Summer Speculations: Predicting Tourist Pairings in Hearthstone’s Perils in Paradise Expansion

Tourists are an exciting new mechanic in Perils in Paradise that allows you to put cards from another class into your deck. If that sounds scary, then you may be happy to know that it only applies to cards in the new set. If that still sounds scary, then it very well might still be, but we won't truly know what will happen until we know all the cards and the set is out.

Speaking of knowing all the cards, we can see the Tourist list Blizzard posted and make some predictions as to what synergies we might be getting. And then you guys can proceed to roast the shit out of me when it turns out that I got none of them right. But until then, let's see what we have and what we can infer.

It is also important to note that Tourists are not exactly like dual-class cards in terms of design. Some of the same design principles carry over, but some of them don't. Tourist can be specifically designed for their "home class", but their "Tourist class" (that pun was just right there) class be designed with the Tourist in mind. But anyway, let's go!

Paladin/Rogue

First on the list is Paladin-Rogue. This one's a bit different to talk about since we already know the Tourist. It's Sunsapper Lynessa.

But we can still look at the card to understand what we might be getting here. The synergy with cheap spells is obvious and Rogue thrives off of cheap spells. Rogue can definitely abuse the effect to hell and back and it works wonderfully with Sonya Waterdancer. Since most Rogue spells are pretty cheap anyway, the effect is right at home for Rogue.

Paladin however is not really known for its cheap spell synergy except for Secrets, which both aren't in Standard for Paladin anymore and also don't function with Lynessa because you can only control 1 copy of a Secret. As a matter of fact, most Paladin spells in Standard that cost 2 or less are not that powerful with this card. Judging by Lynessa and Buttons, perhaps the design for Tourists is to take a class effect that the Tourist class excels, but the main class isn't quite as good at so they can use the other class to help them out a bit.

Things might not seem that well for Lynessa right now, but there is one big saving grace. Rogue spells usually quite generalist in synergy design and are usually usable by anyone no matter who gets them. The only real exception to this are weapon buff spells, but otherwise, how easily playable most Rogue spells are will be a huge saver for this card. We've already seen Petty Theft which plays into Lynessa's effect really well. Whatever Rogue spells we get are surely going to help Lynessa out quite tremendously.

Though of course, this means that we're going to get some pretty strong spells for Paladin that cost 2 or less. We already have Volley Maul which gives you 1-Cost Sunscreens. There is also a less obvious synergy with Holy Glowsticks costing 1 less which can provide some heavy burst damage. You could even possibly widen your range of targets with Holy Cowboy.

Rogue/Warlock

Rogue/Warlock is our first pairing that we don't know anything about yet, and it's a pairing that doesn't have much in common on the surface, but there is some interesting potential here.

My first thought is maybe self-damage? Warlock is known for cards that damage themselves and used and Rogue tends to deal damage to themselves when they use their weapon for trading. Maybe some Warlock cards have self-damage built into them and then Rogue can use them to synergize with their weapons? Both classes can already supply this via their Hero Powers.

Something that both classes are generally quite known for is being able minion spam quite a lot. For both classes, this is accomplished through just throwing your hand onto the board, but Rogue can also accentuate this minion-spam strategy with bouncing. Perhaps the Warlock Tourist for Rogue could be something akin to Lynessa but for cheap minions instead of cheap spells?

The third possible avenue is one that would be all-new for Rogue: Shadow spell synergy. Rogue doesn't have a lot of Shadow spells in Standard but they've always gotten a few here and there and arguably their most iconic card of all is a Shadow spell. Warlock has a lot of Shadow spells and have had some synergy for them. Let's be real though, how badass would a Shadow Rogue archetype be?

Warlock/Death Knight

Warlock's other Tourist pairing for the set is with Arthas, and I think the class connections are more obvious here than they are with Rogue. Both classes really like death, so let's give them some death!

