Scholomance Academy Arena Impact - Neutral Cards

Keymaster Alabaster by AbusingKel

Great stats and an ability that triggers before your opponent can do anything about it. Love it. Getting something really strong discounted to 1 mana can be absolutely game changing. His high health stats makes him tough to remove cleanly and that ability will definitely help you run away with games if he stays on board more than 1 turn.

Keymaster Alabaster by Boozor

Solid stats and a value/tempo oriented ability - guarantees a draw. 

Keymaster Alabaster by sinti

Very strong card that guarantees at least one proc, which is already amazing. Stats are pretty high and chances are it can survive a turn unless opponent uses a hard removal. Definitely one of the better legendaries.

Vectus by AbusingKel

The spread of minions for the cost is good (think Silver Hand Knight) and it becomes very strong if you've had any deathrattle that the whelps can copy. Again we see a legendary that is draft dependent so selecting it early isn't advisable, while only drafting him late if you have support.

Vectus by Boozor

Even without the deathrattle ability, the stats are decent enough to play. With the bonus effects, this is a solid value play. 

Vectus by sinti

6/6 stats for 5 mana is already nice. If you happen to get the deathrattles, then this card becomes pretty strong.

Headmaster Kel'Thuzad by AbusingKel

Definitely a powerful card but I'm hesitant to give it a score of 5 because it requires some very specific conditions. You need a spell that will kill opponents minions and fits in the same turn, or crazy good board position to keep him until the next turn. But with good board position, you don't need to use him. The other big factor is his legendary status. When he shows up there may be much better options. Still, I'll take him every time because he's Kel'Thu-freaking-zad!

Headmaster Kel'Thuzad by Boozor

Stats are fine and the ability is a rather interesting one. Will be better in certain classes with AOE or cheap removal cards. 

Headmaster Kel'Thuzad by sinti

It has good stats for the cost and very powerful ability, so the card is great overall. Tho i wouldnt expect the ability to trigger very often. It could even "spell-lock" you to not waste it, if there was no target or no way for you to utilize this and you needed to use a spell that will not destroy a minion. Nevertheless, strong card.

Lorekeeper Polkelt by AbusingKel

This is a great play in the late stages of the game but could hurt on curve, negating his solid, yeti stats. Definitely a big impact when you can time him right, though.

Lorekeeper Polkelt by Boozor

Worse then a Yeti on turn 4, but better in the mid-late game. As long as you have cards in your hand that are not reliant on your top decks, playing this earlier then expected might not be so terrible and provides you consistent draw knowledge and late game power. Interesting Arena card. 

Lorekeeper Polkelt by sinti

Shoekeeper Polkelt is an interesting one, probably going to perform very well, since most decks don't draft top heavy curves to have something to play early, but Polkelt can help you fish for your heavy hitters right away. And you don't need to have many of them, but top-decking your best cards after T4 or later sounds like a great deal.

Sphere of Sapience by AbusingKel

This is an incredible ability that could easily be a game changer, especially if you get it out early. 5 star card for classes without weapons, for sure. Weapon classes will find it a bit less obvious since it can get in the way of better weapons. 

Sphere of Sapience by Boozor

The ability is strong. I'm considering it something close to tracking but maybe worse. It's a slow game manipulating effect that will take couple turns to realize it's true value. In Arena, this card probably won't be insane.  

Sphere of Sapience by sinti

This is a very interesting card to me, I never played MTG, so I don't know how powerful will this effect going to end up being, but Scry is apparently a very strong and popular mechanic, so this will probably be very good.

Going off just the card text, it does look like a good deal to be able to potentially get rid of 4 bad cards you don't want and will probably never see them again, you rarely go to fatigue, and just draw something better. It does cost you a card to do this, might be worth it, might not, it will depend on the draft/class. Weapon classes in particular might be hesitant to draft this, and especially Rogue, since it would lock them out of using weapons, and if you wouldn't get full use of this, then you lose value.

It is a Legendary after all, so we won't see it that often, but it is definitely one to look out for and it will be interesting to test the power-level of this thing.

Enchanted Cauldron by AbusingKel

Yogg be praised! That's some serious dice rolling fun. 

Enchanted Cauldron by Boozor

Might take a shot on this over a generic 2 drop. It's variance is high - but might be needed in some decks to steal a win.  

Enchanted Cauldron by sinti

It is not the worst card ever, but its not great. It will depend on the draft, if you can use this to some decent extent and/or utilize its statline. But i suspect most ppl will just avoid this, for good reason. Then again, 6 Health means it might survive a turn and then you can have a nice follow-up, but ...

