Despite having less attack than other weapons at 3 mana, this weapon compensates by having twice the durability of any weapon found at this level.
With an effect that increases over time it's final swing should be 4 attack before it runs out of durability, and by that time the weapon has done 10 damage over 4 turns.
for additional durability Rogues can use Doctor Krastinov and Captain Greenskin to keep the effect going, and this weapons increase in attack gives it a positive synergy with cards such as cutting class for cheap card draw and steel dancer for a higher mana cost minion she summons.
it is weak to weapon removal, Acidic Ooze has seen play in standard with pirate warrior, tempo demon hunter and Galakrond decks having weapons.
Fortunately if Rogue is concerned about weapon removal there's always Loot Pillager to re-equip the weapon to start the process over again.
3 mana, 3/3 is acceptable stats, and the effect is great on curve allowing the rogue's hero power to clear sturdier minions without consuming spells.
This minion's modest health however means it can be easily removed by other minions or cheap single target removal, but you can always run more of this minion.
Could possibly be seen in constructed if Burgle Quest rogue comes back since a 6/2 weapon that gives your hero immune should help clear most minions.
This minion also has a soft synergy with Cutting class, allowing you to discount the spell by 3 with your hero power, Steel dancer can summon a more powerful minion and give self sharpening sword a boost in attack early on.
If nothing else this minion will become a very strong contender for arena picks for Rogue
Due to the short pool of secrets for Rogue in standard, it's easy to play around them to reduce their effectiveness.
Unless you destroy this secret, there is no way to play around it, however, but that doesn't make it the most powerful secret, but a secret you have to plan ahead when to play it.
Because you'll want to maximize the value of this card, you'll need to consider the deck your opponents playing.
If they're playing control, they might only play one powerful card per turn. If playing miracle they may play several cards in a turn. You'll need to decide if you want that one powerful card or if your hand size is small enough to take the combo they just played from them.
In the Quest rogue this card can be used as an additional means to accomplish the quest. Against Galakrond Rogue if can be used to get their Galakrond and any of the 1 mana cards they've played that turn.
It's a strong secret but it requires a lot of decision making on the players part to maximize it's potential. Strong, but not broken.
4 mana 4/2 weapons with nice effects have historically seen play in Hearthstone - just look at TrueSilver Champion.
This weapons ability to damage adjacent minions is super important, as sometimes Warrior is facing an opponent who uses sticky death rattle minions to control the board, even if Warrior won the brawl.
This weapon will let you play brawl, and damage any adjacent minions that may have been summoned by death rattles such as the hyenas off of Savannah Highmane.
The ability also allows you to ignore secrets like Noble Sacrifice and Pack Tactics, since the they'll damage both minions anyway.
It's a good weapon with a much needed control ability for a class that likes to dabble in control when Pirates aren't their best deck on the ladder.
Warrior has loved using their rush minions since The Witchwood launced in the Year of the Raven, and I believe they will keep using these minions until this game stops updating.
And while Warrior's pool of rush minions are generally all very solid - discover mechanics no longer favor the player class since Frightened Flunky kept discovering itself and Armegadillo in Saviors of Ulduum. So this discover card can also find class rush minions too - such as Hunter's Diving Gryphons and Zixor, Apex Predator.
Discounting the minion by 1 is a nice effect, since it makes the minion more flexible, but the real strength of this card is it's cost to cast.
1 mana is super flexible, and can be used in conjunction with Reaper's Scythe to activate it's spellburst ability for cheap.
This spell is almost like Frightened Flunky and Twisted Knowledge were combined into one card, and the discover mechanic was completely thrown away.
What will hold this card back is the lack of consistency with Taunt minions - there's taunt minions for every mana in this game, meaning you could get a minion to play next turn or you won't have anything to play until turns 8 or 9.
Fortunately, this card does have excellent synergy with Armagedillo, who will grant the minions in your hand an additional +2/+2 if they have taunt.
If Taunt Warrior makes a comeback this card will be in that deck, but we'll have to see if Pirate warrior is still Warrior's go to for ladder climbing once Scholomance Launches on 8/6
a cheap, flexible spell that discounts warlocks favorite minion type.
