I mean.. prediciting your opponents cards is kind of essential to any meta. At the end of the day we have 9/10 classes wiith viable decks (maybe not Druid anymore....how did that happen anyways? Is +1 mana on Fungal Fortunes that much of a death sentence?
I wonder if this ultimately ends up just being a tool to distribute cards more efficiently. As in:
Warlock and Priest are obviously getting some sort of boardclear, meaning with just one card they can tick off this category for both classes and have more room for design with the rest of the cards.
Look at Devolving Missiles. It's not really anything particularly interesting, but it's a solid card that gives both classes polymorph removal while only using one card slot.
Look. I'm bored. You're bored. It's still about a week until the reveals start. So let'S have some fun speculating about things that probably will end up very differently anyways.
Now the new expansion brings us dual-class cards. We also already know all the 10 dual class combinations. Finally, we also know (basically) that there will be a legendary for each dual class combo which will be one of the teachers at the school.
The question is, how will these dual class cards (especially the legendaries) turn out?
Here's what we got so far:
Wand Thief: a basic minion with a Rogue keyword as the activator and a classic Mage staple of discovering a Mage spell (as opposed to just discovering a spell in general). It demonstrates the core philosophy of these cards of being a combination of two class specific previously established mechanics.
Lightning Bloom: Same principle as before, but even more simplified. They took a previously nerfed card (Innervate) and essentially "rebooted" it with the added caveat of Shaman overload. Not so much a strong combination of effects, but rather a very powerful effect (that previously only Druid had access to) balanced by a downside.
Devolving Missiles: a more interesting example of combining a Shaman staple (Evolve/Devolve) and combining it with a recurring Mage theme of damage being applied through split missiles
Shan'do Wildclaw: finally, our first and so far only dual class legendary. She seems to be a rather unique case because instead of having an effect that combines two aspects from both classes she splits them up by utilizing the Druid-only [Hearthstone Card (Choose one) Not Found] keyword. As a result we're getting the Keleseth-esque deck buff that is (currently) clearly intended for midrange Beast Hunter, while the other option is a 3-mana tribal Faceless Manipulator which, while still useful for Hunter, has some rather obvious synergies with the Big Beasts that Druid keeps getting from time to time (such as Winged Guardian). The interesting part is that while there seems to be a clear divide between the options, there is always the option to add support for either class, making it very well executed concept. Basically it confirms that Beasts will be more relevant for these classes in the future.
So...with all that in mind, where will these dual class cards go mechanically and thematically? Let's speculate:
Demon Hunter/Warlock
It's pretty obviously going to be a Demonology focussed class. The teacher will either be a demon or have demon synergy. Similar things will occur with the other cards. I think there's a decent possibility that some sort of Lifesteal-control tool will be among them. Most definitely some sort of Big Demon support for both DH and Warlock. A self-damage synergy card might be in there as well seeing how DH also has the proclivity of ramming their face into spiky things.
Druid/Hunter
As evidenced by the legendary it will most likely be Beast focussed. Maybe there'll be one of the classic Choose One shapeshifters with a possible Hunter twist. Or we just get some allround beasts (both big and small). Either way it's a great opportunity to support the beast archetype for both these classes without having to print lame neutrals
Hunter/Demon Hunter
now the most obvious overlap here would be sm0rc, but I actually think that's not gonna be the case. I think we're gonna be looking at a more token focussed approach. Both Hunter and DH have synergy with small rushing tokens (and Token DH so far has been quite weak...most likely intentionally). Either way I don't believe they'd just push more aggro cards for two classes that already excel at it. THere's also potential for a weapon somewhere in there.
Mage/Shaman
Missiles aren't really much to go by, but it'S fair to assume that there will be an emphasis on spells. Maybe we'll even get some more Burn Spells (which is a major shared theme), some Overload limited card draw, or just some strong AoE. I think it's a safe bet that they'll be referencing the Freeze Shaman meme one more time....but like...good..