Educated Elekk by AbusingKel

I always love these unique cards. Obviously a huge upside, especially in classes with the better spells. As a 3/4 for 3 it is good on its own. If you can get a few spells into it and get them back to your hand, there's a good chance you walk away with the game. 

Educated Elekk by Boozor

Stats are fine - not sure about I'm too interested in the deathrattle - but should be a positive.  

Educated Elekk by sinti

This card is going to be amazing, but you will most likely want to dodge it remembering The Coin :) Whatever spells you or your opponent drafted, they are going to be good. But some randomly generated crap could backfire a bit. Still, this card is a great tempo play and it will probably not survive long enough to accumulate that many spells, so even getting one or two good ones will be great.

Transfer Student by AbusingKel

I had to revisit this card after realizing I underrated the abilities. It's got lots of good outcomes, making it a top 2 drop for arena. 

Transfer Student by Boozor

All the abilities are great to insane. It's randomness hurts it a bit, but still a top quality small minion.  

Transfer Student by sinti

Pretty amazing card for Arena format. There really isn't a bad outcome for this card. Yes, some are less great than others, but none are bad, given its cost.

You can find all the possible effects listed here.

Voracious Reader by AbusingKel

Neutral card draw, and this one is really excellent since it targets only you. Let me get that, indeed. Dropping this as the last card in your hand will feel awesome.

Voracious Reader by Boozor

Might be the sleeper best neutral in set - this card can be applied to aggressive decks that need the refill - the meta might be heavy enough where it's effect is not necessary but for 2 mana it's a small investment for a fail safe. 

Voracious Reader by sinti

This card is actually insane. Like completely crazy. Remember Jeeves? How about only you drew the cards? Yup.

Robes of Protection by AbusingKel

Preventing your opponent from targeting minions is decent but not likely to be a game changer. This has okay stats, nothing you're making a priority in drafts. 

Robes of Protection by Boozor

Very nice card that requires a board to protect. Hugely annoying against certain classes that rely on removal. Nice supporting card.  

Robes of Protection by sinti

Pretty strong ability, but be careful not to screw yourself with that as well.

Cult Neophyte by AbusingKel

It's a solid 2 drop with a nice ability but spells are not as plentiful in arena. I expect this to be only minimally disruptive. 

Cult Neophyte by Boozor

Baby Loatheb? Its good if you play it early against the opponent with the coinn. Otherwise generic card.  

Cult Neophyte by sinti

Pretty decent 2-drop. Good vanilla stats with an upside, what's not to like? In Arena, its ability will probably matter more than in constructed, especially in key turns and/or when you want to protect your board from a certain (combination) of spells. Also, this basically negates The Coin for your opponent in next turn, so they will not be able to tempo out early if they would want to, a small thing, but could be very significant.

Plagued Protodrake by AbusingKel

A good top end card that can work as a finisher. The dragon tag gives a value boost as a trigger for the in-hand mechanic.

Plagued Protodrake by Boozor

The big neutral minion of the set - good as a finisher and late game value card. 

Plagued Protodrake by sinti

Incredibly strong card. Might be awkward to just drop an 8/8 on the board, but i think it will quickly become a card that will just win games on the spot. If you are ahead, how the hell is your opponent supposed to deal with this, together with rest of your stuff. And if you are behind, you get a lots of stats to fight with, granted you cant be so far ur dead next turn.

Might be brutally painful to play vs Mage/Shaman with Devolving Missiles, but those classes already had Polymorph and Hex, so yeah.

Sorcerous Substitute by AbusingKel

High upside if your draft has the spell damage support required. 6/6 for 6 is mediocre, if not. The new expansion bonus in arena should make this a bit better than the 3 star score.

Sorcerous Substitute by Boozor

Will feel bad to lose to this on turn 6. The card has potential and there are some classes with much higher ability to play this on turn 6, so be aware of those spell damage minions on the board. 

Sorcerous Substitute by sinti

Decent card on its own, can be amazing in classes like Mage or Shaman.

Smug Senior by AbusingKel

Big value in the two minions since they both have taunt. A bit pricey for the stats on curve but a good card.

Smug Senior by Boozor

Possibly the best neutral in the set - great power stats for it's cost, while giving additional value upon it dying. 14 HP worth of taunts is nothing to sneeze at.  

Smug Senior by sinti

Decent taunt that gives you yet another decent taunt. Pretty good card overall.