Aside from it's flexibility it has a nice synergy with Arcwitch Willow, allowing you to discover a high cost minion that she can summon with her effect.
It might be good enough to run in constructed, it doesn't do anything on the board but it also doesn't take away from your hand size which handlock really strives for.
with AoO being very Demon heavy and a handful of Demons from this set Warlock could have roughly 40 choices to discover with this card.
If spell shaman was missing something it was certainly consistent spell damage.
Despite having the powerful Squall Hunter and Lady Vashj spell hunter in standard was missing ways to keep spell damage on the board - Squall hunter's overload would make playing any spells next turn pretty difficult, and Lady Vashj's health would be so modest in both of her forms that the cheapest single target removal could remove her - if your opponent didn't opt to just silence or transform her.
This somewhat circumvents that by keeping the spell damage on your hero when you attack, allowing you to choose when you need that spell damage. Granted this weapon can be removed with weapon removal, which has been more popular against the Galakrond Decks and Pirate Warrior, but Hoard Pillager can be used to re-equip your weapon for the continuous spell damage.
All of Shamans damaging spells benefit from this weapons activation - Tidal Wave is now a lifesteal spell that deals 4 across the entire board and heals that much, Molten Blast now deals 3 damage and summons that many tokens, Earthquake will now deal 6 and then 3 damage, and Ras Frostwhisper while not a spell is improved by spell damage and can deal an additional 1 damage with his AOE.
During Knights of the Frozen Throne Priest received one of it's most powerful and popular board AOE spells - spirit lash - a 2 mana spel that dealt 1 damage to all minions and had lifesteal. While it doesn't sound incredibly powerful Priest was able to utilize this spell for incredible health gain and board removal for only 2 mana, often times using it to refresh their death knights hero power.
Now, lifesteal that deals 3 damage to all minions for 8 mana sounds incredibly expensive compared to Spirit Lash, but keep in mind one of Shaman's most powerful AOE's was the 8 mana Hagatha the Witch that debuted during the year of the Raven, and she only did 3 damage to the entire board. This spell does 3 damage that can be increased with spell damage and restores that much health as well.
This is an AOE and health restore spell in one package, making it incredibly efficient. Thanks to Shaman receiving Rune Dagger that gives an additional +1 spell damage the turn you attack with it to increase damage and health received, plus Primordial Studies that can discover AND discount this card I believe this card will absolutely see play. If Vashj Prime draws this card this becomes and incredibly efficient 5 mana AOE board clear that restores health.
In the set Goblins vs Gnomes, Warlock received the spell Imp-losion, which players will make immediate comparison to this card.
However, whereas Imp-losion is 4 mana, this is 3, making it a spell that can be cast by Trick Totem, or even be discounted by Farsight and the new Primordial Studies. It's also a consistent 2 damage instead of 2-4, and consistent damage allows for better planning when it comes to single target removal. Both are also empowered by spell damage, which will increase the amount of tokens this summons.
While the spell sounds weaker than it's counterpart, consider the tools that Shaman has in their arsenal to make this spell stronger -
They've received the new weapon Rune Dagger that gives +1 spell damage when they attack, Trick Totem that can cast this spell (hopefully not against it), Boggspine Knuckles AND Bogstruck clacker that can evolve the tokens, as well as the ever popular Mogu Fleshshaper that gets discounted the more minions are on the field. If Vashj Prime happens to draw this spell it'll be absolutely discounted.
I think this card, while it requires some work can see play in constructed, especially since Team 5 wants to keep pushing Spell Shaman so much
Both Priest and Paladin like having their enemies weaker than them for different reasons.
Paladins either play the board with murlocs or make very tall minions who can swing for a LOT of damage. The problem is that these instances can leave you having to make a bad trade to survive. By reducing your enemies attack to (1) you can clobber your opponents and keep your own minions. Also works surprisingly well with Commencement Speech, as the minion that now has Taunt and Divine shield will take even more hits to kill from your opponent. Paladins can also use this spell with Shield of Honor to make a favorable trade, and then with 1 health missing give that minion +3 attack and divine shield.
