I love dragons. But this one is just not good enough. Because it'll never stick, and even if it does it's not really doing much to win you the game. You can't even guarantee the heal with this.
Its basically 8 mana Consecration. Even if you cheat it out with Vanndar, its still 5 mana consecration. There's simply better cards you'd much rather have in your hand honestly.
The only niche this thing has is that it draws you a spell. Literally nothing else it does is even remotely going to replace the many clear options in warlock.
It does tutor cards, so you can make your Deck of Chaos deck a little more consistent. Unfortunately, once you do get that card in hand, this card automatically becomes one of the worse cards in your deck/hand.
Every class has a bad card, and this one is unfortunately it for warlock Im afraid.
To me, this is trash. To be honest. Unless you can cheat this out, this is just bad,
If Im not mistaken this is technically a spell, so you can cheat it out. But even if you can, this casts spells at random, and I would assume it'll also consume the card in your deck as well. So, what exactly are we expecting out of this card? Puzzlebox would be insane, but the new Rune of the Archmage isn't that, so you're not really building much of a board. In fact, there are some cases where this will backfire spectacularly, since mass poly and other target spells will sometimes target your own minions, or indeed, your face.
Maybe I'll find myself eating my own words later, but we'll never know. Without testing, for now, this is just not very good to me.
I'd like to like it. But honestly, its just an expensive way to clear up big minions. Reminds me alot of Plague of Murlocs: all the potential in the world, but then we discover that in fact even sheep can still do damage, so what you've done is essentially reduce damage rather than dealing with it.
Not to say that this isn't good, mind you. Mage will take any spell that unconditionally clears big boards, even if they have to take some damage in return. I just think for its price, it might just turn out to be too expensive to consider 2x copies of in a deck.
Yet more casino cards for mage. Because obviously this is what we need after the total pr disaster that was quest mage.
But this is a good card, even if I don't care much for it. Basically this will nearly always either clear the board or freeze it, and since its directed at enemies, its sometimes going to do face damage as well.
At very least its does cost mana, so we're not facing the bs from The Amazing Reno again. An overall solid card for big spell mage, that only occasionally causes someone to tear his eyebrows out in frustration, as mage either play this or they discover this out of thin air.
I do hope we dont have anymore of that puzzlebox into puzzlebox bs. But Im not putting it past team5 to 'accidentally' leave this a possibility.
It'll be a big girl and you'll draw two spells, which allows you to curve out of this later.
Is there really a doubt if theres a big spell deck, this will be in it? The only downside is that you can't play small spells, which Im counting as a plus, because I dont really want to ever see quest mage ever again.
A good start. But more is needed if big spell mage is to make center stage.
Its not looking too good for this card. The first problem is that its basically only a fit into big spell decks, because if you are even for a second thinking you can get away with playing an 8 mana card without clearing the board or healing up, then you're in for a massive heap of disappointment. And the second problem with its hp. Doing a standard 1 damage, at turn 9? That's basically asking to die.
There's also problems with the battlecry. This card allows you to replay certain cards which you can control, which is obviously good because it removes the rng. But because most of the cards you want are expensive, you'll likely hold off playing this until you've played them all, which means yet more delay.
All in all, its not as impressive as the other hero cards (though it has to be said that puzzlebox is a shadow spell, fortunately its in wild). But nevertheless its not bad. Its certainly going to see play, but for now I wouldn't count on this being anywhere near as impressive as Sorcerer's Gambit, which unhappily even after its nerfed is still the go to deck for mage ---- because team5, if you keep printing bs cards like Siphon Mana and Incanter's Flow, you have only yourself to blame if no one wants to play anything else in mage. Its bad enough to constantly see casino cards for mage, but whenever we don't, we get spell octobots.
Assuming that this is what we're getting, then its good. A counterspell option for 2, for a class that even small disruption is a massive advantage.
That's really it. Its not as impressive as Oh My Yogg!, but for a cost of 2, and being something that forces your opponent to maybe waste mana, it just going to see play regardless of its powerlevel.
Ironically if this card discovers a copy, or just discover secrets out, it might just be worth it. As it happens, how many secrets are you realistically going to put in your deck? Plus, this cant strike face, and doesn't develop any minions. Yup, bunker is the better card.
If Rinling's Rifle has such a good win rate, then there's no reason to expect this to do less.
