still be in Standard, Bloodsworn Mercenary will rotate, thus leaving the combo with a way smaller reach. Faceless Manipulator is way too expensive and we don't have many token spawners right now, so this is a topic we'll have to discuss again in a month.
What do you think about Warrior coming in the Year of the Gryphon? Let us know in the comments below!
View More Out of Cards Core Set Reviews
We're putting together reviews for all the classes and their core set cards. Here's everything up so far!
Comments
I'm perfectly fine with ETC not being an OTK card.
I totally agree with you - since the first time I saw it I've always thought of it as a cool tempo/midrange card, not as an OTK one.
And Brawl continues to torment me for another year.
How come they buff Lightning Storm and remove Spell damage totem because "highrolling bad" but then they leave the most highrolly "if this goes my way I win and there's nothing you can do" spell in the game untouched?
When I saw the released list of warrior core cards I found myself surprised at two things; Shield Slam and Brawl were still part of core, and that Shield Block and Battle Rage didn't make it. It still baffles me that shield block was taken away. Is this really a problem card to begin with? Yes it has been played since forever, but what kind of design space is now freed up by its removal?
I'm a bit skeptical about combo warrior's chances in the next meta. Ancharrr is now gone, and so is Risky Skipper, and the loss of both of those cards also drastically reduces Armorsmith and Shield Slam's relevance. Draw is also harder to come by, with only Cutting Class remaining as the sole card card draw option along with Ringmaster Whatley, both of which are conditional draw effects, and thus may not be entirely suitable for a combo deck.
My guess is that some kind of midrange aggro warrior will come out, with Ringmaster Whatley as a centerpiece. Nitroboost Poison + weapons into Cutting Class is already a decent enough play, and with whatley you'll always be guaranteed to draw your choice of finisher in Alexstrasza the Life-Binder or Ysera the Dreamer. We might actually see Stranglethorn Tiger back in standard unironically. Wouldn't that be a sight?
A small note. Warsong Commander is likely not an aura effect like how Houndmaster Shaw used to be. Its description reads 'give', unlike shaw's 'have'. A minor thing for sure, but it does mean that you can't just vomit stuff on board then play this, it has to be played first before everything will get rush after. I agree that Animated Broomstick is basically the better sweeper here, but if team5 had the audacity of changing warsong commander to what it will be, I will take that as a signal that broomstick's time as a 1 drop may be over.
I don't think it has anything to do with design space in Shield Block's case. Some cards were just removed to help freshen things up a bit, and that can be achieved by removing any card that saw continuous play over the years, not just the most powerful ones.
Like many people I would have been quite happy to see Brawl go too, but that doesn't stop me looking forward to the class using alternatives to Shield Block for a while.
I said it before on another page, but you could ETC then Maiev your own ETC on turn 8, then use Warsong, Faceless, Broom (to give Warsong and first ETC Rush, as well as any other surviving minions going into the turn), another 1 drop (Elven Archer for an extra ping?), and 2x Tinyfin. But this presents a few problems.
1) No element of surprise! If you’re opponent knows what turn ETC awakens they could clear the board right before that, giving your rush minions nothing to attack.
2) Similarly, you may need to trade along the way to clear space on your board. So even if the opponent doesn’t clear the board, do they leave you enough stats to attack into for your big burst turn?
3) This combo is slow and requires you to hold on to a lot of cards. But only 2 are legendaries, so you could play some pieces as needed and just draw into the second copies later.
In summary, while possible to still do 30+ dmg of drum solos in a single turn based only on what we already know will be in Standard, it’s very slow, situational, and not likely. However, I could see ETC being less of an OTK and more of a big burst finisher in the range of 10 to 16 damage. Warsong just gives another way to give minions Rush to enable these turns.
ETC only costs 2 mana. What's the point of going through all that just to save 2 mana?
That 30 damage combo seems really iffy. With 2 ETC, you're doing 4 damage per minion. I don't think the math adds up to 30, since even with your combo, you only have 5 mana remaining, which means you're pushing only 7 minions with rush at best, which should add up to max of 28. Im no math expert, so Im fully open to having my math dissected here.
The 30 or more would be if you had any surviving minions going into the turn that broom gives rush to. That way you could have 8 or more minions attack. If 8 attack and all trigger two Solos (4 damage) then you get 32 dmg.
And yeah, I know the combo in general seems iffy or straight up bad. That’s why I summarized in saying he’ll likely be more of a burst finisher and not an OTK play. I wasn’t posting it to say it would be good, but rather to say it’s technically still possible. If we get something in the set that helps enable the play with cost reduction, or a cheaper copy, it becomes more playable but maybe still not great!
Personally the Warsong change makes me more excited for the Wild implications. Patron Warrior could return in some form and might be really fun.
Control Warrior look good. Main tools like Brawl, Shieldslam still in. So the aggro matchup still be good. About slow matchup, the main foe of Control Warrior are Control Priest and Controlock. Control Priest lose Galakrond and Thoughsteal which were 2 free win cards in CW matchup, if they wont get something similar this expansion , Control Warrior can actually fatigue them out.
Controlock is another story though, beside Tickakus now they even have the crazy buffed Jaraxxus. So in order to win Control Warrior need a strong finisher. Enrage Grom with +4 buff from Ysera and weapon can hit for +15 dmg, if Rattlegore also on board then it can be enough. But require a lot of card and Tickakus threat can come faster. We hope there will be more options for CW in control matchup in this expansion.