Priests have cards such as Shadow Madness, Shadow Word Pain, Cabal Shadow Priest and the new Cabal Acolyte that can either remove or take possession of a high value minion from your opponents side of the board. This card especially has synergy with Cabal Acolyte because of it's spellburst ability.
Both also received High Abbess Alura in this set too, and while she doesn't directly benefit from the spell playing it does increase the chance of a beneficial buff spell to land on her.
It's a cheap, flexible spell in a set that wants you to play spells for additional effects.
In a set where minion's abilities are triggered by spells, a zero mana spell should be reviewed very carefully.
it's very difficult to compare this spell to others because it's somehwhat...unique.
On the surface dealing 3 damage to your hero sounds pretty stupid, unless you're playing the Flame Imp, which is the most aggressively statted 1 drop in Hearthstone without any hand buffs. Receiving 2 random minions that have perished doesn't sound terrible but you'll also need to consider that they might be the minions played on turn 1 and could be weak late in the game.
However Priest and Warlock both received cards that benefit from this card with Flesh Giant, Brittlebone Destroyer and Disciplinarian Gandling.
Flesh giant requires you to damage or heal yourself on your turn to discount it's cost. Brittlebone Destroyer is a single target removal that has the same requirements, and the minions this minion generates can become fuel for Galding to turn into more mana efficient 4 drops.
The 3 damage to the classes isn't a problem, either.
Priest has most of their spells that restore health (including their hero power) and Warlock received the Soul Stone package with Demon Hunter this set that can also be used to mitigate any damage received.
While Warlock received no Spellburst minion in this set, the priest did receive the Cabal Acolyte whose spellburst allows them to control a random minion on your opponents side with 2 attack or less. it should be noted that if you kill that minion this spell may return it to your hand.
5 mana draw 2 cards has been seen in Druid with Aeroponics, which helped the Treant Token deck during the launch of DoD until the Year of the Raven Rotated out leaving some key Treant synergy cards out of standard.
Both Warrior and Rogue are prominent weapon classes, and both have also received some cards in this set that benefit from running weapons - Doctor Krastinov and SteelDancer, who either increase the attack and durabililty or summons additional minions based on weapon attack.
If discounted by (2) mana this card becomes the equivalent of Arcane Intellect, while not the most powerful draw spell in Hearthstone it is one of the most seen historically with Tempo and freeze mage.
2 deck archetypes that care about having weapons are the quests from Savior of Ulduum, Warrior requires weapons to accomplish the quest while Rogues gives a very beneficial weapon on their hero power. I feel that both decks were somewhat mid-range in playstyle, and mid-range can always use more draw.
The Galakrond decks can also utilize this card if they've been invoked enough times to equip the Weapon. play Galakrond, effect goes off, play this spell.
It can become a fairly cheap and flexible spell for both classes, I believe it will see some play on the ladder
Warrior's Execute spell is 2 mana to destroy any damaged minion. Rogue's Assassinate spell is 5 mana to destroy any minion it can target.
So on one hand, it's a more expensive execute, which means it's not as effective to use or efficient to play mana wise. However, since both classes tend to have trouble with single target removal outside Shield Bash for Warrior and Assassinate for Rogue, I can see both classes trying to utilize this spell.
Combos are fantastic spells because they're played after you've already done something, so you don't just spend a turn doing one thing.
on the other hand, for this spell to BE a more efficient assassinate you'll have to play something before it. Fortunately this set has seen a LOT of cheap 1 mana spells available to both classes that can be used to activate this spell.
IF combined with Cutting Class that's been discounted to (0) you can draw 2 cards AND remove any enemy minion for only 3 mana.
Paladin's spell Hand of Protection costs 1 mana to give a minion Divine Shield.
Warriors spell Rampage gives a damaged minion +3/+3 in stats for 2 mana.
So giving a damaged minion extra attack AND divine shield should be at least 2 mana, but here it's only 1, making it a very cost effective spell.
Both classes are known for running big minions with high health and taunts that take abuse from their opponents. I can see this spell being used on a taunt minion that's used to clear a weak minion on the opponents side of the field, and then applying this buff on it, making it more durable and making it more likely to destroy any enemy minion that might try to trade into it.
As mentioned this spell is very cheap and flexible, and can be used by both Paladins and Warriors to cheaply activate spell burst effects on their turns.