Onyx Magescribe by AbusingKel

As a common neutral, I expect we'll see an awful lot of this card in the arena. It has good stats for the cost and the high health might even allow it to remain on board if you're forced to play it on-curve. The dragon tag will help it trigger the in-hand synergy and make the classes that can take advantage of that even stronger. Obviously, there's the hand of RNGesus to contend with, so YMMV. 

Onyx Magescribe by Boozor

Stats are durable, although not the best against 5 and 6 drops. This gives it a chance to pull off the spell burst. Will be better in certain classes compared to others.  

Onyx Magescribe by sinti

Super strong card, pretty good stats for 6 Mana, vanilla in-fact, Dragon tag and a powerful ability that should be quite easy to activate. The stat distribution also helps to active Spellburst in a sense that with more Health, the minion is likely to survive until your next turn where you can cast the spell.

Steward of Scrolls by AbusingKel

A trigger for the spell damage synergy of the set with an elemental tag, which doesn't really do anything with this set. Still, discovering a spell is well worth the stat loss of a 4/4 for 5.

Steward of Scrolls by Boozor

Great card for spell centric meta. Better in spell classes like Mage/Priest. Comparable to [Hearthstone Card (Big' ol Whelp) Not Found] .

Steward of Scrolls by sinti

The King is dead, long live The King!

Ogremancer by AbusingKel

Solid stats in classes that aren't aggressive but relying on your opponent to trigger it makes it significantly weaker that it would be if you could trigger it. 

Ogremancer by Boozor

Annoying card to deal with especially in a spell heavy meta. Small taunts can wall off larger minions as well. 

Ogremancer by sinti

It is no [Hearthstone Card (troggzor the earthinator,) Not Found] but it is a good minion in its own right. Can make your opponent misplay or play awkwardly, trying to avoid generating the taunts. Stats alone are passable as a 5-drop, and the ability is definitely an upside.

Lake Thresher by AbusingKel

Immediate soft-taunt minion that your opponent must kill. Good stats for the cost so it won't be easy to remove. The beast tag can help with synergy. 

Lake Thresher by Boozor

Cave Hydra reborn as this minion - it's scary. The card will control the board if not dealt with. 

Lake Thresher by sinti

Great 5-drop with excellent ability.

Wretched Tutor by AbusingKel

Another strong Spellburst card. I like it, but the fact that it will hit friendly minions makes it a bit more difficult to throw down. Again we see a high health total for the cost, which makes it possible to play on-curve and have a chance it sticks. 

Wretched Tutor by Boozor

Weak body so you need the ability to go off to get value. Double sided makes it a bit weaker as well. Overall meh, but it's neutral AOE so it'll find use.  

Wretched Tutor by sinti

Neutral AOE is always worth considering, this one is not that bad either. If you can activate the Spellburst, it is technically a Chillwind Yeti which can add some AOE dmg. The fact that you need to activate it tho can become a nuisance and playing this on curve might not even be possible, I suppose if you draft enough (small) spells, this card goes from average to very good.

Fishy Flyer by AbusingKel

Rush is a great mechanic and the stats will let this act as removal and kick a second copy into your hand to do it again next turn, if necessary.

Fishy Flyer by Boozor

One of the best neutrals in the set - flexible value removal with a tribe. It's great. 

Fishy Flyer by sinti

Rush cards are always nice to have and one that generates another copy even more so.

Divine Rager by AbusingKel

Pretty good, really. 1 more mana for +2 attack compared to Scarlet Crusader and she's still a boss in arena. 

Divine Rager by Boozor

Nice minion similar to Cursed Disciple will need a couple pings to deal with this.  

Divine Rager by sinti

It is going to play as Cursed Disciple a lot of times and that was a pretty decent card.

Crimson Hothead by AbusingKel

Definitely some nice versatility here. Play it without the buff and trigger the taunt when you need it? The stats are good enough to try sneaking in into your next turn. Dragon tag for synergy there improves the value, too. Low cost spells are a must for the spellburst mechanic so be sure to draft accordingly.

Crimson Hothead by Boozor

6 health is relevant in this meta, as well as the dragon tag. The spellburst is a bit on the weaker side, but it's a solid simple minion.  

Crimson Hothead by sinti

Pretty great stats for a 4-drop that were previously reserved for class minions only (with one exception - Kobold Monk). This might be another push for a new base statline, the same way 3/4 for 3 mana eventually became a new norm. The Spellburst ability makes the card even better.