Its not flashy compared to the others, and certainly its inconsistent in its delivery, but nevertheless it'll get you out of a tight spot. Gaining 5 armor and two secrets is about as defensive as it gets, and you get your animal companion which will no doubt allow you to bm to victory 30% of the time.
One thing that Im not okay with, is the hero power cost. Its almost as if its done solely because the original Animal Companion card is 3 mana. Considering what Kurtrus or Xyrella can dish out, why is Tavish's the only one with an increased hp cost?
Its strange this one because its not a straight up finisher, and its good for tempo turn 2. So the battlecry fits multiple purposes, but nevertheless doesn't do any of it great.
But for flexibility, and for being able to essentially scamming your way into an early victory, the same way cards like Savage Roar did, it'll certainly see some play if token druid is back.
Probably a bigger threat in wild than in standard, because Nourish is probably the only good choose-one card available, and probably the only one significant enough to actually compel playing 2x of these in the deck.
There's Feral Rage, Faire Arborist, and Runic Carvings as basically the only ones I can think of that might tempt you to play these. But none of those curve well into or before this. And runic carvings can only be good assuming you dont mind the overload.
Might be good later when more choose-one cards are available, but for now its a meh. Maybe nourish would be good enough, to be honest, because with guff you'll nearly always make good on gaining mana.
Its only good because token generation in a token deck. And because even a mere felwing is dangerous with the new token support cards.
Outside of that, this card is not really anything to scream about. Its basically a much weaker Umberwing all things considered, because you cannot get the tokens without having either a weapon on 1, or coin into this on 2. Or you play this on 3, and your opponent scratches his head. And plus, it has only 2 health, basically all but a generic 1 drop can kill this.
You might even debate whether its worth running this over Sigil of Summoning, which at very least does curve well into Flag Runner ,of which this card does not without help.
This gets high marks from me despite the need to basically spend 5 mana do nothing.
It setups a potentially big minion on 6, and because you'll get it with full mana crystals to do whatever you like with it. Considering that Faceless Manipulator is still in standard, we're looking at two massive threats on 6. Illidari Inquisitor itself will near guarantee 16 damage to face. If there any need to say more?
Also, you can't disrupt the summoning, unlike Skull of the Man'ari. I mean, really. Imagine playing this on curve at 5. You'll lose a turn at a relatively safe spot, but get a massive advantage the next. Some decks will kill for that privilege.
You dont need to slot this into specifically token dhunter. This can fit anywhere, courtesy of its very powerful hp and decent battlecry. And also, its just one card, at a fairly safe cost of 6, with 5 armor gain.
That hero power is amazing. After this is played, you can't let even the smallest minion on board stick, or otherwise you'll get somewhere around 4-10 damage to your face, with just a one mana cost per 2 attack. Gets even worse when you consider the combo of Felfire Deadeye and Expendable Performers, giving you potentially 26 damage from hp alone if you manage to rush in all 12 minions.
If it gets nerfed to one attack at some point, I wouldn't be surprised to be honest.
Probably from Alterac, maybe introduce the dwarf tag, since there's clearly Vanndar as a marquee.
Casters will always be at the forefront because of how mercs operate. Not taking retaliatory damage is significant, even in pve. A typical fire team will demolish just about everything except for winterspring, where a taunt is maybe needed. But an orc team cannot do the same, and very likely you'll end every match with at least one merc at the brink of death.
And besides, most casters features strong combos, or AoE, which most attackers dont. Nearly if not all the best mercs are those that either summon minions, or those that have abilities that specifically allow them to bypass the retaliatory damage, if not a straight up caster.
In short, I think team5 really needs to review this portion of the game. Either remove retaliatory damage, or give attackers a higher damage output or at very least more health. Its like if pokemon had the same mechanics, you would literally never see a physical attacker ever again in competitive. Maybe unseat Zacian immediately as the go-to restricted, now wouldn't that be a sight?
It doesn't tutor fel spells, it gets you a spell, no matter what it is.
I love dragons. But this one is just not good enough. Because it'll never stick, and even if it does it's not really doing much to win you the game. You can't even guarantee the heal with this.
Its basically 8 mana Consecration. Even if you cheat it out with Vanndar, its still 5 mana consecration. There's simply better cards you'd much rather have in your hand honestly.