In Warrior, Gather Your Party would recruit a random minion from your deck for 6 mana, hopefully cheating out 7-10 worth of mana for 6.
Paladin is able to give their minions Divine Shield for 1 mana with Hand of Protection, and their classic legendary Tirion Fordring has Taunt AND Divine shield for 8 mana.
With this in mind, this card is essentially a cheaper Tirion that doesn't have his death rattle, which should be good for control decks wanting to run big minions.
With this card however, you'll want to build your deck around running big minions, maybe nothing smaller than say 6 mana that either have incredible stats or very beneficial death rattles since they'll have taunt when summoned by this minion. Lifesteal is also a very strong consideration for this card, Paladin received Judicious Junior, who has very good stats for cost - 4/9, making her a perfect candidate to become a new Wickerflame Burnbristle.
Warrior received Rattlegore and Troublemaker in this set - Rattlegore being a persistent sticky minion and Troublemaker able to create 6/6 worth of stats that will attack random enemies at the end of your turn.
But this card will negate any powerful battlecries your minions will have when summoned - Boom Reaver won't summon a copy of a minion with rush, King Phaoris won't summon a board full of minions based on spells in your hand, etc. On the same token, minions with what could be considered NEGATIVE battlecries such as Deathwing are also a good candidate for this spell, able to pull the massive 12/12 worth of stats and placing taunt and divine shield on him.
2 mana, 0/3 is pretty good, your opponent should have a hard time removing it. Especially if this minion cast a board clear to protect itself.
Granted, this minion will cast ANY spell that's 3 mana or cheaper at the end of your turn, and that can be from any class. There's plenty of spells that will kill it, and plenty of spells that can improve on it, also.
There's also spells that it can cast that will have no effect when played like the sidequests. Having it cast a secret is probably one of the best things it can cast.
I don't think this card will see competitive play in standard, but I think it will be a fun deck to play in Casual or for hilghlight reels.
Despite having less attack than other weapons at 3 mana, this weapon compensates by having twice the durability of any weapon found at this level.
With an effect that increases over time it's final swing should be 4 attack before it runs out of durability, and by that time the weapon has done 10 damage over 4 turns.
for additional durability Rogues can use Doctor Krastinov and Captain Greenskin to keep the effect going, and this weapons increase in attack gives it a positive synergy with cards such as cutting class for cheap card draw and steel dancer for a higher mana cost minion she summons.
it is weak to weapon removal, Acidic Ooze has seen play in standard with pirate warrior, tempo demon hunter and Galakrond decks having weapons.
Fortunately if Rogue is concerned about weapon removal there's always Loot Pillager to re-equip the weapon to start the process over again.
3 mana, 3/3 is acceptable stats, and the effect is great on curve allowing the rogue's hero power to clear sturdier minions without consuming spells.
This minion's modest health however means it can be easily removed by other minions or cheap single target removal, but you can always run more of this minion.
Could possibly be seen in constructed if Burgle Quest rogue comes back since a 6/2 weapon that gives your hero immune should help clear most minions.
This minion also has a soft synergy with Cutting class, allowing you to discount the spell by 3 with your hero power, Steel dancer can summon a more powerful minion and give self sharpening sword a boost in attack early on.
If nothing else this minion will become a very strong contender for arena picks for Rogue
Due to the short pool of secrets for Rogue in standard, it's easy to play around them to reduce their effectiveness.
Unless you destroy this secret, there is no way to play around it, however, but that doesn't make it the most powerful secret, but a secret you have to plan ahead when to play it.
Because you'll want to maximize the value of this card, you'll need to consider the deck your opponents playing.
If they're playing control, they might only play one powerful card per turn. If playing miracle they may play several cards in a turn. You'll need to decide if you want that one powerful card or if your hand size is small enough to take the combo they just played from them.
In the Quest rogue this card can be used as an additional means to accomplish the quest. Against Galakrond Rogue if can be used to get their Galakrond and any of the 1 mana cards they've played that turn.
It's a strong secret but it requires a lot of decision making on the players part to maximize it's potential. Strong, but not broken.
4 mana 4/2 weapons with nice effects have historically seen play in Hearthstone - just look at TrueSilver Champion.
