Our Thoughts on Hearthstone's Scholomance Academy Priest/Warlock Dual Class Cards

So since they care so much about your health, is Priest/Warlock like, the school physician? I don't know that I'd trust them with that.

As always, our reviews have been shown to improve your ability to have read a review of Hearthstone cards, and are scientifically proven to contain both words and information. There are many different reviews out there, some of which will have the correct ratings of the new cards, and of all the reviews in the world, this is certainly one of them.

A Zombie is for life, not just for Hallowe'en.

Quote From Noxious

Costs nothing? Awesome. This card is strong for Warlocks, and even stronger for Priests.

For Warlocks, it provides an easy way to take damage on your turn, which enables a handful of cards such as Darkglare or Brittlebone Destroyer, as well as Diseased Vulture, Deathweb Spider and so on. The graveyard mechanic can also shine in both fast and slow decks, with fast decks gaining a boost to tempo, and slow decks regaining some valuable options that had already been played (if you've got the space to hold them!)

For Priests, this is a solid option to get two previously destroyed minions back, and - compared to most resurrection-type cards - also have the option of re-triggering their Battlecries. The 3 damage is negligible, and in some situations - such as running Activate the Obelisk - it can leave more headroom to reach quest completion faster, which is sometimes an issue in a match-up with a slow opponent.

Overall, I reckon this card is equally valuable to both classes. Priests and Warlocks are polar opposites, if we go by their core mechanics (or just take a look at their Hero Powers) and it is quite interesting to see how each class' "base effect" (Warlock taking damage, Priest bringing minions back) complements the other class so well. Costing nothing also provides a buff to decks that work with Kael'thas Sunstrider, and even to Combo Rogues that manage to Discover it!

Could you spare him some chocolate?

Quote From ShadowsOfSense

So this is my favourite card in the whole set. Well, this and Flesh Giant, but this is getting reviewed first so it can take the top spot.

That's not because the card is fantastically strong, although it is a solid removal option for both Priest and Warlock, with Warlock slightly edging out Priest as it will generally have an easier time activating this card's ability. I'd expect to see this experimented with quite a bit, probably being dropped from Priest unless a faster deck becomes popular and sneaking its way into Warlock thanks to the Soul Fragment mechanic and cards like Aranasi Broodmother giving you free activations.

No, the reason I love this card is the wording of its effect. "If your hero's health changed this turn" is such an inspired phrasing; it perfectly meshes the Priest and Warlock identities to allow for a card that works off of both their core strengths - so much so that it is literally in both their Hero Powers - without having to resort to clunky wording in order to force the match. I love the concept of its design, how it encapsulates the idea of dual class cards so neatly and distills it down into something that not only triggers from an inherent mechanic, but then uses that trigger to produce an effect that again, fits so well into both classes. When I think of Priest and Warlock, I think of annoying removal, both single target and AoE.

It's just… fantastic. The design, anyway; the card itself is fine.

"Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself? Wh-oh. That's why."

Quote From ShadowsOfSense

Move out of the way Priest, Warlock is jumping back into Giants.

An 8/8 for 8 is a perfectly mediocre card on its own - the kind of card that you pick up in Arena because you need some top end, and you're not unhappy that you did but you're never exactly overjoyed about it. In Priest, this card is a little better than that. In slower decks you'll probably knock this down to about 4 mana on average, though never by turn 4 - this will always be something played later in the game, maybe with an extra body too or a removal spell to help it stick. Raise Dead will certainly help enable it, and it's even a pretty good option to have returned to your hand.

Warlock, though, is where this card will shine. Not only will you be able to consistently drop your Health - by tapping, at the very least, but also through Raise Dead, or cards like Flame Imp in aggressive decks - but the new Soul Fragment mechanic is insanely good with this card, allowing you to accrue tiny, incremental Health changes across the game leading to a very easy 0-Cost Flesh Giant. I expect to see this as the top-end of Zoo or Lackey Warlocks; it's probably good enough to find inclusion in Plot Twist Warlock too, which itself will benefit immensely from the Fragments.

I'm very excited for this card, and this time not just because I love the wording - I think this will be a legitimately strong piece, at least for Warlock.

A big fan of incorporeal punishment.

Quote From FearGralex

As a four-mana minion played on curve, this card does an okay job, but getting the most out of Gandling requires some setup and deckbuilding. The best-case scenario is dropping this on turn 6-7 with a couple cheap Deathrattle minions, meaning you can't just slot him in to every Priest or Warlock deck. That said, he is fairly durable, so he might survive if you drop him by himself (especially if you can Coin him out on turn 3), at which point you can absolutely go off. Plus, the fail case isn't really that bad (4 mana 3/6 is totally passable), and if he triggers his effect even once, he's most likely paid for himself in value.

As for the type of decks this card fits in, I'd look to include him either in midrange Deathrattle-focused decks (Priest), or aggressive, 1-drop heavy decks as a top end (Warlock).