Death Knight and Warlock are both classes that are naturally sacrificial by nature, so perhaps Warlock might receive a Tourist that encourages the use of token spamming and then sending them all to kamikaze themselves. Warlock-Death Knight is a combo that's similarly as spammy with minions as Warlock is with Rogue (though often in different ways), so if Warlock doesn't get minion spam to use with Rogue, it could still get it to use it with Death Knight.

But that's not the only parallel that the two combos draw. Just like it is with Rogue, Warlock also shares an affinity with Shadow spells for Death Knight as well. Just like with Rogue, Shadow spell synergy would be a new thing for Death Knight as well.

Death Knight having Shadow spell synergy would end up playing well with Buttons, but at the same time, it does mean that the bulk of their set would be either Blood or Unholy, and yet the only Runed card we know for them is Frost. Since Death Knight also has some weapons and plays with life, it too is a viable combo to use for some type of self-damage synergy.

Death Knight/Shaman

Death Knight and Shaman is the second of two pairings that we already know the Tourist for. Shaman has already received some spell-menagerie effects before, so the effect fits pretty well for them. It's a bit of a weird one for Death Knight though since the only two spell schools they use are either Frost or Shadow which are also locked behind Rune types.

It appears that the Rainbow Deck for Death Knight from Whizbang may have alluded to the possibility of DK getting access to new spell schools. Not necessarily just for the Shaman cards (though that does help a lot), but perhaps in their own set of cards as well. Combine this with the fact that Shaman got four spell schools in Whizbang's Workshop means it seems that this route was set up ahead of time. Given that Shaman already has Cabaret Headliner in this set, we're bound to get more though that card is also just good for Shaman by itself.

Since I mentioned spell-menagerie, I do once again have to mention Shadow spells since Death Knight has a lot of those and Shaman has been getting more of those in recent sets. Shaman only has one in Standard right now, but I feel like we're likely to get at least one more in this set.

My favorite connection for the two classes though is profeciency in Frost spells. A couple of months ago, I was part of a card designing event with some friends and for a little bit, teams merged with each other to make dual-class sets and the Shaman team ended up merged with the Death Knight team and we pretty much instantly went with Frost spells. Frost hasn't been getting as much love as either Blood or Unholy in recent sets, so I think it's time to shine the spotlight on them again.

Shaman/Demon Hunter

Shaman and Demon Hunter is a strange pairing that is difficult to navigate because the two classes have very few elements that they share with each other, although the upside to this is that we may finally see Demon Hunter break some new ground in this set. 4 years into the game and Demon Hunter still feels like the most one-dimensional class in the game to me, so any opportunity to give them support that isn't just drawing cards and bashing with your face is greatly appreciated to me.

But how do the two classes interact? Well, for the fourth time in a row, we have Shadow spells. This doesn't feel that likely to me since Buttons seems to suggest that Shaman would be getting a multitude of spell schools, but the possibility for Shaman to get a Shadow spell is definitely there. Demon Hunter haven't had any spell school synergy except for Jace Darkweaver, so it may be cool to see how Blizzard would expand upon that for Shadow spells. Sadly I don't see this happening for the fact that Demon Hunter currently has 0 Shadow spells in Standard, so why would they try to support that archetype now?

One other possible avenue for the pairing is Naga synergy. Both classes were Naga users back in Voyage to the Sunken City, and although Demon Hunter is the only class to receive any Naga synergy past then, Shaman does already have Cabaret Headliner and this set in general feels like a good place for Nagas to be. Nagas also really like spells which we already know Shaman will be supporting. Coral Keeper even feels like a card that slot in perfectly if it was made for this set. Blindeye Sharpshooter did also make some waves when Showdown in the Badlands was still new.

On the topic of minion types associated with water... Do you remember those random DH Murlocs that never got supported? I know that all of you groan at the idea of a Murloc Demon Hunter, but Demon Hunter likes to play aggressive a lot of the time, so I can't say that Murlocs don't exactly fit the class's gameplan. Shaman has had ocassional Murloc support for most of the game's lifespan now. A bit of DH's aggressive style seems to fit really well with a Murloc Shaman, and given the Murlocs Shaman currently has in Standard, we might get some support for it here.