This weapons ability to damage adjacent minions is super important, as sometimes Warrior is facing an opponent who uses sticky death rattle minions to control the board, even if Warrior won the brawl.
This weapon will let you play brawl, and damage any adjacent minions that may have been summoned by death rattles such as the hyenas off of Savannah Highmane.
The ability also allows you to ignore secrets like Noble Sacrifice and Pack Tactics, since the they'll damage both minions anyway.
It's a good weapon with a much needed control ability for a class that likes to dabble in control when Pirates aren't their best deck on the ladder.
Oh my I do love all these very cheap spells.
Warrior has loved using their rush minions since The Witchwood launced in the Year of the Raven, and I believe they will keep using these minions until this game stops updating.
And while Warrior's pool of rush minions are generally all very solid - discover mechanics no longer favor the player class since Frightened Flunky kept discovering itself and Armegadillo in Saviors of Ulduum. So this discover card can also find class rush minions too - such as Hunter's Diving Gryphons and Zixor, Apex Predator.
Discounting the minion by 1 is a nice effect, since it makes the minion more flexible, but the real strength of this card is it's cost to cast.
1 mana is super flexible, and can be used in conjunction with Reaper's Scythe to activate it's spellburst ability for cheap.
This spell is almost like Frightened Flunky and Twisted Knowledge were combined into one card, and the discover mechanic was completely thrown away.
What will hold this card back is the lack of consistency with Taunt minions - there's taunt minions for every mana in this game, meaning you could get a minion to play next turn or you won't have anything to play until turns 8 or 9.
Fortunately, this card does have excellent synergy with Armagedillo, who will grant the minions in your hand an additional +2/+2 if they have taunt.
If Taunt Warrior makes a comeback this card will be in that deck, but we'll have to see if Pirate warrior is still Warrior's go to for ladder climbing once Scholomance Launches on 8/6
a cheap, flexible spell that discounts warlocks favorite minion type.
Aside from it's flexibility it has a nice synergy with Arcwitch Willow, allowing you to discover a high cost minion that she can summon with her effect.
It might be good enough to run in constructed, it doesn't do anything on the board but it also doesn't take away from your hand size which handlock really strives for.
with AoO being very Demon heavy and a handful of Demons from this set Warlock could have roughly 40 choices to discover with this card.
If spell shaman was missing something it was certainly consistent spell damage.
Despite having the powerful Squall Hunter and Lady Vashj spell hunter in standard was missing ways to keep spell damage on the board - Squall hunter's overload would make playing any spells next turn pretty difficult, and Lady Vashj's health would be so modest in both of her forms that the cheapest single target removal could remove her - if your opponent didn't opt to just silence or transform her.
This somewhat circumvents that by keeping the spell damage on your hero when you attack, allowing you to choose when you need that spell damage. Granted this weapon can be removed with weapon removal, which has been more popular against the Galakrond Decks and Pirate Warrior, but Hoard Pillager can be used to re-equip your weapon for the continuous spell damage.
All of Shamans damaging spells benefit from this weapons activation - Tidal Wave is now a lifesteal spell that deals 4 across the entire board and heals that much, Molten Blast now deals 3 damage and summons that many tokens, Earthquake will now deal 6 and then 3 damage, and Ras Frostwhisper while not a spell is improved by spell damage and can deal an additional 1 damage with his AOE.
During Knights of the Frozen Throne Priest received one of it's most powerful and popular board AOE spells - spirit lash - a 2 mana spel that dealt 1 damage to all minions and had lifesteal. While it doesn't sound incredibly powerful Priest was able to utilize this spell for incredible health gain and board removal for only 2 mana, often times using it to refresh their death knights hero power.
Now, lifesteal that deals 3 damage to all minions for 8 mana sounds incredibly expensive compared to Spirit Lash, but keep in mind one of Shaman's most powerful AOE's was the 8 mana Hagatha the Witch that debuted during the year of the Raven, and she only did 3 damage to the entire board. This spell does 3 damage that can be increased with spell damage and restores that much health as well.
