Looks like a decent Midrange Minion to me. Like, it has good stats for its cost and can go 2-for-1. Or it can go Face in an Aggro/Midrange mirror when trading, helping with the Face-Race.
Nice cost, good synergy with old spells that gain the Nature tag (Tidal Surge, Lightning Storm,...), and the Mini-Set will have a bigger focus on Spell Schools. If Shaman will be competetive, it's quite likely we'll see some of this guy!
Not very competetive at first glance. Hunter doesn't have good card draw, and this is unlike Pogo-Hopper stats on only 1 minion.
And yeah, it's a good early beast (and possibly good in the mid-game) for Beast Hunter, but that archetype took quite a hit with the loss of Kill Command, Houndmaster, and Tundra Rhino.
The only thing that stands in this cards way is its cost. It's still great value, but not being able to be pulled by Guardian Animals is a big oof. Then again, on the other hand, this is just straight up good on its own.
I wonder if we'll see some "Big Beasts" stuff for Druid this year. Like, this, Menagerie Warden, and Marsh Hydra could be part of a solid foundation for that.
Yeah, I admit that it's a shame that we're losing that bit of flavour with the rotation. But I think it's probably necessary to make the classes feel new and interesting.
At least there's the possibility that cards like Bloodlust will return with the next Core after this one.
I love how far we have come with Totemic Might. It feels like only yesterday the entire community laughed at how useless it is, but now we're unironically giving it a joint obituary with Bloodlust and Flametongue Totem. I can't wait for newer players to go into the Classic format expecting it to be a good card.
I know, right? Like, I chuckled a bit when I wrote that.
But, it's kinda cool to see a card going from zero to hero, because of other cards. Goes to show that it's not just all power creep, but actually cards that push for archetypes so others can also shine.
Classic: Don't know if that's a mode for me, but I'll give a try. Could be interesting. I started back in Un'Goro, so I never got to experience the absolute glory of coin-innervate-yeti or no-real-wincon-priest!
But back to shaman. What's the best type of shaman without looking into Barrens? In my opinion, its midrange or control. Control in particular looks really good with either a Ysharaaj or Doomhammer finisher (now that stickyfingers will be gone, I can go back to this line without tearing my hair off) while midrange gets the better Feral Spirit, Menacing Nimbus, Fire Elemental and the now substantial Al'Akir the Windlord, which is honestly now a real deal; everything else having been axed, its finally now the windlord's turn to shine.
I was thinking the same with midrange. The „new" cards it's getting seem pretty juicy, and that whole Enhancement thing seems to be working quite well. So I'd say, if there's gonna be some Shaman, it's most likely gonna be midrange... Except of course when Blizz pulls a sneaky one and reveals something completely new and broken
Control on the other hand...ehh, tough.
Like, finishers exist for it. It's just a matter of getting there. Control Shaman doesn't lose as badly as aggro imo, but they do lose a big chunk of their removal, and pretty much all of their healing.
Despite not putting in much time into HS lately, and some „spending-sprees", I'm at about 1.3k, only 700 away from my usual goal. Lvl is 105.
I expect that I'd be benefiting from the new system (am probably one of only 5 people that thought so), but this turned out better for me than I guessed!
I literally won that fight simply because I stole one of her Eviscerates. This has been the most frustrating chapter so far for me.
I felt so stupid when I finally made that connection on my 4th try.
The 1st good Tempo Priest card... and it's not even a Priest card!
I want Shuffle Rogue Shenanigans! Just a board full of angry, grieving Husbands.
Also, I like that kind of black humor.
"What you want?"
A better card.
Looks like a decent Midrange Minion to me. Like, it has good stats for its cost and can go 2-for-1. Or it can go Face in an Aggro/Midrange mirror when trading, helping with the Face-Race.
Very Handbuff dependent, which usually isn't a good sign.
But there's some stuff you can do, like this + Cruel Taskmaster
Enables Mana cheat and combos, but I dont care for that much honestly...
Every card that disrupts Combo somehow is welcome in my book!
3 Imps on 10 is far from good. However, 2 Imps on 5 for 2 Mana? Not bad honestly...
The only archetype i could see this in is Zoo, but idk if that's gonna be a thing without Soulfire and Voidwalker.
2 Mana remove 2 small Minions alone is already quite good. And unlike Cleave, you get to decide the targets.
Plus, there's the Spell Damage support that Shaman has (Rune Dagger, Imprisoned Phoenix), and will get (Novice Zapper, Bru'kan).
Not fancy, but seems powerful!
Nice cost, good synergy with old spells that gain the Nature tag (Tidal Surge, Lightning Storm,...), and the Mini-Set will have a bigger focus on Spell Schools. If Shaman will be competetive, it's quite likely we'll see some of this guy!
You play this, Nazmani Bloodweaver, and Gadgetzan Auctioneer, with a couple of other cards like Sethekk Veilweaver, maybe Rally!, cycle through your entire deck, and then...!
Idk. Yogg?
Not very competetive at first glance. Hunter doesn't have good card draw, and this is unlike Pogo-Hopper stats on only 1 minion.
And yeah, it's a good early beast (and possibly good in the mid-game) for Beast Hunter, but that archetype took quite a hit with the loss of Kill Command, Houndmaster, and Tundra Rhino.
But maybe can Headhunter's Hatchet, Scavenging Hyena, and that new card, Selective Breeder, provide enough support for that deck, and make Sunscale Raptor viable that way?
The only thing that stands in this cards way is its cost. It's still great value, but not being able to be pulled by Guardian Animals is a big oof. Then again, on the other hand, this is just straight up good on its own.
I wonder if we'll see some "Big Beasts" stuff for Druid this year. Like, this, Menagerie Warden, and Marsh Hydra could be part of a solid foundation for that.
Yeah, I admit that it's a shame that we're losing that bit of flavour with the rotation. But I think it's probably necessary to make the classes feel new and interesting.
At least there's the possibility that cards like Bloodlust will return with the next Core after this one.
I know, right? Like, I chuckled a bit when I wrote that.
But, it's kinda cool to see a card going from zero to hero, because of other cards. Goes to show that it's not just all power creep, but actually cards that push for archetypes so others can also shine.
Classic: Don't know if that's a mode for me, but I'll give a try. Could be interesting. I started back in Un'Goro, so I never got to experience the absolute glory of coin-innervate-yeti or no-real-wincon-priest!
I was thinking the same with midrange. The „new" cards it's getting seem pretty juicy, and that whole Enhancement thing seems to be working quite well. So I'd say, if there's gonna be some Shaman, it's most likely gonna be midrange... Except of course when Blizz pulls a sneaky one and reveals something completely new and broken
Control on the other hand...ehh, tough.
Like, finishers exist for it. It's just a matter of getting there. Control Shaman doesn't lose as badly as aggro imo, but they do lose a big chunk of their removal, and pretty much all of their healing.
Gotta admit, some of these changes are really strong. Like, Warsong Commander and Guardian of Kings might actually see play.
Illidari Inquisitor seems like a better version of King Krush.
Despite not putting in much time into HS lately, and some „spending-sprees", I'm at about 1.3k, only 700 away from my usual goal. Lvl is 105.
I expect that I'd be benefiting from the new system (am probably one of only 5 people that thought so), but this turned out better for me than I guessed!