I hope they give it to Demon Hunter, because DH hasn't had a portrait since Aranna. It's not a perfect fit, but then also how the hell is Rastakhan a shaman?
The Witchwood started as a whodunnit expansion (Murder on the Gilneas Express was the dev name IIRC), so it makes sense that they'd still have that theme in their back pocket.
If I'm not mistaken, all of the super-old cards that have weird stats are because in the manga, pre-dating the actual game, those cards had weird stats because of some card effect. Then when the actual game was made, they just copy+pasted the stats as they were listed. Don't quote me on that, but I think I remember reading that somewhere.
You're thinking of Swordsman from a Distant Land. There's also Zone Eater, which has an identical effect. They had no idea what to do with Effect monsters in the early days.
You seem to be treating pulling anything below 5 as a death sentence. Yeah, 1 or 2 damage is pretty bad, but dealing 3 or 4 is perfectly reasonable when you're talking about a card with Dredge synergies and highroll potential. That's a Fire Sale or Chaos Nova that fixes your next draw.
I mean, the card doesn't amaze me or anything, but I think you're blowing it way out of proportion. It seems serviceable.
Its just a bad removal option. How long has it been since we've seen Assassinate being played? And with Shadow Word: Death or Shadow Word: Ruin being superior options, the only niche this card has is that it prevents rez shenanigans.
The only reason Assassinate doesn't see play is because it's a control card in Rogue. Meanwhile, Coerce saw tons of play in Warrior while that was in Standard.
Also, Shadow Word: Death and Shadow Word: Ruin can't kill 4-attack minions. That was kind of a problem when Drek'thar was around. I understand that Drek'thar's not in the meta, but it highlights the issue those cards have. Conditional removal that only works based on something your opponent does isn't always the best.
It won't. The Quest requires you to damage enemies with {X} spells, not deal damage with spells {X} times. It's why Barbed Nets and Explosive Trap only count for one.
Some much-needed love and support for Control/Questline Priest. The deck has been sorely lacking early removal since Hysteria rotated. It's also thankfully a Shadow spell and not a Nature spell, so Spirit Guide can pull it unlike stupid Whirlpool.
It's definitely comical how hard this creeps Entomb, but that's fine. People don't often play one big threat and leave it there like they did frequently back in the day. You need something a bit more reactive to compete.
Igneous Lavagorger is heavily outclassed by Onyxian Drake, just because it's not a Dragon. I don't think there's room for both in one deck, and Kazakusan is a much better payoff than Dredge synergies. It also has some anti-synergy with From the Depths. I don't see this card working out.
Tidal Revenant is a buff to Warrior in Arena, but it's way too low-impact to make it into Constructed.
Clash of the Colossals has some minor potential. It really requires you to have the card on turn three so you can actually make use of that discount to cheat something out. It's fun, but I don't see it making the cut.
Overall, this is a pretty disappointing set of cards. Which is fine, given that Warrior has a top tier deck right now. I'm glad they used the opportunity to shore up their Arena lineup rather than give a balanced class some new, broken tools.
Nobody was playing Sira'kess Cultist for the stats and Dragged Below was just an overall shit card. If they were going to buff the mechanic, I'm glad they went with the two worst pieces. Realistically, those buffs will help it against Aggro decks and not really change the matchup vs. Control.
I still do not understand the person in charge of picking the upcoming brawls. I understand it was an emergency replacement. But why a brawl we had just a few months ago? There are so many good brawls that never get used.
I hope they give it to Demon Hunter, because DH hasn't had a portrait since Aranna. It's not a perfect fit, but then also how the hell is Rastakhan a shaman?
The Witchwood started as a whodunnit expansion (Murder on the Gilneas Express was the dev name IIRC), so it makes sense that they'd still have that theme in their back pocket.
If I'm not mistaken, all of the super-old cards that have weird stats are because in the manga, pre-dating the actual game, those cards had weird stats because of some card effect. Then when the actual game was made, they just copy+pasted the stats as they were listed. Don't quote me on that, but I think I remember reading that somewhere.