This is an AOE and health restore spell in one package, making it incredibly efficient. Thanks to Shaman receiving Rune Dagger that gives an additional +1 spell damage the turn you attack with it to increase damage and health received, plus Primordial Studies that can discover AND discount this card I believe this card will absolutely see play. If Vashj Prime draws this card this becomes and incredibly efficient 5 mana AOE board clear that restores health.
I guess if Wave of Apathy is anything to go by the Paladins just didn't care to study this quarter
In the set Goblins vs Gnomes, Warlock received the spell Imp-losion, which players will make immediate comparison to this card.
However, whereas Imp-losion is 4 mana, this is 3, making it a spell that can be cast by Trick Totem, or even be discounted by Farsight and the new Primordial Studies. It's also a consistent 2 damage instead of 2-4, and consistent damage allows for better planning when it comes to single target removal. Both are also empowered by spell damage, which will increase the amount of tokens this summons.
While the spell sounds weaker than it's counterpart, consider the tools that Shaman has in their arsenal to make this spell stronger -
They've received the new weapon Rune Dagger that gives +1 spell damage when they attack, Trick Totem that can cast this spell (hopefully not against it), Boggspine Knuckles AND Bogstruck clacker that can evolve the tokens, as well as the ever popular Mogu Fleshshaper that gets discounted the more minions are on the field. If Vashj Prime happens to draw this spell it'll be absolutely discounted.
I think this card, while it requires some work can see play in constructed, especially since Team 5 wants to keep pushing Spell Shaman so much
Both Priest and Paladin like having their enemies weaker than them for different reasons.
Paladins either play the board with murlocs or make very tall minions who can swing for a LOT of damage. The problem is that these instances can leave you having to make a bad trade to survive. By reducing your enemies attack to (1) you can clobber your opponents and keep your own minions. Also works surprisingly well with Commencement Speech, as the minion that now has Taunt and Divine shield will take even more hits to kill from your opponent. Paladins can also use this spell with Shield of Honor to make a favorable trade, and then with 1 health missing give that minion +3 attack and divine shield.
Priests have cards such as Shadow Madness, Shadow Word Pain, Cabal Shadow Priest and the new Cabal Acolyte that can either remove or take possession of a high value minion from your opponents side of the board. This card especially has synergy with Cabal Acolyte because of it's spellburst ability.
Both also received High Abbess Alura in this set too, and while she doesn't directly benefit from the spell playing it does increase the chance of a beneficial buff spell to land on her.
It's a cheap, flexible spell in a set that wants you to play spells for additional effects.
Will absolutely see play.
In a set where minion's abilities are triggered by spells, a zero mana spell should be reviewed very carefully.
it's very difficult to compare this spell to others because it's somehwhat...unique.
On the surface dealing 3 damage to your hero sounds pretty stupid, unless you're playing the Flame Imp, which is the most aggressively statted 1 drop in Hearthstone without any hand buffs. Receiving 2 random minions that have perished doesn't sound terrible but you'll also need to consider that they might be the minions played on turn 1 and could be weak late in the game.
However Priest and Warlock both received cards that benefit from this card with Flesh Giant, Brittlebone Destroyer and Disciplinarian Gandling.
Flesh giant requires you to damage or heal yourself on your turn to discount it's cost. Brittlebone Destroyer is a single target removal that has the same requirements, and the minions this minion generates can become fuel for Galding to turn into more mana efficient 4 drops.
The 3 damage to the classes isn't a problem, either.
Priest has most of their spells that restore health (including their hero power) and Warlock received the Soul Stone package with Demon Hunter this set that can also be used to mitigate any damage received.
While Warlock received no Spellburst minion in this set, the priest did receive the Cabal Acolyte whose spellburst allows them to control a random minion on your opponents side with 2 attack or less. it should be noted that if you kill that minion this spell may return it to your hand.
5 mana draw 2 cards has been seen in Druid with Aeroponics, which helped the Treant Token deck during the launch of DoD until the Year of the Raven Rotated out leaving some key Treant synergy cards out of standard.
Both Warrior and Rogue are prominent weapon classes, and both have also received some cards in this set that benefit from running weapons - Doctor Krastinov and SteelDancer, who either increase the attack and durabililty or summons additional minions based on weapon attack.
