I'm not very excited to see another giant type minion but whatever. This is not as easy to discount as it seems. For Priest it takes multiple turns of healing and that only happens against aggro. An 8/8 that does nothing won't really help a lot in those games. Against Control this is simply too clunky to discount reliably. It's good for Galakrond though. Getting these from the Hero Power in long games can be game changing. Warlock can discount this more easily because their Hero Power always changes their health total but it's still probably too slow against aggro and not fast enough for Zoo. It's better than Jumbo Imp, at least.
Looks too expensive at first, and then you remember how many cheap spells mage has, and Sorcerer's Apprentice still existing, and then you question what the fuck Team 5 is smoking.
I think this card is great for Control archetypes in Warrior and Paladin. You'll be able to pretty consistently get 4-5 stat Taunts after using a removal spell like Brawl, Consecration, or Plague of Wrath, but I don't see a place for this outside of Control decks.
I don't know a ton about Miracle Mage outside of that I hate getting OTKed by it, so this card makes me sad. Mage has access to many cheap and cycling spells to act as fodder for building this up, and then finishing with a huge Frostbolt or Arcane Missiles, which I am not looking forward to.
The strength of this card comes from the huge number or Rush minions both classes have access to. Heroes being affected is a nice little addition, but the ability to clear and develop the board at the same time is what makes this nutty.
As someone who plays a lot of Thief Priest, I honestly don't see this card being too good. The requirement of a cheap spell and the inability to choose the minion leaves it outshined by Cabal Shadow Priest. I will gladly be proven wrong, but it doesn't seem that good compared to other options in the class.
Finally an actual Totem minion. It's been years since Totem Golem and it's surprising it took them this long to print another one. Oh, Nightmare Amalgam was also a totem. But it was printed without them considering further support for totems at the time. Whatever. This thing looks scary at first glance but for current Totem Shaman it could be too slow at 5 mana. Lightning Bloom might help offset that but the overload on both cards could be too crippling. It's also a deathrattle which leaves it open against silences, polymorphs and all that stuff. It's nice that they are starting to take the Totem tribe a little more seriously but i don't think this will be a big deal.
Outside of Far Sight getting a lucky draw on this card, it needs to have a way to lower the cost. Deathrattle minions have a great synergy with Priest and Warlock in this set, not so much with Shaman.
I can see it being utilized in Wild more solely because there are more totem options. Based solely on what I am seeing so far, this seems like it will find a home in a number of Tier 2-3 decks.
with what we know right now, I'm not sure this is good. I really want it to be because it's super cool but i'm skeptical.
it's a 5 mana 4/5 that doesn't impact the board. It has to die to summon the totems. it's vulnerable to single target removal and tempo tools like bounces, silences, transforms, freezes. it overloads you for two mana so it doesn't curve into bloodlust (in the event that they kill it and can't kill the totems),
you can play one of the zero mana totem buffs and splitting axe but like, idk thats a three card combo and two turn set up and all it does is make a bunch of 2/2s lol.
I guess it can be decent if totem shaman had the early game to be even with most decks, but right now it has to explode on the board around these turns, and this is actually just kind of slow. if totem shaman had the early game to be at parity, then maybe you could do more with the totems, we'll see.
The card's biggest weakness is that in a fast deck, this fills your board with 0-attack minions when it dies, even though they are bloodlust-able. That and this having an odd mana cost, locking it out of even shaman.
Windshear Stormcaller exists, but any kind of combo with it could almost certainly be improved by just playing al'akir instead.
This looks like good support for decks with high cost spells. Dimensional Ripper benefits a lot from it and the Big Warrior archetype is getting pushed a lot be the devs for this expansion. Is it going to work? If the meta slows down then it could become relevant but i highly doubt it. The deck is just too slow and greedy. Even with a lot of removal the deck struggles to survive against other decks. Big decks want to cheat out stuff early but current Big Warrior plays too fair when its big turn only happens at 10 mana. The card can also be used for on curve plays but it's going to feel underwhelming since a 4/4 or 5/5 taunt is nothing special. Libram Paladin probably won't gain a lot from it since it tends to discount its big spells a lot which will weaken the spellburst effect of the weapon. I think this is playable but i'm not really expecting it to do anything to improve the prospects of current Warrior and Paladin archetypes.
I think by the time you would play Totem Goliath the Thing from Below would already be at 2 or 0, or playing it might push it to 0. Tho drawing it later, yes, this card can discount it instantly. Pretty cool, but also very disgusting at the same time. Oh, how I hated Thing From Below in its prime.