Paladin/Warrior
Really hard to evaluate. There's not a lot of overlap between these classes. Handbuff could make a return, but at this point that mechanic just seems dead anyways. A weapon is probably a safe bet. Maybe there'll be more Armor+Healing interactions like Thekal....or maybe Paladin can finally get a proper boardclear by proxy. Big taunts are also a possibility.
Priest/Paladin
aside from the ultra-obvious healing cards there might also be some stat manipulation going on. Perhaps we even see the return of Reborn by way of a substitute teacher from Uldum or something like that. The classes also occasionally share a Deathrattle theme so maybe there's something here. Honestly I feel like there'S too much similarity to really predict how they'll make interesting combinations, but I assume they wouldn't have paired them up if they didn't have a plan.
Rogue/Mage
Equal possibility for burn spells or single target removal. Spell damage with a twist could also be in there. If I had to guess the legendary it would probably involve something about generating extra value. Maybe there'll be some cool stealth minions for mage. The most obvious combo will be a secret though. Both Mage and Rogue need more Secret support and this can easily take care of both...although how a shared secret would look like is anyone's guess.
Shaman/Druid
Lightning Bloom isn't much to go by. I also doubt they'd just print some powerful single-target or AOE removal for Druid (unless it comes with a heavy overload cost). Healing is a shared theme so maybe there's something to find there. There's also shared token strategies between the two. I feel like a Choose One card with two Shaman effects is a likely outcome.
Warlock/Priest
Healing for Warlock. If they don't give us healing for Warlock via this (even if conditional) I'm gonna lose it. Aside from that there's probably going to be some crazy mixed boardwipe and maybe some "kill own stuff and also rez it" shenanigans.
Warrior/Rogue
Aside from the obvious weapons and pirates (perhaps too obvious), this might be a sneaky way for Rogue to get some sort of lifegain. So far nothing suggests that these dual class cards will undermine class weaknesses, but who knows at this point? They can always just come up with a gimmick to limit its usefulness. Either way we should get some sort of BUrgle support through this.
And that's it. That's all I can come up with, but maybe someone else has even more ideas. Feel free to share.
I honestly believe that this will end up breaking the game somehow. A lot of cards have been released since INnervate was nerfed that would have been pretty crazy before...now we get it back...with a minor downside (as in, if whatever you're pulling off with this puts you far enough ahead then the Overload won't matter)
It's...really good....I think? Although I believe it might only really fit into tempo decks. You wanna use this to enable a better trade for instance (or occasionally take out a buffed minion). If you just throw this into a control deck its value will decrease the further you get into the game. Downgrading something like an 8-drop into a 6-drop might not be enough in terms of defense.
problem being that you have to find and hold both cards until turn 10 (at which point your opponent might not even be in kill range).
I honestly believe that Brann is just too good to be held on to for a potential lethal rather than just using him as the massive tempo/pressure play on turn 7.
If you're talking regular King Krush than you need to build a janky OTK deck with Webweaver.
I think this will be in a lot of different decks, both now and in the future.
IT's clear which option supports which class but that can always change. Druid, right now, doesn't really run a lot of beast heavy decks, so they don't get much out of the buff, but they do have a select few choice beasts worth copying in a big deck (such as Winged Guardian).
Hunter is the one that really benefits from this at the moment. It could finally make a beast focussed midrange deck viable (seeing how Keleseth literally willed similar archetypes into exisstence because of how good he was) where it can always act as a double threat. Either you get it early and play the game with an unfair advantage or you get it later and use it for value (double Highmane anyone?)
There's also the Dinotamer Brann combo, but I honestly don't see that being worth it. Highlander Hunter doesn't run enough beasts to make this useful in any other scenarior so you're basically holding on to it until you find Brann, which might not happen when you need it to...also it would force you to not play Brann at 7, which is a huge downside.
At the end of the day I think this is more than good enough to build a deck around rather than try to min-max existing decks to somehow make room for it.
I feel like this might be genuinely become a common tech card for decks that lose to sudden wide boards (such as Rogue and maybe even Paladin).
Any class with a 0-cost spell that isn't extremely conditional can make use of this.