Demon Hunter/Priest

Just like with Shaman, Demon Hunter doesn't have much in common with Priest which makes this a very weird pairing to tackle. At the same time though, it's also a fun one that opens up some cool possibilities.

The first thing that comes to my mind is... once again... Shadow spells. A Shadow archetype is definitely more associated with Priest than it is with Shaman, so the chance feels a lot better here. Demon Hunter's Priest Tourist could perhaps be a take on Shadow synergy for Demon Hunter. I think that'd be pretty fun to do, and would give the class a new archetype that still feels like it belongs in the class. Though as I said when talking about Shaman, Demon Hunter currently has no Shadow spells in Standard, so it feels weird to try that archetype now as much as I would still love for them to do it. If not Shadow, then maybe go the opposite way and make some sort of Renounce Darkness-esque aesthetic for Demon Hunter.

My other main thought is healing. Demon Hunter doesn't have any conventional healing except through Soul Fragments (which many people argue doesn't count since it was dual-class with Warlock), but it does have a healthy amount of Lifesteal. Lifesteal was such an important part of Demon Hunter at one point that the class literally had a card that converted Lifesteal's healing into damage to the enemy. Demon Hunter's affinity for Lifesteal and Priest's overall profeciency with healing might make for a fun and unique Demon Hunter deck.

Just like Shaman, Demon Hunter also shares its Naga synergy with Priest. Priest is a natural spellcaster at heart, and given the expansion theme, it's entirely sensible to relive Naga synergy for the classes that received them. Given that Demon Hunter is borrowing from Priest, perhaps Demon Hunter is provides the Naga portion and then Priest provides the spells?

Priest/Hunter

This pairing.

Out of every possible dual-class pairing in the game, this is the least conventional one that could possibly be chosen. Hunter has been a prime Aggro class for most of its life, and Priest has been a prime Control class. Could these two classes possibly be more at odds with each other?

What do these classes do together? The answer is... pretty close to nothing. They can both play aggressively if Priest goes for Shadow synergy in this set (see what I wrote about Priest's pairing with Demon Hunter). This feels like a pretty lame setup though. If the Shadow idea were expanded into Shadowform, ala Darkbishop Benedictus, then perhaps their pairing could be within Hero Powers?

Like with Demon Hunter, Priest and Hunter is another pairing that shares Nagas in Common. Nagas and spells go together like peanut butter and jelly, so if either of the hunters did pair up for spell synergy, there could be some interesting class-triangle dynamic of providing spells and Nagas.

Then again, given how unconventional this pair is, it would be as fitting if the pair had an equally unconventional theme. I don't think anyone would've been able to guess Paladin and Rogue's connection being cheap spells.

Hunter/Warrior

Hunter and Warrior is a pair that I'm surprised we haven't seen much of outside of both classes being part of the Grimy Goons all the way back in Mean Streets of Gadgetzan. The pairing is one that I used back in my last custom expansion and it's a fun one to use.

The first thing I'll bring up is Rush minions. Hunter and Warrior both like to play aggressive (only sometimes in the case of Warrior, but it's still very much there), and Rush minions are an aggressive way of controlling the board that both classes have gotten synergy for and have quite a lot of. Some sort of Rush Hunter that borrows from Warrior for synergy would be really cool. Hunter had some Rush synergy back in Descent of Dragons and it'd be cool to see that come back. In the case of Absorbent Parasite, both classes have been known to be Mech classes sometimes, but that doesn't really fit the theme of the set.

Harkening back to their Gadgetzan days, both classes are also handbuffers. Perhaps Hunter could be about handbuffing in the set and then borrowing from Warrior to give it even more handbuffing? It's a perfect match!

Then again, perhaps the best route for the pairing is not necessarily an archetype, but just extending Hunter's ability to play slower. Warrior has exceled at long games forever and a touch of it in Hunter could give it a more grindy edge.