I mean spawning 4 totems is not something to scoff at in Totem Shaman and the body for 5 mana is decent as well. I guess it will depend if the Overload price is too much in the end or not.
This looks like quite a strong totem. Might make totem shaman even better in standard, and you can hardly go wrong with running this. its deathrattle is always useful. It gives board presence for Bloodlust, it gives taunt against aggro, and it's a totem, meaning you can copy this with Totemic Reflection and Splitting Axe. This car is NUTS.
In wild though... THANK GOODNESS ITS NOT EVEN COSTED. Also i'm afraid of the turn 5 Totem Goliath into that one "if you control all 4 basic totems, summon Al'Akir the Windlord" card (looked it up, it's Windshear Stormcaller. Totem Goliath seems really strong, but if it's ever getting nerfed, they MUST nerf it by 2 mana, otherwise this will be even more broken in a even shaman deck. This card might actually give rise to ODD Totem Shaman in wild.
It might not be that slow for wild, because you get a Al'Akir the Windlord sometimes on 6... Also it is just single card that makes your Thing from Below pretty much free
Flesh Giant is a New Priest & Warlock Card Revealed for Hearthstone's Scholomance Academy Expansion
I'm not very excited to see another giant type minion but whatever. This is not as easy to discount as it seems. For Priest it takes multiple turns of healing and that only happens against aggro. An 8/8 that does nothing won't really help a lot in those games. Against Control this is simply too clunky to discount reliably. It's good for Galakrond though. Getting these from the Hero Power in long games can be game changing. Warlock can discount this more easily because their Hero Power always changes their health total but it's still probably too slow against aggro and not fast enough for Zoo. It's better than Jumbo Imp, at least.
New Mage Minion - Mozaki, Master Duelist
Looks too expensive at first, and then you remember how many cheap spells mage has, and Sorcerer's Apprentice still existing, and then you question what the fuck Team 5 is smoking.
New Shaman Minion - Totem Goliath
I like it, even though I don't play totem shaman it seems like solid support for that archetype.
New Paladin & Warrior Weapon - Ceremonial Maul
I think this card is great for Control archetypes in Warrior and Paladin. You'll be able to pretty consistently get 4-5 stat Taunts after using a removal spell like Brawl, Consecration, or Plague of Wrath, but I don't see a place for this outside of Control decks.
New Mage Minion - Mozaki, Master Duelist
I don't know a ton about Miracle Mage outside of that I hate getting OTKed by it, so this card makes me sad. Mage has access to many cheap and cycling spells to act as fodder for building this up, and then finishing with a huge Frostbolt or Arcane Missiles, which I am not looking forward to.
New Demon Hunter & Hunter Minion - Ace Hunter Kreen
The strength of this card comes from the huge number or Rush minions both classes have access to. Heroes being affected is a nice little addition, but the ability to clear and develop the board at the same time is what makes this nutty.
New Priest Minion - Cabal Acolyte
As someone who plays a lot of Thief Priest, I honestly don't see this card being too good. The requirement of a cheap spell and the inability to choose the minion leaves it outshined by Cabal Shadow Priest. I will gladly be proven wrong, but it doesn't seem that good compared to other options in the class.
Totem Goliath is a New Shaman Card Revealed for Hearthstone's Scholomance Academy Expansion
Finally an actual Totem minion. It's been years since Totem Golem and it's surprising it took them this long to print another one. Oh, Nightmare Amalgam was also a totem. But it was printed without them considering further support for totems at the time. Whatever. This thing looks scary at first glance but for current Totem Shaman it could be too slow at 5 mana. Lightning Bloom might help offset that but the overload on both cards could be too crippling. It's also a deathrattle which leaves it open against silences, polymorphs and all that stuff. It's nice that they are starting to take the Totem tribe a little more seriously but i don't think this will be a big deal.
Totem Goliath
Outside of Far Sight getting a lucky draw on this card, it needs to have a way to lower the cost. Deathrattle minions have a great synergy with Priest and Warlock in this set, not so much with Shaman.
I can see it being utilized in Wild more solely because there are more totem options. Based solely on what I am seeing so far, this seems like it will find a home in a number of Tier 2-3 decks.
New Shaman Minion - Totem Goliath
with what we know right now, I'm not sure this is good. I really want it to be because it's super cool but i'm skeptical.
it's a 5 mana 4/5 that doesn't impact the board. It has to die to summon the totems. it's vulnerable to single target removal and tempo tools like bounces, silences, transforms, freezes. it overloads you for two mana so it doesn't curve into bloodlust (in the event that they kill it and can't kill the totems),
you can play one of the zero mana totem buffs and splitting axe but like, idk thats a three card combo and two turn set up and all it does is make a bunch of 2/2s lol.