I'm fairly certain it doesn't have to survive.
But honestly, I'm not 100% sure. And that's terrifying.
You're thinking of Swordsman from a Distant Land. There's also Zone Eater, which has an identical effect. They had no idea what to do with Effect monsters in the early days.
You seem to be treating pulling anything below 5 as a death sentence. Yeah, 1 or 2 damage is pretty bad, but dealing 3 or 4 is perfectly reasonable when you're talking about a card with Dredge synergies and highroll potential. That's a Fire Sale or Chaos Nova that fixes your next draw.
I mean, the card doesn't amaze me or anything, but I think you're blowing it way out of proportion. It seems serviceable.
Deadly Arsenal requires you to run high-attack weapons in a Control deck.
Deadly Arsenal forces you to not run any utility weapons like Blood Razor or Ancharrr.
Deadly Arsenal fizzles if you've already drawn your weapons.
Deadly Arsenal has no additional upsides.
Deadly Arsenal is in a class that is already filthy with great board clears.
Deadly Arsenal is really expensive for a boardclear for some godforsaken reason.
This is not even close to Deadly Arsenal.
"Herald, they're lesbians."
I do really like this cycle. It's like a reverse of the Dungeoneers from Wailing Caverns.
The only reason Assassinate doesn't see play is because it's a control card in Rogue. Meanwhile, Coerce saw tons of play in Warrior while that was in Standard.
Also, Shadow Word: Death and Shadow Word: Ruin can't kill 4-attack minions. That was kind of a problem when Drek'thar was around. I understand that Drek'thar's not in the meta, but it highlights the issue those cards have. Conditional removal that only works based on something your opponent does isn't always the best.
Bottomfeeder and [Hearthstone Card (K9-otron) Not Found] are glancing at each other through separate windows right now.
It won't. The Quest requires you to damage enemies with {X} spells, not deal damage with spells {X} times. It's why Barbed Nets and Explosive Trap only count for one.
Some much-needed love and support for Control/Questline Priest. The deck has been sorely lacking early removal since Hysteria rotated. It's also thankfully a Shadow spell and not a Nature spell, so Spirit Guide can pull it unlike stupid Whirlpool.
It's definitely comical how hard this creeps Entomb, but that's fine. People don't often play one big threat and leave it there like they did frequently back in the day. You need something a bit more reactive to compete.
Igneous Lavagorger is heavily outclassed by Onyxian Drake, just because it's not a Dragon. I don't think there's room for both in one deck, and Kazakusan is a much better payoff than Dredge synergies. It also has some anti-synergy with From the Depths. I don't see this card working out.
Tidal Revenant is a buff to Warrior in Arena, but it's way too low-impact to make it into Constructed.
Clash of the Colossals has some minor potential. It really requires you to have the card on turn three so you can actually make use of that discount to cheat something out. It's fun, but I don't see it making the cut.
Overall, this is a pretty disappointing set of cards. Which is fine, given that Warrior has a top tier deck right now. I'm glad they used the opportunity to shore up their Arena lineup rather than give a balanced class some new, broken tools.
That would have been a buff, since that would let you run and pull 4-mana minions.
Nobody was playing Sira'kess Cultist for the stats and Dragged Below was just an overall shit card. If they were going to buff the mechanic, I'm glad they went with the two worst pieces. Realistically, those buffs will help it against Aggro decks and not really change the matchup vs. Control.
I still do not understand the person in charge of picking the upcoming brawls. I understand it was an emergency replacement. But why a brawl we had just a few months ago? There are so many good brawls that never get used.
It only works on itself. "The first Spellcraft spell cast on this each turn".
I haven't seen anyone mention the new hero portraits. There's a murloc Illidan, murloc Jaina, and Sir Finley Mrrgglton paladin hero in the shop.
I hope they nerf Drek'Thar to a 0 mana 1/1, and replace his Diamond with a big ol' middle finger.
Rest in peace, my question mark friend. May we never forget your sacrifice that pathed the way to a new cardback system.