The strength of this card is going to largely depend on Karma. If Karma continues to dominate control archetypes and Riot doesn't change any of her interactions, Malokai is going to be DOA: control players are just going to wait until after the deck obliteration, then drop an L2 Karma and Karma's Insight of Ages multiple Karmas back into their deck. Or, you know, just beat the Malokai player before they level, because: Karma. So as long as Karma is the dominate control champion and that interaction remains, Malokai is going to be too niche to bother with. I'll hedge in my rating, though, because I can't believe Riot would allow a new champion to be so entirely shutdown by a core card--I predict there will be either change that interaction (or possibly buff Malokai's effect so it also prevents any future card shuffles), or Karma is just going to get otherwise nerfed such that she's not as appealing.
A new Champion Shadow Isles Unit, Maokai, has been revealed!
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The strength of this card is going to largely depend on Karma. If Karma continues to dominate control archetypes and Riot doesn't change any of her interactions, Malokai is going to be DOA: control players are just going to wait until after the deck obliteration, then drop an L2 Karma and Karma's Insight of Ages multiple Karmas back into their deck. Or, you know, just beat the Malokai player before they level, because: Karma. So as long as Karma is the dominate control champion and that interaction remains, Malokai is going to be too niche to bother with. I'll hedge in my rating, though, because I can't believe Riot would allow a new champion to be so entirely shutdown by a core card--I predict there will be either change that interaction (or possibly buff Malokai's effect so it also prevents any future card shuffles), or Karma is just going to get otherwise nerfed such that she's not as appealing.