I guess it can be decent if totem shaman had the early game to be even with most decks, but right now it has to explode on the board around these turns, and this is actually just kind of slow. if totem shaman had the early game to be at parity, then maybe you could do more with the totems, we'll see.
New Shaman Minion - Totem Goliath
Will this be the support that totem shaman needs to realize a greater potential, at least in wild? Only time will tell, but I'm hopeful myself.
New Shaman Minion - Totem Goliath
The card's biggest weakness is that in a fast deck, this fills your board with 0-attack minions when it dies, even though they are bloodlust-able. That and this having an odd mana cost, locking it out of even shaman.
Windshear Stormcaller exists, but any kind of combo with it could almost certainly be improved by just playing al'akir instead.
The Collectible Tribute Cards of Hearthstone's World Champions
I support your world championship efforts! Don't forget about us when you're at the top :D
Totem Goliath is a New Shaman Card Revealed for Hearthstone's Scholomance Academy Expansion
You probably never played totem shaman...
Ceremonial Maul is a New Warrior & Paladin Weapon Revealed for Hearthstone's Scholomance Academy Expansion
This looks like good support for decks with high cost spells. Dimensional Ripper benefits a lot from it and the Big Warrior archetype is getting pushed a lot be the devs for this expansion. Is it going to work? If the meta slows down then it could become relevant but i highly doubt it. The deck is just too slow and greedy. Even with a lot of removal the deck struggles to survive against other decks. Big decks want to cheat out stuff early but current Big Warrior plays too fair when its big turn only happens at 10 mana. The card can also be used for on curve plays but it's going to feel underwhelming since a 4/4 or 5/5 taunt is nothing special. Libram Paladin probably won't gain a lot from it since it tends to discount its big spells a lot which will weaken the spellburst effect of the weapon. I think this is playable but i'm not really expecting it to do anything to improve the prospects of current Warrior and Paladin archetypes.
Totem Goliath is a New Shaman Card Revealed for Hearthstone's Scholomance Academy Expansion
I think by the time you would play Totem Goliath the Thing from Below would already be at 2 or 0, or playing it might push it to 0. Tho drawing it later, yes, this card can discount it instantly. Pretty cool, but also very disgusting at the same time. Oh, how I hated Thing From Below in its prime.
Mozaki, Master Duelist is a New Mage Legendary Revealed for Hearthstone's Scholomance Academy Expansion
This card is INSANE, knowing how many spells a Wild mage can cast in a turn.
New Priest & Warlock Minion - Disciplinarian Gandling
This with Boneweb Egg is 11/12 stats across 4 bodies on 6. Great way to swing back the board if it got cleared the turn before
Totem Goliath is a New Shaman Card Revealed for Hearthstone's Scholomance Academy Expansion
He is the master of all four elements! But then... the fire nation attacked
Totem Goliath is a New Shaman Card Revealed for Hearthstone's Scholomance Academy Expansion
Oh, true.
New Shaman Minion - Totem Goliath
I mean spawning 4 totems is not something to scoff at in Totem Shaman and the body for 5 mana is decent as well. I guess it will depend if the Overload price is too much in the end or not.
Totem Goliath is a New Shaman Card Revealed for Hearthstone's Scholomance Academy Expansion
without overload or less mana cost can be great card but with i don't think it good
Totem Goliath is a New Shaman Card Revealed for Hearthstone's Scholomance Academy Expansion
Only 6... because Goliath has to die first.
New Shaman Minion - Totem Goliath
This looks like quite a strong totem. Might make totem shaman even better in standard, and you can hardly go wrong with running this. its deathrattle is always useful. It gives board presence for Bloodlust, it gives taunt against aggro, and it's a totem, meaning you can copy this with Totemic Reflection and Splitting Axe. This car is NUTS.
In wild though... THANK GOODNESS ITS NOT EVEN COSTED. Also i'm afraid of the turn 5 Totem Goliath into that one "if you control all 4 basic totems, summon Al'Akir the Windlord" card (looked it up, it's Windshear Stormcaller. Totem Goliath seems really strong, but if it's ever getting nerfed, they MUST nerf it by 2 mana, otherwise this will be even more broken in a even shaman deck. This card might actually give rise to ODD Totem Shaman in wild.
Totem Goliath is a New Shaman Card Revealed for Hearthstone's Scholomance Academy Expansion
It might not be that slow for wild, because you get a Al'Akir the Windlord sometimes on 6... Also it is just single card that makes your Thing from Below pretty much free