The only niche this thing has is that it draws you a spell. Literally nothing else it does is even remotely going to replace the many clear options in warlock.
It does tutor cards, so you can make your Deck of Chaos deck a little more consistent. Unfortunately, once you do get that card in hand, this card automatically becomes one of the worse cards in your deck/hand.
Every class has a bad card, and this one is unfortunately it for warlock Im afraid.
Its another Tour Guide for mage. Almost tailor-made for ping mage. Is there ever a doubt that this will see play?
And crucially this is the only minion along with Frozen Shadoweaver that allows you to freeze your opponent's face.
To me, this is trash. To be honest. Unless you can cheat this out, this is just bad,
If Im not mistaken this is technically a spell, so you can cheat it out. But even if you can, this casts spells at random, and I would assume it'll also consume the card in your deck as well. So, what exactly are we expecting out of this card? Puzzlebox would be insane, but the new Rune of the Archmage isn't that, so you're not really building much of a board. In fact, there are some cases where this will backfire spectacularly, since mass poly and other target spells will sometimes target your own minions, or indeed, your face.
Maybe I'll find myself eating my own words later, but we'll never know. Without testing, for now, this is just not very good to me.
I'd like to like it. But honestly, its just an expensive way to clear up big minions. Reminds me alot of Plague of Murlocs: all the potential in the world, but then we discover that in fact even sheep can still do damage, so what you've done is essentially reduce damage rather than dealing with it.
Not to say that this isn't good, mind you. Mage will take any spell that unconditionally clears big boards, even if they have to take some damage in return. I just think for its price, it might just turn out to be too expensive to consider 2x copies of in a deck.
Yet more casino cards for mage. Because obviously this is what we need after the total pr disaster that was quest mage.
But this is a good card, even if I don't care much for it. Basically this will nearly always either clear the board or freeze it, and since its directed at enemies, its sometimes going to do face damage as well.
At very least its does cost mana, so we're not facing the bs from The Amazing Reno again. An overall solid card for big spell mage, that only occasionally causes someone to tear his eyebrows out in frustration, as mage either play this or they discover this out of thin air.
I do hope we dont have anymore of that puzzlebox into puzzlebox bs. But Im not putting it past team5 to 'accidentally' leave this a possibility.
It'll be a big girl and you'll draw two spells, which allows you to curve out of this later.
Is there really a doubt if theres a big spell deck, this will be in it? The only downside is that you can't play small spells, which Im counting as a plus, because I dont really want to ever see quest mage ever again.
A good start. But more is needed if big spell mage is to make center stage.
Its not looking too good for this card. The first problem is that its basically only a fit into big spell decks, because if you are even for a second thinking you can get away with playing an 8 mana card without clearing the board or healing up, then you're in for a massive heap of disappointment. And the second problem with its hp. Doing a standard 1 damage, at turn 9? That's basically asking to die.
There's also problems with the battlecry. This card allows you to replay certain cards which you can control, which is obviously good because it removes the rng. But because most of the cards you want are expensive, you'll likely hold off playing this until you've played them all, which means yet more delay.
All in all, its not as impressive as the other hero cards (though it has to be said that puzzlebox is a shadow spell, fortunately its in wild). But nevertheless its not bad. Its certainly going to see play, but for now I wouldn't count on this being anywhere near as impressive as Sorcerer's Gambit, which unhappily even after its nerfed is still the go to deck for mage ---- because team5, if you keep printing bs cards like Siphon Mana and Incanter's Flow, you have only yourself to blame if no one wants to play anything else in mage. Its bad enough to constantly see casino cards for mage, but whenever we don't, we get spell octobots.
Assuming that this is what we're getting, then its good. A counterspell option for 2, for a class that even small disruption is a massive advantage.
That's really it. Its not as impressive as Oh My Yogg!, but for a cost of 2, and being something that forces your opponent to maybe waste mana, it just going to see play regardless of its powerlevel.
Its basically dhunter's go to removal card. For its cost, I don't think there's anything better than what this can offer.
A decent removal option akin to Park Panther. Not perfect, but good in a class with little else against big minions.
Okay, getting this out of Revive Pet is impressive. Getting a trio out of Jewel of N'Zoth is gamebreaking. Its basically Voidlord in hunter.
But there's so few synergies to cheat this out earlier. So for now at least, its unimpressive.