I wonder how Spellburst interacts with Shadowstep though. I'm assuming it would cancel the Spellburst effect by removing the minion from play, but with the spaghetti code you never really know, do you?
This card seems low key powerful. For just 2 mana and a not understatted minion you scramble your opponents ability to respond to your board, etc. Just one mana can make a huge difference. Doomed Apprentice never saw play because it cost 3 mana. This is very playable.
it also saw no play because it needed to stick on the board to matter. If your opponent just trades into it then it did nothing.
This will always apply and guarantee to mess up your opponent's next turn unless they didn't plan to play any spells (which can be played around)
On one hand, giving rush to your board can be incredibly powerful in a number of scenarios (such as summoning minions via spells or just having a minion that gets effect through attacking)...on the other hand as a standalone minion the broom is incredibly week and relies on you playing something alongside it (or having something on the board that summons other stuff) meaning it can end up being a dead card (and if I've learned anything in this game it's that "sometimes dead cards" usually don't end up seeing a lot of play...at least not in tempo decks which this clearly goes into)
I feel likie this will be more of a tech card or niche filler, as in: if your class or deck doesn't have good spell based removal, this essentially turns your minions into that. To be completely honest, I can only see this being played in Druid and maybe Paladin.
I honestly feel people are underestimating this. Loatheb is still used because he throws off your opponents gameplan. this is the same except smaller. If you drop this on turn 2 and your opponent wants to play a spell you have just gained a big advantage. The key is just knowing when your opponent would absolutely play a certain speell and then use this for the tempo advantage.
wasn't convinced at first, but after Priestess of Fury having to be nerfed pretty damn hard (while not even being as strong as this card) I don't think this will go unnoticed.
Maybe this heralds the return of a slower Galakrond Warrior...or maybe we get Big Warrior 2.0
I mean.. prediciting your opponents cards is kind of essential to any meta. At the end of the day we have 9/10 classes wiith viable decks (maybe not Druid anymore....how did that happen anyways? Is +1 mana on Fungal Fortunes that much of a death sentence?
I wonder if this ultimately ends up just being a tool to distribute cards more efficiently. As in:
Warlock and Priest are obviously getting some sort of boardclear, meaning with just one card they can tick off this category for both classes and have more room for design with the rest of the cards.
Look at Devolving Missiles. It's not really anything particularly interesting, but it's a solid card that gives both classes polymorph removal while only using one card slot.
shame on you for slandering the glorious motherlands. Now hand over your organs or it's back to the reeducation camps for you
well that's one way to farm easy wins
you know what that means? FREE PACKS BABY
Look. I'm bored. You're bored. It's still about a week until the reveals start. So let'S have some fun speculating about things that probably will end up very differently anyways.
Now the new expansion brings us dual-class cards. We also already know all the 10 dual class combinations. Finally, we also know (basically) that there will be a legendary for each dual class combo which will be one of the teachers at the school.
The question is, how will these dual class cards (especially the legendaries) turn out?
Here's what we got so far:
Wand Thief: a basic minion with a Rogue keyword as the activator and a classic Mage staple of discovering a Mage spell (as opposed to just discovering a spell in general). It demonstrates the core philosophy of these cards of being a combination of two class specific previously established mechanics.
Lightning Bloom: Same principle as before, but even more simplified. They took a previously nerfed card (Innervate) and essentially "rebooted" it with the added caveat of Shaman overload. Not so much a strong combination of effects, but rather a very powerful effect (that previously only Druid had access to) balanced by a downside.
Devolving Missiles: a more interesting example of combining a Shaman staple (Evolve/Devolve) and combining it with a recurring Mage theme of damage being applied through split missiles
Shan'do Wildclaw: finally, our first and so far only dual class legendary. She seems to be a rather unique case because instead of having an effect that combines two aspects from both classes she splits them up by utilizing the Druid-only [Hearthstone Card (Choose one) Not Found] keyword. As a result we're getting the Keleseth-esque deck buff that is (currently) clearly intended for midrange Beast Hunter, while the other option is a 3-mana tribal Faceless Manipulator which, while still useful for Hunter, has some rather obvious synergies with the Big Beasts that Druid keeps getting from time to time (such as Winged Guardian). The interesting part is that while there seems to be a clear divide between the options, there is always the option to add support for either class, making it very well executed concept. Basically it confirms that Beasts will be more relevant for these classes in the future.