Wandmaker by AbusingKel

A good 2 drop with a kick back. Some classes will have much better results with this, so pay attention to the available options for your class when drafting. 

Wandmaker by Boozor

Worse Cobalt Spellkin here, it's a small cheap card that gives a small cheap card. However, getting a Dragon's Hoard or Renew for example, from this will make it all the worth while. Will be better in some classes.  

Wandmaker by sinti

Good enough stats to be playable and gives you a cheap spell, in a set where Spellburst is introduced, that sounds even better. It will probably be handy to keep something like our card database (shameless, i know, xaxa) open and just switch the class depending on if you are looking for spells of your class, or your opponent's.

Sneaky Delinquent by AbusingKel

I like these ghost cards. Powerful ability and then a kick back of an extra copy. We'll see a ton of them starting next week. 

Sneaky Delinquent by Boozor

Twisted Worgen but better. Nice value for a 2 drop.  

Sneaky Delinquent by sinti

Twisted Worgen was a decent 2-drop, this gives you another copy. Good!

Manafeeder Panthara by AbusingKel

Scoring this should really be done class by class. Those that really don't want to use the HP any more than necessary will be less excited to use this early as a vanilla 2/3. Either way, the chance to draw means you're off curve which isn't ideal in arena. Still, it's neutral card draw with a body so it's good.

Manafeeder Panthara by Boozor

Poor River Crocolisk - this card is a nice 2 drop that allows for a cycle in the late game easily. Better in DH. 

Manafeeder Panthara by sinti

You are going to be using your Hero Power, so this is great! Tho do play it on T2 for tempo, if you have no other play, dont hoard it to get the extra card!

Tour Guide by AbusingKel

Biggest impact will be in rogue, I think. Shaman & Paladin will be happy for the free minion. Hunter loves the opportunity for a free HP to go face. Okay in most other decks for the free play but you're won't be excited if you have to draft this.

Tour Guide by Boozor

Huge variance with this card depending on class. It's best in Rogue, worse in classes with hero powers that don't build tempo. 

Tour Guide by sinti

This would be a cool card, if it didnt cost you a card :) It might become more popular if Scholomance ever gets matched with The Grand Tournament in Arena.

Pen Flinger by AbusingKel

A unique use of spellburst that should be quite effective. Re-usable ping is definitely a good resource for arena. There's certainly some draft dependence with this so I'd avoid it early in drafts if the set of 3 is pretty close.

Pen Flinger by Boozor

Improved Elven Archer with a small upside. 

Pen Flinger by sinti

Arguably a power-creep on Elven Archer, the Spellburst might be a downside in some fringe situations, but more often than not it will actually be amazing. Having an access to a ping repeatedly, especially in non-ping classes, can be a huge help. You do need to play spells to keep bouncing it and you might not have Mana to do so in a turn you need to play this, but still, this card looks innocent, but I think it will perform exceptionally.

Intrepid Initiate by AbusingKel

It's a balanced version of the pre-nerf Small-Time Buccaneer. Definitely good when you have the spells to support it. Favors classes with cheap spells and minion buffs (new best friend to Apotheosis) and rogue (now mage, too?) as a combo trigger. Easy 1 drop to fish out any removal just on the threat of becoming a 3/2.

Intrepid Initiate by Boozor

Fair card with some upside with the coin. Otherwise a plain 1 drop.  

Intrepid Initiate by sinti

Decent 1-drop which can basically become a 2-drop. Nothing too exciting, but very draftable.

Animated Broomstick by AbusingKel

This strikes me as a card that will be pretty effective. We've seen that granting a minion rush (Augmerchant, Lackey, etc.) can be quite powerful. 

Animated Broomstick by Boozor

Very strong ability for 1 mana. It's also a 1 mana ping it self which is useful. Insane utility for 1 mana.

Animated Broomstick by sinti

A ping, that will also give Rush to your other minions. Very strong card. Chances are, you won't buff more than one minion in a turn where you play this (unless you spawn tokens from Deathrattles etc.), but that is often enough. Goblin Lackey is always amazing to get, so basically drafting it outright seems pretty good. Tho in the end, it is still just a 1/1 which requires another card to get the intended value, so if you lack card draw in your draft, consider getting just one or two of these.

Desk Imp by AbusingKel

Here's the thing about this Imp: his artwork is awesome but you shouldn't draft him.

Desk Imp by Boozor

Wisp! 

Desk Imp by sinti

Just dont :D