Dun Baldar Bunker is better. Nuff said.
Ironically if this card discovers a copy, or just discover secrets out, it might just be worth it. As it happens, how many secrets are you realistically going to put in your deck? Plus, this cant strike face, and doesn't develop any minions. Yup, bunker is the better card.
If Rinling's Rifle has such a good win rate, then there's no reason to expect this to do less.
Its not flashy compared to the others, and certainly its inconsistent in its delivery, but nevertheless it'll get you out of a tight spot. Gaining 5 armor and two secrets is about as defensive as it gets, and you get your animal companion which will no doubt allow you to bm to victory 30% of the time.
One thing that Im not okay with, is the hero power cost. Its almost as if its done solely because the original Animal Companion card is 3 mana. Considering what Kurtrus or Xyrella can dish out, why is Tavish's the only one with an increased hp cost?
Its strange this one because its not a straight up finisher, and its good for tempo turn 2. So the battlecry fits multiple purposes, but nevertheless doesn't do any of it great.
But for flexibility, and for being able to essentially scamming your way into an early victory, the same way cards like Savage Roar did, it'll certainly see some play if token druid is back.
Probably a bigger threat in wild than in standard, because Nourish is probably the only good choose-one card available, and probably the only one significant enough to actually compel playing 2x of these in the deck.
There's Feral Rage, Faire Arborist, and Runic Carvings as basically the only ones I can think of that might tempt you to play these. But none of those curve well into or before this. And runic carvings can only be good assuming you dont mind the overload.
Might be good later when more choose-one cards are available, but for now its a meh. Maybe nourish would be good enough, to be honest, because with guff you'll nearly always make good on gaining mana.
Its only good because token generation in a token deck. And because even a mere felwing is dangerous with the new token support cards.
Outside of that, this card is not really anything to scream about. Its basically a much weaker Umberwing all things considered, because you cannot get the tokens without having either a weapon on 1, or coin into this on 2. Or you play this on 3, and your opponent scratches his head. And plus, it has only 2 health, basically all but a generic 1 drop can kill this.
You might even debate whether its worth running this over Sigil of Summoning, which at very least does curve well into Flag Runner ,of which this card does not without help.
This gets high marks from me despite the need to basically spend 5 mana do nothing.
It setups a potentially big minion on 6, and because you'll get it with full mana crystals to do whatever you like with it. Considering that Faceless Manipulator is still in standard, we're looking at two massive threats on 6. Illidari Inquisitor itself will near guarantee 16 damage to face. If there any need to say more?
Also, you can't disrupt the summoning, unlike Skull of the Man'ari. I mean, really. Imagine playing this on curve at 5. You'll lose a turn at a relatively safe spot, but get a massive advantage the next. Some decks will kill for that privilege.
You dont need to slot this into specifically token dhunter. This can fit anywhere, courtesy of its very powerful hp and decent battlecry. And also, its just one card, at a fairly safe cost of 6, with 5 armor gain.
That hero power is amazing. After this is played, you can't let even the smallest minion on board stick, or otherwise you'll get somewhere around 4-10 damage to your face, with just a one mana cost per 2 attack. Gets even worse when you consider the combo of Felfire Deadeye and Expendable Performers, giving you potentially 26 damage from hp alone if you manage to rush in all 12 minions.
If it gets nerfed to one attack at some point, I wouldn't be surprised to be honest.
Probably from Alterac, maybe introduce the dwarf tag, since there's clearly Vanndar as a marquee.
Casters will always be at the forefront because of how mercs operate. Not taking retaliatory damage is significant, even in pve. A typical fire team will demolish just about everything except for winterspring, where a taunt is maybe needed. But an orc team cannot do the same, and very likely you'll end every match with at least one merc at the brink of death.
And besides, most casters features strong combos, or AoE, which most attackers dont. Nearly if not all the best mercs are those that either summon minions, or those that have abilities that specifically allow them to bypass the retaliatory damage, if not a straight up caster.
In short, I think team5 really needs to review this portion of the game. Either remove retaliatory damage, or give attackers a higher damage output or at very least more health. Its like if pokemon had the same mechanics, you would literally never see a physical attacker ever again in competitive. Maybe unseat Zacian immediately as the go-to restricted, now wouldn't that be a sight?