So...with all that in mind, where will these dual class cards go mechanically and thematically? Let's speculate:
Demon Hunter/Warlock
It's pretty obviously going to be a Demonology focussed class. The teacher will either be a demon or have demon synergy. Similar things will occur with the other cards. I think there's a decent possibility that some sort of Lifesteal-control tool will be among them. Most definitely some sort of Big Demon support for both DH and Warlock. A self-damage synergy card might be in there as well seeing how DH also has the proclivity of ramming their face into spiky things.
Druid/Hunter
As evidenced by the legendary it will most likely be Beast focussed. Maybe there'll be one of the classic Choose One shapeshifters with a possible Hunter twist. Or we just get some allround beasts (both big and small). Either way it's a great opportunity to support the beast archetype for both these classes without having to print lame neutrals
Hunter/Demon Hunter
now the most obvious overlap here would be sm0rc, but I actually think that's not gonna be the case. I think we're gonna be looking at a more token focussed approach. Both Hunter and DH have synergy with small rushing tokens (and Token DH so far has been quite weak...most likely intentionally). Either way I don't believe they'd just push more aggro cards for two classes that already excel at it. THere's also potential for a weapon somewhere in there.
Mage/Shaman
Missiles aren't really much to go by, but it'S fair to assume that there will be an emphasis on spells. Maybe we'll even get some more Burn Spells (which is a major shared theme), some Overload limited card draw, or just some strong AoE. I think it's a safe bet that they'll be referencing the Freeze Shaman meme one more time....but like...good..
Paladin/Warrior
Really hard to evaluate. There's not a lot of overlap between these classes. Handbuff could make a return, but at this point that mechanic just seems dead anyways. A weapon is probably a safe bet. Maybe there'll be more Armor+Healing interactions like Thekal....or maybe Paladin can finally get a proper boardclear by proxy. Big taunts are also a possibility.
Priest/Paladin
aside from the ultra-obvious healing cards there might also be some stat manipulation going on. Perhaps we even see the return of Reborn by way of a substitute teacher from Uldum or something like that. The classes also occasionally share a Deathrattle theme so maybe there's something here. Honestly I feel like there'S too much similarity to really predict how they'll make interesting combinations, but I assume they wouldn't have paired them up if they didn't have a plan.
Rogue/Mage
Equal possibility for burn spells or single target removal. Spell damage with a twist could also be in there. If I had to guess the legendary it would probably involve something about generating extra value. Maybe there'll be some cool stealth minions for mage. The most obvious combo will be a secret though. Both Mage and Rogue need more Secret support and this can easily take care of both...although how a shared secret would look like is anyone's guess.
Shaman/Druid
Lightning Bloom isn't much to go by. I also doubt they'd just print some powerful single-target or AOE removal for Druid (unless it comes with a heavy overload cost). Healing is a shared theme so maybe there's something to find there. There's also shared token strategies between the two. I feel like a Choose One card with two Shaman effects is a likely outcome.
Warlock/Priest
Healing for Warlock. If they don't give us healing for Warlock via this (even if conditional) I'm gonna lose it. Aside from that there's probably going to be some crazy mixed boardwipe and maybe some "kill own stuff and also rez it" shenanigans.
Warrior/Rogue
Aside from the obvious weapons and pirates (perhaps too obvious), this might be a sneaky way for Rogue to get some sort of lifegain. So far nothing suggests that these dual class cards will undermine class weaknesses, but who knows at this point? They can always just come up with a gimmick to limit its usefulness. Either way we should get some sort of BUrgle support through this.
And that's it. That's all I can come up with, but maybe someone else has even more ideas. Feel free to share.
pretty sure TGT tanked because 90% of the cards were basically unplayable in the meta at the time.