Warrior/Druid

This pair should be an obvious one. Warrior and Druid are the original two Armor classes and they are both the only classes in the game with Armor synergy even to this day. Warrior being able to gain Armor and then use some Druid to gain even more Armor sounds like it fits right at home. Given that we already have Hiking Trail, it seems quite likely for there to be some amount of Armor support. Remember that Frost Lotus Seedling's flavor text also blooms in this expansion!

But perhaps that's a little bit too obvious. Both classes also love to swing with their face, Warrior with weapons, and Druid with Attack gaining. Warrior and Druid could perhaps combine these two together. Warrior does have some ways of attacking with their hero without a weapon, and that could maybe be used with a Druid card that likes to do that of some sort. Maybe what you do is give Warrior some strong weapons and then combine that with Druid's hero attacking to make the weapons even stronger. Sounds brutal! In a good way.

Additionally, they're the two classes in the game that have dabbled the most in Taunt synergy. Warrior or both classes could have some Taunt minions and the ability to sprinkle in some Druid Taunt synergy if they get it. Hiking Trail once again seems to suggest that Taunt minions may be on the horizon for Druid, and we did also get synergy for Warrior just in the last set. For that matter, Druid got quite a fair amount of Taunt minions there too.

Druid/Mage

Druid and Mage one of my favorite pairings in this set. It might seem like a weird pairing at first, but it has one component that I think all of us have wanted to see...

Arcane Druid! Druid spell synergy has always been Nature, but with Mage as a Tourist class for Druid, perhaps its time that we finally get some Arcane synergy for Druid. Both classes could get some Arcane spells and then Druid could combine the Arcane spells from both classes together. What better time to do this then now when you don't even need to be careful about the design numbers since you have two classes of cards to use. Druid got two Arcane spells in the previous set (Bottomless Toy Chest and Sparkling Phial). Why not continue that?

Beyond that, if not Arcane spells, then perhaps simply just spell synergy in general. Druid has always been a class that's proficient at playing a lot of spells, and we did just see Spell Damage synergy for the class back in the previous set. Mage loves casting spells to combine that with some Druid Spell Damage and you might get yourself a winning combo.

Both classes also have access to Armor. I mentioned in the Warrior pairing that this might be too obvious for Warrior, but it wouldn't be too obvious for Mage. Mage has always had some amount of access to Armor, but it never synergizes with it because it's not supposed to be good at using life gain. Is it time that we experiment a little bit with Armor Mage? Given how we got Sleet Skater in the last set, it very well could happen that Team 5 was prepared for supporting Armor in Mage some more.

Mage/Paladin

Our final pairing comes full circle as we look at Paladin again with Mage. Mage and Paladin don't have that much in common, so we will need to dig deeper. The only obvious connection that both classes have is Secrets, but I don't believe we'll see any Secrets for Paladin in the set. Though given that Paladin is getting some spell synergy in the set (see Lynessa), Mage will definitely have a way to use Paladin's cheap spells in this set.

A less obvious connection that the two classes have is that they both love to use their Hero Power. Mage's synergy cards are more direct synergy that spell out that they use the Hero Power whereas Paladin's Hero Power synergy is much more generalized and applicable elsewhere, but that doesn't mean Paladin couldn't also spell it out in their effects. Mage loves dealing damage, Paladin loves Silver Hand Recruits. What's not to like about some Hero Power stuff? Admittedly, there's not that much for either of them in Standard right now, but they're so easy to support because the Hero Power is always readily available.

One other possible idea is a stretch but it's something to think about. So far we've seen Marin and Lynessa come back, both of whom were from Kobolds and Catacombs. Does Dragoncaller Alanna possibly come back for some Dragon Paladin stuff? Some other Legendary minions from the set might come back as well. Imagine if they decided that Temporus was going to chill out here too.

These are, of course, just based generally on what both classes have in common. Given that both Lynessa and Buttons use some less obvious plots of shared ground that people wouldn't normally guess, it seems logical to think that at least a few of the remaining Tourists will be the same way. What do you think we'll be getting for each remaining Tourist? Let us know in the comments below.