If discounted by (2) mana this card becomes the equivalent of Arcane Intellect, while not the most powerful draw spell in Hearthstone it is one of the most seen historically with Tempo and freeze mage.
2 deck archetypes that care about having weapons are the quests from Savior of Ulduum, Warrior requires weapons to accomplish the quest while Rogues gives a very beneficial weapon on their hero power. I feel that both decks were somewhat mid-range in playstyle, and mid-range can always use more draw.
The Galakrond decks can also utilize this card if they've been invoked enough times to equip the Weapon. play Galakrond, effect goes off, play this spell.
It can become a fairly cheap and flexible spell for both classes, I believe it will see some play on the ladder
Warrior's Execute spell is 2 mana to destroy any damaged minion. Rogue's Assassinate spell is 5 mana to destroy any minion it can target.
So on one hand, it's a more expensive execute, which means it's not as effective to use or efficient to play mana wise. However, since both classes tend to have trouble with single target removal outside Shield Bash for Warrior and Assassinate for Rogue, I can see both classes trying to utilize this spell.
Combos are fantastic spells because they're played after you've already done something, so you don't just spend a turn doing one thing.
on the other hand, for this spell to BE a more efficient assassinate you'll have to play something before it. Fortunately this set has seen a LOT of cheap 1 mana spells available to both classes that can be used to activate this spell.
IF combined with Cutting Class that's been discounted to (0) you can draw 2 cards AND remove any enemy minion for only 3 mana.
Paladin's spell Hand of Protection costs 1 mana to give a minion Divine Shield.
Warriors spell Rampage gives a damaged minion +3/+3 in stats for 2 mana.
So giving a damaged minion extra attack AND divine shield should be at least 2 mana, but here it's only 1, making it a very cost effective spell.
Both classes are known for running big minions with high health and taunts that take abuse from their opponents. I can see this spell being used on a taunt minion that's used to clear a weak minion on the opponents side of the field, and then applying this buff on it, making it more durable and making it more likely to destroy any enemy minion that might try to trade into it.
As mentioned this spell is very cheap and flexible, and can be used by both Paladins and Warriors to cheaply activate spell burst effects on their turns.
Possibly sounds like specific tavern brawl portraits.
In Warrior, Gather Your Party would recruit a random minion from your deck for 6 mana, hopefully cheating out 7-10 worth of mana for 6.
Paladin is able to give their minions Divine Shield for 1 mana with Hand of Protection, and their classic legendary Tirion Fordring has Taunt AND Divine shield for 8 mana.
With this in mind, this card is essentially a cheaper Tirion that doesn't have his death rattle, which should be good for control decks wanting to run big minions.
With this card however, you'll want to build your deck around running big minions, maybe nothing smaller than say 6 mana that either have incredible stats or very beneficial death rattles since they'll have taunt when summoned by this minion. Lifesteal is also a very strong consideration for this card, Paladin received Judicious Junior, who has very good stats for cost - 4/9, making her a perfect candidate to become a new Wickerflame Burnbristle.
Warrior received Rattlegore and Troublemaker in this set - Rattlegore being a persistent sticky minion and Troublemaker able to create 6/6 worth of stats that will attack random enemies at the end of your turn.
But this card will negate any powerful battlecries your minions will have when summoned - Boom Reaver won't summon a copy of a minion with rush, King Phaoris won't summon a board full of minions based on spells in your hand, etc. On the same token, minions with what could be considered NEGATIVE battlecries such as Deathwing are also a good candidate for this spell, able to pull the massive 12/12 worth of stats and placing taunt and divine shield on him.
This is a fun little card.
2 mana, 0/3 is pretty good, your opponent should have a hard time removing it. Especially if this minion cast a board clear to protect itself.
Granted, this minion will cast ANY spell that's 3 mana or cheaper at the end of your turn, and that can be from any class. There's plenty of spells that will kill it, and plenty of spells that can improve on it, also.
There's also spells that it can cast that will have no effect when played like the sidequests. Having it cast a secret is probably one of the best things it can cast.
I don't think this card will see competitive play in standard, but I think it will be a fun deck to play in Casual or for hilghlight reels.
I can't wait for it to cast Serpentshrine Portal on itself