Karazhan was just as goofy and didn't flop at all
I honestly believe that this will end up breaking the game somehow. A lot of cards have been released since INnervate was nerfed that would have been pretty crazy before...now we get it back...with a minor downside (as in, if whatever you're pulling off with this puts you far enough ahead then the Overload won't matter)
call me overly optimistic, but this might just make Bazaar Burglary playable. Mage has a metric shitton of rmeoval spells that rogues would love.
It's...really good....I think? Although I believe it might only really fit into tempo decks. You wanna use this to enable a better trade for instance (or occasionally take out a buffed minion). If you just throw this into a control deck its value will decrease the further you get into the game. Downgrading something like an 8-drop into a 6-drop might not be enough in terms of defense.
problem being that you have to find and hold both cards until turn 10 (at which point your opponent might not even be in kill range).
I honestly believe that Brann is just too good to be held on to for a potential lethal rather than just using him as the massive tempo/pressure play on turn 7.
If you're talking regular King Krush than you need to build a janky OTK deck with Webweaver.
I think this will be in a lot of different decks, both now and in the future.
IT's clear which option supports which class but that can always change. Druid, right now, doesn't really run a lot of beast heavy decks, so they don't get much out of the buff, but they do have a select few choice beasts worth copying in a big deck (such as Winged Guardian).
Hunter is the one that really benefits from this at the moment. It could finally make a beast focussed midrange deck viable (seeing how Keleseth literally willed similar archetypes into exisstence because of how good he was) where it can always act as a double threat. Either you get it early and play the game with an unfair advantage or you get it later and use it for value (double Highmane anyone?)
There's also the Dinotamer Brann combo, but I honestly don't see that being worth it. Highlander Hunter doesn't run enough beasts to make this useful in any other scenarior so you're basically holding on to it until you find Brann, which might not happen when you need it to...also it would force you to not play Brann at 7, which is a huge downside.
At the end of the day I think this is more than good enough to build a deck around rather than try to min-max existing decks to somehow make room for it.
Winged Guardian isn't stupid as well?
I feel like this might be genuinely become a common tech card for decks that lose to sudden wide boards (such as Rogue and maybe even Paladin).
Any class with a 0-cost spell that isn't extremely conditional can make use of this.
I wonder how Spellburst interacts with Shadowstep though. I'm assuming it would cancel the Spellburst effect by removing the minion from play, but with the spaghetti code you never really know, do you?
it also saw no play because it needed to stick on the board to matter. If your opponent just trades into it then it did nothing.
This will always apply and guarantee to mess up your opponent's next turn unless they didn't plan to play any spells (which can be played around)
I find this incredibly difficult to evaluate.
On one hand, giving rush to your board can be incredibly powerful in a number of scenarios (such as summoning minions via spells or just having a minion that gets effect through attacking)...on the other hand as a standalone minion the broom is incredibly week and relies on you playing something alongside it (or having something on the board that summons other stuff) meaning it can end up being a dead card (and if I've learned anything in this game it's that "sometimes dead cards" usually don't end up seeing a lot of play...at least not in tempo decks which this clearly goes into)
I feel likie this will be more of a tech card or niche filler, as in: if your class or deck doesn't have good spell based removal, this essentially turns your minions into that. To be completely honest, I can only see this being played in Druid and maybe Paladin.
Not really convinced for constructed unless you need value overload (and dragons)
I honestly feel people are underestimating this. Loatheb is still used because he throws off your opponents gameplan. this is the same except smaller. If you drop this on turn 2 and your opponent wants to play a spell you have just gained a big advantage. The key is just knowing when your opponent would absolutely play a certain speell and then use this for the tempo advantage.
I honestly wonder if this is just straight up good enough most of thee time to be run in Highlander decks or just midrange decks in general.
wasn't convinced at first, but after Priestess of Fury having to be nerfed pretty damn hard (while not even being as strong as this card) I don't think this will go unnoticed.
Maybe this heralds the return of a slower Galakrond Warrior...or maybe we get Big Warrior 2.0